October 15, 2020 | dw_richards
Welcome back! For week four of our Halloween horror movie marathon we're going to focus primarily on what was a great time for horror movies; the late 70s and early 80s. Then for the weekend, we'll get more modern with one of the 21st century's greatest horror comedies, a double feature of a writer/director whose work has revolutionized horror representation, and our final all-ages film heads back to the 80s with a classic that mixes horror, comedy, and an upcoming holiday.
Monday, October 19th-Carrie (1976)
Available via DVD
Carrie is the first ever Stephen King novel to be adapted to film, and it's one of the scariest thanks to the work of director Brian De Palma, screenwriter Lawrence D Cohen, and standout performances by Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and Nancy Allen. It's a tragic and powerful film about the horrors of family and the cruelty of adolescents
Tuesday, October 20th- The Fog (1980)
Available via DVD
The Fog, directed by John Carpenter and co-written by Carpenter and Debra Hill, is a masterpiece of slow burn, moody horror.The first two thirds of the film immerse you in the world of the small town of Antonio Bay and its inhabitants; which include fan favorite horror actors like Tom Atkins, Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, and her mother Janet Leigh. You also discover that an unearthly fog bank is headed towards the town and it's hiding a malevolent force.
The film's third act is all pay off as the fog's collection of angry ghosts descend on Antonio Bay out for blood because of a crime done to them many decades before. The ghosts are creepy, and the film features an incredible synthwave score by Carpenter.
Wednesday, October 21st- The Hunger (1983)
Available via DVD
This slick 1983 vampire film from director Tony Scott features three incredibly attractive and charismatic stars; Catherine Deneuve, who plays a vampire that's thousands of years old, David Bowie plays her centuries old lover; and Susan Sarandon, who plays a mortal doctor that is drawn into their world to find a cure for a mysterious ailment afflicting Bowie's character. So the film is both an erotic thriller and a powerful and poignant tale about illness, aging, and death.
Thursday, October 22nd- The Omen (1976)
Available via DVD
Director Richard Donner's 1976 film about a youthful antichrist named Damien and the havoc he and the forces that worship him wreak is a classic in the sub-genre of horror movies about the devil.It features an incredible and haunting score by Jerry Goldsmith and is jam packed with unsettling scenes and revelations, including a scene at a birthday party where a young woman demonstrates her devotion to Damien. It also features some great performances by Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as Damien's parents. Young Harvey Stephens though, who plays Damien, steals the show. His performance is the gold standard for creepy kid horror.
Friday, October 23rd-Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Available via DVD
This week's horror comedy is the perfect mix of tropes from zombie films and late '90s/early 2000s romantic comedies. You'd think those two things would clash, but thanks to the smart direction of Edgar Wright, a script with tons of heart and humor by Wright and star Simon Pegg, and some great performances by Pegg, Nick frost, and Dylan Moran the movie goes down like a smooth genre cocktail.
Saturday, October 24th- Get Out (2017) & Us (2019)
For today's double feature we focus on the film work of writer/director Jordan Peele who revolutionized horror with the release of the Oscar winning "social horror" film, Get Out, which was about a black man who goes to meet his white girlfriend's parents and is plunged into a waking nightmare. In Peele's follow up film,Us, he shifts his scale and focus to a black family who go on vacation and run into their sinister doppelgangers. Both films feature humor, some powerful scenes, and some great performances especially from Lupita Nyong'o in Us.
Sunday October 25th- Gremlins (1984)
Available via DVD
For our final all-ages film we're looking back to the '80s and ahead to the Christmas holidays with director Joe Dante's horror/comedy classic, Gremlins. This movie has got it all; sly humor and satire for the adults, an adorable creature as a central character for the kids, cackling monsters as the villains, and some fantastic, fully realized puppet characters.