Horror by Harrison

Blood is Thicker Than Water This week I went to see Halloween Kills with my good friend (and Booze and Buffy cohost) Jason. I’ve been excited to see this film since it was announced and though I tried to keep my expectations in check, I walked away pretty disappointed (you’ll have to wait until next year to read those thoughts). With that bad taste in my mouth, you can imagine that revisiting Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (such a ‘90s title) was a much needed palette cleanser. Halloween H20 was written by Robert Zappia ( The Tom and Jerry Show ) and Matt Greenberg ( 1408 ) based on a story by Zappia and an uncredited Kevin Williamson ( Scream ). The film was directed by Steve Miner ( Friday the 13th Part 2 ) and was released on August 5th, 1998 to mixed-to-positive reviews. Halloween H20 was made on a budget of $17 million, made $16,187,724 upon opening, and went on to make $55,041,738 worldwide.  As the title suggests, H20 picks up twenty years after the events of the o...

  Here we are, the entry that should be the low point of the franchise but unfortunately isn’t. This film has it all; an overly convoluted backstory late into the series, minor characters returning with greater significance for no reason, completely fucking over a beloved character from a previous entry for no goddamn reason.  Baby Paul Rudd. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (which I will be referring to as Halloween 6 from here out so that I don’t have to type that ridiculous title any more) was written by Daniel Farrands ( Never Sleep Again ) and directed by Joe Chapelle ( Fringe ). It was made on a budget of $5 million, made $7,308,529 upon opening, and made $15,116,634 worldwide. Halloween 6 received overwhelmingly negative reviews upon release. Halloween 6 picks up six years after the massacre of the Haddonfield police and the disappearance of Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child ) and Jamie Lloyd (J.C. Brandy, Silk St...

  The Halloween franchise hasn’t gone off the rails quite yet with its fifth entry (we’ll talk about the moment that happens next week) but the writing is on the wall.  Halloween 5: The Return of Michael Myers was written by Michael Jacobs ( Certain Fury ), Dominique Othenin-Girard ( Beyond Desire ), and Shem Bitterman ( Out of the Rain ) and was directed by Othenin-Girard. It was released on October 13th, 1989 to negative reviews. Halloween 5 was made on a budget of $5 million, made $5,093,428 upon opening, and went on to make $11,642,254 worldwide. One year after the events of Halloween 4 , Jamie (Danielle Harris, Urban Legend ) has been admitted to the Haddonfield Children’s Clinic and is unable to speak due to the trauma she experienced. When Michael (Don Shanks, Silent Night, Deadly Night ) awakens from a year long coma, he and Jamie form a psychic connection and he begins to hunt her down once again. Halloween 5 is a decidedly middle of the road entry in the franchise. O...

  It’s inevitable that horror franchises are going to have crappy entries, but that doesn’t necessarily ease the pain of seeing a franchise absolutely shit the bed after two near perfect outings. Alas, here we are on our countdown to Scream (2022) with the bastard child of the franchise, Scream 3 . Scream 3 was written by Ehren Kruger ( The Ring ) and directed by Wes Craven ( Red Eye ) and was released on February 4th, 2000. It was made on a budget of $40 million, made $34,713,342 upon opening, and went on to make $161,834,276 worldwide. Scream 3 received largely negative reviews upon release. Three years after the events of Scream 2 , Sidney (Neve Campbell, Wild Things ) has isolated herself in a remote farmhouse. However, she is drawn out of her isolation when a masked killer begins targeting the cast of Stab 3 and she learns that the new set of killings have a connection to her mother’s previously unknown past in Hollywood. It really is a shame that Scream 3 is such a m...