// Category Archive for: Halloween

Tyler Talks Horror: Halloween

By Tyler Hodg

Hi, my name is Tyler Hodgkinson and I am a total horror n00b. In this series, I’ll be taking a look of classic, cult classic, and modern horror films with ignorant eyes. Its concept is scary simple. (more…)

Five Terrifying Games to Play on Hallowe’en

By Tyler Hodg

Video games aren’t typically associated with Hallowe’en the way movies and music are, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have the ability to make you shake in your boots. And that’s why I’ve compiled a short list of games that could also be a part of the scary season.

Before you start screaming in the comment section, I purposefully left out series such as Resident Evil, Dead Space, and Silent Hill. Those are givens, guys.

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Motherface: A New Look At The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

By Jeffery X Martin

Our Friday Night Movie Club met a while back and the theme was cannibalism. My wife and I were on the verge of starting a massive diet, so we thought an evening of gnawing human flesh would be funny. We kicked things off with a re-watch of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s a great movie, one I tend to pull out every couple of months for a rewatch.

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Keepin’ Halloween Alive with Alice Cooper

By Tyler Hodg

Unless you’ve lived under a rock your entire life, you know that Alice Cooper makes a living out of shocking and scaring audiences. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the King of Hallowe’en’s spooktacular single “Keepin’ Halloween Alive,” and it’s only fitting that the song sees a revision. Released digitally and on glow in the dark vinyl, “Keepin’ Halloween Alive” is definitely not a trick, but a high energy, extremely fun treat. You know, brand name, none of that generic crap.

I can’t fathom the fact that it took Alice Cooper 40 years to make an official Halloween song. Nonetheless, “Keepin’ Halloween Alive” not only rocks, it’s scary good. It’s up-tempo and is the perfect way to get into the spirit for the day of the dead.

Buying the digital version of the song is great and all, but the seven-inch glow in the dark vinyl is definitely the way to go. Side A features the song “Keepin’ Halloween Alive” and if you flip the vinyl over, side C (very clever, Alice!) is a live version of the fan favorite “I Love the Dead.”

I don’t know where Alice Cooper has been hiding, but Halloween is alive and well. His song hasn’t exactly become a mainstream Halloween hit, which is a shame seeing as it’s the perfect song for the occasion. Just as we’re keeping Halloween alive, we should be keeping this song alive as well. Long live Alice Cooper and may everyone’s Halloween be a thriller of a night.

Boo!

Halloween Viewing: Let’s Binge Watch Ti West’s Movies!

By Tim Murr

The House of the Devil, 2009

One thing that drove me away from contemporary horror films back in the mid ‘90s was the lack of artistry, the lack of guts, and the lack of a good story. Discount bin fodder like weak PG-13 big studio efforts and boring sequels to should-have-been-over-by-now ’80s slashers didn’t have me rushing to the theater or the video store. Instead, I stuck to renting older horror films and exploring art house and foreign cinema. This was a rewarding and educational time for me, but it burnt my ass to have nothing available but re-watches of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Suspiria if I wanted to really get my fix of terror.

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The Five Scariest Robots In Movies

By Jeffery X Martin

Science fiction gets short shrift in the Halloween season, with so many slashers and bashers running about through summer camps and the dreams of teenagers. Truth is, there’s some pretty creepy sci-fi out there. On an existential level, what’s scarier than something pretending to be human? The concept of mechanical creations with feelings, some of them homicidal, is strangely abhorrent. Humans can’t bear the thought of obsolescence. Take a gander at some terrifying robots. How do you say “trick or treat” in binary?
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Blu-Ray Review: Halloween: 35th Anniversary Edition

By Less Lee Moore

As one of the most iconic horror movies ever—and certainly the most iconic Halloween horror movie ever—it’s hard to believe that there are still those (of a tender age) who haven’t seen the original Halloween, only seen it edited for TV, or via clips on YouTube. The new 35th Anniversary Edition, now on Blu-Ray from Anchor Bay, means, however, that there is no longer any excuse.

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Assemblog: October 25, 2013

Here Comes The Devil

New this week on Popshifter: Lisa enthuses over the new horror anthology Comfort Foods from the Nashville Writers Group; Jeff suggests five Italian horror movies that you may not have known about and wraps himself up in Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours; Melissa argues that sitars and flutes are more influential than previously thought in her review of The Dawn of Psychedelia and is disappointed in the new Fratellis album, We Need Medicine.

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Old Italian Horror Movies? Yes, Please!

By Jeffery X Martin

Halloween is coming. You will watch horror movies. You will do so for reasons you yourself do not comprehend. You will do so because the leaves have turned colors. You will do so because fear is now a corporate commodity. You will do so because it is what society demands.

This year, make a small stand. Put some effort into your scary movie watching. Do not pretend an unkillable man-child in a hockey mask is scary. Do not act like slow zombies are a threat to you in any way. Seek out something new, even if it is a few years old.

This year, go Italian.

The great New Wave of Italian Horror has been over for a while, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great movies in there that a lot of people haven’t seen. Here are some I think you’ll enjoy, because I personally know you so well and have all of your best interests in mind.
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Graveyard Smash: John Zacherle, Monster Mash/Scary Tales

By Cait Brennan

Ever since the creeping dawn of that undead-zombification machine known as television, monster movies and horror hosts have been joined at the hip, like a mad scientist and his freakishly deformed sidekick, like Jan and her pan, like Rosie Grier and Ray Milland’s racist head. From Vampira and Ghoulardi to Dr. San Guinary and Morgus the Magnificent, horror hosts were an indelible part of pop culture in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s.

But nowhere is there a horror host whose career—and life—has lasted as long as John Zacherle. The rockingest of horror icons, Zach got his start as Roland (pronounced “Roland“) on Philadelphia’s WCAU before pulling up stakes to New York and becoming “Zacherley” (same ghoul, different name). Now 94, the eternal Cool Ghoul is almost certainly the last survivor of the golden age of horror hosts, and he still looks as good . . . he still looks as . . . he still looks like Zacherle, and he’s still out there making convention appearances and delighting generations of horror fans.

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