The Palin Matrix

Paradigm Shift: The Palin Matrix has been sent to the publisher. The book should be available for the first pre-orders in about ten days to two weeks. The final price and page count is $17.95 and 382 pages. I managed to shrink the font one size and get it down below 400 pages. The reason for this was to try to get the retail price for its 212,000 words down as low as possible for readers in this tough economy. The book is quite an emotional roller coaster ride, with tall peaks of parody and hyperbole and fast downhill drops into Depression 2.0 and the crashing of the American Empire. The book's progress through the publishing system will be monitored on this site. I am quite proud of my magnum opus, although I am also psychologically exhausted. The poignancy of wrapping up such a project on Christmas Eve has not been lost on me. Paradigm Shift is a book for real Christians, not those holier-than-thou pretenders who go to church to be encouraged to vote Republican en masse while they economically crucify those who are less fortunate or different than themselves. Paradigm Shift may be a relentless humorous rant, but it is also a serious manifesto for those Americans who are the true followers of Jesus and the Christian religion, with sincere compassion for their fellow man. Merry Christmas, Sarah. This is my lump of coal gift to you.

Unleash the Tiger!

My baby tiger is about ready to be unleashed on schedule. The cover is complete, the final proofread has been done, and I am adjusting the last few details. I expect to send it to the publisher before Christmas. The first copies will be available early next month. Although the media, the economy, and The Big Picture of how America got itself into this mess, and how it will get out, are the overall focus of the book, probably 70% of the content is about Sarah Palin in one way or another.

PARADIGM SHIFT: The Palin Matrix (The Progressive Left Strikes Back!) is struggling at its leash! Here is a preview of the back cover blurb:

Timeline for a Psychotic Nation

Paradigm Shift is the story of the rise and fall of the American Empire as viewed within a psychosocial context. The timeline displays the development of the consumer culture and its economic vulnerabilities. After eight years of Bush and Cheney, we were almost ready to turn our Titanic around before it hit the iceberg. An unscrupulous celebrity politician with a wiggle, a wink, and an ice-cold heart has become our own American iceberg from Wasilla, AK.

These are the rumors and legends about the life and political career of Sarah Palin that the mainstream media do not want you to read or hear. She has become the gravy train for Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, The Discovery Channel, and many others. It is way past time to kick Sarah Palin and the media train she rode in on right in the caboose!

This is the book for all the many frustrated left wing progressives in America, those who have watched helplessly as our nation has been overtaken by greedy corporatist politicians, Wall Street scumbags, Tea Baggers, and power-mad Evangelical Christians. For all those who are as mad as hell and are not going to take it anymore, this book is for you!

Apocalypse Now!

Life in the Fish Bowl

As promised last week, here is an update on the progress of Paradigm Shift: The Palin Matrix. The 7 x 10 book will be approximately 400 pages and 210,000 words, and it should be released on schedule in about the first week of January 2011. The subtitle is The Progressive Left Strikes Back!

The Table of Contents will read as follows (with a brief description of each chapter added below):

Chapter 1: Timeline for a Psychotic Nation - The whole first chapter is composed entirely of a timeline of American history, similar to some of the material in my earlier book, Timeline of America. In many ways, Paradigm Shift has always been planned as a sequel to the 2006 book. As you read through the timeline in the earlier book, you will wax nostalgic, but this one will be disturbing in a manner that will make you wonder why no one seemed to see the obvious coming.

Chapter 2: The Swing of the Pendulum - This chapter contains a lot of the material from the '90's that had to be edited down from a massive level. As things worked out, this material had to be severely cut and updated to leave room for the nightmares that would soon follow.

Chapter 3: The 2008 Presidential Election Primaries - Only a couple of months ago, you may have wondered why this short chapter has been included, but with the political events of the past weeks, that question has unfortunately been answered.

Chapter 4: Babygate - You can skip this chapter, since there is nothing new in it for you experienced researchers of this volatile issue, but I am sure the newbies will be fascinated!

Chapter 5: The Psychology of a Nation - I have often mentioned that Paradigm Shift would also be a sequel to my 2002 book, The Last Horizon, and the details of this concept are spelled out in this chapter.

