13 Nights of Hallowe'en 2010: Night #11 Poltergeist II: The Other Side

If you are new to my array of blogs or just have forgotten, my favourite movie of all time, any genre, is the originalPoltergeist. I already told you all about it for last year's Hallowe'en movie. I decided not to repeat myself although there were more than a couple haunting movies previously covered that I could have tackled again. Poltergeist II: The Other Side is a great sequel. It didn't have to be as brilliant, or as beautiful as the original, it just had to keep you involved with the family. It helped immensely that Craig T. Nelson, Jobeth Williams, and of course little Heather O'Rourke returned--and the boy too. With them came Zelda Rubinstein as the absolutely iconic Tangina Barrons. This time the Freelings have moved in with the children's grandmother but the ghosts still want Carol Anne, especially their leader the Reverend Kane played by Julian Beck.

Let's start there, with Julian Beck as Kane. That is one seriously creepy old man. Beck is just absolutely amazing whether it is pretending to be a sweet innocent old codger or the seething, wrathful, fire and brimstone, cult leader unsatisfied even in death to let his followers go. That in itself is also the coolest thing about this movie--the back-story that dovetails so well into the goings on of the previous film. That is likely because Poltergeist II has the same writing team that brought us the original movie: Michael Grais and Mark Victor. Kane has another problem beside Tangina this time out in the form of a Native American shaman played by Will Sampson. Both Sampson and Beck were supposed to have died after working on this movie because of the Poltergeist curse--also Dominique Dunne and Heather O'Rourke--one of the creepiest (false) movie legends.

Mood: inspired.

Music: Halloween by Aqua. MP3s

13 Nights of Hallowe'en 2009: Night #13 Poltergeist

Ah! It's Hallowe'en! How are you my pretties? Ready with your candy and drinks to settle in for our movie of the dark night of nights? Good. Sit back and press play on the number one pick for Hallowe'en and my all time favourite horror movie, Poltergeist. This week I read more than one article talking about people's memories of their early horror movie experiences and the sense of great fear, dread, and trepidation of but immense attraction to particular films and shows. For me Poltergeist stands as one of my experiences like that. The commercials and trailers for Poltergeist were terrifying and I loved every jangly-nerve, heart beating hard moment until I could see the movie. I saw it short weeks after Xtro on that same video disc format. I don't know how many times I watched it that weekend, but it was a lot.

One thing I always say about Poltergeist is that it is the most beautiful horror movie I've seen. Some of the scenes are just as awe inspiring as they are creepy or scary. Beyond the visuals there is also the family component that adds so much to the movie. The horror is so much the better for the contrasting scenes and for the real tension created because we feel for this family. The movie touches on a lot horror staples providing a great smorgasbord of terrors. Then there are the imagined horrors behind the scenes. The Poltergeist trilogy has been considered cursed, what with the deaths of Dominique Dunne (murdered), Julian Beck and Will Sampson (cancer), and finally child star Heather O'Rourke (disease). On the other hand Craig T. Nelson has done more than all right.

Mood: festive.

Music: This Is Halloween by Danny Elfman off of The Nightmare Before Christmas (soundtrack).

13 Nights of Hallowe'en 2009: Night #6 Silent Night, Deadly Night

Oddly enough it just wouldn't be Hallowe'en without a Christmas themed horror film. The mother of them all as far as I am concerned is Silent Night, Deadly Night. I've also been known to call it the Carrie of slasher films. It really is a phenomenal movie and of course it is also an incredibly infamous film surrounded by immense and intense controversy. The venom pitched at this movie is almost ludicrous. Most of it was sight unseen and a lot of it just plain incorrect in its assumptions. My favourite thrashing involved a complete demonisation and smear campaign against all of the actors painting them as cavorting monsters. The comment that the movie makes--and there is one to be seen, not in a bad preachy way, but by example--is entirely lost on detractors and in a lot of cases fans alike.

I really have to give kudos to Robert Brian Wilson as Billy the star of Silent Night, Deadly Night. People focus on the monosyllabic portion of the movie (PUNISH!) and disregard the lead up (NAUGHTY!) where Robert makes you really feel for Billy and is just phenomenal as looking like someone just sick with fear. Seriously, the humanity he gives to the role prior to the breakdown is great. He has a haunted, tormented look almost worthy of James Brolin in the original Amityville Horror. Speaking of actors, Will Hare as Billy's grandpa is probably the creepiest old codger this side of Julian Beck in Poltergeist II, which is really saying something. I also have a soft spot for Britt Leach as Ira Sims the toy-store owner. Lastly, though it is not available anywhere, the soundtrack is exceedingly cool especially the creepy "Santa's Watching" song.

Mood: creepy.

Music: The Night Santa Went Crazy by Weird Al Yankovic off of Bad Hair Day.