Halloween (1978 film)

I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil. - Dr. Sam Loomis

Greetings, Happy Horror faithful, and I hope you had an excellent Halloween!  We had a great one here, breaking our previous records for trick or treaters by five kids, and getting alot of compliments from people coming to the house.  The night before, I decided to watch Halloween as soon as I got home from work.  I should have worked this review out right after that, but I didn't, and didn't realize just how busy I'd be all day for Halloween, so now I'm extremely late in getting this done.  But, as I always say, better late than never!

So, Halloween!  The film that started it all for slasher films (outside of Psycho, of course).  In 1978, John Carpenter (no relation to me) was hired to make a film about babysitters being stalked by a mysterious killer, when the producer suggested theming the film around Halloween.  Made on a $300,000 budget, the film was made over a period of twenty days and filmed around the South Pasadena area.  Despite the theme, the film was actually made in April, which produced quite a few problems production-wise.  How did they do?

The film centers around the figure of Michael Myers (billed as "The Shape" in the end credits), a young man who killed his sister when he was 6 years old and was institutionalized for 15 years, only to escape the hospital he'd been living in 15 years later.  Arriving in his hometown of Haddonfield, he spies young Tommy Doyle and his babysitter, Laurie Strode, and fixates on them, following them around town and generally scaring the daylights out of them in general.  Come the night of Halloween, Michael starts doing more than stalking them...

This movie has come to be known as the progenitor of modern horror, or at least the slasher genre.  It features everything that the genre has come to be known by: a masked killer following and stalking several teenagers, then getting them alone and ending their lives in relatively gruesome ways.  It also seems to start the tradition of the "final girl", the survivor of the film who proves to be more resourceful than her friends (or, some would say, just more lucky).  John Carpenter mixed and wove together the elements that brought the characters to life.

The cast brought together for the film was excellent.  Donald Pleasence played Dr. Sam Loomis, Michael's psychiatrist and hunter, a part originally offered to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (who, according to Wikipedia, later told Carpenter that declining the role was the biggest mistake of his career).  Pleasence played Blofeld in You Only Live Twice, Dr. Kobras in Pumaman, as well as The Devonville Terror and Escape from New York.  Jamie Lee Curtis made her film debut here as our heroine, Laurie Strode.  She became known as a "scream queen", going on to star in such films as Prom Night, Terror Train and The Fog.  P.J. Soles played one of Laurie's friends, Lynda, who heads to the house another friend is babysitting at for a romantic tryst with her boyfriend.  She was also in the original Carrie and cult film Rock 'n' Roll High School.  Nick Castle played The Shape in most of his appearances.  He went on to direct The Boy Who Could Fly and The Last Starfighter, as well as Tag: The Assassination Game.

A true classic film, marred only by the one thing I'm guaranteed to dock a film for, so I give it a 4 out of 5.  Thank you for bearing with me throughout this whole month, and for being patient with my delayed article posting.  I'll be back soon with another article, but for now, I'll be taking a short break.  Thanks again, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!

Friday the 13th (1980 film)

Did Christy ever tell you 'bout the two kids murdered in '58? Boy drowning in '57? Buncha fires. Nobody knows who did any of 'em. In 1962, they was gonna open up... the water was bad. Christy'll end up just like his folks, crazy and broke. - Enos, the Truck Driver

Here we have the second of our Big Three.  It's kind of funny that I post these in reverse to when they came out, but it wouldn't do to have my review of Halloween two days before!  While it's true that Halloween set up a bunch of the conventions to slasher films, I think that Friday the 13th refined the process a bit.  It ups the ante on the amount of kills in the film, it adds a "Prophet of Doom" in Crazy Ralph (possibly the first Prophet character ever), and it hides the identity of the killer throughout all of the film, until the very end.  The "through the killers eyes" camera does well making you wonder if we're just seeing a regular shot like in any normal film, or if we're seeing what the killer sees.  There have been times in the film where I wondered, myself.

The film opens on Camp Crystal Lake in 1958.  After a gathering of the campers to sing, two of the counselors, Barry and Claudette, sneak off to have an intimate moment together.  Heading up the stairs in an equipment shed, they're making out when they hear a stair creak.  They get up and turn to the stairs and see someone watching them (we see this through the unseen person's eyes).  Barry starts to explain himself when he receives a stab to the gut.  Claudette panics and heads to the back of the loft, trying to keep something between her and the unseen assailant, but to no avail.  After this opening sequence, and the credits, we head to the present day (as present as 1980 is, at least), with Annie, the newly hired cook for the about-to-be-reopened Camp Crystal Lake.  When she asks directions in the local diner, all eyes turn to her like she said something foul.  Once given a ride (and encountering Crazy Ralph, who warns her that she's doomed if she goes up there), she heads for the camp...

