“Halloween is the one night of the year when all bets are off. Anything can happen” –Michael Dougherty 

Every now and then a film comes along that gets it right. These movies make you say, “Yes! That’s how it’s supposed to be!!” and make you wish you had directed them because they are so in line with your own sensibilities. Trick r’ Treat is that movie for me. Writer/ Director Michael Dougherty’s declaration of love to all things Halloween perfectly depicts everything about the holiday we all love so much. Trick r’ Treat is simply the best Halloween themed film since, well, Halloween. Yet in a sense it actually is a better Halloween film for the simple fact that it's all about the Holiday itself. This is why it has become tradition for myself and many others to watch it every October. 

One of the things I love about Trick r’ Treat is it provides us with different perspectives of the holiday from various stages of our lives. From a young child who is fascinated and excited by the traditions of Halloween taught to him by his father (however demented he may be) all the way to the elderly man who has become disenchanted and bitter towards "All Hollows Eve" and the annoyances he feels it brings. Dougherty weaves all the age group's stories together with ease and makes them feel organically intertwined while thoroughly exploring various subjects of Halloween lore. 

Trick r’ Treat is set in the fictional town of Warren Valley, Ohio. At the center of town a huge Halloween Parade takes place where the streets are filled with costumed people enjoying the sights and sounds. The air is visibly cold and damp, the sidewalks paved with colorful yellow, orange and red leaves, Jack O Lanterns illuminate front yards and porches-- THIS is Halloween. The care and attention to detail that the production design is handled with might be easily overlooked by a regular viewer, but to anyone who truly holds Halloween near and dear to their heart, the moment those opening credits start to roll you instantly fall in love with the film. 

The film begins with a couple returning home after a night out at the parade. It is here that we are first introduced to the fact that Trick r’ Treat is all about the preservation of Halloween's ancient traditions and the respect it deserves as the husband tells his wife not to blow out the candle in the Jack O’ Lantern. As a lifelong Halloween enthusiast, Trick r’ Treat came along at the perfect time for me. I have always loved the holiday, but being in a warm climate took some of the oomph out of the holiday, especially since I grew up with the traditional brisk-autumn-pumpkin-patch Halloweens. As my enthusiasm and spirit waned to the point where I hardly even decorated anymore, I was still anticipating seeing the little anthology movie about Halloween that had been making so much noise throughout the Horrorsphere. I remember running around to different stores to find it the day it was released. I came home, made some popcorn, turned it on, and once it was all was said and done, I was blown away by how enjoyable it was. As soon as it was done, I restarted it from the beginning and decided to break out my box of Halloween stuff and decorate my apartment while the film played in the background. It was like a shot of Halloween adrenaline that has flowed through my veins ever since. 

There are a lot of things in Trick r’ Treat to love, whether it be the tragic backstory of the “Halloween School Bus Massacre” that is used by a group of adolescent kids to play a cruel prank on the class outcast Rhonda; the aforementioned story about the murderous school principal Mr. Wilkins and his son Billy who have a much more sinister way of celebrating the Holiday than most; or the “pack” of beautiful women on the prowl for their next meal...er…date. There is something for everyone in the film: younger kids, adults, gorehounds, and fans of the spooky. All of these things fit the bill of iconic Halloween themes and ideals, however ask any fan what the best thing about the film is and you will get the same answer: "Sam". 

Throughout the film, we are provided glimpses of a small creepy figure dressed in orange footie pajamas, hiding his face in burlap mask with buttons for eyes. It isn’t until the final act that we discover just who this mysterious little character is when he enters the home of the Halloween despising, candy stealing Mr. Kreeg, and proceeds to torment him until he finally heeds the rules of Halloween. Writer/ Director Michael Dougherty said it best: “Every Holiday has a cool mascot, Halloween is the only one that didn’t have something. There’s a lot of iconic images but there wasn’t just that one mascot character.” For him, Sam was the opportunity to create one such character. Sam is one of the coolest creations I have seen: a mini pumpkin headed demon born in a pumpkin patch who dresses up in orange footy pajamas and a burlap sack mask; a perfect Halloween character that I will forever be jealous that I didn’t create myself. Sam is essentially Halloween's version of the "Ghost of Christmas Past," the enforcer of the holiday’s traditions and rules. While he may not be fully acknowledged as Halloween's official mascot, for serious horror and Halloween fans alike, he is definitely held in high esteem and is loved right up there with Michael Myers and Jack Skellington in terms of Halloween iconography. 

