Tag: Halloween

Four essential Jamie Lee Curtis performances

Jeff Mitchell

In 2018, Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her landmark role as Laurie Strode in a sequel to “Halloween” (1978), and director David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” (2018) (3/4 stars) assumes that none of the other sequels – “Halloween II” (1981), “Halloween: H2O” (1998), etc. – ever happened, in a scary and very worthy 40-year follow-up to the original. With Curtis celebrating her first staring role again, let’s look back at four essential movies by the legendary actress.  Of course, one could pick from a list of horror films, like “The Fog” (1980),…

31 Scary Movies: ‘Hour of the Wolf’

Jeff Mitchell

“Hour of the Wolf” (1968) – Taking a sharp detour away from blood, guts and gore and toward surreal imagery and artful horror, writer/director Ingmar Bergman’s “Hour of the Wolf” is a bizarre, but mesmerizing film. Although the movie’s title suggests that Bergman’s picture is about a wolf man, no such creature makes an appearance.  Instead, “Hour of the Wolf” is a haunting tale of isolation and madness that is also beautifully filmed, edited and packaged, and it will most likely leave the audience with many questions at the film’s…

31 Scary Movies: ‘Village of the Damned’

Jeff Mitchell

“Village of the Damned” (1960) – “I’ve seen it all in a small town.” – John Mellencamp, “Small Town” At first glance, the residents of Midwich, a small British village, seem to be living a comfortable Norman Rockwell-existence, as this country town is complete with a local general store, friendly neighbors and is surrounded by green, rolling hills. When we first meet Professor Gordon Zellaby (George Sanders), he is enjoying a pleasant morning.  The good professor is conversing on the phone in his study with his handsome dog Bruno by…