Christian Romano 8/16/24 Christian Romano 8/16/24

Three Ideas That Would Make The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Video Game Even Better

Since it was released last year, I have been hooked on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game and have been playing it weekly. I have put many hours into it and would consider myself a devoted fan to this game and franchise. The game is very faithful to the original film and is dripping with atmosphere, while acting as a prequel to the original film. The way the game adds to the films lore is also absolutely brilliant. With the one year anniversary of the games release coming up soon, I thought it would be fun to make this month’s post about three ideas I have for the game that in my opinion would make it even better.

Randomized Execution Selection

The first idea I would like to discuss is to have the execution selection be randomized. What I mean by this is to have it set up so that each time you perform an execution on an incapacitated victim, the execution animation you will see will be random based on the paid for executions the player has. I believe this would help keep the game fresh, surprising and will allow players like myself who have purchased all of the available execution packs to have the chance to see all of the executions they purchased utilized randomly each time the player performs an execution. This should be a second available option and should not replace the single execution selection that is in the game currently, but rather serve as a secondary option for players who want executions to be randomized. I believe having different execution animations appear for each incapacitated victim in a match will help players maximize what they purchased, so you are not stuck with just one execution being selected at a time like in the current game.

2. Executions Involving Grandpa And Other Environmental Kills

My second idea I would like to discuss is to implement executions involving Grandpa and to also add environmental kills. Grandpa involvement in executions would not only serve as another special animation, like Leatherface’s gallows execution, but would also make sense in terms of the film and games lore. At the end of the original 1974 film, Leatherface and the Hitchhiker hold down Sally while Grandpa hits her with a hammer and drinks blood from her finger. I feel like involving Grandpa in executions would help keep Grandpa a more useful character and even more involved in the game. Also, since Friday The 13th: The Game had environmental kills, I believe The Texas Chainsaw Massacre should also feature kills which are caused by items in the environment. This concept makes sense since there are many deadly and lethal items in the environment on each map of the game. I believe Grandpa executions and environmental kills will serve as two new unique ways to perform special executions on victims that will align well with the already available Leatherface gallows kill.

3. A Map Of The Graveyard From The Film

The third and final idea I had for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game was to include the graveyard from the 1974 film as a map featured in the game. This makes sense as the graveyard is the only location from the original film that hasn’t yet appeared as a map in the game. This would also allow for more lore and Easter eggs. For example, maybe there are empty graves in the graveyard which would allude to grave robbing and maybe there could also be corpses on a macabre display like in the film. The graveyard is even mentioned during the game in a line of dialogue between the Hitchhiker and Sissy where he asks her if she saw what he did at the graveyard, which would imply the family has been there and have been up to no good as usual. Including a map of the graveyard would not only be adding another location from the film, but would also allow for new creative opportunities regarding design and character lore. Plus as a completionist, I would just really enjoy having all of the locations from the original film featured in the game.

Conclusion

In conclusion, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game is my current favorite multiplayer horror game and one of the best slasher games I have played to date. The game definitely has its bugs and problems, but then it also has its moments where it really shines. As a slasher fan, you just have to appreciate the extraordinary effort put in by the developers to replicate locations and characters from the original film. Words cannot describe the feeling I got when I first played the game and saw the family house. As a Texas Chainsaw Massacre and slasher fan, this game is truly a treat; I wanna see it continue to grow and improve in the future. Where do you think the game should go from here and what ideas do you, the reader, have for this game? Would you like to see licensed content from other Texas Chainsaw Massacre films featured in the game? I would love to hear your thoughts.

it’s a big time in slasher gaming as two Halloween games were also just announced, expect a post featuring ideas about this soon!

Christian Romano 6/1/24 Christian Romano 6/1/24

5 Major Differences Between The Early Draft Of The Script For Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) And The Final Film

Introduction

Recently, I decided to read and analyze an early draft of the script for Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) film. This version of the script was written in 2006 and initially captured my interest after reading about it in Taking Shape: Developing Halloween From Script To Scream, which is a book written by Dustin McNeill and Travis Mullins. I finally decided to read the script myself after purchasing a signed copy of it from Malcom McDowell’s table at a horror convention, I also had Tyler Mane sign it as well. Upon completing my reading of the script, I noted several major differences from the early draft that did not make it to filming or did not appear in the final version of the film. For this post I thought it would be fun to list what I considered to be 5 of the biggest differences between the early draft of the script for Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) and the final film. There are many differences in this early draft but for this post I decided to select 5 I considered to be the most notable. I also plan to discuss some of my own brief thoughts on the initial ideas from the early screenplay.

The Opening Scene

The script begin’s with the same Loomis quote featured at the beginning of the final film, however instead of cutting to an exterior shot of the house we fade into an opening credits montage which is interesting to note as the final film did not have opening credits. The script then transitions into home video footage focusing on the neighborhood, a boy and his family. The boy smiles and the title-card “Halloween” was supposed to appear, this young boy is 10 year old Michael Myers. It is noteworthy to mention this script specifies the opening takes place on October 31st, 1978, since the film itself does not specify a specific year. Rather than foreshadowing young Michael about to kill his pet rat as featured in the film, the script describes young Michael sitting under a makeshift fort in his bedroom. Michael opens a locked metal toolbox which contains a plastic clown mask, an audio cassette recorder, a scrapbook containing pages from hardcore porn magazines and polaroid photos of dead animals. The script describes viewing these contents through the POV of Michael’s clown mask. Michael then begins to play the cassette recorder, we were to hear the sounds of Michael torturing and killing one of his neighbor’s cats, he is breathing heavily through the mask as he listens. “This is Michael and this is the sound of Boom-boom. Mrs. Avery’s cat.” (Halloween 2007 early draft, page 2). The script then transitions to the breakfast scene which is mostly similar to the final film. When Judith is asked to go get Michael from upstairs, she finds him underneath his fort masturbating to his scrapbook and animal tapes. When they go down to the kitchen and sit down Judith begins to stroke a milk bottle. Judith stroking the milk bottle was in the film, however this moment has more context within the pages of this early draft.

I believe this would have been a more truly shocking and bizarre way to open the film. I liked the concept of Michael recording his early animal murders as it falls in line with how Rob Zombie aimed to portray Michael Myers. Rob made him more of an American serial killer and less of a mysterious boogeyman in the final film and aspects like the audio cassette recorder from this draft would have further reinforced this as serial killers tend to memorialize their crimes in twisted ways. However, I understand why young Michael masterbating to his scrapbook was cut out as this would have been difficult to film and would have made him seem more like a sexual predator rather than a serial killer. I also really enjoyed the inclusion of home video footage in the beginning of this early draft. Home video footage was briefly shown in the final film, but I believe incorporating it into the opening would have helped set the tone and make it feel almost like a true crime documentary. This home video footage would have also made the film more eerie as in the footage young Michael appears as a normal young boy, but behind his eyes are the evil intentions of a psychopath. Rob Zombie is no stranger to showing home video footage of his character’s in his film’s as he previously did this in House Of 1000 Corpses (2003) and The Devil’s Rejects (2005). Overall, Rob makes it clear how disturbed young Michael is right off the bat, I would have liked to see more of the home video footage and the aspect of him recording his murders in the final film.

2. Murder Of A Little Girl Instead Of The Bully

In the final film, Michael stalks and kills one of his bullies in the forest near the school. In the early script, Michael is still bullied however this occurs in the gymnasium where the entire school is watching a screening of the film Forbidden Planet (1956) whereas in the film this bullying incident occurs in the bathroom. Rather than stalking this bully and killing him in the woods after getting in trouble at school, the early script had Michael stalk one of his 9 year old class mates named Jennifer. He lures her into the woods by deceiving her and claiming there is a magic halloween candy tree that grows candy in the woods. After Michael gets her into the woods, he pulls a dead cat whose neck was snapped out of a tree trunk. Michael then says: “See my kitty? I snapped his neck and he liked it. You wanna pet him? His name is Ronnie.” (Halloween 2007 early draft, page 17). It is interesting to note Michael named this cat Ronnie as that is the name of his mother’s abusive boyfriend in this script and the final film. This obviously traumatizes the young girl, but strangely she does not run away, Michael tells her that he can take her home and that he knows of a secret Indian tunnel that will take her to the front of her house. This hole was to have a piece of wood covering it with a skull and crossbones painted on it. When Jennifer peaks into this hole after Michael uncovers it, he pushes her in and proceeds to put on his clown mask and begin recording with the tape recorder. “This is Michael and this is Jennifer out in the woods.” (Halloween 2007 early draft, page 18). As Jennifer screams and begs for help out of the hole, Michael begins to poke her with a big stick in a taunting fashion. Michael was then to begin hitting Jennifer hard over the head with the stick until she became unconscious and blood began to flow. Michael was then to jump in the hole and continue violently beating her with the large stick until she was dead. As if this moment from the script couldn’t get more depraved, young Michael was then to unzip his pants and begin urinating on Jennifer’s corpse.

I believe this kill would have been extremely depraved and difficult to film and I can imagine most Hollywood producer’s immediately pushing for a scene like this not to make it into the film. Young Michael urinating on the little girl’s corpse once again echoes a sexual predator more than a serial killer in my opinion. However, I can imagine having Michael murder this young girl would make him appear more evil. This is because he had more of a reason to kill the bully considering the bully had wronged him, however Michael had no reason to murder this little girl as she had done nothing wrong to him, which makes his pattern of killing seem more indiscriminate. This aligns well with Rob’s final interpretation of Michael in the film and is also a nice callback to The Shape’s pattern of indiscriminate killing from the original 1978 John Carpenter film. I think the murder of the little girl would have elevated Michael’s evil more in the film while him urinating on her body is just a step too far. Urinating on corpses seems more like something Rob Zombie’s Firefly family killers would have done, not so much his interpretation of Michael Myers though. In short, having Michael murder a little girl would have added nicely to the film minus urinating on the body.

3. Halloween Night Murders

In the film, Michael is already home when he decides to murder Ronnie, Steve, and Judith. However, in the earlier draft, Michael’s mother Deborah decided to drop young Michael off at school for a function to get him out of the house and away from the abusive Ronnie. Michael was to make his way back home and start the killing. One of the major differences regarding the murders in this early draft is the audience would have been seeing the killing through the POV of Michael’s mask, which is a nice callback to John Carpenter’s original film. Another difference is that Michael would have been recording the murders with his audio cassette player and the kills were originally supposed to be much more violent. In the final film Michael duck taped Ronnie to a chair and slit his throat but per the original draft Michael did not just slit his throat as he was described to be “sawing violently at Ronnie’s throat.” (Halloween 2007 early draft, page 27). After sawing at Ronnie’s throat, Michael would have plunged the knife into Ronnie’s heart. Steve’s death was mostly the same as in the film, however after beating him over the head with the baseball bat, Michael would pick up a butcher knife and begin stabbing Steve repeatedly. In the final film Michael gropes Judith’s leg upon entering her room, but per the early draft he was described to be “fondling her breasts.” (Halloween 2007 early draft, page 29). Also in the final film, Michael stabs Judith once in the stomach and then follows her into the hallway where he begins slicing violently at her back until she falls. In the early draft, Michael stabs Judith repeatedly in the chest until she falls off the bed and onto the floor which means she was not given the chance to limp into the hallway like in the film. Following the murders, Michael is sitting outside holding young Laurie and playing the audio of his killings of the night. When his mother approaches, Michael simply says: “It’s over.” (Halloween 2007 early draft, page 31). The following scene in this draft was to be a montage of various TV news reports detailing the murders and some of these news reports would have featured content such as Michael’s mother Deborah attending Judith’s funeral and even young Michael Myers appearing in court. One of these reports even described further grisly details about Judith’s death: “apparently she had been stabbed seventeen times and repeatedly sodomized with a baseball bat recovered at the scene.” (Halloween 2007 early draft, page 33).

