Halloween

Ok, Halloween is the movie that every slasher and suspense movie has been trying to live up to since if came out in 1978. Halloween is one of those things that happens when the stars align just right, all the pieces fall perfectly into place and create a amazing movie in film history.
Halloween upon it's initial release was panned, nothing but thumbs down across the board, until one reviewer a smart one(not many of those) saw this movie for what it was, a film that invoked true fear, Halloween was a movie that was set in mid-west suburbia, a place that most of everyone could to identify with, with your average everyday people and problems and throws in an escaped mental patient to the mix and see what events unfold.

Halloween was the movie that got into horror movies, I remember one day that my dad rented it and we watched it together at he time i was 10 I believe, and I remember being completely terrified, and after that every time I seen even just the box to Halloween and seen Michael Meyers face I would be scared the rest of the day, but for some reason it still drew me in.

Now onto the interview, Halloween was release in October of 1978 and since had grossed more than 55 million dollars, Halloween invoked fear through suggestion, it wasn't about blood and guts which is what all of the imitators lost sight of. Carpenter made the viewer use all of their senses to scare, the music brings an eerie tone to the film as does Carpenters camera use in the film, by using POV shots through a lot of the film, he really brings the viewer into the film itself, wherever the characters are in the film he uses the camera as if it were a third person..

Now many who have watched the film since it release and most definitely younger viewers, see it as cliched, but in 1978 nothing in this film was a cliche, it was the pioneer for what would be the slasher genre.

I highly suggest watching this film if you have never seen it and just discard the sequels for this series, they really burned out everything and yes Halloween is mostly predictable, but it still gives you chills up your spine every time you view it and it has subtle psychological terror to it.

P.S. only sequels worth any viewing would be 2, 3, and 4. Halloween 2 continues the night HE came home and Halloween 3: season of the witch has nothing to do with Michael or the Halloween storyline from 1 and 2, it's a standalone film and it was quite good. Halloween 4 is probably the closest any sequel could get to the original, but still falls short.

The Fog

 The Fog brings with it the souls of the damned.


Fog is nothing to the quaint seaside village of Antonio Bay. But on the night of it's 100Th anniversary, a fog bank rolls in in like any other. Eerie light, dark figures, and the masts of an ancient schooner appear in the swirling mists, and soon the specters of long-murdered sailors, descend upon the tow. Using knife, hook and sword, they exact revenge for sins committed by the town's founding father's, leaving horrified survivors struggling to solve a hundred-year crime. And they must solve it - or die.

The synopsis for this film makes me want to see it, but it does not do the film justice, The Fog is a classic horror film, that came out in a time when this type of story wasn't all that popular, with the horror scene soon becoming filled with gore filled teen slashers, this was a movie that went against the grain, it was a simple ghost story, now the film did have it's fair share of gruesome deaths, but those were not the focal point of The Fog, the focal point of The Fog was the atmosphere that it portrayed, the uneasiness and creepiness that only a ghost story can invoke.

The film also gives you that feeling of a cold, overcast windy autumn day, and it fits so well with this film and also fills the idea of what most people have of a fishing and maritime town, salty, cold, and at time very haunting and ghostly. Now down through the years not many horror movies have freaked me out, but this movie can send chills down your spine, it is a movie the will entrap and enthrall you.

The Fog starts off on a really good note, with an old weathered sea captain telling a local children the eerie story of the Elizabeth Dane, which was a ship that crashed on the shores of Antonio Bay 100 years prior. On that same night a spooky, glowing fog rolls into Antonio Bay bringing with it a long dead crew bent on revenge for the wrong that was done to them 100 years ago, the crew had been a from a leper colony and the founding fathers had murdered them and stole their gold.

The Fog is filled with a great cast, John Carpenter brought back scream queen Jame Lee Curtis, who does a great job in this roll, most definitely pulling out all the stops for her talents. Curtis' mother Janet Leigh is also in the film as a town official who is putting together everything for the anniversary of Antonio Bay, Nancy Loomis also appears in the film as Janet Leigh's character's assistant, who is quite funny and sarcastic, and let us not forget Adrienne Barbeau as the DJ for he towns only radio station, who puts up a dang good fight in the end of the film.

Like I said before this film was not gory or very violent had its few moments but all in all most of the violence was suggested and left to the imagination, which at this point was sort of a staple for the Carpenter/Hill team, their thought was what you don't see,is scarier that what you do see. The ghostly crew of the Elizabeth Dane are actually secondary characters in The Fog. the true monster is The Fog itself, rolling from nowhere and covering the entire town and enveloping everyone.

The Fog is one of Carpenter's best, this film has held up very good for going on 30 years now and it has a timeless feel to it, and no matter how many times you watch it will still run chills down your spine, that is the true test of a classic horror film, and this film is a classic.

Well I hope you enjoyed this latest installment on Frightmare Reviews please check back often for new reviews.