Every year, around this time, it seems like the film-focused blogosphere really gets humming. Film fans love movies, obviously, but they really love horror movies. Maybe it's because, when we were kids, those were the first movies we connected to. Whether it's because kids identify with monsters, because kids are always testing their own limits and pushing their own boundaries, or because it's one of our first chances to get a taste of the forbidden, there's a definite connection there -- deep and personal.
Whatever the reason, I remember devouring books about monster movies long before I actually managed to see the films themselves. It's as if the Scholastic Book Club our school dealt with was some sort of subsidiary of Universal Studios circa 1931, because every month there was some other book describing DRACULA or FRANKENSTEIN in tantalizing detail. This was in the mid 1970s, a good 40 years after those movies hit theaters. (It also happened to be the time of an American renaissance in horror films -- though it would be a long time after third grade before I even heard of movies like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE). It was also a few years before home video arrived, at least in my home, and the idea of actually renting a movie and watching it on TV was like some crazy, wonderful, impossible dream. Thankfully, I did live near Cleveland (near enough to pick up their TV signals, at least -- this was also pre-cable) and was a devoted fan of the HOULIHAN AND BIG CHUCK SHOW which featured skits, spoofs -- and classic monster movies. I remember seeing DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN for the first time during one of the show's post-news Friday airings, and caught LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS every Christmas.
Robert Armstrong and Fay Wray mark time until the big ape arrives in you-know-what movie.Another Cleveland station, WUAB-43, had a tradition of airing KING KONG every year on Thanksgiving night. I distinctly remember getting excited about finally seeing it one year after reading about it in some Scholastic book, and my dad telling me "You know, it's pretty dull until King Kong shows up..." He was right -- sort of. As a kid I couldn't wait for Kong to make his appearance, though the scene where Denham and his men shoot the Stegosaurus is pretty good, too. (Even as a kid, however, I knew Denham's statement about it being "something from the dinosaur family" was, shall we say, a little vague.) I'd fidget and get antsy until they finally -- finally! -- got to Skull Island. But now when I watch KONG, I savor those early scenes -- the quick glimpses of a backlot pretending to be New York, the awkward moments on the ship and the late-night abduction of Ann. And believe me, as great a movie as KONG is, only a real movie fan would actually savor those cornball scenes.
And that's what I'm doing in October. Each day, I'll write a short entry about a different horror film. This isn't a list of the greatest, or the most influential, or the scariest, or anything along those lines. It's just 31 horror movies I find interesting, unusual, funny, scary or otherwise worth checking out. Some will be very well known (like, obviously, KING KONG) and some will be a little more obscure (Ever see LAST HOUSE ON ... wait for it ... DEAD END STREET?). A few I'm only mentioning for specific scenes that work, and at least one earns a spot for a single shot. In other words, this is just the sort of screwball, half-assed list any movie geek would compile for his own amusement. Hopefully, it'll amuse you a bit, too.
So stop back tomorrow for the initial entry, and with any luck by the time Halloween rolls around, I'll have 31 posts in the can. And, as always, your comments are appreciated. I know a lot of you out there are movie fans, and I'm betting you like horror flicks, too. Let's get some discussion going -- if for no other reason than to top the 100 comments on that AMAZONS ATTACK thread.
The story is titled "Mother's Day, Part 1," and as you probably guessed, it focuses on Selina and her daughter, Helena. It's definitely different from the past few issues, where our heroine battled kill-crazy Amazons, and as a bonus it features a guest appearance from a certain Dark Knight Detective as you've probably never seen him before. Art, as always, by David and Alvaro Lopez, with letters by Jared K. Fletcher and colors courtesy of Jeremy Cox. 
