All-Night Halloween Horrorthons
All-Night Halloween
Horrorthons
It’s that time of year that I love…well, maybe I’m jumping the gun a little bit. Let’s see…it is still, September?! Wow, well…for some of us, Halloween is an everyday thing. I figured 2020 has been weird enough we can start celebrating all things spooky a little early this year.
Because we only have five loans on Hoopla, these lists are also going to look at films available on DVD and Bluray through the entire Huntsville Madison County Public Library system. You can access the catalog and start searching here: https://hmcpl.org/. As I compile these lists, I will mention what is available from where and have links for anything available from HMCPL. You can put any disc available in the system on hold to be picked up at any library branch you like. (Then you can return it to any branch in the system.)
Remember, when you check out from HMCPL, you are limited to checking out only 50 movies/books at a time. I know, I know. Look, I don’t make up the rules. Also please remember, all materials may require wait times and/or possibly get lost in the shuffle, so if I link you up to a movie and it turns out that it might be hanging out with all those lost socks that magically go missing from washer to dryer, I do apologize. Always have a back-up plan, always have a bunch of titles on hold so something is coming in for you to watch.
To really start the Halloween season off with a bang, we are going to be looking at just items available from the HMCPL catalog that include multiple movies for your own armchair dusk-to-dawn show. (Although these are multiple movies, some on multiple discs, they only count as one check-out. Shop smarter, not harder, know what I mean?)
I’d love for you to also listen to the podcast I co-host with Michelle, Two Librarians Walk into a Shelf, where we will be celebrating Halloween all month long with spooky book and movie recommendations and maybe a surprise guest or two.
Without further ado, let’s kick off the 2020 Halloween season early with a fistful of frights! Grab some popcorn balls and candy corn, these movies aren’t going to watch themselves!
Tremors: Attack Pack
If you enjoy watching giant sandworms eat people, (and really, who doesn’t?), this collection presents the first four Tremors films in the long running series.
Tremors (1990)- Bumpkins Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward battle giant man-eating sandworms. For me, the original is still the best one. Michael Gross and Reba Mcentire co-star.
Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996)- Ward and Gross return and fight against worms and worm mutants called “shriekers.”
Tremors III: Back to Perfection (2001)- Did someone say, “Giant worm mayhem?” Michael Gross is now the star of the series.
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)- Sort of a prequel about the giant worms attacking a wild west town. Gross plays his own great-great grandfather, Hiram Gummer.
https://catalog.hmcpl.org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=372132&query_desc=tremors
Psycho II/ Psycho III/ Psycho IV: The Beginning
If you have seen Alfred Hitchcock’s classic adaptation of Robert Bloch’s pulp novel, Psycho, you may enjoy these sequels which continue Norman’s adventure into “normalcy.” (And if you haven’t seen the original, you can certainly catch up with it here: https://catalog.hmcpl.org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=331505&query_desc=psycho%20dvd)
Psycho II (1982)- Twenty-two years after being incarcerated in the State Hospital for the Terminally Twitchy, Norman Bates returns home to restart his life. Only, Mother is back and she’s worried about her little boy.
Psycho III (1986)- Picking up days after Psycho II, a drifter, a news reporter, and a former nun who has lost her faith all cross paths at the Bates Motel for a wild week of murder and mayhem. It is a love story. This is my favorite re-watch of all the Psycho films, which was directed by Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins.
Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)- A made-for-cable movie, but don’t let that put you off. It is still a tense look at Norman’s life as a child and his relationship with his mother. It is told in flashbacks, as Norman, now married and awaiting the birth of his first child, talks to a radio show psychologist about his upbringing. By movie’s end, Norman has a big knife and is waiting for his wife to come home for a special dinner surprise…
https://catalog.hmcpl.org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=196916&query_desc=psycho%20II
SyFy Collection: 5 Wild Movies
Is there anything better after a long day than settling in for some ridiculous “Mega This” vs. “Giant That” silliness? Strap in for these SyFy Channel original movies and be prepared to be shocked silly.