In my opinion, whether Michael was still at home or if he was at a school function makes little difference to the story other than the fact it demonstrated Michael’s mother Deborah was trying to get Michael to go do other things to escape their rough home environment. Also, as much as the POV shots are an iconic part of the Halloween franchise, I think it’s better those shots described in the early draft did not make into into the final cut of Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007). This is because the exclusion of the POV shots makes the film more unique and specific to Rob’s own vision. Note the cinematographer for Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007), Phil Parmett, was also the cinematographer for The Devils Rejects (2005). Both films had a similar visual style and both films were also made with handheld cameras. In an interview with Phil Parmett in the book Taking Shape: Developing Halloween From Script To Scream, Parmett revealed he and Rob had no interest in copying the original film’s visual style. The final film is supposed to be voyeuristic and not seen from the perspective of any single specific character, rather the audience is supposed to view the events of the film as though they are outside observers. I do believe the extra violence and the concept of Michael recording the murders from the early draft would have fitted nicely into the film as the early 2000’s horror remakes were typically more violent and the recording concept fits into Rob’s interpretation of Michael Myers. Michael groping his sister’s breasts and sodomizing her with a baseball bat is a detail I am happy was excluded as it is just far too over the top. I also believe the inclusion of more news footage would have positively added to the prequel part of the film, as it would make the events feel more like true crime and a young Michael Myers in court would surely make for an interesting scene.

4. Doctor Loomis

In the early version of the screenplay Doctor Loomis had retired once Michael grew up and he is also married to a wife named Ellen. This strongly contrasts the film because the audience was not sure whether Loomis is currently married and Loomis did not completely retire in the film, rather he just left Smith’s Grove. In the screenplay, Loomis still writes a book regarding Michael Myers, but he is much more secluded and does not wish to be famous for being Michaels’s doctor. Loomis only goes back when he learns Michael is being transferred to a minimum security facility. Michael is being transferred in this draft because Smiths Grove is shutting down due to a lack of funding, note that this subplot was absent in the film. It is also interesting to note Loomis was not even living in Illinois during his retirement and therefore has to fly back to the state to reach Haddonfield. His wife strongly protests him going back and pleads for him not to go. I think this interpretation of Loomis would have been interesting to see on screen as he seems more haunted by the fact he failed Michael and he takes it much more personally. Loomis’s wife Ellen also adds more dramatic weight to his character as he had promised her Michael was out of their lives which wound up not truly being the case as his obsession over his patient was only repressed. Loomis genuinely seems to take full responsibility for failing Michael in this script and blames himself. On his flight back to Illinois, Loomis even has a nightmare where Michael kills his wife and two of their friends. This adds even more purpose to the Ellen character as Loomis likely fears Michael will try and kill the ones he loves the most. It’s also interesting to note in a moment when Loomis is conversing with his friend Luke, he mentions the masks Michael would wear became his only form of expression. Loomis states Michael was the biggest mystery and failure of his career, might Loomis have retired because Michael made him feel like he was a failure for failing Michael? I’m curious if this more sympathetic interpretation of Loomis would have altered his characterization in the sequel because in that film he fully embraced his celebrity status while here in this draft he seems to want nothing to do with Michael due to his own guilt. This can only be speculated as these details regarding Loomis did not make it to the final cut of Rob’s first film. Overall, I would have liked to see these extra Loomis details in the film as it makes Loomis a much more sympathetic and broken character. Smiths Grove being shut down is also an interesting detail as it represents a sociological theme that society does not care about the mentally ill. Loomis having a wife and friends also gives him something to lose, which likely makes him fear Michael more whereas in the film he felt like a lone wolf with no one to lose. I really liked the version of Loomis we received in the film, but would have fully embraced these added details as it makes the good Doctor a more complex character. Fun fact: In the script when we meet Loomis’s wife Ellen, she is having a conversation with her friend and mentions she has seen WWMD t-shirts which stands for “what would Michael do.” This is an interesting detail as the WWMD t-shirt would eventually make an appearance in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009). Another fun fact: I found it interesting Loomis had a wife in this draft as another version of Doctor Loomis from Chaos Comics Halloween comic book series also had a wife.

5. Deborah Myers Demise

Theatrically, Deborah Myers commits suicide at home after witnessing the aftermath of Michael violently lashing out and murdering a nurse. At this point in the story she has given up on everything, accepts her son is gone and has lost himself in his own darkness. The film then cuts to years later when Michael is mute, an adult, and still institutionalized at Smiths Grove Sanitarium. In the early script Michael’s mother is still alive when he escapes as an adult and is living in a rundown trailer park outside of Haddonfield. Deborah waits with a gun loaded and ready when she learns of Michael’s escape from Smiths Grove. Inevitably, Michael shows up and holds up a picture of his baby sister to his mother. Deborah tells Michael she gave her up for adoption and tries to convince Michael his baby sister is dead and then places the gun in her mouth. In what would have been an undoubtedly controversial moment, tears begin to stream down Michael’s face and he mutters the word “Boo.” He says “Boo” three times in between Deborah’s dialogue. Deborah tells Michael he will never find her, shoots herself in the mouth and blood sprays onto Michael as the screen goes black. I think it was very interesting the original plan was for Deborah to commit suicide when Michael finds her when he’s an adult. One thing I do like about this scrapped moment is that it seems like Deborah is waiting with a gun to defend herself from Michael when in actuality she is waiting for him to show up so she can commit suicide in front of him. While I was okay with young Michael speaking in this film, I think it would have been a huge mistake to have a grown up Michael speak. This is not simply because it would have been controversial, but also because at this point in the story Michael decided to stop speaking so to have him speak as an adult would be a conflicting plot point. Having him simply just hold up the picture would have been more creepy, effective and would have conveyed the same point. Note that Michael holds up the same picture to Laurie in a moment that did appear in the film. Overall, I would have liked this scene in the film, just minus Michael’s dialogue. I think it’s interesting Deborah didn’t immediately give up like in the final film. Maybe she didn’t give up on her son until much later holding onto hope, which would make her a stronger character. I’m also sure Deborah’s appearance in the scene would also have reflected her years of torment and regret; in turn this would make her a more complex character. Her committing suicide in front of an escaped adult Michael would have also made for a very dramatic scene.

Conclusion

Reading this script has provided me with a more in depth understanding of how films change throughout development. It was truly fascinating to explore some of Rob’s initial ideas for the story. While I really liked some of these changes and disliked others, I am happy with the final version of Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) that we got as the film holds a special place in my heart. This version of the screenplay can be found online, I truly encourage you to read it for yourself and let me know what you believe are the most crucial changes. I would also recommend reading the book Taking Shape: Developing Halloween From Script To Scream as it provides fascinating details regarding the development of most of the Halloween films (the book covers Halloween (1978) all the way up to Halloween (2018). The only films not covered are Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022) as those films were not released at the time of the books publishing. Soon I am going to begin reading Taking Shape II: The Lost Halloween Sequels as I have heard glowing reviews for the book and am curious to learn about some of the cancelled Halloween films. Expect some posts in the near future regarding these lost scripts. Thank you for reading!

Christian Romano 4/1/24 Christian Romano 4/1/24

The Saw Slasher: A Discussion Regarding Detective Mark Hoffman

The Saw franchise is not considered by most to be a slasher series, largely because of the philosophy of the main villain and the way his subjects parish. John Kramer (aka the Jigsaw killer) places his victims, or in more accurate terms subjects, into macabre and deadly traps. These traps are designed to be a symbolic representation of the wrongs the subject has committed or how they have failed to appreciate their own life. What makes many fans not see him as a traditional slasher killer you might ask? This is because his subjects are granted a violent sort of redemption where they have the chance to escape, but do not get to escape unscarred or without a sinister lesson. If the subject completes his or her objectives successfully, they are granted freedom and are supposed to have a newfound appreciation for life after the devastating trauma they had to endure. Throughout the Saw franchise Jigsaw recruits disciples, such as Amanda Young who survived the reverse bear trap and of course the corrupt Detective Mark Hoffman. Amanda failed Jigsaw’s teachings and would rig the traps her subjects were put in to be escape proof, meaning they had no chance to escape and were merely victims of a grisly demise. Detective Mark Hoffman went even further into the depths of sadism than Amanda and not only rigged the traps to be escape proof, but also enjoyed watching his victims suffer and would even kill people by his own hands in the way a typical slasher villain would. While Jigsaw believed his methods were a form of rehabilitation, Hoffman viewed these methods as merely a form of torture for those he hated and despised. Hoffman took the lessons Jigsaw taught him and used them for his own personal gain, therefore perverting Jigsaw’s message into something more sadistic than what was originally intended. In the following paragraph, we will explore more of the backstory of Hoffman’s character. This post will be more centered around Hoffman and will only briefly focus on other aspects of the films.

Costas Mandylor as Detective Mark Hoffman.

Detective Mark Hoffman first appeared in the film Saw III (2006) and his appearance was brief. Judging off of his brief appearance at a crime scene in Saw III (2006) many probably wouldn’t have assumed his character would become more developed and also a crucial component for later parts of the franchise. Hoffman is more established as a character in Saw IV (2007) as we see him in the opening of the film being called to the morgue to investigate a tape that was discovered in Jigsaw’s deceased remains. Later in the film we discover that the opening scene with Hoffman took place after the events of the rest of the film, which was actually occurring at the same time of the events of Saw III (2006), meaning Saw III (2006) and Saw IV (2007) both take place at the same time. In Saw IV (2007) Hoffman is largely there to try and convince Officer Rigg, who is the main character of the film and who also briefly appeared in Saw II (2005), that he cannot save everyone. He also tried to convince Rigg that he should not be reckless and put the investigation or himself at risk. Throughout the film Hoffman is also seemingly being held in a trap with Detective Matthews, Donnie Wahlburg’s character from Saw II (2005). By the end of the film, however, it is revealed that Hoffman is not being held against his will and is actually an unknown apprentice of John Kramer. In the opening of Saw V (2008) we find a man who is stuck in a pendulum trap that seems to be rigged to be escape proof. We later find it was set up by Hoffman to kill the man who murdered his sister, meaning it was simply meant to kill him and not test him or give him any chance at redemption. Later on in the film, we discover these events occurred while Jigsaw was still alive, has kidnapped Hoffman and offered him a proposition. Hoffman can either turn Jigsaw in or join him on his quest for bloody redemption. We also learn Hoffman was involved in helping set up traps as early as the events of the first film, Saw (2004), as he helped Jigsaw orchestrate the barbed wire trap from the first film. During the events of Saw V (2008) Hoffman also sets up games of his own even though John and Amanda are already dead at this point in the timeline. Hoffman also traps and kills Agent Strahm, who was beginning to suspect Hoffman. By the time Saw VI (2009) and Saw: The Final Chapter (2010) come along, Hoffman’s actions cement him even further as the true slasher villain of the Saw franchise.

