A Lifetime of Happiness: Movies, TV, and Video Games

A Lifetime of Halloween

• Steve Bennet-Martin, Stephen Martin-Bennet • Episode 36

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The Steve's discuss what's been keeping them happy and then dive into a discussion on Stephen's favorite horror movie, Halloween.

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Steve:

Hello returning happies and new listeners. This is Steve Benne- Martin,

Stephen:

and this is Stephen Martin-Bennet. And welcome to a lifetime of happiness on the Suncoast

Steve:

podcast, where we take you on our journey. As we search for the secret to living a happy life on the Suncoast. Well, hopefully helping make your life better along the way.

Stephen:

And today we'll be talking about Halloween

Steve:

the holiday at the end of the month.

Stephen:

No, no. Now there's plenty of time to talk about that today. We're talking about the 1978 classic that was inspired over a dozen films in the franchise created by the wonderful John Carpenter.

Steve:

Ah, so that's why you had me watch it last night while we took notes.

Stephen:

Yes, that's exactly

Steve:

right. It's all making sense now. I get it. Yes. But before we get into that, my love what's been making you happy.

Stephen:

Well, I just found out that. Okay. So I grew up loving Scooby doo. I still love Scooby doo. Yeah. I have it, I have the newer show saved on Netflix. We watched the scoop movie that came out the summer, which was really good. Came out. Yeah. And, I just found out thanks to my girl, Elvira that there is a new happy Halloween's. Could we do that? Just came out today. That CoStar's Elvira. So I am instantly happy and excited to see it.

Steve:

Yes. Well, I'm excited to watch your pure joy when you watch it. And I see it with you.

Stephen:

So, but what's making you happy this week, darling.

Steve:

I would say staying on brand for a horror themed episode, I would say it was our movie date a night in the other night. while we're staying socially just, and we were renting some brand new movies that recently came out on demand. Yes. And w one was actually streaming on Hulu. I think it was or something. And the other one we rented. but it was the villains and the owners and they both were really solid, nice movies with interesting turns. And we didn't realize until like we were halfway through like the second one, we were like, they're both movies about like someone breaking into someone else's house and how it is a bad idea to, to break and enter in general. And I think that everyone learned that by the end of the night.

Stephen:

Yeah. And I, if you're, if you could only watch one, I think I would pick more toward the owners. it. Stars, Arya stark from game.

Steve:

Yes. Maisie Williams.

Stephen:

Yes. So that one we found on Amazon prime video, it is a purchase for rental, but it's not expensive and the villains was on Hulu. So if you have a Hulu subscription that is free.

Steve:

Yes. And that one was, I would say Cambier and yes,

Stephen:

lighter. Yeah, it was campy or in letter for gruesome horror. but. It was one of those, where none of them, you really, they didn't go, they didn't go where you thought either one was going to go. So check them out. and the good thing is this month, there's going to be a lot of horror for everyone to get to.

Steve:

Yes. Yes, there is.

Stephen:

But. Today and a brief respite of highlighting the happiest things on the Suncoast. We're going to be focusing on how we'll ween, which happens to be my favorite film franchise and horror film franchise. and it's been terrifying people since 1978, but Darrylin Y on a podcast about happiness. Would we talk about horror movies and things like that? Well,

Steve:

I would say that in general, I've always enjoyed horror movies and they bring me happiness possibly because like nine out of 10 times that the good guy does win in the end. Right. And, you know, I guess I, you know, I've, I've loved the thrill of how it gets your heart racing and the endorphins, you know, running. But, you know, also we even, we have so many great memories surrounding horror movies. Like when we saw the, the hunting movie with the, Oh, the

Stephen:

conjuring,

Steve:

the conjuring, I saw that and you lost it in the movie theater. It was very early in our dating experience. And when you flip like a little girl at that one part,

Stephen:

well, I came up out of my chair, screaming from this. Like it was a tense scene. And I won't tell anybody exactly what scene, because I don't want to spoil it if you haven't seen the conjuring. But there was one moment that a scare came out of nowhere. And I came up out of my chair, like literally flailing my arms and kicking, and I kicked the middle rail in front of us.

Steve:

You were just so silly. I was like, I love that weirdo,

Stephen:

but I agree people. Well, for the most part, people enjoy being scared. They like haunted houses. They like scary movies. And so even though you might not think so talking about horror movies is still on brand for a lifetime of happiness. And I'm excited to talk about this one because though it may not have been the first horror movie that really caught America's attention and things. It's one that set the groundwork for a lot of things and we'll get to some of that.