Chapter 6: Highways to Oblivion - I know most of you women are going to take one browse through all this discussion of cars, motorcycles, engines, and the history of these industries in America, and want to skip this chapter altogether. All I can say is that if you do, you will be missing a key element of how our country got itself into such a mess that a boob like Sarah Palin could take over our TV sets!

Chapter 7: Race to the Bottom of the World - This chapter covers many of the economic and environmental issues aside from those involving the auto industry.

Chapter 8: Suck the Boob - This is a title that can mean whatever you like. It generally refers to how our political system came to be so stupid.

Chapter 9: The Wolf Pack Trifecta - This is a serious chapter about the GOP, the Evangelical voting bloc, and the media.

Chapter 10: The Palin Matrix Stalemate - I know you are all wondering exactly what I mean by the phrase The Palin Matrix. I am not sure that I fully understand it myself. The phrase represents many things that you cannot see or touch, but you can sense their presence and feel their effects. It is a rot emanating from deep within the American psyche. It is why the right wingers seem to be angry at all of us and the rest of the world. It is the monster that has been unleased on America by Sarah Palin.

Paradigm Shift

My magnum opus Paradigm Shift: The Palin Matrix will be released within the first two weeks of 2011. This is the book I began in 1990 that has passed through several titles and permutations on its long journey to publication. Although the book began twenty years ago on the subject of the economic collapse of the American Empire, someone from Wasilla AK crashed the party back in '08 and none of us has been the same since. The subtitle is The Progressive Left Strikes Back!

At its longest, the original manuscript comprised well over 253,000 words. I am near the end of the editing process and I expect the final page count to be about 400 in an oversize 7 x 10 format. In other words, Paradigm Shift will be physically quite similar to my most recent book, Ker-Splash 2, which tops out at 400 pages and 152,000 words in a slightly larger font sharing the page space with many photos. The final word count of Paradigm Shift will surely be more than 200.000. I am shooting for a published release date as soon after 1/1/11 as possible. Whatever the final release date, the book should be available from Amazon a week or two later, followed by the Kindle version in probably no more than two more months, and then a Smashwords (Nook) version will be offered at some point after that, probably no later than April.

As I have stated repeatedly in my books and on my blogs, I am not a journalist. Although Babygate has been given a complete chapter in the book and many of Sarah Palin's shenanigans another chapter, there is no silver bullet that is going to stop the political madness. As with all my writing, this book will be a complete psychoanalysis of a nation that has lost its mind, and that will be the central focus of the book. You will not be disappointed!

Paradigm Shift: The Palin Matrix

Dr. Al Past, an author friend of mine, best known for his Distant Cousin series of E.T.-like novels, took this photo of a cold front moving into South Texas last February 10. This photo inspired the title of my upcoming book to be named Paradigm Shift: The Palin Matrix. This photo will not be on the actual cover, but a similar one recommended to me by Dr. Past will be used; however, I do not wish to show that one until the actual book and its cover are released soon after the first of the year.

The subtitle of the book is The Progressive Left Strikes Back! Although I mentioned in an earlier description that the book would be at least 600 pages, I may release it in an oversized 7 x 10 format in order to display certain portions of the text in a little more attractive manner. In that case, the page count should be well over 400 pages, at the least. Either way, Paradigm Shift: The Palin Matrix will be a magnum opus of more than 210,000 words, and at least half the content, in one manner or another, will be about Sarah Palin and/or Babygate. The book will open with a timeline of how America developed the consumer culture from 1492 through the current economic disasters of 2010, and will close with a bibliography of books and blogs that cover the pertinent issues. Possibly in a week or so, I shall be ready to post the Table of Contents and/or promotional blurbs for the book. Thank you.

The Book is Coming

The stroke of midnight has just passed, and America by Heart has just hit #19 at Amazon, but this post is not about that book. This is about the book I began in 1990 that has passed through several titles and permutations on its long journey to publication. Although the book began twenty years ago on the subject of the economic collapse of the American Empire, someone from Wasilla crashed the party back in '08 and none of us has been the same since. You might have guessed that I was all set to write a Halloween post on 10/31/10 and follow it with a final post after the midterm elections, before pausing for a while to get the book finished. You also may have supposed that I got so totally fed up with the wimpy Democrats and the relentless media promotion of Palin and her brats that I threw in the towel a few days earlier than expected. You would be correct on both counts.

