HALLOWEEN 2013 COUNTDOWN: MOVIES: HALLOWEEN AND HALLOWEEN II PLUS REMAKES

HALLOWEEN 

Well the day is finally upon us and today I review the movie that many of you have requested over the past few years.

The 1978 John Carpenter classic is as powerful 35 years on as it was back then. I am sure tonight millions and millions around the world will be dusting this off and giving it a watch.

I first saw this movie when I was 12 and it had a very profound effect on me. Although I found the whole thing a bit terrifying there was also a very generous feeling of awesomeness as well.

So the movie starts out 10 years before and we see a young Michael Myers butcher his sister in cold blood with a carving knife on Halloween night.

Myers is sent to a mental institute where he is locked up for life. A decade later a few days before Halloween Myers escapes from the hospital and heads home to cause more carnage.

Halloween is the ultimate archetype when it comes to slasher movies. Its a movie about an escaped mental patient who goes on the rampage killing teenage babysitters on the scariest night of the year. This movie was a forerunner when it came to "bad stuff happens to bad kids in horror movies" as all the people that die take drugs or have sex just before doing so.

The movie has a very strong cast and is very well performed. With movie veteran Donald Pleasance taking the role of Michael Myers psychiatric doctor and Jamie Lee Curtis (daughter of Pyscho scream queen Janet Leigh) playing the role of the ever gentle Laurie Strode. The on screen relationship between Dr Loomis and Michael Myers is a very comical to say the least. Although Loomis calls Myers a monster throughout the film and tries to kill him, he also has a sentimental bond with the character due to the fact that they have spent many years together.

The movie is very violent but not very bloody though. Apart from the first scene where a young Myers butchers his semi naked sister, the rest of the killings are mostly from strangulation's and the odd stabbing to a wall.

The movie was made with a very low budget for the time and raked in a huge profit as well as great critical acclaim worldwide making it an artistic and financial success. John Carpenter would go on to make many more classic films over the next decade or so but many of the films were a bit hit and miss.

HALLOWEEN II

Halloween II picks up right after where the first movie left off. With the same cast and crew as the first film this one really feels like your still watching the first movie.

So the story carries on from the last movie where the seemingly unkillable Michael Myers is still on the loose.

Laurie Strode is taken to the nearby hospital but she is followed by the faceless killer whose motive is revealed in spectacular fashion at the end of this movie.

The plot of this movie is pretty simple, Michael Myers goes to the hospital and hacks his way though it to get to Jamie Lee Curtis.

Halloween 2 is a great movie and is a more amped up version of the first movie. Where the first movie wasn't very bloody this movie is a right out ultra violent gore fest. People get scalded to death, eyes gauged out, stabbed slashed and there is a huge body count.

  

If you are planning to watch the first movie tonight, then I highly recommend putting this movie on straight after just so you can get some closure of the story. This movie made a lot at the box office and was a success all round. This was meant to be the end of the Michael Myers story but after Halloween III: The Season of the Witch bombed so badly without him, Myers would return 6 years later in a string of sequels which should be avoided like the plague.

THE REMAKES

HALLOWEEN 2007

Like all good horror movies from back in the day, Halloween was remade in 2007 and directed by shock rocker Rob Zombie.

The movie plot is the same but a lot more of the story revolves around the childhood and juvenile incarceration of Michael Myers. It turns out that Myers went off his head because of an abusive home life growing up.

Malcolm Mcdowell plays Dr Sam Loomis and does a pretty good job but he's no Donald Pleasance. There are lots of other cameos from other famous horror icons throughout and the casting is pretty badass.

  

Although this is a pretty decent remake there are many flaws with this one. The main one being Rob Zombie leaving his ultra violent stamp on everything and by that I mean turning Myers into a metal head and putting over his wife at every available opportunity. The are also 2 versions of this movie one which the cinemas released and another which didn't make the cut. 

I saw the one that didn't make the cut and I understood why. It's a far more graphic version which has lots of senseless ultra vilent scenes, one of which is a rape scene of a female inmate at the asylum which has nothing to do with anything.

The 2007 remake of Halloween isn't too bad of a movie. Its entertaining, contemporary and has some good scares and thrills but does nothing to surpass the original movie what so ever.

HALLOWEEN 2

A sequel of the 2007 remake was released in 2009 and from where I was sitting.. sucked major balls. Yeah there were a few cool things in this movie but all of that gets over shadowed with pointless scenes and even more crap just to put over Rob Zombies fucking wife!

They turn Dr Loomis into a fraud and Michael Myers into a hobo. This movie is pure junk and I can't even bring my self to go into the details of the plot. After reading this far into the article and you still don't get what a movie about Michael Myers is about, then.. I actually give up.

