TIS THE SEASON...TO BE SCARY

TIS’ THE SEASON…TO BE SCARY

Hope you like the title. Well, suffice it to say Halloween and Christmas aren’t that different from each other, when you think about it. For instance – people get dressed up, they spend tons of money to decorate their houses, and there’s no shortage of confections to tide you over…and give you nightmares. Well technically I’m Jewish, and while I celebrate Chanukah rather than Christmas, I do love and celebrate Halloween…or at least try. It’s a little difficult when you’re 40 and can’t really go trick or treating anymore…unless of course, you offer to go as a chaperone with your own kids, or for your siblings kids. While it sounds like Halloween is typically for children, there are thankfully a plethora of activities to keep adults engaged as well such as costume parties and haunted attractions. Perhaps, one of the most popular genres in the film industry is HORROR movies. Whether it’s the new faces of Horror or classic characters being remade for audiences, it’s not hard to see why. In the past couple of years there have literally been new faces added to the genre as well as remakes of classic movies. However, the question is “Do they live up to their predecessors?” Personally one of my mottos is “Life’s no fun without a good scare!” a line that pays homage to Tim Burton’s 1993 Classic Film THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, but I suppose you might say, “That’s a Ghost of a different color.”

Me personally? I celebrate the holiday not by going out, but by staying in. Why? Because for some Halloween (again, like Christmas), is a time to spend getting acquainted with strangers you haven’t seen in months…possibly years. Not in the physical sense, but in the cinematic sense. Yes there’s nothing like spending Halloween with friends and family, and as I said “strangers”, and in this case they don’t come any stranger than the assortment of monsters and maniacs one encounters on the big screen at the movies, or on the small screens at home. To quote a famous Horror movie tagline from the 90’s courtesy of the film SCREAM, “What’s your favorite Scary Movie?” Depending on what era you grew up in everyone has their own opinions. Name’s like CHRISTOPHER LEE, VINCENT PRICE, PETER LORRE, BORIS KARLOFF, LON CHANEY and BELA LUGOSI, Classic actors who’s very presents sent shudders down the spines of Movie goers, Old and Young…and still do today. Hollywood has been churning out Horror movies for decades. In the 30’s and 40’s there were black and white movies based on the classic monster movies of lore such as Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman portrayed by such legendary actors like Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney. In the 50’s and 60’s Horror Movies became a bit more imaginative, but they were more low budget as well. Like their predecessors they too were mostly done in black and white. These eras gave us less classic monsters and more bizarre monsters such as The Blob and The Thing, which by today’s standards are considered classics by a lot of Horror genre fans. Also, like their predecessors many actors and actresses names became synonymous with Horror movies; names such as Alfred Hitchcock, Vincent Price and Janet Leigh. In the 70’s and 80’s a new version of the genre evolved, and HORROR Movies were dubbed TEEN SLASHER Flicks, obviously because the main target of the Killer was Teenagers, whether it was being stranded somewhere in the woods, or in quiet Suburbia, there was no escape. Classic Monsters while still prominent were given facelifts in movies like AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, THE HOWLING, FRIGHT NIGHT and THE LOST BOYS and names like LEATHERFACE, MICHAEL MYERS and most notably FREDDY and JASON became synonymous with fans. Serial Killers; who essentially became “unkillable”. In the 90’s Horror was still a pretty popular genre. However, the approach to Horror was more “realistic” as oxymoronic as that might sound. Even though the cliché of Serial Killers stalking the hapless victims was still a common theme, the movies played out to be more like a Murder “Mystery”, I myself who went to theaters, growing up on movies like this, being a Teenager myself at the time, was shocked. It felt as if the days of yester-decade was gone and the Films seemed like, “What if SCOOBY-DOO, was a HORROR Movie?” Well, that was my impression anyway. Some things changed, and some stayed the same. There was the Hero/Heroine who always seemed to outwit the Maniacal Killer, only this time the Killer was not a Monster, or had any Supernatural Powers, it was just a normal human-being, with an axe to grind....literally. “Cut” to the 21st Century, enter a new spin to the genre, Gore Galore. “The Bloodier, the Better.” Movie franchises such as SAW, FINAL DESTINATION and HOSTEL while some had rather clever plots and slightly interesting storyline really wanted to push the envelope, each one trying to out due each other, realizing that audiences wanted see more than hapless victims getting stabbed, shot, etc. took it to new extremes, mutilating their actors and actresses in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine. Another trend that seems to popular in today’s HORROR Movies? Remakes. Some people say, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattering.” Others say, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it!” It seems sort of ironic that Hollywood, the land of make believe would run out of ideas, but in the case of some movies, that’s exactly what’s happening. Films such as TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, FRIDAY THE 13TH, NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST. were classics when they came out in their respective decades, but have been rehashed and put up on the Big Screen once again. Some remakes seem to hit the nail on the coffin, while others it just seems are trying to keep the franchise “alive”. I suppose in a way it has its ups and downs. The Good? It gives newer generations a glimpse of, and hopefully an appreciation for the classics The Bad? It just seems to be a way for movie makers to “save their skins”, not to mention their extravagant amenities and palatial homes. Point? It’s just one person’s opinion I’m sure other people have their ideas on what should and shouldn’t pass for Horror, and when to say, “I can’t watch this anymore!” For me? Personally? I am a big fan of the Horror genre, and yes I frequently get asked the question, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” This to me is like asking, “What’s your favorite comic book?” (I can’t be expected to choose just one). I’m a child of the 80’s, a decade in which Horror movies were practically mainstream. Along with the influx of indestructible serial killers who started what would be known as “The Teen Slasher Genre”, This decade would also come to be known for introducing, “The Scream Queens” the most famous being Jamie Lee Curtis (The daughter of PSYCHO actress, Janet Leigh). Jamie Lee Curtis became no stranger to Horror, starring in a slew of Horror movies perhaps her best known being HALLOWEEN from 1978, from then on she would go on to star movies such as THE FOG, TERROR TRAIN and PROM NIGHT all in the same year of 1980. Another famous Scream Queen, and my personal favorite was, and still is Adrienne Barbeau. Much like Jamie Lee Curtis during the 80’s she was best known for starring in memorable 80’s Horror films, movies like CREEPSHOW, and SWAMP THING (both in 1982). Along with being coined as a Scream Queen, Adrienne Barbeau was known for her voluptuous figure which no doubt made her recognizable in Horror movies as well as other genre movies. In closing, when people ask me “What’s your favorite Scary Movie?” Again, it’s hard to pick just one. But for the sake of argument, I am going to say HELLRAISER from 1987. Why? Hellraiser combines two of my favorite genres, HORROR and FANTASY. One of my favorite aspects of the HORROR Genre, is much like FANTASY, there is no shortage of Special Effects. I’m sure there have been many films that have attempted this combination, and to this day still try to, but to me Hellraiser is a classic. Much like other Horror movies the Hellraiser series have spawned sequels, actually it’s gotten to the point to where I lost count. HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II is a nice continuation and another 80’s classic, from 1988 but I think I only managed to make it up to the 6th sequel, after that much like many of the flesh ripping scenes the series was known for, it lost my “appeal”.

Of course, that seems to be another common theme with not only the Horror movie genre, but other popular movie genres as well. Many sequels fail to surpass their predecessors.