Hoffman on a killing spree in *Saw: The Final Chapter* (2010).

With John and Amanda being dead, you might think Hoffman would have stopped participating in creating traps. However, Hoffman would only become more active in facilitating his own traps and games simply for his own twisted amusement. With Jigsaw being dead, Hoffman is free to create his own rules and make the traps unescapable without having to worry about John’s repercussions. The Jigsaw name now belongs to Hoffman and he is free to do what he pleases with Jigsaw’s legacy, as he is the only remaining apprentice of Jigsaw; or so we think. In both Saw VI (2009) and Saw: The Final Chapter (2010) Hoffman continues creating games involving people who have wronged John Kramer in some way. I believe Hoffman did so for his own enjoyment and not so much because it was in John’s will or because he had any respect for John. In a scene in Saw VI (2009) the police are getting closer to finding the unknown Jigsaw accomplice and they discover it is Hoffman after decoding the modified Jigsaw voice on one of the tapes Hoffman created. Moments after this discovery, Hoffman quickly executes the other people in the room using hot coffee and sharp objects in true slasher fashion. Now Hoffman is not only putting people in unescapable death traps, but he is also killing people on his own in the way a slasher villain would. In Saw: The Final Chapter (2010) Hoffman is on the run because everyone now knows he is the new Jigsaw. He is pursuing Jill Tuck, John Kramer’s wife, after she attempted to kill him by leaving him restrained in a reverse bear trap which he wound up escaping at the end of Saw VI (2009). Jill did this because Hoffman was one of the people John left in his will to be tested. Despite Hoffman being on the run, he still has Jigsaw games being set up and is still pursuing revenge after Jill tried to kill him. Perhaps the best example of Hoffman being the definitive slasher villain of the Saw franchise came in a scene during Saw: The Final Chapter (2010). In this scene Hoffman jumps out of a body bag and proceeds to execute everyone left at the police station using a knife and a gun that he finds. The way he violently executes everyone in this scene is reminiscent of killing styles from the Friday The 13th franchise. Eventually Hoffman finds Jill and puts her in a reverse bear trap that winds up killing her. Hoffman thinks he is free until he is captured by yet another Jigsaw accomplice which is revealed to be Doctor Gordon from the first Saw film. Gordon then traps Hoffman in the bathroom from the first movie as he was instructed to act on John’s behalf should anything ever happen to Jill. Hoffman’s story ends with him being locked up in the bathroom from the first film.

Hoffman originally became an apprentice of Jigsaw simply because he didn’t want to get caught for the trap he created to kill his sister’s killer and framing Jigsaw. It is understandable Hoffman wanted to avenge his sister, but his lust for vengeance and bloodshed is still not satisfied. Hoffman’s sister was the only family he had left and it seems like she was the one thing holding his deranged mind together. Once Hoffman’s sister was killed and her killer was let go on a technicality, Hoffman’s urge to act violently was unleashed. Hoffman’s motive was somewhat understandable at first, but did not justify killing all of the other people he would later kill who had nothing to do with his sister’s death. Hoffman became addicted to torturing people and putting them in traps, even after Jigsaw was long gone. Hoffman had a bloodlust that could never be satisfied like most slasher villains, so he just kept killing and killing. Hoffman could not see the games the way Jigsaw did and it seems that becoming an apprentice of Jigsaw opened the door to Hoffman’s repressed desire to participate in sadistic acts. Hoffman had no interest in redemption or testing people’s will to live, he just enjoyed torture and killing. Hoffman participated in creating the traps because he enjoyed the feelings of power and control it gave him. It is interesting Hoffman originally just wanted to avenge his sister and then became a bloodthirsty sociopath who was addicted to killing in the same way Amanda was addicted to drugs. Hoffman was also the main villain in later films of the franchise which made him a crucial component for the franchise’s continuation. Hoffman even recently appeared in a cameo role in Saw X (2023), which took place in between Saw (2004) and Saw II (2005). Due to Hoffman’s permanently unsatisfied bloodlust and the vicious way’s he slaughtered people, it is easy to see why I see him as the definitive slasher villain of the Saw franchise.

Christian Romano 2/9/24 Christian Romano 2/9/24

Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving (2023) Discussion

Spoilers for the film are ahead, you have been warned!

Eli Roth’s most recent slasher film Thanksgiving (2023) is exactly what slasher fan’s needed right now. The film wasn’t trying hard to be something deep or complicated and rather opted to be just a fun and entertaining slasher film that feels like it jumped right out of the Scream era of the 90’s. The simplicity of this film is what made it special to me, sometimes simplicity is all you need to make an entertaining and captivating slasher film. The film follows a group of teens who incidentally incited a Black Friday riot one year prior. They might have assumed their troubles had ended after the tragedy, but they were dead wrong. A mysterious social media account begins to taunt them and murders begin to occur throughout the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. One by one a killer who is dressed as John Carver, one of the first pilgrim’s, is killing anyone involved with the previous year’s Black Friday tragedy. Can these teen’s figure out who is hunting them before they find themselves cut up and served on a silver platter?

This film is truly a perfect 90’s style slasher with a basic yet profoundly self-aware who done it plot. Even though the film is simplistic, there are still several topics and themes present in the film which I found to be socially and culturally relevant. For example, the film has a lot of critical things to say about modern American capitalism and people’s social behavior. The fictional store where the riot occurs, Right-Mart, opened early for Black Friday on Thanksgiving which means working class people are being deprived of spending Thanksgiving with their families. The crowd outside the store symbolizes consumer greed and is an extreme representation of how far people are willing to go to get what they want. The first time I saw the film, I assumed the killer’s motivation would be associated with a hatred for capitalism because of the film’s focus on Black Friday. I feel I overanalyzed what the killer’s motivation would be as the actual motivation was far more simplistic and straight out of a 90’s Scream style meta slasher. Revenge was the killer’s true motivation, I feel like the commentary regarding Black Friday and consumerism was intentionally there to mislead the viewer as to what is the killer’s true motivation. Revenge motive’s always make things feel more personal and is a common characteristic of slasher films. As Mrs. Loomis from Scream 2 (1997) said: “My motive is just good old fashioned revenge.”

By the end of the film the killer is revealed to be Patrick Dempsey’s character, Sheriff Eric Newlon. He committed the murders because he was having an affair with the wife of the general manager of the store where the riot occured. She was pregnant with Newlon's baby and was planning on breaking up with her husband until she was tragically killed during the riot at Right-Mart. This not only works as a simple yet effective revenge motive for a slasher film, but also represents the kind of drama that occurs among families and lovers during holidays like Thanksgiving. For some families, holidays like Thanksgiving result in drama, fights, and in this case love affairs. The motive in this film, along with the simplistic story and over the top gory kills truly cement it as one of the most fun and entertaining slasher films in recent years. The over the top kills made Thanksgiving (2023) feel like a Quentin Tarantino film, (which is ironic when you consider this film was based off of a fake trailer Quentin Tarantino made as a tribute to exploitation films in his 2007 Grindhouse double feature.) I had always hoped we would get a proper Thanksgiving slasher film that was legit, unlike the film Thankskilling (2008) which was more of a parody. I genuinely hope this film sparks a franchise or at the very least reinvigorates the general audiences interest in meta Scream style slasher films as they always make for a great Saturday night out with friends. If you are a fan of film’s like Scream (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) then you must check this film out. Overall, Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving (2023) was just a fun slasher film and a brilliant return to the 90’s formula. Who would have guessed that a fun full length slasher film could originate from the concept of a fake trailer?

Christian Romano 12/26/23 Christian Romano 12/26/23

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) Discussion

Over the past month I have decided to rewatch some of my favorite Christmas horror/slasher films such as Black Christmas (1974), Christmas Evil (1980), of course Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) and it’s sequel Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987). For my post this month I decided to focus on the controversy surrounding Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) upon its initial theatrical release in 1984, which helped shape the film’s legacy as a horror cult classic. I also plan on discussing what the film means to me and why I like it so much. The theatrical poster for Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) read “You’ve made it through Halloween, now try and survive Christmas,” which is funny because John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) and the slasher boom that followed is what helped concept’s and film’s such as this to be made. While a movie about a masked killer on Halloween didn’t spark too much negative outrage, a movie about a killer dressed as Santa Claus on Christmas infuriated and upset moviegoing families of the mid 1980’s. This is most likely because Christmas is seen as a more religious holiday whereas Halloween is seen more as a fun holiday in the United States. The outrage this film caused is funny considering it was not the first film to feature a killer dressed as Santa Claus on Christmas as Christmas Evil (1980) did it first. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) was only in theaters for seven days before being pulled as many parents were complaining about the poster, which portrayed a Santa killer with an axe, because it frightened their children. Despite the film’s relatively shortened theatrical release, it still managed to perform well at the box office and drag in a lot of ticket sales. While I was researching information about the film, I learned that the film was in theaters at the same time as A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) and even managed to outperform that film on it’s opening weekend. This is incredible and interesting to think about when you consider how big of a franchise A Nightmare On Elm Street became. If anything, it seems the parents complaining about Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) at the time actually helped the film’s high box office and video sales as we horror fans are drawn to controversy like flies to a corpse. The parent’s complaining was not the sole element of the controversy surrounding this film, however, as popular film critics like Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel negative reviews further helped the film’s legacy whether they intended to or not.

When Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert reviewed the film on their show, they sensationalized the controversy surrounding the film and even tried to publicly shame the film’s director, writer, and producer. Gene Siskel even went as far as saying the profits the film made were “blood money.” By reviewing the film in such a dramatic way, it likely attracted people to the film more to see what the fuss was about. If critics at the time were truly trying to get people to stay away from the film, they probably would have been more successful had they just stayed quiet in regards to the film. Due to the fact this film was surrounded by controversy since the beginning, Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) would go on to become a beloved holiday cult classic to many horror and slasher fans. If anything, I view the controversy as a part of enjoying what made the movie what it is. Horror and slasher film’s from the 1980’s that have controversies and parents complaining attached to them provide a special forbidden feeling when watching those types of films. You almost get the sense that you are not supposed to be watching what you are watching and this is reinforced by the sleazy and morbidly dark tone’s present in slasher films like Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984). I can imagine younger people in the 80’s getting their hands on a VHS copy of this movie somehow and having to hide it from their parents. This film, and even the poster, just has that kind of vibe to it. Speaking of VHS, that is where Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) would wind up making most of its money and is also when it became a holiday slasher fan favorite for many horror fans. It is also interesting to note that all of the sequel’s to this film were straight to video and did not receive theatrical releases. When it comes to watching and researching film’s like Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), reading about the controversies and societal impacts keeps things interesting and helps contribute to the film’s legacy. Had the film not caused any public outrage, it may have very well faded off into obscurity.

