Oct. 21st: The Midnight Hour (1985)

Here’s a Halloween treat in the truest sense. Another selection from 1985 that’s also a made for TV moivie, The Midnight Hour.

A veritable festival of Halloween, this film takes place (like all great Halloween films should) exclusively on the Eve of All Saints.

Like some other Halloween films on the list, generic New England creepsville Pitchford Cove has it’s own haunted history, and the film begins with the telling of that tale in school. Seems a witch named Lucinda Cavender was put to death there by the Witchfinder General 300 years ago.

So naturally, 5 high school morons jack that authentic witch gear from the museum for their Halloween costumes. While knee deep in B and E, they also discover a crazy ancient scroll. So, yeah, they decide to head for the local cemetery and read from that scroll, like any one of you might.

As you may expect, this promptly resurrects Lucinda and just about every other corpse in the graveyard. And where do all zombies go on Halloween? Why they’ll crash the big Halloween party being held at Lucinda’s old Mansion. Mayhem, vampirism, zombification and dancing ensue.

Though made-for-TV, the only real tip-off there is the lack of gore or language and perhaps the presence of so many television stars. Otherwise, this just feels like a PG-13 horror movie that’s semi-family friendly.

And the cast is nuts, check it:

Shari Belafonte, daughter of the singer Harry Belafonte
LeVar Burton, Star Trek’s Geordi La Forge and Reading Rainbow host,
Peter DeLuise, 21 Jumpstreet tough guy
Kevin McCarthy from the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers and UHF
Kurtwood Smith aka Clarence Fucking Boddiker,
Dick Van Patten!
and even the voice of Wolfman Jack as the DJ.

Are you kidding me? That’s insane. And I guarantee you’ll see a few other faces you recognize but can’t place.

You’re getting heavy Halloween party action, a Halloween dance number, exploding graves, Trick or Treating, a old jerk who hates Halloween, costume robbery, zombies, vampires, and did I catch a werewolf in there too? It’s got everything you need for a slightly rough around the edges family Halloween night.

While certainly not the best, The Midnight hour is one of the most Halloweeny selections you could come by, and is essential Halloween material.

As Wolfman’s jack would say: “It’s Halloween, so we’re gonna be rockin’ till The Midnight Hour!”

Oct. 20th: Trick Or Treats (1982)

The Internet plot description for our next installment reads as such:

“A baby sitter is stuck watching over a young brat on Halloween night who keeps playing vicious pranks on her. To add to her trouble the boy’s deranged father has escaped from an asylum and is planning on making a visit.”

If that just sounds to you like a shitty Halloween knock-off to you, you’re right, cause it does sound like that. However, the way it plays out is anything but.

Hell, I’m not even sure it’s trying to be Halloween. I’m not sure what it’s trying to do. It’s just bizarre. Is this a spoof? Is this a real horror movie? Is this a comedy? Who the hell knows. It’s probably none of those things.

I do know this though, it’s pretty damn Halloweeny. And for our purposes, that’s all that matters. You’re getting tons of vintage decorations, an onslaught of trick or treating and awesome Halloween masks coming at you left and right.

Now, this isn’t to say Trick or Treats isn’t without its charms, far from it. If you’re the right kind of viewer in the right kind of mood, it may even entertain you, but I would be careful to who exactly I’d recommend this one.

You get David Carradine being a handsy sleazeball, Peter Jason in drag screaming at bums, Steve Railsback continually whining about the opening night of play we never see performed, drunk trick or treaters, pervy little kids, an awesome bus driver for 2 seconds and an asylum full of over the top nut jobs.

But then there’s Christopher. Poor, detestable Christopher. He’s playing terrifying pranks on babysitter Linda all night long. He’s got the ill mask collection and enough magic tricks to convince Linda he’s straight up dead or horribly injured all Halloween long. Between dodging Trick or Treaters, fielding weird phone calls from loony bin Dad, and dealing with Chris’ ( at times, admittedly irritating) bullshit, she’s at her wits end with this brat. You may be too. Or you may just love him.

