Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface in THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
© FlixMix

Related Links

2

BOO! It's Halloween!

My parents were a bit lax to say the least when it came to what movies they let me see at what age. So, I was pretty desensitized at a young, very young age. Also, I used to spend summers with my Grandmother who would take me to the video store and let me rent whatever I wanted. The movies that always made it to that tingly spot deep down inside me that made me leap from the entry way of my room directly into the bed when the lights went out were the ones that had a text crawl at the beginning or the end that led the audience to believe the film was based on a true story. Sometimes it was true, and other times it was just a great trick. Early in my movie going life I saw a film called THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN. This film was in fact based on a true story of a killer that terrified a small town in Texas at night. It's a low budget, fairly bloodless film, other than a disturbing sequence with a girl tied to a tree and a trombone with a knife attached to the end of the slide. What got me, and what stayed with me for years afterwards, was the text that crawled across the screen at the end of the film. The police had chased the killer into the woods and wounded him, but he got away, never to be seen again. Was he still alive out there, just waiting to kill again?

This next one is a bit more obvious. The first HALLOWEEN was the first film and the only film that made me actually leave a light on when I went to bed. Again a fairly bloodless film but very effective and again able to go out with a bang. When Michael was blasted out the window by the doctor there was gonna be no rising at the last minute for that one last stab, he was on the ground dead outside, so everything was safe, until the doctor looked out the window and he was gone. The follow up of the various shots of the quite neighborhood just hammered the terror home. Nothing scares me that way anymore, but I can still clearly remember how frightened I was at the time.

This one gets a little more risque. The first time I remember seeing a woman completely in the buff was when I saw THE SHINING in a theater. Being pretty young my reaction went from brain right to my mouth. When the lady turns in the shower completely naked I blurted out woo wee! Then a cut, and in the next scene she is covered with horrible looking sores. I let out quite a scream. I'm surprised I didn't get some kind of mental thing from that experience.

The final one happened in 1986: the year is essential to why I was scared out of my wits. I was watching the Charles Manson made for TV flick HELTER SKELTER. The film had been made in 1976 and it covered Charles Manson�s exploits all the way through the trial and conviction. I found the whole thing disturbing but it wasn't really scaring me until the end. Instead of the text crawl I had learned to fear so much I got an epilogue from the actor that portrayed the prosecuting attorney. He shared some information about what happened after the conviction: the most affecting bit was when he said that Manson would reach his first opportunity for parole in 1986. I was freaked!

Do you see a pattern here? I've never really thought monster movies were scary. What has always terrified me, and disturbs me now is the evil that men can do. A movie like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE gets to me more than something like THE HOWLING or some other modern monster movie. Obviously I'm a huge fan of the recent run of 70's style exploitation films such as THE DEVIL�S REJECTS and THE HILLS HAVE EYES remake. They may be inbred freaks, but they're still people, so they hit me where it hurts, and I love it! That's just my take, what scares you?

Monday

PRISONBREAK (FOX, 8pm PST) "Unearthed"
Michael goes on the offensive looking up the ex-wife of the rogue FBI agent pursuing him. Meanwhile Sara, the FBI agent, and Kellerman have all figured out the clues Michael left to tell Sara where to meet him. This promises to be an exciting episode with Linc and LJ both also heading to the meeting place.

HEROES (NBC, 9pm PST) "Better Halves"
The things to watch this week include the introduction of Nikki's fugitive husband, who also has super powers, and Claire meeting her biological parents. Mohinder is still preparing to leave for India to spread his father's ashes.

CSI MIAMI (CBS, 10pm PST) "Open Water"
A newlywed dies after being pushed overboard a cruise ship and being attacked by sharks. Through the investigation CSI's learn that 70 grand of his money is missing and that he may have been drugged.

Tuesday

NCIS (CBS, 8pm PST) "Witch Hunt"
A wife and daughter are kidnapped and the investigators suspect a man the wife was having an affair with.

FEARLESS FIGHTERS (Flix, 8pm PST)
If you aren�t into the whole Halloween scary movie thing you might want to check out this kung fu spectacle. A martial arts badass is seeking revenge for the death of his father. nuff said

EXORCISM: DRIVING OUT THE DEVIL (HIST, 8pm PST)
A documentary about exorcism on Halloween night, how cliche, I'm so there.

JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 (SCIFI, 8pm PST)
This sequel to the cheesy popcorn film of the same name will have what little gore that was in it chopped here for time or censorship. Can the movie still be fun to watch?

DARK WATER (SUNDe, 8pm PST)
The original Asian film from the man who brought us the original RINGU about a woman and her daughter moving into a strange apartment where they are haunted by ghosts and dripping water.

