SLIDER

Halloween Flicks

There are two very special times of year for movies.  I'm not talking about the Fall/Winter Oscar-bait season and Summer Blockbuster season.  I'm talking about Halloween and Christmas.
Today, we celebrate some of my favorite October films.

It just doesn't get any more classic Halloween fun than the original Halloween horror.


I know a lot of people dump on this one, but I like it; it's fun, it's light, I love the direction they went with Lori Strode and LL Cool J is delightful.


Because it's awesome.  Admittedly, watching this in one sitting gives me a headache, so it's always a two-parter for me.


Well of course.  I absolutely love-love-love this movie.  It's predecessors, The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 are also very high on my list of movie loves, but I have a special relationship with Army, since it was the first in the series that I saw.  (Keep in mind, I was only 1 when ED2 was released.) 

A Garfield Halloween was on every Halloween night when I was a kid and we'd sit on the floor staring at the flickering screen, using commercial breaks to sort through the chocolatey spoils.  Also, I don't know any kid who didn't get at least a little bit frightened by the old man and his story.

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This movie is known under two names: 
1.) The Night Dracula Saved the World
and the name I knew it under:
2.) The Halloween That Almost Wasn't
As I recalled this movie to Shawn and told him about how Dracula was upset that the monsters weren't scary anymore and the witch was going to refuse to fly over the moon - he looked at me like I was speaking an alien language.  Only after recalling this movie to my sister, Christine, did I get verification that I'm not insane and this movie does in fact, exist.  Also, it is very difficult to find.

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Yet another movie that led Shawn to believe that I was going insane.  It's an old Disney Halloween film that would be on in the week leading up to Halloween when I was younger.  As a child, this was perhaps my favorite movie.  It starred a young Kristy Swanson as a teenager whose family moves to a house rumored to be haunted in a small town.  Of course it's haunted - by Mr. Boogedy.  This movie is also rare.

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When you think of Disney Halloween flicks, this should be the movie you think of.  It has short stories like Donald with the escaped mad gorilla, a witch out for a ride, as well as clips of villains from across the board of Disney movies.  Very memorable to me was the dancing skeletons.  Also very rare.

The Midnight Hour
Almost no one remembers this film, but for a few years running, it was on and it was a tradition in my house. The plot concerns a New England town that gets over-run with dead folk of all kinds on Halloween night.  It's quite good fun, actually.


So there they are: my most favorite and beloved of Halloween movies.  There are other good Halloween movies out there - some scary, some fun - but I can't list them all and these are my absolute favorites.
Do you have any favorites, old or new?  











4 comments

  1. Oh man, Army of Darkness is awesome and I LOVE the Garfield Halloween special, it's a classic! I watched it every Halloween as a kid and still make sure to throw it on each year. The old man is totally creepy too, he used to scare the shit out of me! :/

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    1. I know - he scared me too! I watch all the Garfield holiday specials every year.

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    2. YES! That's awesome, me too. It's like a tradition around here. :D

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  2. Wonderful post, Halloween, Army of Darkness, Nightmare B4Xmas -- all classics, H20 I have a lot of respect for, it took old school with the new vibe in horror... they just should have never killed off Laurie Strode in the horrible reality TV "Halloween:Resurrection"! And why does Mr.Boogedy look like Emperor Palpatine?! LOL

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