Graduation Day (1981) Review

Posted on January 17, 2008 by Amanda By Night

I’m going to start this review by stating that I love Christopher George. I mean, I really love him. The ruggedly handsome actor, who had a chin you could open a can with, made so many wonderful low-budget genre films, it boggles the mind. Working with everyone from Lucio Fulci (Gates of Hell) to Jean Picquer Simon (Pieces), he was the king of the B’s until he died suddenly from a heart attack in 1984 at the tender age of fifty-four. And while his appearance in Graduation Day is little more than a glorified cameo, he helps liven up an already fun slasher.

Approximately nine months after Laura (Ruth Ann Llorens) dies during a high school track race (apparently from natural causes), the dead girl’s sister, Anne (Patch Mackenzie), arrives in town to accept a posthumous award on her behalf. But just as sis shows up, Laura’s fellow track runners begin to disappear. Could it be the school coach (Christopher George) who is being fired? Or is the scheming Principal Guglione (the wonderful Michael Pataki) who seems more preoccupied with trying to get down his secretary’s skirt than finding a few missing students? Perhaps it’s Ann herself who seems a bit obsessed with her little sister’s death.

Graduation Day is a solid ninety minutes of campy fun. Everything from the effeminate music professor who has the hots for Linnea Quigley to Vanna White playing the most obnoxious high school student ever makes for great amusement. But hands down the best scene in the film takes place at a roller skating rink where the almost-famous 80s rock band, Felony, belts out the wonderfully poppy “Gangster Rock”. This scene not only marks the best death (Linnea runs around topless from a guy in fencing gear) but look closely and you’ll see that some of the roller rink patrons don’t have any skates on. It’s absolutely hilarious to watch the extras running around the band!

And what about Christopher George, you ask? Well, as I stated earlier, you’ll catch him in about three scenes and I’ll be damned if he never takes off that friggin’ sweat suit! He’s still the king and makes quite a wonderful possibility for a killer.

Thanks to Herb Freed’s frenetic direction and a great soundtrack, Graduation Day is a wonderful throwback to a time long since past. It still receives some undeserved flack from fans of die-hard horror but why begrudge a movie whose opening song declares, “Everybody wants to be a winner”. A winner, indeed. Highly recommended for the nostalgically inclined!

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The Eyes Of Laura Mars (1978) Review

Posted on January 17, 2008 by Amanda By Night

If The Eyes of Laura Mars was a phrase in the thesaurus, you’d probably see these words listed next to it “glitzy, glossy, glamorous and oh-so-fabulous.” Unfortunately, you’d also notice vapid, over-the-top and silly in the same category. Yes, this 70s thriller is all that and so much more.

Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) is the female answer to Helmut Newton (who supplied some of the magnificent photographs). Her photos featuring stick thin models in violent situations are the toast of New York’s art district. Unfortunately, they’ve also caught the attention of a dangerous killer who begins depicting the scenes displayed in Laura’s photos. The twist here is that Laura can see the murders as they occur through the killer’s eyes. This strange front row seat of the carnage leaves her stumbling around New York in a tizzy saying things like “I saw the murder. I was two blocks away.” Enter Detective John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones) who finds Laura’s photos abhorrent but decides she ain’t such a bad piece of meat, thus making him an attractive love interest. He clumsily pulls every red herring he can out of his little police officer hat while more and more of Laura’s loved ones fall prey to the elusive killer.

Originally penned by John Carpenter (who claims that much of the story has changed from his original incarnation), The Eyes of Laura Mars is a sensational A-List thriller that dips just deep enough into slasher waters to get its feet wet. The deaths are toned down, due to the very nature of big-budget genre fare, but the sadistic photographs help make up for the ill conceived posturing.

Truly, The Eyes of Laura Mars is more giallo-esque than slasher, with its black-gloved scissor-wielding maniac killing Euro trash looking babes and the like (Nothing Underneath, anyone?), but there’s enough gritty photography to give it a Maniac feel in all the right places. And the cast is inspired. From a fey Rene Auberjonois to the slightly creepy (yet still sexy) Brad Dourif (who likes to call Laura “Mzzz. Maaars”), the professional cast and outrageously catchy disco tunes are guaranteed to pull the nostalgically inclined over to the dark side.

