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Halloween 2018

Fangoria Noms Halloween as Best Wide Release Movie – Cast Your Ballot Now!

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With Fangoria having returned to glorious circulation, so too have the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, the magazine’s annual celebration of excellence within the field of horror cinema. And for the 2019 awards, Fango has nominated filmmaker David Gordon Green’s 2018 smash-hit Halloween in the category of ‘Best Wide Release Movie.’

Also receiving nominations in the category are director Ari Aster’s Hereditary, Julious Avery’s Overlord, John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place and Leigh Whannel’s Upgrade.

Other Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Halloween nominations include ‘Best Actress’ for Jamie Lee Curtis, ‘Best Actor’ for James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle, and ‘Best Makeup FX’ for Christopher Nelson.

You can cast your ballots here.

Thank you, Fangoria! We’re honored to be held in such esteemed company.

Currently available on VOD and easily accessible by visiting Movies Anywhere, Halloween is now also available on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K Ultra HD (all of which can be ordered on Amazon here).

The eleventh film in the franchise and co-written by director Green, Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, Halloween is intended as a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 classic. Trancas International Films’ Malek Akkad, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Miramax’s Bill Block produce, with McBride, Green and returning star Jamie Lee Curtis serving as executive producers, along with Ryan Freimann and series originator Carpenter, the latter who also serves as the film’s composer.

“We’re from Haddonfield, Couldn’t Be Prouder!” Television Spot Heralds Halloween

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The latest television spot from director David Gordon Green’s Halloween brings the cheer, and the fear.

The eleventh film in the franchise and co-written by director Green, Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, Halloween is intended as a direct sequel to Carpenter’s 1978 classic of the same name, and thusly disregards all of the series subsequent entries. Trancas International Films’ Malek Akkad, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Bill Block produce, with McBride, Green and returning star Jamie Lee Curtis serving as executive producers, along with Ryan Freimann and series originator Carpenter, who also serves as the film’s composer.

Halloween opens wide in theaters this Friday, October 19th via Universal Pictures.

How Long Can You Survive the 8-bit ‘Escape Michael Myers’ Video Game?

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Forty years in the making, Laurie Strode’s final (?) confrontation with Michael Myers hits the big screen this Friday, October 19th from Universal Pictures, and to get you in the mood, the retro-style ‘Escape Michael Myers’ video game, in which the boogeyman chases our beloved and beleaguered final girl through a graveyard, the streets of Haddonfield and beyond, is now available for free online at www.escapemichaelmyers.com

It’s pretty addictive, although we here at Trancas haven’t been able to survive any longer than a minute and a half. How will you fair against The Shape?

The eleventh film in the franchise, co-written by director David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, Halloween is intended as a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 classic of the same name, and thusly disregards all of the series subsequent entries. Trancas International Films’ Malek Akkad, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Bill Block produce, with McBride, Green and star Jamie Lee Curtis serving as executive producers, along with Ryan Freimann and series originator Carpenter, who also serves as the film’s composer.

Halloween Tickets Are Now On Sale!

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No tricks, just treats! With the frenzy nearing a fever pitch for David Gordon Green’s upcoming and hotly-anticipated Halloween, tickets for what is shaping up to be the movie event of the season have now gone on pre-sale at Fandango!

Having received rave reviews from its premiere screenings at Toronto International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest and Salem Horror Fest, you can NOW BUY TICKETS HERE to see the film when it bows in theaters everywhere from Universal Pictures on October 19th.

Says Variety’s Peter Debruge of the film, “David Gordon Green does horror fans a favor, bringing Michael Myers’ slasher-movie saga back to its roots,” while Katie Walsh of Nerdist proclaims: “David Gordon Green delivers the best Halloween sequel ever.”

That’s not all. Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly states, “Long live Michael Myers, so maybe someone can finally kill him — in a big, funny, scary, squishy, super-meta sequel that brings it all back to John Carpenter’s iconic 1978 original,” Dreadcentral’s Jonathan Barkan muses, “After years of waiting for a Halloween sequel that felt like it did justice to John Carpenter’s original masterpiece of slasher horror, David Gordon Green has brought us a vision of terror that gives fans what they’ve been craving,” and originating filmmaker Carpenter himself has declared that following his 1978 original, Green’s is the best in the franchise.

