Happy Horror-day! ThanksKilling (2008)

Here we go again- another Holiday themed film that centres around an American holiday I wouldn’t normally celebrate... either way, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there that do celebrate it!  
So, ThanksKilling the 2008 horror/ black comedy shot on a budget of $3,500 in the summer of 2007, and released on DVD in 2009. What can I say? ...When I set myself this challenge at the start of the year I drew up a rough list of movies that would feature and this one made the list right away, although I had never seen it I knew of its existence and two factors, 1) that it was generally regarded as a terrible movie and 2) It featured a wise cracking killer turkey- So with those two factors in mind watching it was inevitable and now having just finished watching it I can now confirm that it was indeed a terrible movie and yes, it does feature a wise cracking killer turkey, A possessed, wise cracking turkey in fact, that terrorizes five college students during Thanksgiving break repeating what he had done at the very first Thanksgiving in 1621.

Now, I try not to be over critical of any movie, I’ve never made one- and I know it’s not easy to do and commend anyone that accomplishes it and I try to look deeper, this one was indeed a challenge and to be honest, my interest waned right after the first pilgrim died before the opening credits, although the film did get one chuckle out of me. By all accounts it was written by the director Jordan Downey, Brad Schulz, Tony Wilson, Grant Yaffee, and Kevin Stewart, a group of friends, and this is apparent- and I will go out on a limb here and assume that they are fans of South Park? so let’s leave it at that. The film has garnered a cult following, believed (in part) to it being one of the movies available for streaming during Netflix’s early days and there is a sequel, ThanksKilling 3... Perhaps I will do that one if I ever do another of these challenges but let’s finish this one first! 
So join me next time for Friday the 13^th... wait! What?

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Happy Horror-day! Halloween (1978)

Due to a technical issue (I think it was a Blogger schedule issue) I’ve had to re-upload this post originally posted on October 31^st but anyway, Halloween, directed and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with producer Debra Hill the movie stars Donald Pleasence along with Jamie Lee Curtis who makes her film debut. A mental patient who was committed to a sanatorium for murdering his teenage sister on Halloween night fifteen years before escapes and returns to his hometown, where he stalks babysitters while his psychiatrist and the local sheriff try to find him. 
This is where it all started- the holiday based slasher movie, and basis of this challenge. Yes, Black Christmas from 1974 is technically the first but it was Halloween that grossed $70 million, making it the most profitable independent film ever that kicked off the holiday themed horror movie, I would go as far to say it was also responsible for every horror movie centred around a escaped mental patient and harassed babysitters as well. Enjoyed by horror purists and casual horror viewers alike I once again find myself asking what can I say that hasn’t been said about this movie? I can’t, so I’ll just leave it there. Happy Halloween!

© Arfon Jones 2019. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.