So last night I got the opportunity to see the original classic Halloween on the big screen. I am definitely not the biggest fan around but Halloween is one of the movies that terrified me as a youth (along with Orca for some strange reason). I was too young to see it on it’s initial release but just the promo poster at the local one screen theater gave me the creeps. The Halloween theme music in commercials terrified me. When I finally got a chance to see Halloween, it was on network TV, edited of course. It was many, many years before I finally saw it uncut on VHS, and PJ Soles nipples were just as awesome as I had imagined, and Michael Myers was just as terrifying.
Still even the edited version of Halloween gave me nightmares. Especially the Halloween theme. I remember having on particularly bad nightmare where Michael Myers was chasing me. I could hear the theme music, and hear his breathing behind me. Finally I woke up in a cold sweat, and the music was still playing! Talk about scared, brother I was scared. Then I realized my mom was cooking breakfast and had set off the fire alarm. That’s my fondest Halloween memory.
Now thanks to the wonderful people at Premiere Eastern Shore Cinema in Spanish Fort, I got to finally see John Carpenter’s classic Halloween on the big screen. Not only did we get to see the film but that had arranged it to be hosted by Bryan Andrews and Tony Moran, two stars of the original film. There was a short Q and A session before the film, door prizes and the stars signed autographs. I only found out about it last minute so I had nothing to sign but got a photo with Bryan who played little Tommy Doyle in the original Halloween.
Hopefully we will have more opportunities like this in the future. With all the remakes being churned out its nice that people get to see the original, on the big screen like intended. Halloween is such a well known classic, that I can’t imagine that there are many people who have not seen the original in some form. It plays regularly on cable and is available on DVD. There are a lot of horror classics that are not as well known such as the original The Hills Have Eyes and Last House on the Left. Maybe someday we can have them playing on the big screen again.
If they do will the horror community support them? I was pleasantly surprised at the turn out for Halloween. The theater was almost completely full. This for a midnight showing of a film over thirty years old. True it is Halloween season, and we did have two celebrities in attendance, but that could be done with other films as well. It would be great to have the choice to see a really great, classic film instead of the Hollywood, big budget garbage that is churned out with assembly line speed. It is up to us, the fans of classic horror, and classic film in general to support the theaters willing to take a chance, willing to buck the trend. Keep your eyes open, support independent film, support classic film and support those people going out on a limb to bring it to us.
Cheers to Premiere Eastern Shore and their staff and management. If you were at the Halloween showing go to Pccmovies.com ( no www.) and post a comment in their guest section.
Happy Halloween!
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