HAPPY HALLOWEEN from FLYFOTO!

ADS

It is no shock to anyone who visits FH that Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. I have written in previous years why the day is special to me. People joke about Halloween being the 'gay' holiday but to me the reason is more serious. Many holidays lose their magic as we get older but Halloween is a day that for me, only gets better.




As a gay kid (or any kid really who struggles with who they are or family issues) holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving can be tortuous. When your apart of a happy and healthy family, these are days to celebrate and come together. When your apart of a dysfunctional family or are in pain, these are days when the hurt is intensely spotlighted. Unlike these 'special' days which can encourage massive repression, Halloween does the opposite. Expression, especially about who you are, is something sadly still not something universally welcomed, except...for many, on October 31st.



It has become a tradition at FH to celebrate the holidays with images from Flyfoto. Flyfoto's Joey has been marking all of the holidays with his blend of retro and modern themes and usually finds a way to hit upon both the pleasure and the pain of the day. I think this years Halloween themed shots are some of my favorites. I loved last years dark and ghoulish shots but love the that this years colorful images also incorporate the sense of fun also associated with the day. What other day blends morbid horror with hilarity?



Check out more of Flyfoto's Halloween themed images on his blog HERE:
& Check out more of Flyfoto on FH HERE:

ADS

Halloween Countdown: A Memorable Matinee

ADS

-WARNING-
If you hate scary movies, skip on by this post! The movie in question is not your run of the mill scary movie, it seriously haunted me for years.



In the 80's movies on television were still an important staple. DVR and Tivo were not around and VCR's were used mostly for movie rentals. I remember distinctly looking forward to Saturday and Sunday afternoons for the Million Dollar Matinee. Although I did not live in, or even really that close to Maine, for some reason our NBC came from there and the local personalities who hosted these movies were usually as interesting as the movies themselves. The movies would not be considered great but they were usually always up my alley. Movies like the original Battlestar Galactica, Flash Gordon (Sam Jones version), The Planet Of The Apes series, old Tarzan's and long gone from the theatre James Bond flicks.



I remember one Sunday afternoon in the late 80's, I would have been around 12 or 13. I was in our rec room in the basement when the Sunday matinee began. My mother was upstairs on the sewing machine (I still remember those little lines that would go across the screen each time her foot hit the pedal), the rest of my family were all out. The movie, one I had never heard of, began. I don't remember much about most of it really as I only half watched the first half. It was about a woman (Kim Novak) who survived a shipwreck and two Coast Guard helicopter pilots are sent to rescue her. The boat however was drifting in a mysterious part of the ocean known as Satan's Triangle. As memory serves me, the movie was not really that well written, well acted or well done. As memory serves me, that mattered little, the impact was not connected to the quality.



Satan's Triangle is all about the ending, an ending so creepy and unsettling that as I said, it haunted me for years. When the movie was over I was in a sort of state of shock and it took me a long time to get the courage to leave the rec room and run like hell upstairs to be close to my mother. She knew something was wrong, but I could not really articulate what it was.

I knew nothing at the time about Kim Novak, but her face in her final scene is forever implanted in my brain. I am not joking when I tell you even this week, me in my thirties was re-watching the ending (on youtube) and I again had that wave of evil and childhood terror re-enter my body. My research tells me my reaction was shared by many as the film has developed quite a cult following. Might have been my age when I first watched, but this movie, that last scene, stayed with me like no other. There is a great site with a bit more info/perspective on the film HERE: I am not so much recommending this film as commenting on the power of a movie moment, a Sunday afternoon movie matinee moment that stuck.

ADS

Halloween Countdown: Stephen King's IT

ADS

One of my favorite authors has always been Stephen King. Although known for his horror novels, some of my favorite of King's work is non horror. When it comes to having the shit scared out of you however, IT tops my list of one of the scariest of King's novels. First off, like many, I have an irrational fear of clowns. From Batman's Joker through that horrors that are circus clowns, my childhood is riddled with nightmares of running through dungeons and creepy old houses trying to escape the long pointy white gloved fingers of an evil clown.



King's Pennywise brought my childhood fears to life with Tim Curry's portrayal eerily close to the clowns of my nightmares. King's movies generally don't translate well to the screen, many have not come remotely close to the power of King's written word. A few, Dolores Claiborne being another favorite, have done his books justice. IT is by far the best of his horror novels adapted for film. IT wisely was not made a feature film, but became a television project in the form of a 1990 mini-series.



The movie, broken up into two sections (1960 and 1990) focus's on a group of friends terrorized by not only the clown from hell but their own personal demons. The characters are portrayed both as children and as adults and the casting for each group is exceptional. The late Jonathan Brandis (below) is a stand out as Bill in the first section set in 1960.




Interesting that the makers of the movie, chose for the adult counter parts, a collection of some of the most likable and non threatening television personalities of the time. For a movie so horrific, having John Boy Walton as the lead lures you into a sense of safety which they quickly rip out from under you.



Besides Richard Thomas (The Walton's) the adult cast also includes John Ritter, Annette O'Toole, Dennis Christopher, Harry Anderson, Tim Reid and Richard Masure. It is a truly a credit to the director, Tommy Lee Wallace and the writers Stephen King (book) and Lawrence D. Cohen (teleplay, parts I & II) and Tommy Lee Wallace (teleplay, part II) that a made for television version of Kings novel is more frightening than anything they have produced of his work for the big screen. IT is not just terrifying for what it shows, it is equally terrifying because of what the characters are so desperately trying to hide. If you have not see IT, there is no better time than Halloween.