So far I have discussed at great length how the critics and parents protesting the film positively contributed to its legacy rather than harming it. Now I would like to shift the discussion towards my feelings on the film and what it means to me. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) is the story of a young boy, Billy Chapman, who was terrorized and traumatized in 1971 by an escaped convict dressed as Santa Claus who murdered his father, sexually assaulted and murdered his mother right before his poor very eyes. Coincidentally, earlier that evening, when visiting Billy’s mentally ill grandfather, his grandpa terrified Billy telling him “Santa Claus only brings present’s to them that’s been good all year, all the other ones, all the naughty ones he punishes.” Billy and his younger brother Ricky, who winds up being the killer in Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987), are sent to live in an orphanage after the tragic murder of their parent’s. Billy is sadistically abused by Mother Superior until he reaches the age of 18 in 1984. Billy winds up getting a job at the toy store where everything goes alright until he is asked to dress as Santa Claus for kids at the toy store. At an after hours work party on that fateful Christmas Eve in 1984, Billy would wind up killing two of his co-workers after witnessing one sexually assaulting the other which triggers his post traumatic stress. He then goes on a Christmas Eve killing spree “determined to punish the naughty ones.” Why this film and Billy’s story has meaning to me is because of how ahead of its time some of the themes were. Mental illness and post traumatic stress were frowned upon topics at this point in time in the United States, but were central themes to this film ands its meaning. The film is about a boy who goes through trauma, which is not handled properly and results in his trauma negatively manifesting inside him to the point he becomes what he has always feared most, his own feared twisted perception of Santa Claus. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) begins with a child being traumatized and ends with a room full of children being traumatized in a chain reaction of trauma. Trauma is a central element at the root of what makes the horror genre what it is and sometimes, like in Billy’s case, people’s trauma are associated with holiday’s like Christmas as it can be a stressful time for many different reasons for some folks and families. Trauma during the holidays is another part of what makes Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) such a meaningful watch during the Christmas season. Sometimes it is comforting to know you could be a lot worse off during the holiday’s like the case with Billy and his victims, those he killed and those he traumatized. In conclusion, Billy’s story teaches us how trauma can be deadly and pass onto others if not dealt with correctly.

Christian Romano 11/29/23 Christian Romano 11/29/23

Chicago Days Of The Dead Experience

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a horror convention near me. The convention was called Chicago Days Of The Dead, I had an absolute blast attending the convention and was happy my dad came with me. For this convention I also came up with a cosplay costume idea that was unique, but also easy for me to put together as I already had access to the necessary part’s for the costume. I decided to cosplay as young Michael Myers from Rob Zombie’s 2007 Halloween reboot. To bring this costume to life; I wore some old blue jeans, a Kiss Destroyer t-shirt, a black hoodie and also the same kind of clown mask that was used in the film which is rare and hard to find. I was lucky enough to find the mask at a Halloween store when I was younger and have used it for past Halloween costumes. The final touch for my costume was a fake butcher knife prop that was licensed for Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) by Fun World. It is worth noting that the clown mask I have had since I was younger was not licensed for the film, but was the same kind of mask featured in the film; the tag simply read “clown mask.” I was very happy with how much attention and praise my costume received when I attended the convention. At least 6-7 different people asked me about the mask or asked to take pictures of me, which made my day and inspired me to do this costume again at future horror conventions. The main reason I decided on this costume for this specific convention was because I had planned to meet one of the stars from Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) at the convention.

The biggest highlight of this convention was meeting the lovely Scout Taylor Compton from Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009). She also did the motion capture work for all of the female characters in the recently released Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game. I was hoping to meet Scout at Halloween 45 Years Of Terror, but she was unable to attend that convention. When the opportunity arose to meet her at another horror convention closer to me, I was beyond excited! I purchased a photo op with her prior to attending the convention and made her my main priority for attending Days Of The Dead. When I got my picture taken with her she seemed very excited about my young Myers outfit and overall just seemed happy to be there. She had a very welcoming and bubbly energy which made her pleasant to talk to and be around. After getting my picture taken with her, I went to wait by her booth to have the newly taken photo autographed by her. When she returned to her booth and it was my turn in line, I began to tell her that I have been a fan of her’s since I was a child and adored the work she did in Rob Zombie's Halloween films along with The Runaway's (2010) movie. I also told her I enjoyed the work she did for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre game. She thanked me and asked me who my favorite character was in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre game to which I replied “Julie.” She then smiled and thanked me again. For those who don't know, the Julie character was designed based off of Scout Taylor Compton and I could tell she was testing my fan knowledge when she asked me that, so I am happy I was already familiar with that knowledge. When she was autographing the picture, she mentioned she thought it turned out adorable, that her and I look like we could almost be related. Her comment is even funnier when you consider that I was also dressed as her character's brother from Rob Zombie's Halloween films. I also told Scout that I listen to the Talk Scary To Me podcast. which she does with Danielle Harris and let her know that it has helped me out a lot during some difficult times of my life. When I finished telling Scout how much she means to me, she got up and gave me a hug which is something I will always remember about going to this convention. Overall, Scout Taylor Compton showed me she is a truly caring and compassionate human being.

While I was walking by some of the other celebrity booths, I took note and observed stars from some of my other favorite horror films such as: Danielle Harris (who I previously met at H45), Bill Moseley, Felissa Rose, Alyssa Sutherland, Dave Sheridan, David Howard Thornton, CJ Graham, and more. There were even guests that were not from horror films such as Ace Frehley who is a guitar legend and formerly part of the band Kiss (my dad got his picture taken with him). Days Of The Dead also hosted a wide variety of independent vendors and artists. It is interesting to note the convention was organized in a way so that vendors were on one side and celebrity guests were on the other. While exploring the different vendor booths, I was blessed with some very cool discoveries. The first booth I remember stopping at had some very cool magnets with designs taken from old magazines and ads for horror films. The guy at the booth made the magnets himself and I could tell it was a hobby he really enjoyed and was proud of. I decided to buy four magnets and wound up with a Halloween (1978) magnet, a Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers (1995) magnet, a Psycho (1960) magnet, and a Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) magnet. There was at least three different bins full of these magnets and I was really happy with the ones I had found as they featured ads and artwork I had not seen before for the previously mentioned films. The next booth I stopped at was called Terror Threads and they are a horror t-shirt retailer. While I was at this booth I got a Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) t-shirt that really caught my eye. They even gave me a free Terrifier 2 sticker with my purchase which made me smile. Another vendor I discovered at the convention was a lady selling horror themed pillows. I got a really neat Halloween II (1981) pillow from this vendor that featured patterned designs of two butcher knives reflecting Michael’s face. One vendor I saw at this convention was one I had already seen at H45, known as Devil Metal Art, he creates signs and different art pieces using only metal. It was very neat to see a vendor I was already familiar with. There were also some morbidly fascinating vendor booths that sold bizarre items and art pieces containing dead insects or bats. Some vendor booths even sold novelty and joke items like a fake copy for The Exorcist video game on the Nintendo Entertainment System, fake as in it’s not a real game and just a dummy cartridge. In short, there was no limit to the variety of different vendor booths featured at this convention. Some of my favorite vendors that I saw while browsing the convention floor were ones that were selling unique items you could tell came out of somebody’s extensive collection as they were one of a kind items; like rare figures, out of print media, and autographed collectibles. At one vendor booth, I managed to score a 2007 NECA Rob Zombie’s Halloween figure that was signed by Tyler Mane, who I also previously met at H45. The Myers figure was definitely my favorite item obtained from the convention. While H45 featured some big-name vendors like Fright-Rags and Trick Or Treat Studios, Days Of The Dead still did not disappoint. I was pleasantly surprised to see the many independent vendors and artists along with other retailers like Terror Threads. I am definitely hoping to attend this convention and other’s like it in the future!

If you would like to see the photos I had taken on this journey, please feel free to contact me in the contact section of my site!

Christian Romano 10/27/23 Christian Romano 10/27/23

Halloween 45 Years Of Terror Experience

Hello slasher fans! I have never discussed this on my blog before, but the Halloween franchise is my all time favorite slasher series and is my favorite franchise in general. When I got the chance to attend the Halloween 45 Years Of Terror convention with my dad in Pasadena, California, I was beyond excited. In this post I plan on discussing my experience with the Horror’s Hallowed Grounds bus tour, the photo ops, autographs, and the vendor booths. I intend to close with some concluding thoughts on how much fun I thought the convention was overall. The original concept started 20 years ago and was initially intended as only a Halloween 25 Years Of Terror convention. The convention was so successful that it has been held every five years since. Join me in this discussion on my first horror convention experience.

Horror’s Hallowed Grounds Bus Tour

On the day before the Halloween 45 Years Of Terror convention began, I attended the Horror’s Hallowed Grounds bus tour. Below is a bulleted list of some of the filming locations I visited from the Halloween films and other slasher films in southern California:

The Doyle and Wallace house’s from Halloween 1978.
Nancy’s house from A Nightmare On Elm Street 1984.
Town Square from Halloween II 1981.
Alice’s house from Halloween II 1981.
The toy store from Silent Night, Deadly Night 1984.
The bar from Halloween III: Season Of The Witch 1982.
The cemetery where Judith Myers was buried in Halloween 1978.
The elementary school from Halloween 1978 and Halloween II 1981.
The Rialto theater from Scream 2 1997.
The street where the establishing shot of Haddonfield was filmed in Halloween 1978.
The hedge from Halloween 1978.
Annie’s house from Halloween 1978.
The Myers house from Halloween 1978.
Where Ben Tramer was killed in Halloween II 1981.
Where Laurie, Lynda, and Annie walked home from Halloween 1978 and Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2007.
The alley Michael walked through in Halloween II 1981.
The hardware store Michael got his mask from in Halloween 1978.
The elementary and high school from Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2007.
The Strode house from Halloween 1978.
Where Jamie Lee Curtis sat holding a pumpkin in Halloween 1978.
The Myers house from Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2007 (My dad and I went here on our own, it wasn’t part of the tour).

Other film locations I visited that were not slasher related include:

The church from The Fog.
Pee Wee Herman’s house from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.
Where Sarah Connor worked as a waitress in The Terminator 1984.
The house from Pretty In Pink.

