Halloween movie night - recommended viewing

Right. I'm going to sort your Halloween night out for you.

Some Halloweens we're not interested in going out or hosting a party. Sometimes it's cool to have a night of horror flicks, get three or four films queued up and ready to go.
This, then, is my suggestion for a great Halloween horror movie night.

I've had a good think about this list, and the order to watch them in. To clarify, this is NOT a list of the best horror films of all time, or even my personal favourites. This is a carefully chosen billing of films that I think fit in with what Halloween is about for me. Yes, it should be scary, but also fun. It has to fit in with the theme somehow. No Hostels or Saws or crap like that. Proper movies. Good movies. This is not a selection of possible viewing options. This is a definitive list, in a particular order. Do as you're told.

I chose not to stick anything on the track listing that has the word 'Halloween' in the title. That would be way, way too easy and obvious. Rather, it should feel Halloween. It should be the kind of stories you might tell as a storm lashes the windows, the power goes out, and all you've got left is a single wavering candle, while you wonder... could any of these creatures be lurking just beyond this small circle of light? Are they watching us from the dark, creeping nearer, nearer...

I reckon you can stick this one on around about seven in the evening, give any younger members of the family a chance to be involved in the fun. Don't worry, it won't scar 'em too much. It's got that adventure movie vibe of stuff like Goonies and Gremlins in the '80s that you just don't get in films anymore. And look at who's in it, perfect for Halloween, all the classics, all the greats! Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, the Mummy, Creature from the Black Lagoon, a full cast of great Halloween costumes all in one place. Get the trick or treating out the way, then start this up while you scoff those sweets. The make-up is amazing across the board, and the practical effects are fantastic - one seen in particular involving the Wolfman will make your eyes pop out, I guarantee it.
In fact, there's no CGI in any of these films I've chosen. Just the good stuff.

Cranking up the tension a bit, here's a classic that has lingered in my mind ever since I saw this at the age of about 11 or 12. This is ideal for Halloween - it even starts with the story being told around a campfire by a seriously dicey-looking Captain Birdseye. Lurid old horror tales told by a flickering light are surely what this time of year is all about?
This is one of the all-time greats from when Carpenter was at the absolute height of his career. The bit where the fog approaches the house with the little kid and his grandmother inside...
Like all Carpenters films from this time, the atmosphere is incredible, so creepy, such a feeling of impending doom. And what better than to be sitting in your own home while watching this, wondering what might be coming for you in the night.

Into the rough stuff now. The faint of heart, the easily disturbed, they best bugger off to bed, because Candyman, based on a short story by the legendary Clive Barker, takes no prisoners. Depending on the length of your snack stops, it will be around 11PM by now, and this will take you right through the witching hour. Why this? The urban legend aspect is ideal Halloween fodder. It's like Bloody Mary cranked all the way up. Say his name in the mirror five times, and he's coming for you. Be warned, this one does get very gory, but it's got an ending I love.

Bonus Movie:

This one's for the last ghouls standing.
It'll be very late by now, and Candyman's a bit heavy to end the night on. Let's get back to the fun we were speaking of earlier, and perhaps the greatest horror-comedy ever made: Evil Dead 2. This is truly Sam Raimi at the peak of his gleeful inventiveness. It's just so much fun. Great monster designs, brilliant special effects, and a career-defining performance from Bruce Campbell. This is one of my all-time faves, and a definite go-to for Halloween. A cabin out in the woods, the demonic writings of the Necronomicon, incantations on old tape recorders, the terrible creature down in the basement... Brilliant.

That line-up, I promise you, will give you the perfect Halloween movie night in. All killer, no filler.

Laters.

The Definitive It.

Let's jump right on that bandwagon!

I feel justified too. Stephen King's been a huge influence on my burgeoning career as a writer, and It had a major effect on me. So damn right I'm going to wade in on this.

Now, it's been a while (yet again) since I've posted. I was just getting some momentum going, then... you know, events happened. I'll talk about some of it in a future post, not quite ready yet.

But there's no better time than now to discuss It.

I'm going to state my conclusion up front: I believe the upcoming movie adaptation will be the definitive version of the story. Novel included. There. I said it. And you know what? I mean it.
There's going to be a lot of 'It's and 'it's going on here. Should be fun to keep up with.

Here's my raggled copy. Probably worth about 20p.

Which is less than a Freddo. Seriously, how do they cost so much?

