Spooky Season 2024
Hello hello. Just checking in to see if your October has been as whiplash as mine. 85 degrees and then 40, drought to hail to rainstorms. I think we’ve settled into actual fall weather now, and not a minute too soon. Halloween is a mere 16 days away!
I started the month slowly on the movie front. I was in the middle of a Deadwood rewatch and some things must take precedence. It’s all done now (goddammit), so I’m back to movies, and especially to horror movies. Here are some new releases and classics that you should check out if you need inspiration this spooky season.
Terrifier 3 (2024)
A killer clown in theaters right meow
Your mileage may vary on hyper-gory horror. Understandable. If you are the type who sees an exploded torso on screen and cackles (or wonders how the filmmakers achieved the effect), this is the franchise for you. Bear in mind that writer/director/editor Damien Leone is not into the whole brevity thing: Terrifier 3 clocks in at 125 minutes and Terrifier 2 at 138.
Longlegs (2024)
A dollmaker from hell, from July 2024, and from the son of Anthony Perkins
Longlegs is sort of a horror/crime thriller in the vein of Cure (1997) or Memories of Murder (2003) or True Detective season 1 (2014), wherein a mostly normal law enforcement officer finds their worldview shattered by a glimpse of pure evil. Longlegs is indebted to The Silence of the Lambs (directly acknowledged by director Osgood Perkins) — if you’re gonna reference other work, reference the best.
But forget all of that. Longlegs stands on its own. It is eerie and terrifying and sticks with you. As I’m typing this — at midnight, safe inside my home, and with full knowledge that demons aren’t real — I’m trying to think about anything other than this movie.
Also, the soundtrack has multiple T.REX needle drops. You know you’re in for a good time when you hear Planet Queen.
Phantasm 1 (1979), 2 (1988), 3 (1994), Oblivion (1998), Ravager (2016)
A mortician out to end the world
A true hidden gem in the horror world. As smarter people than I have said, Phantasm holds more in common with a prog rock album than it does with its contemporaries. Phantasm is dreamy and spacey and odd, with Jawa-like monsters and a Tall Man stealing corpses to turn into goop-blooded simulacra. The series has the same DIY ethos as Sam Raimi’s early films and the same love for slapstick mixed with gore (more so in the Phantasm sequels).
I recommend Phantasm if you are more into the Hellraiser, Evil Dead, Nightbreed end of the horror spectrum.
Attack the Block (2011)
When the Goonies are good enough to stop an alien invasion
You’ll notice immediately how Attack the Block differs from its contemporaries (in both horror and sci-fi). First off, we have a main cast that is nearly all teens and preteens, but the movie treats them as real characters with interiority. Second, we have a chaotic, Robert Altman-esque tapestry of overlapping dialogue. Third, that dialogue feels like the kinds of things that actual kids would say, peppered with misused vulgarities, earnest insights, myopia, and braggadocio to impress the lads. And fourth, the characters change roles when around their friends or around grown-ups, just like a real kid.
If the above sounds familiar, then you’ve probably seen the crop of movies that I’d most associate with Attack the Block, 80s stalwarts like Stand By Me (1986), The Goonies (1985), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and The Lost Boys (1987), and more recent films like Superbad (2007) and Mean Girls (2004). Attack the Block provides distinct personalities through dialogue and behavior and the plot moves at full speed.
You’ll have a good time, and I recommend the use of subtitles so you can catch every bit of slang (although, at least on HBO Max, I found multiple errors in subtitles for said slang. We’re all doing our best, innit?).
Salem’s Lot (1979)
Who moved into the Marsten House and why are they never seen in daylight?
This late 70s TV movie is one of my favorite horror films. One of Stephen King’s strongest novels channeled by Tobe Hooper and limited by broadcast TV standards and practices, Salem’s Lot is even better than you’d think. The cast is terrific, including James Mason, Bonnie Bedelia, and George Dzundza. The movie is unsettling and it looks terrific on blu ray. You’ll especially love it if you enjoy vampire films in general or What We Do in the Shadows in particular.
[REC] (2007)
Found footage done right
This Spanish horror film follows a local broadcaster on a ride-along with a fire engine. Her news feature is interrupted with an emergency run to an apartment building that is quickly quarantined… with the newscasters trapped within. Soon the bodies pile up and the cameraperson does their best to keep the film rolling as infection spreads.
You may have seen the remake Quarantine (2008), but the original is superior. Recommended if you enjoy George A. Romero’s later Dead films or the found footage subgenre.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Who will survive… and what will be left of them?
I am obligated to shout out one of the best to ever do it, Tobe Hooper (he also directed Salem’s Lot and Poltergeist (1983)). TCM, as it is confusingly abbreviated, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. You’re probably too late by the time you are reading this, but I’ve seen showtimes in several local and national theater chains for this seminal horror film. I did a rewatch this month after getting the Second Sight 4K disc, and this movie has lost none of its potency.
Have a safe Spooky Season and I’ll see you next year.
Alleged Beef enters the podsphere?
I was recently a guest on a horror movie podcast, Franchise Fiends. We talked about the excellent sequel Child’s Play 2. Check out the podcast on Apple Podcasts or on your app of choice.