Getting to see this again was fun, though the experience was slighly marred from watching it during the day.  Lots of shadows do not really lend themselves to daytime viewing, especially when all you see is a flashlight beam!  I did enjoy the film, as I said it was an interesting viewing.  Tom Savini worked on the special effects and make-up for this film, and even did a little stuntwork.  The only scene I really have a problem with is where the counselors kill a snake in a cabin.  Other than that, a great watch and a great piece of slasher film history.

Adrienne King played Alice, who's talked into staying at the camp for the summer to help out in restoring it.  She almost didn't take the part, but later decided to, and she also reprised her role in the sequel.  Following her appearance in these, she had some issues with a stalker, and so she dropped out of filmmaking for a number of years.  In 2008, she was at first offered a role in the Friday the 13th remake, but then was told they weren't going to have any previous actors appearing in the film.  She did go on to play parts in Walking Distance and Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming.  Kevin Bacon plays counselor Jack who's brought in to help restore the camp, as well.  He's had a long and storied career, with appearances in Animal House, Footloose, Flatliners, Tremors, The River Wild, Hollow Man and the TV series The Following.  Betsy Palmer played Mrs. Voorhees, a role she reprised for the second film.  She also was a regular panelist on I've Got a Secret, and has starred in The Fear: Resurrection and Bell Witch: The Movie.

Altogether, a true classic that still is as effective today as it was when it first came out.  I give it a 4 out of 5.  Tune in tomorrow for the last of the Big Three... it's Halloween on Halloween!  As always, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984 film)

Whatever you do, don't.  Fall.  Asleep. - Nancy

Welcome to the first of the Big Three reviews.  I will be covering the original films for the three biggest horror franchises of recent times: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Halloween.  These three films are synonymous with horror, due in large part to the efforts of their major antagonists: Freddy Krueger, Jason and Pamela Voorhees and Michael Myers, aka The Shape, respectively.  While other icons of horror, such as Leatherface, Chucky, Pinhead and Jigsaw, to name just a few, have "carved" their own nich (no pun intended), it's these three film series that stand out above and beyond the others.  Let's start with our celebration of the very first A Nightmare on Elm Street.

I never got to see the first three of this series in the theater, having to wait until they came out on video to see them (or, in the case of the third film, cable).  The first one, I remember watching it when I was probably 8 years old with my mom and my cousin who was living with us at the time.  I enjoyed the movie then, but I remember my cousin having a couch cushion in her lap and every time something scary would happen, the cushion would come up and hide her from what was happening.  Needless to say, she was not a horror fan!

The basic premise of the film is this: The teenaged children of Elm Street in Springwood, Ohio, all start dreaming of the same strange sweater-clad man with burns on his face and a knife glove on his hand.  This mysterious figure stalks them through their dreams, inevitably leading them to a boiler room.  As far as the teens know, these are just strange dreams, but when Nancy's friend, Tina, meets a seriously gruesom end, Nancy begins to wonder if her death isn't more than what it appears to be.

As I said, I enjoyed this film as a kid and it's only gotten better since.  The pacing is good, there's some very fine acting, the special effects are amazing... everything lines up for this film.  From the arm stretching gag to Freddy's face coming off to something simple like a burn makr on Nancy's arm, everything came together well.

Heather Langenkamp played Nancy, our main lead of the film and the one who realizes that the scarred killer in her dreams is really stalking her and her friends.  Her first film was The Outsiders, and she's gone on to reprise the role of Nancy in the third Nightmare on Elm Street film, as well as playing herself in Wes Craven's New Nightmare.  Other than the Nightmare series, she also did a cameo on Shocker and was in Star Trek Into Darkness.  John Saxon makes his second Happy Horrorween appearance (his first was in Blood Beach) as Lt. Don Thompson, Nancy's father.  Besides Blood Beach, he was also in The Night Caller (aka Night Caller from Outer Space), Queen of Blood and Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee, and Mystery Science Theater 3000 classic Mitchell.  Robert Englund plays mystery man Freddy Krueger.  This was his first outing as the madman, of course, and hadn't developed Freddy's later characteristic joking manner (though he does play around with his victims somewhat).  Englund's become known primarily for his horror roles in such films as Eaten Alive, Galaxy of Terror, Phantom of the Opera, and the host of Shadow Theatre, one of my favorite horror showcase shows.  Johnny Depp made his film debut here, as well.  He went on to major stardom with such films as the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd, Dark Shadows and tons of others.  Also look for cameos from Lin Shaye (Dead End, 2001 Maniacs) as a high school teacher and Charles Fleischer (Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight, voice of Roger Rabbit) as a specialist in sleep disorders.