Michael Dougherty believes in the spirit of the holiday and did his utmost to present it in Trick r’ Treat so that it can be further appreciated and preserved for future generations. Whenever I’ve spoken to people about this film, everyone agrees the filmmaker's get what makes Halloween special and have created a vision of it that is timeless while still being contemporary. The world presented here is one I find myself wanting to visit every October and spend the night exploring regardless of what creatures lurk throughout: I want to wander through the Halloween Parade, I want to walk the dark streets with a lit Jack O’ Lantern, hike through the foggy pumpkin patch as I make my way to the haunted rock quarry that is site of the School Bus Massacre. Of course I would like to avoid being eaten alive by beautiful werewolf women, but I suppose there are worse ways to go. After all, it’s in the spirit of Halloween.

GODZILLA (2014)

Bring up the name Godzilla to anyone and you will undoubtedly get a wide array of reactions and responses. Some will speak fondly of childhood memories of Saturdays spent watching the giant monster slug it out with other giant monsters, others will dismiss it as nothing more than a cheesy man in a rubber suit with badly dubbed acting, and there are even a small unfortunate bunch who sadly associate the big G with the atrocious farce of a film vomited out onto the public in 1998 which soiled his good name for years. Regardless of ones opinion on Godzilla and his films, the fact remains everyone knows who Godzilla is and that in itself is a testament to the character.

Before I review the film, I need to explain which group I fall into and how I got there. Myself? I fall into the camp of big time Godzilla fan. I can’t sit here and say I have seen every single Godzilla movie, especially the newer ones, but I definitely have had my fair share of vhs tapes full of his classic films (Godzilla vs Hedorah aka the Smog Monster) while growing up. I can name the majority of his classic kaiju rivals (Gigan was always my favorite) and I had plenty of Godzilla toys and merchandise too. The point I’m trying to make here is that Godzilla matters to me. We all hold things from our childhoods that were special to us close to the heart and the King of the Monsters is still one of those things for me. From my earliest memories of watching them with my big brother, it was a way we could connect and something we always shared a bond about. I always looked up to my brother and a lot of his interests and fandom’s informed my own. To this day about half of my favorite fictional works and characters were introduced to me by him, the other half of them certainly discovered through my fathers introductions, he was also a big Godzilla fan and encouraged my interest by making sure I knew whenever they would be showing one of his films on tv and recording it so I could watch it over and over again. 

I remember being taken BOTH Forbidden Planet stores in Manhattan (when they had two different locations) throughout my youth and marveling at all the Toho (the company that created and owns Godzilla and all related characters) figures and was always extra happy when I was lucky enough to take one home. I especially remember my brother had this one particular really awesome figure of Godzilla that I was always jealous of and I eventually got one of my own, it wasn’t AS good or large as his, but it was still from the same company and still one of the more top notch versions out. Sadly as of today I have no clue what happened to that figure, it must have been lost or misplaced in one of my moves throughout my life. Regardless I still remember it fondly and will always remember what it meant to me and what Godzilla means to me. While I love watching the big green lizard destroy cities while fighting other giant monsters, and that’s a major part of his appeal, the real value of Godzilla for me, is the connection it provides me to my brother and my father, a shared appreciation for a fictional character that created so many fond and lasting memories. This brings us now to the latest Godzilla film. Would it honor the character and those fond memories as well as validate a fandom to the masses that still have a bad taste in there mouth from the 1998 fraud masquerading as our hero? The answer is an emphatic yes.

