One of the best things about being a fan of the movie maniacs is being able to dress up as them for Halloween. Let’s take a look at some of the costumes that exist for some of our favorite movie maniacs.
Back in 1987, Collegeville released a Freddy Krueger “smock” costume similar to the old Ben Cooper designs.
It’s probably 100% nostalgic, but I love these costumes.
Next up is a Party City flyer from 2008.
Throughout this very large flyer with tons of costumes, there are a plethora of zombies and super heroes, but only two movie maniacs. And I’m only talking about one of those maniacs this year. Check out in the upper right, costumes for Jason Voorhees and Chucky.
You don’t even see those costumes on the inside of the flyer, only on the cover. I’m surprised these two are featured. Remember, this flyer was in 2008. The Friday the 13th reboot wouldn’t happen until the following year and Chucky’s previous movie was in 2004. By contrast, Leatherface had his reboot prequel only two years prior, so of anyone, he should be on the cover. Just strange.
Next up is a current Party City flyer from 2012. Not surprisingly, the Avengers are all over this thing.
This flyer is a little better in that it has four movie maniacs. Three of which I’m covering this year. Here’s the full page of scary costumes.
The movie maniacs are mostly on the second row (Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers). You can also see Ghostface from Scream in the first row. Again, I’m surprised there isn’t a Leatherface costume.
Platinum Dunes had a minor success with their Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot in 2003. 2009’s Friday the 13th reboot also actually made some money. So, in 2010, New Line and Platinum Dunes decided to reboot the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.
I am a fan of Freddy Krueger as well as the slasher movies of the 80s. However, if I had to pick, I was more of a Jason guy myself. But I enjoyed the Nightmare movies, especially the first one and the third one. I was intrigued by this reboot, I enjoyed the Friday the 13th reboot by New Line/Platinum Dunes in 2009 and I loved the idea of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy, so I was anxious to see how well they pulled this off.
Unlike the Friday the 13th reboot, I had not watched this movie beforehand, it was my first viewing. I was intrigued by the idea of Jackie Haley playing Freddy and I really liked the look of Freddy from the trailer. I didn’t go into it with HIGH expectations, per say, but I was optimistic.
Check out the trailer:
I think the best thing about the movie is the “look and feel”. It was definitely grittier and more dark than the later Nightmare movies. I also liked Haley as Freddy. His mannerisms and his look were very well realized. I even thought Haley was slightly more menacing than the original Freddy, well at least the version from the later movies. The wise-cracking jokester killer. All in all, I enjoyed it. It sort of fell apart at the end, mainly because I think the teens in the movie weren’t very interesting. I didn’t really like anybody. Rooney Mara was okay if a bit understated as Nancy. Katie Cassidy did pretty good, but I think I just got bored with the teens by the end. I like the way Freddy is “dispatched” in the final battle and how the final stinger shot is sort of an homage to the final shot in the original Nightmare movie.
I liked it, but I didn’t love it. However, that being said, I would watch another Jackie Haley as Freddy Nightmare movie. I think the potential is there to have a really good sequel. Especially if they follow along the story lines of Nightmare 3: Dream Warriors.
And they have to reunite Dokken for the soundtrack. That is a must.
Also, check out the blog Countdown to Halloween for more Halloween-y, bloggy AWESOMEness.
Welcome to Week 3 of AWESOME-tober-fest 2012. Week 1 was Psycho Week in which I looked at Norman Bates. Week 2 was Friday the 13th Week in which I looked at Jason Voorhees. This week is Nightmare on Elm Street Week. So be prepared for some Freddy Krueger goodness all week.
In the late 80s St Martins published two collected volumes of novelizations to the first 5 Nightmare on Elm Street films.Both volumes were under The Nightmares on Elm Street banner.
The first volume was published in 1987 and called The Nightmares on Elm Street Parts 1, 2, 3: The Continuing Story. It was written by Jeffery Cooper.
Here is a review of the separate stories.