Directed with an eye for style by Irvin Kershner but with a few potholes along the way, The Eyes of Laura Mars is a must for fans of 70s trash cinema. It may serve up its kills cold, but there’s enough White Hot to keep you feeling all warm inside.

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Don’t Go In The Woods (1982) Review

Posted on January 17, 2008 by Amanda By Night

Being the rabid slasher freak I am, I sometimes find myself defending all sorts of movies. I can usually find a far-fetched excuse which will explain why the victim-to-be took a flashlight instead of a gun. But once in a while I’ll come across a movie that cannot be defended. One such title is Don’t Go in the Woods.

You may find yourself tempted to rent this movie because of its eye-catching cover art and the misleading synopsis featured on the back of the box. Ah, to have been a copywriter in the 80s!  A challenging job, for sure…

A dim-witted group of campers (I won’t bother telling you their names as it just does not matter) head off for a weekend of open air and oneness with nature. Little do they know that in this desolate part of the forest, there is a killer in their wake.

A simple enough formula done with such incompetence that it makes The Prey look like pure genius. I’m not actually sure what the filmmakers were shooting for, but I think the thought process was to splash so much of the red stuff that we don’t notice how bad the rest of it is. And yes, though there are several victims, the blood shed is so poorly shot; you spend half the time wondering where the grue is actually coming from. It’s probably of note that the killer, who looks like he just woke up after a Mardi-Gras blowout, can actually throw various small objects with such force it will slash your face to ribbons.

Don’t Go in the Woods is the kind of movie that makes you want to rub the director’s nose in the box and scream “No! Bad Movie! Baaaaad Movie!”

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Class Reunion Massacre (1978) Review

Posted on January 17, 2008 by Amanda By Night

Class Reunion Massacre is one odd duck. Featuring a man with two thumbs on one hand, a kid who apparently lives in a lake and a life size marionette who carries a blow torch, you’ll be hard pressed to find a film like this in today’s horror world.

Originally titled The Redeemer: Son of Satan, this film contains two separate stories. The main story, taking up the bulk of the running time, holds the not-very-unique premise of six old high school chums meeting up at their old school under the guise there is a reunion taking place. Guess what? It’s all been a clever rouse to get these folks in one place so “The Redeemer” can punish them for their sins. Class Reunion Massacre might have just become just another low-budget (albeit competently made), slasher, but the story that bookends the main plot is something of a mystery itself.

In the beginning we see a boy come out of a lake (fully clothed!) and head to the nearest church. It is here that he bestows a second thumb onto a fire and brimstone priest while he sleeps. Later, some choir kids taunt the boy as we hear the priest’s god-fearing speech about the seven deadly sins. While he lets us know that a woman shall not lay with another woman and debauchery is bad, we’re given a glimpse into the world of the victims-to-be (yup, each
one represents a sin – You’re following this well). In a flashforward, our killer arrives at the school, murders the janitor and makes a mask of his face. Why? Well, that’s probably somewhere on the list of endless questions you’re bound to have while watching.

Class Reunion Massacre is a difficult movie to classify. Made by first-time filmmakers starring first-time actors, quite a bit of it falls flat on its face. But an unrelenting sense of doom permeates the film from beginning to end, enhancing it greatly. There are some effective deaths including a really creepy scene involving the life size arionette and our killer overacting his way through a grizzly version of Phantom of the Opera. Not so surprisingly, Jeanetta Arnette was the only actor able to eke out a film career for themselves. She’s good in her part as the requisite floozy and has since proved her worth in Hollywood (most notably in the haunting Boys Don’t Cry).

In the end, what doesn’t come up short really works and ultimately makes the film something horror fans should check out. Class Reunion Massacre probably won’t become your favorite horror film, but it may give you a few goosebumps. And it’s guaranteed to leave the viewer with a gaggle of questions to discuss in their favorite webgroups. Recommended for fans of the genre looking for something different.

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Blood Tracks (1985) Review

Posted on January 17, 2008 by Amanda By Night

Euro slashers are unlike any movie from any other genre. They often manage to push the envelope even farther than American slashers and are notoriously unique. Do they work as good horror films? Not really, but Blood Tracks, which is more Hills Have Eyes than Friday the 13th, is certainly not like any other film I’ve seen, which must mean something… somewhere…somehow. It’s semi-engaging for approximately one half of the film and then gets so muddled I couldn’t even tell who was who by the end. Nor did I really get the end. But you know, life is confusing, so I just roll with the punches.

