A Brief Interlude Concerning the Most Recent Halloween

Sure, a couple of days ago, I wrote about the theory that I might not actually be a horror fan anymore. For those watching me struggle with self-doubt here this week, please remember that this is all building to something. A point, if you must have a more definite term. It is really about a refocusing of purpose on my part, on shifting my attentions to a larger, more educational goal for myself regarding film.

It has never really been about whether or not I actually like horror films anymore, because I do. It is hard to enter the Halloween weekend and not watch monster movies when one has the collection of films that I do. In fact, this weekend, I ended up zipping through thirteen of the little buggers, mainly because I purposefully kept Halloween small, private and at home this year.

Not that I didn't make an attempt to make it broader and more public. I bought a pumpkin well over four weeks ago, but as of tonight, it is still sitting in the center of our dining table, uncarved and merely autumnal. (Pumpkins will last for a good while when not laid into and gutted with a knife.) Jen and I tried to hit the Disney Halloween fireworks on Wednesday (our only night to afford this opportunity to the both of us this week), but they were cancelled due to the winds. Likewise, our attempt to hit the Haunted Mansion was blocked by a two-hour waiting line. (I had tried to ride the Halloween refit of Space Mountain a few weeks back, but the ride kept breaking down, thus forcing Jen's brother Ben and myself out of line until we got sick of waiting. We did hit the Mansion then, though.)

I bought candy, but for the first time since I moved here, there were no trick-and-treaters mucking about last night. Not a single knock on either our door or any doors adjacent to us. Not a single bark out of our girls, who usually go crazy during Halloween (and love greeting the various monsters, superheroes and princesses that arrive at our door). And without any parties to attend, it is a perfectly quiet and DVD-laden weekend for me. I dug in early on Saturday (I wake up at 5 a.m., regardless of the day), and started in on the stack of films I had put together for the event.

For those who care about such things (like myself), this is the list of nine films I went through on Saturday. You might notice that there are numerous films from 1964 and 1965 on the full list of films from this weekend, over half of them in fact. The reasons for this will become obvious in a few days as I elaborate more on my current theme:

1. Zaat (1975/1972) Dir.: Don Barton // Cinema 4 rating: 3 // TCM Underground
2. Swamp Thing (1982) Dir.: Wes Craven // Cinema 4 rating: 4 // TCM Underground
3. The Last Man on Earth (1964) Dir.: Sidney Salkow // Cinema 4 rating: 5 // DVD
4. Planet of the Vampires [Terrore nello spazio] (1965) Dir.: Mario Bava // Cinema 4 rating: 7 // DVD
5. Die, Monster, Die! (1965) Dir.: Daniel Haller // Cinema 4 rating: 4 // DVD
6. Nightmare (1964) Dir.: Freddie Francis // Cinema 4 rating: 6 // DVD
7. The Tomb of Ligeia (1965) Dir.: Roger Corman // Cinema 4 rating: 7 // DVD
8. Murders in the Zoo (1933) Dir.: A. Edward Sutherland // Cinema 4 rating: 6 // TCM
9. Circus of Horrors (1960) Dir.: Sidney Hayers // Cinema 4 rating: 6 // TCM

And here are the films I watched today on this "hair of the dog" post-Halloween, "extra hour of sleep" Sunday:

10. Midnight Movie (2008) Dir.: Jack Messitt // Cinema 4 rating: 4 // Showtime
11. Killer Movie (2008) Dir: Jeff Fisher // Cinema 4 rating: 5 // Showtime
12. The Skull (1965) Dir.: Freddie Francis // Cinema 4 rating: 6 // DVD
13. War Gods of the Deep (aka City Under the Sea) (1965) Dir.: Jacques Tourneur // Cinema 4 rating: 4 // DVD

Sheesh! All this, and I also managed to watch two World Series games, the first game of the MLS Playoff pairing between the Los Angeles Galaxy and CD Chivas USA (the second game of which I will be attending live next Sunday), keep half an eye on the Vikings-Packers game, watched the new episodes of Dexter and Californication (Jen doesn't watch these shows, so I was able to rip through them tonight -- Mad Men, however, will have to wait until Tuesday), reread half of David Skal's horror cultural history "The Monster Show," and wrote just under 5,000 words.

And yet, I still couldn't find time to carve that pumpkin. Must be slacking off in my halfway-to-dotage.

Hope you all had a monstrous Halloween as well.