Today is the first day of October. The weather is turning a little nippy. Pumpkin patches are popping up across the countryside. And stores are urging you to stock up on enough candy to give the neighborhood kids a week-long sugar rush. Yes, it’s Halloween season once more, and longtime readers know what that means. Get ready to howl, as MovieFanFare morphs like a lycanthrope during a full moon into MovieFrightFare.
You’ll scream like a banshee as all month long we feature articles dedicated (or should that be deadicated?) to over a century of cinematic shocks and TV terrors. From the black-and-white Universal classics–like 1931’s Dracula with Bela Lugosi–to the sanguine slasher flicks of the ’80s to modern-day “body horror” thrillers, we’ll dig up the best–and worst–the home video scene has to offer. And if creature features and spook spectacles aren’t your cup of (hemlock) tea, have no fear…well, maybe have a little fear. We’ll still be presenting looks at other genres as well.
To get things started, we invite you to share the first scary film/TV experience you had, whether it was at the movies or in the safety of your home. As for me, I can’t say I was really afraid (the only childhood phobia I had was looking at Mad mascot Alfred E. Neuman), but I remember being fascinated by a trailer for Hammer’s 1961 furry fearfest The Curse of the Werewolf, starring Oliver Reed. I was only five or six at the time, but the scenes of Reed on a roof tossing flaming haybales onto the villagers below always stuck in my head. And here’s the great part; the trailer was shown at a Saturday kiddie matinee right before Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear! What a great double feature those two titles would make!
Now it’s your turn, so leave your first fright flick memories in the comments below.