A few of you may even have noticed that I added all the posts from Palin Babygate to my NIAFS blog, too. That was an experiment to find out if I could collapse PB into my regular NIAFS blog and take all the wonderful comments the PB readers have made through Disqus with me. That project didn't fly: the posts went, but the comments did not. I was experimenting with that concept for three reasons. (1) I have enough time problems juggling both the new book project and my blogs. (2) I thought maybe if I dumped the PB name, I could get more posts plugged at The Huffington Post. (3) Babygate will be covered in the book, so it will soon become just another of the subjects of my publications. Right now I have no specific plans to continue blogging at PB or not, but I shall clearly have no time for it until the book is complete.

The book is planned for release as early as possible after the Christmas season and New Years are over. There was no way I could have possibly have readied it for a Christmas release, so I want it to come out as soon as the whole holiday period has passed. I am keeping the title and other details to myself until the project nears completion. At its longest, the manuscript comprised well over 250,000 words, which translates to approximately 800 pages. I am near the end of the editing process and I expect the final page count to be about 600, at the least. I am shooting for a published release date as soon after 1/1/11 as possible. Whatever the final release date, the book should be available from Amazon a week or two later, followed by the Kindle version in probably no more than two more months, and then a Smashwords (Nook) version will be offered at some point after that, probably no later than April 1.

As I have stated repeatedly on this blog, I am not a journalist. Although Babygate has been given a complete chapter in the book and many of Sarah's shenanigans another chapter, there is no silver bullet that is going to stop the political madness. As with all my writing, this book will be a complete psychoanalysis of a nation that has lost its mind, and that will be the central focus of the book. However, most of the Babygate material from this blog has been included in the book, albeit rearranged and edited, and some passages have been re-written. I look forward to sharing my twenty-year project with all my Palin Babygate readers. You will not be disappointed!

Thirty-one Classic Scary Nights in October

I wrote this article for Blogger News Network back on 9/29/08. I still think this list is a lot of fun!

Monster movies have fascinated me for over fifty years. As with anything else, there are, of course, good ones and bad ones, and in this genre, many produced in very poor taste. Some aficionados of the genre prefer those films that are heavy on the scare and light on the gore, and my tastes certainly fall within that category. As every October rolls around, I eagerly look forward to seeing the spate of horror flicks traipsed out by the cable channels, hoping this year that they will have discovered good taste. The sixty-two films listed here represent the best overview of the more tasteful classics for you to view over the course of the thirty-one nights of October.

This is an eclectic collection that ignores a few genres such as bloody slash-o-ramas and repeated sequels, but includes many B-movies that have received acclaim for their creators’ imaginations. A few notable writers, directors, and actors, especially those from famous television series, have been listed. The list is in release date order: if an exact date is included, it is to differentiate this order. Two run times are listed wherever two versions of the film have been released. All official information listed should be credited to Amazon and its sister site, the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com). NA means the film is not available directly from Amazon as of September 2008. You may very well locate the film for rent or elsewhere. Certainly many of them are occasionally shown on television. Find a partner to squeeze during the scary parts and let the fun begin!

October 1:
Dracula (February 1931 / 75 minutes / $22 Special Edition) – Bela Lugosi discovers his calling.
King Kong (April 1933 / 100 & 104 minutes / $10) – Giant monkey love sells well during The Great Depression.
The Wolf Man (December 1941 / 70 minutes / $18) – Lon Chaney, Jr., Ralph Bellamy, Claude Rains, & Bela Lugosi – The old gypsy tells her tale and America is never the same again.

October 2:
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (March 1943 / 74 minutes / $13) – This began the monster-meets-monster genre that we have become so familiar with today. The most unusual thing about this film is that Bela Lugosi is playing Frankenstein’s monster instead of Dracula.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (June 1948 / 83 minutes / $15) – Bela Lugosi & Lon Chaney, Jr. – This feature opened the door to a string of A/C scream fests. This one has the honor of including Frankie, Dracula, and The Wolf Man.
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (August 1953 / 76 minutes / NA) – Boris Karloff & Craig Stevens of Peter Gunn – This is one of those kid movies that I just cannot seem to get enough of: Costello steals the show, of course.

