Halloween oozes from every pore.....

BOO Mutha Truckers!!!!

We are full force into THE greatest time of the year right now! The tree colors are vibrant, there's a nip in the air and many yards and homes are full of Halloween decor for all to gawk at and enjoy! I'm really hoping that all who read this (2.5 of you) are enjoying the season and letting your imaginations run full throttle. There are no age limitations to the magic of Halloween and the magic is certainly in the air this season.

We still have a good two weeks of Halloween to enjoy so make sure you do something Halloween influenced. Take your kids to a pumpkin farm or decorate your front yard to look like a graveyard or just sit back and enjoy one of the many wonderful Octoberfests or pumpkin ales that are out while listening to Midnight Syndicate or Type O Negative. Or, if you're really adventurous you could grab a group of friends and check out many of the local Haunted Attractions in your area. As a matter of fact, last Friday, a small band of our horde did just that.

Here are the ones we hit and what I thought....

Fin and Feather Haunted Trail - We went to this one last year and we were genuinely surprised at how much it scared us and how well it was put together. It's not a big, well promoted haunt like others. But it was still quite effective last time. This year was no exception. It's got everything from a pirate ship to a creepy little witch's hut in a graveyard. Sure there were a lot of the same effects and scenes that were there last year, but they still pulled it off quite well. This year they added on a second haunt called Lunatics Lodge. This indoor haunt has a lot of potential, but not a lot going for it quite yet. However, there's plenty of room to grow and get better in years to come. I'll keep an eye on this one.

The Dark Side - This is another haunt that we visited last year. Located on a farm, this event is three haunts all rolled into one all at one low price. This is nice since a lot of haunted attractions will have you pay additional fees per haunt. It's a pretty sweet deal!

1. The Haunted Mine Shaft - Though quick, this part of the attraction really made you feel you were in a creepy old mine shaft. Some good pop out actors and a few animatronics added to the fright factor.
2. The Haunted Ride through the Woods - This was probably the weakest part of the haunt as they fell into the same problem as last year, lots and lots of land to put up a lot of cool scenery and tableau's, but instead a lot of nothingness. Outside of a few small scenes, most of the ride was teenagers dressed in back, running up and climbing on the wagon and growling. That will work for a while, but gets stale after some time. The stereo effects and vibrations on the wagon itself were trey cool, though. They should research how to do it by checking out rides like THIS or THIS or THIS!
3. The Haunted Trail - This was just as good as the mine shaft! I believe they improved on it from last year as they had a very creepy graveyard and a rustic little cabin in the forest that has some unwelcome visitors.

The whole Dark Side event was quite lengthy which was awesome! However, they need to fill up a bit more of the event with actual haunted stuff. Every year they keep growing and learning more and more. Hopefully soon they will invest in some more scares in their haunted wagon ride.


Let's finish this Haunted blog with a few horror movie reviews.....

Boarderland - This is more of a gore fest-crime-thriller than anything horror related. Three high school grads (yet they all looked like they were in their young thirties) decide to go south of the boarder to party and whore it up before they go to college. Well, of course, they run into trouble with the local drug lords who are also part of a voodoo blood cult. There is nothing paranormal or spooky in this flick whatsoever. It's a movie where people are bullied, tortured and murdered by skeezy thugs. It made me more frustrated than scared. Not my cup 'o' tea, but if you're a fan of movies like Hostel, you may like it. (See Trailer HERE.)

Mulberry Street - This was an interesting twist on not only a therianthropy flick, it was also akin to many zombie movies. The story takes place in a post 911 borough of New York City where greedy land developers buy up the apartments and homes of the decent working class. Apparently there is a slight rat infestation problem with the area. Rabies is the least of any one's worries with these rats. Apparently people who are bit by them slowly turn into half rat - half human creatures who not only infest others with their rodent morphing curse, but also feast on the blood and guts of the living. Within hours of the first bite, much of New York is going mad with blood hungry rat people. This may seem like a cheap grade B horror schlock filled flick, but most of it is handled quite nicely as the characters all seem like very real New Yorkers. New York itself seems to be it's own character. I have to admit, I kind of liked this one. Not a repeated viewing type flick (like the original Halloween), but a good viewing for a dark night. (See Trailer HERE.)

And speaking of the movie Halloween...

Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN - I love the music and image of Rob Zombie, but I have yet to be overly impressed with his film work. House of 1,000 Corpses was pretty good, but not what I was hoping from him. It's sequel, The Devil's Rejects was another horror film that made me more mad than scared. I guess I'm sort of a pseudo fan of his films. I love a lot of the qualities of them and the actors he chooses for roles, but they're never a knock out of the park for me. When I heard that he was writing and directing a remake of one of my favorite, and all around greatest horror flicks, I cautiously anticipated the result. The film Halloween is hallowed ground to most Horror movie fans and shouldn't be trod upon likely. But, I knew Zombie was a huge Horror aficionado himself and hoped he would honor the core material. And after finally seeing his version, I have to say he did. Is it the perfect remake to a classic? Nope. But it has a hell of a lot of heart and soul....and blood. Lot's and lot's of blood! ...and boobs for that matter.

I have to admit I have a pro and con issue with how Zombie showed us how Michael Myers went from childhood to the grown up killing machine of today. I liked the way Zombie presented us with an interpretation of how it may have happened. It's his spin on the creation of one of filmdoms scariest killers. At the same time, I think portraying Myers as a cute little boy in his early days kind of took the edge off of "The Shape" we came to know and love from the original film. The fact that in the original film we only get a small brutal glimpse of him as a young kid left a good amount of mystery to the character that we could fill in with our own dark imaginations. That made Myers all the creepier! The fact that his whole childhood problems are revealed kind of takes the shroud of mystery off of the character. But still, it is an interesting interpretation of how things all went so wrong.

One thing I really enjoyed from Zombie was the casting. All excellent choices! Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Loomis, Tyler Mane as Michael Myers, and Scout Taylor Compton as the much younger Laurie Strode were all masterstrokes to the film. One of my favorites, Brad Dourif shows up as the town sheriff who's daughter is a target of Meyers. And speaking of his daughter, another brilliant little casting choice is that Zombie casts actress Danielle Harris as one of the hunted teens. Remember her as the little girl stalked by Michael Myers in Halloween 4 and 5? Well she's all growed up now... yep. All.......growed......up! (Roberto, rent this movie when Iris isn't home! Dirty ol' man portion of blog is now over). There are also a lot of cool cameos in this flick. Keep your eyes open.

Another plus to this remake was the many nods, tipped hats and homages to the original film that Zombie squeaks in there. I don't know if I consider this film as part of the original stories from the earlier Halloween movies, but it's certianly a very nice homage to them! I have to admit that I was kind of cringing about this flick before I saw it, but afterveiwing it, though I don't agree with some of the story choices, I really enjoyed it. I may have to pick this one up. (View trailer HERE)


Quick video game update: Fallout 3 shelves in 12 days. I can't wait! Yes, yes. I know Saints Row 2 and Fable 2 are also due soon, but those will have to wait a while as I'm really jonesing for the post apocalyptic, free roaming, blow it up extravaganza that will be F3!

That will be it for me today. There's a few more horror flicks and a few more video games and a few more beers for me to enjoy on my day off.

Just remember to have some creepy-ass, spooked up fun this weekend!

Zangz.