Halloween 2013: Preamble

WELCOME

I feel like I’ve been talking about horror movies all year. Probably because I have. But there’s no substitution for the real thing. Halloween only comes once a year. The cool, nostalgic winds of October call to me. When orange and brown leaves line the walkways and jolly grinning Jack-o-Lantern stare from every terrace, my heart lightens. Halloween just isn’t a day or even a month, it’s a state of mind. Man, all the other kids-at-heart of the world can keep Christmas. I’ll take October any day.

Halloween nearly killed me last year and I’m not being wholly metaphorical. Long-time and seasonal-only readers alike might remember that a hurricane uprooted a tree and ruined my fun. Ultimately, compared to most of the east coast, I got off easy but Sandy did put a real damper on the festivities. However, the weather wasn’t the only thing that stressed me out. For last year’s Blog-a-thon, I attempted to watch every single Universal Monster movie I could get my hands on, from the silent era all the way to the fifties. This, in retrospect, was perhaps too ambitious. Even though I pushed through an astonishing amount and boosted my monthly films-seen number into the three digits, I still didn’t make it through my whole list. By November 1st, I was burnt out.

All set-backs are a blessing in disguise. In 2013, I intend to finish my Universal Monsters Mega-thon, watching the classics made between 1954 to the end of the era in 1960, as well as a few earlier pictures I overlooked previously or have since acquired. This leaves me with a much shorter list but one still composed of old favorites and unseen classics.

The zombie flamingos watch over the yard.

The rest of my Halloween viewing plans are much more casual. In the unlikely event that any of my readers here overlap with listeners of my web show, Bangers n’ Mash fans will get an inside peak at the process as I watch and review things to be discussed on the show later on. Aside from that? I plan on cracking “Tales from the Crypt” and the horror short scene, things you might notice I promised to do last year and totally didn’t follow through on. Otherwise, I’m just playing it by ear, picking out old favorites from the collection based on how I feel and finding new discoveries as they come to me.

Of course, Halloween isn’t just about watching movies. Not all of it anyway. For the last two seasons now, I’ve hit a local horror convention. Monster-Mania 26 in Baltimore, MD looms next weekend. Even if the guest lists is a little light on horror-related pros, I’m still abnormally excited. Come on, Adam West, Michael Madsen, Kane Hodder, and Roddy Piper? Who am I to say no? As always, ever-ready movie-watching mate and podcast co-host JD will accompany me. Expect both a live podcast in addition to my traditional post-con write-up. JD will be along for other traditions as well, like catching a midnight screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at Apolloween. It’ll be the fourth year we’ve done this and even though it’s less fun each time, ritual and tradition are more alluring then entertainment value. Samhain willing, maybe I’ll even make it out to a local haunted attraction, something I promise to do every year but never get around to. No guarantees but rotting werewolf claws crossed.

And what about the rest of the world? Horror was big in the cinemas this previous summer, with “The Purge,” “The Conjuring,” and “You’re Next” scaring up fantastic business. While clever counter-programming might be great news for the genre all-together, it does end up making the witching months seem a little thin. Even worn-out stalwart “Paranormal Activity” has headed for the more financially viable month of January. “Insidious: Chapter 2” is still haunting theaters but the remake of “Carrie” is the only major genre release this season. As of now, even the indie scene is as dry as an old crone’s nose. Aw well. We don’t need them to have fun.

Enough jittering my jaw bone. Ghouls and goblins await. Pass the candy corn, prop your feet up, pull your black cat or demon dog close, and front-load your DVD and Blu-Ray players with horror flicks of all eras and pedigree. 2013’s Halloween Horrorfest Blog-a-Thon has begun!

The first leaves of autumn.