October 3:
Godzilla (April 1956 / 80 minutes / $15) – The original Japanese version was released in 1954. Scenes shot in L.A. with Raymond Burr of Perry Mason were added to the version released in the U.S. in 1956.
The Werewolf (July 1956 / 79 minutes / $20 w/three other films) – This is the matinee that first showed me what a monster movie was. It’s not that great a movie, but it has stuck with me for a long time.
I Was a Teenage Werewolf (June 1957 / 76 minutes / NA) – Michael Landon of Bonanza & Little House on the Prairie – Landon’s beard was a lot messier and his teeth were awful in this teenage scream fest. I found it to be considerably scarier than The Werewolf.

October 4:
Queen of Outer Space (September 7, 1958 / 80 minutes / $13) – Zsa Zsa Gabor – The DVD is available at Amazon with surprisingly outstanding reviews. She was the queen, all right, and she was hardly old enough to slap a cop in this campy sci-fi romp.
The Blob (September 12, 1958 / 82 minutes / $30) – Steve McQueen – What? There are no motorcycles in this picture? No cars, either? Did the Jolly Green Giant knock over his ketchup bottle?

October 5:
The Killer Shrews (1959 / 69 minutes) – These shrews are a lot bigger than mice.
The Giant Gila Monster (1959 / 74 minutes) – The title says it all. These two were originally released together as a B&W, double-feature matinee in 1959 (no month of release is available). Both are now available at Amazon as a $13 package of both movies in both B&W and colorized versions on two DVD’s.

October 6:
House on Haunted Hill (February 1959 / 75 minutes / $11) – Directed by William Castle – Vincent Price – William Castle knew how to make teens jump out of their seats with carefully crafted plots and simple B&W sets.
The Tingler (July 1959 / 82 minutes / $9) – Directed by William Castle - Vincent Price & Darryl Hickman of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis – What made this movie special was the unusually original nature of the monster and a few of its special plot details.

October 7:
Psycho (June 1960 / 109 minutes / $20 Special Edition) – Directed by Alfred Hitchcock – Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles & Janet Leigh – Jamie Lee’s mom learns the danger of a shower.
Homicidal (June 1961 / 87 minutes / NA) – Directed by William Castle - Glenn Corbett from Route 66 – William Castle may have taken a rear seat in the theatre behind Hitchcock, but he certainly knew how to entertain us!

October 8:
Black Sunday (February 1961 / 83 minutes / $8) – Barbara Steele of the 1991 Dark Shadows series – The restored version of this Italian classic is currently available with 78 outstanding reviews for the new DVD release at Amazon. I knew from the very first scene that this is what vampires and witches were all about. If you choose to watch only one pre-Dracula ’79 vampire movie, this should be it.
Pit and the Pendulum (August 1961 / 80 minutes / $10) – Directed by Roger Corman – Screenplay by Richard Matheson – Vincent Price & Barbara Steele – This one was selected from the slate of movies produced by the same crew because it features Barbara Steele and the plot is one of the more memorable of this group.

October 9:
The Raven (January 1963 / 86 minutes / NA) – Directed by Roger Corman – Screenplay by Richard Matheson – Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff & Jack Nicholson – This is one of the more unusual storylines shown by this crew in The Sixties.
The Birds (March 1963 / 119 minutes / $15) – Directed by Alfred Hitchcock – Tippi Hedren (Melanie Griffith’s mom), Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, & Suzanne Pleshette of The Bob Newhart Show – This seemed at the time to be the first attempt at the release of a truly A-rated (as opposed to B-movie) monster or horror film. Shot in color with big-name stars, this film introduced an idea that would later be extrapolated upon by Stephen King: create the monster from some benign entity in our everyday lives.

October 10:
The Tomb of Ligeia (January 1965 / 81 minutes / $13) – Directed by Roger Corman - Vincent Price – This is the film in this Sixties series that is most often overlooked, but I have always felt it was the queen of the crop. It’s not so much monstrous and scary as it is unusually engrossing and carefully detailed. Like the last three movies on this list, Ligeia is as much a love story as it is a fright fest.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (January 1968 / TV / 120 minutes / $13) – Jack Palance – This is the best version of the classic Stevenson tale you will see on any size screen.