All in all, a fun viewing was had, and I gladly give this film a 5 out of 5.  Tomorrow, we go back to the woods to Camp Crystal Lake.  It's Friday the 13th!  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out.

C.H.U.D. (1984 film)

What are you, kidding?  Your man has a camera.  Mine has a flamethrower. - Captain Bosch

My original plan coming into the month was to cover the two Dr. Phibes movies yesterday and today, and to cover C.H.U.D. on the 10th.  Well, coming into the month, I couldn't find my copy of C.H.U.D., so I put in the substitution of It's Alive.  As today grew closer, I started looking for my Phibes films.  I found the first one... and I found C.H.U.D. in a place that I could've easily found it if I'd looked hard enough.  However, Dr. Phibes Rises Again proved to be elusive to my search efforts, so I came up with the alternate plan of running a classic article yesterday and a new one today... and with C.H.U.D. found, I knew exactly what to use.

So, on to C.H.U.D.!  Before today, I've had very little contact with this film.  I saw bits and pieces of it once, several years ago, but nothing really stuck with me then.  I am, however, very familiar with the "sequel", C.H.U.D. 2: Bud the C.H.U.D., it's one of my favorite films from my childhood.  So, going into the movie, I didn't have any expectations other than the usual hope to enjoy myself.

The movie opens on a woman walking her dog down the middle of a deserted New York City street as the camera pans down to a manhole cover that starts moving mysteriously.  Once the woman walks within reach of said manhole cover, a green, scaly, clawed hand reaches out and grabs her leg, pulling her and her dog into the hole and leaving nothing but her shoe on the street.  Next, we meet George Cooper, a photographer whose contact, Derrick, keeps trying to contact him for shots of a specific homeless woman he's been following.  We find he used to be a fashion photographer, as his girlfriend, Lauren, tells him she set up a photo shoot the next day for her to model and him to photograph her.  Finally, we meet Bosch, a captain of the police force who's troubled by the recent disappearances in his precinct.  Investigating another missing person's report, he goes to pay a visit to A.J. Shepherd who runs the local soup kitchen.  A.J. tells him that twelve of his regulars have gone missing.  What connection do the twelve disappearances have with the homeless woman George knows, and what connection does Bosch's superiors have to it?

This film was an interesting viewing for me.  It had a lot of action to it, especially near the ending of the film.  The acting was well-done, the sense of danger was high, and there were a few surprises in it for me.  The make-up was good on the C.H.U.D.'s, with them all looking somewhat different, and what wasn't done well was semi-hidden with quick flash cuts of their faces.  The shots of their hands look a little bit fake, but who knows what mutated skin would look like in this kind of situation?

We got a nice assortment of actors in the film.  John Heard played George Cooper, the photographer whose connection to the city's underground homeless leads him into contact with the hidden menace.  A very prolific actor, he's been in a LOT of films and television shows, sometimes multiple in the same year as of late, but some of his most noted are Cat People, the first two Home Alone films and Awakenings.  Daniel Stern played A.J. Shepherd, aka The Reverend, the man running the soup kitchen and one of the first to realize the homeless are disappearing and the government's covering it up.  Mr. Stern was also in the Home Alone films, as well as Little Monsters, Leviathan and Otis.  Kim Greist played George's girlfriend, Lauren, his support system and someone who gets drawn unwittingly into the situation.  She was also in original Hannibal Lector film Manhunter, Throw Momma from the Train and Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th.  Also watch for John Goodman in an early film appearance (his fourth) as a policeman in a diner.  He's graced the original version of Happy Horror in Wolfgang Nibori's review of Fallen, and also been in Arachnophobia and Matinee.

A pretty fun movie, with some good acting and some good special effects to it.  I give it a 4 out of 5.  Tomorrow starts my coverage of the Big Three film franchises, with Nightmare on Elm Street.  Thanks to everyone who visited the site for my Haunted Airman coverage, you gave me the highest pageview count I've had yet.  Take care of yourselves, watch out for moving manhole covers, and this is Red Hawk signing out!