A neat-o glam rock band (real-life band Easy Action) head into the snowy mountains to film an artsy video. If artsy means girls with mullets in bathing suits in 2 degree weather, then this movie is pure Van Gogh! I mean, this band is making groundbreaking videos! It’s incredible just to watch the creativity flow. While making this awesomely unrivaled video, some unlucky crew member stumbles onto an abandoned power factory, or something, where this crazed family has been hiding away for the last 40 years. Yup, mom is old as hell and before they took off she stabs some guy (her hubby? I couldn’t tell) and then hid her family away. During this period, the kids got some kind of skin problem as they are all deformed now (frostbite? I couldn’t tell). At any rate, after this guy goes there to record the sounds of an avalanche (he went INSIDE to record the sounds? I couldn’t tell), various people go looking for him and guess what? Dead.

There’s lots of nonsense to be had through most of the proceedings, which I probably would have found charming if I could tell who was who. I do remember the funky blonde groupie/model chick who lures one of the band members into a car and as they’re getting ready for something tawdry, an avalanche buries them inside. Some crew members dig them out and the woman, who is now nude, goes inside and gives some pretty nasty ‘tude to the other girls. She marvels at the erotic-icity (yeah, that’s right) of doing it in the snow!

The cast is pretty large, so eventually there’s this kind of chaotic montage of murder. Some people just die or don’t show up – I think. Oh I give up! This movie is a mess. I pride myself on being able to follow these kinds of movies, but Blood Tracks had me stumped. It’s simply ponderous.

I will say that although Blood Tracks is not terribly gruesome, is extremely hard to follow and it’s all pretty friggin’ silly, if you watch it in a crowd it’s a killer movie. Otherwise, it’s an endurance test. If the drinks are flowing and your friends are fans of MST3K, then Blood Tracks is a sure fire success.

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Bloody Birthday (1981) Review

Posted on January 17, 2008 by Amanda By Night

Let’s face it, little kids are terrifying. Seriously, just raising a rugrat can be a daunting experience. So imagine that your offspring has no sense of right from wrong? Or worse yet, what if they knew and just didn’t care?

That is the question of the day in Bloody Birthday. It’s an unlikely, yet well told tale about three children (Elizabeth Hoy, Billy Jacoby and Andy Freeman) from the same town, born at the same moment under a lunar eclipse. Somehow, moved by the tide and the moon, they have no conscience (just run with it guys) and turn out to be some screwed up tykes. Flash ahead to their tenth birthday and these kids are planning a black celebration that will take the town’s population down a notch or two. Enter Joyce Russel (Lori Lethin), a teenager obsessed with astrology and her ten year old brother Timmy (K.C. Martel) who soon becomes aware of the bratty evil doings and attempt to stop them before its too late!

It’s a shame that this film didn’t make much of an impact during its initial release, since Bloody Birthday is a fun little popcorn movie that threw a few curveballs into the slasher pool. Child killers were (and still are) a reasonably taboo subject, with a few exceptions (The Bad Seed and Village of the Damned come to mind). Filmmakers generally steered clear of the dark side of children. It’s a great topic for horror and director Ed Hunt (The Brain) explores it in all of its exploitable glory. These kids are cold-blooded. Watch as pretty Hoy lures her father out of the house where he unknowingly trips over a precariously placed skateboard. In the tensest scene, the trio of killers lock Timmy in an abandoned freezer.

Bloody Birthday also has some high caliber nudity thanks to the beautiful MTV star, (Just Say) Julie Brown, twisted murders and, believe it or not, good actors. Some prestigious names appear in glorified cameos like Joe Penny, Susan Strasberg and Jose Ferrer, but Lori Lethin who was a staple of low-budget horror in the 80s (The Prey, Return to Horror High) is the real star and makes for a likeable heroine. The three murderous kids chillingly reflect the hearts of malicious killers, but even more disturbing is the fact that K.C. Martel would go to play Boner on Growing Pains! Blink and you’ll miss Michael Dudikoff in a thankless role too.