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009)- With Debbie Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas. I forget which one plays the shark and which one plays the octopus.
Weather Wars (2011)- Unexplained weather attacks destroy a nation! Jason London from Dazed and Confused is our only hope for survival!!! (AKA Storm War.)
Megafault (2009)- Mining in West Virginia results in a giant crack running across the continent. Dr. Amy Lane (Brittany Murphy) races to keep the country from tearing in half.
30,000 Leagues Under the Sea (2007)- Captain Nemo goes even farther down into the unknown and drags Lorenzo Lamas with him. Here there be CGI monsters.
Miami Magma (2011)- Illegal drilling threatens to ignite a mega-volcano underneath Miami, Florida. If this had actually happened in 2011, we’d still be talking about it today. If it actually happens in 2020, we’ll be like, “Meh.”
https://catalog.hmcpl.org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=380152&query_desc=syfy
4 Movie Marathon. Post-Apocalyptic Collection
I know you haven’t had enough of the apocalypse yet, so let’s get busy figuring out toward which of these action-packed dark futures we are headed.
Waterworld (1995)- It’s cliché to say but when has that ever stopped me? It’s The Road Warrior on the water. With Kevin Costner and Dennis Hopper.
Skyline (2010)- Strange lights draw people outside so evil aliens can fry them with their giant galactic-bug zapper. (The sequel, Beyond Skyline (2017) is also available: https://catalog.hmcpl.org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=360274&query_desc=beyond%20skyline.)
Children of Men (2006)- In a future-world (2027!) of infertile women, one pregnant woman emerges to save mankind.
Doomsday (2008)- I could talk about this incredible action movie for days, but I won’t. Without doubt, this is the greatest mash-up of The Warriors (1979), Escape from New York (1981), The Road Warrior (1982) and Excalibur (1981) ever made! (All those titles are available from HMCPL if you want to fact check me on that.) Doomsday will get your pulse racing.
https://catalog.hmcpl.org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=385725&query_desc=waterworld
Zombie Classics
Using the word “classic” very loosely here, this set covers some old school zombie scares as well as newer ded-dude flicks for a night of chills and thrills. (I could not grab a picture of the actual box art our copy has, but I found this cool metal case one with the same title.)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)- The movie that re-invented the idea of the zombie for the rest of time. From director George Romero and writer John Russo.
White Zombie (1932)- Witch doctors and voodoo with Bela Lugosi.
Legion of the Dead (2005)- Bruce Boxleitner and Zach Galligan battle, you guessed it, The Legion of the Dead when an Egyptian tomb is opened.
Dead Men Walking (2005)- A biotoxin turn folks into the walking dead.
https://catalog.hmcpl.org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=256808&query_desc=zombies%20dvd
Roger Corman Creature Collection
Producer/director Roger Corman, the patron saint of the drive-in movie theater, gave upon the world hundreds and hundreds of wonderful movies to be watched in cars under the stars. Here are five of them.
Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)- Giant leeches in a swamp drink the blood of cheaters and barrel-chested hillbillies. Southern fried lunacy.
The Wasp Woman (1959)- Susan Cabot inject hormones from wasps to stay beautiful, turning into the title creature at night to feed and bleed her victims.
Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)- A crook blames a crime on a legendary sea monster that turns out to be real in this horror-spoof.
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)- If you only know the musical version you should give this filmed-in-3-days Corman wonder a watch. It is very hip and funny.
Last Women on Earth (1960)- After a nuclear holocaust, the last woman on earth watches the last two men on earth fight for her affection. (She doesn’t seem to like either of them.)
https://catalog.hmcpl.org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=380149&query_desc=roger%20corman
Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection
Yes, the classic Frankenstein movie collection is available with just one check-out! This is the original series starring all the greats, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive, Lon Chaney, Jr. and the amazing Una O'Connor. (If you don’t know who Una O'Connor is, I urge you to watch The Bride of Frankenstein right now!)
