Bounding Into Halloween “Ends” On Night 31 With John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ & ‘Halloween’
We made it, folks! This is the end of the line, and the last two features of this deep-dive into my Horror collection. I’d like to personally thank everyone who has been reading these lunatic ramblings all month, and most definitely the ones in the comments. It was a blast to geek out over these movies, and to know that I introduced a couple of them to some newcomers is gratifying beyond words. In a world where everyone is looking for a reason to create more division, the Horror fans forsake that superficial nonsense in favor of the supernatural. Instead, we choose to unite, and share our joy of the macabre with each other. It was a pleasure to share mine with you all.
Now, that we have the feely-feels out of the way…let’s close the casket on October for another year. These two films need no introduction, but they are two masterworks from the great John Carpenter. Another thing these films have in common is that they are the two movies I watch every year on this night (when I can!), and they both share the #1 spot on my list of all-time favorite Horror movies. On behalf of everyone at Bounding Into Comics, have a Happy Halloween!!!
The Thing (1982)
Antarctica, 1982. An Alaskan Malamute hybrid is trying to outrun a Norwegian helicopter full of Norwegian men keen filling with bullet holes. The scared doggo finally sees possible safety when he spies an American research base in the middle of the never-ending snow. Naturally, the hybrid (emphasis on that!) charges full speed ahead towards the confused humans, and the crazy Swedes (I mean Norwegians!) follow.
The place is American Outpost 31, and a twelve-person research crew is getting ready for the upcoming Arctic winter. What they didn’t expect is to see was a helicopter barreling towards them from the white wilderness one day while shooting at a dog. Not only this, but also landing in their camp, and accidentally blowing up their own helicopter with a grenade. The last surviving Norse knucklehead decided to keep firing at the dog, and a stray bullet catches Outpost meteorologist Bennings (Peter Maloney) in the leg.
The station commander Garry (Donald Moffat) sees his shot, and puts a round in the Norwegian’s eye socket. While that was the end of his story, it was only the beginning for Outpost 31. Because that’s no ordinary dog. It’s actually a hostile alien lifeform that can assimilate (aka digest), and perfectly imitate other lifeforms.
While the station doctor, Cooper (Richard Dysart), has their helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady (KURT RUSSELL!), fly him to the Norwegian base to investigate, this new guest at the outpost is being taken to the pens by the resident handler, Clark (Richard Masur). He’s most certainly going to make fast friends with the regular doggos! All while Childs (Keith David) and Palmer (Richard Masur) toke up, and watch reruns of Let’s Make a Deal recorded on VHS.
The ultimate in isolation, the ultimate in paranoia, and the ultimate in alien terror. This 1982 adaptation of the freaky 1938 novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr., and a somewhat remake of 1951’s entertaining The Thing From Another World is in a class of it’s own. One of the best remakes of all time, and John Carpenter’s greatest achievement. Find out who’s The Thing on Prime.
Here’s the trailer:
Halloween (1978) – The First and Still the Best
It’s October 31st, 1963, in the fictional (but very familiar) town of Haddonfield, Illinois when six-year-old Michael Myers (Will Sandin) stabs his older sister, Judith (Sandy Johnson), to death with a butcher knife that’s almost as long as his arm. The very young Michael is committed to the Smith’s Grove sanitarium where he would spend the next fifteen years being treated by Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance).
Loomis was told that there was nothing left of this child. No reason. No conscience. No understanding ̶ in even the most rudimentary sense ̶ of life, or death. Of good, or evil. Right, or wrong.
He meets the boy with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes – “the Devil’s eyes.” Loomis spends eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up. Because Dr. Loomis realized that what was living behind Michael’s eyes was purely and simply…evil.
Then when this evil turned twenty-one years of age, the court ordered a hearing to determine his future. The good doctor goes to personally oversee the transfer (with the Thorazine ready), but what the hospital staff didn’t expect was for Michael (Masked: Nick Castle/Unmasked: Tony Moran) to finally wake from his dark catatonia and try to escape the hospital.
Loomis and his nurse driver were in for a big surprise when this silent maniac attacks them and takes off with her car. Dr. Loomis tried warning the hospital about how dangerous Michael truly was, but nobody listened.
They don’t believe that he would drive all the way back to Haddonfield, but Loomis already knows that’s exactly where he’s going. It’s going to be a long Halloween for that fake Illinois town, but even more so for high-schoolers Annie (Nancy Loomis), Lynda (P.J. Soles), and most definitely that nerdy babysitter, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis).
Because this is the night the killer comes home.
This is the birth of the Slasher genre that would spawn more copycats, sequels, remakes, reboots, and re-imaginings that can be counted. As decent as a lot of those imitations were, none of them would reach the level of the original.
The dark atmosphere, the breakthrough camera shots, and John Carpenter’s amazing score bring this film as close to Horror perfection as only a mere handful of others can boast over the past century. Halloween currently has several homes, and one for free on Crackle.
Here’s the trailer:
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