The eleventh film in the series and co-written by director Green, Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, Halloween is intended as a direct sequel to Carpenter’s ‘78 film, and thusly disregards all of the series subsequent entries. Trancas International Films’ Malek Akkad, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Bill Block produce, with McBride, Green and star Jamie Lee Curtis serving as executive producers, along with Ryan Freimann and series originator Carpenter, who also serves as the film’s composer.

LA Press Junket: Director David Gordon Green Talks Halloween

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This past Saturday, September 15th, HalloweenMovies.com sat down with director David Gordon Green on the Universal backlot to discuss his forthcoming film Halloween, which is set for release by Universal Pictures this coming October 19th, 2018.

Co-written by Jeff Fradley and Danny McBride, this eleventh entry in the franchise is intended as a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s seminal 1978 film. Trancas International Films’ Malek Akkad, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Bill Block produce, with McBride, Green and returning star Jamie Lee Curtis serving as executive producers, along with Ryan Freimann and series originator Carpenter, who also serves as the film’s composer.

Seated outdoors on the backlot’s Wisteria Lane, decked out for the occasion in Halloween décor, Green said of his initial attraction to directing the film, which serves as recalibration of the franchise, “I didn’t want to see someone else’s (version, because) I’ve been a huge fan of the (Halloween) movies. All of them, actually. But particularly the original film, which got under my skin in a way that no other horror film – well, maybe The Silence of the Lambs – has. Those two movies really affected me. I saw them in my youth and at a time in my life where they were very exciting and terrifying.”

Talk turned to Green’s script for Halloween, which co-written by he, McBride and Fradley, ignores all existing sequels, and picks up forty years after Carpenter’s original, with antagonist boogeyman Myers behind bars and final girl Laurie waiting with bated breath for his eventual return.

“As the franchise progressed it got more and more complicated, (and) my concept and Danny’s (was to) simplify it again,” said Green of their bold approach, “and go back to the least complicated version. And so, I wanted to do that rather than having to incorporate all of the mythology the series (had) absorbed over the years.”

And he laughed, “(To) use it as a device to be able to meet John Carpenter.”

As for the return of Curtis to her iconic role of Laurie Strode, there was however no guarantee during the initial scripting process.

“We had written it already, hoping she would (return),” recalled Green, “but were prepared for her to say, ‘No.’ (But) I just wanted to hang out with her. And she’s Laurie Strode. When you think about someone else stepping into that character? There’s no one like her. It’s iconic, so I put on my sweet talkin’ salesman voice and gave it the hard sell, and she said, ‘Yes.’”

“This was (us) assuming she wouldn’t want to be very involved,” revealed the filmmaker, “(but) as I started talking to her I realized (that) she was actually very excited about it. But originally we thought, ‘Let’s just try to get her for a couple of days and see if she’ll just do a cameo in the movie.’ Our initial thought was the trauma (of the first film) having been inherited by her daughter Karen (actress Judy Greer) who has inherited this sense of trauma and identity crisis from her mother who has raised her in this kind of captive, strange, over-protective landscape, and make that the centerpiece.”

“Before we presented her with the script,” he continued, “we did a quick sleight of hand, and moved all the meat to her, and said, ‘Let’s put it all on the table and see if we can make it happen.’ But we were prepared to have to pull it back, and play with other characters and other dimensions, and take the foreground with other characters.  I’m just glad we didn’t have to do it. It seems silly to even think about it now.”

Another one of the things which changed from concept to execution was Green’s desire to re-shoot the ending of Carpenter’s original from a different perspective, a plan which existed well into production.

“It was a very complicated overhead view of Loomis shooting the gun,” illuminated Green, “and then Michael going over (the balcony). And then when we were shooting (the film), we kept pushing it off.”

“So this is interesting,” Green expounded. “We rebuilt the bedroom from the climax of the original film, so we had the bones of this room, but the budget was getting tighter, and the schedules were getting tighter and we were trying to jam this (into the) movie and finish it up, and then we were like, ‘Screw it, let’s not do that.’ And if we need it later, we can always rebuild it, so we used the set for the scene (in our film) with all the mannequins. But it is (still) a rebuild of the bedroom (from the first Halloween) down to a square inch.”

In addition to set construction, in preparation for the aborted re-imagining of the finale of Carpenter’s original, the production had also hired actors to reprise needed characters from the first film.

