Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Fifty Halloween Movie Horrors (or A Few of Our Favorite Things)

In all their B movie line glory, cheesy special effects, and predictable stories, absolutely NOTHING beats classic horror films of the '50's and '60's when it comes to Halloween entertainment.

I bought this 50 (yes, count 'em -- 50) movie DVD set on Ebay for around five dollars and have slowly watched my way through hours of horror films in anticipation of Halloween. Admittedly, there were quite a few duds, even by my low standards ... don't bother to catch "Swamp Women" on late night tv anytime soon.
But there were some absolute gems, such as "Creature from the Haunted Sea", whose laughs are on par with the average "Get Smart" episode -- and "Carnival of Souls", which came close to a chilling effect with its spooky story.
The absolute best (thus far) however, is "Beast of Yucca Flats" -- with dubbed-in dialogue, senseless chase scenes, and a monster with all the speed of a rolling pumpkin, it takes the cake for entertainment with sheer laughter.


While we may laugh at these films, there is a deep appreciation for the genre and atmosphere which these films created as they attempted to frighten (or simply entertain) audiences in movie houses and drive-ins across America. Pick up a few this Halloween and enjoy some not-so-scary entertainment courtesy of classic Hollywood.

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