Steve:

Yes. And for those not familiar with the movie it was created and came out in 1978, it is a slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter. Co-written with producer Deborah Hill.

Stephen:

Do you know what other movie Deborah Hill is responsible for?

Steve:

I know you've told me, but I'm forgetting now that you're putting me on the spot.

Stephen:

It's clue the movie. My favorite movie, Deborah Hill is responsible for

Steve:

yes. So good tastes. Yes. And it's starring Donald Pleasants and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film. Debut.

Stephen:

Yeah. Debut. It was introducing Jamie Lee Curtis. And she made a whopping$8,000 for acting in that film.

Steve:

That's wild. Well, hopefully she got some on residual.

Stephen:

Well, and if not, I'm sure that what she's been paid for the sequels has made up for.

Steve:

Yes, exactly. And, so with that, you have watched this movie so many different times,

Stephen:

so many

Steve:

that, you know, and if we're going to be talking about this movie in detail, I can assume it's going to be. Boiler filled. So why don't you just summarize the movie, including all your spoilers

Stephen:

of a brief

Steve:

run down. And then that way we can just talk about our favorite parts,

Stephen:

right? So if you have not seen Halloween, go ahead and pause the podcast right now. We'll wait for you to get back because I don't want to spoil anything for you, but okay. Ready and pause.

Steve:

And

Stephen:

you're back. Welcome back. So I know you enjoyed it. So let's talk about it. The movie opens up in 1963 and, it opens with this view from the outside of a house. And, someone's watching the girl inside. She takes her boyfriend upstairs. They forward a Kate and, the boyfriend and leaves the person inside the house grabs a knife, goes upstairs and kills her walks outside. And it's revealed that. yeah, it was six year old, Michael Myers killing a sister and we, fast forward, 15 years later to 1978. And the town of Haddonfield, Illinois, and we are introduced to Laurie Strode, our protagonist, and, she quickly has to go over by the Myers house for dad. No, one's lived in the Myers house since Michael killed. his sister there, her dad's a realtor. Lori is babysitting for a kid we're introduced to her friends. Fast forward more later on, Michael sees Laurie at the house. He follows her through town. He's outside of her school. He follows her on the way home from school he's outside of her house. And he

Steve:

murders all of her friends that night.

Stephen:

And so it becomes a thing where she and her friends are babysitting on Halloween night. And, All of them start getting murdered. The kid Laurie is babysitting or keep saying the boogeyman is outside. The boogeyman is outside, but nobody sees it. There's a big chase at the end, Laurie and Michael fight. And it's really great. but we'll get into the. Some of the specifics, as we're talking later on, I mentioned babysitters and the film was actually originally called the babysitter murders whenever they were writing the script and selling it to the studios. And, none of the studios actually purchased it because this is an independent film and the person that was putting up the money said, Hey, Why don't you call this Halloween? And funny enough, before 1978, there was not a movie called Halloween. So the script was a little retooled and added in the Halloween aspect of it, of that night. And, voila and Darlene, there are a couple of movies that kind of inspired Halloween. Do you know what some of those are?

Steve:

I would say that off the top of my head. A lot of the, is this before, after the black Christmas? Yes.

Stephen:

This was after black Christmas and that is one of them. Okay. Yeah. I

Steve:

would say that that's one that inspired it. was this, what was the other one we saw that was a slight sleepaway camp and like those slides? Nope,

Stephen:

that was after. So this was actually like. the idea of psycho inspired it and just the lack of Christmas and especially black Christmas was something that, John Carpenter enjoyed because it had an unseen motiveless killer because during the first Halloween, we don't know really why Michael is obsessing on these girls on and going after them. Later movies, fill this in, but one of the scary things to fill it out. Yeah. One of the scary things about the original was. You just don't know why.

Steve:

Yeah. And what I love is, you know, there one point near the climax of the movie, I, at the time, like now when you watch it back with the HD, you can see Michael's face for that moment. But from what I understand it, back in the original movies in 1978, when it came out and the quality was not what it is today that you can, you go go the entire movie without seeing his face.