October 11:
Rosemary’s Baby (June 1968 / 136 minutes / $7) – Written by Ira Levin – Screenplay by Roman Polanski – Mia Farrow – This film carried the A-grade horror movie to the next level, and made Mia Farrow a star and Roman Polanski a celebrity.
The Night Stalker (January 1972 / TV / 74 minutes / $10) – Written by Richard Matheson – Darren McGavin of Riverboat, Claude Akins of Murder, She Wrote, & Larry Linville of M*A*S*H – Has there ever been a better attempt made by a television movie to rival theatrical releases in the traditional monster movie genre? This movie pilot of the television series was actually scary!

October 12:
The Girl Most Likely to… (November 6, 1973 / TV / 73 minutes / $10) – Written by Joan Rivers - Stockard Channing from The West Wing & Ed Asner from The Mary Tyler Moore Show & Lou Grant – This is such an unusual and little-known movie that I had to include it here. A homely young woman is mistreated horribly in a social context by a number of men she dates. After plastic surgery improves (and changes) her appearance, she hunts them down and kills them, each in a deliciously appropriate manner.
Frankenstein: The True Story (November 30, 1973 / TV / 182 minutes / $15) – James Mason, Michael Sarrazin, David McCallum of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Jane Seymour of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman & Agnes Moorehead of Bewitched – This is the best, most realistic expression of the monster classic.

October 13:
The Exorcist (December 1973 / 122 & 132 minutes / $12) – Written by William Peter Blatty – Directed by William Friedkin - Linda Blair & Ellen Burstyn – We all know this movie redefined the word blockbuster. Who would ever have thought that people would stand in line to buy advanced tickets to see green vomit in a matinee?
Scream of the Wolf (January 1974 / TV / 78 minutes / NA) – Screenplay by Richard Matheson – Peter Graves of Fury and Mission Impossible & Clint Walker of Cheyenne – The appeal of this movie is mostly to see a pair of legendary primetime heroes of The Sixties act in a monster movie in which one of them is probably the villain.

October 14:
Dracula (February 1974 / TV / 100 minutes / $13) – Jack Palance – screenplay by Richard Matheson – Jack Palance brings another classic performance to television.
The Stepford Wives (February 1975 / TV / 115 minutes / $13) – Written by Ira Levin (author of Rosemary’s Baby, The Boys from Brazil, & No Time for Sergeants) – Katherine Ross, Paula Prentiss of He & She & Tina Louise of Gilligan’s Island – Don’t let that silly, trashy, theatrical remake of this television classic spoil your appetite for robotic women.

October 15:
Jaws (June 1975 / 124 minutes / $10) – Directed by Steven Spielberg – Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss & Robert Shaw – I went swimming in the ocean off the Florida coast the day after watching Jaws in its first run, so what else is new? It never ages.

October 16:
The Omen (June 1976 / 111 minutes / $15) – Gregory Peck & Lee Remick – The 2006 remake sucks, but this original was one of the better early attempts at making a horror movie for adults.
Carrie (November 1976 / 98 minutes / $11) – Written by Stephen King – Directed by Brian De Palma – Sissy Spacek, Nancy Allen, Amy Irving & John Travolta – The word is that Tabitha fished the manuscript out of the trash where Stephen had thrown it, and the rest is celebrity millionaire history.

October 17:
King Kong (December 1976 / 134 minutes / $10) – Jeff Bridges plays the stowaway scientist hero, Jessica Lange gets a new boyfriend with big muscles, Charles Grodin calls for the mosquito spray, and Rene Aberjonois is the same pompous jackass as he is on Benson & Boston Legal.
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (August 1977 / 91 minutes / $10) – Jodie Foster & Martin Sheen of The West Wing – Teenaged Jodie plays a youngster who is acting as an adult after she has murdered her parents and buried them in the basement.

October 18:
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (January 1978 / TV / 300 minutes / NA) – Written by Thomas Tryon – Bette Davis, Rosanna Arquette, Rene Auberjonois, Donald Pleasence, & Tracey Gold of Growing Pains – This is simply the best currently unavailable movie on this list. Watch it if you can find it anywhere because it’s one of the best movies ever made for television. For some reason, the movie version of Thomas Tryon’s first book, The Other, is more commonly available, but in my opinion, Harvest Home is by far the better book and movie.

