Katie Pumpkinhead’s Pumpkin Patch

 I haven't done much blogging this October, as I've been more focused on the annual photo challenge I do over on  Instagram . However, I've recently fallen in love with a new Halloween movie, and felt the need to talk about it.  A week ago, a movie called Carved appeared on Hulu, and I had to watch it ASAP, as I'm always looking for new Halloween-themed media, and this one was actually centered around a pumpkin! It's interesting to me, in a way, that the "pumpkin's revenge" storyline seems like a bit of a gimme, yet it really hasn't been done very often. The only other instance that immediately comes to mind for me is the final segment in Tales Of Halloween. Carved  is, to my knowledge, the first movie to do "pumpkin's revenge" as a full length storyline. And quite frankly, how could a movie about a pumpkin getting revenge on those who have wronged it not become an instant comfort film for me? Carved doesn't necessarily do anythin...

 I was recently given the opportunity to check out a new, independent Halloween short film called Pumpkin Guts: Devil’s Night.  (Picture from IMDb) I first became aware of this film through the  Instagram page , and to say I absolutely knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’d love it, would be an understatement. I can always tell when a piece of media is truly going to radiate Halloween, in the way that will transport me through whatever month we’re currently in (in this case, probably the most disgusting July on record) and into Halloween night itself. When I was offered early access to this short film, I could not have been more honored. Even though I’ve built up somewhat of a following within the Halloween community, it still amazes me every day that people finally truly see and feel what I’m trying to create; that my love of Halloween finally means something and brings some joy and comfort to others like myself, and that anyone, especially a filmmaker, would trust me ...

To continue the recent theme of possession movies, today I'd like to talk about a movie in the same sub genre that far exceeded my expectations:   Late Night With The Devil. I didn't know a whole lot about this movie going into it. All I really need to know about a movie to want to watch it is that it's Halloween-themed. That's literally all it takes. Throw in a vintage vibe and I'm all in. Late Night With The Devil is presented in the style of a lost broadcast of a popular 70s late-night talk show known as Night Owls, hosted by a man named Jack Delroy. The beginning of the movie gives us a little rundown of Jack's career, his constant rivalry with Johnny Carson, his controversial involvement in a "gentlemen's club" known as The Grove, with questionable intentions, and eventually the tragic death of his wife, an actress named Madeleine Piper. Jack's career takes a hit while he grieves for Madeleine, but he decides that Halloween night, 1977, wi...

 2023 has been an interesting year for Halloween-themed/set horror. Several notable movies were released this year and I hope to get around to talking about them all here, when I eventually have the time. However, one particular movie has truly stuck out to me this year:  A movie called Cobweb. You can view the trailer  here . Cobweb is the story of a young boy named Peter, who lives with his very eccentric, very tightly wound parents, Carol and Mark. Peter is bullied in school and seems to always be tense at home, until one night when he begins to hear a strange tapping on his bedroom wall. Peter becomes obsessed with figuring out the source of the tapping, while his parents seem a strange mixture of unbothered and terrified. Soon the source of the tapping begins whispering to Peter, though, offering the friendship that Peter so desperately craves within his lonely existence. At school, Peter meets a new substitute teacher, Miss Devine, who takes a special interest in Pe...

As you most likely already know, Halloween-themed movies are tremendously important to me. For most of my life, when I needed a dose of Halloween in the off-season, or even wanted to make an October afternoon feel extra special and anticipatory, I’d turn to movies that would immediately transport me back into the most important day of my year.  I will watch pretty much anything relating to Halloween, whether it’s a horror film, a tv special, something intended for small children, or pretty much anything in between. And over the years, across genres, I’ve accumulated some go-to movies that capture Halloween for me like nothing else, and can make my heart leap with excitement as if it were October 30th, on, say, any random Tuesday in May. These are the movies that inspire me, and keep me going even at the worst points in my calendar year. A few days ago, I had the absolutely amazing opportunity to view a new film called The Pumpkin Man before its general release. I’ve been following ...

 Yesterday, I was finally able to watch a movie I’ve been dying to see for a few years now: A 2019 film called Haunt. I suppose it’s worth mentioning that I, in real life, actually can’t go to haunts with live actors. It’s not a matter of being scared of the imagery or anything like that, but I have full blown panic attacks if I try. I think it’s more of a social anxiety thing to be honest; I’ve never quite been able to explain it, but, while I’d very much like to design one someday, or even work in one, I simply can’t deal with being a patron (one of my experiences will get its own blog post one day though) so I rely on things like YouTube walkthroughs and movies like The Houses October Built  to fulfill these types of needs for me. When Haunt was first announced, I actually assumed it would be something like the latter, only minus the found footage angle, which immediately interested me. However, since direct-to-streaming horror films are so hit-and-miss, I waited and waited...

 One of the big things I have been looking forward to this Halloween season is seeing how the Halloween movie franchise finally ends. Halloween has been an iconic part of my “spooky seasons” since I was very young, even before I actually watched the movies. And, even though I may enjoy Freddy Krueger’s sense of humor just slightly more than Michael Myers’ more “strong and silent” approach to slasher-dom, the Halloween movies are always my go-to when it comes to rewatching an OG slasher. The atmosphere is just perfect. While many people seemed to be on the fence about Halloween Kills, I absolutely loved it and it’s one of my main go-to movies, period, not even just within the Halloween franchise. So I naturally had pretty high hopes for Halloween Ends.  To say that I was disappointed, just might be an understatement.  Halloween Ends was basically  the Necro episode  of American Horror Stories, minus a few details, with a little bit of Laurie Strode and Michael My...

 When I was seven years old, I saw a movie that changed my life. I was a scaredy-cat kid who loved Halloween, and it was hard for me to find things relating to that that I could watch, and not have anxiety over later on.  But then came Hocus Pocus. I saw the movie for the first time during one of those “free preview” weeks that the Disney Channel used to offer, back in the days when certain channels were “premium subscription” and your parents wouldn’t pay the price to keep it permanently. Ironically, I believe Hocus Pocus aired the day we put the Christmas tree up. To say I fell in love with this movie would be the ultimate understatement. I became obsessed .  I dreamt of being best friends with Dani Dennison. I woke up every morning hoping my cats would talk to me, all the while begging for a solid black one. I desperately tried to emulate Winifred Sanderson, to the point of trying to speak like her. (I have a weird memory of asking the family dog something along the li...

 I am always looking for new Halloween-themed movies to watch. Anything that sets the perfect mood in the off-season, or at the very least, is a fun watch in the spirit of the season, will almost instantly become a go-to.  But, sadly, many of the Halloween-themed horror films that can be found on streaming services suffer from… issues. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes these movies so subpar, but in many cases,  I think a huge part of the problem is that they try so hard to live up to the standards set by the more popular films, that they ultimately end up shooting themselves in the foot.  One such movie came to me today in the form of Candy Corn , a movie that got a lot of buzz in the Halloween community when it was first released in 2019, but hasn’t been free to watch until now.  With its beautifully designed signature pumpkin pail, and the fact that it’s set both on Halloween and at a creepy carnival , Candy Corn almost seemed, at first glan...