Stephen:

The first time I saw it. And that was on VHS, I'm old. you, there's a part where she rips his mask off and it is so grainy and shadowed that you cannot, like, you kind of like, you're like, Oh, he has dark hair, but that's about all you can tell. And so now in the HD remasters and the 4k, you can really

Steve:

see the hand and you can pause it if you want it to. But, you know, there's something to be said about the whole idea of that, the faceless killer. I mean, isn't, he, even in the, in the, in the credits he's called the, the shape,

Stephen:

the shape. Yeah. And that's a big deal that in the movies he's referred to as Michael Myers, he doesn't have any speaking at all. Michael doesn't speak,

Steve:

he breathes, he

Stephen:

breathes. Like that. Yeah. And, so like the characters in the movie we'll refer to him as the boogeyman, Michael Myers, but the credits always refer to him as the shape because whenever they were re developing the movie, they talked about this like unseen shape, flaunting these people. And there's a good bit of the movie where. The he's hidden in darkness and things, and

Steve:

it wasn't the mask almost an afterthought. Like they took like a store brought mask for, I think it was like a president's face.

Stephen:

It was captain Kirk from star Trek.

Steve:

Oh, same thing. But yeah. And, but they like turns it into that mask and that was like relatively late. So I can imagine it's not like they even knew at the time he'd be like the masked man. So I can see how back in the original script you'd be referred to as the shape. But it's interesting that even as the movies went on and he was continually called Michael in the credits, he was always the shape. Was he not

Stephen:

always the shape? And, what do

Steve:

you think that means?

Stephen:

I think that that's more, it goes along with the motiveless type of killing that the boogeyman, and it's what you're afraid of. It's the unseen, the undescribable, and as a little Easter egg, in the 2018 new Halloween movie, Jamie Lee Curtis actually refers to him as the shape in the movie. So that's kind of, a funny little nod to it. But, when was, this was Halloween one, the first Halloween you saw. Or did you see other ones?

Steve:

One of the, I S the first one I saw was either three or four, I don't remember. And it was with the little girl

Stephen:

that was for, that was for, that was my first as well.

Steve:

That wasn't, it was my first, and it was around Halloween time. And it was like the super edited version on TBS that I was watching at my granny's house. Like, and I started to like, midway through and like, I think I caught it in like some sort of repeat loop, like marathon, because like I remember watching like the end of it first where I see like she at the end had the knife and like, like insinuated, she was the killer or whatever was gonna do the same thing. And so I was assuming that, that, and then, and I didn't realize that that was how it, ends up. Ending. I thought it was almost how it began because like it ended with that and then like replayed the movie.

Stephen:

So it was a little confusing. GBS will just play movies in a row. Yeah. So it was a little

Steve:

confusing that like in the order that I watched it, I saw her become like a killer. And then I saw her, I was like the little girl and I was like, this is a very strange loop. but I like, by the time I finished watching it, I kind of understood.

Stephen:

So Halloween four was my first as well. And I was. 10 years old, I think. And my babysitter, let me watch Halloween for every day for a month. And it was the month of July. And, I don't know why I asked to watch it every day.

Steve:

I don't know why she allowed you to every day.

Stephen:

Yes. By the end of the month, reality blurred a little bit from me and I was having Michael Myers dreams every night and I was pretty sure he was real. And he was, you know, in the closets or like in the woods, outside of the house. And, To this day, I will still have Michael Myers nightmares, but usually now if I have them, they are, when a big change is about to happen, like, like whenever we were buying the house and things like that, I'll have Michael Myers dreams still scare me to death. And I still think he's the scariest, horror villain of all time. I didn't actually watch the original all the way through until, Oh, what's coming out. And my mom, who has been my horror movie buddy from, for a long time, she and I rented one through six and we watched them nights in a row prepping for H2O and, So I give her a lot of credit for sitting there. She's the one I saw scream too with her in the theater, but so I have good memories of watching the, all the Halloween movies in this one. And it's a, I know it's a family thing. Yeah. Well, especially if you watch the later Halloween movies, it's very much a family. Yes. so yeah, let's talk about some of the things that we noticed from the movie.

Steve:

well, first, I mean, if we're going to talk about the movie, we have to start off with that opening music, which is just so iconic.

Stephen:

Yes. That's the Halloween theme song is so

Steve:

hot, even though it's only just a couple of notes.

Stephen:

Yeah. And it still will give me chills to this day.

Steve:

Yes. And you hear that through the intro, as you see one big, long shot. That was approximately it was about two and a half to three minutes long. I believe it was all done in one long take. where, you know, it goes in, you're looking at, from a room in the house and around the house, you can time like the quickest sexual intercourse ever, ever watched her created.

Stephen:

Yes. And just like when I was talking earlier about Judith Myers taking her boyfriend upstairs. And then him getting his clothes back on and leaving was like 90 seconds or

Steve:

less, not even like it was within 60 seconds. He was up naked. Did his thing and was done all while you're hearing that in the background. But he was like in and out, literally within seconds. And you go through it. I think we need to stop it now for the music copyrights. Don't we,

Stephen:

well, you can do up to 30 seconds.

