Jacob Hall in SCREENCRUSH writes why he never watches ‘Halloween’ on Halloween »
He argues that this season is not about slashers, boogeymen, or Texas chainsaw users.. He is right.
In part, Hall writes,
That’s not to say that I dislike John Carpenter’s slasher classic. In fact, it’s one of the best horror movies ever made and a masterpiece that I find myself revisiting at least once a year. But when I do revisit it, I tend to watch it in December. Or February. Or even in the heat of the July. The moment October rolls around, I shelve any interest I have in it.
He goes on:
It’s all about tone. I avoid ‘Halloween’ on Halloween because it’s a grim film, a dark experience that gets your blood pumping and intends only to chill you to the bone. And that’s great! It succeeds at that! It’s a noted masterpiece for a reason! But when I think of Halloween, I don’t think of grimness, terror and shifting uncomfortably in bed, seeing every shadow as a masked man primed to kill me. When I think of Halloween, I think of cold air and warm clothes and a hot glass of cider. I think of the smell of latex and itchy costumes that you put up with because it’s the only time of the year that you can get away with dressing like a ghoul. I think about hayrides and haunted attractions and pop-up stores that sell only costumes and make-up that vanish on November 1.
I get his point, actually. I find myself in a bit of agreement, as well. I think of fun times, as well.. But also frightening times.
I have always been an avid horror movie enthusiast.. But lately, at least since I became a father, that interest has waned. One factor that caused me to forgo my love of the genre for a bit was when slasher films became brutal, and blood was used more than dialogue. Lately a new brand of horror has re-emerged that focuses more on the fright and fear over torture and gore..
But on Halloween, I typically avoid horror movies for one prime reason: I am a bitsuperstitious. Not to the point where I won’t walk under a ladder or avoid a black cat, but to the point where I often have felt a ‘thinning of the veil’ on Halloween in my life. There have been times, one year that stands out the most actually, where I recall a strange feeling in the air on Halloween.. where every breeze seemed to blow a spirit through my body, and where I just couldn’t wait to get home from trick or treating and lock the door and undress into my old self.
So in that regard, Jacob Hall has a point as far as why he avoids the slasher flicks.
But if I do watch a horror movie on Halloween, it will be HALLOWEEN 3,THE SEASON OF THE WITCH. I feel this movie is the most underrated horror movie of all time, and one with an amazing concept: Masks that come alive at 9pm on Halloween… as that awful, awful song plays on.