“We cast a Loomis double, who was actually our art director, because he looked exactly like him,” said Green of the role originated by deceased actor Donald Pleasence, “and we would have re-created Laurie with a blend of Jamie and a body double similar to a nineteen-year old Jamie. And there was conversation of utilizing footage from the original film and digitally altering it, so we could get some other interesting elements, but all of it starts costing money, and you look at what you’re trying to do (and ask), ‘Do you need the gimmick? Do you need the exposition? Do you need the set up?’”

“Carpenter actually calmed me down on set and said to me, ‘Just trust (the audience) and let them figure it out.’”

As for Carpenter’s presence on the South Carolina set, “(It was) super surreal,” Green recalled of the famous director’s arrival. “My parents were also visiting and he and my dad were just talking about comic books while I was shooting the babysitter scene upstairs. It was the scene with Vicky (Virginia Gardner), with a ghost sheet over her, so it was kind of a fun scene for John to show up on set for. But yeah, really surreal seeing Jamie Lee and Nick Castle and John kind of bonding again. Someone was showing me photographs of that day recently, and it was pretty overwhelming and emotional and nostalgic and sentimental in a lot of ways.”

Conversation progressed to the film’s score, as composed and performed by Carpenter as he did for the original, and Green offered, “He kept me out of (the scoring process and) said, ‘I wanna’ have a whole score for you. It’s not gonna’ be piece by piece. I was like, ‘Is he doing an orchestra? Is it gonna’ be the opera?’ But then I heard it and it feels very Carpenter. I can sense a little Escape from New York in a couple little pieces. I was so fucking excited to hear (it).”

Reflecting on his career, “One of the things I’m most proud of (is that) I genre hop,” said the filmmaker, whose previous features include the decidedly non-horror films George Washington (2000) and Pineapple Express (2006), along with the comedic television series Eastbound & Down.

“I can’t sit still. I gotta’ do a comedy here, a fantasy movie there, (and) a drama there. What I’m most excited about that Halloween does, (is that) it lets me exercise all of it: humor, drama, emotional honesty and action. I felt more so than any other movie (that I’ve directed) that I could jam more genres that I love into one film. And call it a horror movie. So, that’s really rewarding, particularly if an audience likes it, because I don’t have a huge relationship with an audience responding well to my films,” Green laughed self-deprecatingly.

(Writer’s note: given the positive critical reviews stemming from Halloween’s world premiere at TIFF earlier this month, perhaps for Green this relationship will change).

Concluded the forty-three year old director, as behind him Carpenter and Curtis chatted against the backdrop of ghostly Halloween decorations which shifted in the failing light, “You know, critics have been kind and I’ve managed an awesome, exciting career and have traveled the world but out of thirteen movies (only) one of them is commercially successful. I don’t have a great track record. So it would be awesome to be able to think that I can infuse so much of what I’ve learned through the various movies, TV shows and commercials that I’ve done into one thing, and have an audience respond to it, because the sky’s the limit with what we want to continue (to do) with this franchise. So a lot of this movie, for me, is about trust: getting an audience to trust me, and getting me to trust a franchise, and then let’s see what needs to happen next, if it works.”

Check out the trailer below.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

 

Jamie Lee Curtis Teases ‘Halloween’ Trailer w/ New Poster

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Ahead of tomorrow’s release of the second full length trailer for David Gordon Green’s upcoming Halloween, Jamie Lee Curtis debuted the official poster via her social media channels.

Make sure you’re following us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so you can be one of the first to see it when it goes live!

The eleventh film in the franchise, co-written by director David Gordon Green and collaborators Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, the latest Halloween film serves as a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s seminal 1978 film of the same name.

Trancas International Films’ Malek Akkad, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Bill Block produce, with McBride, Green and star Jamie Lee Curtis serving as executive producers, along with Ryan Freimann and series originator Carpenter, who also serves as the film’s composer.

In it, series star Curtis returns to her role of embattled final girl Laurie Strode, as does Nick Castle to his role of Michael Myers. They are joined by Judy Greer as Karen Strode, Laurie’s daughter, and Andi Matichak as Allyson Strode, Laurie’s granddaughter.

Universal Pictures will release Halloween worldwide on October 19, 2018.