Steve:

I want to be careful with that.

Stephen:

Yes.

Steve:

And so I just love that opening. She'd seen that it was like one long, long shot.

Stephen:

And one of the characters that I didn't talk about in the movie that plays a large part in all the sequels is dr. Samuel Loomis, who was Michael's. psychiatrist and doctor while he was, put away for killing him. Judith,

Steve:

I didn't like him. I've never liked him. He is a character.

Stephen:

He's the protagonist and lead in four or five and six and costars in one and two. But one of the things that Loomis always talks about and Michael. Is thought by some to represent evil in general, in the film. And it's based on the belief that like evil never dies nor does evil show any remorse. And this idea is demonstrated in the film when dr. Lumas discusses Michael's history with the sheriff and Luma says I spent eight years trying to reach him. And then another seven, trying to keep him locked up. Because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply evil.

Steve:

Yes. And so, yeah, he, he, do you agree with him then Michael Myers? Isn't human. That he is just evil.

Stephen:

Yeah.

Steve:

I like in a human shell.

Stephen:

I do agree with that. And I think there are people that in the real world, and I, I know some people might call them. Call it mental illness and things, but we're not going to go there. I think that there are some people in the world that are just evil and I think Michael is one of those remorseless killers. And I think evil is probably. One of the best ways to describe that.

Steve:

Yes. And going into that, you know, with all of the kills that he had, I do think it's interesting, you know, partially that it was because of budget reasons. They didn't have lots of blood, but so much of his killing actually wasn't bloody, it was strangling someone or. You know, stabbing them, but they're living a very little blood

Stephen:

and the, the stabbing, like what's happening on screen, but then the knife would be off screen. So, you know, it's plunging into the person, but you don't actually see the wound.

Steve:

Yeah. And so I know, and also part of that was a lot of the times the women were naked when they were getting murdered or topless or almost topless,

Stephen:

the two of them, for sure.

Steve:

And so they, and he was afraid that, you know, if you have blood and. Tits at the same time in a movie back then that it could have gotten an X rating and they were worried about that. Right. And so they do blood separately from tits.

Stephen:

Yes. So no full on nipple shots while someone is being stabbed. And there are people that talk about, that Halloween is. A morality tale.

Steve:

Well, because I mean, two women are, you know, one woman's like, Oh, I burned butter. I have to get all my clothes off.

Stephen:

Right. And then, they're murdered, but I don't actually think it is a morality play because the savior and the winner still. smoke marijuana. He still smokes pot.

Steve:

So he still talks about like guys that she

Stephen:

is interested

Steve:

in and like showing sexual desires

Stephen:

doesn't have sex on screen. And usually if they're talking about, Oh, you know, the virgins are going to win that also, you know, no sex, no drugs, no alcohol. And I don't think that really follows here, but I also know that John Carpenter said that wasn't his intention at all. Yeah. And, what are some other things from the movie itself? That you noticed that, when we were taking some notes,

Steve:

I mean, I just did have to write a rest in peace, Lester the puppy.

Stephen:

Oh yes. And there was a dog killed. A Dom was one screen.

Steve:

Yeah, it was, it was my least favorite

Stephen:

death. Yes. And we do feel bad for Leicester, our IP Leicester. Yes. Well, one of the early things, whenever Laurie's dropping off the keys at the Myers house for the person that who wants to buy it, Michael is inside. Okay. The notes to Lori and he sees her now, is that an unfortunate chance or is that fate and the mood? Well, he talks a lot about fate and destiny and things. And you hear that a lot throughout the entire series about fate and destiny about all these people brought together. So. Do you think that even taking it as an individual movie without seeing the things later, do you think it's just unfortunate that Michael saw Laurie there or with him being the personification of evil? Was it fate for him to spot her? I would

Steve:

say it was a mix of both. I mean, you can, at that plant, it's a question of whether he, he, you know, he was there for Laurie because in the scheme of things, he was meant to find her or if it was because she just stumbled upon him. But I mean, it also makes sense, you know, to stumble upon because I mean, it was right around that time, in that scene where she was talking to her friends and she says like her issue with boys is that boys think that she's too smart. And so if anything, that kind of makes her for the patriarchy, the perfect kill. And so, you know, that happens so close to that time, it was almost like it was saying something about, you know, Oh, he kills all of her friends and saves her for the last one. You could have started with her, but, you know, she was his big O for the night and he saved the best for last. And you know, what about her made him drawn to that.

