Zach’s Picks

Invader Zim: Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom (S1E12, but it depends who you ask)

I’ve always loved Invader Zim, in fact I even took the time to write a very detailed article about why it was cancelled, and the Halloween episode is no exception. While it’s not as morbid or creepy as other episodes, looking at you Dark Harvest, it definitely goes all-in on the monster visuals. The episode revolves around Dib, who after messing around with his father’s equipment finds himself phasing between the horrible world the series is set in and a slightly more horrible monster-filled dimension in his brain. I’ll try not to ruin anything for you if you haven’t seen it, but it has plenty of the gross visuals and offbeat humor that you would expect. All in all, while it isn’t the creepiest thing you could watch, it’s definitely one of the funniest.

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

I know Derek already picked the Disney classic adaptation of this story on week one. I know that this version is nowhere near as accurate to the source material as the Disney one, and I know that this one isn’t nearly as well liked, but I DON’T CARE. It’s a Sleepy Hollow movie directed by Tim Burton, with none other than Christopher Walken as the headless horseman, so what’s not to like? Plus, they just released a 20th anniversary blu-ray so that’s cool. You can grab one on amazon by clicking here. (That’s an affiliate link, look it up.) The movie features Johnny Depp (it’s a Tim Burton movie, so who else?) as Ichabod Crane, a police officer sent to a small community to investigate a series of murders. I have to admit, it’s a very good looking movie, it knows the aesthetic and atmosphere that it wants to convey. I’ve always felt that scene building is one of Burton’s strongest skills, he always seems to have a perfect idea in mind of how he wants things to look, and he always manages to make it happen. The whole movie has a blue filter over it, which serves to enhance its dark, drab nature, and really helps the film achieve the feel of an old Hammer horror film that the director was striving for. There’s a heavy emphasis on practical effects, only using CGI where necessary. For modern films I don’t care as much about using CGI effects, but for movies from the late 90s there’s a rather large quality gap so this is a definite plus. As for the actual writing and plot, it’s better than people give it credit for. There might be a few too many jokes inserted into the dialogue for this kind of movie, but without them the movie would lose a lot of its charm. All in all, it’s an entertaining film that not many people talk about these days, and is often overlooked in favor of other works by just about everyone involved.

I assure you, the movie is better than the trailer makes it look.

Team Up’s Picks

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Movie

This is something I have put off for countless years now as a self-professed Spooky guy but I figure this was the perfect opportunity. This year for the first time I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Released in 1992 this horror comedy has aged surprisingly well. There was at no time that I felt that the setting of the movie wasn’t at least a modern time. The amazing line up of actors in this movie was out of this world. Paul Reubens is stunning and creepy as always. The late Luke Perry is a heartthrob, David Arquette pulls off the loser angle so well. But its not even the credited cast that really surprised me. It was when actors like Ben Affleck, Ricki Lake, and Seth green all show up in such small parts they aren’t even credited that really made me laugh. I thought the way that the movie handled the reveal of Buffy’s destiny was great. Much better I thought than they did in the tv show. I would go as far as to say that had they remade the movie with the actors from the tv show it would be the greatest thing ever.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV Show

I love Alison Hannigan. So anything with her in it is a slam dunk in my book. Joss Whedon is an amazing screen writer. David Boreanaz is super entertaining whenever he is on screen (remember that time he was the bad guy in the 4 th Crow film? Probably not but I do and it was rad as hell). Sarah Michelle Gellar is always a bad ass and funny woman in her roles. So what did any one expect when they put all of these separate pieces together other than an amazing show that showed an entire generation of girls that they can be super bad ass and that its not only guys who are chosen ones? Because that exactly what happened. This was such a great viewing experience and now I have another show that I need to binge. I never watched the show until this week but a lot of my friends have, and it is one of those shows that defined a lot of them, so thanks Joss and Sarah and everyone else who worked on this show that made a lot of the women in my life bad ass and spooky.