Happy Horror Classic: Trick 'R Treat (2009 film)

Welcome to Happy Horror Classic.  From time to time, I'll repost something I have from the earlier version of my site on here, as it was there, under the title.  Today, since we're getting close to Halloween, I thought I'd bring you my review of the somewhat recent Halloween-themed anthology, Trick 'R Treat, that I posted in 2010.  As you'll see, I did a lot worse that October than I did this year.  So, enjoy this blast from the past, unedited, for your perusal!

You know, there are rules, you should be more careful. You might upset someone. - Henry

So, you're all probably wondering "What happened to the three weeks you promised us?  Why did we just get those guest video game reviews (amazing as they were)?"  Well, I'll come clean with you.  I had this whole month planned out, every day had something I was going to cover... but when it came time to do them, I just kept putting them off.  Some of it was lack of forethought (some of the movies I'd scheduled I didn't actually have, some of them I still don't).  The third week was a complete disaster, there was no way I was going to get that one out on time.  So, here's what I'm going to do.  Once October and November are over (because I have something planned for November, and this time I DO have the movies in hand to cover it!) I'll do what I can to get the movies I would've covered in those three weeks covered, and the three Hall of Fame entries up, as well.  So, with that proclaimed, let's get on with the review, and back on track!

A few years ago, I read about this movie in ToyFare Magazine, as one of a crop of horror movies that was going to be coming out soon.  The synopsis for Trick 'R Treat sounded interesting, and I waited to see when it was coming out... and waited... and waited.  Later, I found out that the studio was sitting on the movie, and it was unlikely to see any kind of release any time soon.  Well, two years later, in 2009, it was finally released, direct to DVD.  Was it worth the wait?  Pull up a chair and, like Mr. Owl says, let's find out!

Trick 'R Treat opens on a street.  We see a pair of legs cross in front of a car (whose driver has to slam on its brakes to avoid hitting the crosser), the owner of the legs pulling a wagon, as a couple come up the sidewalk.  The woman, Emma, wearing a bulky cardboard box-like robot costume starts complaining and starts taking the outfit off on the sidewalk, then bends down to blow out the jack o' lantern in front of the house.  Her boyfriend, Henry, warns her not to, that it's breaking tradition, and she scoffs at his reason and blows the pumpkin out anyway.  After they enter the yard, she starts to tell him to start taking the decorations down, but he doesn't want to, telling her Halloween's not over yet.  Finally, she caves in and tells him to go inside while she starts taking the stuff down, not realizing that she's being watched...

This movie is actually a bit of an anthology.  It tells five different stories based around the traditions of Halloween.  The stories sort of weave together throughout the film, touching on each storyline at different times, and even showing characters from other storylines in the background.  While I normally give a brief summary of each of the storylines (like I did with last year's reviews of Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror), I don't want to do it this time for fear of spoiling some things in the film.  By the end of the film, however, everything comes together.

That is a lot of pumpkins.

The film has a really great cast to it.  Brian Cox plays Mr. Kreeg, a crotchety old man who has an encounter with a VERY persistent trick or treater.  He's been in a lot of films, including The Ring, the original Hannibal Lecter (or Lecktor, as it was spelled in the film) in Manhunter, Red Eye, and this year's new release Red.  Leslie Bibb plays Emma, the woman with no respect for Halloween traditions in the opening.  She was also in The Skulls, Wristcutters: A Love Story, Law-Abiding Citizen and the Iron Man films.  Dylan Baker plays Mr. Kreeg's neighbor, the school principal with a bit of a secret of his own.  He's been in quite a few movies, himself, including Fido, Spider-Man 2 and 3, and Hide and Seek with Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning.  Anna Paquin plays Laurie, a teen girl trying to find a date for a party and ends up walking alone through the woods dressed as Little Red Riding Hood.  She's been in a ton of things, including the X-Men series, Open House, the True Blood TV series and the upcoming Scream 4.

All in all, I really enjoyed the film and have no problems giving it a perfect 5 out of 5.  Stay tuned for the Big Three reviews I always do at the end of the month.  Until next time, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!

The Haunted Airman (2006 film)

Everyone is psychotic to some degree. - Sister Sally Grant

Welcome to the last of my three "lost" articles.  I was sent this one to review shortly after it came out to DVD in the US, and while I did watch it with the intent to review, I never got around to actually writing up a review for it.  I don't remember if I was just too busy at the time, too lax in my duties, or just didn't know how to put my thoughts towards the film into words, but I'm ready to rectify that.  So here, after so long, is my review of The Haunted Airman.