It’s not exciting. In fact, it’s mostly boring. It’s never approaches anything close to scary and it resembles a horror movie for, oh I don’t know, about a 10 minute stretch at the climax. But Trick or Treats is an oddball Halloween treat that I strangely enjoy. Could be the era, could be the Halloween, or it could be its general approach. It has this sluggish and lackadaisical mood that just washes over me. I don’t rightly know which factor is in the driver’s seat.

If you’re looking for something akin to even a passable scary Halloween vibe you get with even the lower rent slashers and creature features to feature the holiday, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

When Halloween Night Stopped Being fun?

Boy, I’ll say. But I think I kind of love it for that.

Oct. 19th: To The Devil…A Daughter (1976)

Hammer’s last horror film may quite honestly be the least Halloweeny film on this list, but it takes place around and on Halloween, so dammit, that’s enough. Plus it’s all awesome and Satany. What more do you need on Halloween?

Christopher Lee stars as excommunicated priest Michael Rayner. Seems the Holy Roman Church didn’t cotton to all his Astaroth worship and told him to pack his shit. No matter, Rayner just sets up his own heretic order, The Children of The Lord (ambiguous) in the middle of some lake in Bavaria.

Prized amongst these children is one Catherine Beddows, played be a very young (perhaps too young, given the nudity) Natasha Kinski. Catherine is given the special privilege of traveling home once a year on her birthday to see her father Henry. Her birthday, as it happens, is All Hallo’s Eve, which we’re told is the most important date in the Satanist’s calendar.

This year, however, is her 18th birthday, and that’s got her pops all spooked. So, he contacts occult author John Verney to whisk her away for this particular visit. Seems strange, even to Verney, whom has only recently meet Beddows, and only for this specific reason.

See Beddows is a member of Rayner’s satanic order, and is anticipating a rather sinister 18th birthday for Catherine, should Rayner get his hands on her. So it’s up to Verney to deduce the plot and protect Rayner’s special child, before his evil designs can be fulfilled.

As I mentioned, the movie itself is not terribly Halloweeny, but it is jammed packed instead with tons of crazy Satanic rites and ritual, with Christopher Lee creepin’ up the whole damn screen any time he’s there.

It may flounder a bit in it’s 3rd act, but this critically maligned Hammer offering is an awesome addition to the Satanic 70’s catalog, and one of my favorites of the sub-genre.

If you’re into crazy Satan movies, enjoy weird scenes of strange rituals, love hearing blasphemous heretical dialogue and are looking to add a whole lot of that to your Halloween this year, than To The Devil…A Daughter is the one to do it with.

Oct. 18th: Once Bitten (1985)

Well it just wouldn’t be a true Shindig countdown with only one lonely 80’s monster comedy, so stacking the Halloween deck for us is the 1985 Jim Carrey vampire flick Once Bitten.

Jim plays high school virgin Mark Kendall, who just can’t seem to convince his girlfriend Robin to put out. So he and a couple of buddies hit the Sunset Strip in the great America pursuit of some first-time trim.

Unfortunately he finds The Countess, a seductive MILF with cougarish designs. How is this unfortunate? Well, she’s a vampire. A vampire that needs virginal blood each year to maintain those timeless good looks. As an added caveat, she must drink of this virgin a total of 3 times before Halloween or he beauty will fade away.

So, after what he believes is a one-night-stand, Mark is sucked into a slow decent toward vampirism; wearing shades, dressing cooler, eating raw steaks and losing his reflection. Can Robin discover the cause of Mark’s strange behavior and win him away from the clutches of the evil Countess, or is Mark doomed to join her cadre of immortal suitors?

It’s a great 80’s comedy with an early and energetic performance from Jim Carrey that’s filled with countless hallmarks of his later characters and style. Some fun supporting characters and another humorous turn from Blazing Saddles’ Clevon Little make the movie all that more enjoyable.

And then, of course, there’s the extensive and memorable Halloween Party Dance-Off, where Hand’s Off by Maria Vidal (a playlist inclusion at #45) plays while Jim dances between sultry vamp Lauren Hutton and girl next door Karen Kopins.

October is as fine a time as any to treat yourself to this 80’s monster comedy with the Halloween Shindig Halloween seal of approval.

