Boo! So another year has passed, and another Halloween. Spent about four and a half hours outdoors trick-or-treating with the little one and extended family. It was a beautiful day in New York. Got a haircut before the festivities began so I’d be sure to scare the dickens out of everybody. We got a lot of candy this year, compared to last. Better candy, too. Last year we found Hall’s cough drops mixed in with the Tootsie Rolls. Last stop, as always, was Starbucks. Pumpkin spice lattes and caramel salt-flavored hot chocolate. I dressed my son up this year as a skunk; his cousins were either ninjas or Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (I think that’s what they were).
Halloween 2008
Halloween 2008
Halloween 2008
Halloween 2008
After my son finally went to bed, it was time to break out the movies. On Halloween, it’s a tradition at my house to watch horror flicks. But this year there were only two. First, THE STRANGERS Unrated Edition on DVD. Then, from Asia, SILK. Silk wasn’t that bad. It took place in either Taipei or Taiwan; I was exhausted, so I may have to watch it again to better understand it. It focused around scientific and paranormal-based disturbances. By the way, MOVIE SPOILERS ahead.
Halloween 2008
Halloween 2008
Halloween 2008
Halloween 2008
However, I was very disappointed in The Strangers. I mean, this stalker-esque movie barely even creeped me out. There were the people with the masks, the sense of tension around the house. But that was about it. Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler were decent as a couple who want to get married but don’t due to relationship problems, and we see them staying at a friend’s place in a rural area for the night. The movie is built mainly around tension, echoing sounds, incidental noises, and low-key dialogue rather than a film with a well-grounded plot. Actually, there is no plot. And I hate it when someone puts together a good film backdrop and ruins it with a lousy script (or lack thereof). Even worse, if it’s an unbelievable one… but this was believable. The near-ending was very interesting. Did the director shoot the near-ending on purpose? Seconds away from being stabbed to death (horribly, might I add), Speedman sees Tyler wearing his engagement ring and she says I love you… As if it’s telling us life is short, so say “I do” to that loved one, because you might get tied up and killed by masked stalkers or nutcases tomorrow. There was definitely an analogy there.
Otherwise, that was pretty much the whole film. Yeah, there were some sick scenes. If you like movies such as… oh, High Tension or Cabin Fever, this might be up your alley. Rent it, don’t buy it. Cheers.
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