From the moment this film was announced all Godzilla fans hoped for was a film that at the very least gave us a faithful interpretation of the character. Hollywood is littered with the bastardized corpses of our childhood icons. From Transformers to G.I. Joe to the likes of Ghost Rider and numerous other comic and cartoon inspired films, plenty have missed the mark and arrogantly omitted the heart and soul that made those properties work in the first place. So most feared it could happen to Godzilla for a second time and bury and hopes of ever seeing him done full justice on a large scale by a U.S. studio ever again. 

The announcement of “Monsters” (2010) director Gareth Evans was an interesting one yet still didn’t do much to settle any nerves about the film. The Casting news of Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame was an eye raiser and little by little it seemed like maybe this could hopefully have potential. Then the marketing campaign started to hit, there was a superb test footage teaser released that most people didn’t get to see, I was lucky enough to see it and immediately was blown away. It didn’t feature much if any footage from the actual film, but it definitely set the tone for something extremely serious, which is how most fans want there beloved properties handled. After that we received what I consider one of the best official teaser trailers I’ve ever seen. Set to Gyorgy Ligeti’s haunting “Requiem” composition made famous in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001 a Space Odyssey “ we are treated to a horrific vision of an apocalyptic landscape where San Francisco once stood and Godzilla is only seen in quick glimpses obscured by smoke and debris and its absolutely terrifying. After seeing this I was all in and Godzilla quickly became my most anticipated film of the year.

So last night while in an Imax theater filled to capacity with hopeful fans,as the lights dimmed and the newest Godzilla chapter began to unfold, something incredible happened. Little by little this film began to live up to the hype; everything on screen was being handled with care and taken seriously. Bryan Cranston’s excellent performance draws you in and sets the stage for what’s soon to come. The human side of the story as in all Godzilla films before it is necessary and serves the film well enough. As you have seen in the trailers it’s a very military centric plot and that works just fine. When your films star doesn’t speak, it is important that the cast convey the severity of the situation and provide insight into what is happening and its filled with enough likable characters and solid actors so that it isn’t tiresome and you aren’t simply waiting for Godzilla to show up. 

The film unfolds like any great monster film, slowly. Just as in the classics such as Jaws and Alien, we have to earn our first full look at the monster and at the moment we get our first full glimpse of Godzilla, the crowd erupted into applause, myself included. I’m not talking about a few people clapping here and there or some awkward slow clap, I am talking about full blown cheering and applause. Godzilla was back; OUR Godzilla was back and from that moment on, everyone was hooked. The FX featured in the film are astounding and bring him and the carnage that follows him to life like never before. The trailers and marketing campaign were excellent in that believe me when I say, you haven’t seen anything yet! 

There would be several more instances of the crowd cheering and clapping for what was transpiring on screen and it was during these moments that I realized it had been a while since I had felt the true power of film so strongly. Those moments are what going to the movies is all about, to escape and not bicker or nit pick the little things or go into a film ready to not like it. It’s about investing yourself in the story just as you would a good book and taking the ride. I had recently watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, both featuring characters I love (especially Spider-Man) both which gave me plenty of moments of excitement and chills, however neither filled me with the sense of pride and enjoyment that seeing a character I have cared about for most of my life, make a triumphant return to the masses and showing everyone why he is and always will be the King of the Monsters.

I realize this review doesn’t really give you much to go on as far as plot, etc. But I have never been one to go into detail when reviewing a film, as spoiling things is not in my nature. I will say that the first thing I did when I got out of the theater was call my brother and then my dad and simply told them “They got it right!” which is the highest compliment one can give a film based on something that has meant so much to them and still does. All Hail the King.

NOTE: I highly recommend this film and cannot stress enough how important it is that you see it in Imax 3D. This is exactly the type of film that Imax was made for and to truly witness the size and scope it’s the only way I would recommend seeing it.

If you know me, you definitely know how fond I am of writer/director Ti West’s 2009 film, House of the Devil. I recommended it to everyone, even to people I don’t know! Simply put, it's a fantastic film with an extreme amount of artistic detail and effort put into it.

