BRIAN ORNDORF

Tag: halloween

  • Film Review – Saw VI

    SAW VI still

    I walked out of a screening of “Saw” in 2004 absolutely appalled with the movie. Not for the sadomasochistic violence the film would soon popularize, but for the cruddy production value and the laughably abysmal performances — Cary Elwes should be gifted a national holiday for his whimpering, career-smothering work, effectively neutering the repulsion of the ultraviolence. I loathed the film, yet watched with some degree of surprise as the franchise developed a defensive mainstream following; kindly folk who cheerfully hurdled generous filmmaking clichés and further acting decimation to bathe in the warm pools of blood, sucking up the suffering with a bendy straw as if the nightmare were Cherry Coke.

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  • Impulse Buy – KISS M&M’s

    P1030809

    To help celebrate the release of their new album, “Sonic Boom,” superband of the land KISS decided to undertake a rare publicity move, issuing some kitschy merchandise to help create an ambiance of gotta-have-it excitement. The price? Well, to retrieve luxury items such as $5 T-shirts, Mr. Potato Heads, and fleece blankets required a trip to Wal-Mart, the satanic figure of Western mass merchandise stores. The horror. The horror.

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  • Sea World Orlando’s Halloween Spooktacular (2009)

    Seaworldspook
    Last year, I stumbled upon Sea World Orlando’s Halloween Spooktacular by accident. While making a routine visit to the park, I wasn’t immediatley aware that a holiday blow-out was in progress over by Shamu Stadium and Bayside Stadium, leading me to wonder why “pumpkin fish” signage and strange costumed characters were suddenly around every corner. Turns out Sea World has their own variation on a theme park Halloween celebration, and get this: it’s free with admission.

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  • Film Review – Trick ‘r Treat

    TRICK R TREAT Anna Paquin

    Michael Dougherty’s “Trick ‘r Treat” is the antidote to all the horror nonsense that rains down this time of year, preying on the macabre appetites of permissive genre fans. Wicked and inventive, this anthology film is the perfect centerpiece to any Halloween celebration, supplying viewers with substantial frights, laughs, and discomfort to help encourage the spooky season. Instead of participating in the yearly nonsense of “Saw,” give “Trick ‘r Treat” a spin instead. It’s one of the best horror films of the year and a perfect addition to the holiday.

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  • Film Review – Halloween II

    HALLOWEEN II Zombie

    No matter how many times the producers reboot, reimagine, or remake the “Halloween” series of horror films, it doesn’t erase the fact that there have been 10 of these pictures, with true creative clarity bled out of the material long ago. This is why I don’t hold a grudge against writer/director Rob Zombie, who seems consumed with turning the bland knife-wielding bombardment of Michael Myers into a psychological dark ride of supreme violence and everlasting eccentricity. “Halloween II” is going to infuriate many, especially those who like their slasher treats served up nice and unassuming. While a direct continuation of his finely scattered 2007 retread, Zombie’s “Halloween II” is a demented, uninhibited sequel that tears off in a vividly lunatic direction. Zombie’s making this one for himself, folks, and either you succumb to the experience or every single scene is going to feel like multiplex imprisonment.

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