HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Okay, I usually try not to post more than once a day on this here blog, but since we're just days away from Halloween (woohoo!) I thought I'd take a minute and list my three favorite Halloween vampire movies. Sure, I have a cornucopia of other films I love to watch during this spooky time of year, but hell, I write vampire stories for devil's sake. I'm gonna keep it real! Until the Vampire Hunter D is captured in celluloid, this list will do. And I have to give a shout-out to INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. Without this film, I never get into Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, and perhaps never begin writing about vampires in the first place. But this is a top 3, not a top 4. This will be boringly obvious, I'm sure. Right then, I'll begin.


3. John Carpenter's VAMPIRES
Easily my favorite Western of all time. The vampires are hardcore things of legend and the gore is copious. James Woods is the man (Fuck James Woods I hear in the background somewhere...). But he rips in this film. And Valek, the main baddie vamp is badass. When he rips a hunter in half with his bare hand, you can only say, "Duuude." The book by John Steakley is better, but what's new. The movie rules in its own way. But get the novel to compliment it.




2. BLADE
This movie re-invigorated my love for vampires when it was released in 1998. I still remember the goosebumps after seeing the trailer for the first time with "Confusion" pumping in the noise for the kids. Style, style and more style is what Stephen Norrington does to movies. And this one is fast, violent and edgy. The ending still leaves something to be desired, but it's far better than the alternate ending on the DVD. That was just painful to watch... But the way the vampires disintegrate when felled is classic, sort of like Mr. Whedon did with the "Dusting" of vampires in the Buffyverse.




1. THE LOST BOYS
My all-time fav. This movie takes me way back, all the way to 1987. And it still is copied to this day. I will not mention the sequel here. No point. Looks like crap. But this film was special. The soundtrack, the characters, the story. I overuse the word Cool quite a bit, but what else will do it justice? I watch it at least once a year, and especially right before Halloween. I give Near Dark an honorable mention here, because it came out the same year. It was far more violent and dark than The Lost Boys, but again, it's overshadowed because David and his boys no how to have a good time. For a long time this movie has left an impression with me, and I owe it to Michael Schumacher and co. for giving me my first taste of inspiration.

So tomorrow, after class, I know what I'll be doing. No, not homework. I'm going to be glued to the set with a big, fatty bag of potato chips, some Diet Pepsi and I'm gonna lounge in the dark.

Happy Halloween!