I still remember the first time I rented it from Netflix. I literally knew nothing about it, which to me is the best way to watch any movie. I turned out the lights, popped some popcorn, and hit play, and immediately I was taken back by the look and feel of the film. So, without further ado, here is the breakdown of why I love this film so much and continue to watch it often.

A horror film is only as good as its protagonist. A good one will make you care about them and their well being. This was the first time I had seen Donahue in a film and I immediately fell in love with her and her as Samantha. It’s not an easy thing for a director to ask an actress to carry a film for long portions of running time in solitude and silence, but she easily keeps your attention while she explores her surroundings and slowly but surely becomes suspicious of her situation. Donahue plays the role with a quiet normalcy that makes you believe in her as just another stressed out college student trying to better her situation by taking on the questionable job offer. 

By the time things turn up a notch, you really sympathize with her fear and want her to survive. This is a true testament to a rare likable character in a horror film because usually audiences are clamoring for everyone onscreen to meet their demise in the worst possible way. An honorable mention and credit also must be given to Jocelin’s co star, Greta Gerwig, who plays Samantha’s energetic best friend, Megan. It's through her interactions and chemistry with Donahue that we really get a sense of who Sam is, and Donahue’s performance surely benefits from having such a strong co-star to play off.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention of the now classic Risky Business-esque dance sequence set to The Fixx’s “One Thing Leads to Another,” which totally steals the show.

Retro is HUGE these days. Everything and everybody wants to be inspired by a retro aesthetic, whether its clothing, music, or even toys-- the world seems to be cashing in on that dangerous drug known as nostalgia. 

This is especially true in the horror film community where retro has become the norm. This film is, in my opinion, where that started and it still trumps every attempt that has come after it. House of the Devil perfectly recreates the look and feel of a late 70s early 80’s horror film. Beginning with the opening title sequence, you realize Ti West and everyone involved pays attention to the smallest details like the authentic wardrobe selection and smaller things like the throwback style Coca Cola cups used in the pizza parlor scene (I heard they found these on eBay). These details go a long way for me as a viewer and end up making huge differences in the overall end product. The movie is also appropriately “grainy” for lack of a better word. The use of post-production filters gives it a dated, VHS vibe that's popular these days. The music and scoring is also era appropriate.

House of the Devil did retro so well, when I first showed it to my brother (whom also knew nothing about it other than my vague spoiler-free synopsis of the plot) for the first time on dvd, he told me after it was over, “That was really good. I can’t believe I never saw this back in the day! I don’t remember hearing about it.” He was stunned when I then told him that it had just been filmed and released the year prior in 2009. If there was ever a ringing endorsement (to me) of its successful attempt to be a film of that bygone era, that would be it. 

When your movie is called House of the Devil, the HOUSE should play as important a role as any character, and should in fact be a character itself. The house where most of the action takes place was discovered by the filmmakers in Connecticut. It’s a foreboding yet beautiful Victorian home that screams bad news; however, it does so without being a clichéd “spooky house.” No cobwebs, no lightning, creepy trees, or peeling wallpaper to give away the fact that something bad is going to happen. But as Samantha navigates its narrow, dimly lit hallways and ominous staircases, and slowly starts to sense something is not right, it begins to take on a life all its own. I especially love how many of the rooms in the house intertwine so you never know where you're headed and where you may end up. It is one of my favorite settings for a horror film in recent memory.

House of the Devil is a slow burn. I've heard less seasoned horror viewers of the A.D.D. mindset that it’s “boring” or “nothing happens" but, in reality, what they are really getting is suspense and an uncomfortable stillness they're not used to. The film takes its time establishing a mood of dread and sense of isolation. People these days cannot stand not knowing when something is going to happen, but I love it. The film is also filled with pristine shot compositions and lighting, which elevate the atmosphere the director tries to convey. Everything from zoom ins to freeze frames to hand held techniques are utilized in crafting the moody visuals the film stands on.

