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By the time Murphy and I had hit
#50 on the Top 100 Halloween Movies, we were down to the wire and three pitchers deep. We
had exhausted our last lifeline to find out that C.H.U.D. stood for Cannibalistic
Humanoid Underground Dweller, and we were left squabbling over
sequels.
Meanwhile, forces were aligning to vanquish Halloween from the
calendar
forever, thereby stripping October to a mere 30 days and throwing the world
into pandemonium by rendering day planners useless!
Halloween meant
more than horror movies, haunted houses, pumpkin patches, and monster costumes -- it was
an escape from reality, where fantasy bled into
this world and became physical. In
short, Halloween was magic! Every year,
for as far back as I can remember, my family
visited haunted houses -- park
district rec. buildings, barnyard basements, simple
storefronts were
transformed into nightmarish dwellings. Plywood, cardboard boxes,
and toilet
paper tubing became tunnels of terror, leading to dungeons of darkness.
Demons, vampires, werewolves, ghouls, ghosts, goblins, zombies, madmen,
monsters,
and, most horrifying of all, clowns waited around every dark
corner. As we navigated
these trap doors and fog-laden passages, we, too, were
transformed. Confronting the
latex-clad actors in surreal set pieces made us
heroic champions!
In
high school, I applied these triumphs to the greater social good -- the
park district
ran a haunted house that was completely youth built and
operated; the room voted most
frightening by visitors was awarded a donation
to the organization the actors
represented. For two years running, our morbid
minds garnered award-winning $500
contributions to the YMCA.
More valuable, however, were the memories of
the Brementown Chamber of
Horrors. I met my first "love" there; she was the
half-decapitated cannibal
cheerleader, I was the chainsaw-wielding maniac in
overalls, and together we
danced the night away to the romantic sounds of screaming
teens. After
hours, my friends and I filmed movies that would have made Ed Wood
ashamed
(an accomplishment in its own right). I made my first "political" statement
against "censorship" here. When a park district representative was suddenly
taken
possession by demonic spirits of the MPAA, demanding that a torture chamber be removed
because it was too gruesome, I staged a "strike," returned my borrowed painter's pants,
and exited through the mall in my underwear.
Back at the bar, we teetered
desperately in the mid-fifties -- Halloween was
surely lost forever. "Help us, Great
Pumpkin!" I cried out, just when things
could look no darker. "We need a
'deus-ex-machina.'"
"A Halloween miracle." John grumbled, focusing on
the list and shaking his
head grimly.
"Yes, a 'deus-ex-machina,' a
Latin term meaning 'god from machine' that
refers to a theatrical literary device
employed at the last moment to rescue
our heroes from a most tragic fate -- that is
the arrival of the cavalry just
as the fort is being overrun, of course." I
responded, in a feeble attempt
at explanatory exposition.
Enter John
Dewey of Dark House Cinema, merchant and collector of rare horror
films.
Score one for the good guys.
In
Addition To...
Classic Sequels and Other Films that
Rocked
Compiled by Josh Gryniewicz and John
Murphy
25. The Exorcist
3 (1990)
24. The Howling
(1981)
23. Prince of
Darkness (1987)
22. In Dreams
(1999)
21. The Mothman
Prophecies (2002) (read the review)
20. From
Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
19. Wes Craven's New
Nightmare (1994)
18. Friday the 13th,
Part 2 (1981)
17. Creepshow
(1982)
16. Black
Christmas (1974)
15. Army of Darkness:
Evil Dead 3 (1993) (read the review)
14. Hellbound:
Hellraiser II (1988)
13. Fright Night II
(1989)
12. The Return of the
Living Dead (1985)
11. Fright Night
(1985)
10. The Nightmare Before
Christmas (1993)
9. Halloween III - Season
of the Witch (1982)
8. Evil Dead II: Dead by
Dawn (1987)
7. Halloween II
(1981)
6. A Nightmare on Elm
Street 3: The Dream Warriors (1987)
5. The Rocky Horror
Picture Show (1975)
4. Day of the Dead
(1985)
3. House
(1986)
2. Jacob's Ladder
(1990)
1. Dawn of the Dead
(1978)
Disclaimer: Please note -- the list of top 100 Halloween
Movies includes 125
films. However "Top 100" has a more official-sounding ring. Also,
subheadings were added long after the titles were collected. The authors would like to
thank N&W.com, John Dewey of Dark House Cinema, Erika, Melanie, the Great Pumpkin and the
entire crowd at Teehan's for helping save Halloween.
For more of Josh
and John's list, see:
Part One
Part Two
Part Four
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