Stephen:

Right? And like, and if you're talking about fate and things, One of the things I like about how Elouine and the character of Laurie Strode is that, especially in the later films, she accepts her fate that this is going to be a dance that they do until one of them has gone. But what I really like about her is that even though she knows that it's inevitable, It doesn't mean she's going to give up. She fights against fate, every chance she gets. And that's one of the reasons that I love the character, Laurie Strode in all of the different iterations of her.

Steve:

I also think that, I mean, when you live in a town where there's no sunset, you have to be prepared for the

Stephen:

darkness because it, so, a funny little film, flub, Laurie and her friend, Annie, are driving to their babysitting things and the sun is going down. And then all of a sudden they turn onto the street and it's pitch black. Like there was no,

Steve:

no, exactly. So when you live in a town where it's just like turning on the lights on and off, you have to be prepared for things to go South.

Stephen:

one of the things that I like, and the movies themselves over time, also like to call back to earlier things and sheriff bracket in this movie, accidentally scares Lori and she screams and he says, Oh, I'm so sorry, Laurie. it's Halloween, I guess everyone's entitled to a good scream or a good scare. And. In H2O. Jamie Lee, Curtis, his mother, Janet Lee, the original scream queen from Alfred Hitchcock's psycho, plays her executive assistant at the college and she accidentally scares Laurie and says the same line. It's Halloween. I guess everyone's entitled to one good scare. And I love that callback. And you see that with a lot of different things. Over the course of the movies that the timelines, which we'll get to, Get a little skewed. They never really forget where they come from.

Steve:

Yeah. And I really liked that throughout this movie, especially like some of the Halloweens, I don't remember Halloween being as present as others, but I do know for this one, or you have a question. Cause I noticed that during the scene when Linda and Bob were, were getting intimate, there was a jack-o-lantern on their nights. Stand as, as the sexy time lighting

Stephen:

and it was lit,

Steve:

it was lit. And so my question is, do you think in this household that the people who live there kept the jack-o-lantern on their nightstand as their nightlight, so they could read by the jacket lantern? Or do you think they brought it in to set the mood for them so they can get it on?

Stephen:

So I think that. Bob probably carried it upstairs whenever they were going because Bob and Linda we're in the house that Anna, he was babysitting in, they weren't supposed to be there. And so they go into the parent's bedroom. I think Bob carried the lit jack-o-lantern upstairs and put it on the bedside table because. That's Bob.

Steve:

Well, it sounds like it. And you know, I also think that brings me to their death scenes when Linda was dying. as much as we were saying that Lori is like a sexually independent woman who could have sex, if she wanted to. I don't think she's very experienced if she thought that those sounds that Linda was making were sex noises

Stephen:

because Linda was dying on the phone with Lori and Michael was choking her. With the phone cord and Laurie thought that it was actually Annie calling. And doing sexy moaning noises over the phone. And so she doesn't even realize she's listening to her best friend die. Yeah.

Steve:

Until she finds her body. But yeah, it's funny. Cause it's like, you know, someone's clearly getting choked out and she's like, Oh, stop it with your sexy time jokes either. That means she's not very experienced or she's very experienced in a sense.

Stephen:

Well, and one of the sad things that I noticed, one of the first times I watched the movie is, When Michael begins killing, Linda he's covered with a sheet and Linda thought it was Bob in the room with her covered with the sheet playing a sexy Casper, the ghost. Yeah. And so by she dies thinking that Bob Sutton, well, we decided to strangle her, which. Yeah. I mean, how awful that the person that you know is your high school boyfriend, you die thinking that something snapped him. Him. And he decided to kill you.

Steve:

And he was actually innocent

Stephen:

and he was in it because he was already dead.

Steve:

Yeah. But I mean, and then, I mean, shortly after their deaths, they, you know, those were the big, final ones before the final scene or the final scenes. And w one thing I also, you know, for Laurie and depending on when we get into the timelines of it,

Stephen:

but yeah.

Steve:

You know, wealth for us watching these murders happen happen. We, and we watched them over, I would say half an hour to 40 minutes of the plot, at least at least. And, but she finds all of their bodies with

Stephen:

a, within 35

Steve:

seconds to 60 seconds of each other.

Stephen:

She's immediately traumatically sculpt.

Steve:

She lost like all of her friends all in our row. Like just imagine the four, like besties in your life and just finding all of their bodies dead.

Stephen:

And she has no idea what's going on. And then. And she's walking out into the hallway. Crying and out of the dark comes the shape.