Optimus_Grime814’s Picks

Rugrats: Candy Bar Creep Show (1991)

It's "Hallyween" and the babies have no idea what they're in for until their cousin, Angelica Pickles, tells them all about dressing up in costume and collecting candy and not just any candy, Reptar Bars! While the grownups tend to their home made haunted house, Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil devise a plan to get the dino shaped candy bars for themselves.

I love the spooky sounds features in this one. My favorite scene is when the babies make it into the haunted house and accidentally make it their own and scare the shit out of the whole family.

Frankenstein (1931)

The 10th installment of the Universal Classic Monsters film franchise starring Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein, Boris Karloff as the Monster and Mae Clark as Elisabeth Lavenza ( Henrys love interest and soon to be wife). Aided by his kooky assistant Fritz (played by Dwight Frye), Frankenstein seeks fresh cadavers in a nearby cemetery to piece together a human body to reanimate. Upon acquiring the last piece, the brain, Fritz drops the jar containing a normal brain and fetches after an abnormal brain which belonged to a murder criminal to bring back to Frankenstein. With the success of his experiment, events turn for the worst and the monster is set to be destroyed by Frankenstein's colleague, Dr Waldman (played by Edward Van Sloan). The Monster wakes before being dissected, kills Waldman, flees the laboratory and runs rampant across the town. Frankensteins monster has always been one of my favorite characters as a child; I even had one if those Fisher Price Big Frank guys back when. This is a classic black and white film which, to me, makes it that much more eerie than that of a colored film.

Derek’s Picks

The Adventures of Ronald McDonald - Scared Silly

Holy crap you guys, if you’re a fan of 90’s Nicktoons (and let’s be honest, you’re reading this website so theres a 0% chance you aren’t) then you’ve gotta check out this oddity. Released nationwide on October 9, 1998 (21 years ago at the time of this writing, christ I am aging quickly) the first installment of the animated Ronald McDonald adventures arrived in Mickey D’s restaurants just in time for Halloween. I arrived home from school one day to find this bad boy waiting for me, and it quickly became THE go to Halloween tape for me for quite some time. I know what you’re thinking, how can a 40 minute long piece of McDonald’s propaganda be that good? Two words: Klasky Csupo. The animation studio responsible for such Nickelodeon hits as Rocket Power, The Wild Thornberrys and their piece de resistance - Aahhh!! Real Monsters. Now, there were technically six installments in the Adventures of Ronald McDonald saga, with one being incredibly hard to find if anyone’s looking for good Xmas gift ideas for me *cough cough* but Scared Silly is really the only one you need to see. It has gorgeous animation, genuinely catchy tunes to rival anything that Disney might have been putting out at the time, and a really great, Aahh!! Real Monsters-esque spooky storyline that’s absolutely perfect to watch while downing some caramel apples. Lucky there’s a fairly decent version of this floating around on Youtube which I’ve linked below, so you don’t have to worry about digging out your old VCR to watch it...now you’ve got no excuse!

Someone’s still selling VHS copies on Amazon too.

The American Scream

The American Scream is another film that’s incredibly near and dear to my heart. Halloween has always been ~*my thing*~ so when I moved away to college and wasn’t able to decorate/celebrate the way I had for most of my life, naturally I was bummed out. There I was, Halloween night, absolutely bumming in my dorm room alone. I was a bit homesick, and depressed that I wasn’t surrounded by 6 foot tall animated monsters & faux tombstones. That’s when I found out that this documentary all about “home haunters” existed. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this is a perfect film. If you have ANY interest in home haunting as it’s called, this movie needs to be on your watchlist. If you have ANY interest in Halloween, this movie needs to be on your watchlist. Hell, if you have a SOUL, this movie needs to be on your watchlist.

Throughout the film, we are introduced to three families, all with their own yard haunts, all with different quirks and different levels of skill. The sole thing that connects them is that they love to create something bigger than themselves for the good of the community, and by the end of this, I guarantee you’ll be moved in some way, shape, or form. It’s funny, it’s inspiring, and it’s got a lot of heart. The American Scream will fill your soul with the Halloween spirit and inspire you to get out and enjoy the remainder of the season.