I don't do this with many films but all I can say is that this movie is a pure waste of time and should be avoided at all costs, along with Halloween 3, 4, 5, 6 etc. 

Well that's it for this years Halloween countdown. We hope you've enjoyed the articles and have a very good and Happy Halloween!

HALLOWEEN 2013 COUNTDOWN: COMICS: THE TOMB OF DRACULA

Its taken me just over a year to get through reading the first volume of Marvel Comics The Tomb Of Dracula. I have been blown away by this series and it has made me love Count Dracula even more than I did before.

There are 70 comics (as well as specials and other releases) in the line which were released from 1972 up until 1979. Back in the day there used to be a thing called the Comics Code Authority which were a regulating body of the comic industry, who acted as censors to protect children from comics of a violent and sexual nature. Up until 1971 there was pretty much an all out ban on vampires in comic books. Marvel had recently debuted a character called Morbius who had vampire elements just to test the water. The ban was lifted and Marvel decided to release their own line of vampire comics. As Dracula is the most famous vampire character of all time (and also in the public domain) Marvel made Count Dracula their choice.

The first few issues are a roller coaster of dramatic twists and turns and this is due to the switching of different writers. The story is set in the modern day of the time which was the 1970's. The line has a team of main characters who are consistent throughout the series. The characters are Quincy Harker (son of Mina and John Harker from the orignal Bram Stoker tale), Rachel Van Helsing (granddaughter of Dr Van Helsing) and Francis Drake who is a descendant of Count Dracula and the one who unleashed him by inheriting his castle. For most of the time these characters battle against Count Dracula but sometimes they work together in harmony to combat other threats.

The line also features other characters from the Marvel universe as well as introducing us to new characters such as Blade and Decon Frost. Blade would go on to have his own successful line of comics and 3 movies made a few decades later.

The character of Dracula was not based on the facial features of Bella Lugosi nor Christopher Lee, but of the actor Jack Palance.

A year later Jack Palance would play the role of Count Dracula on a made for TV movie production.

The Tomb of Dracula has been a very pleasurable read from start to finish. Picking up the issues individually for this series can be very pricey, so it is best to get the graphic novel version or just do what I did, and get a Marvel Unlimited account to read this line and everything else Marvel have ever made on an online PDF.

HALLOWEEN 2013 COUNTDOWN: BOOKS: THE USBORNE GUIDE TO THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD

ARTICLE BY KRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ

The Usborne Guide to the Supernatural World maybe one of my favorite books ever written. It's also one of my favorite things to read while I'm having a shit as well.

Usborne books have been around for many generations and have made some very fun yet educational books in their time. The books they published were all about different themes and subjects, which educated children about historic and fictional events told using snippets of text and amazing illustrations.

This book was released in the late 1970's and is very brutal for a book intended for children.

This book was an omnibus edition of three other books released a few years before. These books were, the Usborne Guide to Vampires Werewolves and Demons, Haunted Houses Ghosts and Spectres and Mysterious Powers and Strange Forces.

The book (or books) deal with the fiction and reality of paranormal events and stories. The book is very in depth and tons of monster mythology is covered.

From the origins of Eastern European vampire tales to Count Dracula and Hammer Horror, its all covered.

The book tells many great stories from around the world, which would make for some great new horror movies if picked up by the right person.

This book has it all, wether it's how to look after a dead body properly without having to worry about vampirism or how to kill your mate if he becomes a member of he undead. The use of very bloody and well drawn illustrations make this book a hoot from start to finish.

The book introduces us to vampire legends from all around the world and some of these are just down right funny. Theres a Russian vampire who likes sucking his thumb all the time and a Greek one who likes to sit on peoples faces while they sleep!

The ghosts section is also a very wonderful thing to read. Famous paranormal cases are brought back to life using amazing pictures with some great story telling. A floor plan of Borely Rectory is also included. The book also encourages paranormal investigation by including paranormal report forms and how to make your own psychic powered rods.

The book also discusses the reality of such claims and goes onto explain the origins of such myths and also goes into detail about famous hoaxes. The book kinda takes you through a wild ride of terror and then at the end tells you it's all a load of bollocks really which is pretty cool.

From what I have gathered these books are very well missed and collectible for their nostalgia reasons. My copy is in bad condition as it is a copy nicked from a local library back in the day, so I doubt mine is worth anything but it has a sentimental value and if I lost it I would be very upset.

If you like reading books about monsters or just something fun to flick through I really recommend this book. I've had mine for years and still refer to it to this day. One of my favorite books ever!

