Halloween Memories- Costumes In A Box

Hail all! I know I've been slacking off of late, as real (and unreal) life has been intruding on my blogging. This is inexcusable during this month of my favorite holiday. I'm going to try to make up for it from now on, that is if anyone gives a shit. Anyway, on with the show!

Halloween was always my favorite time of year, even as a child. I looked forward to Fall, with it's changing colors and cooler temperatures (in Michigan, where there is more than one season, anyway). Apples went on to become cider and pies, and the stores started to carry Halloween decorations and costumes. I loved going to get my Halloween costume...when I was little, the aisles seemed huge, with hundreds of choices...in reality, there were probably only dozens, but it seemed bigger than that back then.

Readers of a certain age will remember those costumes...made more often than not by either Ben Cooper or Collegeville, the costumes came in thin cardboard boxes with a cellophane window on the front, the mask inside peering out at the world and its potential owners. These costumes consisted of a thin plastic mask which covered the front of one's face, with an elastic band to hold it in place . The other main element was the costume, as it were, a sort of jumpsuit that tied in the back that usually has a picture of the character you were supposed to be on the front, instead of , say, a picture of the character's costume printed on it. Looking back at these costumes, they weren't all that great...but back then, especially when you're only , say, 4 or 5 years old, they were pretty damn cool. I remember going to the department store, like a K-Mart or a local store like G.L. Perry's , and searching for my yearly costume...you never had the same costume for more than one year because they were so cheaply made they wouldn't last any longer than one Halloween and a few wearings afterwards.I would try to find something cool, and hope they had it in my size. Among the costumes I remember having were The Spider, an obvious Spider-Man ripoff ( Steve Miller is wearing the mask for this character on the cover of his album 'The Joker'), and a guy from a line called the Creature People that was either named Bat-Man or The Bat....he was sort of a were-bat. My cousin had the Cheetah -Man outfit that year from the same line.

As I write this, I can recall the plasticy smell of the masks and costumes. I remember all the kids in elementary school marching around to the other classrooms to show off their costumes, eyes peering out of eyeholes in their masks. I remember being pissed when it was cold out and our Mom making us wear our jackets over our costumes, which , of course, ruined the whole look...Mom valued warmth over Halloween asthetics, obviously. I remember going over our hard-earned Trick-or-Treat loot when we got home, and putting candy in one of my dresser drawers like pirate treasure. I remember wearing my costume after Halloween, until it fell apart...which , as I stated earlier, wasn't very long.

As I got older, Trick-or-Treating gave way to parties, and the pursuit of candy gave way to other pursuits (girls, if I have to spell it out for you), and those cheaply-made boxed costumed faded into the past, and eventually from the store shelves as well. Now costumes are in bags and on hangers, and though they're , for the most part, still of less-than-stellar quality, they're quite a bit better than those allegedly flame-retardant , elastic-banded ones I grew up with. Still, when October rolls around, I always think of those store aisles full of those boxes, plastic faces peering out, and it makes me smile.

Steve Miller as The Spider!

Halloween Horrors- Frankenstein (1931)

Off to a late start, but my first Halloween film post is on a personal favorite, Frankenstein. The story, for those of you who have lived an incredibly sheltered life, is based on the 1818 novel written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who was a teen when she wrote it, though the film is merely based on it, and not a direct adaptation.

The film, directed by James Whale, is about the efforts of Dr. Henry Frankenstein (played admirably by Colin Clive), who strives to make a living being using parts of dead bodies, literally creating life from death. Assisted by his huncbacked employee Fritz (Dwight frye), he assembles enough pieces to make his creation. However, Fritz manages to destroy the brain Henry had designs on during his fumble-fingered scavanger hunt, and brings another brain of not exactly equal but definately lesser value. When he realizes that his creation isn't of the caliber he had hoped for, he decides to wash his hands of him, but the Monster (portrayed by Boris Karloff, in a stellar performance) has other ideas, and escapes. Murder, chaos, and fear lead up to a final confrontation in a burning windmill in one of the all-time classic horror films ever made.