VERONICA MARS (THE CW, 8pm PST)
Dean asks Keith to find his dying stepson's biological father while Veronica deals with a stolen necklace and an underground casino on Halloween night.

Wednesday

GUIDING LIGHT (CBS, 3pm PST)
The only reason I mention this soap opera is that today is the first day a Marvel super hero is to make an appearance on the series.

JERICHO (CBS, 8pm PST) "Long Live the Mayor"
A citizen returns to Jericho with dire news of the outside world. The law continues to break down in and out of town and Jake even tries to make a deal with a man who could be responsible for the worst criminal activity in town.

BONES (FOX, 8pm PST) "The Girl with the Curl"
The investigators end up deep in the disturbing world of child beauty pageants as they look into the death of a girl found in a water filtration system.

LOST (ABC, 8pm PST) "The Cost of Living"
Ecko makes his return to the show in a state of delirium while Locke and other castaways head for another Dharma station where Locke feels they can use a computer to find Jack. Jack is caught between tow of the others that seem at odds with each other. He shouldn't trust either of them! I'm just saying.

GHOST HUNTERS (SCIFI, 9pm PST) "Whispers and Voices"
The team investigates a Victorian manor and a mansion that has been converted to a bed and breakfast.

CSI: NY (CBS, 9pm PST) "Murder Sings the Blues"
A woman dies after she starts bleeding from the eyes, nose, and mouth after partying on a subway train. Across town a man is found dead in the pool of his penthouse suite.

Thursday

SMALLVILLE (THE CW, 8pm PST) "Fallout"
Clark goes up against another escapee from the Phantom Zone. Welcome my friends to this season's formula of monster of the week. Instead of meteor rock baddies we're gonna get Phantom Zone escapees.

CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS, 8pm PST) "Burn Out"
When two boys go missing a neighborhood pedophile becomes the primary suspect.

SCARFACE (AMC, 8pm PST)
Only one of the best gangster flicks ever made featuring Al Pacino chewing scenery like nobody�s business.

THE HILLS HAVE EYES II (Flixe, 8pm PST)
The seldom seen Wes Craven directed follow up to his classic film featuring cannibals trying to survive in the desert.

Friday

GHOST WHISPERER (CBS, 8pm PST)
The ghost of a woman who died 20 years ago in a car accident wants help finding her daughter who was also in the car during the crash.

NUMB3RS (CBS, 9pm PST) "Blackout"
Power substations are sabotaged causing blackouts in the city. During one of the sabotages a worker is killed. The team tries to determine is the terrorists are involved in the murder and they try to determine which is the next substation the terrorists will hit.

APOLLO 13 (BRAVO, 8pm PST)
Ron Howard�s Oscar nominated retelling of the events surrounding the launch of the Apollo 13 ship starring Tom Hanks.

DOCTOR WHO (SCIFI, 8pm PST) "The Age of Steel"
The conclusion of a story started in last week's episode where the Doctor tries to stop an alternate universe London from being taken over by the Cyberman.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SCIFI, 9pm PST) "Torn"
Starbuck and Tighe create a division between those that stayed true to the Colonials during the Cylon occupation and those that helped the Cylons. Part one of two.

Saturday

BRAVEHEART (BRAVO, 8pm PST)
Before Mel Gibson became an insane man he used to do some good movies and this is one of the best. If you can separate the man from the movie you still might be able to enjoy this one.

GHOSTBUSTERS (FlLIXe, 8pm PST)
Classic 80�s comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray as the leaders of a tem that specializes in busting ghosts.

HELLBOY (FX, 8pm PST)
The comic book comes to life in this film starring Ron Pearlman as the demon that fights monsters and other demons as part of a covert government organization.

INTERMEDIO (SCIFI, 8pm PST)
A group of teens are chased through the tunnels of a mine by ghosts controlled by a warlock. Yep, it's a SCIFI movie.

Sunday

SIMPSONS (FOX, 8pm PST) "Treehouse of Horror XVII"
In this 17th installment of the annual trilogy Homer is turned into a monster by a meteor, a story is told about a monster from Jewish folklore, and the final story is about an alien invasion. Richard Lewis and Fran Drescher guest star.

FIGHT CLUB (SPIKE, 8pm PST)
David Fincher's stylish film starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton as tow disenchanted men who start a club where guys beat the crap out of each other in hopes of actually feeling the world again. There's more to this than just that. If you haven't seen the movie check it out.

KRAKEN: TENTACLES OF THE DEEP (SCIFI, 8pm PST)
An expedition for a lost artifact is terrorized by a giant squid.

FAMILY GUY (FOX, 9pm PST) "Saving Private Brian"
Brain and Stewie join the army while Chris joins a Goth rock band. Louis Gossett Jr. guest stars