HALLOWEEN 2013 COUNTDOWN: MOVIES: BRIDES OF DRACULA FREE MOVIE INCLUDED

Brides of Dracula is the sequel to the Horror of Dracula which I reviewed the other day (click here to read). I had never seen this film before and I have no idea why. The only thing I can think of is the fact that it doesn't have Christopher Lee involved, so I may have cast it off as being a part of another franchise. I have only discovered this week also, that I have been watching the Dracula Hammer horror films in the wrong order for over 20 years!

So count Dracula was defeated at the end of the last movie (sorry for the spoiler) but the strange goings on in Transylvania are far from over.

A beautiful young French woman (played by Yvonne Monlaur) is left stranded in the town bordering castle Dracula on route to a ladies finishing school or something. While there, she is befriended by an old woman who lives at the castle and invites her to stay for the evening. While there she discovers the old woman's son who is chained to a wall. The French girl sets him free not knowing that he is infact a vampire and one of Dracula's disciples.

Luckily for the locals our good old friend (and fearless vampire killer) Dr Van Helsing is in town. Turns out he is a bit paranoid about the vampire thing so he thought he would stick around. He's a wise old boy is Dr Van Helsing.

The now released vampire Baron Meinster (played very well by Martita Hunt) is now on the loose killing local girls and then making them become his undead vampire slaves. During this time he makes the French girl fall in love with him and they are engaged to be married. The rest of the movie is just like all the other Dracula movies in the sense that its all a big race from there to stop the vampire at all costs.

This is a really enjoyable film to watch and a great twist to the franchise. Having never seen this film before I have become quite enchanted by it. The movie is directed by Terence Fisher who brought us the first movie. Christopher Lee turned down this movie and there are only a few mentions of Count Dracula throughout the whole movie, but this is the legit sequel to the Horror of Dracula.

The film has a great element of excitement and a few unintended giggles along the way. The cast is great with the mix beautiful female vampires ,old shrews and Hunt is very good as the vampire antagonist filling some very big shoes indeed. Cushing is legendary but that's just standard really.

  
Decent story, decent effects, decent stunts, good atmospheric music and this is also a well written and acted film. It's not essential to see the Horror of Dracula before viewing this but it is the done thing so I do suggest doing that first. Big thumbs up from Lost Entertainment. As a special Halloween treat we include the full movie at the bottom of this article for you to stream and enjoy free of charge.

HALLOWEEN 2013 COUNTDOWN: THE HORROR OF DRACULA

ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ

ARTICLE BY KRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ

I first saw this film when I was about 10 years old when the BBC were doing late night showings of all the classic Hammer Horror movies.

I have always been big into horror movies for my whole life, so when I was introduced to the world of Hammer it was a great part of my childhood. I would set the VCR to record these films shown way past my bed time and I would watch them the next day. I would watch them over and over again for many years to come.

This is the first outing for Christopher Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Dr Van Helsing. This on screen rivalry/partnership would go on for decades to come and even crossed over into other films time went on.

The movie is based on the Bram Stoker book and tries to keep on that path. However due to there already being a Dracula movie from 1931 starring Bella Lugosi from Universal pictures they had to re-title this one to the Horror of Dracula instead of just Dracula in the US. This film also swaps around some of the characters and situations from the book as well.

No one can get mad about this one playing around with the details from the book, as not ONE Dracula movie EVER made has stayed true to the actual book by Bram Stoker.

If you know the story of Dracula then you know the story of this movie.. well in a way. The movie is about a young English man who goes to work as librarian for Count Dracula in his castle in Transylvania. While there, the man is bitten by a lady vampire who has been kept a prisoner for god knows how many years. The man (Johnathan Harker) knows that they are vampires and decides he is going to put a stop to this and drives a stake through the lady vampires chest. He has no such luck with Count Dracula and dies for his efforts.

The count then packs his coffin for London and this is where the real fun starts. He starts feeding on Johnathan Harker's fiancee (Lucy) and then starts terrorizing everyone apart from one man.. our fearless vampire hunter Dr Van Helsing played by Peter Cushing. The rest of the movie is about stopping count Dracula and lifting his evil vampire curse he is spreading.

This movie is a timeless classic and my favorite Dracula movie of all time. This movie takes us where the 1931 masterpiece simply wasn't allowed to. This movie gave us color and plenty of, it as well as lots of blood which was very evidently missing in Universal picture. The casting of Lee as count Dracula is maybe one of the greatest casting decisions ever in movie history.