This may seem like an odd choice to round out my reasoning but, truth be told, the commentaries on the dvd/blu-ray are quite entertaining and help you truly appreciate all the care that went into crafting such a fine horror movie. There are two commentaries: the first features Writer/Director Ti West and star Jocelin Donahue and is full of entertaining anecdotes and insight into the directors motivations, as well as the actor's choices in the role; The second is another entertaining listen and features Ti West, second unit director/sound designer Graham Resnik, and producers Larry Fessenden and Peter Phok, who all have a great rapport with each other and delve further into the making of the film, detailing its genesis from conception to screen. Listening to these two commentaries is inspiring and something I like to check out from time to time when I need a creative boost or motivation.

These are just a handful of great things about House of the Devil. The film is almost 5 years old now and I still find myself revisiting it again and again. It’s a source of creative inspiration for me and it is simply a must see horror film. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and do so immediately.

“Hi, I’m Chucky and I’m your friend to the end. Heidi Ho, hahaha!” 

As children we all had fears, rational and irrational. Some of us feared sharks in the ocean, spiders in our hair, the boogeyman waiting in the closet, the monster under the bed, or some just simply afraid of the dark. These fears are rather common in our early years; however, these fears have the potential to be enhanced when a horror film is introduced to our young and highly impressionable psyche. This brings us to another common if not irrational fear, one shared by both children and adults alike: pediophobia, the fear of dolls. 

I wouldn’t say I outright suffered from this phobia in my early years, but I certainly had a distrust or wariness towards dolls as a kid. Whether it was my big sister's Raggedy Ann doll, the odd cartoonish red doll we had in the house when I was growing up, or this creepy clown doll my best friend had whose laugh feature would activate on its own during sleepovers like the infamous clown scene in Poltergeist. The next level of my doll fear was introduced to me by my older brother, who for some odd reason thought that it would be a good idea for me to watch the Zuni fetish doll segment of the Karen Black classic Trilogy of Terror at the age of 6-- can you say traumatized? He and I watched this in the living room at 1am, lights off, head first at the end of the sofa bed close to the TV staring into pure terror. I was too scared to set one foot off that sofa bed because I was certain that maniacal little monster doll would start screaming and tear my feet and legs up as soon as I would set one foot on the cold hardwood floor. Without a doubt, this solidified living evil dolls as the bane of my existence for the foreseeable future. After witnessing the Zuni fetish doll terrorizing Karen Black for 20 or so minutes, the good news was I knew it couldn’t possibly get any worse…or so I thought.

Growing up in a family who was very much into Halloween and horror, I already had my initial run-ins with Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface and Jason Voorhees by the age of 9. They certainly scared me and kept me awake for a few nights, but I was able to handle watching those movies without much of a hitch other than the usual minor scares; however, that would all soon change. I wish I could pinpoint the exact moment I was first exposed to Child’s Play, but I know it was before its theatrical release. The earliest memory that pervades my mind were the TV spots. The two things that stood out in those spots for me as a kid were the teaser glimpses of Chucky we see, the first being his shadow walking down the hallway and the second being the close up from the same scene of his hand holding the knife as he walks down the hallway. There was something about the shadow's jerky movements that creeped me out. There was another TV spot that had Andy (the little boy who Chucky torments in the films for those not familiar) saying “Chuuuucky” that had a great creep factor because you never actually saw Chucky. I wish more movies nowadays would stick to keeping their surprises. I guess the reason I was really taken back by this is because I didn’t know what this thing was. I knew it was some sort of little creature or doll, but with the new TV spot , the source of my new fear now had a name: Chucky. I had enough at that point and, from there on out, I tried to avoid the commercials when anyone in the house was watching TV. I did a pretty good job of steering clear of anything to do with the movie, but that would all go down the drain the day I went to my Dad’s apartment to spend the day.

At my Dad's apartment that day I came across a Fangoria magazine with the title: “Gore Drenched Halloween Special.” Perfect reading material for a 9 year old, right? As I got closer to the magazine, I saw Michael Myers on the cover and focused on the release of Halloween 4. As my eyes scoured the cover, I slowly turned my gaze down towards the left corner, and there he was. This was the first time staring directly at the thing that would be the prime source of my biggest fears and nightmares for the next few years. This wasn’t just a picture of Chucky in his Good Guy form, this was Chucky fully transformed, holding a large knife, peering back at me with his sinister stare. It took a moment to process what I was looking at but I was freaked out; from then on I hated him. Once the movie left theaters, I thought I was free and clear, but Chucky continued to haunt me to the point I avoided the neighborhood video store on the way home from school because Child's Play posters covered the entire storefront. This went on for months until I finally decided enough was enough, it was time to face my fear and finally watch Child’s Play.