The bus tour was a very fun and informative tour. It felt very surreal and amazing to witness these locations in person. The tour guide was very communicative and informative. The tour involved a lot of getting off of the bus and walking which I enjoyed as it made for better pictures, allowing a closer and better experience. The Doyle house from Halloween 1978 was being gutted and I managed to get some scrap pieces of the house out of a dumpster, so technically I have pieces of the Doyle house which is very exciting. It was also interesting to note how close some of these locations were to each other and how they might have appeared to be in different places in the film’s they are featured in. For example, the elementary and high school’s featured in Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2007 are actually across the street from each other, the high school is not a school in real life (its a library). I also learned very interesting and obscure information on this tour I never learned while reading trivia books regarding the Halloween franchise. Did you know actor Charles Cyphers, who portrayed Sheriff Brackett in Halloween 1978, worked as a mechanic at a gas station between the Halloween 1978 and Halloween ll 1981 films? I learned that fun fact about Charles Cyphers while we were passing the gas station he worked at. Another fun part about the tour was seeing how welcoming folks and businesses in the cities were to Halloween franchise fans. Some nearby businesses even put up signs that said “Welcome To Haddonfield” which demonstrated to me that the community has truly embraced the culture of Halloween fans. The Horror’s Hallowed Grounds bus tour has given me so much insight into these locations and films that I could not have gotten anywhere else. I truly recommend taking this tour if you ever attend one of the Halloween franchise anniversary conventions. I hope sharing these highlights of my experience with this tour encourages others to take it as well. If you are interested in seeing any of the photos I took while on the bus tour, please feel free to contact me using the contact section of my site.

Autographs and Photo Ops

Attached is a list of celebrities from the Halloween film franchise I got photo ops with and autographs from:

Tyler Mane and Malcom McDowell from Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009) (Duo photo op).
Danielle Harris from Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988), Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers (1989), Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007), and Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009).
James Jude Courtney and Rohan Campbell from Halloween Ends (2022) (Duo photo op with Myers house set). (Note: James Jude Courtney also portrayed Michael Myers in Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills (2021).
Nick Castle from John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) (With Myers house set).

I had a blast with the autographs and photo ops at the Halloween 45 Years Of Terror convention. Just being at this convention and being in the same building as some of my favorite actors from these movies was awesome on it’s own, so you can imagine my excitement at the chance to participate in photo ops and receive autographs from my favorite stars of the Halloween film franchise. Tyler Mane was very friendly in person and I was delighted at the chance to let him know he is my favorite actor to portray Michael Myers. Tyler Mane even discussed hockey with my dad and shared his favorite teams. Malcom McDowell was very nice in person and also incredibly funny. When I brought the photo op photo up to his booth to be autographed, Malcom McDowell commented that I was the only handsome one in the picture which made me both laugh and smile. When I was getting the picture taken, Malcom McDowell gestured towards Tyler Mane and said “you wouldn’t want to piss that one there off.” This made me laugh so much, I was pleasantly surprised at how funny Malcom McDowell was in person. Danielle Harris was incredibly outgoing and compassionate, I participated in a photo op in which she was dressed in the clown costume she wore in Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988). When I brought the photo op photo up to be signed, she said she thought the picture was very cute and made an effort to remember my name and refer to me by my name which warmed my heart. I really appreciated how caring and considerate Danielle Harris was in person. I would say Danielle Harris was the kindest and warmest presence I encountered at the convention. James Jude Courtney was incredibly polite and smiley in person, I noted that he smiled at almost everyone he saw which I appreciated. When I brought the photo op photo up to be signed, he also offered a free selfie which I accepted and greatly appreciated. James Jude Courtney was the only one to offer a free bonus photo which is something I thought was incredibly kind of him. Rohan Campbell was incredibly outgoing and welcoming and gave off what I would call “positive bro energy.” When I was getting the picture taken with him and James Jude Courtney, I remember him saying: “dude come on over, bring it in.” He really made me smile and seemed like one of those people that would just be fun to hang out with. I was also grateful at the opportunity to let Rohan know what I enjoyed about his character. For this photo op and the one I received after it, there was also a set of the Myers house porch installed with a jack-o-lantern reminiscent of the one from the 1978 opening credits sitting on the railing. Nick Castle was incredibly polite and it was incredibly surreal to be in his presence considering he was the original Shape. I was thankful to let him know he is the legend before I walked away. He was very quiet and soft-spoken but I could tell he was happy to be there. Nick Castle had one of the longest lines of the whole convention, which makes sense considering he helped bring Michael Myers to life. I hope me sharing the highlights of my experience regarding photo ops and autographs will inspire other fans to try and meet their favorite actors from these films. If you wish to see the photo op pictures I bought, please feel free to utilize the contact section of my site to request the pictures.

Vendor Booths

The Halloween 45 Years Of Terror convention featured a wide variety of captivating vendor booths. I was very excited to see some of my favorite horror movie merchandise companies there such as Fright-Rags and Trick Or Treat Studios. I checked out both of the previously mentioned booths and got some cool stuff from the Fright-Rags booth. I got blood-splattered variants of the Fright-Rags Laurie and Michael figures which were H45 exclusives. I also got a pair of Fright-Rags Dr. Loomis socks and the Fright-Rags Dr. Loomis figure. Fright-Rags and Trick Or Treat Studios both hosted busy booths as myself and many other fans were waiting in line for limited edition items such as the blood splattered figures. There were also booths for artists who were proudly displaying and selling their unique works of art such as painting’s, 3-D metal signs, scenes and art pieces created using figures, fake decorative knives and pumpkins, and art t-shirts! I stopped by the Printed In Blood booth to purchase a limited art print that was a recreated version of the cover for the novelization of the original Halloween film. I also pre-ordered the upcoming re-release of this novelization since it has been hard to find and out of print for several years. This new edition of the novelization for the original Halloween film will feature new illustrations that were created by the artist who also created the art print I bought. I had the chance to meet this artist, whose name is Orlando Arocena, he was very polite and kind enough to autograph the art print I purchased at no extra charge. There was also an H45 event booth which featured several limited edition event items to collect. I got one of the H45 event tee shirts to wear so I can remember how much fun I had at this event. There were even booths for other slasher films. For example, there was a Texas Chainsaw Massacre booth. There was even multiple booths where you can have slasher tattoos done on your skin! The variety regarding the booths and items featured at this convention was pleasantly surprising and diverse. I can’t wait to see which booths are featured again at Halloween 50 Years Of Terror and also which ones will be new or expanded.

Conclusion

The H45 convention was my first time attending a horror convention and it wound up being the best convention experience I have had so far! There was such a wide variety of things and people to see there from all 13 of the Halloween films. Going to this convention and taking the Horror’s Hallowed Grounds bus tour truly made me feel immersed into the world of Michael Myers. There was a true feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air among the fans. My positive experience with Halloween 45 Years Of Terror has inspired me to attend other horror convention’s in the future. In November, I am planning on attending Chicago Days Of The Dead 2023 where I am also planning on participating in a photo op with Scout Taylor Compton from Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009). I also plan to attend Halloween 50 Years Of Terror in 5 years to try and recapture how magical it felt attending one of these conventions for the first time. One of the best things to look back on regarding my experience with H45 is the wonderful memories I made on this trip that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I truly view my experience at the H45 convention as a once in a lifetime experience and I am very grateful that I was able to go and have my dad there with me. Some of the best memories that will stick with me was seeing iconic locations and meeting iconic actors. I saw Malek Akkad at the convention and shook his hand and even got to see John Carpenter at a panel during the final day of the convention. The surprise of John Carpenter appearing there will definitely go down in my memory books as well. I truly recommend attending one of the Halloween franchise anniversary conventions one day if you can. It just might change your life as a horror fan, and you will never know what surprises may arise at one of these conventions.

Christian Romano 9/17/23 Christian Romano 9/17/23

Battle Of The Prequels: Leatherface (2017) Versus The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)

Lately I have been in a Texas Chainsaw Massacre kind of mood. Due to all of the hype surrounding the recent release of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game, I decided to rewatch all nine of the films. Since there are two prequel films in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, I thought it would be cool to examine and determine which of these films is a better prequel. The films to be discussed are Leatherface (2017), which is a prequel to the original 1974 film, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), which is a prequel to the 2003 remake. My goal for this post is to examine certain aspects of both films and determine which installment is a more worthy prequel to it’s predecessor.

Leatherface (2017)

The story of Leatherface follows a young Leatherface who is taken away from his family and put into a mental hospital. Young Leatherface, who is referred to as Jed Sawyer in the film, was taken away from Drayton and the other Sawyer’s because of their suspected involvement in the death of a lawman’s daughter. The film then cuts forward to when Jed Sawyer is a teenager in the mental hospital. However, we as the audience do not know which of the patients are actually Jed Sawyer. Eventually, Verna Sawyer causes a riot to breakout at the mental hospital. She does this in hopes of finding her son and bringing him home. Jed Sawyer escapes with a few other inmates, who also kidnap a nurse. Little do they know, the previously mentioned vengeful lawman is searching and hunting for them.

I cannot begin to tell you how much this film utterly bored me. When I rewatched it recently, I had to try watching it three different times to actually finish it because I fell asleep my first couple attempts. This is a poorly acted film and is a cheap Wal-Mart brand knockoff of one of Rob Zombie’s greatest films, The Devil’s Rejects (2005). The vengeful lawman pursuing crazed killers is a concept taken right out of The Devils Rejects. When I finally managed to finish this film, my boredom transformed into frustration. This is because we, as the audience, were led to believe the big character who doesn’t speak, Bud, is Jed Sawyer who later becomes Leatherface. In a lame and unexpected plot twist, we discover it is actually the Jackson character who is Jed Sawyer after he suffers a gunshot wound to the face. Jackson acted mostly normal for the entire movie up until he received the gunshot wound to his face. Jackson was also very skinny which makes no sense considering Leatherface was always big and overweight. After the gunshot wound, Jackson began acting like a psychotic, raging lunatic who is now incapable of verbal communication.

In the end, Jed reunites with his family then murders the vengeful lawman and the nurse with a chainsaw. His face wounds are stitched together and he begins his trademark of wearing cutoff human faces. In my honest opinion, this film is not even close to being a worthy prequel to the original 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. The other Sawyer characters in the film like Drayton, who was also a character in the original, are barely focused on. The character development for Leatherface is weak and the origin of how he became the killer he was in the original is also incredibly stupid. Basically, Jed becomes Leatherface because of a gunshot wound to his face, which resulted in a brain injury causing him to forget who he is. This backstory for Leatherface is so uninspired. This film has a very insensitive perception/understanding of mental illnesses and brain injuries. With all of these aspects combined, it should be clear I think this is a terrible film and a bad prequel to the original film. I would go as far as saying this film is the worst in the franchise.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)

The story of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning begins with a woman giving birth to baby Leatherface in a meat factory. The baby is abandoned and later discovered in a dumpster by one of the Hewitt family members. Note, the killer family are known as the Sawyer’s in the original timeline and are known as the Hewitt’s in this timeline. A large gap of time passes in the story where we find a grown Leatherface working in the same meat factory where he was abandoned. The town has been going under economically and all the resident’s are beginning to move elsewhere. As the meat factory is shutting down, Leatherface kills the owner for calling him an animal and the last law enforcement officer still in the area is called. A man who we assume is Leatherface’s step-father or step-uncle goes with the officer to apprehend Leatherface, who is named Thomas Hewitt in this film. The step-father or step-uncle kills the officer and takes his uniform, assuming the new role of Sheriff Hoyt. The family begins to engage in cannibalism as a new form of survival, but I can’t help but think they also enjoy what they are doing. The Hewitt family plans to murder and cannabilize any travelers that come through the abandoned town they now rule over. The film then goes as you would expect with a group of young people coming through and being hunted. Out of all of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, this one felt the most sadistic and helpless to me.