Before I go any further, and hopefully before the hatchets come out, let me jot down a couple of provisos. I love Stephen King, right? I've gobbled up his books since I was just starting my teens, and there's no doubt that he's a big influence on me becoming a writer. Also, most (note that word most) of the novel It is great - just be aware that I'm going to argue how King started out very, very good, and got a hell of a lot better as his career went on.

Also, I don't have a lot of room to judge, really. My first novel probably sold 6 copies (3 to me), and my second isn't due out until April 2018 (subtle plug for A Graveyard Visible there), so I'm not exactly at the top of my game yet. Still, I retain the right to be as critical as everyone believes they have the God-given right to be on the internet - and I shall do so constructively.

The main thing, and let's get this out of the way now, is the ending. We can all agree that the ending of the original 1990 mini-series didn't work. It's not just the special effects either (can't expect much; It was made for 90's American tv, and there was no budget for effects, and no room at all for any of the gore in the book). Dramatically, it's flat.

The novel has the same problem. The climactic confrontation doesn't work, not when the characters are kids, and certainly not when they're adults (both battles run in parallel, switching from one to another in an attempt to give a double-rush of excitement). You see, we've spent near enough a thousand pages following their various clashes with It in it's multiple unpleasant forms... and then at the end, apparently the best our human minds can do with It's 'true' form is to conjure it as a big spider. Oh well. This form simply doesn't compete, terror-wise, with a psychotic clown called Pennywise. Nor is it as scary as the leper, or the werewolf, or any other of It's visceral, beastly, life-threatening variants. In truth, this last form is a real disappointment, and we would have been better off with the clown. There are other issues, such as the Turtle, which is about as 'out there' (readers of the novel might get that one) as King has managed to go, and I suspect that his editor let him get away with a little bit too much.

I mean, really. Even back at the time I thought we 

would have been better off with no ending than this.

The point of all this? From what I've read, the makers of the new It 2 part movie are dropping the ending entirely. No spider. Hooray! Common sense prevails! The weakest part of the novel is being removed. What are they replacing it with? Who knows, but I'm actually looking forward to finding out. At least now there's a chance that, come the final reel of film two, I might not be disappointed this time.
The only part of the prolonged end sequence that works is the devastation that descends upon the town of Derry, and how the place falls apart. I do hope that some element of this is retained somewhere along the line.

Is that all I've got? Nope. There are other issues, things that absolutely would not translate to screen, some for legal reasons I suspect. The whole 'Beverly' scene towards the end (if you've read It, you know the one, if you haven't, then you really need to be prepared for a no-holds-barred experience) has also been left out, which is only right, really. In fact, something I'm hoping has changed significantly is the portrayal of Beverly throughout the story, particularly as an adult. She's pretty much a vessel for men to do what they want. You can argue that's caused by the treatment she receives from her father, but it's all a bit flat and one-dimensional. And don't get me started on the sappy performance of her in the 1990 mini-series. Let's leave that in the past where it belongs.
From the sounds of things, the amount of (mostly) verbal abuse that the Losers Club receive is going to be toned down, and I think that's a shame. We have to be honest about bullying. Kids can be really unpleasant shitheads. There's no point kidding ourselves; if you can think a vile thought, then you can bet that some kid somewhere on this planet is gleefully shouting it at someone at the top of her/his lungs.

Cannot wait. Absolutely cannot wait.

They're making other changes too - the forms It takes throughout the novel are being altered for the screen. We're going to get the Leper and the dead kids, and that might be all from the original. I'm all for seeing something new. Plus it will be good to get the Leper this time - that part of the novel is freaky. And the Leper isn't going to be CGI. Look it up if you don't believe me...

Does it sound like I'm not a fan of the novel? Because that's not strictly true. It is the best two thirds of any horror novel I've ever read. The sense of place and time it conveys is phenomenal. So rich. You can almost smell the heat of the Barrens, and hear the running of the water (in both canals and sewers). I just think there's always a problem with having a main baddie/creature who's true form we cannot comprehend. If our mind can't see it, then how's something supposed to write it (it? It? it It? Aaaaargh)? Anyway, I'd place good money on this being the best horror film of the year, and if it's not... well, I'll eat my hat. Or your hat. Or your dinner. Whatever looks better.

Let's all report back after the movie's come out, what do you say?

Laters.

(Click here to see if I can write any better.)