Halloween Movie Marathon and More

Every year, we see what I nicknamed the Halloween Movie Marathon.  My twin and I started this tradition in the 1990’s.  This time, we started early because I couldn’t wait for Labor Day.  Is July 27 too early?  Oh well…

So far, we’ve watched 13 horror movies.  Here’s a summary of what we’ve seen so far:

• Halloween:  H20 – We usually start off with this one, because it’s about Halloween, and also it’s one of our favorites.  The name implies what it’s about…Laurie Strode with a son and a psychopathic brother, 20 years later.  I loved seeing Jamie Lee Curtis with that axe.
• The Funhouse – Teens spend a night in a funhouse and get knocked off one by one by a monster.  Boy, that monster had a great scream.    
• Fear – A woman with extrasensory abilities taps into a killer’s mind.  The kicker is that this killer is psychic too, which he uses to increase other’s fears.  I like Ally Sheedy, so I enjoyed this one.
• Subspecies – Vampire brothers fight over King Vlad’s inheritance.  Yup, another favorite of mine, even though it is gross in spots.
• The Church – This one I saw some parts of long ago.  When I saw it in its entirety I was drawn in by the disturbing erotic imagery.
• IT – 7 friends band together to fight Pennywise the Clown.  I especially appreciated John Ritter being cast as the “Fat Boy”.
• Psycho III – Anthony Perkins on the prowl again, but this time he has a girl friend.
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Donald Sutherland plays a guy who is thrust into an invasion of pod people.  Scared me when he crushed his girlfriend.
• The Haunted – Based on the true story, “The Haunted:  One Family’s Nightmare” (I also read the book), about the Smurls’ experiences with the haunted duplex on Chase Street.  The book is scarier than the movie, but I still enjoyed this TV picture.  It especially disturbed me when Jack was attacked by a demon.
• The Faculty – Every kid’s worst nightmare:  having their teachers get taken over by aliens.  Don’t you love it when people band together to fight evil?
• Suspiria – Girl attends a ballet academy where witches kill the students.  While I didn't care for the grotesque death scenes, I liked the background lighting colors, frightfully good music, and scary plot.
• The Amityville Horror – A family moves into their dream house and experience 28 days of hell.  I was disappointed that this wasn’t a true story like they said, but I guess they meant that the DeFeo murders actually happened.
• When a Stranger Calls Back – Sequel about a baby sitter/coed who is stalked by a psychopath.  I enjoyed seeing this in September, when school is in session.

I’ve only read 4 books so far.  They are as follows:

• Haunted Spouse (Heather MacAllister) – A woman helps her ex-husband design a haunted house.  I enjoy this book every year, even though the guy's a jerk.
• Fright Night (Linda Stevens) – a man and a woman are stalked by a nut who is determined that the whole town must pay.  Yup, another favorite.  I especially liked that they showed the inner workings of a haunted house. 
• Storm of the Century (Stephen King) – An evil man terrorizes islanders during a big snowstorm.  What was in the book was mostly the same stuff as the miniseries, but it did answer some questions I had about it.
• Unmasked Passion (Linda Vail) – 3 women place their hopes and dreams into a Halloween Gala.  Not as special as the first two, but I read it every Halloween.

From now on, I’ll post them as I see (or read) them.