Summer is over. The leaves are starting to fall from the trees. A chill is in the air. And just who is that masked stranger lurking in the shadows down the street? October is upon us, and with it, the promise of my favorite holiday... Halloween.
As many of you already know, Halloween isn't just my favorite holiday, it's also my all-time favorite horror movie. (It was also the subject matter of my first official entry on this blog that wasn't an introduction.)
Watching it at this point is like slipping into a comfy pair of slippers. Or a nice bed-sheet. That's not to say I don't still love it and that part of me doesn't get chills a bit when that familiar music kicks in- but does it scare me anymore, per se? Not so much. But that soon may change.
This particular Halloween is special since, as most of you know, a brand spanking new Halloween movie is coming soon to a theater near us. And this one- perhaps wisely, perhaps not- is special in that, for the first time since the original Halloween II, it will take place directly after the original. Indeed, it will disregard all subsequent movies that followed altogether.
While I- like most of you, no doubt- raised my eyebrows somewhat when it was announced that Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green would be directing and writing, with an assist on the latter from that film's star Danny McBride, I've since warmed to the idea, once I saw that the two meant business and would be taking things seriously. In other words, that this wouldn't be a jokey, near-satirical take on the horror favorite, a la Scary Movie or the like.
I also like the idea of pretending that the other movies in the franchise don't exist- Lord knows there are some entries I halfway wish didn't exist my own damn self, and we'll certainly get around to that. But, by resetting the clock on certain things (*cough* Michael is Laurie's sister *cough* the whole Cult of Thorn nonsense *cough* Laurie is dead nooo! *cough*) the franchise has the rare opportunity to both reinvent itself and perhaps even regain some of what made it so special in the first place, and that's a good thing.
Be that as it may, warts and all, the Halloween series remains a guilty pleasure for me. The original was one of the first horror movies I ever got into, and turned me into a die-hard slasher movie fan before I was even into my double digits. I just love the first movie and many of the other films in the franchise are up there for me, in terms of my all-time faves in the genre.
After giving it some thought, I decided that a straight-forward approach in this case just wouldn't do. After all, the Halloween series has taken some decidedly weird detours over the years, and not all of them were great. I considered the prospect of ending with Rob Zombie's Halloween II and rejected it- it's certainly not one of the better entries in the series, that's for sure.
I also shuddered at the thought of ending with the dreaded Halloween: Resurrection, aka Halloween: Reality TV Edition. No. Just... no. Words can't begin to describe how ridiculous that movie is, but I'll try when I get to it, and I will attempt to accept the movie on its own terms, save that non-starter of an opening, which does the Queen of Scream, the ne plus ultra of Final Girls, Jamie Lee Curtis, a grave disservice.
But who knows, now that we're all living in a Reality TV world...maybe, just maybe, it'll play slightly better. Who knows? Stranger things have happened. But I'm not holding my breath, and even under the worst of circumstances, I don't want to end with that one. So, what to do?
After giving it some thought, I decided to divide and conquer. If you think about it, the series divides neatly into four sections: Laurie's story (the original Halloween and its sequel, H2O and Resurrection), Jamie's story (Halloween 4-6), Rob Zombie's re-envisioning of the series and last- and some would say least (not saying I feel that way, mind you)- the stand-alone, non-Michael Myers-starring Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
I've also taken into account the fact that it's unlikely I'll be able to review ten movies by the 19th, when the new Halloween drops. Even if I give the new one a few days to sink in and wait to review it on the following Sunday or Monday, it's still not much time, and anyone out there reading this knows I like to do a deep dive on things, so it's just not feasible, much less realistic, least of all with the computer issues I've been having as of late- which I'm still dealing with, to a certain extent.
So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to tackle Zombie's flicks first, since they tend to divide fans of the franchise, myself included. They also have a very distinct vibe to them that's nothing like any of the other films in the series, save maybe The Curse of Michael Myers, to a certain extent. Even in that case, Zombie doesn't get bogged down in oddball mythos-expanding insanity like Curse does- though he does get roped into a semi-elaborate back-story, suffice it to say. (More on that later.)
After that, we'll get into Jamie's story, with entries 4-6. By then, it should be time for the new one, at which point I'll likely revisit the original the night before seeing Green's take on the franchise. From there, I'll proceed along the original time-line, from II to H2O and Resurrection. Then, I'll finish off the whole she-bang with the palate cleanser that is part III.
Obviously, all of this is subject to change, but this was the best line of action I could think of and barring some major unforeseen obstacle, the one I plan to stick with. Hopefully, you agree. If not, feel free to hold off until the whole thing is done and read them in their "proper" order. Either way, I aim to watch them all before the end of the month, so we'll see how that goes. Let me know what you think about my approach in the comments section, if you so choose.
On a side note, I'd like to thank all of you for being so supportive of my first franchise review of The Omen series. Here's a break-down of how it fared, for those who are curious. Interestingly, the lowest-rated entry, in terms of readers, excepting the intro (which makes more sense) was the original. I don't know if I premiered it on a weird day or what, but the one that most consider the best actually rated the least, in terms of hits. Even the dreaded Omen IV rated higher. Go figure.
Also above the original was the 2006 remake, with Damien: Omen II ranking even higher than that, somewhat surprisingly. I guess I wasn't the only one that entry struck a chord with after all. Landing in second place highest, even more shocking, was the TV series and final entry to date, my take on Damien. Perhaps it was the like I got from producer Glen Mazzara- shout out to Glen for that unexpected blessing! 😁- or the fact that it was a sort of summation of it all, but it did really well for me.
However, the big Kahuna was ultimately The Final Conflict, the third entry in the series. Perhaps it was blasphemous posting of it on a Sunday or the fact that Sam Neill is a much bigger star than he was at the time of that film's initial release, but you guys loved that one. In fact, after re-watching the whole thing, that entry may well be my overall favorite as well. It's just relentless and takes no prisoners, you know?
Since that franchise review did so well for me, I have indeed been thinking about which one I'll tackle next. After doing two back-to-back, I'll likely take a month-long break in November to go back to our regular formatting for a while, then I'm likely going to do the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise in December.
After that, we'll see what's next. I'm leaning towards the Amityville franchise, which will be quite the undertaking, but I might change my mind by then. I'll probably do another poll at some point early next year to decide, so keep an eye out for that. Until then, buckle up and enjoy the wild ride that is the Halloween series!
And be sure to keep one eye open, lest the Shape get you...
Wait! What's that I see behind the bushes? Eep! 🎃
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