Steve:

Yes. And in her escape, she runs to her bitch neighbor's house who doesn't do Jack and just ignores her. Yeah. Like help

Stephen:

helping die,

Steve:

murdered

Stephen:

and screaming at the top of her lungs. Oh, please help me please. Oh, God help me. The

Steve:

lights, the lights.

Stephen:

And you have to know either whenever the police and the ambulance to show up on the street. She wore the next in there to see what

Steve:

happened

Stephen:

or, you know, the next morning, do they feel bad that they allowed a girl to almost be killed? I hope so.

Steve:

I mean, it must be really awkward to see them at church that next Sunday.

Stephen:

So one of the biggest, most tense scenes for me is after Laurie and Michael have their first tussle. Over across the street at the Wallace house. And Laurie is coming back over to the Doyle's, where she's been babysitting and she gets to the door and she's lost the keys to the Doyle house. And she had locked it when she left because the kids were upstairs asleep and. so it goes back to, I caught coming towards her, her at the door, trying to get in Michael, coming towards her, her trying to get Tommy to wake up, to let her in Michael coming through. And it's this thing and he's getting closer and closer. And is she going to get in, in time or is he going to get there before he, she can get in and he's going to stab her and it's like real close and then you get in, you're like, Oh, she's safe. And. After about five seconds, you see one of the side windows is open and Oh, game on.

Steve:

Yeah. And then she gets the knitting needle,

Stephen:

get the knitting needle upside the head. And that's one of the interesting things about Jamie Lee Curtis, where the, even though she isn't the first female protagonist in a horror movie, too. when she is often credited as being, and starting the concept of the final girl, because the movie really did revolve mostly around her, kind of like how scream revolves mostly around Neff Campbell and, street was about Heather Landon camp.

Steve:

And he did last summer was the vagina for love,

Stephen:

Hugh. Exactly. And so it's Jamie Lee Curtis having the movie be. Predominantly about her, where Friday the 13th, a girl may have been the last person, but the story was evenly spread around a lot of characters. And that wasn't the case with this one. So, and for anybody that's not familiar with the term final girl is, the. Person. That's usually able to defeat the big, bad villain in horror movies. And 99% of the time, the final girl is always a girl. There's rarely a fight.

Steve:

Yeah, well, or it's like the, the, the romantic lead for the girl, but it's like all about the girl. And then like the boy, like maybe lives. and, but the, whether the boy lives are not typically as irrelevant in those, cause it is all about the girl in the final finale.

Stephen:

One of the things I love about Jamie Lee Curtis with this, because some people that get their start in horror movies, move away from them once they quote go legit. And that kind of annoys me of some people that do that. And, Jamie Lee Curtis is definitely not one of those people. She holds Halloween and a very special place in her heart because she's done the first two. She came back for H and resurrection, and now she's doing the new trilogy and. She doesn't have to

Steve:

know, but she's awesome in it. And she makes them better.

Stephen:

Yes. And I love that.

Steve:

And right in the finale, when she's making her like less standoff for me, my most tense part was always the closet. Oh. And just how claustrophobic she must feel in that moment. But during this watch through, after living with you for so long, this, this is the first time where I was like, who has a closet that, that that's that empty.

Stephen:

Yeah. And, Because she's in one of the Doyle's bedrooms and it could be the guest bedroom or something, but all of them, our

Steve:

closets are just filled with something or other, I can't imagine having an empty closet like that.

Stephen:

We also live in Florida and closets in Florida, especially if you're not in a new build Clawson's of Florida are hard to come by. Yeah. And yeah, but there are barely any clothes in that closet. There's a lot of hangers and there's a lot of space for her. There's nothing on the floor. No shoes, no luggage like that.

Steve:

Yes. And then in the F in the finale, when Michael finally gets it, this is after he's been. Stabbed multiple, multiple times he got the knitting needle in the neck and then he got like one bullet that might've grazed him or hit him.

Stephen:

And then through the heart

Steve:

and then five bullets right. In a row.

Stephen:

Right. As he

Steve:

went out of

Stephen:

second story, sorry window. He fell at least 20 feet because he went over the railing. Yep. So that's a 20 foot drop onto flat ground below.

Steve:

And he was up within a minute

Stephen:

within. Roughly a minute when dr. Loomis goes to check and the body has gone. And one of the things I find fascinating about that is, this was originally intended to be one and done movie. Yeah. Okay. SQLs, weren't really a thing. So. With him being the personification of evil and that evil can't die and evil is always going to exist in the world. I thought that that was really creepy. That that's how they ended it with evil disappearing. There's no resolution. You have a girl that is traumatized for life and evil just lives on.

