Season of the Mask 6: Nostlagia

The 25th anniversary of Halloween really was a one of a kind event for fans because it marked the first time so many cast and crew members from Parts 1 thru 8 were gathered under one roof.

For some of the actors (like Part 6’s Marianne Hagan), it was a new, bewildering and perhaps somewhat nervous experience, while others clearly enjoyed the energy, the fans, and what’s probably the first time many of the actors had seen each other since they appeared in a Halloween film(s).

A documentary as well as a wealth of material from the convention (interviews, panel discussions) have been archived in a 2-disc set (although why Disc 2, basically an extras disc, was left off the 30th Anniversary Commemorative Set is a puzzle, since there was room in the boxed set).

In addition to a review of Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, we have another documentary from Starz that was made in 2006 – Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film.

Based on Adam Rockoff’s book, the doc gathers interviews from many genre pioneers and exploitation filmmakers, and supports their comments with R-rated film clips to trace the genre’s success and eventually disappearance, until the early nineties when Scream made the stalking of sex-crazed coeds cool again (even though it never really lost its cinematic appeal).

Coming next: reviews of TV scores – Bear McCreary’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Joe Harnell’s The Incredible Hulk: Prometheus Parts 1 and 2, and Sean Callery’s 24: Retribution.

And imminent: book reviews of Lalo Schifrin’s Mission Impossible: My Life in Music, and Lalo Schifrin: Entretiens avec Georges Michel.



- MRH