Theater Directory

Monday, October 5, 2015

How Do You Boo?

One of the great things about the horror genre is just how flexible it is. There's an implication that things will be scary, sure, but you can also go creepy, silly, funny, serious, depressing, and several other ways, and it can all be considered horror or a subgenre of horror. This stuff appeals to so many people because there's so many different takes on the same material.

I don't know about you, but my tastes are pretty eclectic. I can enjoy everything from melancholy ghost stories to family-friendly monster movies to R-rated zombie comedies. When October rolls around however, I tend to focus on one aspect of the Halloween season: the cornball.

Clever. Not what I meant. I'm talking about the goofy, the silly, the sublimely cheesy. I'm not sure why, but during the month of Halloween, I feel like the best movies to watch are the laughably bad ones, the 1950s alien invasion flicks, the Universal Monsters, the classic Halloween specials, the stuff that overflows with plastic bats, jack-o-lanterns, and a group of kids out to save the world. I've loved Halloween my whole life, and it seems, more so than other major holidays, to practically run on nostalgia. Everything I did as a kid -cornfield mazes, s'mores over a campfire, hayrides, haunted houses, pumpkin carving- just seems essential. Plus the food and drink that we associate with the 31st, like apple cider and candy. 

Of course, other people do things a bit differently, and that's cool too. Some folks like to host or attend a movie marathon of the goriest, gnarliest stuff they can find. Others like to wear costumes (FYI, it takes more than a corset and animal ears to be considered a costume) and go out drinking. Still others spend time and effort (and loads of money) creating awe-inspiring front yard displays to terrify trick-or-treaters. I think as long as you get involved and have a good and safe time, it doesn't matter how you enjoy Halloween. I stop at animal or human sacrifice though. For me, Halloween is all about being 10 years old again, hearing Bing Crosby sing "The Headless Horseman" while running through the house on a sugar high. So, my question is: how do you boo? Do you go for the cheesy, the scary, the gory, the silly? What does your Halloween look like? Let me know in the comments!

The following cartoon is a great example of my kind of Halloween.




2 comments:

  1. I tend toward the cheesy as well. Annual Halloween watchings for me include "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein", Disney's "The Adventures of Ichabod" and the above-referenced Donald Duck's "Trick or Treat". Others include Ray Bradybury's "The Halloween Tree", Universal's "The Wolfman", and even Halloween-themed television episodes like Happy Days' "Haunted House" and Little House on the Prarie's "The Monster of Walnut Grove".

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  2. I would kind of have to agree with you. Halloween for me is definitely recapturing that childhood feeling again. From decorating the house to dressing up in costume to eating Halloween candy (especially that candy corn) as well watching all the Halloween movies I can get my hands on. Especially the kiddy ones. I still adora Alvin and the Chimpunks meeting the Wolfmand and Frankenstein, but Scary Godmother, Hocus Pocus, Casper, the Scooby Doo movies, and the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown are annual staples.

    I guess I really love a healthy combination of everything. I'm just not as big as those horror haunts. I'm a giant scaredy cat when it comes to those.

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