Halloween 2019 - My Nightmare Before Christmas
This year’s extended Halloween season ended in November thanks to the post-Halloween release of Dr. Sleep - the fourth Stephen King adaptation released in 2019. This sequel to The Shining visits Danny Torrance as an adult and I will stop there for now, except to say I gave this movie the coveted 5-skull rating. Not everybody will agree with me - in fact I am guessing most folks won’t - but I can back it up and I will, so stay tuned.
The final short week of the official 2019 moviefest started with The Mist, a 2007 Stephen King adaptation that made its debut this year. I read the novella years ago at a time when I was reading everything Stephen King that I could get my hands on and I can’t believe I haven’t seen the movie before. But the ending - completely unforgettable - was not familiar to me. I have seen John Carpenter’s The Fog with William Shatner and Adrienne Barbeau, and maybe I thought that was the same story? Who knows when both films play on something unnatural in the dark and the fog and both have good bones. The Mist is special though. It takes us to dark places in our souls where we are forced to examine our religious beliefs, our faith in our government and our community, and the utter sense of helplessness that drives a person to the extreme. It is the ultimate, “What would you do?” combined with “If I only knew.” If The Mist has missed your moviefest in the past like it did mine, you should add it now.
Black Christmas is a 1974 holiday horror film starring Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey, and Jon Saxon. The fact that you probably don’t remember these actors bears witness to the movie’s age. I put this film on the list this year because a new version is due out in December. Black Christmas is a little hard to watch because of its outdated sound and video. There is a fair amount of screaming that felt like an assault on my ears while the poor resolution made it difficult to see what was going on at times. But a prank caller that picks off the sorority sisters one at a time is a classic theme, made even better against the Christmas backdrop. Check it out if for no other reason than to compare it with the 2019 version that is sure to deploy the latest empowered culture and film technology.
The final movie on the list, appropriately timed, was Halloween 2018. I have a full review of this film that I wrote last year after seeing it in the theater which I will post separately. I have seen this 40th anniversary tribute twice since then and as you know by now, I like to give most films a second look. My initial review mostly holds up.
That’s it for the official moviefest. 31 movies planned, 47 movies completed. 19 films were new to the moviefest this year, including 8 new releases from 2019. I’m pretty sure that is a record but I say that every year.
Let’s talk about Halloween night, shall we? Let’s talk about The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Good: The best cupcake recipes and a streamlined process resulting in over 200 home made, hand decorated, perfectly delicious Halloween treats. None survived the night.
The Bad: Business travel that took up most of Halloween week with only one short day to prepare, some early wind damage, and a weather forecast resulting in an underwhelming dress rehearsal.
The Ugly: Snow and subzero temperatures.
The ghost ship looked the best it has ever looked in the week leading up to Halloween - and that somehow made the snow that covered the pirates a few days later seem all that much worse. After dumping several inches of snow, Mother Nature dropped the temperature down to -14°F on Halloween eve. This effectively took out the real pumpkins needed for the pumpkin jamboree - a kid-favorite staple of front-of-house for years. The frigid temperatures kept the snow and ice around so making a safe path through the displays, setting up lights and sound, and getting fog out of a frozen machine seemed like insurmountable odds. But my husband is the consummate professional and he pulled it all together. So with the support of our fellow Halloween lovers, we had a show to top all shows by the time the sun went down. Our very dear friends who spend the holidays with us every year arrived in full costume - something they hadn’t done in the past. Morgan dressed as Annabelle with epic make-up to match, and Chad even found himself drawn into the adventure. Plus visits from many costumed friends and family. And then there is my soul-brother, the inspiration for so much of what I do, who safely guided our visitors through the display looking like something that nightmares are made of. We call him the show. He brings it. Every … single … year.
In what felt like my own private Nightmare Before Christmas, the forces that seemed determined to take us out did not win. This love of Halloween is shared by so many friends and family that nothing was going to stop us and with their help, we pulled it off. Pirates, a dragon, lights, sound, fog and an animated graveyard. In spite of the snow, ice, and frigid temperatures, we had a record number of visitors.
Two weeks later, the temperatures warmed and we enjoyed a late season round of golf. The world is a crazy place.