What Halloween Means To Me Day 15: James Bickert (Big World Pictures)

In many ways, the release and rise of Dear God No! and the history of Son of Celluloid are tied together.  My first cover quote was on the limited edition VHS.  The first time my name appeared in a magazine, it was on a DGN ad.  It was also the first movie premiere that I attended as press.  At the after party, I interviewed the director, and that’s when I met James Bickert.  In addition to making that sleaze masterpiece, Jimmy is a living, breathing exploitation encyclopedia.  His knowledge of drive-in cinema is as far beyond mine as mine is beyond a normal person.  It’s not very often that people can turn me on to horror flicks I’ve never even heard of, but he can.  I mean hell, the dude has a freakin' drive-in in his back yard.  Literally.  Now THAT’S dedication.  He’s a brilliant trash historian, an excellent director, a drunken scumbag, and a hell of a guy.  He’s currently in pre-production on Frankenstein Created Bikers, so keep an ear out for news on the next bloody biker epic from Big World Pictures.  So Jimmy, what does Halloween mean to you?

“The creepy kid down the street is now an adult. As Halloween grows near and the air becomes brisk, a magic elixir begins to appear. The season brings pumpkin beers, Oktoberfest recipes and porters. Hearty beers that fill the belly and enhance the dizzy whirlwind of cheap tetanus laden fair rides, leaves floating through bare trees over a laughter filled bonfire and obscure giallos haphazardly projected onto a backyard screen. The career sinner can stagger among the crowd undetected while conjuring double vision nightmares. In a flickering light ritual, resurrected cinematic gods cast spells on my daughter and other children. We can only hope they will be infected and become the future creepy children down the street.”

12 days ‘til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  12 days ‘til Halloween.  Silver Shamrock!

What Halloween Means To Me Day 14: Jen and Sylvia Soska (Twisted Twins Productions)

If I have to tell you who the Soska sisters are, then you obviously have your finger nowhere even remotely close to the pulse of indie horror.  Jen and Sylvia Soska, aka the Twisted Twins, are a couple of the most exciting new faces of horror filmmaking to appear in some time.  They’re also a couple of really cool chicks and good friends of the blog.  They hit the scene in 2009 with their debut flick Dead Hooker In A Trunk, which won a load of awards on the festival circuit and was distributed on DVD by IFC.  It also landed on a lot of “top 10” lists last year, including coming in at #3 on my Best of 2011 list.  You can check out my review of Dead Hooker HERE.  Fast forward to 2012, and the girls are unleashing American Mary, starring Katharine Isabelle from Ginger Snaps.  Since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival Market, Mary has been making the rounds of the major festivals; while the Twisted Twins have been busy taking San Diego Comic-Con by storm, gracing the covers of various horror mags, and getting a ton of press.  Now, I’m not the type to say I told you so, but way back at the beginning of January I wrote “…2012 looks like it just might be the year of the Soska sisters.”  Am I good or what?  I’m happy to see  Jen and Sylvia achieving such success, as, while I haven’t met them in person, they’ve always maintained a killer relationship with their fans, including always being incredibly cool, friendly, and accommodating to the ‘ol Son of Celluloid.  I cheer for the villains in the movies, but in real life, it’s always cool when the true good guys, or gals in this case, win.  American Mary will be screening at Sitges, LA Scream Fest, Toronto After Dark, and Monster Fest; as well as touring Australia and New Zealand for most of November. The Twisted Twins can also be found at Son of Monsterpalooza Con and Aliens to Zombies con in LA late October.  Keep an eye on their site HERE to find out when they might be coming near you.  Personally, I absolutely CAN’T WAIT to see American Mary.  Ladies, if you’re listening…BRING MARY TO ATLANTA DAMMIT!!!  In the meantime, lets hear what Halloween means to the diabolical duo…

“I hate that Halloween only comes once a year. I mean, why the f**k do we have to celebrate Christmas for two whole months? Shouldn't we get at least a few days of grace to mourn the passing of another Halloween before we have glitter, ornaments, and some spokes model created by Coca-cola that's become some kind of false idol shoved down our throats? Part of the reason we got into making horror movies is so that we can have Halloween every and any day we want. It's the only holiday that is just purely about fun. You don't have to buy people presents; you don't have to do anything you don't feel like doing. For one night, you get to dress up like anything you want and be anyone you want to. For one night, it's okay to be whoever or whatever you want to be and people will just accept you for it. You can be scary, you can be sexy, heck, you can be both at the same time. We embrace or dark sides and venture out into the unknown, all of us, at all ages, and of all walks of life. It's beautiful.

