The Unseen Masks of Halloween
Anybody with anything half resembling a human brain knows that the iconic Michael Myers mask from the classic horror film HALLOWEEN was, in fact, a slightly altered WILLIAM SHATNER mask. What's not so well known is that many other celebrity masks were considered before director JOHN CARPENTER decided that SHATNER was the way to go. We were lucky enough to interview a not very real individual close to the production about the various other visages under consideration in an exclusive Kindertrauma interview. Due to our source's inability to prove that he was anything more than a figment of our imagination, he will henceforth be referred to as Mr. Narp.
DON KNOTTS
Mr. Narp: JOHN loved the DON KNOTTS mask. About a third of the film was filmed with this particular style mask, but later scrapped. The problem was that once the mask was on, the actor portraying Michael found that he couldn't fight an irresistible urge to do broad double takes. Some of these unexplained ticks even resulted in "the shape" looking directly at the camera and quivering like a Chihuahua.
TIM CONWAY
Mr. Narp: When the DON KNOTS mask failed to deliver, CARPENTER naturally instructed a P.A. to immediately fetch a mask of CONWAY. Both actors were white hot at the time due, in large part, to the global success of the juggernaut THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG. Unfortunately KNOTTS, who had a serious rivalry with his frequent co-star, caught wind of the switch and made a stink. He trashed the set (the dilapidated Myers house was not in the original script) and threatened JOHN and DEBRA HILL with an old school Hollywood blacklisting.
PARKER STEVENSON
Mr. Narp: The PARKER mask was HILL's idea. The problem was that his heartthrob image really changed the tone of the film. Early testing showed that many females found themselves far too attracted to this version of Myers to be properly scared. JAMIE LEE CURTIS's performance suffered the most. Rather than run away from her attacker, she would shuffle in her shoes and absent-mindedly twirl her hair.
MARCIA WALLACE
Mr. Narp: The neck was so thin on this mask that it caused its wearer to asphyxiate on multiple occasions. It also gave off a sci-fi vibe that CARPENTER was not yet ready to deal with. Years later though, he used this mask in several early scenes of THE THING. Eventually special-effects maestro ROB BOTTIN was able to convince CARPENTER to go with a vision of the space creature that was a little bit more down to earth.
ERNEST BORGNINE
Mr. Narp: At this point CARPENTER was getting frantic. He had filmed just about every scene he could without Myers and he had a tight schedule. When he was presented with the BORGNINE he finally broke down and wept into his hands. Remarkably, this is another mask that would come into play later in his career. BORGNINE would later star in the CARPENTER film ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. Playing the part of "Cabbie," ERNEST was required to do extensive driving scenes. On several occasions he showed up to the set surrounded by chorus girls, drunk out of his mind and unable to get behind the wheel. If you look closely, many of the shots of "Cabbie" driving in ESCAPE are actually show-biz trooper ADRIENNE BARBEAU wearing the BORGNINE mask.
BEA ARTHUR
Mr. Narp: Speaking of BARBEAU, many insist that she met future hubby CARPENTER on the set of the television film SOMEONE IS WATCHING ME. In reality, the two were introduced when JOHN would repeatedly stop by the MAUDE set while wooing ARTHUR into lending her image to HALLOWEEN. ARTHUR was over the moon with the attention and graciously endured hours of face casting with little by the way of payment. The mask proved to be TOO successful in the end though. If it had been a GOLDEN GIRLS-era ARTHUR things may have turned out differently, but the MAUDE-era ARTHUR, if you'll excuse the expression, was a horse of a different color. Producer MOUSTAPHA AKKAD, it is said, hit the roof when he saw the dailies. CARPENTER was contractually obliged to deliver an R-rated film and AKKAD was convinced the ARTHUR mask would not get past the censors.
WILLIAM SHATNER
Mr. Narp: It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time before Priceline commercials when people were not horrified at the sight of WILLIAM SHATNER. In a last ditch effort to placate AKKAD, CARPENTER chose the then more audience-friendly SHATNER mask to represent Myers.
