13 Nights of Halloween Preview 2009

It's that time of the year again. We're a day away from October already. I'm getting a jump on things early, so here is your preview of the 2009 edition of the 13 Nights of Halloween. Not only that, but you are seeing into the future! This is the October 6th entry for WraithStop™. As usual this list is presented if you need to buy a copy of one or more of the movies that will be presented this year. Only a couple of the entries have Blu-Ray editions available as of yet, and they have been included for your convenience. It's a little messy, but what the hay, information is better than looks, right?

So, I will leave you to it. Happy Hump Day and let's make this another Halloween extravaganza to remember. Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about? Well aren't you in for a treat. From October 19th to 31st there is one blog a night for a movie you can watch along with the rest of us. The blog talks about background information about the movie, its creators, its cast, and whatever else comes to mind. Yes, 13 nights, 13 movies, 13 blog entries.

There will be a regularly scheduled entry to this blog on October 7th and then nothing until the 19th's big kick off. Mark your calendar now--I know I will.

Music: Dead Souls by Nine Inch Nails and Rebirth from Poltergeist: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

Or get MP3s.

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Or get MP3s.

13 Nights of Hallowe'en: Night #1 fear dot com

Hello, and welcome to the first of the thirteen nights of Hallowe’en.
What we do with these thirteen nights is we watch a horror movie or other kind of movie fitting to the festive spirit of All Hallows Eve. The full list of this years movies is available at WraithStop™. Tonight is the first night running to Hallowe’en, which is the thirteenth night. Come back to this blog every day for a heads up about that night’s movie.

Tonight’s movie is “fear dot com”. Today there is the sense among some people that movie A is nothing but a rip-off of movie B. It becomes ridiculous when it reaches anyone in a mask is a Jason Voorhees, even the much older Phantom of the Opera. “fear dot com” has the unfortunate distinction of being compared to “The Ring”. Some event is the trigger for your death hours later is a pretty simplistic plot. This is why the comparison is made, but the how and why makes a difference, never mind the hugely different path in dealing with it. How many movies for instance share the plot that there is a killer who has to be dealt with? They’re infinite, but there are a lot of extremely different movies come out of it. That plot covers everything from Agatha Christie to the latest slasher.

“fear dot com” is one of those movies that just oozes with a particular mood. The mood comes out through everything in the movie from the colour palette, to the architecture of the sets and locations, to the music, to the plot and the casting. The basic back of the box synopsis tells us, people are logging onto a site and then dying forty-eight hours later. The movie’s de facto web browser is very distinctive and it speaks loudly about the world of the movie. It ties in with the other visuals to paint a different kind of world than the one in which we live. There are a lot of interesting touches like this throughout the movie that help the feeling that permeates the film. Likewise there are other events that add to the plot as well as giving the setting its own sense of being, separate from the plot.

Mood: anxious.
Music: This House Is Haunted by Alice Cooper off of The Eyes of Alice Cooper.

13 Nights of Halloween: Night #1 The Monster Club

Hello and welcome to the first of the 13 Nights of Halloween! This year I am serving up a healthy dose of thrills, chills, and deep throbbing horror for you. The full list of movies is available at Wraithstop to make life easy for everyone.

My first selection is "The Monster Club" starring Vincent Price and a
whole horrific host of the old school terror celebrities. I first saw this movie as a young lad. It was on TV some afternoon, most likely near to Halloween. It left a permanent indelible mark upon me. It wasn’t my first horror movie; I don't even know what the first would have been. For years and years I wished to see it again but never really did. Once I spotted a hugely expensive VHS copy in some grimy store but it was beyond me to get it then. Finally a few short years ago someone put it out on DVD. It was one of my holy grails of DVD necessity. I waited 20 years or so, I'd guess, to own a copy.

The movie is an anthology of three stories. Each of the stories is tied together by an "over-story" that introduces each piece and forms a cohesive whole out everything. The movie was a 1980 film made in the 60's style. It certainly has its tongue firmly planted in its cheek as well. Grilled cheese lovers unite! This is your movie before our descent into dark stark madness and terrifying shocks. This isn't to say that it doesn't have it moments. I hate to give spoilers or set the mood too much but the first story is particularly stunning and even now in this new century the special effects were still awesome to behold. There is something exceedingly cool on the DVD too. The film's soundtrack is playable on its own.

Mood: relaxed.
Music: Haunted by Evanescence.