Programming a Halloween Horror Movie Marathon

Halloween is right around the corner and I have no plans. That's right, no parties, no gatherings, no drunken night of debauchery, and I do not plan on answering the door either. So what is little ole me to do on the long, creepy, dark Halloween day? Well, barring any potential plan changes, I have decided that I am going to watch horror movies all day long and into the night.

Sounds like a good idea, right?

Yes, yes it does sound like a good idea. Now comes the tricky part. What do I watch? I cannot just reach to the shelf and grab the first thing I come across. No, that would be too easy and probably be a little boring. What if I stumble across the A Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th shelves. Yes, I do like them and they are worth watching, but that is a lot of movies that would probably suck up the entire day. I am going to have to give this a little thought.

There are a few factors I am going to need to consider in choosing the films that will comprise my marathon. The first thing is any movie I choose I have to own. This shouldn't be too hard as I have a pretty good sized collection. Why do I have to already own it? Easy, because I do not want to have to run around to rent or buy it anywhere. Using my own collection makes things a little easier. Next, I want to make sure to mix things up a little bit. I do not want to spend all day in slasherville, or Asian ghost-o-rama, or even in the realm classic Universal monsters. The horror genre is rich in variety, so why not take advantage of it?

As I continue writing this, I a not quite sure how my final play list will come together or if I will be able to get through all of my choices in a day. Still, it will certainly be fun to try. I have never attempted anything like this before and I am not sure I will again. For the moment, let us just enjoy it.

And now for the good part. Let's take a look at a few contenders for my Halloween Horror Movie Marathon.

Once the movies have been selected they will be mixed up. I do not want to have, say, two slashers in a row or anything like that.

I do now that I want to have a couple of classics in there, so let's begin with Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. I have been meaning to revisit these for some time. I considered a little bit of Lugosi, but I don't feel the need for Dracula right now. Although, I may take a shot at the original Wolfman. The timing would be good considering the remake coming early next year.

Comedy is always a good mix with horror, so to satisfy that need I have two films in mind. If I can find it (my collection is not always easy to navigate) I would like Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. The other title is a recent Blu-ray acquisition in Evil Dead II.

I would like to get some Hammer in the mix. So, I am considering The Mummy and maybe one of their Dracula titles. I am pretty open to the Hammer possibilities. I must admit, I do like Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires.

Let's movie into something a little more modern. I have been wanting to watch that Hostel Part 2 Blu-ray, that should help satiate some of the blood lust. I also have a copy of Laid to Rest somewhere that I am pretty sure wants to be seen. I have heard some good things about that direct to video slasher. I am pretty sure I know where my copy of High Tension is, so that could be fun.

Now, tell me, what is Halloween without a little Vincent Price? I have a Price boxset in my hands and there are two titles in that box that cry out to be watched. What are they? The Abominable Dr. Phibes and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again, of course.

Asian horror is always pretty fascinating to watch, always high on the creep factor. Perhaps I will dig up a Takashi Miike picture like Audition or The Happiness of the Katikuris. There is also the more traditional creepy titles like Ju-on or Ringu.

You know, a trip to Italy may be in order. After reading about the potential remake of Suspiria that was going around earlier this year, maybe I should pop in the original? I would also say some Lucio Fulci zombie action is in order, but I watched a bunch of them not that long ago and think I can safely set him aside for now. I do have that Dawn of the Dead box set, maybe I could pull out the Dario Argento European cut. I never did see that particular version.

David Lynch may be appropriate as well. I have a copy of Eraserhead that has been crying for some attention. Or maybe I should go old school with Wes Craven and dig up the original The Hills Have Eyes for some mutant fun.

Hmm, have you ever seen May? I remember this being quite good, a different spin on the Frankenstein tale starring Angela Bettis and Anna Farris. If I can find that, maybe that could make the schedule.

The word "demon" just crossed my mind and now I am thinking of a couple of demon movies, titled simply enough Demons and Demons 2. I think I know where they are and I remember those being quite gooey. Or I could go the other route and check out Demonic Toys or one of the Puppet Master flicks. Not the bloodiest, but the dolls are cool.

I think I have to stop there. I have just gone through a lot of titles. There is no way I am going to be able to squeeze all of these into one day. I would love to go into the day with a set plan, a definite playlist of sorts. That is not likely to become reality. All I can really hope for is that I can find some of these titles come Saturday. Perhaps, if I feel really energetic I will take a look for them before hand.

I am also open to any suggestions you may have for me. I may not be able to take them right away, but I an add them to the ever growing list!

Oh yes, I plan on getting a early start Friday night. A local arthouse theater is screening Carnival of Souls, the original classic! That should be a blast!