Tag Archives: Halloween

Regal theater chain showing 31 nights of horror films for Halloween

I’m not sure what’s better – watching a good horror movie in the (darkened) comfort of your home or watching in a theater.

(You notice I’m not including the stone-age choice here of watching a horror movie in a drive-in theater, although I watched plenty that way growing up and as a young adult. Bless the drive-in theaters that operate today, but going to a drive-in these days is more of a fun “going to a drive-in” exercise, not a “going to see a movie” exercise.)

I’ve certainly seen many more horror films at home in the past decade or two, more than I’ve seen in theaters. But back in the day, including the period from 1978 to 1990 when I was reviewing movies for my hometown newspaper, I saw a lot of horror movies in the theater. I mean: “Halloween.”

That’s why I believe seeing any movie in a theater, especially a horror movie, is such a great experience. I definitely saw horror movies in theaters before I saw “The Exorcist” in 1973. (I’m still not quite sure how I saw the film, one of the greatest films and one of the greatest horror films ever, in the theater. I was years too young to have bought a ticket for an R-rated film. And yet …)

Anyway, I think I’ll always prefer seeing a good horror film in a theater. The big screen. The great sound. The cathartic feeling of an audience sharing a scare. And yes, even the shouted warnings from excited members of the audience. (“Watch out! He’s behind you!”)

And while I can’t say I’ll definitely see one of the horror films that the Regal theater chain plans to show in October, it’s very tempting to try to work that into my schedule.

Across the country, Regal is offering its “31 Screams on Screens” promotion, screening horror films from decades of scary movies for the low price of $7.99 a ticket.

The selection of films includes some of my favorites as well as some I haven’t seen. Here’s the list:

Oct. 1 — The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)
Oct. 2 — The Shining (1980)
Oct. 3 — Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Oct. 4 — The Conjuring (2013)
Oct. 5 — Poltergeist (1982)
Oct. 6 — The Haunting (1999)
Oct. 7 — Crimson Peak (2015)
Oct. 8 — Tales from the Hood (1995)
Oct. 9 — In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
Oct. 10 — Pet Sematary (1989)
Oct. 11 — Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Oct. 12 — The Thing (1982)
Oct. 13 — The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Oct. 14 — Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Oct. 15 — Psycho II (1983)
Oct. 16 — Candyman (1992) and Candyman (2021)
Oct. 17 — Scream 2 (1997)
Oct. 18 — A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
Oct. 19 — The Blob (1988)
Oct. 20 — Evil Dead (2013)
Oct. 21 — Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Oct. 22 — Cabin Fever director’s cut (2002)
Oct. 23 — Midsommar director’s cut (2019)
Oct. 24 — Us (2019)
Oct. 25 — The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Oct. 26 — Constantine (2005)
Oct. 27 — The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Oct. 28 — It Follows (2014)
Oct. 29 — Christine (1983)
Oct. 30 — Halloween (1978)
Oct. 31 — Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

There’s something for almost everyone there.

Here’s the link to the Regal site:

https://www.regmovies.com/horror-movies

They say it’s spooky season …

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I’m not sure when someone decided Halloween season kicked off with the beginning of September, but I have no complaints. After all, the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years season unofficially begins weeks before Black Friday – probably November 1, actually – and everyone seems to have embraced that.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and always has been. I love everything about it: memories of trick-or-treating when I was a kid, taking my own kid – and dogs, complete with Superdog cape – trick-or-treating, the Charlie Brown special, the Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House record …

… looking for scary movies on TV to watch during the run-up to Halloween and perusing stores to find funny costumes and decor.

Not to forget vintage Halloween photos.

The memories of trick-or-treating for those of us of a certain age inevitably include memories of the hot, uncomfortable plastic masks and tunics like those in the vintage Halloween picture above. I’m not pictured; I don’t know that my parents ever took a picture of me in a Halloween costume, before I went trick-or-treating with my cousins in their neighborhood, or afterward, when we came home sweaty and disheveled and all sugared up from eating candy before our parents could inspect it for razorblades and LSD.

Anyway, Halloween costumes, memories, movies, sounds and smells (see aforementioned sweaty plastic costumes) are a big part of this site. Here’s a link to my many Halloween posts. Happy spooky season and have a safe and happy Halloween.

https://keithroysdon.com/category/halloween

TCM is my comfort place – my spooky place in October

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I’ve always loved watching Halloween horrors on TV. That didn’t change when it became easy to find classic horror films on first cable TV and VHS and later online and on streaming.

There’s still something wonderful about the communal experience of watching horror films, old and new-ish, on TV, even if the communal watchers are all over the world. That’s one of the reasons I love TCM – Turner Classic Movies – in October.

A few years ago, AMC was a go-to place for horror films and documentaries in October and the channel still shows the genre, but TCM has the largest and most diverse and often strangest selection of films each October.

That’s again the case this year, with Fridays devoted to Creepy Cinema, Sundays devoted to Hitchcock and weekends featuring classic horror films. Look for Hammer horror on Monday October 20, Boris Karloff on the 21st, sci-fi horror on the 22nd and horror marathons the last few days of the month.

Here’s a link to TCM’s offerings this month. Happy Halloween!

