The Oily Years.. and What's To Come!

Thanks, kids, for all those who showed up for our Not The Anniversary Episode of The Son of Madblood. We hope you enjoyed the pre-show 'Yiddish Words and Their Definitions' Game and we sincerely hope you enjoyed seeing our "Early Years" here at the Manorette. It was very heartwarming to be able to share with you all our humble beginnings - back before I had found my calling as a man of Science and Igor, Brain and I were struggling our way through Vaudeville. It was also nice meeting all of our regular Manorette visitors "for the first time" in preparation for and as background to our upcoming BIG EPISODE..

That's right, kids - it's our big One Year Anniversary Episode coming up next - October 26th - the last Sunday of October and only FIVE days before the Gang here at Madblood Manorette's favorite holiday - Halloween! So - I, the Son of Madblood - am thinking (and I quote): "What better a way to celebrate our Anniversary AND Halloween than with the "{fill in the}_ more days 'til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween" movie, itself - Halloween III: Season of the Witch?"

That's what I'm thinkin. I know it's a favorite of some of the Gang here and some of our fans - as it is one of mine, as well. And don't worry if you haven't seen Halloween or Halloween II - because this one has nothing to do with them (story-wise, that is). There's no Michael Myers or Laurie Strode (which, I understand, will mean very little to those who haven't seen the first two - but, maybe you've seen one of the 4-8's).. In fact - it isn't really a 'slasher' film at all - more like a spaced-out-horror-ish-sci-fi-thriller (it has quite it's own strange rhythm and pacing). Originally, producers John Carpenter and Debra Hill wanted to start a series of films under the "Halloween" banner - a kind of movie Night Gallery of which this was to be the first. Carpenter's love of the similarly worked Quartermass movies (The Quartermass Experiment, Quartermass II, Quartermass and the Pit - all BIG favorites here at Madblood Manorette) had him bring in those films' writer, Nigel Kneale, to write this far-reaching and multi-faceted... um.. kind of a jumble.. but a good jumble! It involves stolen Stonehenge stone, killer robotic-automatons, Corporate Evil, and a loon who wants to send Halloween back to it's roots... And it's got one heck of a catchy commercial jingle.. EVIL! And, while John Carpenter did not direct this one, it's anti-corporate message, nihilistic tone and cynical critique of American consumerism are all part of ongoing Carpenter concerns.. Vincent Canby called it: "..anti-children, anti-capitalism,anti-television and anti-Irish all at the same time." And, if you saw our last Son of Madblood Episode - you know where we stand on such issues.

(are you... hypnotized?) There's also another fine John Carpenter (with the participation of Alan Howarth) score - and this would be the last Halloween film he would have real participation in.

I had been toying with the idea of showing the also often overlooked Halloween II.. More Of the Night HE Came Home!

Face it - it's easy to be overlooked when you're following in the footsteps of such a great predecessor as Halloween. I'm still lobbying for a Halloween night Halloween-a-thon with (at the very least) the first two - maybe throwing in H20 at the end - what's your favorite Michael Myers? Return? Revenge? Resurrection? 666? There are members of our studio audience who still haven't had the extreme fortune of having seen Halloween and even fewer who've actually watched the sequel. If you don't already know: Halloween II picks up right where the first one ends. Well, correction: it picks up right BEFORE the first one ends by a few minutes - which really makes them great for a back-to-back seemingly seamless viewing experience. The bulk of the movie follows our heroine Laurie Strode to the hospital where she's mostly comatose and where Michael Myers has followed her as well. It's a more standard stalk-and-kill-0ff movie than it's parent film and the fact that Jamie Lee Curtis spends almost all of it asleep means we're without that one's strong protagonist and, instead, watching a bunch of hospital folks who we don't know or care about get killed. But it somehow works in its bareness - the almost impossibly empty hospital corridors, lack of the 'outside' world, and its all-in-one-night time frame keep the tension high - you can almost feel the chill coming through that hard-to-tie hospital gown.

When placed side-by-side with Halloween - this one does feel a bit more routine and definitely not as nuanced - but there are also many quirks and details that give this one a richness and larger scope than many films of its kind from that time period (the early 80's). The poor razor-blade-in-the-candy kid! I love that kid and I love that little addition. And as a special mention: I positively love the use of the song 'Mr. Sandman' by the Chordettes in it - it not only counterbalances the horror with it's cheerful bounce but it also works on two other even more interesting levels: it addresses Laurie's date-less longing for the man of her dreams from the first movie and also the possibility that, maybe, this whole ordeal is some kind of dream-like fairy-tale (further enhanced by the fact that she's asleep through most of this).

(Dreamy?)

Is anyone getting the hint that I, The Son of Madblood, am wanting to show this? Can I get anybody on board for the (at least) double feature Halloween-a-thon on Halloween?