People are too afraid these days. Afraid of trying, afraid of failing, afraid of the world, and mostly afraid of being afraid. We throw away all that shit on just one night and it's like the world becomes this beautiful place where we embrace our fears. I love Halloween because of everything it is. With censorship running rampant, we get a whole month of horror movies and not just on the wicked awesome channels that are brave enough to play them year round. Even the most conservative of channels suck it up and show some balls. It's a holiday that embraces and encourages creativity as we all know the very best of costumes are made at home through blood, sweat, and tears rather than being store bought. 

 Halloween is the place most of us had our first taste of independence. That first year when you get to go trick or treating with a group of friends draped in monsters' clothes rather than a parent or guardian. It feels more special than anytime of year. You can smell Halloween in the air. That crisp, autumny flavor in the air that bites back at you, but doesn't freeze you out like Christmas can. It's a season for rebels. We light up the sky with fire works and play pranks on our unsuspecting victims. At an early age, I must have fallen in love with Halloween as I can't remember ever not being in love with it. It's a holiday we celebrate at night, a real rarity. I remember always loving the tradition of it. The carving of our own pumpkins, the sewing of our costumes, all the while filling up on the most perfect bite size candies, watching an onslaught of horror movies.

I love the anarchy of it. The "anything-can-and-will-happen-ness" of it all. The creation and the unveiling. The embracing of our dark sides and that one night where anything is possible. Maybe its best that it comes only once a year. It's too special. Too sacred.

Unless, of course, if you become a horror movie director. Then it's all yours whenever you want it.

Something wicked this way comes,
Jen and Sylv”

 13 days ‘til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  13 Days ‘til Halloween.  Silver Shamrock.

What Halloween Means To Me Day 13: Mike O'Mahoney (Maniac Films)

Lucky number 13 on the countdown is Mike O’Mahoney.  Mike is the head ass kicker at Maniac Films.  He’s also a sick puppy, but that’s why I like him.  Since founding Maniac Films in 2009, Mike has directed a throwback slasher flick Deadly Detour: The Goat Man Murders and a killer clown splatter comedy Sloppy the Psychotic.  At the Days of the Dead convention in Atlanta last year, he was kind enough to give me copies of both.  I really liked deadly Detour, and I LOVED Sloppy.  You can check out my Sloppy review HERE.  Deadly Detour is currently available on Amazon and Sloppy will be released early next year by Chemical Burn Entertainment…featuring a quote from yours truly on the cover.  He’s  currently hard at work on postproduction on Maniac’s new flick I.B.S.  Check out Maniac Films on Facebook HERE and be the fist to know the release details.  So Mike, tell us what Halloween means to you…

“What does Halloween mean to me? I have no idea, I’ve never thought about it before. I know that growing up it was my favorite holiday, and for the last 4 years I have been living it year round through my movies, but its meaning??? No clue.

Halloween is the time of year where the weather is nice, TV actually has something good on, you can give candy to children you don’t know without getting the cops called on you, and people can pretend they’re someone else for a night and live out their twisted, bloody fantasies. Speaking of twisted bloody fantasies… I’m looking through old Halloween pictures of me as a child and every year all of my costumes involve blood and a weapon of some sort. Zombie with hatchet, vampire with stake, car wreck victim, machete wielding werewolf, cheerleader…well, not all of my fantasies involve blood. But most do!

Remember getting into your costume at noon because you were too excited to wait? Or planning the best neighborhood route to walk to acquire the most candy? How about toilet papering the neighbor’s house all in the spirit of Halloween? I remember doing all of these and more!

