Halloween Special
Borrowing from an infamous commercial, "It's time! It's time!" While there are no doubt some big giveaways
taking place on this holiday, they luckily don't involve masks killing kids and
having spiders and snakes crawling out of them as the Silver Shamrock
commercial from the underrated Halloween 3: Season of the Witch plays a part in
doing. Speaking of masks, it is that
time of year where Michael Myers, Ghostface, and other spooky masks go flying
off Walmart shelves as kids and adults alike get ready to fill themselves up
with sweets, attend Halloween parties, and venture into haunted houses. For a good majority of us, it is also a time
of year to indulge in some scary movies.
AMC each year has Fearfest, and airs quite a few familar titles,
including the Halloween movies, Children of the Corn, Friday the 13th movies,
Cujo, and Lake Placid.
One of the best
things I have seen on Fearfest is a promo ad that has aired sometimes when
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of
Michael Myers are on AMC's schedule. I
unfortunately have not found it on the internet, but the music was a take on
the famous song, "Hush Little Baby."
I can hear the words now... "Hush little sister don't make a noise,
Michael is coming to kill Haddonfield, Illinois, hit him with a Chevy, shoot
him with blast..." Oh sorry, I got
carried away. For me, Youtube is a
paradise for scary movies. There are of
course a few familiar titles, like The Funhouse, but Youtube is also a treasure
trove for under-the-radar horror, including titles like Tourist Trap, House of
Death, Funeral Home, Sleepaway Camp, Hell Night, Curtains, The Dorm That
Dripped Blood, The Initiation, and one that is near and dear to my heart, The
House on Sorority Row. Even better, a good majority of them are free.
As we all know,
music generally plays a part in enhancing the atmosphere. It can be the deciding factor in whether a
movie scares us, humors us, or just completely bores us to death. Interestingly, some movies are able to pull
it off without any tunes at all. The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is a prime example. Nonetheless, a good film needs a good
score. One that helps it be
distinguishable. I also like one that
has a score that I want to download to my phone. Hold your pitchforks and torches everyone,
but I have to admit, I look at the first Halloween film as being boring
compared to installments like 2, 4, 6,and even 3 (the one that gets too much hate
for not having Michael Myers), and the score, to an extent, plays a part. The theme song that the series is known for
has a dull feeling with the way it sounds in the original, though I do like how
the pitch was raised a bit in the scene where one of Tommy Doyle's bullies bumps
into Michael. I'm a massive fan of Halloween
2's version. The synthesizer organ that it is played on gives it a more
sinister feeling. Just like with the
original, this one, as well what I am about to talk about, sound better at a
higher pitch. Either way, have a listen!
My other favorite take on the theme is in Halloween 4. The title is "Myers Finale," and
starts off softly when Rachel and Jamie are riding to safety with Earl and his
friends. Things start building up when
we find Michael was somehow riding under their truck, and begins killing the
men. During the turmoil, it goes into to
this great da da-dum, da da-dum, and then goes into a great epic take on the
original as Rachel is swerving the truck around, trying to swing Michael off the
top. The latter half has the soft sound
we heard at the start, which plays again as Michael is laying in the ground and
Jamie gains the nerve to touch her uncle.
It then returns to the "da da-dum, da da-dum" that plays when
the police force arrive and gun Michael down.
I refuse to leave Halloween 3: Season of the Witch out of
this post, as it does not get enough love.
Released in October 1982, it was planned to be the beginning of an
anthology, with each new installment being Halloween-themed, but as the story
goes, fans around the nation didn't take too kindly to Michael's absence (not
counting the commercial for the original Halloween in the bar scene, nor near
the end of the movie, when Tom Atkins' character was strapped to a chair in
front of a TV set that was showing it).
I won't give away too much information, but this commercial and the
Silver Shamrock masks played a big role for the antagonist. The song is set to the tune of "London
Bridge is Falling Down." Now watch
the Magic Pumpkin! Watch!
You might also
want to check out the soundtrack to an underrated movie from 1979: Tourist Trap.
The great Chuck Connors stars as Mr. Slausen, who runs an out of
business mannequin museum. The
mannequins, however, have the power of telekinesis, and there are some
extremely creepy shots of them throughout the movie. One example is when Eileen wanders around the
house a few feet away from the museum.
We have a shot of a beautiful female mannequin with a glamorous smile,
shifting her eyes as she watches Eileen stroll across the room. Isn't she pretty?
But if you want something just plain creepy looking, well
there's these "people."
The composer of the movie's soundtrack is Pino Donaggio, who
is also known for his work in films like Piranha and Dressed to Kill. Posted below is a link to a playlist composed
of the songs from the movie. Things get
ultra-creepy in "Mannequins" and "Mannequins Come
Forth." You have to listen to
believe it.
It's been a long time since I have done any trick or
treating. The last time around was a bit
hilarious, as I dressed up as Lord Voldemort, but was left without a wand until my
family found me a (gulp!) fairy wand.
Yeah, I can picture him with one now, with a little skirt and wings, and
granting wishes hehe. However, that's
part of the fun, but since then I've had a blast indulging on AMC Fearfest,
digging up another early 80s slasher, downloading new soundtracks to my phone,
and just like any other year, trying to watch every movie in the Halloween
franchise in one day (not counting the Rob Zombie remakes, as those should not
even exist). As I sign out, I wish you
all a fun-filled Halloween!
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