This film works much better as a prequel to its predecessor compared to the previously discussed film. The story explores the family’s reasons for exploring cannibalism in the first place as well as how Leatherface became part of the family. The Leatherface in this film is motivated by his anger due to being bullied for his skin disease. While bullying is not an entirely original motivation, it still works. My main issue with this film is we barely focus on Leatherface’s childhood because the film cuts ahead past a significant amount of time. This is disappointing, because so much potential existed for exploring Leatherface’s childhood. While reading about this film, I heard there was supposed to be a scene of teenage Leatherface at his high school prom. Scenes like the deleted prom scene would have added more depth to the character and would have made the film an even better prequel.

Overall, this film is still a worthy prequel to the 2003 remake, as it makes sense how the events of this film would progress into the remake. It was also interesting to learn how R. Lee Ermy’s character acquired the police uniform and car. The fact there was no police left in town makes the 2003 remake make more sense and helps us understand why no police came. I also really loved the concept that this family essentially ruled over this abandoned town. If this film would have been longer, with more insight into Leatherface’s childhood, I think it would have reached its full potential as a prequel.

Christian Romano 8/28/23 Christian Romano 8/28/23

Leatherface (1974) Versus Leatherface (2003) Mini-Discussion

Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface in *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre* (1974)

Andrew Bryniarski as Leatherface in *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre* (2003)

For this short post, I thought it would be fun to discuss which version of Leatherface I believe would win in a fight between the original and the 2003 remake. After discussing their attributes and combat capabilities, I also intend on sharing which version is my personal favorite and why. Let us begin with the original, shall we. The original Leatherface is like a violent, rabid animal who inflicts horrible violence in the spur of the moment. The 1974 Leatherface does not seem to be heavily trained in combat, but is skilled at restraining his victims and using his chainsaw and sledge. What I always found fascinating about the classic Leatherface was that he seems incredibly anxious and scared of the outside world. When he murders his victims he seems to scream in terror with them, almost mimicking them. In a sense, the original Leatherface seems like he murders to protect his home and family, because murder and cannibalism is all he ever knew in life. The original Leatherface represents a truly captivating concept of the nature versus nurture argument. I believe the original Leatherface is deadly and horrifying, not only because of his chainsaw, but also because of the seemingly lack of understanding of what he is truly doing.

The remake Leatherface is a beast in his own right. In the remake, Leatherface is a hulking monster who commits horrible act of violence for more clearly explained reasons than in the original. 2003 Leatherface has a skin disease that makes parts of his nose and face look rotted and he was picked on because of this as a young boy. This Leatherface is the classic example of someone who is finally getting his revenge against the bullies. Remake Leatherface seems to truly enjoy inflicting pain as it makes the suffering he went through easier. It almost seems as though he was put on this earth to suffer and then use that anger to inflict suffering on everyone else. The 2003 Leatherface seems like he would have a better chance in hand to hand combat than the original Leatherface. This is because the remake Leatherface felt larger and more physically imposing, even without his weapons. The remake Leatherface is terrifying because he is a large physical force, he seems to know what he is doing and enjoys it. If the 1974 and 2003 versions of the character were to battle, I believe 2003 Leatherface would win. This is not simply because I think 2003 Leatherface is bigger, but also because of his character attributes. The original Leatherface was hysterical and almost scared, while the remake Leatherface seems to be driven more by rage. I believe the rage remake Leatherface has makes him more focused compared to the hysteria and madness of the classic Leatherface.

I love both of these versions of the character for different reasons and just because I think the remake Leatherface would win in battle does not mean he is my favorite. The 1974 Leatherface is still my favorite because of how mysterious, hysterical and out of control he was. I also find it more terrifying that the original doesn’t seem to truly understand what he is doing. This lack of understanding and morals is far scarier to me than someone who does bad things out of enjoyment, even though they know it is wrong. Which of these versions of the character do you think would win in battle and why? Which is your favorite? I wanna hear from you, so please drop a message in the contact section of my site! I am currently at work on a separate post comparing two different Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequels from different parts of the franchise: Leatherface (2017) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006).

Side note, has anyone played the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game? I love it so far! I am planning to discuss the game at some point in the future.

Christian Romano 7/19/23 Christian Romano 7/19/23

Favorite Retro Slasher Games

A discussion regarding some of my favorite retro slasher games!

In recent years, a trend has developed to adapt classic slasher movies into multiplayer video games. Such examples consist of: Friday The 13th: The Game (Gun Media), Dead By Daylight (Behaviour Interactive) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Gun Media). However, this is not the first time in history where slasher movies have inspired video game adaptations. Some of the earliest adaptations of slasher movies in video games happened during the retro gaming era. With all of the buzz and excitement surrounding the upcoming release of Gun Media’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game (pun intended), I thought this would be the perfect time to write about some of my favorite retro slasher games based on classic slasher films. For this post, I will be providing images of the games I will be discussing along with a paragraph for each game that describes how it is played, along with what I like about the game.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Atari 2600)

A video game adaptation of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) was released in 1983 by Wizard Video Games. In the game, you take control of Leatherface in a basic but grisly premise where you are tasked with murdering innocent women before your chainsaw runs out of gas. While hunting victims you must help Leatherface dodge obstacles such as fences and cow skulls. It is crucial to move slow in the game, to avoid obstacles, as well as to conserve and earn fuel (yeah thats right, Leatherface needs to stop for gas breaks while hunting victims). You can earn more fuel in the game after killing five girls with the chainsaw and earning 5,000 points. When your chainsaw runs out of gas, a woman shows up to kick Leatherface in the rear and then it’s game over.

I think what I enjoyed most about this game was it portrayed brutal and horrific concepts, in such a basic and primitive way. There is something unspeakably eerie about violently murdering people in retro video games. Keep in mind, this is the Atari 2600 age of gaming where things like Pitfall and Space Invaders were popular, so I can imagine this game was controversial. I think the history and controversy surrounding this game is also fascinating. The game was one of the first to be based on an R rated film, it was kept behind store shelves and treated as an adult item during a time when video games were largely seen as a kid friendly market. Leatherface would eventually make his comeback in video games by appearing as a playable killer in Dead By Daylight. Leatherface is even receiving his own new game which releases next month. Overall, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Atari game is a super fascinating artifact of slasher history.

Fun Fact: An alternate version of this game was developed but never released.

In this alternate version you control Leatherface who is tasked with trapping and killing a victim in a maze. However in this version, the victim can fight back and is armed with a gun. I found this unreleased version to be captivating because it makes the box art for the released game make more sense. The box art for the released game features a man holding a gun, however he is nowhere to be seen in the final game. It seems the gunman on the cover actually appears in the unreleased game. All of this information leads me to speculate that Wizard Video Games may have potentially asked different game designers to develop different designs of the game, but this is just personal speculation. It’s funny that the box art for the released game refers more to the prototype than the final game.

Gameplay of the unreleased *Texas Chainsaw Massacre* game.

Halloween (Atari 2600)

A video game adaptation of Halloween (1978) was also released by Wizard Video Games in 1983. In the game, you take control of the character Laurie Strode from the film. Your objective is to avoid Michael Myers and help rescue the children you were babysitting (although there are way more children than in the film). You can find a stabbing weapon to defend yourself which causes The Shape to run away, however these weapons can only be used once and can still be found repeatedly throughout the game. Sometimes some of the rooms in the house aren’t well lit, which causes the screen to flicker. Each time you rescue a child and get them to the end of the house, you are awarded points. The goal is to get the highest score you can. Players must stay aware of Michael Myers, prevent him from killing Laurie and the kids (that is right, Michael kills children in the game when you attempt to rescue them). When the children die, they fall over and pixilated blood spurts out. When Laurie dies, she runs around while decapitated with pixelated blood spurting out.

One of the first things I fell in love with when I initially played this game was the Atari 2600 rendition of the classic Halloween theme. There is something so cool about hearing the Halloween theme song in different formats and versions. Another thing I really love about the game is it serves as one of the earliest prototypes of the survival horror genre. Survival horror would later become a huge genre in gaming, so I find it super fascinating to see this concept executed in such a primitive way. Another thing I found very intriguing about this game is it seemingly has more blood in it than the original Halloween film. I found it interesting this game, as well as the previously mentioned Texas Chainsaw Massacre game, feature violent acts that were left more implicit in the films. This game also wasn't the last time Michael Myers and Laurie Strode were playable characters in a video game. They are currently playable in Dead By Daylight. I believe if another modern Halloween video game was developed, it would be fascinating to see the concept of the Atari 2600 game executed in the modern day.

Friday The 13th (Nintendo Entertainment System)

A video game adaptation of Friday The 13th was released in 1989 by LJN. You get to choose from a variety of camp counselors to play as, who all have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. The main objective of the game is to defeat Jason Voorhees three times (third time’s the charm I suppose). While playing, you are tasked with rescuing children from Jason, fighting Jason, and fighting other various enemies such as monsters and wild animals. The game is very fast paced and provides the player with mixed feelings of anxiety and frustration at times. You will constantly be completing objectives and searching for items which really gives the game a frantic vibe. There is also a time limit for rescuing the children, which only adds to the tension and frustration. I truly believe the level of frustration this game can cause is almost, dare I say, torturously fun.

The game is mostly its own concept that loosely adapts elements from the films into a Nintendo atmosphere, meaning the game is not based on any specific film in the franchise. As a fan of Friday The 13th, I really enjoyed the references to some of the films in this game. The title screen opens with an animation of a knife going into the eye of Jason’s hockey mask, which is a reference to the poster for Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984). Die hard fans of the franchise should also notice the image of Jason on the game box and cartridge is from a scene in Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988). I would have to say my favorite reference to the films in this game is Jason’s mother, Pamela Voorhees, making an appearance in a boss fight. In this boss fight, you are tasked with fighting the flying decapitated head of Jason’s mother. This concept alone made me laugh hysterically and really just enjoy the lunacy of this game. Another very creative thing this game did was implement day and night transitions, which adds to the horror atmosphere and changes up the gameplay. Overall, the Friday The 13th game on Nintendo is a very challenging test of patience and frustration, but also a very fun game because of how broken and absurd it is. I really love the legacy of this game seems to live on today. The purple version of Jason appears in the Nintendo game, also appears in Gun Media’s Friday The 13th multiplayer game as a playable skin.

