The Halloween Thread - My favorite time of year!!!

[AcidDragon]

With October rapidly approaching, Im gettin in the mood for my annual horror-thon. Usually, I do a week of double features, but since I live in a different state, and have too much time on my hands, I thought I'd do something different. So a movie every day for all of October, with the last week having double features. As I was making my list, I was wondering, does anyone else have little traditions like this for this season? Or do they do something completely different? Let me know, I'd be interested to hear.

[Caleb]

Oh, heck yeah! At Midnight on Halloween, I watch the original Halloween with some pumpkin whiskey, a bag of candy corn, and all the lights off. Been doing it since I was 16 (well, it used to be pumpkin cider), and I'll be doing it 'til I die. My wife has never been around for this little tradition, but we're living together this year, so that should be interesting. She's pretty bent on winning our "Scare War". Also, a buddy and I have done "Horror Movie Sundays" for every Sunday in October the past four years - we get together and watch three or four horror movies, drink, and eat lousy Chinese. It's kind of simplistic, yeah, but it's a good time. I've got an hour train ride to the guy now, but I still plan on braving the crazy Bears fans every Sunday to keep the tradition alive.

This year, we've got The Conjuring (On Blu Oct. 22nd for those interested)! Dude hasn't seen it yet, and I know it's gonna freak the bejesus out of him!

I used to go hit the bars on Halloween, but here in Chicago places mark their drinks up ridiculously on drinkin' holidays. So I'm probably better off just buying my wife a bunch of sexy costumes, as opposed to the usual bar ogling, huh? Besides, I never win the costume contests because I'm not dressed in something skimpy, so there isn't much point.

Anyone on here still dress up? The wife and I are going as Billy and Kate from Gremlins! I've got a nifty Medicom Gizmo on the way right now to go in my backpack!! My Zach Galligan fro, on the other hand, is coming in terribly. I may just wig it.

[Caleb]

Oh, and what's on the list of features, Bo-Rilla?

[beastovjudgement]

I love Halloween. It sucks it's on a weeknight, but I'm on first shift this year, so it is on. I used to go up to Salem every year with my friends. It is insanely crowded, but always a great time - up until a few years ago, when the cops started kicking everyone off the streets by 10:00. While it is not actually on Halloween, I am looking forward to Rock and Shock this year. It's a combination horror convention and rock/metal feat in Worcester, MA. Danzig and Robert Englund, among others. Come to think of it, the best Halloween of my life was in 1999, partially spent at a Danzig show in Boston. There was much mayhem and savagery perpetrated that night. It's amazing the level of chaos even a lifelong straight-edge like myself can get into. Good times in my wayward youth (I was 26). These days, it is the Jack o' Lantern Walk in Providence and horror movies with the new wife for Halloween night. We don't get any trick or treaters, as the house is in the woods, a good 250 feet back from the street.

[Bo-rilla Grodd]

Oh, and what's on the list of features, Bo-Rilla?

well, I wouldnt want to take time to name ALL of them, so i just do what the final week is (double features)

Oct. 27 - Deadly Spawn/ the Thing
Oct. 28 - Nightmare on Elm St. 1-2
Oct. 29- Jeepers Creepers 1-2
Oct. 30 - Friday the 13th 2,3,4 (triple feature madness)
Oct. 31 - Halloween 1-2

But I have a block btwn 7th-9th where its Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein and Carnival of Souls which Im real excited for.

And to BEAST: as soon as I saw your response, I started singing in my best Danzig voice, "Return of the Fly, With Vincent Price". lol. I love it. How is Rock n Shock??? Ive never been.

[secondwhiteline]

I usually watch a horror movie a day in October that I've never seen before. I just got in the new DVD of Frankenhooker, so that'll be the one I kick off the month with.

I also usually try to make it down to Philly for the 24-Hour HorrorThon, but this year tickets went on sale while I was at work and sold out before I got home. Ugh.

And the Deadly Spawn! I love that movie.

Anyone have their costume planned? I'm probably gonna be Finn from Adventure Time.

[Caleb]

Frankenhooker is stupidly awesome, dude. Hope you enjoy it.

As for costumes, my wife and I were thiiiiiis close to dressing as Beetlejuice and Lydia, which she's been dying to do. But she picked our costumes last year, and I just couldn't resist the opportunity to carry a Mogwai around. She sewed a little trenchcoat up for my Gremlin puppet, so I think we're going to have a flasher Gremlin too. That should be fun to have at parties.

[secondwhiteline]

Awesome costume idea, man! And party props are always fun - I was Ash Ketchum a few years ago and everywhere I went people were totally psyched about the plush Pikachu.

And I'm getting in Pieces and Nightmare City from Netflix soon, so those will be part of the October kickoff.

This fall's been awesome - first that horror con, now this week I'm going to a 90s Nickelodeon reunion hosted by Marc Summers! The lineup is killer - most of the Pete & Pete cast, BILLY WEST, Bob Camp, Phil Moore, Sponge from Salute Your Shorts...

[Bo-rilla Grodd]

Info on the 90s nickelodeon reunion, please!!!!!!
p.s. pieces and nightmare city, NICE!!!!!!

[secondwhiteline]

I'm not really sure what format the reunion's taking - I think there's gonna be some different Q&As and the whole thing's hosted by Marc. It's also partly a release event for that new oral history of Nickelodeon, Slimed. There's gonna be chances for autographs, as far as I know. The lineup is pretty excellent. It's in NYC on Friday. Link is here.

And yeah, Pieces and Nightmare City are two of the bigger horror flicks I still have to cross off my list - I also haven't seen Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, Opera, Blade in the Dark, A Cat in the Brain, A Tale of Two Sisters, Nightbreed (waiting for the Cabal Cut DVD), Cannibal Apocalypse, Black Sunday, and Blood Feast. But I'm getting there!

Speaking of Nightmare City, if you ever run across a copy of the earlier Hugo Stiglitz film Night of a Thousand Cats (directed by René Cardona!), don't hesitate. I think Code Red's trying to get the full director's cut out, because the main cut available is only slightly over an hour. But even in truncated form it's hilarious. If I hear of any more 35mm screenings of the full version, I'll post 'em here; it was at last year's 24-Hour HorrorThon in Philly and the response was huge.