Halloween: The Shape of Change

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Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton Takes a Look at the Past and Future of Halloween

For genre fans, the name Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton has become synonymous with modern horror journalism. From his humble beginnings working with The Horror Channel in the early 2000s and his co-creation of the revered Dread Central in 2006 (where he served as Editor-in-Chief for well over a decade) to his recent establishment of the popular Brainwaves Horror and Paranormal podcast in 2016, Barton’s erudite knowledge and unflinching editorial candor have made him a highly respected luminary within the horror sphere.

With that, I’m thrilled to welcome Barton to HalloweenMovies.com as a guest writer, as here he takes an engaging look back at the iconic Halloween franchise, from its genre-defining beginnings to what lays ahead for those unfortunate residents of Haddonfield.

Sean Decker, Editor-in-Chief, HalloweenMovies.com

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Halloween: The Shape of Change

By Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton

For forty years the Halloween franchise has been scaring the hell out of audiences around the globe. Now a familiar chill is back in the air. Leaves are being blown softly down our streets… the scent of pumpkin spice is tickling our senses; decorations are being hung, both ghastly and cute; and the world is prepping for yet another night of tricks, treats, and thankfully… unstoppable… “evil.”

Back in 1978 Dr. Samuel Loomis warned us about a six-year-old child with a blank, pale, emotionless face and… the blackest eyes. The devil’s eyes. This October death is once again ready to come home in the fashion of Blumhouse’s Halloween; and as we all steady ourselves for what’s to come, the fanbase has begun swirling with anticipation and questions. This new iteration of Michael Myers isn’t very new at all. In fact, he’s the same one who gave us nightmares back in ’78 as he pursued Laurie Strode through her Haddonfield neighborhood, and that’s where our story begins. Everything from 1981’s Halloween II to Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009) has been entered into the history books, which is where all of those events will continue to thrive and haunt for years to come.

This latest Halloween instead picks up the plotline from John Carpenter’s original conclusion. No longer is Laurie Michael’s sister apparently. Jamie Lloyd was never born. This Shape was never led by an infamous man in black. He’s retained his head and has never haunted the halls of his home while a film crew scrambled to cash in on the horrors of days gone by. Conal Cochran, however, may still have unleashed a living hell on earth thanks to some intricate Halloween masks filled with all manner of ghastly flesh-hungry creatures, thereby making Season of the Witch a truer continuation of events than it has ever been before. I mean, surely something happened during the decades between Michael’s escape and eventual reincarceration.

Change has always been a big part of the Halloween franchise as it’s the only horror yarn that spins constantly in different directions, fostering a host of blood-soaked threads that we as fans have been following for decades. In anticipation of the new installment, let’s untangle said routes and see where each film lies within the franchise.

Halloween (1978) connects directly to Halloween (2018).

Forty years have passed since Michael Myers stalked Laurie Strode that fateful night in Haddonfield. Both Strode and Myers have been lying in wait for each other, and their final showdown will surely be epic to say the least. Who knows where the franchise will go from here, but one thing’s for sure… we will all be watching, even if some of you will be looking through your fingers.

Halloween (1978) also connects to Halloween II (1981).

At the end of John Carpenter’s original classic, we see that Michael’s psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis, has bested The Shape. You see, Loomis shot him six times. Once in the heart. But it turns out that didn’t stop Michael. Nothing can. As the events continue, Strode, who is identified as Michael’s sister, is transported to the local hospital; and Myers is hot on her tail. Strode escapes again, but it appears as if Loomis and Myers have met their end together. Myers is shot in both eyes and is then burned (what we thought to be) to death in an explosion.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) connects to no other films in the franchise.

With Michael Myers either dead or incarcerated (choose your own adventure), Halloween takes on a disturbing new vision with warlocks plotting the mass killing of children via Silver Shamrock Halloween masks. It should be noted that the 1978 film can be seen playing on television during Halloween III as a nod to what came before this. The reasoning behind Season of the Witch was that a new Halloween-themed tale would be spun each year. With no Myers to be found, the fans balked for decades. Now, however, the film has become much loved and stands as a testament to 80’s horror at its finest.

Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981) connect directly to 1988’s Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.

