Hair-Raising Halloween Blogs

The 11th annual Hollywood Film Festival opened in mid-October with a special screening of Starz’s original documentary special Bloodsucking Cinema, a retrospective of movies about those sanguine, cuspidate-canined unholies commonly known as vampires. It was a pretty decent doc, although I didn’t quite get the emphasis on such dubious fare as Bloodrayne and Van Helsing at the glaring expense of gems like The Hunger, Fright Night, Salem’s Lot and Near Dark (and word to producers hiring on-camera commentators: having a bit part in From Dusk Till Dawn—that’s you, Cheech Marin—does not a vampire movie expert make).

Then, in light of the recent release 30 Days of Night (pictured, right), Fandango asked which silver screen vampire is your favorite in our weekly poll. Overwhelmingly you said Kiefer Sutherland from The Lost Boys (and I applauded wholeheartedly), followed somewhat distantly by Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire and Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker’s Dracula—both worthy contenders in the realm of the unsatiable.

All of which got me thinking: What makes a great vampire movie? Some explore the fanged ones’ primal, ancient instincts and what makes them tick; others use them as a vehicle to commit gory, unspeakable acts on their terrified victims. I think vampires are best when they’re shadowy, subtly seductive beings…victims know what they’re in for, and almost don’t care.

What else does it take to make a great vampire movie?

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So you want to see Saw IV, but first you need to catch up on one or more of the previous three in the series? Well, stick that video rental card back in your wallet, because Lionsgate is giving you a chance to catch up on the big screen with a Saw movie marathon in select cities October 25. The eight-hour event starts at 6 p.m. and culminates with a midnight showing of Saw IV. Don’t want to miss it? Click here and keep checking as the date gets closer to find out if the marathon is playing near you.

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I had the chance to attend the 5th annual “Eyegore Awards,” an event held at Universal Studios to honor the best in the horror biz and to help launch the park’s 10-day “Halloween Horror Nights” event. As grotesquely costumed sideshow freaks looked on from sets in the theater’s dark corners, host and horror vet Michael Berryman (best known as the bald mutant from the original The Hills Have Eyes ) bestowed gargoyle trophies to the winners. The honorees included Patricia Arquette (everything from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 to Medium), Corey Feldman (the Friday the 13th films, Lost Boys 1 and 2), Sheri Moon (wife of Rob Zombie and star of his films), and Shawnee Smith (the Saw franchise), who laughed and said, “This is the coolest, most bizarre award show ever, but I had a blast and hope to be back again.” (I tend to agree.) David Arquette accepted sis Patricia’s award in her place, donned in—what else? a Zorro getup—and, um, it wasn’t a costume party.

More madness and mayhem followed as doubles for Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Leatherface tormented, chased and charged after guests in the park’s mazes (you mean, I signed up for this??). The Terror Tram took us to the Universal back lot where we got a closer look at actual sets like the Bates Motel, the Psycho house and The War of the Worlds’ airplane disaster site. In all, it was a campy, intense and demented night, one that convinced me to keep a light on while I slept. But then, it’s just make-believe…right?

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Horror movie purists tend to like their frightfests rated R, and they aren’t afraid to raise Cain when a movie they think should be R gets slapped with a PG or PG-13 (remember the first Alien Vs. Predator, which to fans’ abject dismay got rated PG-13, and whose sequel was a pointed hard R?).

Be that as it may, some of my favorites in the genre have in fact been PG or PG-13: Jaws, Poltergeist, The Ring, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, even the recent thriller Disturbia . Without the blood and gore and violence, these films still managed to be creepy, ghoulish, suspenseful, even downright scary.

This Halloween, the only new movie coming out for the younger moviegoing crowd is the spooky PG thriller/mystery Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour , opening nationwide Oct. 19. It stars newcomer Rissa Walters as 17-year-old Sarah Landon, who’s staying in a haunted guest house and has uncovered a dark secret in the small town she’s visiting. Check out the trailer. Hey, I’m a grown-up and it looks like a ghoulish good time to me….

And now, answers to last week’s quiz. How’d ya do? If you haven’t taken it yet, stop reading pronto and scroll down to test your horror movie skillzzz.

1. C – Two of the actresses from the first film (Heather O’Rourke, 12, as Carol Anne; Dominique Dunne, 22, as her sister Dana) died unexpectedly.

2. A – Good thing Arquette survived to make…See Spot Run?

3. D – “Loosely” based, that is.

4. B – Jaws would beat ‘em all, but it was PG, not R.

5. C – Pigs in a blanket, anyone?

6. A – Believe it or not, it’s a fully operational Boy Scout camp. Would YOU go?

7. B – Jamie Lee was doomed from the get-go, but she survived almost 25 years.

8. B – Lois Duncan’s youngest daughter Kaitlyn was killed at age 18.

9. C – Pretty obvious, no?

10. D – One of the best horror scenes ever!

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What would All Hallows Eve be without a little movie trivia to play tricks on your mind? See if your horror movie knowledge can survive these 10 questions, then check back next week for the thrilling, chilling answers.