Steve:

Yes. And speaking of evil, living on what are your thoughts on how the franchise has developed with all of its sequels and remakes?

Stephen:

So in total, I love the Halloween franchise. So one and two are the beginning of the Laurie Strode saga. They both, both take place on the same Halloween night. Two is just a continuation. Of the first and,

Steve:

that's it. We find out that

Stephen:

she is Michael's little sister. Yes. And,

Steve:

then

Stephen:

that, and then, so the third one and they, and that one ends with Michael. That allegedly dying a lot hospital.

Steve:

Oh, and the third one was the weird one. That was yes. And that one was good when you realize it's not a ho a J it's not a Michael Myers movie.

Stephen:

Correct. And, but people, unfortunately, because nowadays you could create, anthologies, like the American horror story series. Each season is different, even though a few are connected in total, you're going to think. Each season is totally different and things like

Steve:

that. And I also think with movies nowadays, you see previews beforehand and there are trailers and you know, people talk about movies more before they come out, rather than just when you might walk into a movie,

Stephen:

I have to tell a quick story. Alright, so, so big because it's based on yeah. Where trailers, weren't really a thing and used to be people would go see movies. Based on who was in it. And my mom and grandmother, God rest at grandma's soul. One of the few people I know that could apply for sainthood when she was alive and get it. they liked Mia Farrow. So grandma had never been to a movie before. And, mom had seen that. At the Smoot theater that Rosemary's baby was playing starring Mia Farrow. So she took my grandmother who taught Sunday school for as long as I can remember. And, To see Rosemary's baby. And if you've seen Rosemary's,

Steve:

it's not about a loving mother and her little child.

Stephen:

No. It's about the devil's child. And mom was so mortified to have taken her mother to that. So trailers matter people. And as what I was going with, this is if people nowadays you could have said, well, this is going to be an anthology series from now on. They're all going to be on Halloween or about Halloween. But it's not about Michael Myers that didn't go over well over well, because they expected Michael Myers. And so come the fourth, it's the return of Michael Myers. And, by that point, Jamie Lee Curtis was a much bigger actress and they couldn't get her back. And so they killed her off in a car accident before the movie started. And so four and five deal with Michael coming for. His niece, Jamie Lee, Curtis, his daughter also named Jamie, and sick deals finishes off the, you think the Strode saga and then some time takes place and we get Halloween H2O. The return of Jamie Lee Curtis is Laurie Strode. It came out 20 years to the day after the first one. And, this is where the timeline and goes wonky. There are now three Halloween timelines. There's one through six. Yeah, there's one too, seven and eight. And now there's one 2018, which is called Halloween again. And then Halloween kills and Halloween ends. Now, personally, I think there could have been. Two or three lines added into H2O that could have connected all of them because it deals with I'm Laurie Strode, going into hiding, changing her name to hide from Michael Myers. Because even though she saw him die in the hospital at the end of day, she believes that he is a lie alive and is going to come after her someday. And I think if they could have added a line about whenever she's describing the trauma that happened to her, and she's telling that to her boyfriend, she could have said like, when she said, and I faked my own death, she could have said, and I left a daughter behind and,

Steve:

it all would make sense.

Stephen:

Yeah. And it could have all gone together, but I love them all. There are some that I don't care for though. Do you know which ones those are?

Steve:

the one with Busta rhymes.

Stephen:

Nope. I actually enjoy resurrection for what it is. It's silly and things. No, I love that

Steve:

Ryan set after the debates last week, he goes, that was the most pathetic thing I've ever seen in Iowa in

Stephen:

Halloween resurrection. Yup. no, it's the Rob zombie room.

Steve:

Oh yeah. Those were not good because they were all about being miserable.

Stephen:

Yeah. They.

Steve:

I know I didn't need 45 minutes of Michael's origin story, why he was evil.

Stephen:

Right. I like the, so Rob zombie, instead of making a new Halloween movie, he said, I'd like to remake the original and set it in present day. But honest to goodness, the first 45 minutes to an hour of it takes place when Michael is six to 10 years old. And he kills his family except his mother, and his little baby sister and, is institutionalized. And it's not very well acted and it's, it's drawn out and it's boring

Steve:

that Lori was not likable.

Stephen:

No,

Steve:

she was foul mouth and nasty. And that

Stephen:

was the problem I have with the two Rob zombie remakes. Are his final girls. You have to be willing to root for them. I didn't like any of them as people

Steve:

not to mention that, unless you took acid or shrooms or some drugs, psychedelic drug, I don't take, cause I didn't understand how that second one ended.

