DAY SIX: MR. PUMPKINHEAD

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."

See more at my good buddy Drew Falchetta's site.

DAY FIVE: STICK, MEET MUD

"I think we ought to close Halloween down. Do you want your children to dress up as witches? The Druids used to dress up like this when they were doing human sacrifice... [The children] are acting out Satanic rituals and participating in it, and don't even realize it."

-Pat Robertson

Image source.

DAY FOUR: THE WITCHES

"I am not, of course, telling you for one second that your teacher actually is a witch. All I am saying is that she might be one. It is most unlikely. But - here comes the big but - not impossible."

Buy this print from the artist.

DAY THREE: RECOMMENDED VIEWING – THE CURSE OF FRANK BLACK

 

I am huge fan of "The X Files." Yes, I agree the show stayed on the air for far too long, not to mention The X Files: I Want to Believe should have been a lot better than it was. But I will always and forever remain a fan (and never give up hope on a third/final movie.) I bring this up because once "The X Files" had established itself as a television force to be reckoned with during its mid-‘90s, its creator, Chris Carter, was able to use his new it boy status to create another show for the Fox channel. This show was called "Millennium." It was very unfortunately short lived, lasting only three seasons, and already starting to lose its way midway through season two. But the first season of "Millennium" remains superior to any season of "The X Files," and that’s really saying something.

For those unaware (and most non-horror devotees seem to be so), "Millennium" was a one-hour drama starring Lance Henriksen as a serial killer profiler working for the mysterious Millennium Group. Billed more psychological thriller than supernatural, the first season was fairly straightforward. It was about a man named Frank Black who used his exceptional abilities of getting inside a killer’s mind (figuratively, not literally) to try and obtain the motives behind his/her crimes and the reasoning behind it. It was a surprisingly dark show for a network that at the time was known basically for screwball comedy, including "The Simpsons" and "Mad TV." While "Millennium" was a slam-dunk with critics, garnering Lance Henriksen three Emmy nominations for his performances in all three seasons, the audience simply wasn’t there. Because of this, behind-the-scenes pressure (assumed pressure, anyway) forced Chris Carter to allow the show to lean more toward the supernatural in hopes of attracting the massive audience who tuned in weekly for "The X Files."  It was this direction change that became the catalyst for "Millennium" sadly losing its way.

Season two of the show is great, but as it unfolds you can see it threatening to come off the rails. Lance Henriksen’s devotion to the role remains unfettered, and season two produced more than its fair share of great episodes.

Including this recommended viewing for Halloween night: Episode 2x6.

“The Curse of Frank Black.”

The episode aired on Halloween night back in the dark ages of 1997, and the episode itself takes place on said night.

Frank, now separated from his wife, Catherine, sits at home carving a jack-o-lantern and waiting for the right time to go pick up his daughter, Jordan, to take her trick-or-treating.  Suddenly his electronics begin to go haywire, and the number “268” routinely pops up seemingly everywhere. Frank recognizes that it’s odd, but leaves to go pick up his daughter…and sees the Devil outside his home.

And his nightmarish, unending Halloween night of terror begins.

Frank spends the episode forced to reacquaint himself with ghosts from his past—ranging from his childhood to even as recently as the events of the previous season (not even a year in the "Millennium" timeline).

In a long flashback sequence, Frank recalls his chance meeting with Mr. Crocell (Dean Winters, best known for his comedic roles on "30 Rock" and as “Mayhem” in the Allstate commercials), a very scarred WWII veteran on whose door young Frank knocks while trick or treating with friends. You see, Mr. Crocell, though young, had obtained the reputation of being “the creepy old guy” who lived in a ramshackle house and almost never showed his face. He was thought to be insane, a killer, or live in a haunted house. And it was because of a Halloween dare that young Frank knocked on his door. Later on in this flashback sequence, Frank, now a teen, watches as Mr. Crocell is removed from his home in a body bag after having taken his own life.

Back in the present, Frank finds himself back in his old neighborhood, where he had once lived happily with his wife and daughter. He enters his old house, now uninhabited, and eavesdrops on a bunch of thrill-seeking teens as one of them talks about “the Curse of Frank Black,” and about the death of Frank’s good friend, Bletcher, who died in that same house at the hands of a reoccurring villain through the show's run.

Frank is nearly dismayed to hear that, in the same way Mr. Crocell had been the one painted as the crazy, old man during his youth, it would now seem, according to these kids, that he was the one who had taken up that mantle. Frank was now the crazy, old man. And he’s not happy about that—he’s not willing to accept his new status as the lonely, mysterious, and perhaps dangerous member of the neighborhood. In the same way he doesn’t want his family tarnished by the dangerous work he involves himself in, he doesn’t want his reputation tarnished by neighborhood gossip. And not in an egotist way, but in a way where he feels they are one in the same. Whether all in his mind, or in a walking nightmare come to life during the power of Halloween night, Mr. Crocell tells Frank that the life Crocell lived is the life Frank is risking living himself if he does not give up his work and focus on his family.

"The Curse of Frank Black" is probably the creepiest "Millennium" episode there is. The setting of Halloween night (including its dark, windy, and foggy weather) helps to make it extra creepy.  It’s the type of night we Halloween enthusiasts wish for every year. When I was a kid and begged for candy, then yeah, I preferred Halloween to be nice, sunny, and warm enough so I didn’t freeze to death. But now, as an adult (kind of), I want my Halloween nights to be windy, leaf-strewn, and creepy. And this episode certainly satisfies that requirement.

Director Ralph Hemecker, mostly a veteran of television shows like "The X Files," "Numbers," and "Blue Bloods," manages to infuse a lot of creepy imagery and ideas into this episode. And he manages to use the image of the Devil, probably one of the most over-used images in horror history, to extreme effect, giving you faraway, split-second, “did I just see that?” shots of the fork-tailed beast from below.