A Nightmare on Elm Street – This is very similar to the movie. You get a few more insights into Nancy’s thinking. However, honestly, I think this version is a bit abridged. It’s just over 70 pages. It seems like it should be longer. I feel like there were a few dream sequences that were cut from this novel. I could be wrong because it’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie. I know some of the Freddy-Nancy dream chases were a bit different in this book. But it felt short. But it was good nonetheless.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge – This particular movie gets so much crap from Nightmare fans. I know I hardly ever think about it. It’s not bad, it’s just not good either. The book is similar to the movie. Interesting at best. It continues the idea that Freddy feeds on fear, which is really dropped by the movie version of Part 3. I also feel like this is an abridged version. Again, it’s about 70 pages. I’m not sure what, if anything, was cut because I haven’t watched this movie in years, but nothing really jumped out at me as being different.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors – This one was the most fascinating. The book is apparently based on an early version of the script so the characters are mostly the same, but the story is wildly different. Especially the aspects of the Dream Warriors’ powers. Kirsten is mainly unchanged with her powers and character. Kincaid is a large, streetwise black man, but his dream power is flight instead of super strength like in the movie. Joey, who was mute for the majority of the movie but only part of this book, was the one that was super strong. Taryn, instead of being a punked out rocker chick with no powers actually breathed fire in the book (so much more awesome). Jennifer could turn invisible or phase out and the kid in the wheelchair, Will, that loved fantasy role playing and had wizard like powers was actually stupidly named Laredo in the book and not in a wheelchair at all. But he had the same wizard powers. Also, gone is the subplot involving Nancy’s dad and the burying of Freddy’s bones. Kirsten still tries to kill herself in the opening and gets sent to the hospital. There she meets the other Dream Warriors. Nancy shows up similar to in the movie. Nancy and Neil Guiness (Gordon in the movie) have a romantic attachment/affair. We find out about Freddy’s origin not from Amanda Krueger’s ghost but from plain and simple detective work by Nancy (which I like better). Joey isn’t seduced by the nurse but an old high school crush. The big dream fight where Freddy kills some of the Warriors is a lot bigger and more grandiose. Laredo (Will) actually has a pretty awesome shape-shifting fight with Freddy where he turns into a fire breathing dragon. If filmed, it would have been pretty epic as opposed to the lame fight that’s in the movie. Pretty much everyone dies. Kincaid, Taryn, Jennifer, Joey and Laredo (Will). Oh and Nancy dies killing Freddy. Kirsten and Neil are the only ones left. Somehow, Kirsten keeps Nancy alive in the Dream World and Neil visits her every night when he sleeps. It’s weird, honestly. The book ends similar to the movie in that Kirsten’s model Elm Street house has a light turn on. As if Freddy’s not dead. In many ways, I liked this story better. Especially the end battle between the Dream Warriors and Freddy. Plus, the themes from the first movie about Freddy feeding on fear and to defeat him you must take away that fear are more prevalent. However, with the novel, you don’t get the Dokken theme song, but I guess you can play that while you read the book.
At the end of the book there’s a short story that supposedly tells the “origin” of Freddy Krueger. It’s not really considered canon by anyone involved with the movies. And that’s fine because it’s not very good.
In 2009, New Line and Platinum Dunes released Friday the 13th. It was a reboot/re-imagining of the horror movie franchise from 1980.
I’m a big fan of Jason Vorhees and the Friday the 13th franchise. I enjoy most of the installments but my favorite ones are Part VI: Jason Lives and Part III in 3D. I also enjoy Jason X because it’s balls out crazy with Uber Jason. So I’m a fan going in and that means I have the potential to hate everything about this reboot. Let’s see if I do.
The story starts with a mother going crazy and killing all the counselors (except one) at Camp Crystal Lake after her son drowns. Unknown to the mother, the son, Jason, was still alive and watches her get beheaded by the last surviving counselor. Years later, Jason is surviving off the land and lives in the tunnels hidden underneath the camp. A group of partying kids stumble upon the remains of Camp Crystal Lake and Jason does everything he can to protect “his turf” against the interlopers. Now, that synopsis is decidedly biased towards Jason, but that is essentially what happens. Overall, the story follows a typical Friday the 13th structure. Teenagers partying, stumble upon abandoned camp, show boobies, incur the wrath of Jason, get killed.
