YOU know Halloween is just around the corner when candy shops are stocked with an array of limited edition sweets and costume shops seem more alive than usual.
So far, no spooky Halloween-themed songs have been greeting us in shopping malls but millennials (mostly) have been flocking to spook themselves crazy in haunted houses such as those found at Sunway Lagoon’s Nights of Frights.
Halloween is also a perfect excuse to binge-watch creepy and scary movies just to get into the spirit.
One movie that fans have been itching to watch since earlier this year would be Halloween, the direct sequel to the 1978 film of the same name.
Set 40 years after the original film, the plot follows Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) as she prepares to face Michael Myers in a final confrontation upon returning to Haddonfield, Illinois, after his killing spree on Halloween night in 1978.
Fans are especially excited to see Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle reprise their roles as Laurie and Michael.
Laurie is dealing with post-traumatic stress after she escaped from being murdered by Michael 40 years ago. She was the sole survivor.
And it’s not just about Laurie. She has a daughter who was taken from her by the state. She also has a granddaughter, who is now 17.
In the eerie trailer, a bus transporting inmates crashes, allowing Michael to escape and this is where the horror unfolds.
A very much older Curtis looks badass albeit unrecognisable with her long grey hair.
Apparently, she has been preparing for Michael’s return.
“I prayed every night that he would ecape. So I could kill him,” she said.
The new Halloween film looks looks like a winner as it raked in USD$77.5 million (about RM323 million) during its opening weekend in the US.
The success of the movie saw a tweet from Curtis, deemed the Scream Queen.
“Ok. I’m going for one boast post. Biggest horror movie opening with a female lead. Biggest movie opening with a female lead over 55. Second biggest October movie opening ever. Biggest Halloween opening ever,” she wrote.
In another tweet, she posted: “40 years of blood, sweat, tears and more blood. Creative people using the medium of the moving picture to tell a gruesome story of havoc reaked and revenge won. So deeply proud to have played Laurie Strode for all these years.”
Curtis loves Halloween as she is born in November. In an interview, she said: “The late fall has always been my time and never more so than this year with the anniversary of Halloween.
Getting back into character, she said, it’s a movie about what really happens to someone when they suffer some sort of huge trauma like Laurie Strode.
“We see these characters, they’re sort of in a mayhem. We scream and we never know what happens to them. This is a movie that explores what happens.
“We find Laurie Strode in isolation, living in preparation for Michael Myer’s return,” she said.
“Trauma isolates people. Trauma that is untreated and uncared for wreaks havoc.. After all, she went without treatment or support. She’s also lost her family and friends.”
“She lives in a paranoid state of preparedness and conviction, and that has basically made her what she is today,” she said.
GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN.
More suitable for tweens, this R.L Stine adaption is a middle-grade horror story with plenty of monsters and action.
The first Goosebumps movie was released in 2015 and for this new release, Ari Sandel takes over the director’s chair from Rob Letterman.
The movie is about a young boy named Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and his pal Sam (Caleel Harris) who discover a ventriloquist dummy and a locked manuscript in a creepy old house.
Unknowingly, they bring him to life by speaking some magic words from a paper found in his pocket.
Well, It turns out to be a creepy and mischievous dummy named Slappy.
Sonny, Sam and Sonny’s sister Sarah try to dispose of it but fail to do so as he keeps coming back to haunt them.
However, the reason behind him haunting them is pretty heart-warming — all he wants is to be a part of the family!
But who would want a talking ventriloquist as their family member, right? So, even as they try to push him away, their actions only make him angry.
Taking matters into his own hands, he decided to create his own family by making Halloween come to life through some magic.
Every single decoration and costume at a pharmacy come to life and start to attack the town of Wardenclyffe.
The small suburban town is thus greeted by monster mayhem.
It’s spooky fun with a side of actual horror because Slappy, who just won’t die, is genuinely creepy. He will probably linger in the minds of the younger children.
But the rest of the content is pretty much mild and entertaining.
Plus, it taps into relatable situations for children like struggling to finish homework or dealing with bullies.
Jack Black returns in this movie but only for a cameo, where he plays R.L Stine.
“I met up with R.L Stine before we started filming the movie just to get his blessing and to make sure he’s cool with me playing him.
“As for us making the movie out of his incredibly successful book series, he was stoked about it. In fact, he’s smart and funny,” he said in an interview.
I STILL SEE YOU
This spellbinding and romantic supernatural thriller stars former Disney star Bella Thorne.
Based on the novel Break My Heart 1000 Times by Daniel Waters, the story journeys into a world haunted by ghosts 10 years after an apocalyptic event.
Veronica (Thorne), a high school student, notices new “remnants” (spectres of the deceased) popping up every day. She believes she is being stalked from beyond the grave by a hunky but sullen ghost named Brian.
Thorne is known for her TV and movie roles such as Midnight Sun and Shake It Up. In this movie, she sports an awfully dark, gothic look to go with her character.
“I love the physical things that you have to get into when you’re dealing with a project like this but I love the emotional part too,” said Thorne in an interview.
Well, the above three movies are just some examples of some Halloween movies you can indulge in. Have fun!
CLASSIC HORROR PICKS
* Halloween (1978)
* Hocus Pocus (1993)
* The Addams Family (1991
* The Shining (1980)
* Ghostbusters (1984)
* Corpose Bride (2005)
* The Witches (1998)
* A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
* Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Local horror movies
* Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam (2004)
* Munafik (2016)
* Susuk (2008)
* Hantu Kak Limah (2010)