Halloween

There really are few things in this world I love more than Halloween season. It has been an obsession of mine as long as I can remember. There's this magic in the air that you cannot find any other time of the year. I love decorating, carving pumpkins, eating pumpkin stuff, dressing up, dressing my dog up (which he loathes), baking treats, and most of all watching horror films. I have various decorations that stay up year round in my home and when I was a little girl, I often got more presents on Halloween than Christmas! Even when I was a kid, I made up various reasons to wear my costumes throughout the year. I'm not really sure how I justified recycling the dino costume for 4 yrs, but my mom was OK with it. She always let me decorate our house. Her stipulation was that the decorations had to be cute & cuddly as to not scare any neighborhood children much to my dismay. Now, as an "adult" my goal is to scare any & everyone including myself.

I have this special ritual in October. I watch horror films all year long, probably more than the average person in general. However, in October I only watch horror films, almost daily. I would like to share with you some of my favorite things to watch at Halloween time. This might sound redundant so humor me.

The Other Holy Trinity

No, I'm not talking about Lord of the Rings. EVIL DEAD, EVIL DEAD II, & ARMY OF DARKNESS are all great films to kick of October with. Part 2 is definitely the piece de resistance, but my favorite thing to watch while baking/cooking is ARMY OF DARKNESS. I love Bruce Campbell & his gorgeous chin; I think ARMY really highlights his sense of humor and Raimi's love for the genre. Although, now I would question that love after hearing about this bullshit remake.

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

I remember seeing this in the theater as a kid and being completely mesmerized. All that Pixar shit has nothing on this masterpiece from the twisted mind of Tim Burton. Not only is it a cool kid's film, but it's also a really sweet love story between Jack & Sally. My friend Jason used to collect NIGHTMARE toys and one day I told him that I wished I could be the princess of Halloweentown. He relied, "take a look around you...you already are!" And so I am.

MONSTER SQUAD

Three words: Wolfman. Has. Nards. Where else do you find Dracula, Mummy, Wolfman, Frankenstein, and Creature in the same film? I loved this film as a kid, and it has withstood the test of time into adulthood. One of the coolest moments in my life was getting to watch it on the big screen with cast & crew in attendance.

INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE

I watch this film while passing out candy on Halloween. In high school, I devoured Ann Rice's Vampire Chronicles. My favorite books were Queen of the Damned (the film was awful) and Memnoch the Devil. Those Twilight fans can take some notes from Lestat & Louis. Real vampires are dark, violent, and horny as fuck....not cute, sparkly, and waiting til marriage. It's hard to believe that was a little Kirsten Dunst as Claudia. Brad Pitt recently revealed his misery while filming INTERVIEW. Apparently he was not happy to play second fiddle to a certain scientologist.

HALLOWEEN

Well, the name says it all. Who would've know how frightening a William Shatner mask paired with a pair of coveralls could be. I remember watching HALLOWEEN with my dad when I was little. I immediately went out and watched all the sequels, of course some were better than others. This is pretty much the quintessential halloween film.

These days, I tend to watch more French, Spanish, Japanese, and Korean horror films. As a purist, I think Halloween season deserves good ol' American classics like these. I also realize how watching all these old films remind me of my dad who I miss dearly.

I hope everyone has a lovely Halloween season and I will be posting pics of my costume so stay tuned! And remember "slutty whatever" does not a costume make.