The audience was heard loud and clear… we wanted our boogeyman back, and Halloween 4 does a fine job of bringing back the principals for another round of mayhem in Haddonfield. It’s ten years after the night of the massacre that left several teenagers dead, and we find out that both Loomis and Myers survived the inferno at Haddonfield Hospital. It’s revealed that Laurie Strode has passed on, but her seven-year-old daughter, Jamie, is alive and well and has been adopted by the Carruthers family. Upon learning of the existence of his niece during a transfer between the Richmond Mental Institute to Smith’s Grove, Myers rises from his coma to take care of family business. Thankfully for the Carruthers family, Loomis, the ever-vigilant Ahab of this twist on Moby Dick, is not far behind. Upon the film’s conclusion Myers is shot an innumerable amount of times, blasting him backward down a well. Both Jamie and her stepsister, Rachel, have survived the night, but not without incident. Jamie – in a mental break – takes up Michael’s mantle, proving that there’s just something in the blood.

Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), and Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers connect directly to Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.

After the events of the previous year, Jamie finds herself, much like her uncle, locked up in a hospital surrounded by other troubled children. After falling into the well, which was dynamited to seal it shut, Myers is revealed to have been washed ashore in a bunker of sorts, where he was cared for by a vagrant and his pet parrot, Snookie. Once the calendar strikes Halloween, he’s up and at ‘em, once again on the hunt for his niece, after dispatching Rachel of course because Myers is nothing if not thorough. After some truly bloody events, Jamie makes her escape and Michael is jailed… but only temporarily. He’s soon busted out by a mysterious Man in Black who shares the same Thorn tattoo as Myers does. Could there be some other connection between the two? Of course there is!

Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers connect directly to Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers and Halloween 6: The Producer’s Cut.

Change has never been more prevalent within the franchise than it is with Halloween 6. Famously, there are indeed two versions of the sixth installment, and both bring the Jamie Lloyd (played here by J.C. Brandy instead of the much beloved Danielle Harris) story arc to a close early on. The Man in Black is revealed to be Smith’s Grove head honcho, Dr. Wynn (whom we first met briefly in Halloween 1978). Wynn is also the head of the Pagan cult that is now controlling Myers, with varying degrees of success depending on which version of the movie you’re watching. Both versions of Halloween 6 also mark the final appearance of the character of Dr. Sam Loomis, who was played masterfully by Donald Pleasence. The differences between the two cuts of the film are pretty striking. Those looking for a more mystical take on the character of The Shape would be best served by the Producer’s Cut, and those with a preference for slaughter will get more than enough of the red with the theatrical version. See? Change and choice can be a good thing!

Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981) connect directly to 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.

With the irreplaceable Pleasence no longer with us to play Loomis, it was time for The Shape to have a new Ahab. Who better to bring back than Laurie Strode herself? Twenty years after the night He came home, Strode is living under an assumed name along with her son and is the dean of a private school located in Northern California. It may have taken 20 years, but Myers finally catches up with her, leading to a goosebump-inducing battle between the two that will always remain an incredible crowd-pleaser.

Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later connect directly to Halloween: Resurrection.

Much like both versions of Halloween 6 did with their main character of Shapes gone by, the Laurie Strode story arc is ended very early on, and Myers is free to go back home and dispatch a whole new generation of victims… but there’s a twist! Thanks to an enterprising entrepreneur, the Myers house has been outfitted with cameras and taken online so that the world can join in on an investigation of it. This would be the last time this very familiar Michael Myers would be seen on screen as the series was about to have itself both a reboot and a rebirth.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween hits the reset button.

It was the dawn of a new time in the Halloween franchise as big changes were once again on the horizon for The Shape as Rob Zombie adds his distinct flavor to the character of Michael Myers. In this film we get to explore what makes Myers tick and eventually snap. After a time jump midway through the film, we find Myers as a new, hulking freight train of carnage that’s just waiting to be unleashed; and once he breaks his chains, all hell breaks out with him. The second half of Zombie’s film reveres what Carpenter had originally created, and all the pieces were firmly in place for this new Shape’s saga to continue.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween connects directly to Rob Zombie’s Halloween II.

Unlike the original Halloween II, which picks up the action immediately after the first film, a year has passed since Myers would once again begin his deadly pursuit of his sister, Laurie. Zombie expands on the world he’s built with his first film in every conceivable way and in the process delivers an extreme and unique spin on the horrors of Haddonfield. This Myers is not only haunted, but he’s also enormous, chaotic, and as brutal as can be. Zombie’s Halloween II will probably remain the most violent entry into this storied and multi-faceted franchise.