Stephen:

Oh, the, yeah. This

Steve:

with the mother and the white horse and the,

Stephen:

yeah. So no, thank you. Yeah, it, maybe everyone should see them, but. Only once. Yes. It's not something you need to do a lot. He definitely made them his own. I prefer the original eight and the new ones.

Steve:

Yes. And speaking of recommendations of movies, not only should you go out and watch all of the Halloween movies, but our fans and listeners also took some conversations on Facebook and shared with us. Their favorite horror movies of all time or their favorite franchises? Yes. I know my, my sister in law, her daughter Darcy lesser hardest, not a fan of horror movies. So hers was Halloween town.

Stephen:

I've never seen, but we were just talking about the other day. I was like, I think I want to see Halloween

Steve:

time. Well, at that point I'm, I'm, I'm hoping someone said Hocus Pocus.

Stephen:

they didn't, But I'll go through some of them real quick. Sure. April rants full, loves the grudge and hell raiser. your brother loves last house on the left and the evil dead trilogy. my childhood friend, Missy Thomas, like me loves the Halloween franchise. our friend crystal Whiteley, is a big fan of the haunting of Hill house. My cousin, Tricia nightmare on Elm street, which I've known since we were little that's her face.

Steve:

Yeah. That's the first nightmare on Elm street was like the first movie I saw the hacky mean nightmares, where I was like up at night being like, I'm not going to go to sleep. And then I went to sleep and I was fine.

Stephen:

our friend John loves the Babadook. My cousin, Jenny is a big fan of the creepy and campy insidious series. Our friend Marianne Hernandez, 13 ghosts. my friend Tracy stats, it's the conjuring movies and Brady powers. big fan. I know for him that whenever we, we, he always loved the final destination series, but he also talks about another Friday, the 13th, saw we watched Sala and the scream series.

Steve:

You know, off, like before this, we were talking about my favorite series and I, I, I would think it was screened, but now that, like, I think final destination is up there. Cause even with our recent rewatch, like, I love those debts. Like, it's all about the deaths in the final destination, but there's just. Coolest ways to die.

Stephen:

And also, thanks to final destination. I refuse to drive behind log trucks on the interstate. Yes. Oh, I

Steve:

think that's probably a good idea.

Stephen:

Anyway. Now there is one other thing that I want to talk about before we end. And so, and it's one of the reasons why Halloween always. Got me and scared me. during the first one, they kept re kept referring to him as the bogeyman bogeyman. It's going to get you, the boogeyman is outside. And, when I was little and my brother was eight years older than me and I always wanted to hang out with he and his friends, my brother didn't care for that very much. And he was like, you need to go back to your room and play. He-Man playing Nintendo, do whatever you're going to do. No, I don't want to do that. Do it, or the boogeyman is kind of get you. And so there'll be different things about do it or the book. Yeah. And, so this movie, they talk about the boogeyman all the time and at the end and the movie after Laurie and dr. Loomis think that they've killed Michael and Lori is destroyed. She says was that the boogeyman and dr. Loomis says, as a matter of fact, It was

Steve:

because he's a lying little bitch.

Stephen:

Well, it

Steve:

wasn't the buggy man. It wasn't Michael Myers. Don't tell her it's the boogeyman she's already just,

Stephen:

but as a child, now I have a face and a person to go with the idea of the boogeyman. But I think dark to Loomis is correct because the boogeyman. Persona. FI's all that will scare you and evil and you can't stop the bogeyman. So I think Michael being the boogeyman makes total sense.

Steve:

I dunno. I just think he led a lot of people. I, that he,

Stephen:

Oh, I think that's true as well, but that, do you have any other final thoughts? My dear?

Steve:

No, just that. You're my favorite final girl.

Stephen:

Thanks darling. And I would make sure that you didn't die.

Steve:

Oh, well, thank you very much. I would just get the hell out of there as soon as possible and just never come back. They'll just call me when it's all safe. Cause you're going to be able to survive better than me

Stephen:

fingers crossed. So we talked about some of our, fans and their interactions with us and you could be one of the fans we talk about as well. and we would really appreciate it. If you left us a review on Apple podcasts, you can engage with our Facebook page. Like the people we mentioned did, and you can add us on Twitter at happy life pod.

Steve:

Yes. And also a reminder that if you know of a local entertainer business or service that brings happiness to others on the Suncoast, suggest them to be on a future episode via email too. Happy life pod@gmail.com.

Stephen:

Thanks for taking this journey with us and remember Steve. Yay.

Steve:

Happy.