For non-fans of the series, the episode is still a very effective watch. No, you won’t understand all the references and the ins and outs, but for its mood, tone, and imagery alone, it’s a more than worthy Halloween night watch.

Plus, it’s only about 40 minutes without commercials. What have you got to lose?

DAY TWO: TRICK-R-TREAT

"You don't really know much about Halloween... You thought no further than the strange custom of having your children wear masks and go out begging for candy."

DAY ONE: 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN

 

October is here. It always seems to take forever every year, doesn't it? The summers tend to hang around way too long, and the autumns before it, while here, are fleeting. But this big giant world of ours keeps spinning, and another October has been delivered to us. I'd like to celebrate it for as long as possible, before the final minutes of October 31st rear their head and tease the remaining eleven months where things don't seem quite so special.

And so begins "31 Days of Halloween." Be sure to check back with me each day for a Halloween related post. From not-so-traditional Halloween movie recommendations, to books you should definitely be checking out, to original fiction by yours truly, to even a couple Shitty Flick entries; every day will be its own entity - its own mini celebration of the most misunderstood day of the year.

Get ready...

REVIEW: BACK FROM HELL (EX INFERNIS)

Synopsis
Six friends decide to spend their holiday together and rent a manor house in the countryside where they can leave behind the madness of city life. Once there, they befriend a priest, Father Elia, who lives alone in the adjoining church. Very soon the party mood turns frightening, as strange phenomena, apparently paranormal, begin happening around the group. It soon turns into a nightmare when one of the friends, Giorgio, begins acting as if he is possessed, which the group interprets as being demonic.

While Alessandro, his best friend, tries to find a scientific and rational explanation to the happenings, the other friends appeal to Father Elia for assistance. He feels Giorgio is surely possessed by the devil and tries to exorcise him. But in the end what is happening is beyond their ability to understand and, moreover, their possibility to control. Is Giorgio’s possession the sign of a larger, even more diabolical phenomenon about to envelop the world?

Review

It's difficult to review films that leave you with neither a positive nor negative reaction. It's just as easy to throw heaps of love to a film that works as it is to trash a movie that doesn't. But then there are movies like Back From Hell (formerly known as Ex Infernis) that aren't offensive enough to warrant any kind of laundry list of ways it could've been better, nor is there much of it worth pointing out and complimenting.

But I can try.

First off, that synopsis above, which I pulled from a piece of sales art during the film's festival run, is a little misleading. The friends aren't renting a house, but have accompanied Sara, an architect, who has been contacted about visiting an old monastery to see about its potential for restoration. The structure is very beautiful, old age or not, and the high ceilings and tall doors help it to become a character almost effortlessly.

The interaction amongst the friends never feels forced or scripted. And thankfully the actors playing them, all whose first language is clearly Italian, speak English well enough that it doesn't hinder any of their performances. (I bring that up because foreign productions find English-speaking actors in order to give the film more international appeal, which oftentimes can prove distracting.) There's only one weak actor among the cast, and he spends most of his time behind the camera remaining quiet. Giovanni Guidelli is especially good as Father Elias, whose haunted eyes make you sympathize with the poor, isolated priest who seems to know shit's ready to hit the fan even before the audience does.

Making a possession movie is always going to automatically draw comparisons to The Exorcist. It's unavoidable. Because of this, part of me wants to commend director Leonardo Araneo for avoiding over-the-top special effects or sound editing to make the possessed actually appear possessed. The possession comes only from the abilities of the actor to appear so, intended to make it appear as realistic as possible. In theory, this is a good choice. After all, look at Jennifer Carpenter's performance in The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Despite how you might feel about that particular film, her performance as the possessed Emily is creepy and effective, and was accomplished not with special effects, but with the abilities that Carpenter possessed. However, in the case of Back From Hell, this decision creates a problem: It never seems cinematic. And because this is cinema, we need more than an evil smile and some drool.

There are interesting ideas festering within Back From Hell, one especially being that Giorgio goes on record during a heated debate in the first act that God doesn't exist (and through an odd defense of his own beliefs, might even insinuate he is a Scientologist). It is Sara with whom he argues, and her beliefs in God are unwavering, leaving the argument to become quite intense. I bring this up because, from what I have read about possession, those with faith are the ones more susceptible to possession than those without it. If this was a purposeful choice, I'd be curious to know why. Or perhaps it was supposed to be that "irony" thing I've heard so much about.

At times the film's plot feels almost improvised, or cobbled together from footage three times as long as the final running time. There's an unfocused feeling of meandering, as if there was less of a script but more of an outline. "We need to get from Point A to Point B, but we can just wing whatever happens in between," etc. Because of this, it's sometimes difficult to pinpoint exactly what is happening or how scared we should be. (Based on the final output, not much.)

Back From Hell is sometimes effective in that way found footage movies are effective by default: A character walks down a dark hallway shining a flashlight in certain rooms, and suddenly there is someone - or something - standing before them. Moments like these are always startling because that's how we as human beings react to something unexpected. So in that regard, Back From Hell provides a few easy scares.

One of the more disturbing subplots features Sara's unborn baby. To spoil this would be to spoil the most shocking moment in the film, so I will refrain. One thing I will say about it is...it's not something I was at all expecting.

Look, could you do a lot worse than Back From Hell? Yes, you sure could. And anything in The Asylum's catalog would prove that almost instantly. Could you do a lot better, too? Yes, you could. But if you consider yourself a fan of the found footage technique, it's worth taking a look; it's low on scares, but high on concept and ideas. 

Oh, and by the way, don't expect anything remotely similar to what you see on the poster to occur during the film.