Oct. 17th: The American Scream (2012)

For our 17th installment, The Shindig’s going for some non-fiction frights in the form of last years ultra-Halloweeny documentary The American Scream.

The film focuses on 3 sets of “home haunters” (people who create and run their own haunted houses) in my home state of Massachusetts.

It follows them from the earliest stages of their haunts up until their grand openings on Halloween night, detailing the successes, set-backs and sacrifices each family makes in the pursuit of bringing Halloween cheer to their neighborhoods.

Mostly a tale of that line between obsession and hobby, the film is equal parts humorous, sad and touching in its depiction of what they describe as the only true “community holiday.” A day not simply for families and loved ones to share alone, but a holiday where we all come out of our homes (and hopefully away from our gadgets) to walk through our neighborhoods with each other, going door to door and celebrating life through our acknowledgment of death. The end of the harvest. The new beginning. Halloween.

It may be the only movie of its kind on the list, but that should not dissuade you in the slightest. It’s as Halloweeny as any of the other titles, and may arguably be the most Halloweeny, as it shows us a human and tangible connection to the holiday, in favor of fantastical monsters and bloody gore.

Oct. 16th: Hollow Gate (1988)

It is not without a fair and honest warning that I suggest this entry at number 16 on our Halloween countdown, 1988’s Hollow Gate.

This shot-on-video gem is only recommended for lovers of true train-wrecks. Ya know who you are; you sit around trying to find the worst of the worst. You have Things on DVD. The Polonia Brothers crack you up. Troll 2 is an absolute joy, and nowhere near the worst movie you’ve ever powered through. If that’s your bag, then Hollow Gate is your Halloween movie.

While certainly not the piece de resistance of truly terrible cinema, there’s enough awfulness on display here to satiate any bad movie lover’s Halloween fix.

Mark has had a checkered past with Halloween. See, he was no good at apple bobbing, so his drunken father tried to drown him in the apple tub. Strike 1. Little Mark hates Halloween.

In his teen years, while working at a gas station, a horny young Halloween couple torment him during a routine fill-up. So he promptly blows up their car. Strike 2. Now Mark’s a Halloween avenger.

A few years later while at the convenience store on (you guessed it) Halloween, he attempts to take the cashier out to the movies. When she refuses, he locks her in the store with him and then…uh, scares her? Strike 3, I guess, so now he’s just a nutcake.

So these days, he just lives, locked up and taking medication at his grandmother’s estate, Hollow Gate. That is, until one Halloween where he loses his shit and murders her. Now he can hang out with all the other nutcakes for a Halloween party.

Some submarine sandwich loving kids on their way to a Halloween party at a hangar (?) are convinced by a lazy costume shop keeper to deliver an order out to Hollow Gate. So, Mark get his costumes, and begins murdering the kids one by one in his various generic outfits; broke racist marine, goofy cowboy, foolish doctor, and weird British fox hunter.

It’s terrible, if you couldn’t discern that from this far too lengthy plot description, and any normal person would probably cancel this nonsense 5 minutes deep. But, I love me a bad horror movie, and so long as the ridiculousness and shitty acting is coming fast enough to keep me laughing, I’m all in.

Mark is a grade-A B-movie villain, giving it his all yet never seeming to inspire anything beyond general unease. You wouldn’t want to be stuck in a room talking to this nutcake, but genuine fear is nowhere on the map. And the kids beat all, providing some seriously enjoyable overacting as they attempt to convey that same nonexistent fear.

So if you’re looking for a little early turkey for Halloween dinner, this fucker’s got the stuffing to boot. Get a few drinks and a few friends and have a few laughs.

Happy 16th, nutcakes!

Oct. 15th: The Clown Murders (1976)

Our next selection is a strange Canadian picture I might have stuck earlier in the month had I seen it previously. However, I just watched this one, so here it is.

From 1976 comes The Clown Murders, a slow building slasher that takes place on Halloween night, but is honestly a little light in the Halloween department.

It’s an all right film despite that fact though, plus there’s a lot of clown costumes, a brief Halloween party and some Halloween referencing throughout.

