The Old Man at the Show: 2010 Horror Fest Pt. 13

Just like last week with the Friday the 13th films, AMC is showing the edited versions of the first 5 Halloween films this week. Also just like Friday the 13th, I have already seen these uncut (except for Halloween III), so I don't mind watching the edited versions. Notice that I don't start with the original Halloween, as I always save that viewing for my all day viewing marathon on (or near) Halloween itself...

Halloween II (1981)

Halloween II takes up immediately after the original (which ended with Michael Myers being shot 6 times, but walking away). Michael ("The Shape") is still on the loose and killing his way through the town, looking for Laurie, the survivor of the 1st film. The sequels attempts to give a reason why Michael is after Laurie (other that she survived) - apparently she is Micheal's sister, who was adopted by another family after Michael was committed for his first murder as a child. The remaining sequels (other than III) will continue this thread that Michael is motivated by a desire to wipe out his family.

II is nowhere near as great a film as the original (I would be saying that even if Halloween wasn't my favorite horror film of all time - its pretty evident). What the original accomplished with very little blood and high suspense/tension, the sequel tries to do with a higher body count and moor blood. However, I have always enjoyed II and felt that it got a bad rap. It is better than a lot of the other slasher film immitators that the original spawned.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

This was a film that I have never seen. Because of my love for Halloween, I made it a point to see all the sequels, ending with Halloween 6 (since that one was so bad I lost interest after that). As is well known, this sequel has nothing to do with Michael Myers, so I never got around to seeing it until now.

III revolves around a company that is attempting to market their Halloween masks to kids and, in combination with a certain television program shown on the night of the 31st (a plot that is much more plausible back in the day before everyone had cable and would ever fly today), would lead to a mass sacrifice that would bring about some supernatural event (the film is not very clear on that point).

The only thing this film shares with its predecessors is a name and the fact that at 3 different times in the movies, the original Halloween appears on a TV screen. I know that the producers were attempting to start fresh and have series of movies that would come out every year, revolving around Halloween, but having nothing to do with Michael Myers. However, I think this was a terrible miscalculation. Had this movie been named anything else besides Halloween III, I think it would have had a much better chance at the time and not be nearly so reviled as it is today. Its not a great movie, but it has some good stuff going for it - the basic plot is original, and the ending is fantastic (the main character is ALMOST able to stop the catastrophe, but he can't convince the last station manager to halt the trigger program, before the film abruptly ends (very few major studio films today have the guts to end on anything less than a happy ending). Unfortunately, it bombed and the studio decide it was back to the Michael Myers well...

Halloween 4: Return of Michael Myers (1988)

The title of this sequel tells you every thing you need to know about the plot to this sequel. Its been 10 years since the events of Halloween/Halloween II, and despite what happened both Dr. Loomis and Michael have survived the fire (the latter in a coma). Michael comes out of his coma on the day before Halloween when he accidentally overhears that Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis from the first 2 films) has a daughter that is alive in Haddonfield (Laurie has died and her daughter Jamie has been adopted by another family, much like with Laurie). Michael of course proceeds to go on a killing spree on his way to trying to knock off his last remaining relative.

I always remembered liking this movie when I saw it previously, and this viewing (being many years since my last) did nothing to change that. It did a good job with remaining true to what worked with II - attempting to stay true to the spirit of the original, but adding to it with a little more blood and a higher body count (and in this case more outlandish kills, like a shotgun used to impale a victim). It had a lot of the spirit of the first 2 films in the series, so, while not a great film, it was a success in my book (especially since I really liked the ending)

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Where the last sequel tried to replicate the high points of the previous films and finds a little success, this one tries the same thing and fails.

Once again, they fail to kill Michael and he, one year later, tries to kill his last remaining relative. The twist they try and throw into this film is of a supernatural nature. During the entire film a mysterious man in black follows Michael around and, at the end, breaks him out of jail (the next sequel tries to flesh this out a little more, but the less said about that film the better). There is really nothing special about this film, and can definitely be skipped.

Next:

I have gotten really backed up in writing about the horror films I have seen this month. This is the most expansive horror movie fest I have undertaken to date. Before last year, I limited it to one date. Last year, I slightly expanded it (I periodically watched horror films in October before my end of month marathon). This year, I have watched nothing but horror movies for an entire month. I still thought I had enough time to write about everything I watched before the "official" marathon was here. However, since that marathon is taking place on Friday, October 29th, and I am writing this post late on Thursday, October 28th (by the time its done it is actually Friday), the only way I am going to get caught up is to blow through the remaining films as quickly as possible (no big deal, since the handful of followers this blog has are taking the month off anyway...). Away we go:

1.) The New York Ripper (1982)

An Italian version of a slasher film before slasher films took off. A nice amount of suspense and gote, but the killer's Donald Duck fake voice was a HUGE distraction.

2.) Magic (1978)

The good - Anthony Hopkins as a crazy man, losing his mind as his show business success rises; a ventriloquist dummy - which are ALWAYS creepy; a sexy Ann-Margret.

The not-so-good - not nearly enough happens in this film. It could have been much creepier.

3.) Cabin Fever (2002)

Eli Roth's (director of the Hostel films) first film as a director. A pretty good change of pace horror film (have you ever seen another horror film about a killer flesh eating virus?) that foreshadowed a lot of what Roth would do in in his later films - a must see for people that were turned off by the gore and violence in Hostel but still like horror, jut to see Roth's skill in the genre.