And with that, this history lesson is officially over. One franchise that is home to five distinctive storylines and worlds. Blumhouse is set to deliver its own spin on Halloween by ignoring everything that transpired after the original 1978 film. Forty years have passed, and now Laurie is back, as is Myers. But this Shape is of no relation to her. This Shape is nothing but pure, driven evil. The kind that had Sam Loomis frightened and desperate beyond words. The horrors that began on Lampkin Lane in 1963 are about to begin again. Despite the quintet of plots, one thing has always remained the same: Death is once again coming to a little town, and it can’t… no, it WON’T… be ignored.

David Gordon Green’s Halloween to Open Fantastic Fest 2018

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FANTASTIC FEST 2018 ANNOUNCES EPIC SECOND WAVE OF PROGRAMMING INCLUDING ITS OPENING NIGHT FILM, THE UPCOMING HALLOWEEN, WITH THE LEGENDARY JAMIE LEE CURTIS IN ATTENDANCE

Running from September 20th thru the 27th in Austin, Texas, 2018’s Fantastic Fest (now in its 14th year) will kick off with a screening of David Gordon Green’s Halloween, with series star Jamie Lee Curtis in attendance, along with producers Malek Akkad, Jason Blum and Bill Block. Do you want tickets? Need to get your hands on the limited edition, brand-new Halloween-themed Fantastic Fest collectible magazine from the Birth.Movies.Death. team before the fest even starts? Read on for info!

 

From the Press Release:

AUSTIN, TX — Wednesday, August 22, 2018 — Blasting off the festival in its 14th year will be the U.S. Premiere of David Gordon Green’s razor-sharp new contribution to the Halloween canon with legendary actor Jamie Lee Curtis—along with Halloween producers Malek Akkad, Jason Blum and Bill Block in attendance! Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

Festival Creative Director Evrim Ersoy says, “2018 is proving to be a remarkable year for genre cinema. It is a constant delight to be able to discover both seasoned directors and newcomers pushing the boundaries of what genre can mean, using cinematic language to bring incisive, intelligent commentary on the current state of the world and still find enough ingenious methods to terrify, thrill and twist! This second wave represents the best genre filmmaking talent on the planet, and it is all crashing into Austin next month!”

Worldwide genre titles continue to explode at Fantastic Fest with the World Premiere of haunting shocker The Boat, an insidious tale of man vs sea vessel; Girls with Balls, where a female French volleyball team takes on an entire countryside of maniacs; the North American Premiere of Timo Tjahjanto’s bonkers May the Devil Take You, where Satanic rites intermingle with family in-fighting to brutal and violent effect; the World Premiere of French serial killer shocker Savage, where a summer holiday obsession becomes a dangerous and deadly game; and the U.S. Premiere of Venice Critics week opener Tumbbad, where three generations of a family face off against demons in an ever-expanding circle of greed.

And finally, the Birth.Movies.Death. team is proud to be launching a brand-new, Halloween-themed edition of their collectible magazine at this year’s festival. In addition to exclusive interviews with John Carpenter, David Gordon Green and the legendary Jamie Lee Curtis, this issue will also feature deep-dive essays into the history of Halloween, a spread featuring some of Mondo’s best Halloween posters, and many more spooky surprises. Festival attendees may pre-purchase their copies of the magazine for pickup at the festival here, or copies can be purchased online and shipped directly to buyers via this link.

Attend:

SUPERFAN Badges, FAN Badges, 2ND HALF Badges, and MIDNIGHT Badges for Fantastic Fest 2018 are available for purchase here.

New this year, the MIDNIGHT Badge guarantees admission to the movie of your choice for the final screening round of the fest (Thursday 9/20 – Wednesday 9/26), which typically begin between 11pm and 12am, and also includes access to all non-ticketed Fantastic Fest events such as the Highball bashes, Debates, and opening and closing night parties!

For the latest developments, visit the Fantastic Fest official site at www.fantasticfest.com and follow them on Facebook & on Twitter.

John Carpenter Announced Release Date for New Halloween OST Album

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The Master of Horror, John Carpenter, has announced the impending release of the original soundtrack album for  Halloween—in which Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.  The album arrives on  October 19 from Sacred Bones, the same day that the new David Gordon Green-directed film is released in theaters.