I guess what Halloween means to me is fun; and that’s why I drag it out year round, trying to have fun every day. It is easily the coolest holiday of the year, so why wouldn’t I? What other holiday even comes close? Christmas?? Pffft, please…”

14 days ‘til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  14 days ‘til Halloween.  Silver Shamrock.

What Halloween Means To Me Day 12: Eric Stanze (Wicked Pixel Cinema)

Eric Stanze is one of the most consistently original filmmakers on the indie scene.  I first became aware of him when I came across his criminally under-appreciated flick Scrapbook while I was in film school.  It blew me away, and it has proven to predate a bunch of trends that took hold years later.  It was kinda August Underground (which it is often compared to) before there was an August Underground; but with an actual story, real tension, phenomenal acting, violence that had an emotional impact…actually, nevermind.  It’s nothing like August Underground.  Anyway, he not only refuses to go with the latest trends in horror, but he also refuses to make the same film repeatedly, which way too many directors do.  From theological hallucinations like Ice From The Sun to sleazy extreme exploitation like I Spit on Your Corpse, I Piss on Your Grave to straight up horror romps like Savage Harvest 1 and 2, Stanze never pulls his punches and always delivers the goods.  The latest offering from Wicked Pixel Cinema, Ratline, was an outstanding story of Nazis, immortality, and occult artifacts.  You can read my review HERE.  He also writes a blog over at FearNet called “Surviving Cinema” where he discusses his favorite flicks and gives us a peek behind the curtain into the world of making horror flicks.  Go to his website HERE for more info on what he’s up to.  So Eric, tell us what Halloween means to you...

 ”Halloween is the best holiday of the year. For me, Halloween represents encouragement for children’s imaginations to run wild, as well as an invitation for adults to rekindle their own imaginations. The holiday gives us permission to take darkness and fears that surround us in real life and twist them into something cathartic, thrilling, and fun. When I was a wee lad, long before I was a filmmaker endeavoring to put shock and fright on screen, I was scaring my mom with rubber snakes, dumping ketchup on myself to look like a corpse to scare my little sisters, and using fishing line to make doors open and rocking chairs rock to convince my dad our house was haunted. I managed to provoke some genuine fright (my mom hates snakes), but mostly I triggered the rolling of eyes and shaking of heads by family members. Halloween gives me license – in fact encourages me – to again engage in such twisted behavior as an adult... and that’s pretty cool... even though Mom and Dad are still rolling their eyes at me.”

15 days ‘til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  15 days ‘til Halloween. Silver Shamrock!

What Halloween Means To Me Day 11: Jason Hoover (JABB Pictures)

Welcome to Independent Horror Filmmakers week here at the “What Halloween Means To Me” countdown.  One of the most exciting concepts to come down the indie horror pike in a long, long time is JABB Pictures’ “The Collective” series.  Each volume is a collection of 10 shorts, 10 minutes long each, all revolving around the same theme.  For example, in Volume 2 each filmmaker was given a small cardboard box that they had to incorporate as a major plot element.  In Vol 3, they each had to come up with a unique take on the concept “10 Minutes to Live.”  Get the picture?  I’ve reviewed Volumes 1-4.  They’re over there in the archive.  I’m too lazy to dig up all 4 links.  The zombie themed Collective Volume 5 premieres Nov. 16 at the Days of the Dead convention in Chicago, and will be available on DVD shortly thereafter.  Follow JABB on Facebook HERE to keep up on the latest goings on and go HERE to order DVDs. You can get all 4 volumes of The Collective for 30 bucks, which at just over 6 hours of awesomeness is about as much bang for your buck as you're gonna find anywhere.  Anyway, Jason Hoover, in addition to being one of the filmmakers featured in the Collective series, is the mastermind behind the whole thing.  He runs JABB Pictures.  My absolute favorite thing about Jason is that he has no filmmaking training, is completely self taught, and turns out great, entertaining, innovative stuff.  He’s pretty damn prolific too, having made 13 short films in the last 2 years.  He’s currently hard at work on his first feature (due out in early 2013), but he took some time out to tell us what Halloween means to him…

"My Halloween experience has changed a lot over the years. As a kid my only concern was to collect as much candy as my freshly removed pillow case could sustain without ripping to shreds. I was a candy marauder!
I would often pick my costume based on agility as opposed to character. It was all about "the pile". Few things make a young, overweight boy happier than standing over a heaping pile of sugary goodness. I would eat myself sick, then start again. It was beautiful; gluttony in it's finest form. Ahhh… the good old days.

