Today's Pick:

Halloween III: Season of the Witch





31 Days of Drew 2 (2014)





31 Days of Drew (2013)





(1982)Last year, before I bailed on my 31 Days of Drew, I had intended to makethe penultimate entry. Now, I do thinkis an unmitigated masterpiece, but what's interesting is that the holiday it takes its name from isn't really central to the story. It's just a backdrop that the filmmakers realized hadn't really been taken advantage of in films prior. The same cannot be said about not-really-a-sequel, which is a film drowning in Halloween imagery, history and insanity. If you can stop complaining that Michael Myers isn't in it, you'll be in for a treat. John Carpenter's original concept for this sequel (and further installments) was to create an anthology film series, where each movie would be a different tale with the Halloween season as the setting. It's a great idea, but the backlash that resulted from this film killed any chance of that ever happening. Instead, we're left with a film that almost feels like it's from an alternate universe, in all the right ways.The story is incredibly satirical, with an evil corporation high-jacking Halloween through crass consumerism in order to bring the holiday back to its sacrificial origins. It's the right mixture of silly and horrific that should be present during this festively frightening season. It also culminates in one of the craziest scenes in any horror movie, where a kid's head dissolves into snakes and bugs from watching a television commercial. This is some wacky stuff and I love it.I'll admit that the film has some clunky pacing, but it's just too bizarre and ambitious to not see at least once. It isn't as good as the original outing with Michael Myers, but it's madness makes it a gleefully mean-spirited bit of Halloween fun.Speaking of Halloween fun, I'll see you tomorrow! No hint today! Aren't I a "tricky" one?