Frankenstein is a classic, and after a recent viewing, it does still hold up well today. The plot moves along at a decent pace. It starts right off in the graveyard, with the good Doctor and Fritz gathering parts for Henry's big science project, and goes along from there. The creation scene in the lab is great, with all those crazy , pseudo-scientific contraptions ( created by master propman Kenneth Strickfaden) crackilng , whirring, and blazing. The sets are mostly of the studio-standing-in-for -outdoors type, but it gives the film a kind of storybook feel, albiet a dark storybook. The acting is well done, too, and not as 'stagey' as some films of the era. Clive does an excellent job as the Doctor, giving an intense performance of Henry Frankenstein as a basicaly good guy who is obsessed with his pursuits, and perhaps a bit insane as well. Frye sets the standard for hunchbacked, morally depraved lackeys as Fritz, and Karloff knocks it out of the park as The Monster, billed in the opening credits as '?'. His Monster is indeed scary, but he manages to also give him a sense of innocence, almost like an unwanted child...a big, scary, undead child, who can be violent when provoked, but a child nonetheless. When Fritz is tormenting the Monster with fire, I know I wanted to see him grab that hunchbacked bastard and let him have it( which he does later). The famous scene with the little girl also illustrates the child-like nature of the Monster. Wandering the countryside, the Monster finds a litle girl playing by a lake. She is unafraid of him, and invites him to play. The towering brute is joyful at making a friend. They play at tossing flowers in the lake. When they run out of flowers, the monster, with his less-than-adequate mental capacities, decides since the flowers were pretty, it'd be Ok to toss the little girl in the lake, too. As she drowns, we see the the Monster visibly upset at his mistake...far from a mindless murder machine, he didn't mean to hurt the little girl, but is unequipped to let the villagers know it was a mistake, as he is mute, communicating only with growls, grunts, and whimpers...not that the villagers would probably listen, anyway.

I don't know how it is for generations younger than mine, but Frankenstein is one of those characters that is universally known (pun intended). Frankenstein set the bar for monster movies...the mad scientist, the hunchbacked assistant, the monster, the angry villagers, the dark castle, the stormy night, the graveyards to creep around in...it all started here, although I believe Dracula(1931) was made first, it's Frankenstein that , to me, that remains the gold standard of horror film mythology. Frankenstein(the monster), as a character, has become immortal, like other literary characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, James Bond, and Conan. Also like these characters, Frankenstein is better known through movies featuring him than the original source novel. He has also, like the aforementioned examples, gone on in countless other media, like comics, TV shows, toys, and in spoofs such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and the brilliant and hilarious Young Frankenstein(1974), done by Mel Brooks. Even folks who don't watch horror movies know who you mean when you mention Frankenstein. Something about him has etched itself onto our popular culture psyche. It may have to do with the fact that he's both monster and innocent, or maybe it's because most of us have grown up with these movies, and they've left their mark on us in one way or another...or maybe it's a bit of both. I often wonder , just how I wonder what Robert E. Howard would think of his characters still being popular today, what Shelley would think of her creation being such a part of the horror ( if not cultural) landscape...I think she would probably like it.

If you've never seen Frankenstein, I humbly suggest you do so ...and this is the perfect season for it. And if it's been a long time since you've watched it, get a copy and revisit and old classic...and an old friend of mine.

"Here's to a new world of Gods and Monsters"-

Dr. Pretorious (Ernest Thesiger), Bride of Frankenstein,

(1935)

Halloween Art-David Hartman

OK, here's one more Halloween treat. David Hartman is an artist that specializes in horror . Here are a few samples. You can see his entire gallery at http://www.sideshowmonkey.com/. Enjoy, and have a great and safe Halloween weekend!

Halloween Party

Some friends of mine had a Halloween party the other night. They went all out and decorated the whole house, inside and out, even the bathroom. It was a good time, with friends, food, and drink in abundance. Hope you all enjoy these pictures and get the chance to attend a good party yourselves. And yes, that is me with the horns. I've never been the Devil for Halloween, and it seemed like it was about time, my nickname being what it is. Happy Halloween!

Halloween Horrors-City of the Living Dead (aka The Gates of Hell)

I've been under the weather for a bit, but I'm back with another seasonal scare film. City of the Living Dead was released in 1980. It was directed by Lucio Fulci , who also directed Zombie and The Beyond. Yes, it's another Italian film...I seem to have an affinity for Italian horror. The Italian horror films from the late 70's and 80's had a different vibe to them than anything else back then...or since, for that matter.

A woman (Catriona MacColl) attends a seance. She sees a vision of a priest hanging himself in a cemetary. This act opens the Gate to Hell, and the woman freaks out and apparently dies.

A reporter(Christopher George), looking for a story, goes to the woman's funeral. He hears sounds coming from somewhere...turns out the gal isn't dead, and is screaming in her coffin. Our intrepid reporter uses a pick to get her out of the coffin( I guess they forgot to embalm her before her burial...or maybe there's some kind of magic at work, I don't know...but anyway...).