 As a teenager, "The Great Candy Caper" began to fade. Each year I found myself wanting candy less and chaos more. Bag snatching, egg throwing, toilet paper covered chaos. I wasn't a criminal by any means but I was a definite pain in the ass for the residents of Aroma Park, IL. Halloween became an excuse to plunder and run wild. Looking back, I think I was just trying to fit in with the local hoods I had befriended. I truly hope that my actions as a young man had no lasting effects on the victims of my antics. 

Now that I'm all grown up and have kids of my own, I find great joy in being on the other side of the door. Now I am the victim of the new breed of marauders. I willingly supply them with all the confections I was once showered in. I revel in the endless parade of eager, sugar fueled little people running amuck through my small town. I say to them, "Onward young plunderers! Go forth and amass a pile like the world has never seen! May you all have a Happy Halloween!"

16 days ‘til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  16 days ‘til Halloween.  Silver Shamrock!

What Halloween Means To Me Day 10: John Squires

 

Well folks, we’ve come to the end of Horror Blogger All-Stars week on the countdown, and we’re going out with a bang.  By the way, next week is Independent Horror Filmmakers week, so stay put.  You’re not gonna wanna miss it.  Anyway, I actually owe John Squires some thanks, because he indirectly played a role in the creation of Son of Celluloid.  John writes the blog Freddy in Space (HERE), one of the most popular and followed horror blogs out there.  It was the first horror blog I discovered and the first one I read regularly; thereby making it my introduction to the world of blogging.  John’s passionate ramblings about movies, memorabilia, toys, cool retro stuff, and whatever other corner of the horror world struck his fancy at the time made me realize that an obsessed horror geek can find his voice online, and that there are people out there that it will resonate with who will want to read it.  In that way, if there hadn’t been a Freddy in Space, there might not be a Son of Celluloid.  So John, it’s your turn to tell the Cellmates “What Halloween Means To Me…”

 “As any horror fan can echo, Halloween means pure happiness to me. But precisely what it has represented in my life has definitely changed over the years.

When I was a kid, Halloween was all about the big day itself. Going trick or treating on Halloween day was the big source of excitement, and what Halloween meant to me was primarily getting and consuming a shit ton of free candy. I don't think I referred to it as a "shit ton" back then, but rest assured, it was a shit ton.

As I got a bit older, in my early teenage years, Halloween became a sort of bonding experience with my dad. We'd go out to the Halloween shops and get a whole bunch of new decorations each year, which we'd put up together. Halloween became less about trick or treating and dressing up, and more about pimping the house out horror style, with big ass rubber demons and severed heads. I still have most of those decorations we bought together (well, he paid for them all!) in my basement, the stuff that made it through each passing year without someone jacking it from the front yard, that is. I also remember having a lot of fun scaring young trick or treaters, by putting on masks we had laying around the house and jumping out from behind bushes and such. Good old fashioned Halloween fun!

Nowadays, Halloween is less about the actual day of October 31st itself, and much more about the entire month of October. Well, I generally include September in that too. At least the majority of it. I still typically go out trick or treating on Halloween night, to keep the spirit alive, but if I'm being honest, Halloween day is more of a sad day for me nowadays, than it is anything else. To see how few kids come out trick or treating these days, and to know that the whole world returns back to normal the next day, quite frankly makes me downright sad. Which is why I generally don't like to see people counting down the days to Halloween once October rolls around. I countdown from September to October, but once October comes, it's all about enjoying that whole month of festivities for me. No reason to excitedly count those days away!