It was a long treacherous road and chance played a bigger part than any one is willing to admit, but luckily the appropriate mask found it's way into this seminal film. It's now almost impossible to imagine any other mask in HALLOWEEN. Amazingly ROB ZOMBIE went through a similar ordeal while in the early stages of his recent remake. Luckily fan outrage put the kibosh on his proposed AUDRA LINDLEY mask when preliminary sketches were leaked via the Internet.
Note: Narp is an acronym for "Not a real person." We at Kindertrauma are proud of our general policy of not being biased against individuals based solely on their level of existence on this plane of reality.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
There is a reason why this Halloween special will never go away. It says more about the world most of us live in than a decades worth of Oscar winning dramas. In a dense fog of condescending, lulling, pandering children's programming, it shines like a massive lighthouse. It reminds us that in a universe where we are guaranteed that many of our needs and wants will go unfulfilled, needing and wanting might be their own rewards; a magical fuel that inspires us to drive forward.
Comparing this Halloween special to the glorified commercials masquerading as children's entertainment produced today is like comparing the work of VINCENT VAN GOGH to doodles found on the back of an issue of Us magazine next to KIMORA LEE SIMMON's toilet. If you have children, I insist that you force them to watch it yearly. If your children don't love it, put them in a sack and throw them over the Brooklyn Bridge. Don't bother wasting your time raising duds.
I don't know if anybody has noticed but current television spews endless fantasies about obtaining more and more. Children are told from day one that they are what they own. Privilege is a virtue and gluttonous excess is to be emulated rather than condemned. I'm not here to critique modern culture, but it should be noted that in the jazzy water-colored background world of the Peanuts, you just might get a rock thrown into your trick or treat bag. In fact, you just might get SEVERAL rocks thrown into your trick or treat bag. Does that make you a loser? Possibly, but you at least get the feeling that such a fate is preferable to being a selfish jerk like Lucy. (The actually quite lovable Lucy Van Pelt will get a chance in the future to receive her own "request denied" slip as she attempts to woo the enigmatic Schroeder).
Of course THE GREAT PUMPKIN really centers around the seemingly unfulfillable dream of Lucy's lil brother Linus. (Personally I've always found Snoopy's nonverbal, consequence-free fantasy war with the Red Baron a snore.) Linus, armed with "sincerity" faces the night sky and knows there is something else out there, something larger than himself that delivers gifts to those that honor and believe. Creator CHARLES M. SCHULZ denies any intended religious allegory to Linus's faithful anticipation for the hero he alone believes in. Organized religion aside, many claim Linus' plight works as an across the board representation of man's base existential angst. In any case, Linus, like friend Charlie Brown, attempting to kick a football that Lucy systematically pulls away, does not get what he wants.
To follow a story only to find the character you are routing for fails seems almost unthinkable in this day and age. What is the point if there is no victory? Speaking of religion, isn't the idea of heaven a "victory" of sorts? It's a reward for services rendered, a prize for the loyal and most importantly a happy ending. (The idea of finding a rock in that particular trick or treat bag is enough to drive some folks bonkers) If Linus does not get what he wants then he's a blockhead right?
On the contrary. I say worship Linus. Build a religion around Linus. Linus does not want to dress up in the ghost uniform. He will not trade his belief for "candy everybody wants." I don't know about you, but I can think of worse fates than spending Halloween night in a pumpkin patch looking up at the night sky. His sack may be empty, but he's so much richer than his trick-or-treating pals. He has imagination, faith, and sincerity. He has created his own universe and nobody can take it away. His desire, his wanting for something better, more substantial than what his friends can imagine, elevates him. Receiving makes you complacent. Wanting makes you grow like a pumpkin vine toward the sun. Linus may not know it, but he's bigger than the Great Pumpkin himself. Let the Great Pumpkin and others like him continue to elude, I already have my idol and he carries a security blanket.
Buffy Episodes :: "Halloween" & "Fear Itself"
Located on a "Hellmouth," everyday is like Halloween in Sunnydale, California. Creating a specific Halloween episode of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is bordering on redundancy. Since the appearance of a monster or a demon is an everyday occurrence in this fictional California town, Buffy and pals utilize the holiday to explore their own psyches instead.
