Anyone else doing their own Halloween marathon?

Doran,
Although you didn't watch the Yokai films, your post prompted me to order them before they become unavailable so thanks for that. I'd recently posted about HAUSU here and noted that I couldn't get it out of my mind and would likely revisit it often. As it happens, I did squeeze in another viewing of the first 30 mins on Halloween night before havinf to go out, and I loved every minute of it. I agree it's very self-consiously stylised but it's a very infectious movie that creates a unique dread in it's juxtaposition of jolly music and early-cinema trickery with the underlying themes of lost innocence, adolescent sexuality, creepy teachers and fractured families. I do hope Criterion's forthcoming release is fully loaded with some learned commentary and an insight into it's production as it is a "must have" for me.

Victor

Criterion is actually releasing it? I knew that they had been sitting on the rights to it for a while. I would definitely pick up a Criterion Hausu disc if they released one. I agree with you that there is a lot of fun stuff in there, I'm just not sure that it holds up well over multiple viewings. Maybe I just wasn't in quite the right frame of mind for it.

I would be interested to know how much the director was influenced by Eurohorror/Euro genre cinema in general since I detect a little bit of an Argento influence (there may also be a little of influence from Fulci too, but I'm not sure since most of the Fulci films I've seen are from the 80s). The fact that he namechecks Leone and Morricone fairly early in the film suggests to me that he had at least a passing familiarity with it. Interestingly enough, he actually directed one of the leads from a Leone film in a series of cologne ads:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8bqVL0VXrE

This post has been edited by Doran Gaston on Nov 1 2009, 02:14 PM

Since I had the weekend off, and had nothing better to do, my personal Halloween DVD marathon ended up being much bigger than expected; starting just after midnight on 10/31, I watched:

HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)

--sleep break: 5 hours--

TV Episode: BEWITCHED - "Trick or Treat" (1965)
TV Episode: BEWITCHED - "Twitch or Treat" (1966)
TV Special: IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN (1966)
BLACK SABBATH (1963-Italian, subtitled version)
NIGHTMARE CASTLE (1965-Italian)
WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)
Cartoon: SPOOKS (1931, Ub Iwerks' Flip the Frog)
TV Episode: ROUTE 66, "Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing" (1962)
ARSENIC & OLD LACE (1944)
HORROR OF DRACULA (1958-British)
CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957-British, the shorter U.S. cut)

--and into the early hours of 11/1, thanks to caffine and the additional hour provided by Daylight Savings Time--

THE H-MAN (1958-Japanese, dubbed version)
THE TINGLER (1959)
THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD & MR. TOAD (1949, animated)
THE WOLF MAN (1941)
THE WITCH'S MIRROR (1960-Mexican)

--I hit the sack around 5:45 AM Sunday morning......... what?

Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!!!

Who can you be calling that has the power to turn off commercials on three different networks? Why aren't you telling the children immediately in front of you to take off their masks? Aren't you worried about other time zones?

Ah, and therein lies the beauty of HALLOWEEN III.

Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!!!

Marty, you made me laugh so hard it brought bugs to my eyes!

He is calling THE PRESIDENT!

My biggest question about HALLOWEEN III is why are they still manufacturing masks the night of the big giveaway? And why is Tom Atkins a dirtbag to his kids? And why does he only pack beer on his trip?

If you're watching HALLOWEEN III and the words "how" or "why" come to your mind at any time, be prepared for a long battle with logic that you will lose.

And why is Tom Atkins a dirtbag to his kids?

That's why God made fathers, babe. That's why God made fathers.

I actually got that. Awesome. Tuck in!