Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

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After the enormous disaster of “Season of the Witch,” Moustapha Akkad and co. basically rebooted the Halloween storyline by completely remaking the first film. While it does offer some new elements, “The Return of Michael Myers” is a partial reboot and a partial remake. It’s also the start of the parallel story arc involving Michael and his evil mark of Thorn. After the hospital explosion in the sequel, Michael has been in a coma for a long time and is kept under strict guard in a hospital. During a transfer, Michael finally awakens and murders all of the guards managing to escape his binds. Dr. Loomis is back and investigates the ambulance crash Michael was involved with. While the authorities are convinced Michael died in the crash, Loomis is certain Michael is still alive and lurking around.

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Toy Story of Terror! (2013)

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Disney keep their favorite little toys alive with yet another short adventure, this time in the vein of Halloween. While, it’s not a full length narrative, it does present the same stakes and personal back story that the three feature films have, and is an entertaining look in to the lives of the toys with their new owner Bonnie. After watching a horror movie while on the road with Bonnie, her mom and she stop at a local motel where Mr. Pricklepants is convinced horror awaits them.

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The Halloween Stories Collection Volume 2 (DVD)

For families interested in exposing their young storytellers to unique and interesting scary stories that won’t traumatize them, Scholastic offers up a three pack of DVD’s at over two hours in length featuring stories of all kinds. They’re related mainly to the season of fall and bones, but they’re also about exploring the unknown and the vast scary dimensions of reality that can seem scary to children quite often. With voice work from esteemed actors like Joan Allen and Rita Moreno, many of the stories are sometimes crudely drawn, but appealing nonetheless in their whimsy.

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Creature Crypt, Week 1: “The Last Halloween” Aliens; Gizmo

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“Creature Crypt” is a four part weekly column that spotlights two creatures from our childhood that made us in to rabid horror fans. These are the creatures that scared us, wowed us, made us cry, and made us hope they weren’t under our bed.

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Halloween (1978) (35th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]

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Compared to other John Carpenter films, “Halloween” demonstrates an amazing amount of restraint for the director. Which is not to say the chaotic elements of “The Thing” and “Assault on Precinct 13” aren’t amazing, but Carpenter displays a surprising competence for pulling back as he does with unleashing hell on a slew of characters. Like many of Carpenter’s films, “Halloween” is also relegated to a limited setting, where the slasher tropes for hundreds of other slasher films would be built. There’s a small town, a curse, a crime that resonates within the community, and a virginal final girl who would stand off against the monster.

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Monsters Wanted (2013)

monsterswantedDirector Brian Cunningham’s haunted house documentary is simultaneously very engrossing and utterly surreal. Cunningham explores the haunted house industry and how one haunted house attraction isn’t just becoming the centerpiece for a town, but for a slew of aspiring actors and performers who rely on this job as a means of celebrating the holiday of Halloween, showcasing their talents, or just imploring the attraction as an outlet for their characters.

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