Halloween Options Part 1

Over the next week and a half, I am going to list, in no particular order, a bunch of Halloween-type movies and a little blurb about each one and why I am listing it. Some of them are just memorable because of how I saw them, some are my all-time favorites, some are unforgettable ( to me) for a scene or two- there is going to be no rhyme or reason, just a list and anectdotes and hopefully those who read it will find something that interests them

The Conjuring- It came out this summer and is released on DVD and BluRay on october 22, 2013. The makers felt that the script was PG-13, they felt they filmed a PG-13 film, they edited it into a PG-13 film, but, when given over to the MPAA to rate it, it was rated R. As is normal, they went to the MPAA and asked what they could cut from it to make it PG-13 and the MPAA reportedly said, "Nothing. It is just too damn scary." The Conjuring is definitely intense and it does it solely through the creation of dread. The film is very well acted with 2 amazing female lead performances from Vera Farmiga and Lili Taylor.

Insidious- While this is rated PG-13, it is made by the same team that made Conjuring. I saw this only because I went to the theater to see a movie and the one that I wanted to see was sold out. This was the only film that had not yet started, so I went. As the end credits rolled, the sold out crowd and I just sat there for a minute not sure of what we had just seen.

Slither- a very good horror comedy starring Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Elizabeth banks. An alien slug crash lands near a small town and starts taking over the population slowly leaving the Sherrif and just a few townspeople able to fight back. Also features Jenna Fischer (The Office) in a small role.

The Mist- As one of my friends put it, "the most "soul sucking" ending ever put on film. This is based on a Stephen King short story about creatures that come out of a strange mist to kill residents of a small town.

Last Exorcism- Ashley Bell was hired to play Nell, the girl who is possessed, and who is set to be the "last exorcism" of a priest who is filming how he does an exorcism to expose that it is all a scam, is the reason to see this film. Although Patrick Fabian is great as the priest, Bell does most of her own contortions which makes it escpecially freaky when she counts to 10. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.

What Lies beneath- Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer play a marriwed couple who start having strange things happen to them by a ghost who may or may not be an ex-student of Ford's. Twists and turns abound. I saw this with my wife and another couple in the theater. As it was over, our wives started saying how stupid it was and my friend and I mocked them because we had seen them scrunching further and further into their seats as the film progressed. Also- written by Clark Gregg!!!! (Agent Coulson from the Avengers)