A Nightmare On Elm Street (Nintendo Entertainment System)

A video game adaptation of A Nightmare On Elm Street was released in 1990 by LJN. In the game, you take control of a typical teenager and are supposed to collect all of the bones of Freddy Krueger, as well as disposing of them in a furnace. Just like with the Friday The 13th game, Freddy Krueger is not the only enemy you will face. The game’s environment will frequently be invaded by a series of Nintendo style enemies such as monsters, wild animals, and even mythical creatures. To progress further into the game, a certain number of bones must be collected which will then trigger a boss fight with Freddy. When the player defeats Freddy, access to a new area is granted.

Similar to the day and night transitions in the Friday The 13th Nintendo game, this game also features environmental transitions. Rather than transitioning from day to night this game transitions from the real world to the dream world, which is a fitting choice for a Nightmare On Elm Street game. The environmental transitions occur because of a game mechanic known as the “Sleep Meter,” which indicates how close a player is to falling asleep. Once the player enters the dream world, attacks from Freddy become more frequent making you feel more vulnerable and helpless. To escape the dream world, the player must wake themselves up by collecting cups of coffee or standing near a boombox. The player can also receive special powers in the dream world which are granted by collecting certain items.

One of the things I really liked about the game was the capability of having four players. Most Nintendo games were only one or two player games. There are some four player games for Nintendo, but they can only be played if you had the NES Four Score accessory. This game also serves as an amazing companion piece to the previously mentioned Friday The 13th game because both games include similar elements. While the Friday The 13th and Nightmare On Elm Street games do have similar elements, these elements are still implemented in unique ways that are respective to both characters and their franchises. I also really enjoyed all of the references to the films, like trying to stay awake with coffee or gaining special powers in the dream world. Fans of the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise should note the concept of dream powers first appeared in A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). I really enjoyed how the Nightmare On Elm Street game was not just based on the original film and rather incorporated elements from other films in the franchise, similar to the Friday The 13th game. This game serves as a neat collection of concepts from the films which are implemented into a Nintendo atmosphere.

Conclusion

While some of these games may seem dated or primitive, I believe they are still valuable and somewhat contributed to the evolution of horror in gaming. It is very captivating to examine the beginning of horror in video games because it makes you appreciate just how far the genre has evolved in the world of gaming. Slasher games have evolved from fleeing a killer in a pixelated single player game to fleeing a killer with friends in a detailed multiplayer environment. Getting your hands on some of these games today can cost you a pretty penny. If you happen to own some of these titles, I recommend keeping them. I happen to own the Halloween Atari 2600 game and the Friday The 13th Nintendo game and I do not intend on letting them go. Reach out and let me know if you have played any of these games or if you know of any other retro slasher games that are worth discussing.

Christian Romano 6/28/23 Christian Romano 6/28/23

Top Five Female Slasher Villains

Read about my favorite female slasher villains and discover the reasons I like them. From motivations such as vengeance, jealousy, fame, and sadism

For this post, I will be composing a list of some of my favorite female slasher villains in order from my all time favorite to my least favorite. I love each killer on this list for different reasons and the only rule I made was each killer on this list must be a human or human-like villain, which means monsters and vampires do not count. For each character I list I will also supply a paragraph explaining why I like the character and my thoughts on the character. I really hope you enjoy this list and would love to hear about your favorite female slasher villains or any other slasher related topics that come to mind. Feel free to contact me in the contact section if you have any recommendations of slasher movies you wanna read about.

5. Baby Firefly (House Of 1000 Corpses 2003), (The Devil’s Rejects 2005), And (3 From Hell 2019)

Baby Firefly is one of my favorite female slasher villains because she genuinely seems amused and entertained with inflicting the most sadistic form’s of violence. I also really like the character because she is family oriented, although in a sick way, and she really gives off the vibe that she could also fit in with the cannibal Sawyer family from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Baby Firefly is essentially The Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Harley Quinn. The character really feels like she can be considered both a slasher villain and a super-villain because of how much she gets away with and how comical she is. Liking this character gives you a weird feeling because she does some of the worst things a human being can do, but is also super entertaining and fun to watch. Baby is a sadistic serial killer, who is apart of a killer family. She seems to really love her family, which is strange because you would think that she and the other killers around her would be incapable of caring for others because of the sadistic actions they partake in. Baby is evil, but has likable traits. This makes her an interesting character. Violent killers alone are scary, but someone that inflicts violence for simple amusement and to get their kicks is truly terrifying. This is because there is no other real reason for their killings other than enjoyment.

4. Pearl (X 2022) and (Pearl 2022)

Pearl is one of my favorite female movie killers because of the depths of exploration that were involved with her character. Pearl wanted to be seen as sexually desirable and she wanted to become a big star. Her hope was that her stardom would allow her to escape a life of working on her family’s farm. When her quest for stardom does not go according to plan, Pearl seems to slip into a state of hysteric and psychotic murderous mania. I found Pearl’s story interesting because she always seemed troubled, but when her dreams came tumbling down she became the darkest embodiment of herself. The character appears as an elderly woman in the film X (2022), but the exploration regarding her character’s origin story was really only present in the film Pearl (2022). You spend the entire film with Pearl and really get a glimpse into her damaged and delusional psyche. The film, Pearl, really isn’t so much a slasher film as it is a psychological horror film, which is also a time piece with slasher elements. The stylistic elements of Pearl’s story reminds me of other dark psychological films such as Taxi Driver (1976), Joker (2019), and an obscure psychological horror film titled; Christmas Evil (1980). Unlike another killer I have ranked higher on this list, who got involved with murder to become famous, Pearl only became a murderer because she could not accept a life where she was not famous. Pearl taught me jealousy and desire truly can be deadly.

3. Mrs. Loomis (Scream 2 1997)

Laurie Metcalf as Mrs. Loomis in *Scream 2* (1997).

Mrs. Loomis is one of my favorite female slasher villains because of how methodical and calculated she was as a killer. Mrs. Loomis was essentially the mastermind, who had an accomplice that did most of the dirty work for her. She only ever killed one victim for speaking too harshly about her deceased killer son, Billy Loomis. Her only reason for planning murders was just so she could kill Sidney Prescott out of revenge because Sidney killed her son, even if it was in self defense. She could have easily just planned to kill Sidney and only Sidney, but she instead orchestrated a series of murders inspired by her son, which makes her a true slasher villain. Mrs. Loomis doesn’t seem to care her son Billy was a killer, which makes her terrifying as a killer and as a mother. I really liked how Mrs. Loomis had everything planned out seemingly perfectly, I enjoyed watching her become more frantic and even more psychotic when her plan was falling apart. This character pays large tribute to another character who is higher on the list.

2. Jill roberts (Scream 4 2011)

Emma Roberts as Jill Roberts in *Scream 4* (2011).

Jill Roberts is one of my favorite female slashers for her motivation alone, although I enjoyed other attributes of the character. Jill became a murderer, with the intent of never getting caught and becoming famous. She planned to murder her mother, friends, and cousin. She then tried too frame her accomplice and another victim for the murders. She wanted to become famous and be viewed as a survivor, because she felt the only way she can live her life successfully was to become famous by any means possible. To me, her character represents the horrible and evil things people are willing to do just to become famous or get what they want. Another aspect regarding Jill’s character I liked was how relentless she was in pursuit of what she wanted. She went to the extent of harming herself, so she appeared as a victim. Demonstrating there is nothing Jill wouldn’t do to get what she wants. When she is revealed as the killer, it is truly shocking because the film presented her as though she would be a new final girl. I believe Jill was a sociopath because of how well she blended in with society and the fact she was only interested in her own well being and no one else’s. Jill Roberts taught me there is nothing more horrifying than someone who is willing to do anything for their own gain.

1. Pamela Voorhees (Friday the 13th 1980)

Betsy Palmer as Pamela Voorhees in *Friday The 13th* (1980).

Pamela Voorhees is perhaps the most iconic female slasher villain of all time, at least in my opinion. Her motivation for killing is tragic as she believes she is avenging the death of her son by murdering teenage camp counselors, even though not all of them had to do with her son’s death or lack of supervision. I previously mentioned Mrs. Loomis (who was somewhat inspired by Pamela Voorhees) as being methodical and calculated in a very similar manner as Pamela. A way Pamela Voorhees contrasts from Mrs. Loomis is the fact Pamela went on a killing spree; which inspired her son, Jason, to become a killer. In contrast, Billy Loomis went on a killing spree, which then motivated his mother to become a killer. Vengeance was the motive for both of these female slashers, but they are both still unique in their own ways.

I found Betsy Palmer’s performance as Pamela to be truly haunting and emotional, you can hear the pain in her voice when she speaks of her son Jason. The way she transitions from a friendly grieving mother, when she first talks to Alice, into a vengeful mother set on bloodlust is truly terrifying. You can sense the psychotic lunacy in her screams and voice as she goes full killer mama mode. She even talks to herself in her son’s voice and answers in her own, which is a nod to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) because Norman Bates talks to himself in his mother’s voice and answers in his own. It is very clear in the film she has gone completely insane and was consumed by grief in all of the wrong ways. Aside from being a badass, avenging, killer mother; I also like her because she symbolizes how destructive grief can be if not managed properly. Pamela Voorhees taught me there is nothing scarier and more violent than a grieving mother’s wrath.

Christian Romano 6/7/23 Christian Romano 6/7/23

Psycho II (1983) Review (Part Two)

In this post, I convey some of my thoughts and interpretations regarding certain character and story elements in Psycho II.

In my previous post on Psycho II, I discussed some of my thoughts on the stylistic elements of the film. In this post, I plan on discussing my thoughts and interpretations on certain elements regarding the characters and the story along with conveying the overall impact the film had on me.

Psycho II takes place two decades after the events of the first film and follows Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) being released from the mental hospital and returning home to his house behind the Bates Motel. He earns a new job at a nearby diner where he meets a waitress named Mary (Meg Tilly). Despite having a second chance, a new friendship, and a new job, Norman falls under extreme pressure and goes through a whirlwind of circumstances that reawakens the madness inside of him. Psycho II not only has Anthony Perkins reprising the role of Norman Bates but also Vera Miles reprising the role of Lila Crane, who is referred to as Lila Loomis this time around. The film was written by Tom Holland and was directed by Richard Franklin. Notably, Richard Franklin was a student of Alfred Hitchcock and Tom Holland would later go on to direct Childs Play (1988).