Frankenstein (1931)- The classic “patchwork” man story with Karloff as the Monster.
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)- Dr. Frankenstein creates a mate for his creature, but the Bride “swipes left” and has only transplanted eyes for the doctor. The first sequel in the history of cinema to be better than the original.
Son of Frankenstein (1939)- The doctor’s offspring follows in his father’s footsteps.
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)- Ygor tries to fix the Monster’s bad brain with a good one.
The House of Frankenstein (1944)- For my money, this is my favorite Frankenstein flick to re-watch. Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man, all in one movie, with almost no plot or story to get in the way of the monster action!
Haunted Hollows: 8 Films
A mix of haunted fright features for every terror taste.
The House That Would Not Die (1970)- A house in the Amish countryside is haunted by ghosts from the Revolutionary War. With Barbara Stanwyck.
The Haunting of Fox Hollow Farm (2011)- A documentary about the soul of a lunatic that seems to never go away.
Evidence of a Haunting (2010)- A reality show featuring ghost hunters gets real when spirits trap cast and crew in a series of tunnels under a Texas college.
7 Nights of Darkness (2011)- Found footage scares abound as an abandoned asylum is investigated.
Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return (1999)- Creepy little Isaac (John Franklin) returns from the original Corn Kids Classic.
Ominous (2009)- A paranormal presence ruins a fun family getaway.
Haunting of Winchester House (2009)- Vengeful spirits terrorize a new family who has just moved in.
Darkness (2002)- A young girl discovers the haunted past of the house she and her family have recently moved into. With Anna Paquin and Lena Olin.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 1-4
Classic 80’s slasher cinema with the most charismatic psycho to ever grace the silver screen. Freddy Krueger came alive in Wes Craven’s amazing original film that turned the slasher film upside down and proved that even our dreams were no longer a safe place to hide. The original is one of the scariest movies of the 80’s. Freddy was a stand-up comedian by Part 3 with all his one-liners, but I still remember the all-out terror that the original film generated and the excitement when each new installment hit theaters.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)- The classic original that tells the tender tail of a vengeful spirit invading the dreams of teenagers to get back at their parents.
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)- Creepy “5-years-later” sequel that is the only in the series to focus on a teen male hero. Above average entry with many over the top moments.
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors (1987)- High octane, heavy metal direct follow-up to the original with returning characters and a group of young people who harness their dream powers to fight the “Fried One.”
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4: The Dream Master (1988)- A fast-moving effects spectacular that gets to the good stuff quickly as returning characters from Part 3 hook Freddy up with new kids to stalk.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5-8
Like I always say, “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.” You might as well see what happened to our dream slayer as time and diminishing box office returns caught up with him. The scares you experience with these later flicks vary, but true Fred-heads will enjoy, and series creator Wes Craven gave the crispy critter a worthy send-off with the final entry in the original series.
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 5: The Dream Child (1989)- The final 80’s entry for the series is a dark, gothic mess that still has a couple of rousing nightmare shocks. Splatterpunk authors John Skipp and Craig Spector contributed to the script.
The Final Nightmare: Freddy’s Dead (1991)- Lackluster “final chapter” tries to wrap-up the series but cameos by Rosanne Barr and Tom Arnold just seem to suck all the fun out of it. The final fifteen minutes were shot in “Freddy-Vision,” (cheap 3-D), which the disc does not recreate. (It gave me a headache anyway.) My personal least favorite out of the series.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)- Freddy’s father, Wes Craven, returned for the 10th Anniversary feature and this is probably the best in the series as the force known as “Freddy Kruger” compels Craven to make a new film. Many people from the original film are back, playing themselves in this meta-horror that is easily one of the best horror films of the ‘90s.
Coming Soon:
Halloween Drive-in Double Features