So what does Halloween mean to me, in the present day? It mostly means getting to have all sorts of Halloween fun with my wife; pumpkin picking and carving, eating roasted corn, watching more horror movies than usual, going to haunted houses, drinking pumpkin beer, eating enough Monster Cereal to turn my shit blue and pink, going out to parties and getting drunk in goofy costumes, and just all around enjoying an entire month of everyone embracing the stuff that we embrace all year round. I know a lot of horror fans get upset that suddenly everyone seems to love horror movies and horrific things come October, and then no more once October is over, but I personally delight in seeing that widespread love.

Another real joy of the Halloween season for me nowadays is going out to stores like Target and Walmart each week of October, pumpkin spice coffee in tow, and discovering new food products and goodies to blog about it. It's like a treasure hunt every time I go out there in the world, and I just love that. Never am I more inspired to blog and never do I have more to blog about than I do during the Halloween season. And since blogging is such an important part of my life, that makes me real damn happy.

Happiness. That about sums it up. Halloween, not just the day of Halloween but the entire month of Halloween, makes me happy. Same as it did in my childhood, only in slightly different ways. That's what it's all about. As I sit here drinking a pumpkin beer, watching horror movies on TV and planning out what to dress up as this year, all feels incredibly right with the world.

So cheers to you, Halloween!”

17 days ‘til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  17 days ‘til Halloween, Silver Shamrock.

What Halloween Means To Me Day 9: Maynard Morrissey

 

 Today the countdown is going international as we join Maynard Morrissey in Austria...NOT AUSTRALIA! Maynard is one of the most active and tireless reviewers on the scene.  He writes the excellent blog Maynard Morrissey’s Horror Movie Diary (HERE).  I’m a long time reader of his, and over the summer he proved to have impeccable taste when he chose Son of Celluloid as July’s Horror Blog of the Month.  As much as I like Maynard, though, I’m not gonna lie…his countdown entry makes me sad.  Ont thing I’ve learned through putting this event together that I didn’t know previously is that Halloween is largely an American thing.  Apparently in Austria, it’s a minor holiday.  No big deal.  I can’t imagine that.  It’s a longstanding thing in Christmas programming to portray “A Year/Town/World Without Christmas” as the worst thing that could possibly happen.  To me, Halloween not being the main holiday of the year is unthinkable. I will say, however, that him sending the pictures under the file name "crapoween" made me laugh pretty hard. Thank Cthulhu there are enough horror flicks that exude Halloween spirit to keep it alive worldwide.  Maynard, I do hope you get to come experience Halloween in the US one of these days.  Swing by Atlanta and I’ll personally show you what Halloween is all about. 

"My blog buddy Nathan said to me that he is "very interested in finding out what Halloween is like in Austria" - and I have to disappoint him, because there is basically NO REAL HALLOWEEN in Austria, at least not the traditional Halloween. We have the carnival-like "FASCHING" in February and the "PERCHTEN PROCESSIONS" in December - that's it.

 

Um... ok, I admit that's not quite right. There IS some kinda Halloween, a variation of that awesome holiday that has become increasingly popular here in Europe since the early 90s, even here in Austria - but it's not the Halloween you know. It's wrong. It's fake. It's a purely commercial holiday. It's stores full of plastic pumpkins and tacky horror-merchandise. It's badly decorated pubs doing "Halloween parties" where hardly anyone appears as dressed. It's unsuccessful trick-or-treating because adults aren't interested in giving sweets to "roaming kids".

 It's crap.

So, what does Halloween mean to me? Well... not much. For me, Halloween is John Carpenter. It’s Michael Myers. It’s Night Of The Demons. It’s Trick R Treat. It’s countless other movies where I get to see people dressing up and partying the shit out of themselves.

One day soon, I'll have enough money to spend a looong holiday in the States, and then I will finally experience the real Halloween - but until then, I fetch out my cheap but gorgeous little pottery-pumpkin, put a candle into it, and place it onto my doorstep. Oh, and I buy some sweets because there's always two or three trick-or-treaters who try to score some candy, and I want them to succeed."

18 days ‘til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  18 days ‘til Halloween, Silver Shamrock.