Halloween '26: Group Photo #31

    Since I started these Halloween ’26 group photos with a fan-created Scream movie, let’s go with the OG from 1996. 

    How effective was Scream's opening scene with Drew Barrymore? The number of households using Caller ID in the US tripled after this movie was released. 

    I can see why Ghost Face is used as a marketing tool after 30 years, 7 movies, a TV series, and several games. Fanta’s new flavor, Ghost Face Punch, seems appropriately aggressive.

    One of the first things I ordered from Etsy was this notebook with artwork made from a Scream VHS cover. I used to think this was cool. Now I wish I had the complete VHS tape instead. 

    My musical pick from the soundtrack is Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “Red Right Hand.” This song is featured in all of the movies except Scream 4. I don't know why they didn't use it.

    A sever at our local Cheba Hut let me take this Ghost Face drink caddy home. Man, I love the La Canna subs that they make there. Soooo good.

    I donated my original non-anamorphic dvd of Scream when I updated to this Blu-ray. 

    

    I bought the original non-anamorphic dvd of Scream again when I found this “Ultimate Scream Collection” of the first three Scream movies on DVD (plus a bonus DVD/DVD-ROM) for five bucks. That probably doesn’t make much sense to a lot of people. 

    *shrugs shoulders*

    Look what I found when I opened up the soundtrack’s jewel case. It was tucked inside the cover booklet. 

    Let's see, February 9, 1997 was a Sunday. My buddy Ryan and I went to the 1:15 matinee so we could save a few bucks. When I got home I put the movie stub in a pile where I kept all my old movie tickets. Later, I thought it would be cool to hide the stub in the CD case when I bought the soundtrack... I don’t exactly remember all of this, but that sure sounds like me. 

    Okay, I made it. 31 Halloween posts in 31 days. Tomorrow I’ll concentrate on setting up the projector in the driveway, and picking out the DVDs to project while we’re handing out bags of popcorn and bags of M&Ms. I hope the afternoon is cloudy enough that I’ll be able to start the shows early. 

    I also hope you have a Happy Halloween!

    

    Yay!

Halloween '26: Group Photo #30

    Yesterday I mentioned that I thought The Exorcist III had one of the most effective jump scares. It turns out that other people think so, too.

    Here are some other films that have been scientifically proven to cause the same type of fright.

    According to the Science of Scare Project for 2026, these are in the top ten list of movies with the biggest jump scares of all time. The Science of Scare Project tracked the heart rates/ peak heart rates (BPM) and heart rate variabilities (HRV) of 250 test subjects who volunteered to watch scary movies over a period of several weeks. 

    Here’s a screen shot of this year’s results:

   

    Yay! The Exorcist III is tied at number 10!

    You can check out their website for their lists of the scariest new horror movies of 2026, and their top 50 scariest movies of all years ———>  LINK 

Halloween '26: Group Photo #29

    I didn’t know I had purchased Tubular Bells when I bought a used record from Goodwill. The LP was hiding inside the other record’s sleeve. That’s kind of creepy when you consider that Mike Oldfield's piano motif was used as the opening and closing theme to 1973’s The Exorcist, a movie about a little girl who also has something hiding inside. 

    1977’s Exorcist II: The Heretic is in the top ten of movie dumpster fires. But how many horror movie sequels get a full documentary 48 years later that gets rave reviews? (See Boorman and the Devil.)

    I believe The Exorcist III contains one of the most effective jump-scares of all time. While watching the scene at first you feel like something's going to happen, and when something does happen, you think Oh. Okay, that was it...     And then the movie drops the hammer. 

    I was in college when The Exorcist III came out. I remember talking about it with my friend Jim. He said, “Money, I got to tell ya, that actor [Brad Dourif] at the end? He didn’t hardy move, and he still scared the s— out of me!” 

    That is some high praise.

    Agreed.

Halloween '26: Group Photo #28

    In all three of Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead movies, 1981’s The Evil Dead, 1987’s Evil Dead II, and 1992’s Army of Darkness, you will see the director's personal car that his father bought new, a 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88. I fact, this model of car appears in all 16 films that Raimi has directed.

    The Evil Dead DVD has two audio commentaries, one by Bruce Campbell, and the other by Sam Raimi and Producer Rob Tapert. Both are great, really, but I like the Campbell commentary more. It’s like watching the film with a friend who is way funnier and more informed than you. When the Delta 88 appears on screen, Campbell says, “What a piece of junk. Sam loves that car. Watch, he'll call it a classic in his commentary,” anticipating that Sam Raimi will refer to it as a classic on his own commentary track (which Raimi does).

    Today’s LP is AC/DC’s For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) since it was released the same year as the original The Evil Dead. I'm going with the second track “Evil Walks." 

   

    Delta 88s in action. (Picture swiped from Facebook.) I would have liked to have thrown up "Delta 88 Nightmare" by X as the song of the day, but I don't have a physical copy.

Halloween '26: Group Photo #27

        I've had a long day, and I don't feel like talking about It.

Halloween '26: Group Photo #26

   I  haven't read any of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books. I haven't seen any of the movies that are based on those books. I haven't had any regrets about that.

    What I do have is the soundtracks for the first three movies. These are melancholic October bangers thanks to the efforts of Emmy-winning music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas. New Moon is the winner, but Twilight and Eclipse are really good as well. You get A-listers and indie greats right next together. These movies were so popular that getting an indie track on one of these soundtracks could very well change a band's trajectory. That alone is impressive. 