October 19:
Halloween (October 25, 1978 / 91 & 101 minutes / $11) – Jamie Lee Curtis & Donald Pleasence – If only all slasher movies were as good as this one. Like mother, like daughter!
Alien (May 1979 / 117 minutes / $15) – Directed by Ridley Scott – Sigourney Weaver & Tom Skerritt – Like the legendary episode in which the M*A*S*H producers write off Colonel Blake, the actors in the ship’s crew were not aware exactly how the baby alien was going to make his appearance. This movie shot monster movies into the next dimension!

October 20:
Dracula (July 1979 / 109 minutes / $10) – Frank Langella & Laurence Olivier – This one was a very successful play first, and the quality of the production, dialog, and soundtrack shine throughout.
The Shining (May 1980 / 146 minutes / $10) – Written by Stephen King – Directed by Stanley Kubrick – Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall & Scatman Crothers – Everybody in it should have received an Oscar.

October 21:
Altered States (December 1980 / 102 minutes / $8) – Written by Paddy Chayefsky – Directed by Ken Russell – William Hurt, Blair Brown of The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid of Hill Street Blues & Drew Barrymore – This is an outstanding psychedelic psychodrama, and I think it is Ken Russell’s most accessible work. Surprisingly, the monster movie element of Altered States is my least favorite thing about it. Drugs and silence in the tank, yes, monkeys climbing out, no, is my vote.
The Howling (April 1981 / 91 minutes / $11) – Screenplay by John Sayles – Directed by Joe Dante – Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone, Slim Pickens, John Carradine, & Patrick Macnee of The Avengers – Don’t bother reading any of The Howling series of books because they all suck, as do all the movie sequels, but if you can see only one werewolf movie, this must be the one! The editing is tight, the soundtrack is excellent, the acting is clever, and of course, Rob Bottin raised the bar for all future monster movies. One little bit of trivia: the story goes that Spielberg liked Dee Wallace in The Howling so much that he launched her career as a movie soccer mom by casting her in E.T.

October 22:
Wolfen (July 1981 / 115 minutes / $10) – Written by Whitley Strieber – Albert Finney & Gregory Hines – The book is one of the best of its genre. The movie version fails to include certain details that make the book so fascinating, but it’s still a winner.
An American Werewolf in London (August 1981 / 97 minutes / $7) – Written & Directed by John Landis – I have never liked this werewolf production as much as some do, but it is no doubt one of the best of its genre. I like the beginning and ending much better than the middle. If you like watching the dead friend deteriorate, then you might even enjoy the middle.

October 23:
Poltergeist (June 4, 1982 / 114 minutes / $10) – Written by Steven Spielberg – Directed by Tobe Hooper – Craig T. Nelson of Coach, JoBeth Williams & Beatrice Straight – With big names and top production everywhere, this is the best movie about a haunting of anything.
The Thing (June 25, 1982 / 109 minutes / $10) – Directed by John Carpenter – Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley of Our House & Richard Masur of One Day at a Time – This movie made the list mostly because I like it better than John Carpenter’s other works. Horror fans seem to be divided concerning the quality and value of this remake.

October 24:
The Hunger (April 1983 / 97 minutes / $15) – Written by Whitley Strieber - Directed by Tony Scott - Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie & Susan Sarandon – Strieber’s follow-up to Wolfen is weaker in both book and movie versions, but the star power is interesting. If only the rest of the movie held up to the level of the stunning opening, the opinions would probably be very different. The excitement of the tightly edited visuals and spunky Bauhaus tune deteriorates into a slow and loosely edited film.
Cujo (August 1983 / 91 minutes / $10) – Written by Stephen King – Dee Wallace & Christopher Stone – I had to pick one of the many Stephen King scripts about an otherwise commonplace and benign entity becoming a monster. Cujo happens to be my favorite of the bunch, although some of you may find a clown or an old Plymouth more frightening.

October 25:
Body Double (October 1984 / 114 minutes / $11) – Directed by Brian De Palma – Craig Wasson & Melanie Griffith – I think this is one of the great unheralded thrillers of our time, and certainly DePalma’s best effort after Carrie.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (November 1984 / 91 minutes / $13) – Directed by Wes Craven – Robert Englund, John Saxon of Falcon Crest, & Johnny Depp – This is Wes Craven at his best, far more original than the many teenage stabbings of the Friday the 13th series. This one brought nightmares to life and made Robert Englund something of a household name.