ADS

Halloween Countdown: Roseanne: Tricks & Treats

ADS

About 11pm last night, (don't ask me why) I decided that the ceiling in the living room that I started to paint last February needed to be finished. I had already had quite a long day, and I don't know about you but sometimes I get an idea in my head and can't get it out. I know myself well enough to know that if I did not start painting I would not have let the idea go. As luck would have it my step ladder was at my brothers so it was a acrobatic dance on milk crates to finish the job.



Now, when I begin any job the first task to find the perfect DVD to put in. I want something that will make the time fly while at the same time something I don't have to pay too too much attention to. My copy of Roseanne, Tricks & Treats was sitting on my kitchen table, still in the plastic it arrived from Amazon with. Roseanne is one of those shows I sometimes think was brilliant and other times think was garbage. The truth is it was both. Although Roseanne herself could never admit it, the show had about 3 really great seasons, 2 pretty good seasons and 4 pretty bad ones. Most (again, except Roseanne herself) agree the cutting edge lower middle class family drama lost most of it's street cred with it's horrid final season. Spin all you like Roseanne, that final season SUCKED!



I separate Roseanne's good or bad years basically down to whether Lecy Goranson was playing Becky. Lecy's Becky hit the right note of annoyance and self absorption most teenage girls exhibit. Sarah Chalke's Becky was never really written for, she was just arm candy and an excuse to legitimize keeping Johnny Galecki and Glenn Quinn on the show. Shortly after Lecy left, Sara Gilbert too reduced her work load for school and the show needed a sister at home so the Healy brothers could continue to live with the Connors without it being just weird.



Now the quality of the show is certainly not connected directly to who was playing Becky (frighteningly it seems more connected to Tom Arnold's presence) but as the show went on and Roseanne got more control the show got worse and worse. With actors like John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Estelle Parsons, it was still capable of delivering laughs, but everything that made the show click in season 2-5 were abandoned in the latter seasons.



Tricks & Treats follows my theory pretty much by the book. (the exception being the Skeleton in the Closet Halloween episode about whether Fred is gay is pretty hilarious) As the DVD progressed (and my painting arm got more tired) the quality of the episodes declined at a rapid pace. Sadly I was still rolling away on the ceiling at around 1:30a.m when the final episode, one with commentary by Roseanne, began to play. I like a delusional celebrity like the best of them but Roseanne really takes the cake. She takes credit for everything good and places blame for anything bad. According to Barr, there really were no Halloween themed episodes prior to her fighting with the network to get hers made. Although Roseanne cannot be bothered to remember (or research) the names of most of her more talented co-stars she does remember to pretty much take credit for George Clooney becoming famous...


My recommendation for Roseanne Tricks & Treats is to skip buying the DVD. Look for the good ones in repeats, most of them play every year around this time. Just a warning, if you find yourself with the Halloween/Scrooge combo themed offering, TURN THE CHANNEL!

ADS

Halloween Movie Countdown: The Watcher In The Woods

ADS

With Halloween just around the corner I am going to be suggesting some movies for the season that don't usually make most peoples lists. Some are ones I saw as a kid or ones that most have been overlooked or long forgotten.



1981's The Watcher In The Woods is a bad movie, so bad in fact that I LOVE it. It is so dated, so cheesy and so silly and yet...at the same time when I first saw it as a child on television it scared the Bejesus out of me.

I think what made the film so scary is that it throws away everything, up until that point, you would expect from a Disney live action flick. There were no cute animals (just one ugly wet dog), the child actors do not laugh and smile and get into light hearted shenanigans. There are no wacky car chases and messages kike be kind to others.



As dated and corny as the movie is, just like those woods to star Lynn-Holly Johnson (a future post if I ever saw one), the film is surprisingly compelling. The set up is quite creepy as the Curtis family check out a isolated creepy old estate to lease. I am not sure why after that initial tour anyone would sign to rent the old place but the parents seem to think the creepy mansion is just perfect for them and their two young daughters.



If for no other reason, check out this movie for it's eclectic cast. The parents are played by screen legend Carroll Baker and actor David McCallum. Believe it or not, even though I know who McCallum is, I had never seen anything he was in before.) David is quite hot in this movie, certainly a DIWF. The daughters, the aforementioned Lynn-Holly Johnson (who could be the poster girl for 15 Minutes of Fame) and pre Housewives of Beverly Hills Kyle Richards. Kyle had a respectable acting career going as a child and young adult. It is a wee bit eerie that Kyle's hairstyle seems to have remained frozen for the past 30 years.


Above David McCallum

If you require a little eye candy, it comes in the form of British actor Benedict Tayor. Even if you don't think you know Benedict, you do. (IMDB him, you will recognize his work from many recent film roles) Benedict is deliciously perfect as Mike, eveything one could want in a stable boy. Young, hot, tall, great body, tight jeans and all that wavy blonde hair.






Of course the pièce de résistance is the appearance of Bette Davis as the creepy Mrs. Aylewood. In one of her last film roles Davis is at her over the top best. Although she has top billing, Davis plays a supporting role, about 50 percent of the film consists of Lynn-Holly walking, screaming and looking a mix of both confused and terrified and she lumbers around set after set. Davis does a good job at remembering she is supporting though and not bull dozing over her co-stars as I have seen her do in other flicks. She might have been tired or maybe embarrassed at the roles coming her way at the end of such an amazing career.

ADS