They proceed to the town of Dunwich, where the priest hung himself. Dunwich is covered in fog all day, and the dead are a bit restless, with zombies wandering around town, and the ghost of the suicidal priest causing all kinds of trouble. Will our pair of heroes find the answer to their supernatural problem, or will they fall victim to the Gates of Hell?

City of the Living Dead was released in the U.S. as The Gates of Hell in 1983, which is when I first saw it. This film was sort of a precursor to The Beyond, in tone and content. It has the typical elements of an 80's Italian horror movie(zombies, gore, etc.) but there was just a bit of strangeness at the end of the film...not as surreal as The Beyond, but a tad different than your average American scare flick. The theme of the existence of gateways to Hell in our world( as in The Beyond) is started in this movie, and there's plenty of nasty zombie action. There are a couple of standout scenes of violent horror, such as when one of the the townspeople, blaming a local weirdo for their problems, place said weirdo's head on a power drill and , well, drills through his head. Another memorable scene is where the ghost of the dead priest shows up and casts a spell on a woman in a car, making her cry tears of blood, and literally throw up her own guts. Again, not for weak stomachs, folks ( sorry, I don't watch too many Disney flicks). Literary horror fans can again take note, as the town's name of Dunwich is cribbed from H.P Lovecraft's story 'The Dunwich Horror".

City of the Living Dead is a good horror film. It's a bit more ambitious than Zombie, but not as much as The Beyond or Cemetary Man. If you're looking for a good, bloody, low-budget horror film, look no further than City of the Living Dead. The Gates of Hell await!

Halloween Horrors-Godzilla

All right, time now for something a little less scary, but still a favorite of mine...I'm talking about none other than the King of Monsters, Godzilla. It all started back in 1954, when Godzilla first came up from the depths to terrorize Japan. The first Godzilla film was the most serious, and it is pretty somber, especially the scenes of the aftermath of Godzilla's rampage-buildings reduced to smoking rubble, dead and injured laying on the floors of overflowing hospitals, etc. Remember, Japan is the only country to have gone through being hit with atomic weapons, and Godzilla was a walking metaphor for that, and the aforementioned scenes resemble nothing more than a nation at war.

Godzilla has changed over the years... he's gone from rampaging monster to protector of the Earth, and back to rampaging monster again. His physical appearance has changed as well, reflecting his staus with humanity. When he was a monster hero, his face got shorter and his eyes bigger, making him look almost cute. But no matter what his status is, Godzilla is always ready for a fight, be it with the military with their tanks and Masers and planes, or with other prehistoric throwbacks like Rodan and Anguirus, or with monsters from space, like King Ghidorah and Orga.

Why do I like Godzilla so much? Well, I admire the fact that he never gives up....he always keeps fighting, no matter how much the odds are stacked against him. I also just like the fact that he's a gigantic, radiation-mutated dinosaur that breathes atomic breath at his enemies...you really can't get much cooler than that. And, well, I guess I still like Godzilla because he reminds me of my childhood. I always loved watching Godzilla movies on Creature Feature or Son of Svengoolie's show, and it still, in some way, takes me back when I watch the King kick the crap out of Tokyo, the military, or whatever monster made the fatal mistake of crossing his path. I've outgrown a lot of things, and I've gotten jaded about lots of things, but I'm still enough of a kid inside to enjoy Godzilla's adventures.

There's so many of his films, it's hard to pick one favorite, but if you haven't seen any of his films, start with the first one, and get the original Japanese version if at all possible. It's far superior to the Americanized version with gratuitous Raymond Burr footage spliced in. From there, here's some of my faves: Destroy all Monsters, Ghidorah The Three-Headed Monster, Terror of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla vs Mothra, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, Godzilla 2000, and Godzilla :Final Wars.

The thing to keep in mind when watching Godzilla movies is that it's supposed to be fun! Don't worry about the fact that a device that makes an artificial black hole isn't a great idea, or why don't aliens just make a bomb to drop on Godzilla instead of building a robot version of him...logic will get you nowhere on Monster Island. Just make some popcorn, have some beverages ready(soft drinks or not-so-soft drinks), and perpare to have a good time.

Oh, and don't even bring up that 1998 piece of shit made by the dorks that made Independence Day...that is NOT Godzilla. The King does not run from the Army, lay eggs, and eat tuna. There's a scene in Godzilla: Final Wars where the real Godzilla runs into this CGI-made pretender. It's the shortest monster battle in movie history...it's also on YouTube if you want to check it out.

So, grab some snacks, get some Godzilla movies, and prepare to smash some buildings, fight some monsters, and have a monster-sized good time. Hail to the King!