Halloween 2018 today?

Quick countdown to Halloween post to say that if everything goes well today (touch wood) I should finally see... the new Halloween movie. Been waiting for a decent and proper sequel to the original movie since I first watched it on Halloween night in 2001. It was a revelation and I have been a fan since then. I cannot believe it took me that long to first watch it, given that I am such a fan of the holiday, but I guess I had been deprived since childhood of access to horror movies (see this post), so when I became a teenager I had a lot of catch up to do, until adulthood. I want to be among the first ones to see the new movie. Touch wood, like I said. And no spoiler in the comments. Not until tonight.

Halloween's second trailer

Oh, goodie, goodie, goodie! He's coming and he's gonna get you, he's gonna get you, he's gonna get you! I am talking of the Boogie Man of course, The Shape, Michael Myers, and of the movie Halloween, direct sequel to the original one of 1978. I have been very excited about it, even more so when I saw the first trailer. Now a second one has been released and I am even more excited! There is so much to love here: Jamie Lee Curtis as an ageing Laurie Strode with a hint of Ahab in her, plenty of atmosphere, some daylight horror, accent seems to be on suspense and rise of tension, not on gore... It is the horror movie to watch this year.

"Halloween" is coming

Oh goodie, goodie, goodie! I had lost all hope for a good sequel for the original Halloween movie, but this is so very promising! Nice, atmospheric, creepy, the Scream Queen back and properly developed as a character. And I agree oh so much with the approach they took (ignoring all sequels for instance, including and especially the family connection between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode). Now I need to find a babysitter for little Wolfie come October. Although it might not be the right film to watch while your child is babysat.

Don't Fear the Reaper (but keep your eyes open)

I know, I uploaded this song before. But I thought I needed some music for my countdown to Halloween and this song is perfect. Because it is about the Reaper, among other things. More importantly, it is featured in Halloween, as I mentioned two years ago. In it, Michael Myers, or more accurately The Shape, is tailing Laurie Strode and Annie Brackett as they drive to their babysitting job on Halloween evening. Moral of the scene (and maybe the song?): don't fear the Reaper, whatever form he takes, as you would succumb to panic when danger arrives, but do keep your eyes open. Anyway, Don't fear the Reaper is also a perfect Halloween song, because of the association of both song and holiday with harvest. And one last note: is it only me or so many 70s songs are scary? I wonder why.

Happy Halloween 2013!

"Black cats and goblins and broomsticks and ghosts
Covens of witches with all of their hosts
You may think they scare me
You're probably right
Black cats and goblins on Halloween night."

These are the rhymes said by the children at the beginning of Halloween. I think they were originals. I am writing this from home, recovering from a virus. Sick on Halloween, but getting better. And there are always ways to enjoy Halloween from home if you are sick. I wanted to wish everyone from the blogosphere a happy Halloween.To kick start the day that will soon turn into night, I thought of putting the rhyme here, and the Jack O'Lantern.

A Halloween anniversary

Here is tonight's countdown to Halloween post, and also a reminder for every Halloween aficionados about tomorrow. I was wondering what to blog about, then an article of the BBC I found this evening reminded me that tomorrow is the 35th anniversary of Halloween by John Carpenter. Last time I blogged about it was on the day of its 30th anniversary, although I think I was completely unaware of it. It is one of my favourite horror movies, the first and maybe only true great slasher (unless you count its father Psycho). I love everything about Halloween, the simplicity and sobriety of its plot, its creepy score, its atmosphere, its flaws even (the low budget shows, but somehow it never betrays the film), its dark humour, never out of place, its ways of embodying everything that is at the core of Halloween. It had sequels, none nearly as good as the original, often just as bad as the many, too many clones and bastard children Halloween created. To celebrate, I will of course watch it. I encourage you to read the BBC article, which is quite interesting and until tomorrow, to put you in the mood, to watch and listen to the opening credits, which you can find below.

Evil in the fog

Here is a quick post for my countdown to Halloween, unfortunately I do not have a picture to accompany it. I woke up this morning and it was foggy outside, or at least misty. It disappeared quickly, so I did not have time to take a picture, or I did not take the time. I was too busy awing at the fog.

People know what is the link here with Halloween: the fog is the elements in which many monsters and evil creatures dwell, and is an important part of many horror stories. Ghost appear in the fog, they are themselves etheral and fog like, will-o'-the-wisps lead travellers to their doom in foggy swamps, vampires can become mists themselves. The movie The Fog makes it even a malevolent creature in itself. I enjoyed that one, by the way. It is not nearly as good as Halloween (the plot often gets messy), but I thought it mixed fairly well elements of a classic ghost story with slashers. And it had lots of fog and the atmosphere that comes with it. So today I was looking at the fog and thinking about all the evil that could dwell in it.

Trick or Treat

My wife and I took a walk tonight, just to see the children trick or treating (can we turn it into a verb?). Sadly, we barely saw any children, Jack O'Lantern and Halloween display. Halloween here seems to be a non event (in the town I live in, that is, because it is getting bigger in England), to my great disappointment. In a night like this I miss Montreal more than ever. The night was perfect for Halloween, cold and spooky. I know trick or treat has a bad reputation here, but it is undeserved. It is a nice ritual of sharing, showing to your neighbours that you have a sense of community, that you trust them and they can trust you, and that they can come for help when needed. Sharing food, even candies, is a beautiful, selfless jesture.

Oh, never mind, I watched Halloween tonight and I have my own Jack O'Lantern. And since it is still relatively early, I can read a few horror stories before going to bed. I celebrate Halloween, but as an adult.

A bit of Halloween

Since my opera entries are not very popular(am I the only person under 40 who listens to opera?), I thought I'd put here the the opening credits of one my favourite horror movies, maybe the only slasher I genuinly love. I love the now classic theme music which sets us right into the atmosphere of the season. For those (hopefully few) who did not see Halloween, the one and only (there were sequels but they were pale imitations), I strongly recommend you to see it before the end of October. I hope that this post will make you want to watch the movie for yourself anyway. It's a shame that John Carpenter, while a brilliant director, never managed to recreate the momentum that he gets here. He did a couple of very good movies, but none had the brilliant efficiency of Halloween. Oh, and this week, we are going to carve our pumpkin into a Jack O'Lantern. I can't wait.