Halloween is the first film in the canon to have Carpenter involved since 1982’s Halloween III. He serves as an executive producer,  creative consultant, and, thrillingly, as a soundtrack composer—alongside his collaborators from his three recent solo albums, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.

The new soundtrack pays homage to the classic Halloween score that Carpenter composed and recorded in 1978, when he forever changed the course of horror cinema and synthesizer music with his low-budget masterpiece. Several new versions of the iconic main theme serve as the pulse of Green’s film, its familiar 5/4 refrain stabbing through the soundtrack like the Shape’s knife. The rest of the soundtrack is equally enthralling, incorporating everything from atmospheric synth whooshes to eerie piano-driven pieces to skittering electronic percussion. While the new score was made with a few more resources than Carpenter’s famously shoestring original, its musical spirit was preserved: “We wanted to honor the original Halloween soundtrack in terms of the sounds we used,” Davies explained. “We used a lot of the Dave Smith OB-6, bowed guitar, Roland Juno, Korg, Roli, Moog, Roland System 1, Roland System 8, different guitar pedals, mellotron, and piano.”

Unlike the Lost Themes albums, Halloween saw the Carpenters and Davies collaborating on music set to images for the first time. Though it marked a significant change from their previous creative process, the trio thrived under the constraints and tight deadlines that film scoring work demands. For Carpenter, who reunited on the new film with original Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis, composing the score felt like a homecoming. “It was great,” Carpenter said of the experience. “It was transforming. It was not a movie I directed, so I had a lot of freedom in creating the score and getting into the director’s head. I was proud to serve David Gordon Green’s vision.”

The band will embark on a European tour in support of the new soundtrack and other recent releases this October, culminating with an exclusive US show on Halloween at the Palladium in Los Angeles. For the live shows Carpenter is joined by a stellar band, comprised of his son Cody Carpenter on synthesizer, his godson Daniel Davies on guitar, John Spiker on bass, John Konesky on guitar, and Scott Seiver on drums.

PREORDER THE ALBUM HERE

http://sacredbonesrecords.com/products/sbr213-john-carpenter-halloween

In addition to CD, black LP and digital version, Halloween will be available on the following limited edition color vinyl formats:

  • Clear Vinyl with “Orange Pumpkin” Inset “Art Edition” – Sacred Bones Mailorder
  • Red and Black Splatter “Art Edition” – John Carpenter Tour
  • “Pumpkin Orange” Vinyl – US Indie Shops
  • “Bloody Knife” Vinyl – UK Indie Shops
  • Orange and White Starburst Vinyl – Newbury Comics
  • “Dirty Bloody Mask” Vinyl – FYE
  • Orange and Black Starburst Vinyl – Rough Trade
  • “Michael Myers” vinyl (Mask White, Jumpsuit Blue, and Blood Red Swirl) – Waxwork Variant
  • Half Black/Half Orange Vinyl – Rocket (Australia) Exclusive
  • “Bloody Pumpkin” Vinyl – Books-a-Million

Halloween OST cover art (standard edition)

Halloween OST cover art (“art edition”)
BUY TICKETS FOR UPCOMING SHOWS HERE

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Halloween to World Premiere at TIFF 18

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Ahead of its October 19, 2018 release via Universal Pictures, writer and director David Gordon Green’s hotly-anticipated Halloween is set for its world premiere this September as a Midnight Madness selection of the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 6 – 16.

“This year’s Midnight Madness slate promises another idiosyncratic confluence of established and emerging genre filmmakers,” Midnight Madness programmer Peter Kuplowsky said of the selection in a press statement. “To complement some of the buzziest provocations on the festival circuit, I have sought to curate an eccentric array of World Premieres that demonstrate the dexterity of genre cinema as a canvas for both sublime satisfaction and stunning subversion. That includes – Halloween – which boldly and brilliantly builds upon its mythic iconography to thrilling and surprising effect.”

While the premiere date and time have not yet been revealed, tickets for TIFF 18 are currently available here.

Co-written by Jeff Fradley and Danny McBride, 2018’s Halloween, the latest entry in the iconic horror franchise, is intended as a direct sequel to Carpenter’s seminal 1978 film. Trancas International Films’ Malek Akkad, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Bill Block produce, with McBride, Green and returning star Jamie Lee Curtis serving as executive producers, along with Ryan Freimann and series originator Carpenter, who also serves as the film’s composer.