31 Days of Horror--Day 17 Gary Baseman's "Nightmares of Halloween's Past"

Gary Baseman is one of my favorite pop surrealists.  If you're not sure what that term might mean, go to Google images and type in "pop surrealist."  You will be introduced to a magical world of wonders where Basman, Mark Ryden, and Carmilla Rose Garcia reign supreme.  You can learn some of the basics here and here, but I suggest that you enjoy exploring these uncharted and bizarre lands by just wandering the web.

Unsurprisingly, Baseman is a big fan of Halloween, and is having a show of his collected vintage photos of costumed revelers at the KK Gallery in Los Angeles. located in the heart of Chinatown.  "Nightmares of Halloween's Past" is running from October 20th-November 24th, and really gets to the heart of how wonderfully creepy Halloween can be.

If you haven't seen Juan Antonio Bayona's The Orphanage (2007), then you should.  You won't be able to forget Tomas.

Or Sam (Samhain), the spirit of Halloween from Michael Dougherty's Trick 'R Treat (2007).

Seriously, if any parents out there are reading my blog, this costume--little cuddly onesie pajamas with a burlap sack on the head--seems like the ideal costume in which to dress your kid.  Freak out everyone!  Yes, I'm sick, but I'm fun!!

**In related news, I've got two venues at which I can dress in costume, so I'm going for both--Carrie's Mom first, then Steampunk vampire.  With the first, I will be carrying The Old Testament, a chef's knife, and a carrot (if you don't get it, re-watch the DePalma film), while wearing a lovely white nightgown.  In my Steampunk attire, I'm just deciding between top hat and goggles, and I've got a rad little gun.

31 Days of Horror--Day 12 Remaking CARRIE (1976)

This year, Halloween falls on a Wednesday, and every Wednesday I have a screening for one of my classes.  We were supposed to watch Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita (1990) on Halloween, but I decided that for the first time in at least 5 years, I was going to celebrate Halloween and force all of my students to do so as well.  So, I canceled the screening, and decided to screen Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods (2011) instead, with a reception open to Film Students where people could dress up--as their favorite monster, perhaps. This decision begged the question:  what would be my costume?  I thought immediately of Mrs. White from Carrie (Brian De Palma 1976).  Frizz my hair, find a white nightgown, wear a cross, grab a bible, and I'm rockin' it (haven't figured out the knives yet).  Then I was reminded of this unfortunate set of circumstances:

Yep.  Like every other horror movie, they are remaking this one.  I guess that the 2002 TV movie, scripted by Bryan Fuller, was not enough.  I like Chloe Moretz.  I love Julianne Moore.  But I'm still freakin' pissed off that Hollywood cannot create something equally iconic and NEW, but would rather go to the same damn well again.  As one can tell from my Coma post, I'm not a remake fan.  Granted, I don't have much to go on regarding the remake beyond these pre-release publicity shots, but I'm going to tear them apart just the same.

First, Moretz's Carrie: she looks like she tumbled into some paint in a mall parking lot in this shot.  She doesn't have that demented Bambi look that Sissy Spacek does so well.  Spacek's Carrie is in command of her space, while Moretz looks much more the sad victim.  Part of the fun of Carrie's transformation in De Palma's film is that she goes from timid lamb to full force virago.  Wooo!  Moretz is feeling a little tepid, kind of meh.

Then there's Julianne Moore as Margaret White, Carrie's Mom.  She seems like she heard a noise and now sees that her cat left her a dead mouse as a present, as cats are wont to do.  Moore looks slightly worried, a little sad, but ultimately very, very soft.  Piper Laurie's Margaret, on the other hand, is channeling her Saint Sebastian here.  She's ecstatic and glowing, and deeply, deeply fervent about her "sinning" daughter.  I think Julianne Moore is a wonderful actress, but Piper Laurie is inimitable in this role, and why f***ing bother??

I'm also all for Kimberly Pierce getting more directing gigs.  She's talented and deserves them, but this kind of situation is just setting her up for failure.  She's going to be shredded by every fan of the original film, including me.  I want to champion women directors, damn it!! 

I'm also thinking about Steampunk Vampire Mina Harker played by the always amazing Peta Wilson from the crappy The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Stephen Norrington 2003) as an alternative costume choice.  Although paler with obvious fangs.