Check out the trailer:
However, when you delve into the details of this movie, it is slightly different than the formula. Most especially with the behavior of Jason. The movie turns Jason into a survivalist. He isn’t just killing to kill. It is implied that Jason has lived on the grounds of old Camp Crystal Lake for years by himself. He only becomes “active” when someone “invades his area”. He’s protecting his ground in the most egregious way possible. They’ve also made this Jason leaner, faster and more calculating. He’s actually laying traps for his victims. I for one love this portrayal of Jason and I love that we see his lair and that he can get around camp underground in the tunnels without being seen. I always wondered how this giant murderous dude in a hockey mask walked around the wide open camp without being seen except at the last moment. Jason knows this camp like the back of his hand, so this combined with the tunnels is a great solution.
Now, I guess, let’s discuss the teens. They were what they were. You have the hot, horny party chicks. The prude chick. The douchebag guy. The sweet guy. The stoner. The black guy. They are all there and they all serve their purpose, to be killed off in a spectactular fashion. For instance, Jason scores a sweet bow and arrow kill on a guy around the 45 min mark. Yes, he actually shoots an arrow with a bow into a guy’s head that is driving a boat on the lake. BAD. ASS. Jason also stabs one of the horny blondes in the head from above. So the kills are pretty good and imaginative.
As for the hot girls, the movie delivers. For me, the hottest chick in the movie was Bree, who is played by Juliana Guill (see pic below). Followed very closely by Amanda, played by America Olivo with Willa Ford as Chelsea a close third. All three of these chicks are smoking hot and make a fine addition to the Friday the 13th babe museum. And all three show boobs (BONUS).
Hello, I’m Bree and I’m incredibly hot. And drunk.
So, overall, this reboot isn’t that bad. I really like what they did with Jason and I liked a lot of the kills. I also enjoyed how Jason started off with the sack over his head for the first few kills in an homage to the original Part II. Jason Vorhees didn’t get the hockey mask until the mid point of Part III so this version also doesn’t get the mask until mid-way through the movie. That was a nice touch. And the black and white intro that replayed the climatic scene of Mrs Vorhees getting beheaded was also really well done. I liked what this movie did with the Jason mythos and I would enjoy seeing more of this Jason on the big screen. However, it’s unclear whether we are actually going to get a sequel, even though this movie made pretty good money.
Also, check out the blog Countdown to Halloween for more Halloween-y, bloggy AWESOMEness.
In 1993, Topps acquired the Friday the 13th comic book license. Their first release was a comic adaptation of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. Then, in 1995, Topps released a crossover comic called Jason vs Leatherface.
The three issue miniseries featured the first meeting between Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th and Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The book was written by Nancy Collins and drawn by Jeff Butler.
The story is a little weird, as is how this comic is supposed to fit into the established chronology of either series. The story begins with Jason chained to the bottom of Crystal Lake where he was left after Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. Jason is liberated by someone dredging the lake with the intent to drain it and build a corporate headquarters. The lake has been polluted with toxic waste by the company so the lake water is collected in giant steel containers and shipped by train to some disposal facility. However, en route, Jason escapes, gets off the train and starts killing people. He meets up with one of the members of the chainsaw family and is taken back to their house. At the house he joins the family for dinner and becomes friends with Leatherface. It’s a dysfunctional good time, but as always happens, there’s a disagreement, then a misunderstanding and so Jason and Leatherface actually fight. Jason winds up leaving and returning to Crystal Lake.
Like I said, it’s an odd story. And, also like I said, it doesn’t fit continuity. Since Jason begins this comic where he ended up at the end of Jason Lives, then the story should take place in the 90s. However, two of the family members Jason meets in Texas are “Hitchhiker” and “Cook”. The character “Hitchhiker” died in the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre which takes place in the 70s. The “Cook” character dies in the second Texas Chainsaw Massacre which happened in the 80s. Neither family member should have been alive when this comic happened. Another problem involves a flashback to Jason’s childhood. We see his father, Elias, who has only been mentioned in the Part VI novelization. We see Elias beat Jason and then Jason’s mother kills Elias to protect the child. That’s fine, I guess, but Elias calls Jason’s mother Doris for some reason when her name has been established since the first movie in 1980 as PAMELA. Weird. But I guess that just goes to prove that this is a horror “Elseworlds” tale.
I enjoyed this comic. The art was over the top and funny. Perfect for the story. The covers are really good, as you can see. It’s definitely a fun, interesting read. Give it a shot, but be prepared, because it’s a little on the goofy and weird side.
Also, check out the blog Countdown to Halloween for more Halloween-y, bloggy AWESOMEness.
Cavalcade of Awesome 