As a prank, 4 friends dress as clowns and kidnap a local real estate tycoon’s wife from a Halloween party. They take her to a farm house to wait out the night, meanwhile the town begins taking their joke very seriously. With mounting tensions, their prank soon goes south, as the accomplices begin turning on one another and a mysterious figure steals a clown mask and begins stalking them.

If you can handle the slower pace and look of a mid-70’s slasher film, and want something mildly Halloweeny, it’s not a bad selection. It’s got a young John Candy and a few other Canadian actors who’ve turned up in some genre pictures and Cronenberg films. Particularly notable is Lawrence Dane, whom Shindiggers may recognize from Happy Birthday to Me or Scanners.

Like I said, it’s not bad. There’s certainly some pretty creepy moments (particularly if you’re afraid of clowns) and the film is not poorly made by any means. I wouldn’t break your back trying to get a hold of it if it’s something you’ve never seen, but it’s good for a random October night to Halloween completists looking for something new they haven’t seen.

Coincidentally and interestingly enough, there’s a scene where the stalker plays “London Bridge” over the farm house’s PA system. It’s a wonderful and unintentionally Halloweeny moment that I thoroughly enjoyed. I couldn’t stop myself from humming right along.

Oct. 14th: The Halloween Tree (1993)

From Ray Bradbury again comes more Halloween awesomeness. This time in the form of the early 90’s Hanna-Barbera produced animated version of his classic tale The Halloween Tree.

4 friends are lead by the ghost(?) of their pal Pip to a strange and haunted looking mansion on Halloween. There the meet the enigmatic warlock Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, voiced wonderfully by Spock himself, Mr. Leonard Nimoy.

Moundshroud is unimpressed by their treatise for treats, and even more unimpressed by their lack of knowledge regarding Halloween and their costumes.

When their friend Pip’s ghost(?) steals back his soul pumpkin from the warlock’s titular tree, Moundshroud takes the children on an incredible journey through time and space to visit the origins of our hallowed holiday.

Off to Egypt and Stonehenge, to France and Mexico he takes them, seeing the Halloween celebrations and customs of people over the centuries. He forces them to recognize their own festive garb and understand why we celebrate death to appreciate life.

This is a great cartoon with a great message that is made even greater by the addition of Ray Bradbury himself as the narrator, reading his own words the way they should be read.

Essential Halloween viewing that should take place as close to the eve as you can make it. Would definitely make for a perfect family Halloween selection, or as part of an all-ages Halloween night double or triple feature. If you love Halloween, you’ll love this cartoon, and should certainly make a point of tracking it down this year.

Oct. 13th: Hocus Pocus (1993)

No Halloween movie gets quite as much Tumblr love (at least on my dash regularly) as 1993’s Hocus Pocus.

And rightfully so, as Hocus Pocus is Halloweeny as fuck, taking place exclusively on 2 separate Halloweens, 300 years apart.

The film opens in 1693 with the Sanderson Sisters of Salem being hung by the locals for their generalized witchery. They vow to return on Halloween when a virgin lights their black flamed candle. This, of course happens, in 1993, when California transplant and non-Halloweener Max sparks the fucker up.

Now the Sister have one night to achieve their immortal goal, or else forever be doomed.

This (now classic) Disney treat is a holiday essential and boast perhaps the most rabid fandom of all Halloween movies. And again, it’s no surprise. The film is fun, well made, highly enjoyable and packed so full of Halloween that if you hit it with a stick, candy corn would probably cascade out.

That being said (and at the risk of pissing off a good deal of followers) I’d like to address a small issue I have concerning Hocus Pocus.

Upon a recent reviewing, it became aware to me how strikingly similar the set-up is to that of a less beloved (except by this blog) and earlier Halloween adventure, Ernest Scared Stupid.

Both films begin in the past, with an angry mob of villagers capturing their picture’s villains just before they can complete an evil ritual. Then, both films find those villains prophetically declaring their return when a specific and convoluted set of circumstances arise.

Immediately cut to, in both case, a classroom, where the students are being told that story as part of a seasonal learning execise. Then, both the films find a foolish character (with much more hilarity in Ernest’s case) unwittingly bringing all those circumstances together.

Now, this takes nothing away from Hocus Pocus, nor does it make it any less a great Halloween picture. It just struck me as strangely coincidental, and I gotta get Ernest’s back, cause everyone hates on ‘em, and no one gives Scared Stupid half the love they show Hocus Pocus.