Lee had the best on screen presence as Count Dracula. Standing in at 6"5 Christopher dwarfed other cast members which made him being able to carry away women with ease much more believable. Not just the size but the fact he is a great actor and the fact he has the perfect look makes him the measuring stick (in my opinion) when it comes to playing count Dracula on the big screen. Sorry Bella Lugosi! You were great as Dracula but Christopher Lee perfected the role.

Peter Cushing is the best (and only real person to nail the role) actor to ever play Dr Van Helsing the arch nemesis of Count Dracula. The partnership and chemistry between Cushing and Lee is something magic and something we may never see again in horror or cinema in general. Cushing had a great warmth to him, the kind of person who makes you feel safe and someone you can believe in. Many leading men have tried to slay the monsters and baddies of the years but most of the time the monster is more remembered than the leading guy who slayed him. With Peter Cushing you knew some how some way this bloke was going to get shit done and in glorious fashion. Cushing would later play villains here and there but he will be best remembered for being the guy who can put the boots to Count Dracula.

The Horror of Dracula really is a fun film to watch and considering today's standards the blood and guts are very tame. At the time however it was deemed too much and a lot was cut out of this movie. I recently heard a film institute in Japan found a few reels with over 36 minutes of cut footage of this movie. This has been added on blu ray as well I have been told. Dracula is the most portrayed character in cinema history and there are literally thousands of Dracula movies to choose from. If you are going to choose one then please choose this one. You won't regret it.

HALLOWEEN 2013 COUNTDOWN: TOYS: MCFARLANES MOVIE MANIACS SERIES 1

So Todd Mcfarlane who created Spawn and drew up some of the coolest comic books of the 1990's started his own action figure company up in the end of that decade. Mcfarlane Toys is one of the most innovative and important toy companies to ever emerge. This toy company brought us articulated action figures which were sculpted with the highest quality resin molds. Nothing like these figures had ever been seen before when it came to the levels of detail.

The thing that set this company apart from the others is the fact they made toys which were marketed more towards teenagers and adults than young children.

In 1998 this company launched a line of figures based on characters from horror movies. This line of figures was called Movie Maniacs. The first series consisted of 5 different figures 3 of which being some of the biggest (and bloodiest) names in horror. This line of toys did so well that another 6 lines of these toys were released and other companies started to take note and make similar toy lines them selves to much success.

FREDDY KRUEGER

Me being one of the biggest self confessed Elm Street fans on the planet this toy was the one which excited me the most when this line was first announced. Apart from resin models you could buy this was the most detailed Freddy Krueger figure ever made at the time and came with Phillip's Freddy puppet from Nightmare on Elm Street 3. The figure has 7 points of articulation and the hat doesn't come off which is a real shame. Out of all the figures released in this line this is the clumpiest of them all. The sculpt of the glove is not that great either but it's a first attempt so can't be too harsh about that.There have been many improved efforts of Freddy figures since then by other companies and Mcfarlane even released an improved Freddy figure in a later series of the Movie Maniacs line a few years later. 

JASON VOORHEES

Jason is hands down the best figure of the bunch. He has many points of articulation and comes with lots of weapons including, a machete, an ax and a sickle. These weapons were painted in a reflective metallic paint which made them look ultra realistic. The figures mask came off if you carefully cut it off with a graphics knife and had the horrific facial features as well. This however does devalue the figure and yes I know this because I did it. I would also like to point out that these figures were all sold in 2 different variations which were clean and blood soaked. I have never seen an un-bloodied figure from this line in real life before.

LEATHER FACE

At the time of this figures release the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was still banned in the UK making this one all the more cooler. I remember being so shocked that an action figure of Leather Face had actually been made. Leather face is a big heavy figure and comes with lots of gory goodies including his trusty chainsaw, a bucket, a hammer and various limbs including a decapitated head. The figure has a great likeness and is a great first effort.

EVE AND PATRICK FROM SPECIES II

I have never seen the Species movies (just never got round to it) so I cant really comment too much about these figures. These are pretty obscure entries for the series when you consider the first 3 figures in the line. Mcfarlane would do things like this throughout the line over the years putting figures like Shaft, Robocop and Sarah Connor from Terminator 2 in lines with other horror movie maniacs figures. The figures them selves look really nice and are good sculpts but like I said I haven't seen the films or own the figures to make any real comments about these guys. 

All the figures came with dioramas made from bones and a cardboard version of the movies poster framed inside. I will be reviewing the latter lines of these figures as I go on in the future so stay tuned. In present time there are lots of different companies like NECA and sideshow collectibles which have some amazing horror figures on sale. However the movie maniacs are the ones which started it all and set the bar when it came to making horror movie related toys.