Trick or Treat! Top Nine Reasons to Look Forward to October

Well, fall is officially upon us. At least according to the calender as the weather here apparently has not gotten that memo. Currently, we are a mere seven days away from the tenth month of the year, one which is most commonly associated with fall foliage, chilly nights, and of course Halloween. But there is a great deal upcoming in the next few weeks other than Breast Cancer Awareness Month and my favorite Leif Erikson Day that will make this next month one to remember.

9. The Walking Dead
Okay, so this technically isn’t relevant on a site dedicated solely to movies but that’s okay. Because this upcoming AMC television series looks more and more badass with every trailer, clip, and image that is released. Based on an immensely popular graphic novel series which I religiously flip through while in Barnes and Noble, this will be a weekly series that takes place after some kind of zombie apocalypse renders the majority of people mindless flesh freaks (did you like that?). If you take Jericho or The Stand with a dash of some old-school (as in good) George Romero, that’s what we have here. The series premieres on Halloween night.

8. I Spit on Your Grave
Admittedly, I have not seen the original but I can’t say I’m in a big rush to do so. With the glut of so-called contemporary “torture-porn” movies these days, why bother going back to visit one that was banned in a billion countries if I remember the VHS box art from little Puck’s local video store? Well, just like every other horror movie, good or not, this one is being remade and is scheduled to be released unrated in select theaters on October 8th. From what I’ve seen thus far, it sounds like this very intense revenge flick is actually pretty good. Here’s to hoping there will be a theater to show it in my area.

7. My Soul to Take
Just like most other filmmakers, Wes Craven has had his high points (Scream) as well as his low (uh, Vampire in Brooklyn?) during his long-tenured career. Scheduled to release also on October 8th, My Soul to Take looks like very familiar territory for Craven with elements of both slasher movies and the supernatural. While it is annoyingly being released in 3D and very well could tank hard given some of Craven’s later ventures into film (Hills Have Eyes 2, ’nuff said) but it is always nice to see a genre vet attempt a triumphant return. Even if it blows, Craven hopefully still has Scream 4 to fall back on.

6. Saw 3D
Speaking of annoyingly shoehorned in 3D effects, the Saw franchise allegedly comes to a close on October 29. After six previous movies in as many years, it seems hard to believe that any studio would let such a money printing series go gracefully. While Jigsaw has been dead for the past three films if I remember correctly, the mantle has been carried on regardless and the last installment, Part VI, was actually pretty well-received. Either way, if you’re a fan of the series, take comfort in the fact that the legacy is (supposedly) going out with an extra third dimension and a visit by some guy from The Princess Bride. If you hate the series, there’s only one more.

5. Paranormal Activity 2
Here’s to hoping that the sequel to last year’s micro-budget Paranormal Activity will not end up as horrid as the similar Blair Witch series. Given that PA made about 14,000 times its budget in box office revenue, I hold out hope that the sequel does not betray the intensity of the first with the original director still overseeing the process. Some people did not like PA, and I can totally understand why, but for those who did, it looks like this will be another good month to invest in a quasi-professional home video camera … just in case.

4. Let Me In
I loved Let the Right One In, the original film this movie is a remake of. Like many others, I was upset that Hollywood producers thought it beneficial to remake another movie, dumbing it down for American audiences simply because the first had subtitles. But, as more information continues to trickle out about the Matt Reeves (of Cloverfield fame) directed vampire story featuring the young Chloe Moretz, the more I have to look forward to. From the previews at least, it appears less of a remake and more of a re-imagining (if I understand the terms correctly) as the basic plot of a 12-year-old girl being a horrific vampire is the only common factor. Plenty of vampiric mayhem still ensues I’m sure and it is nice to see a solid, brutal vampire movie that does not feature perfect muscle tone trying to act (guess what I’m digging at there).

3. AMC’s Fearfest
Didn’t this used to be called Monsterfest? Anyway, one of my favorite parts of October is the abundance of horror movies that invade otherwise tranquil cable TV stations and AMC for the past several years has been no different. Yeah, so there are commercials and its had some gore trimmed to appease the masses but then again it will almost certainly feature some of the better installments of the Halloween franchise and other horror-ish movies that I likely otherwise would not watch. Plus, see the opening point in this article and see why AMC will be heavily visited in the next few weeks.

2. Hatchet II
PBF and I love Hatchet. If you do not feel the same, I would contest you have poor judgment in film but of course, that is all subjective. Just squeaking into the October awesome-fest, Victor Crawley returns as Adam Green’s Hatchet II opens next Friday but some cinemas that are not too dainty to show unrated films are having midnight showings. Barring a natural disaster or crazy gun-toting family member, both PBF and I will be at a midnight showing an hour and a half away and I suggest you do the same.

1. ?
I know it’s pretty lame to have a list of nine things and leave one of those open but a pretty cool feature is coming to Movie Scum in the next few days. I just don’t want to spoil the surprise. At least, not until I can validate it.