In Psycho II, Anthony Perkins still portrays Norman as a disturbed socially awkward loner, but also taps into the characters more nervous and sympathetic side this time around. I really admire the moments where Anthony Perkins can convey what Norman is feeling or thinking by just utilizing different facial expressions. Perkins has a unique way of moving and contorting his face to match the characters emotions or anxiety. I noted Norman’s friendship with Mary in Psycho II parallels his brief exchanges with Marion from the original film. This is also ironic considering both Mary and Marion are related. I believe Norman and Mary’s interactions were included to demonstrate Norman’s previously mentioned tragic and sympathetic side to the audience. For example there is a scene where Mary is holding and comforting Norman not in a sexual way, but in a maternal way. This is also a moment where Norman is confiding in Mary and discussing the pain he feels due to the fact that he can’t remember any good things about his mother. To me, this moment symbolizes Mary is viewed by Norman as a maternal figure despite the fact she is much younger. This scene also demonstrated to me that Mary may be awakening the sickness from within Norman because whenever Norman is attracted to a woman or another woman is seen as a maternal figure to him, he blacks out and the mother part of his mind consumes him. What is interesting about Psycho II is it is not just Norman’s interest in Mary that makes him start to regress back into the sickness, but also the pressures and harassment he faces from the people in the community around him.

In Psycho II, it seems Norman is developing a genuine friendship with Mary and you can’t help but hope things work out for him this time. However, it is later revealed Mary is actually the daughter of Lila Loomis. Lila plans to use her own daughter to try too have Norman recommitted. Mary even used the alias, Mary Samuels, which is the same alias her aunt, Marion Crane, used in the original. Lila and Mary Loomis have been staging notes and phone calls to Norman that appear to be from his deceased mother. They even went to the extent of dressing up as Norman’s mother. To make this twist even more complex, an additional mysterious person is also supposedly phoning Norman claiming to be his real mother and also claiming that Mrs. Bates was not his mother. The reason this is unclear is because the audience can’t comprehend if this is true or just in Norman’s head. Norman’s psychiatrist from the institution, Doctor Raymond (Robert Loggia), tries unsuccessfully to reassure Norman it is just Mary and Lila Loomis staging these calls. The circumstances of the film almost makes the audience feel as if they are being driven to insanity with Norman. One thing is certain, these circumstances alone are probably enough to drive Norman mad again. However, there are other people in the community who are out to get Norman as well.

Early on in the film when Norman returns to the motel with Mary, we meet Toomey (Dennis Franz) who managed the motel while Norman was in the institution. Norman is unhappy with how Toomey has managed the motel and so he decides to fire him. This leads to Toomey harassing Norman at his new diner job which leads to Toomey eventually being murdered by someone wearing clothes Norman’s mother wore. Additional harassment Norman faced from the community came from its youth as later in the film two teenagers break into Norman’s basement to smoke weed but are caught by a mysterious feminine figure that kills one of them. All of these aspects which include: Mary and Lila staging calls, Toomey’s harassment and the teens causing problems demonstrate Norman can never truly be at peace and live a normal life as he is consistently confronted by pressure and torment. It was almost as if things were destined not to work out for Norman. I believe all of the previously mentioned characters and aspects acted as a combined perfect storm contributing to Norman’s eventual reintegration into insanity. I also believe the problems Norman deals with in the film reflect the problems a mentally ill person reintegrating into society would have, which gives the film some cultural significance. Since we are on the topic of cultural significance, it is interesting to note Norman was declared not guilty by reason of insanity for the murders in the first film and was released in the beginning of Psycho II. According to behind the scenes interviews, the insanity plea was incorporated into the story because this was a very controversial topic in society at this point in the early 1980’s.

By the end of the film, following the wild events that lead to Mary’s death, the audience is still left wondering if there was an additional caller and who the killer of the film was. The killer of the film is revealed shortly after Norman returns home following Mary’s death and the killer in question is revealed to be Ms. Spool who worked at the same diner as Norman in the film. She visits his home to inform him she is his true mother (at least according to her). Ms. Spool reveals she had Norman when she was very young and that she gave him to her sister, Mrs. Bates, when she was institutionalized. Ms. Spool took it upon herself to violently murder anyone she felt was bothering Norman when he was released. Following this reveal, Norman offers her tea, which he poisoned, once she drinks it he proceeds to hit her over the head with a shovel, killing her. Norman then brings her corpse up the stairs in a shot similar to the original (This shot was also later recreated in the Bates Motel tv series). As soon as Ms. Spool’s corpse is in mother’s bedroom and the motel sign begins to flicker, it seems Norman has succumbed to the sickness once again following the tragic events of the film. During this ending I get a strange sense Norman is comfortable reuniting with his former madness, almost as if this is a happy ending for Norman. Norman would probably rather deal with his former psychotic ways, than deal with the harassment and attacks from other people. Society could not accept Norman Bates as anything, but a monster or a psycho.

Upon revisiting the film and evaluating what the story truly means to me, I have come to interpret meaning out of the film. I believe Psycho II is a film that is meant to make us wonder what it would be like for someone who is vilified or mentally ill to reintegrate into society. Psycho II is a horror sequel I cannot recommend enough and I consider it to be one of the best sequels to any movie ever. If you are a collector like me, I recommend getting your hands on the Shout Factory Blu-Ray as it is loaded with special features for the film.

Fun Fact: Jamie Lee Curtis, who at the time was already known for *Halloween* (1978), was offered the role of Mary but passed on the role. Her mother, Janet Leigh, played Marion Crane in the original which would have meant if Jamie took the role, the characters they played would have been mother and daughter just like they are in real life.

Christian Romano 5/16/23 Christian Romano 5/16/23

Psycho II (1983) Review (Part One)

This is the first part of my review for Psycho II (1983) where I focus on the stylistic elements of the film.

Horror is a complex genre of film that consists of several sub genres such as: exploitation horror, body horror, the paranormal, and of course slashers! My personal favorite sub genre of horror is the slasher sub genre. One of the earliest examples of a slasher film came from Alfred Hitchcock’s masterful film Psycho, which was released in 1960. The film may not align with the modern perception of slasher films, but it undoubtedly crafted the blue-print for the entire slasher sub genre. If you are reading this article, I am guessing you have seen the original Psycho before and are well aware of how iconic that film is. What some of you may not know is that Psycho also spawned three sequel films. Psycho II (1983) and Psycho III (1986) were theatrically released while Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) was released for cable television (Showtime). In this blog post I will be reviewing and discussing some stylistic elements I observed when recently rewatching Psycho II. Within the second part of this post I plan on reviewing and discussing the story, characters, and overall impact the film had on me.

*Psycho II* was theatrically released during the summer of 1983. The timeline in *Psycho II* takes place 22 years after the timeline in the original film. The film, *Psycho II,* was released 23 years after the original film.

Psycho II opens with a flashback to the iconic shower scene and then transitions from black and white to color during the main credits. Some may think it is cheap to open up a sequel with the best scene from the previous film, but I think it makes sense in this case. It had been 23 years since the original Psycho was released in theaters and showing the shower scene in the very beginning of the film allows the viewers who saw the original film to reinvigorate that fear, and it also allows those who have never seen the film to experience that fear for the very first time. The transition from black and white to color was also a very creative way to let the audience know we are transitioning into a new story. Although the original film was indeed presented in black and white, I found the shower scene being in black and white for this flashback more significant because the scene is now a past event that transitions into the present day in the film. From my perspective, black and white symbolizes the past and the transition to color symbolizes moving into the present day.

Jerry Goldsmith composed the soundtrack for the film and created some truly haunting original music while borrowing lightly from cues heard in Bernard Herrmann’s soundtrack for the original film. The only music cue Jerry Goldsmith borrowed from Bernard Herrmann’s original score was the shower scene murder, which is famously known as the violin screech. According to the composers notes, the music Jerry Goldsmith composed for the main theme is meant to convey a more sympathetic and innocent side to Norman that is explored in this sequel’s story. Jerry Goldsmith also composed the music with the intent for it to move forward Norman’s character narratively. Different variations of the main theme were composed and each one seems to reflect the mood in the scene that the track is played in.

While listening to the musical score, I really get a sense of Norman’s haunted and tragic past but I also get a sense of his desire to be innocent despite the harm he unknowingly causes. The theme Jerry Goldsmith composed for the murders utilizes screeching sounds and the sounds of knives being sharpened. A truly 80’s slasher music aesthetic and style is also incorporated within the cues played during the murder scenes. In my opinion, the music that was composed for the murder scenes made the murders seem even more sadistic and terrifying. Overall I have to say that just like with the first film, the score in Psycho II is part of what makes the film so effective. Jerry Goldsmith did a phenomenal job composing a truly hauntingly beautiful score for Psycho II.

The way Psycho II was shot and filmed is also incredibly moody and atmospheric. Rooms in the house are shot from certain angles that almost make Psycho II feel like a haunted house movie. The cinematography works as an effective stylistic element because the way the house is shot also works in a narrative sense. The house being shot like a haunted house works narratively because both Norman and Mary are afraid of being there for different reasons. Norman is afraid of being back home because of the bad memories he has there and Mary is afraid to be there because of what Norman has done in the past (Norman did murder her aunt after all). The exterior of the house and the motel was also masterfully shot, especially at night and towards the end of the film when Norman is outside on the steps. I also really liked the blue tinge that was added to the night sky during the final shot of the film, which is also on the poster. I really like when slasher films have a poster with a dark blue tinge (Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers 1995 has a poster with a similar blue color). Speaking of the Halloween franchise, Dean Cundey who is the cinematographer for Halloween (1978) is also the cinematographer for Psycho II. Dean Cundey did a spectacular job with the cinematography and I would even say that the Bates Motel and house look the best in Psycho II.

The murder scenes in Psycho II definitely contain tuned up violence for the bloodthirsty 80’s slasher movie audiences but the film still maintains a strong story and places more focus into the narrative rather than the violence, much like the original film. The reason the violence was amped up was because censorship had changed since the original film and other more violent films like Halloween (1978) and Friday The 13th (1980) had already arrived. The violence in the film is indeed more intense but what makes it truly work is the fact that there is not a lot of it. By having a few violent sequences interwoven throughout a lengthy intricate story, it makes those violent sequences all the more effective. I also really admired how they kept the killer’s face obscured just like in the original.

The stylistic elements of Psycho II are a big part of what make the film work. It feels like every piece of this film, from the atmosphere to the music, acts as a narrative force for Norman. Psycho II is a perfect example of how every element of a film can be a driving narrative force.

To Be Continued…

Randomized Execution Selection

2. Executions Involving Grandpa And Other Environmental Kills

3. A Map Of The Graveyard From The Film

Conclusion

Introduction

The Opening Scene

2. Murder Of A Little Girl Instead Of The Bully

3. Halloween Night Murders

4. Doctor Loomis

5. Deborah Myers Demise

Conclusion

Horror’s Hallowed Grounds Bus Tour

Autographs and Photo Ops

Vendor Booths

Conclusion

Leatherface (2017)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Atari 2600)

Halloween (Atari 2600)

Friday The 13th (Nintendo Entertainment System)

A Nightmare On Elm Street (Nintendo Entertainment System)

Conclusion

5. Baby Firefly (House Of 1000 Corpses 2003), (The Devil’s Rejects 2005), And (3 From Hell 2019)

4. Pearl (X 2022) and (Pearl 2022)

3. Mrs. Loomis (Scream 2 1997)

2. Jill roberts (Scream 4 2011)

1. Pamela Voorhees (Friday the 13th 1980)