Every year around this time, I have a tendency to get sucked into watching even more spooky Halloween and horror films than usual. Earlier today, stumbling on Cinemassacre\u2019s yearly \u201cMonster Madness\u201d segment, I started reflecting back on some of the horror classics in particular, from the Universal monster movies to the British Hammer Horror revivals. In October more than any other time, I find watching old horror movies incredibly satisfying, and \u201csatisfying\u201d really is the proper word for how they make me feel. I\u2019m not even sure why it is exactly, because it\u2019s not as if they\u2019re all great works of art. They don\u2019t even \u201cscare\u201d me per se, as very little on screen does. It\u2019s just some combination of the atmosphere, classicism and aesthetic that has always appealed to me as \u201cpure cinema.\u201d Due to the faulty wiring in my brain, I will always draw more enjoyment from \u201cThe Curse of Frankenstein\u201d than I do from a great John Ford western.<\/p>\n
This enjoyment is only compounded when I\u2019m able to see these sorts of movies on the big screen, which means that every October I\u2019m always looking for opportunities to see horror films new and old in theaters. And sure, although there are always a few new horror movies released in multiplexes this time of year, they\u2019re usually pretty stupid or banal entries into franchises I have no interest in. See: recent years and the \u201cSaw,\u201d \u201cParanormal Activity\u201d and \u201cFinal Destination\u201d franchises.<\/p>\n
So if you live in Decatur, what are your options? Well, this year there are three notable places you can catch some good \u201cHalloween\u201d cinema in Central Illinois: Decatur\u2019s Avon Theater, Champaign\u2019s Art Theater and the Normal Theater in uptown Normal. I\u2019ll break down everything they\u2019re showing below.<\/p>\n
The Avon: Our hometown theater has five shows that run a range from family to adult fare.<\/p>\n
Oct. 11, \u201cHocus Pocus\u201d: Displaying a strong local fondness for 1990s nostalgia, this Disney witch movie was the most successful of last year\u2019s Avon series according to operator Skip Huston. I mostly remember it as being the most attractive Sarah Jessica Parker ever looked.<\/p>\n
Oct. 12, \u201cAbbott and Costello meet Frankenstein\u201d: The most famous of Universal\u2019s horror-comedy crossovers, this is a movie I\u2019ve wanted to see for a long time but have never managed to catch. You\u2019ll likely see me at this one.<\/p>\n
Oct. 18, \u201cThe Nightmare Before Christmas\u201d: Maybe the best all-ages Halloween movie ever? Spectacular music, awesomely macabre stop-motion animation, and Tim Burton\u2019s imagination harnessed into its coolest and least annoying form.<\/p>\n
Oct. 19, \u201cThe Frighteners\u201d: The most interesting and least conventional Avon selection this year is this 1996 black comedy\/horror flick by Peter Jackson (who would go on to direct \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d), starring Michael J. Fox in one of his last big feature film roles. I\u2019ve always felt this one was a little underrated, displaying a very off-kilter sense of humor that is nonetheless familiar to horror fans who have seen some of Jackson\u2019s earlier work. It turns down the gore of his earliest horror movies in favor of CGI visuals that were nonetheless effective. Also: Jake Busey\u2019s face is worth at least 10 extra horror points.<\/p>\n
Oct. 25, 26 \u201cThe Rocky Horror Picture Show\u201d: I honestly never think of this movie as being a \u201cHalloween\u201d picture, nor have I ever been a big fan, but plenty of people love it nonetheless.<\/p>\n
Champaign Art Theater: The Art Theater\u2019s month-long \u201cShocktober\u201d series has already started (I was there for \u201cAre You Afraid of the Dark?\u201d episodes), and there\u2019s some good stuff here as you would expect. My only wish is that there were fewer public domain movies. That just feels like cheating, to me.<\/p>\n
Oct. 9 (That\u2019s today!) \u201cMisfit Heights\u201d: It\u2019s a zombie puppet musical? I have no idea where it was made, but I think there\u2019s at least some Central Illinois connection. I wanted to get excited about this kind of premise, but the trailer looks pretty rough. <\/p>\n