1. Which 1980s horror film was thought of as “cursed” after the untimely deaths of several of its stars?
a) Hell Night
b) Friday the 13th
c) Poltergeist
d) Critters

2. In the 3rd and final of the Scream trilogy, who lives?
a) David Arquette
b) Jenny McCarthy
c) Liev Schreiber
d) Parker Posey

3. Director Tobe Hooper based The Texas Chainsaw Massacre on which real-life serial killer?
a) Albert Fish
b) Ted Bundy
c) John Wayne Gacy
d) Ed Gein

4. Adjusted for inflation, which is the top-grossing R-rated film of all time?
a) Saw II
b) The Exorcist
c) Jaws
d) Halloween

5. Who said this line? “It’s breakfast time!”?
a) Jack Torrance in The Shining
b) Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street
c) A mutant in The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
d) Capt. Spaulding in House of 1,000 Corpses

6. The camp that served as the location for Friday the 13th is still in operation today.
a) True
b) False

7. In which of the following movies was scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis’s character silenced?
a) Halloween
b) Halloween: Resurrection
c) Prom Night
d) The Fog

8. Which horror movie author whose books have been turned into movies had a daughter who was murdered as a teen?
a) Stephen King
b) Lois Duncan
c) Clive Barker
d) William Peter Blatty

9. Which of these horror “matchups” is incorrect?
a) Laurie Strode vs. Michael Myers
b) Kirsty Cotton vs. Pinhead
c) Nancy Thompson vs. Candyman
d) Chief Martin Brody vs. Jaws

10. How was the priest killed in The Omen?
a) Falling through a glass table
b) Hanging
c) Damien’s piercing eyes glared him to death
d) Impalement by a pole

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Everyone loves a great movie quote. My favorites are those pointed quips that you can toss out at opportune times—say, when you’re about to leave your job (“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it any more!” — Network) or dump that fling (“I don’t know how to make this any clearer to you. You mean nothing to me!”— Cruel Intentions). Of course, in the latter scenario, you’d better pray that your “dumpee” doesn’t respond like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction with “I’m not going to be ignored!”

The ones near and dear to my heart, though, come from horror movies—they can be as ridiculously and often unintentionally hilarious as they can be scary and threatening. In what other movie genre would you hear someone holler, “OK, you Primitive Screwheads, listen up! You see this? This…is my boomstick!” (Bruce Campbell as Ash in Army of Darkness).

Which leads us to Fandango’s definitive, AFI-worthy, as-voted-on-by-you list of the all-time top 50 horror movie quotes that includes a couple of perennial faves: “No more wire hangers EVER!” (Mommie Dearest) and “Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep!” (A Nightmare on Elm Street), which is really a tip of the hat to the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which featured a similar advisory. Take a look at the Fandango Fifty and tell us which of these one-liners are your favorites – and which classic horror movie quotes are sorely missing from the list.

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Who hasn’t labored over figuring out what—or who—to be for Halloween?

It’s that one day a year when you can play dress-up without looking like a weirdo (or worse), and that’s when the movies opportunely come to the rescue as your inspiration.

When we were kids, we dressed up as Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia at least once. Then there’s Michael Myers and Jason from the ‘80s and the Scream years of the 1990s, when everyone and their mother wore that Ghostface mask. More recently, the Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean series have provided go-to Halloween getups.

With a mere month or so to go, are you finding yourself guise-less? I offer you 10 costume-y movie characters from 2007 to jog your creative sparks:

10. Jack Sparrow –

Guys, grab your girlfriend’s black eyeliner and go to town. Add some raggedy clothes, a gold tooth and don’t wash your hair for a week, and you’ll be good to go.

9. Shrek –

Paint yourself green and get a pair of headband ears. Helpful, but certainly not necessary, is to be 10 feet tall and 800 lbs.

8. A Transformer –

Nobody would’ve gotten it last year, but this year, they’re Go! A yellow Camaro makes the perfect accessory.

7. Spider-Man –

You can always go with the traditional red and blue bodysuit, but I suggest the black suited-and-haired emo Spidey; cooler, easier and more controversial. Again, don’t forget the eyeliner.

6. Pro ice skater à la Blades of Glory –

Yes, there’s that bodysuit issue, but doesn’t wearing giant hair as Chazz Michael Michael or Jimmy MacElroy make it all worthwhile? Careful, ice skates can be tough to wear trick or treating.

5. Michael Myers –

30 years later, and everything old is new again with this perennial horror movie costume from Halloween that will still scare the bejesus out of your friends. Please, carry a plastic knife.

4. A Wild Hog –

Kids, get Dad to join the fun and go out trick or treating decked out in leathers and motorcycle helmets as an aging biker in midlife crisis.

3. Danny Ocean –

Perfect in a pinch for those who have been voted Sexiest Man Alive, own a $2,000 suit and hang with rich model/actor pals.

2. A Spartan –

Not so great abs, you say? No prob, simply draw them on above your loincloth to be one of 300’s Greek soldiers. Or make a stab at Xerxes, if you wear lots of gold body jewelry anyway.

1. Hairspray’s Edna or Tracy Turnblad –

Big hair and big dresses. Works for girls OR guys!

Got a favorite movie-related costume in mind? Let us know.

Check out the Costume Photo Gallery for more ideas»

Take Our Halloween Costume Quiz»

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