A testament of a time when all the audience wanted was some of the red stuff splashed across the screen, no matter what age the killer, Blood Birthday deserves a second shot. I recommend double-billing this with the ludicrous but equally enjoyable The Children.

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Black Christmas (1974)

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Retro Slashers

Reviewed by Michael Sarago

A large house harboring the cheerful chatter of a sorority Christmas party, a few colorful holiday decorations and a snowy landscape make up the first images of this film. Now while this seems like a warm and friendly situation, it is anything but as we realize we’re seeing this through the eyes of a stranger. This person proceeds to climb up an ivy trellis along the side of the house and enters through an open attic window. Minutes later, a sorority girl is dead.

This is the basic premise of Black Christmas and the best aspect of the overall film. What is it about locked doors and bolted windows that make us feel so completely safe in our homes? Surely they keep us safe to a certain degree, but what stops someone from picking the lock? From shattering the window? From finding an open attic window that no one even thinks to lock in the first place? We’re brought up with the allusion that we’re always safe as long as we’re behind a locked door and this movie completely shatters that notion, leaving us feeling chilled to the bone as we realize that the comfort we feel in our homes is a lie.

Just as disturbing obscene phone calls suddenly ruin the joyous occasion, main character Jessica Bradford (Olivia Hussey) and her friend Phyllis (Andrea Martin) decide to stay behind at the house for Christmas break to help out Barb (Margot Kidder), a lovable drunken mess of a girl who has no where to go. By this early point in the film, we already get a sense of the characters through their caring demeanor and even some well placed humor. The three actresses play their parts really well and prove likable, which helps the mounting tension build through the roof as we fear the inevitable, knowing the killer is already in the house unbeknownst to the girls.

While there are a lot of slashers out there that need gory murders every two minutes and seem to have ADD when it comes to plot, the vastly underrated director of this film, Bob Clark, decided to take his time with development instead and gives us good old fashioned suspense and a strong atmosphere to rely on that oozes with an unrelenting creepiness. Within the horror genre, I think less is more and since most of the sinister elements of this film are kept under wraps and we’re left with numerous questions, we can build fear from our own imaginations. We’re never fully sure who this psycho is or what he’s really after. We don’t even know what he looks like. We’re only given minor glimpses, one of which is his creepy bulging eye. We’re just left knowing that he’s there somewhere, watching and waiting and I couldn’t help but peer over my own shoulder for fear that someone was watching me too.

Since we’re given very little visuals to work with pertaining to the killer, Bob Clark turns much of the focus on sound, which is sadly an element seldom used to it’s advantage in horror films. The phone ringing itself is somehow chilling enough, let alone the killer’s voice on the other end, spewing out all kinds of disturbing gibberish and obscenities through what sounds like multiple personalities. From his calls, to his wild madman screams to his heavy footsteps running down the stairs, I was left in utter fear of this man, all because of good sound use. The musical score, while quite creepy, is barely even there. Instead, Bob Clark brilliantly manages to weave his own score using natural sounds from his surroundings; the soft ticking of a grandfather clock, the crackling of a fire place, the cold howling wind outside and a few distant dog barks. While these sounds may not be considered malevolent, hearing them put together in this particular case somehow created something quite unnerving to listen to.

By the last half, just when we think we know who or even where the killer is, we find ourselves surprised with a heart-pounding finale, ending the night wanting to sleep with the lights on. In my opinion, Black Christmas not only remains the best slasher film to date, but also one of the scariest horror films ever made. For some reason, this movie continually gets overlooked and was eventually pushed under the rug to make way for John Carpenter’s Halloween four years later, which unfairly took all the credit for being the slasher film that started it all, even though it basically felt like a carbon copy and was in fact originally meant as a sequel to Black Christmas, according to Bob Clark. Halloween is obviously a great film and deserves the praise it gets, but don’t allow it to overshadow this classic. For any true slasher fan, this is a must see. Don’t let it pass you by.

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The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970)

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Retro Slashers

Reviewed by Michael Keene

There are few slasher films that make a horror fan rethink the genre, but if there is any one movie of the sort, it is most definitely a giallo film. For me, the giallo film that changed the horror genre was The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, the first of many an astounding thriller by the Italian maestro himself, Dario Argento. With fine performances on all fronts, a lineup of interesting characters, and fantastic cinematography, combined with the usual memorable score, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is an atmospheric thriller with little competition.