Oct. 10, \u201cJohn Carpenter\u2019s The Thing\u201d: Oh lord. One of the scariest films ever made in my estimation, featuring probably my favorite all-time practical effects in a horror movie. The film was made in 1982 and a lot of these practical effects have still never been topped.<\/p>\n
Oct. 11, 12, 17, \u201cThe Cabin in the Woods\u201d: Tim Cain will tell you he thinks this movie sucks, but don\u2019t listen to him. It\u2019s really a very neat little deconstruction of all the clich\u00e9s established throughout the history of the genre that gives a reason to why those same elements of storytelling play out over and over \u2014 to serve a greater purpose! It was marketed on TV as a regular horror flick to try and entice an audience, but this movie is truly meant for geeks who love the genre.<\/p>\n
Oct. 12, \u201cWhite Zombie\u201d: This film is remembered today as the first film to ever use the term \u201czombie,\u201d and we are not talking Romero ghouls. We\u2019re talking Haitian voodoo zombies controlled by Dracula himself, Bela Lugosi. Being that this is public domain, though, you can see the full thing on YouTube. <\/p>\n
Oct. 16, \u201cCarnival of Souls\u201d: Also in the public domain, but a more interesting movie to view today than \u201cWhite Zombie.\u201d Something of a minor cult classic of 1960s cheapo B-movie modern horror, cited as a large influence on George Romero. Also available on YouTube. <\/p>\n
Oct. 18, (all week) \u201cThe Rocky Horror Picture Show\u201d: Like I said, people really like this movie. I am not one of them.<\/p>\n
Oct. 19, \u201cHaxan\u201d: This was the only film in the series I wasn\u2019t at all familiar with, but it sounds very interesting. This 1922 Swedish production is a documentary of sorts about how the study of superstition could lead to witch hunts, but also contains dramatized segments to illustrate. Very curious about this one\u2014a silent horror film faux documentary? Who would have thought such a thing even existed?<\/p>\n
Oct. 23, \u201cThe Craft\u201d: Judging from the reaction I\u2019ve seen to this announcement, it seems that a lot of people remember this 1990s teen witchcraft movie more fondly than I would have expected. I mostly remember how good-looking the girls were, with the possible exception of evil Fairuza Balk.<\/p>\n
Oct. 25, (all week) \u201cThe Wicker Man\u201d: It\u2019s the legitimately creepy 1973 British original, not notoriously terrible Nicholas Cage remake. That means no bear mask and no bees. It\u2019s playing from a gorgeous 40th anniversary new restoration, so if you\u2019ve never seen this one, this would be the time. I probably will.<\/p>\n
Oct. 26, \u201cHouse on Haunted Hill\u201d: Perfectly cheesy late 1950s American horror with Vincent Price, and it does not get any better. I could watch this movie 100 times and never get tired of it. It\u2019s the best of all the William Castle cheesy horror flicks thanks to Price, the kind of movie that theater popcorn was invented for. To watch it without popcorn is almost insulting.<\/p>\n
Oct. 30, \u201cHausu\u201d: It\u2019s practically impossible to describe this 1977 Japanese horror film other to say that it is absolutely insane. One of the weirdest, trippiest films ever made as an evil house comes to life and devours its inhabitants. It is totally ridiculous. Go with a large group of people and marvel at it.<\/p>\n
Normal Theater: Uptown Normal\u2019s theater isn\u2019t devoting much time to this theme in October, but they\u2019re still playing a couple of movies that qualify.<\/p>\n
Oct. 24, 25, \u201cThe Ghost and Mrs. Muir\u201d: A ghostly love story from 1947, if you can believe that. A woman falls in love with the ghost of an old sea captain after having him dictate his memoirs to her.<\/p>\n
Oct. 26, 27, \u201cYoung Frankenstein\u201d: The classic Mel Brooks comedy with Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman never goes out of style. It\u2019s good to watch at any time of year and is just as funny today as it was in 1974.<\/p>\n
And so, I hope to see you at some of these flicks. Clearly, there are plenty of spooky features to enjoy in October.