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Overall Rating : 10/10
Directed By : Stefan Hutchinson
(Various) - Click HERE to view the full credited appearances.
Supplied By : Anchor Bay Entertainment
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Jul. 18, 2006
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| PLOT The Definitive HALLOWEEN Documentary Narrated By P.J. Soles In 1978, his horrific rampage through the town of Haddonfield changed movie history forever. His name was Michael Myers…and the night was HALLOWEEN. Eight films and a quarter of a century later, discover the triumphs, controversies and groundbreaking influence of the series with the most comprehensive HALLOWEEN documentary ever produced. This is the true story behind every film in the franchise, featuring rare behind-the-scenes footage and over 80 interviews with cast and crew including John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Jamie Lee Curtis, Moustapha Akkad, Tom Atkins, Danielle Harris, Kathleen Kinmont, Nancy Loomis, Greg Nicotero, Joseph Wolf, John Carl Buechler, Nick Castle, Ellie Cornell, Dean Cundey, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Rick Rosenthal, Tommy Lee Wallace, Allan Howarth and more, plus fans like Rob Zombie, Clive Barker, Kim Newman, Edgar Wright and everyone at the Return To Haddonfield Convention. |
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| THE REVIEW HALLOWEEN and it's legendary character of Michael Myers, affectionately known as the shape to it's devoted fans has become a permanent stake in many of those said fans' lives. HALLOWEEN : 25 YEARS OF TERROR. was shot and produced around the ground breaking film's 25th anniversary. In 2003, Halloweenmovies.com webmaster Anthony Masi, organized a huge convention like no other...."Return to Haddonfield" in which he got together many of the casts and crews of every HALLOWEEN film in the franchise. and in which many panel discussions were held and thousands of eager and enthused fans in attendance were able to ask questions of their favorite stars. One fan in particular, Stefan Hutchinson approached Masi with an idea he had, and that was to film the conventions happenings - and later the final product turned into something special. The main feature of the 2 disc set is an incredible documentary, narrated by P.J. Soles whom portrayed Lynda in 1978's HALLOWEEN....the one that started it all. The film informs you have how it all started(fans whom are already familiar with HALLOWEEN, will already know most of this) from its low budget, to doing things that had yet to be seen in the Horror genre....which ultimately later in the series lead to ratings wars, to many of the 'copy cat' films that followed after. During this first piece, it was rather fascinating to hear how Irwin Yablans owned a film company in which he planned to distribute independent pictures, but one problem, at the time there were no pictures in sight. This is where he approached Director John Carpenter and writer/producer Debra Hill to write and produce, a film about a babysitter stalker film, and the setting to be Halloween night.... thus then the classic was born. The disc also goes on the chronically document every film in it's order in great detail, with many interviews with cast members, directors and producers, and also fans like upcoming Halloween 9's Director Rob Zombie, HELLRAISER creator Clive Barker, and film critics like John "The Arrow" Fallon. Each interview is rather informative as they tell you just how the HALLOWEEN franchise or just HALLOWEEN in general has effected there lives. It also briefly touches on also the negatives such as understandably how HALLOWEEN III bombed at the box office and how they scrambled to bring back everyone's beloved villain back to the screen, and how (although a favorite of mine) HALLOWEEN 5 has been the least grossing film in the whole franchise. Some of the lovely ladies of the series even talk about how they have been stalked by over zealous fan's - Most notably Danielle Harris (HALLOWEEN 4 and 5) whom once had a fan come to her home with a shotgun, only to demand that she come with him--- that's downright creepy... I cannot write about the whole DVD set here as it is something you just HAVE to see for yourself. One thing i'd like to mention that is in the dvd we finally get to meet Heather Bowen, the HALLOWEEN fan who won the drawing to have a walk on role in HALLOWEEN 9....lets just say I can't wait to see her again. she is very cute and any girl that is willing to show her "goods"(before even winning) while reenacting Lynda's scene from the original HALLOWEEN is good enough for me in my book....and how nice they were! |
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| DVD FEATURES Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (Disc One) # Full-Frame Presentation # Horror's Hallowed Grounds – An Exclusive Tour of the Halloween Series Filming Locations # Halloween II and III Extended Interviews # Extended Celebrity Interviews # Halloween 5 On-Set Footage # Halloween Convention Montage # Fans Of Halloween – Collections of Props & Memorabilia # Over 4 Hours of Features Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (Disc Two) # Halloween Panel Discussion # Halloween II Panel Discussion # Halloween 6 Panel Discussion # Ellie Cornell Panel Discussion # Michael Myers Panel Discussion # Dean Cundey Panel Discussion # Halloween Producers Panel Discussion # Halloween Location Stills Gallery # Halloween Convention Behind-The- Scenes Gallery # Original Artwork Gallery |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM I feel that I would be doing the franchise that I hold very dear an injustice if I did not give HALLOWEEN 25 YEARS OF TERROR a 10/10. This is definitely a documentary created out of love and from the heart for the fans that (some of them) devote their lives to this series. This is very informative and undoubtedly one of the best dvd sets I have ever seen....for new fans you will lean a lot and for the die hards, there's plenty in which to drool over... Please visit the HALLOWEEN series' official site www.halloweenmovies.com This DVD will be available on July 25th, 2006 |
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