The plot concerns a writer named Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) who is trapped in Rome after witnessing the tail end of a murder attempt on a woman’s life. The police are quick to believe his innocence, but keep his passport, urging him to remember what exactly he saw—hoping to dislodge something in his memory that might aid in capturing the serial killer, who is equally quick to go after Sam and his girlfriend (Suzy Kendall) while continuing the murder spree already begun well before the attempt. As Sam tries to figure out what seemed off about the life-changing event, things get more dangerous and more clues are discovered as the story flies higher and higher into an unforgettable twist ending.

Argento’s directing style is something to be commended, as always. Every shot is well thought-out and gives the viewer a good bit of eye candy without resorting to naked girls or nonsensical floods of gore. All of the kills are handled with an understanding touch that they become a pleasurable foreshadowing of Argento’s later films, while the atmosphere rings true with many of his oft-mentioned classics, most notably Deep Red. Also, it could be said that the cinematography is really what keeps up the tension of the plot; one missed step could have easily meant giving away the mystery of the film, giving a red herring or two nowhere to go. One of the most notable aspects of giallo films is the soundtrack that (usually) graces the best of them. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is blessed with a very diverse score, ranging from a creepy chorus chanting whenever the killer is making a move to the drums used in the chase scene that would fit just as well in a jazz club. Each scene is given extra life with a multitude of beats that manage to creep the viewer out while adding excitement to nearly every moment.

Argento wrote the script for The Bird with the Crystal Plumage with as much a master’s eye as he used in his direction. The dialogue never comes off as too cliché, and even manages to be very humorous with a funny and memorable transvestite joke, a stuttering pimp and a cat-eating crazed artist who “only paints mystical things”, among other things. The plot moves along with the amateur detective skills of Sam Dalmas and his girlfriend Julia, who are a fun pair to watch, along with a few very memorable murders and even a chase scene that is equally, if not more, enjoyable. Going on, there are many films that have created a cool atmosphere and used brilliant cinematography to compliment a fabulous story, only to have cheap and inexperienced actors screw it up. Luckily, Dario Argento’s first film was made with some of the best backing a filmmaker new to the game can—a rich producer for a father. So it should be understood how Dario was able to skip the lack of talent phase of low-budget filmmaking and obtain actors who, while not being a grouping of seamless thespians barraging the screen with unforgettable characterizations, manage to give truthful and well-developed performances. I was even able to pick up on some subtext that rarely gets through in such films. Of course, we do have the quintessential trench coat-wearing detective who knows there’s more to the situation than there appears, but it is performed well by Enrico Maria Salerno and so it works just fine. Just as a side note, at the point of the attempted murder, it seems that being knifed hurts to the point of orgasm, but I’ll just let you see that one for yourself.

The scare factor of the film is nothing exponentially great, but Argento manages to add enough tension and violence to the film to satisfy many a horror slave’s thirst. The scene in which a young woman has a blade rubbed between her breasts and down her abdomen before having her panties torn off (while maintaining a PG rating) is one of the more memorable examples, along with the attack on Julia’s life, which brings with it an extraordinary amount of energy considering that there is always a door between the two. Just don’t expect any Friday the 13th-esque gore effects, as most of the violence occurs off-screen, with very little blood. Overall, I highly recommend this as viewing for any fan of the horror genre; and I demand that fans of the slasher subgenre see it. Yes, there are a few better films in both the Dario Argento and collective giallo catalog, but that does not change the fact that The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is one of the finest horror films ever made, as well as one hell of a debut.

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X-Ray (1981) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

Young Susan’s (Bloody Birthday’s Elizabeth Hoy) Valentine’s Day party is ruined when crazy little Harold (Billy Jacoby of Just One of the Guys) impales a kid on a coat rack and leaves him dangling like a meaty pinata. 19 years later, Susan (Playboy model Barbi Benton) visits a hospital just to pick up test results for a new insurance policy. After a psychotic surgeon murders Susan’s doctor and switches the test results, Susan finds herself trapped in the hospital by egotistical doctors and stormtrooper nurses who shuttle her from one examination room to another without explanation. After losing her freedom, dignity, and most of her clothes, Susan fights back only to learn a childhood monster still wants her heart on Valentine’s.