However, they would both make for one hell of an all-ages Halloween night double-feature, and I can think of a few other options if you wanted to go for the hat-trick. But I don’t need to tell ya’ll that. If you can read this, then you’ve probably already watched Hocus Pocus 3 times over again. Why not go for a 4th?

Oct. 12th: Trick Or Treat (1986)

One of my favorite holiday treats is this metal-horror installment from 1986.

I’ve watched it as part of a Halloween night triple feature, but typically I prefer to reserve this one for earlier in the month, as it lacks the overtly Halloween sensation the night really deserves.

But your October deserves Trick Or Treat. Your life deserves Trick Or Treat. So this year, treat yourself to this little 80’s Halloween trick.

Metal-head dork Eddie Weinbauer loves butt rocker Sammi Curr. See, Sammi’s a home-town hero, and the ritualistically tormented Eddie identifies with Sammi and aspires to rise above the bullying to rock greatness. In fact, Eddies loves Sammi so much he writes him a detailed letter expressing such sentiments.

Unfortunately, Sammi burns himself to death in a satanic hotel ritual before Eddie can mail it. Damn, better rip down all your metal posters and loose your mind.

Thankfully for Eddie (and us) his DJ pal Nuke (KISS’s Gene Simmons) over at the local radio station has an unreleased and unheard studio pressing of Sammi’s last album. Nuke hooks it up.

The album has unforeseen powers though, and when played backwards, Sammi reaches out from beyond the grave to aid Eddie in a game of revenge against his tormentors.

All is well and Eddie is riding high on the thrill of rock and roll vengeance. Until, that is, Sammi’s game become too real for Eddie’s pussy sensibilities. So Sammi travels back, through the record and out of the speakers, to take matters into his own hands.

Great music, great 80’s-ness, great flaming pumpkins and a great Halloween dance, where Sammi starts bursting costumed-teens with his electricity spewing guitar. How can you miss with this Halloween treat?

Wake up, sleepy heads. It’s party time.

Oct. 11th: Satan’s Little Helper (2005)

This weird little straight-to-DVD movie is surprisingly enjoyable, if you like that sort of budget-less tongue and cheek business.

I know what you’re thinking, cause it’s the same thing I thought when I ran across this one on Netflix Instant a few years back: look at this fucking thing. How can this be good?

And it’s not. Well, it’s not good, by standard definitions, but its pretty fun none-the-less. And granted, not everyone is gonna have the same enjoyable reaction I did, but despite it’s trappings, it’s actually pretty funny with a novel and Halloweeny concept.

Young Dougie loves his video game “Satan’s Little Helper,” so naturally, when he sees a masked man setting up “fake” bodies on the front lawn for Halloween, he believes the man is Satan and promptly begins assisting him in his Halloween preparations.

So Dougie and Satan run around on Halloween engaging in all manner of havoc. Ya know, murder, attempted rape, ambushes. Halloweeniness.

It’s filled to the brim with black humor and Halloween goodness and makes for great October viewing. Get on this one Weeners, it’s widely under-viewed.

Oct. 10th: Primal Rage (1988)

1988 was a hell of a year for fans of Halloween horror. Of the 31 films on The Shindig’s countdown, 4 were released that year. That’s pretty ridiculous.

What’s more, the 5 year run from 1985 to 1989 is straight holding it down, producing almost a 3rd of the films on this list. What can I say? The 80’s were awesome.

For evidence to that effect, one need look no further than tonight’s installment, 1988’s second offering, Primal Rage.

Sure the producers could have just jammed their story about scientists creating a “rage virus” into any point on the calendar, but they choose Halloween, and God bless ‘em for that.

When a foolish collegiate muckraker decides that blasting a laboratory monkey in the face with a seizure-inducing amount of flash photography is a good idea, the creature breaks loose and attacks him. Thus the stage is set for the virus to spread all over campus. Let the madness ensue!

See the virus, which evidently spreads through biting, makes people completely loose their shit, raging out on everything from baseball coaches to street signs, cops and even rapists. Yeah, they kinda ooze and bleed out and shit, but it’s really the batshit-crazy aggression that’s the highlight.