I clearly remember having my mom rent the movie for me. After popping it into the VCR, what followed was every bit as creepy and scary as I had imagined. I certainly couldn’t dissect a film like I do now, but I did realize it wasn’t cheesy. It had a serious tone and the skills and technology used to bring Chucky to life was as impressive as it was terrifying. One of my favorite things that is often lost on non-die-hard fans is F/X artist Kevin Yaghers' decision to give Chucky's appearance a gradual visual shift from doll to human form (which was abandoned after the first film). In doing so, Chucky ends up looking more like a distorted version of the human figure than a doll brought to life by a puppeteer and animatronics towards the film's end, and it’s very effective. In the final act of the film, Chucky is burned in the fireplace and thought to be dead, but when he shows up again, he is even more nightmarish looking. While burnt to a crisp and still smoldering, he stalks Andy and his mother throughout their apartment in one of the film's best scenes. A scene that really freaked me out, mostly because Chucky is after this little kid close to my age and wants to kill him to transfer his soul into Andy’s body. All of the other killers I had seen in horror films never went after little kids, but this was Chucky’s main goal!

Looking back on the film, everyone involved was on their A-game. Tom Holland directs the film with a great deal of restraint, leaving Chucky to lurk in the shadows for a large portion of the film until his big reveal. The urban setting of Chicago in the dead of a snow-filled winter was also a great choice, adding to the overall sense of dread and despair that permeates the films overall tone. It’s a cold film with a sadistic touch that can easily be lost on the casual viewer. The idea that Chucky tells Andy that he’s been sent down from Heaven by his dead father to play with him is just creepy and sick, and that’s something I love about the movie.

The films score by Joe Renzetti is also handled differently than most would attempt for a movie about a killer doll. Most musicians would create some type of whimsical sounding themes like we hear in the sequels, which work for those films, but would seem a bit out of place here in the original. Instead, Renzetti's score is very minimal and has an almost industrial sound to it with eerie ambient sounds and jarring chord strikes. These soundscapes merge perfectly with realism of the visuals. 

Last but not least is the acting. In a movie about a killer doll possessed by the soul of a serial killer, things can go awry really fast when it comes to casting and acting. That is not the case here. Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, and of course Brad Dourif all deliver convincing performances that really help sell the otherwise outlandish material. Whenever a movie hinges on the performance of a child actor, it can be a recipe for disaster, but in Alex Vincent the filmmakers cast someone who was not only likeable but believable. Most importantly they cast Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray and subsequently the surprisingly vulgar and masculine voice of Chucky. I know I couldn’t have been the only person who was not expecting that voice to come out of that doll when it is finally revealed to be alive, especially after the hearing the doll speak in its friendly and innocent Good Guy doll voice in the first half. To me, his voice has been the key attribute crucial to Chuckys popularity throughout the years.

25 Years is a long time, especially in movie years. A lot of movies released in 1988 simply do not hold up to the test of time, but Child’s Play does. The effects still manage to impress and the film is just as creepy to watch now as it was back then. Since the original, the series has gone on to spawn five sequels with the latest being the just released (Curse of Chucky). The characters popularity is once again high and remains one of the most well-known horror icons. Throughout the past 25 years, I have grown from being absolutely terrified of this malevolent doll to becoming one of his biggest fans. I suppose part of the fascination lies with the fact that it was the one character that completely frightened me for quite some time, perhaps an odd type of respect has formed over the years. Whatever the case may be, the original Child’s Play is still one of the most renowned horror films to ever hit the screen and is still fully capable of providing new generations plenty of sleepless nights. 

Chucky has made good on his 25 year old promise to be our friend til’ the end.