October 26:
Fright Night (August 1985 / 106 minutes / $9) – Chris Sarandon & Roddy McDowall – This may be just another vampire story plotline, but it is the best of its very specific genre.
Silver Bullet (October 1985 / 95 minutes / $8) – Written by Stephen King – Gary Busey, Corey Haim, & Everett McGill of Twin Peaks – Based on a story I have read, but few others have, entitled Cycle of the Werewolf, this is a case in which the movie is better than the book. The magic is derived from the story being told from the viewpoint of two kids, and of course, Busey is perfectly cast as the wild and crazy uncle the kids love.

October 27:
Aliens (July 1986 / 137 & 154 minutes / $18) – Directed by James Cameron – Sigourney Weaver, Paul Reiser of Mad About You & Bill Paxton of Big Love – Most of us already know that the full level of scares, gunfire, and suspense crammed into this quite exceptional sequel is enough for anyone in one night!

October 28:
Manhunter (August 1986 / 119 & 124 minutes / $13) – Written by Thomas Harris – Directed by Michael Mann – William Petersen of CSI & Dennis Farina of Law & Order – This little-known work should have launched William Petersen, Michael Mann, and Thomas Harris into household name status, but we all know it took the sinister mask of Anthony Hopkins to bring Manhunter to the attention of most of the public. I know you’ve seen The Red Dragon remake, but you need to see this one, too. It’s somewhat different, and probably better, easily one of the best movies on this list.
Werewolf (July 1987 / TV /90 minutes / NA) – John J. York, Lance LeGault, & Chuck Connors of The Rifleman – This is the pilot movie of what I view as Fox Network’s first attempt at a high-quality, imaginative series. Of course it was totally eclipsed by The X-Files, but that’s another story. Watch this one if you haven’t already and can find it. It’s a nice concept: the werewolf is the hero, and I positively love the music. It’s like every time the werewolf appears on screen, MTV took over the production studio.

October 29:
Near Dark (October 1987 / 94 minutes / $10) – Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen & Jenette Goldstein – Some of the bug hunt crew from Aliens go after vampires in West Texas. The Tangerine Dream soundtrack is especially good.
The Serpent and The Rainbow (February 1988 / 98 minutes / $12) – Directed by Wes Craven – Bill Pullman – I felt I had to include at least one zombie film or I would receive a deluge of complaints from the undead. I am obviously not a zombie fan, but this one particularly gives me the cooties, and I mean that in a good way.

October 30:
The Silence of the Lambs (February 1991 / 118 minutes / $15) – Written by Thomas Harris – Directed by Jonathan Demme - Anthony Hopkins & Jodie Foster – How could I not include the movie that made an already established, serious, English actor a household name? Although this is the favorite of most fans of the series, I clearly like Manhunter better. I guess I am somewhat more fascinated by The Tooth Fairy and his blind girlfriend than I am by a cannibal.
Dracula (November 1992 / 128 minutes / $11) – Directed by Francis Ford Coppola - Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves & Winona Ryder – I have to admit that this is my favorite movie of the whole list. Although I have never been a fan of Italian opera, this thing thunders through my screen like a snarling pack of wolves chasing a tragic couple who are deeply in love. Did I mention Gary Oldman’s hairdo and Winona’s boobs? If you’re looking for great acting, watch The Shining. If you want to grip the arms of your chair, watch Aliens. If you want to be blown away by a soundtrack, awed by elaborate sets, and wallow in the depth of a supernatural love affair, this is your movie.

October 31:
Wolf (June 1994 / 125 minutes / $9) – Directed by Mike Nichols - Jack Nicholson, James Spader & Michelle Pfeiffer – This is a werewolf movie for adults in general and for people who normally don’t like monster movies in particular.
Interview with the Vampire (November 1994 / 123 minutes / $14) – Written by Anne Rice – Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Christian Slater & Kirsten Dunst – I have to admit that I am a huge Anne Rice fan. I have even read some of her lengthy tomes twice. This surprisingly is one of my less favorite of her Vampire Chronicles, but it is the only one made into a movie from a screenplay she wrote, and that makes all the difference in the world. This is a high-quality production from any standpoint, and all vampire fans should most certainly see it.

Happy Halloween!