Of course, all of this comes to a head at the college’s annual Halloween ball, complete with the requisite live band you’ve never seen at any school dance you ever attended.

What sets Primal Rage’s “Halloween Party” sequence apart however, is the amount of time we get to spend just wandering around. It really gives you a chance to see and appreciate all of the crazy costumes on display, and there are some seriously awesome costumes at this party.

While not what any average citizen would categorize as “good,” or “worthwhile,” or probably even “watchable,” I think it’s a bit more competent and engaging than something one might label “so bad it’s good.”

I’m not trying to mislead anyone though, it’s definitely an 80’s horror film, and not one of the nice, flashy ones. It’s made cheaply and acted poorly, but honestly, it’s not horrendous. In fact, I think its got a lot going for it, and it feels a bit more atypical than your average paint-by-numbers, cash and grab slash.

So, if 80’s horror films just flood your fore-brain with a sensation you simply can’t explain, and satiate that longing for a look and feel that’s gone from modern horror movies, then Primal Rage all amounts to a surprisingly enjoyable and Halloweeny-ass selection. What more can you ask for?

Happy 10th, Weeners!

Oct. 9th: Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

Towing the line back toward the straight and narrow horror for night #9, The Shindig presents Dark Night of the Scarecrow.

Though in fact a made-for-TV movie, Dark Night of the Scarecrow packs more creeps than your average latter- day Hollywood effort, and is responsible for the entire “killer scarecrow” sub-genre, for whatever that’s worth

Originally broadcast by CBS on October 24th back in 1981, this fan favorite has become a holiday staple, and with good cause. It’s genuinely creepy, suspenseful and well paced, if a little heavy handed at times. It also features solid performance’s for some fine actors including Charles Durning (Dog Day Afternoon, The Fury, When a Stranger Calls) Lane Smith (the prosecutor from My Cousin Vinny), and a brief appearance from Larry “Dr. Giggles” Drake.

The story concerns a Southern imbecile named Bubba Ritter (Drake) whom the small-town townsfolk don’t much cotton to, particularly because of his unnaturally close relationships with the children.

One afternoon, while playing with the young Marylee, she is mauled by a guard dog. When Budda carries the little girl’s corpse back to her parents home, the shit hits the fan. A posse of angry hicks roll hard on Bubba’s homestead demanding blood. Fortunately, Bubba’s mother has already stashed him away in a field, disguised as a scarecrow.

Unfortunately, neither the posse, nor their bloodhounds are fooled, and they proceed to unload their leaden vengeance into the prone body of the frightened Bubba.

Turns out, Marylee wasn’t actually dead though. She was just unconscious, and (thanks to Bubba) was able to get the medical attention to save her life. Looks like a couple of dumb hayseeds feel a little sheepish now. No matter, they’ll just justify their shitty behavior by concocting some yarn about how Bubba was attempting to attack them with a pitchfork.

And whaddya know, it works. Not guilty, and the vigilantes walk free.

Or do they? This is a horror movie, now, and revenge is always just around the corner,…particularly if that corner is a grave.

Soon, a scarecrow, not unlike Bubba is mysteriously appearing, and the posse are mysteriously dying, one by one.

Sure, it’s not terribly gory, but a horror film never needed to be gory to be good. What commences is a spooky and effective supernatural revenge tale that’s sure to make any October night feel right.

Oct. 8th: C.H.U.D II: Bud The Chud (1989)

On its own, C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud isn’t such a bad effort. It’s a fairly enjoyable, somewhat humorous piece of late 80’s camp not unlike (but nowhere near the quality of) Night of Comet or Night of The Creeps.

Honestly, if you told me some guy just wrote a zombie send-up script and the studio said “Hey, let’s slap the name C.H.U.D. on this fucker and put our pockets on Shrek,” I wouldn’t be surprised.

Despite haphazardly inserting the word “Chud” everywhere without any C.H.U.D.s in sight and then sending this turkey straight to video, that might have worked.

But Unfortunately, it’s presented as a sequel to C.H.U.D., and it’s pretty piss poor and disappointing in that regard.