Hospital Massacre is truly a different type of slasher, mixing the holiday-themed and hospital slasher sub-genres into a really bizarre film. Boaz Davidson, better know for directing comedies like The Last American Virgin and the Lemon Popsicle series, does a nice job of keeping the viewer on edge with nightmarish visuals, odd ball characters, and camera tricks that distract the viewer from guessing the killer’s true location during the murder scenes. Davidson tries to add suspense by making every male character look and act in a sinister manner. Sadly, the suspense is sharply cut if the viewer can remember the name of killer brat in the prologue. Marc Behm’s script plays like a weird Kafka novel with a slasher thrown in to shake up the strange happenings. Many questions and subplots go unresolved, one example being Susan and the viewer never learn why the doctors suddenly go ballistic every time they see her falsified test results.

Gore fans will find the numerous creative kills rather satisfying. The opening murder is so brutal that one wonders how Davidson got the scene past the MPAA censors. Other highlights include bone saw to the neck, metal hatchet to the cranium, and an acid facial. Having these extreme death sequences only helps Hospital Massacre as it gives the viewer a reason to keep watching after the film gets bogged down by too many questions and not enough answers. The Doctor (Don Grenough during the murders) could have been a little more creepy if he didn’t wheeze like an asthmatic surrounded by cats. Grenough does more heavy breathing than an obscene phone caller with a pocket full of quarters. Barbi Benton, who provides a couple of “highlights” during an examination scene, does a fine job of portraying a woman trapped in a nightmarish situation and has the lung power to pull off the scream queen requirements.

Davidson gives a wink to the other Valentine slasher, My Bloody Valentine, when Barbi Benton is stopped on an elevator by three men dressed like Harry Warden. Instead of a candy box containing a human heart, Benton receives a cake box with a severed head. A page for “Dr. Carpenter” can be heard in the background of one scene provides another slasher in-joke. The funniest visual occurs when Benton runs into a room screaming for help only to find three men in traction and bandaged like mummies.

Hospital Massacre (also released as X-Ray) began life as Be My Valentine…Or Else, an advertisement for the film under that title can be seen after the credits of New Year’s Evil. Since this film was produced by The Cannon Group it has some of the same plot elements as the other slashers released by the company; the victims aren’t teenagers and the heroine is a strong career woman trying to overcome the problems of a difficult marriage. The weird plot may be a turn off for some slasher fans but the brutal murders and strange humor definitely makes Hospital Massacre worth watching.

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Visiting Hours (1982) Review

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Thomas Ellison

Lee Grant stars as a tough fem news woman fighting to save a battered woman from prison. Grant’s activism sets off a maniac (Michael Ironside), is attacked, and spends the rest of the film in a hospital. Ironside follows Grant to the hospital to finish the job. William Shatner is Grant’s TV producer and Linda Purl is a nurse who befriends Grant.

Michael Ironside is the real star of Visiting Hours. The killer, Colt Hawker, is a complete sociopath. He kills stabs women and takes pictures of them while their life slips away. Colt is a real monster, we pass him on the street or see him in the grocery store. But this monster was created by an abusive parent. We pity Colt, even though we’re scared shitless by him. Colt possesses the cunning of a animal and killer instinct of a shark.

Director Jean Claude Lord uses misdirection to build suspense. He makes the audience think Ironside is in one location, then shocks us when we think the characters are safe. Despite a lack of blood and gore, the murders are still shocking because the camera never flinches from the deaths. The audience, like the victims, suffer through long agonizing death scenes. Like the men in the film, we are helpless to save the women in danger.

The flaw in hospital slasher films is the Heroine is stuck in bed for most of the film. Grant has little to do until the end except scream and cuss. It’s ironic, Grant’s independent character has to rely on others, and no one can make her safer. Linda Purl has a similar plight, none of the male police will help her when Ironside is stalking her little girl.

Visiting Hours is an excellent slasher, certainly the best slasher to take place in a hospital. Without Ironside’s performance the film would be routine. A fun game to play while watching Visiting Hours is “spot the slasher vet cameo.” Lenore (Happy Birthday to Me) Zann, Harvey (Funeral Home) Atkin, and Neil (Axel from My Bloody Valentine) Affleck make appearances in small roles. And of course, William Shatner wears Michael Myers face during the whole film.

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