Greetings, reader!
Halloween was two days ago, and my girlfriend and I celebrated with an epic horror marathon. From the 1930's to the 2020's, we watched something thematic from each decade, in a nearly 12-hour-long session. Some of them I had previously seen and she had not; some were familiar to her but not to me; some were new to the both of us; and some were such that we had both seen it previously. Most were movies, but there were a few TV episodes in the mix as well. I ranked the 10 items, not as overall pieces of cinema/television, but as parts of the marathon - so it's a combination of cinematic value, the subjective viewing experience on Tuesday, and what each item brought to the marathon.
10. The Wolf Man (1941)
This monster flick from the 40's definitely had its strengths (the soundtrack was brilliant), but overall, it was the weak link of the marathon. Cinematically it wasn't quite on the same level as many of the other old classics we watched in the opening half of the marathon, and the racist undertones (or overtones) in the plot had made the film age more poorly than any of the others we watched.
The film has its moments and it was nice to have something from the decade of B-class monster flicks in the mix, but overall, everything else in the marathon was either A) scarier, B) more fun or C) scarier and more fun than this instalment.
9. Saturday Night Live: David Pumpkins Returns (2022)
Okay, first things first - we did not give up. We merely modified our plan, but we did not give up.
You see, the original vision was to end the marathon with Hocus Pocus 2 (2022), as a thematic continuation to the original Hocus Pocus representing the 90's earlier in the marathon. However, several hours of screentime into the marathon and late into the night, we were so tired that a full-length feature film just felt like a bit too much - one has to know their own limits. So, we decided to choose something shorter to represent the 2020's and thus the marathon's ending.
We went with the SNL skit David Pumpkins Returns from last year's Halloween week, and honestly, it was quite the perfect climax for how the quality/seriousness of what we were watching had deteriorated throughout the marathon. Our ordeal ended in a brilliant fit of laughter, and in that tired state of mind, it was just what we needed.
8. Halloween II (1981)
As the obvious choice for the 1970's was the original Halloween, it was convenient to follow up on that with the sequel as the marathon's token 80's flick. While Halloween II is no masterpiece, it's a solid sequel nonetheless - John Carpenter was no longer directing, but he was still involved as a writer, producer and composer, so his mastering of the horror genre does paint a very authentic atmosphere. As the film takes place on the same night as the original, the two work well as a double feature.
Being a sequel to the film we had just watched, Halloween II was one of the less stand-out items in the marathon. Still, it worked as a nice follow-up to the original, and was a very solid if not mind-blowing moment in the bigger picture.
7. Modern Family: Open House of Horrors (2012)
After six horror films, one horror-ish film and one 45-minute horror TV episode, it felt like a delicious breath of fresh air to watch a 22-minute sitcom episode. Tuning in to the Halloween shenanigans of Modern Family's fourth season was a delight, and it made the whole marathon more many-sided.
6. Hocus Pocus (1993)
I hadn't seen Hocus Pocus before, and it was an excellent new find. After six more serious horror films, it was a nice change of pace to watch something this comedic, thus laying the groundwork for the generally lighter second half of the marathon.
The film was also very Halloween-y, both on a concrete plot level and on an atmospheric level. The very 90's-specific combination of magical family-friendly wholesomeness and semi-creepy horror-inspired material makes for quite a Jumanji (1995) -style vibe.
5. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
This George Romero classic was a joy to watch for many reasons, one of them being the marvel of how ahead of its time the film was. It was groundbreaking in many ways, from its influence in the zombie genre (and larger horror genre as well) to the casting being diverse and non-stereotypical for its time (the uncomfortability of The Wolf Man was still stinging a bit at this point, so this felt like a fresh change).
Not much more to say - a great, intense and timeless horror flick, and one that fit our marathon like a glove.
4. Frankenstein (1931)
"IT'S ALIVE!"
When planning a set list for a rock concert or a stand-up show, having a strong opening act is important - and planning a movie marathon is no different. You want to start off with a bang - and we certainly succeeded in that, with James Whale's Frankenstein kicking things off in just the right tone.
I had somehow never seen this ultimate classic, even though I had meant to watch it last year after finally reading Mary Shelley's original book. Frankenstein had eluded me for a long time, and getting to finally see it as the opening of our decade-by-decade marathon was a delicious Halloween treat. Awesome cinema, awesome context, awesome viewing experience.
3. Doctor Who: Blink (2007)
"Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. They're fast, faster than you could believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink. Good luck"
I knew from the early stages of planning the marathon that we couldn't pick a feature-length film for every decade, as 10 of those in a row would be overkill (almost as crazy as watching all Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films in one day, or watching an entire season of 24 in real time, one might say). My first judgement call on the TV episodes front was that for the 2000's, our item would be the fabled Doctor Who episode Blink.
I had been meaning to watch Blink with Martta for quite some time - I'm a huge Doctor Who fan and she's never seen the series, and as my all-time favorite episode happens to be a one-off adventure that works with no prior knowledge of the series, it made sense. Furthermore, the episode is seriously creepy and spooky, so adding it to our Halloween marathon was a stroke of genius (he said, modestly).
I'm proud to say that apparently this 45-minute episode of a family-friendly, generally non-horror series scared my girlfriend more than any of the iconic horror movies we watched on the same day. She was terrified, and honestly, so was I - I've seen Blink several times, but even when knowing exactly how it all plays out, it still keeps you on the edge of your seat because it's just so damn good.
2. Dracula (1958)
I love how watching Halloween- and/or horror-related items from consecutive decades worked as a portal into cinematic history in general. Especially for the first several films that stayed in the 'horror classics' lane before our later items escalated into different directions, it was illuminating to follow how production values and filming techniques had improved with each decade. By the 1950's, things were in color, the horror was spookier than ever before, and a young Christopher Lee was proving himself as Hollywood's all-time great villain actor decades before Saruman and Count Dooku.
Dracula was everything a movie nerd doing a Halloween marathon could want from an old-timey flick: elegant, aesthetically charming, full of intrigue and lore, and just enthralling in how it plays out. This stone-cold classic was in many ways the coolest film we watched all night, despite the heavy competition.
1. Halloween (1978)
An obvious #1 choice, even a cliché one, but I can't help it. Not only is Halloween one of the greatest horror films of all time, it is also synonymous with the holiday on so many levels. The creepy atmosphere of October weather, falling leaves and jack-o-lanterns and the embracement of horror is what I love about Halloween, and this cinematic masterpiece nails that in an unparalleled fashion.
Ever since I watched this film for the first time, with my Dad on Halloween night (2016 or 2017, I think), it has been one of my favorites, and having it as a part of our Halloween marathon was truly special to the point that everything else seemed to build around it. This was the main event, and it did not disappoint.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I begin celebrating the approaching 60th anniversary of Doctor Who (1963-1989; 2005-Present) with a ranking of all 14 actors who have played The Doctor (this will be followed by two more Doctor Who -themed posts in the following weeks, leading up to the 60th anniversary).
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