However, C.H.U.D. II does have a few things going for it:

Its got Eric Mardian (Brian Robbins) from Head of The Class – that’s pretty solid.
Plus, there’s Robert Vaughn hammin’ it up as Colonel Masters – always a pleasure.
And that’s to say nothing of genre heavy Gerritt Graham’s (Phantom of the Paradise, Terror Vision, Chopping Mall) inspired turn as the titular C.H.U.D.
And if that wasn’t enough, its got one sweet ass Shindigger in Kipp Lennon’s Bud The Chud.
But above all, it takes place on Halloween night.

And though its Halloween quotient is rather low considering, its back loaded with some genuine Halloweeniness. There’s a full-on high school Halloween dance climax, plus a pretty fun trick of treating sequence with a blink-and-you’d-miss-it cameo from Mr. Big Time, Fred Krueger, dream crasher. So we better take the 8th and recognize.

Yeah, they don’t look or act anything like C.H.U.D.s. Hell, half the time the characters are referring to them as zombies, and for all intents and purposes, they might as well be. And yeah, maybe it’s trying too hard to be funny and coming up short 70% of the time, but it’s Halloween goddammit, and if that ain’t a good enough reason to tough it through this somewhat enjoyable sequel(?) then there isn’t one.

Stay tuned for Bud The Chud later in the Shindig. Until then, forget you’ve seen C.H.U.D. at all. While you’re at it, forget this is even a sequel to that movie (which shouldn’t be too hard) and enjoy some Halloween camp.

Oct. 7th: The Worst Witch (1986)

Years before J.K. Rowling stole her main character’s name from John Buechler, Jill Murphy was busy crafting more material for Ms. Rowling to pilfer.

First published in 1979, Murphy’s children’s series The Worst Witch concerned the young Mildred Hubble and her misadventures at Miss Cackle’s Academy For Witches.

Yep, that’s right. A British woman wrote a series of kid’s books about a witch school. In the 80’s.

In 1986, British television produced the first novel into this 7th night entry for our Halloween festival.

The Worst Witch stars a young Fairuza Balk, British Avenger and Bond Girl (and Bond Wife) Diana Rigg, and creepster extraordinaire Tim Curry.

It’s an odd piece of shot-on-video 80’s weirdness that actually gave me the the creeps in my youth, when I would catch it around Halloween on HBO.

That’s mostly thanks to Mr. Curry and his Halloween visit to the Academy, where he sails in on the biggest cape this side of a Spawn comic and sings the weirdest fucking Halloween song you can imagine, all to some of the greatest chroma key effects 1986 could muster.

If you’ve never seen The Worst Witch, or that sequence, I highly recommend its viewing. The impatient souls among you can visit it on YouTube. I have yet to master the art of hot linking from my phone, so simply copy the text: Anything Can Happen On Halloween – into a YouTube search.

Make no mistake, although it hasn’t showed up yet, Anything Can Happen On Halloween makes it’s appearance on the playlist a bit further down the road. I’ll post some gifs of that madness when the time comes, as currently my laptop is doing its best impression of HAL-9000.

Until then, celebrate the 7th with a little Halloween gold called The Worst Witch.

Oct. 6th: Jack-O (1995)

I never said they’d all be good. I simply said they’d all, at some point, take place on Halloween.

And this goofy-ass Pumpkinhead knock-off delivers in that department, at least.

Do I need to say more about Jack-O?

Yes. Yes I do. But I’ll have to do that tomorrow. I’m too tired to think about this ridiculous film right now.

Happy,…October 6th?

Oct. 5th: Rockula (1990)

Ok, so I passed out after getting home from work and almost blew my streak only 4 days in. Thanks to the wonder of 80’s Monster Comedies however, we have our 5th day entry, and our Halloween festival marches on with Rockula.

I’ve talked about Rockula and my love for it on the playlist before, and I certainly will again, and here Ralph is providing more than just Halloween music, but a film that’s plot hinges on the Holiday itself. Sounds like an October winner to me.