    I found all three of these CDs at the same thrift store at the same time. I think someone grew up, and they decided that they had moved on, and they were ready to put their teenage years behind them.

    I also think that they will buy one of these soundtracks again once they start missing those years. "Wow. I used to have that CD..."

    Music is like life. It's a circle. You always come back to it. 

Halloween '26: Group Photo #25

    I was surprised to find the soundtracks to 1975's Deep Red and 1977's Suspiria on LP at Half Price Books last January. These are from Cinevox's economical "Ciak" soundtrack line. Ciak is Italian for "clapperboard," hence the jackets' artwork. The music's score was written and performed by the Italian progressive rock group Goblin.

    

    I was also surprised that I hadn't updated my Suspiria media to a Blu-ray. Apparently I'm still rocking the three-disc DVD set from Anchor Bay. I'll have to fix that. But I'm keeping the Bay set. It has the soundtrack on CD.

    The third surprise was find a media press book inside the Suspiria sleeve. There is ten pages of black and white promotional materials including poster artwork, stills from the movie, and ad copy. Maybe the LP was part of the promotion? You never know what you might find inside a used LP. 

    Also, whoever came up with the creepy veiny-heart letter font was a genius. 

Halloween '26: Group Photo #24

    In this movie from 1988, the Black Roses are a  group of demons posing as a heavy metal band. They put on a show at their hometown high school and prove that the protesting PTA was right and that metal music really is evil… umm… what?

    From IMDB’s trivia: "Sir Patrick Stewart said in an interview that when he finished reading the script [for 2015’s Green Room] at his country home in England, it was so terrifying, that he locked up his house, turned on the security system, and poured himself a Scotch.” I’ve said this before. Stewart’s performance is absolutely evil in this movie.

    1988’s Lady in White is an independent film that was directed, produced, written, and scored by Frank LaLoggia. Set in upstate New York in 1962, the film does a great job of giving off a small town Halloween vibe. "The New York Times movie critic Caryn James praised the film stating that: 'Here are the bones of an ordinary ghost story. But the writer and director Frank LaLoggia brings them to life with exceptional vitality... The extended Scarlatti family—warm, funny, so real they make the characters in Moonstruck seem like impostors... Mr. LaLoggia creates an unusual, effective child's-eye-view of a sinister wide world, a restless afterlife, and the comforts of family.’” (Wikipedia).

    2015’s The Blackout’s Daughter is the directorial debut of Osgood Perkins, son of Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates in Psycho). This movie was featured the “Hidden Gems” episode in Shudder’s second season of “Horror Greatest.” 

    Today’s theme is "more movies with colors in the title," and yay!, today is also National Horror Movie Day. I got a halftime marching band show to help with tonight, but I'll find something to watch when I eventually get home.

Halloween '26: Group Photo # 23

    Black Sunday is the directorial debut of the great Mario Bava. Directors Francis Ford Coppola (1992’s Dracula) and Richard Donner (1976’s The Omen) both incorporated recreated scenes from Black Sunday into their films in honor and homage to Bava. Director Tim Burton has stated in interviews that Black Sunday is his favorite horror film.

    AIP renamed Mario Bava's 1963 Italian film Black Sabbath hoping to recreate the success of Black Sunday. Hoping to recreate the crowds that this scary movie was bringing in, the British band Earth renamed themselves Black Sabbath, decided to make scary music, and the rest is heavy metal history.

    Mario Bava basically invented the giallo genre with 1964’s Blood and Black Lace. 

    1971’s Black Belly of the Tarantula is a giallo with quite a few connections to the Bond films. The film features Claudine Auger (Thunderball), Barbara Bach (The Spy Who Loved Me), Barbara Bouchet (1967’s Casino Royale), and Giancarlo Giannini (2006’s Casino Royale and 2008’s Quantum of Solace).

 
    1981’s The Black Cat is a loose interpretation of the short story by Edgar Allen Poe. Spoiler Alert! The cat wins… sorta.

    Today’s theme is Italian movies with black in the title. Why Not? It's National Color Day, and in my world black is a color.

Halloween '26: Group Photo #22

     I’m still quoting Jim Vorel’s article, “The 25 Best Werewolf Movies of All Time”.

 
    2014’s Wolfcop is ranked at #15, "More than anything, you feel a very genuine love for the utter ridiculousness of the premise. It’s a film that people clearly enjoyed the hell out of making, which makes that fun infectious to the viewer."—Jim Vorel
 
    2017’s Another Wolfcop (“Dirtier. Hairier.”) didn’t make the top 25 list, but it’s still low budget fun. A Kevin Smith cameo is always a plus.
 
    2020’s Wolf of Snow Hollow is ranked at #10, "The wry, snappy banter gives the Wolf of Snow Hollow a prickly skin, and the restrained application of FX gives it tension. At just under 80 minutes, that economy is key. It’s not so much that the horror is elevated as controlled." —Jim Vorel
 
    1989’s The Wolf's Hour is a World War II horror novel by Robert R. McCammon. Michael Gallatin is a British secret agent who goes behind German lines to stop a secret weapon from being launched against the Allies. Oh, Gallatin is also a werewolf who can change at will. (Robert R. McCammon also wrote 1991’s Boy’s Life, and for that I will be eternally grateful to him.)

    Today's theme is werewolves and uniforms.

     You can click on the title of the article to read the complete descriptions for each film.