The film centers around Toby Jugg, an airman paralyzed after being shot in the back during a bombing run in World War II.  Sent to convalesce at a sanitarium that seems to specialize in servicemen, Toby spends his days writing to his aunt, Julia, who he has a romantic relationship with (relax, she's his aunt by marriage).  He also is rather standoffish towards Dr. Hal Burns, who's trying to treat him of his depression and nightmares.  It's hard to go too much into the story without spoiling things, but the film becomes a question of whether or not Toby can trust what his mind shows him.

The film was interesting.  The plot was a bit slow at times, with some questions about what was really happening, especially near the end of the film.  The acting was good, the scenery was beautiful, and the atmosphere worked, but the story itself just sort of plodded along, and the ending leaves a bit of confusion as to what's really happened.  I won't give it away, though, but after two viewings of the film, it's still just as confusing the second time as it was the first.

The cast is somewhat minimal, with a few really recognizable faces.  Playing Toby Jugg is a pre-Twilight Robert Pattinson.  He did do well with the part, and was very convincing as a paralyzed man.  In addition to the Twilight series, he also played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (as well as appearing in a flashback and as a picture in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).  Julian Sands played Hal Burns, the doctor trying to help Toby.  Another of my favorite actors, Mr. Sands was also in Warlock (and its first sequel), Arachnophobia, Boxing Helena and Stephen King's Rose Red, as well as voicing crime boss Valmont on the Jackie Chan Adventures cartoon for the first three seasons.  Rachael Stirling played Julia, Toby's aunt.  She was also in Snow White and the Huntsman.

An alright movie with a somewhat slow plot but some great acting to redeem it.  I give this one a 3 out of 5.  It's just not up my particular film-going alley, but it had enough to keep my interest, for the most part.  Tomorrow, I'll be posting a classic article, from the original version of the site, and then I'll be doing a delayed one from earlier in the month.  Then, it'll be time for the Big Three.  Until then, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!

Ghost Story (1981 film)

Dance with me, you little toad. - Eva

Our final entry for 1981 Week was a bit of an unknown to me.  I first came across Ghost Story when I was looking through a book on Hollywood special effects, and a couple of the photographs showed makeup effects from this film.  I hadn't heard about it before then, and I rarely heard about it since, outside of a random TV Guide listing.  But, thanks to the magic of Netflix, I was able to rent this somewhat forgotten gem and bring you my opinion on it.  Needless to say, I had no idea what to expect!

The film is about four men in their 80s, lifelong friends, who get together and tell each other scary stories.  This group, who call themselves the Chowder Society, have a collective secret, one they've never talked about but haunts their dreams.  But, when the son of one of the group dies, the Society's members, with the help of the remaining son, must come to grips with their past or face the vengeful wraith their actions produced fifty years before.

What a way to close off 1981 Week!  There's something to be said about going into a title 'blind', so to speak.  When all you really have to go on is a small descriptive sentence to waht the film's about, and a couple of production stills etched in your memory, sometimes you just have to take a chance, and I'm glad I did here.  In addition to the make-up effects, we get some great acting from the Chowder Society (all known celebrities), an intriguing story, a well-done fall effect (no Pumaman-esque diagonal or sideways dropping here!), all really well-done.

Besides being based on a book by Peter Straub, the cast is probably one of the biggest selling points of the film.  (Due to such a wide variety of films, I'll only touch on certain genre examples for each one.)  We have Fred Astaire, the great dancer, playing Ricky.  He was also in The Towering Inferno, as well as in a number of films that showcased his dancing skills and acting ability.  Melvyn Douglas played Dr. John Jaffrey.  He also played in the original 1932 The Old Dark House (with Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton and Gloria Stuart), The Vampire Bat, and 1971's Death Takes a Holiday.  Douglas Fairbanks Jr. played Edward Charles Wanderley.  John Houseman played Sears James.  He was also in the original Rollerball, The Fog, Scrooged, and his last film was the original Naked Gun.  Alice Krige played the role of Eva in this film.  She went on to play the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact (a role she reprised for the Voyager series), Sleepwalkers, Reign of Fire, and Silent Hill.

An altogether great viewing experience for me.  I had fun with this one and am suprised it isn't more well-known.  I hope to remedy that here.  I give it a 5 out of 5.

Thanks for reading my 1981 articles.  It truly was a great year for horror, one I may revisit another time.  For now, we have our last "lost" article tomorrow, and then the final countdown to the Big Three horror franchises.  Until then, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!