It’s late, and in a pinch I’ll do cheesiest thing ever and quote myself:

“Ralph (played by Dean Cameron, aka Summer School’s Chainsaw) is a typically 80’s “friendly” vampire. Ralph’s got a problem though. See, 400 years ago Ralph failed to save his beloved Mona from a ham bone wielding pirate who murdered her on Halloween. After which, a terrible curse befell Ralph. He must relive this trauma ever 22 years, as Mona is reincarnated and Ralph is given another chance to prevent this tragedy. A chance which he always seems to squander.

However, in the late 80’s, Mona is resurrected as a musician, so Ralph becomes Rockula to win her heart. And maybe keep a close eye on her to finally prevent that Halloween/ham bone/pirate murder.”

It’s pure 80’s cheese that features another charming turn from Dean Cameron. It may not be overflowing with Halloweeniness, but there’s enough here to satisfy an early October night.

Oct. 4th: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) & Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Friday Night Double Feature!

We’ll start off this double feature with the 1949 Disney classic The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

Though wonderful in and of itself, The Wind in the Willows adaptation isn’t exactly necessary viewing for our purposes, and one could skip straight to the incredibly faithful adaptation of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Positively brimming with Halloween and autumnal atmosphere, the tale of Ichabod and The Headless Horseman is essential holiday viewing. Its classical animation is further enhanced by some fantastic sound design and Bing Crosby’s great narration. Plus, ole Bing gives us a Halloween song for the ages.

If just viewing the Disney cartoon feels a bit brief however, follow it up directly with 1999’s undervalued Sleepy Hollow.

Sure, it may not be a terribly faithful adaption, but Tim Burton’s love letter to the classic Universal and Hammer Horror’s of old is rich with a sinister beauty I think no fan of Halloween can deny.

Factor that together with a fine performance from Johnny Depp plus 18 awesome decapitations from Kevin Yagher and you have a truly memorable horror effort from the typically more quirky, light and sentimental Burton.

Now I’m not sure, off-hand, if Halloween is actually ever mentioned in this live action revamp, but few movies look as much like Halloween as Sleepy Hollow.

While it’s certainly not my favorite Tim Burton film (that would be Ed Wood) or without it’s share of flaws (some poor plotting with a sticky 3rd act that disappointingly grounds the supernatural aspects more than I would have liked) there aren’t many movies that I think are as gorgeous to view. Half the time I watch it without the sound just to look at it. If I had to pick a movie to live inside forever, I’d choose Sleepy Hollow, without question.

With its incredibly seasoned and talented supporting cast, beautiful cinematography and absolutely jaw-drawing production and set design, Sleepy Hollow is in a Gothic class all of its own, and should definitely grace your eyes at some point in October for a truly seasonal escape.

Oct. 3rd: Spaced Invaders (1990)

Skewing away from the Horror a bit for night #3, we have the decidedly childish but exceedingly Halloweeny Spaced Invaders.

An inept group of Martians intercept a radio transmission from Earth and believe an invasion is underway. Not wishing to miss out on the spoils, they land in Illinois and eagerly attempt to meet up with their comrades. They are, of course, mistaken.

Not only does this silly film take place entirely on Halloween (leading everyone to assume these Martians are simply children in really kick-ass costumes) but the radio transmission they receive is merely a Halloween broadcast of Orson Welles’ War Of The Worlds. Now that’s just damned Halloweeny.

While not the ideal pick for All Hallo’s itself, there’s more Halloweeniness on display here than most horror movies taking place on the same night. Some funny gags, some great voice-over acting and some great animatronic work and you’ve got a perfect recipe for a light, non-horror October evening. So why not the 3rd?

Oct. 1st: Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

Such a great movie this is to usher in the season that even it’s title sets the mood for what is to come.

This adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s story of the same name was brought to us by Disney during a period where they produced more mature titles to offset their image of being strictly purveyors of children’s animation.

Set in Green Town, Illinois in late October, two young boys encounter Mr. Dark’s Pandemonium Carnival, which enters their burg under the cover of night and sets up with supernatural speed.

Seemingly magical at first, soon Mr. Dark’s carnival exudes a sinister force that seems to infect the whole town and it inhabitants.

Light, creepy and perfectly Halloweeny, the film builds slowly with tons atmosphere and is the perfect way to start any October off right. Something Wicked This Way Comes indeed.