Happy Horrorween!

Ok,one of the best holidays of the year is fast upon us and I felt it was a good excuse to write about
some of my favorite scare flicks to recommend for your viewing pleasure. The only film out in theaters that looks any good is Saw II(A History of Violence is chilling as well but not really in the
horror genre)which I'll be reviewing here but meanwhile,here are some treats for your goodie
basket:

Old School:

You can never go wrong with The Bride Of Frankenstein-Boris Karloff,the all-time king of horror in my book,has some of his best screen moments here. My favorite is his meeting with Dr. Pretorious in the crypt,casually making a deal to get Frankie a date. Ernest Thesiger is one
of those great weird actors who folks like James Whale always managed to grab hold off for
the right roles at the right time,along with Una O'Connor,a perfect sidekicking dame.

Another good Karloff movie is The Mummy,in which Boris does more than shamble about in
make-up. He truly emotes as Im Ho Tep,who seeks to reunite with the reincarnation of his
lost love. A major influence on the Brendan Frasiser versions(particularly The Mummy Returns-check out the timewarp pool of water scenes) which the director freely acknowledges
in the DVD extras.

Vampires A Go Go:

Yep,gotta mention some bloodsucking box office babes(which I will get plenty of in tonight's Smallville,with Kryptonite sorority vampire girls lead by a gal named Buffy Sanders-no joke).
Instead of picking a classic,I'll go with a teen vamp double feature-Fright Night and Lost Boys.

Fright Night has Chris Sarandon as the Vamp Next Door who has to deal with Noisy Neighbor
Charlie(William Ragsdale) when Charlie is more interested in his nocturnal habits than sexing up his girlfriend Amy(a pre-Married With Children Amanda Bearse). One of the highlights of
the film is Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent,a faded Hammer movie style actor reduced to
hosting the local late night creature feature on TV. Peter Vincent is recruited by Charlie to
aid him in his vampire hunt,along with Charlie's goofy buddy Evil Ed(Stephen Geoffreys).

The humor mixed into the horror really works well here,without diluting the effects of either.
Sarandon's vampire(named Jerry Dandridge,of all things)is very charming and menancing and
one of his coolest scenes involves seducing Amy on the dance floor of a club with a great mirror
wall take. I enjoy Evil Ed quite abit-Geoffreys gleefully chews the scenery,particularly in his
bits with McDowall ,and it's a shame that for the sequel(which is not worth spit),they didn't
revive his character as it was hinted at the end of the film.

Lost Boys-just look at the cover,folks. If you don't see the prototypes for Angel,Spike & Drusilla,what can I tell you? Also,any horror flick that gets referenced in a Tarantino film
is worth watching(bonus points if you know what movie and who says it).

Modern Day Menaces:

Underworld is one movie you should definately see before the follow-up,Underworld Evolution
comes out. There are a couple of edtions available on DVD but even if you just get the theaticial
cut,this film will draw you in to it's familar -yet-original take on both the vampire and werewolf
legends with the haunting prescene of Kate Beckinsale as the vampire warrior Selene.

High Tension throws back to the 70's gritty gore stylings with it's strong heroine and brutal
suspense scenes. The DVD offers both the Amercian dubbed version and the French subtitled
uncut one, with an interview with the director who has quite an interesting take on the story.

Also,you can just click on AMC's Monsterfest and enjoy the show. AMC has more modern flicks
than old b&ws(which is a shame)but the selection can be pretty sweet. Whatever you watch,
may your movies be scary and all your Halloweens be a fright:)