Click to access OCT_AT_A_GLANCE.pdf

Halloween on TV, 2024 style

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Way back in the dark ages, before the Internet, I wrote about TV – we’re talking about the 1980s, so even pay-cable, as they called it then, was relatively new – and my favorite time of year to write about TV was the run-up to Halloween.

I’d been a dedicated watcher of Halloween-oriented TV in my childhood, watching late-night horror host Sammy Terry and, of course, the Charlie Brown “Great Pumpkin” special.

So by the time I was an “adult” and getting paid to write about TV for my local newspaper, I would devote one of my weekly columns in October to Halloween specials and movies we could look forward to seeing on the tube, Because this was before the Internet, I mostly relied on press releases sent via MAIL in PRINT from TV networks and Indianapolis TV stations.

So I’d list a Halloween week’s worth of TV. In October 1984, for example, I noted that the 1979 remake of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” would air on Cinemax on October 31, followed by John Carpenter’s “Halloween,” “Alligator” and George Romero’s “Creepshow.”

I noted that Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, would host a four-hour block on MTV. I watched this a while back for a book I was writing, set in October 1984, and found it a very fun experience that included Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.”

Now we have all the info we want, all the time, about what’s coming up on great cable channels like TCM – this October its star of the month is Bela Lugosi – and streaming services.

I’ve been catching a few fun old horror films and specials. What have I watched so far this month? I enjoyed rewatching the Tom Cruise “Mummy” movie from 2017 that was supposed to kick off “a new world of gods and monsters” for a Universal “Dark Universe” that would see revivals of all the classic films from the studio. We know how badly that went.

I watched “Halloween with the New Addams Family,” a 1977 special that was really misnamed because most of the cast of the 1960s series returned for this TV movie sequel.

I’m enjoying the Creepy Cinema series on TCM that kicked off with “Sudden Fear,” a little-seen 1952 thriller starring Joan Crawford and Jack Palance.

One of the most enjoyable watches so far was “Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story,” a documentary from 2007 about the shock film director/producer who rivaled Alfred Hitchcock for the ingenuity of his films – and especially the gimmicks used to promote them, including “The Tingler.” I highly recommend this doc if you’ve never seen it. I found it for free on streaming.

And of course I’m watching as “Svengoolie” counts down to Halloween with double-features every Saturday night.

I’m almost certain that before Halloween I’ll rewatch that Charlie Brown special. It wouldn’t be Halloween without seeing t.

Servicing your characters

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What I’m watching: Servicing your characters

I write a lot, considering dozens of articles I’ve written this year, as well as short stories and books. Somewhere along the line I’ve fallen into the habit of trying to write only when I’ll get paid.

So this blog, which dates to the early 2010s, when i was getting a regular paycheck for writing, has been neglected in recent years.

But with the former twitter disappearing up its own asshole and no other social media really coming on strong, I’m trying to make myself maintain an online presence somewhere besides social media.

So I’m here again, like some kind of drunken traveling salesman, returning home to the family he’s neglected over the years and promising to try to be better about just being here.

One easy way to do this is to write about what I’ve been reading or watching lately. So a quick checklist:

Yes, I’m watching “Yellowstone.” Again. I’m introducing my wife to it but I’m enjoying watching it again, despite how preposterous it gets as the series goes on, with the Dutton family killing man and beast with seeming impunity.

What I’ve always liked best about “Yellowstone,” though, is its servicing of its characters. The show juggles a lot of characters as the series goes on and a lot of writers who are inclined to turn up their noses at the show and its writer/creator would do well to take a few lessons.

If you’re writing a big, complicated story involving a lot of characters, you need to remember to make those characters consistent – not like shows dating back to “Melrose Place,” which would have characters completely change up their character to hook up with someone who had literally just tried to kill them – so that viewers and readers almost – almost – consider they’re watching and reading about real people they might know. Yes, in the case of “Yellowstone,” they’re awful real people but they seem true-to-themselves.

What I’m also watching:

I’m trying to watch some horror/thriller/suspense films during the month leading up to Halloween. Slow going so far, but I’ve enjoyed “Them,” the 1954 thriller about giant ants, and “Dressed to Kill,” the unhinged 1980 sexual thriller. The latter is a lot to take, 43 years after it came out.

I’m also watching “The Crown” for the first time and so far I’ve enjoyed the Clair Foy seasons best. And I’m rewatching “For All Mankind,” which does almost as good a job of world building as “Yellowstone.” The latter does best with its building out of its world by introducing more stories about Yellowstone ranch hands.

Halloween on the TV

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When I was a kid, I loved everything about Halloween, including the way it changed TV.

For days leading up to Halloween and definitely on the day itself, TV channels and networks would run Halloween-themed specials. Not just Charlie Brown but old movies on the local channels.

When cable exploded in the 1980s, the selection was even greater. I loved the movies and specials that aired on AMC and TCM.

Tonight I’m confronted with more movies than I’ll have time to watch, from “The Lost Boys” on VH1 to “Dead of Night” on TCM to the “Blacula” movies – both of em – on Bounce, the local “urban” station.

It’s a seasonal embarrassment of riches.