When you subtract the uncanny from All Hallows Eve, you have a date in which people "come as they aren't." BUFFY, throughout its seven seasons always rejoiced in its characters duel identities. In fact, individuals choose the paths of light and dark as if wearing reversible jackets. In Sunnydale, the only disguise that has any real power is to play against how others perceive you.
In many ways these character examinations are much more relevant to our modern experience of the holiday. Once a ritual to ward off the dead or provide bountiful harvests, most people experience Halloween today as a time for little more than costumed revelry. With ghosts and ghoulies out of the picture the lone threat that remains is that, under the guise of anonymity, one might be capable of fulfilling desires best kept in check. If nothing else, there is a collective agreement that November 1st comes with a universal "Get Out of Jail Free" card.
In the second season episode entitled HALLOWEEN, many of the show's strongest characters inadvertently experience parts of themselves previously unexplored thanks to a bit of that old black magic and the appearance of a worshiper of chaos named Ethan Rayne (ROBIN SACHS). Tellingly, Rayne chants to a sculpture with two opposing faces to kick start the mayhem. He also provides our chums, and the better part of the town, with costumes that have the power to transform the wearer into what they have disguised themselves as. Like many premises on B.T.V.S. this seems like the stuff of high fantasy, until you realize that this exact phenomenon occurs to a degree in every town every year on Halloween. Let's be honest, nobody dresses as a sexy French maid to scare off the dead or grow corn. (Well, except for maybe Aunt John, but that is another story).
Fighting machine Buffy's (SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR) costume of choice is a powder-puff 18th century aristocrat (mostly in hopes to appear more feminine in the eyes of vampire love interest Angel (DAVID BOREANAZ)). Xander (NICHOLAS BRENDON) who has recently been protected by Buffy dons a military uniform as a way to appear more masculine and aggressive. Willow (ALYSON HANNIGAN) the groups' thoughtful wallflower toys with the idea of masquerading as a vixen, but in the last minute reverts to her old standby costume, a personality (and sexuality) free ghost.
Unfortunately many of the town's other inhabitants have chosen much more threatening guises. When Ethan's spell takes effect, demonoids, werewolves and other assorted beasts begin to roam looking to cause harm. In order to survive the night our three heroes, with the help of unaffected friends Cordelia (CHARISMA CARPENTER) and Angel, must reverse the spell and return to their former selves. Xander and Willow's new personas come to be quite useful. It's only Buffy the slayer's new identity that is a hindrance.
Although unaffected by the night's magic, Giles (ANTHONY STEWART HEAD), Buffy's bookish seemingly meek guardian or "watcher" reveals the most profound "other self". We get glimpses of his previous darker existence through Rayne who turns out to be an old adversary and once friend. When push comes to shove the gloves are off and Giles, by his own free will, is able to transform into what we have perceived to believe thus far as his exact polar opposite. Ultimately the intellectual librarian alone saves the day with sheer force.
By night's end, Xander has gained retribution for an earlier humiliation and Willow has learned to embrace parts of her persona usually avoided. Buffy who was beginning to think that her all-action, no glamour world of constant slay-age was a turn off to Angel finds that the very parts of herself she has been trying to shake off are the ones that he is most smitten with.
In a way this particular Halloween does turn out to be just like any other day in the Buffyverse. Monsters may roam, vampires may stalk, but the most fascinating thing is always taking place within the minds of its layered-like-gobstoppers primary characters. Characters that battle for self realization as much as saving the world.
FEAR ITSELF
Buffy, Xander and Willow now joined by Willow's werewolf boyfriend OZ (SETH GREEN), experience yet another revelatory Halloween evening in the series' fourth season. While attending a fraternity party all of the groups hidden fears come to startling life, thanks to the awakening of a demon. Trapped, separated and left to their own devices, the gang must confront that which has been gnawing on the back of their minds. Oz worries that his lycanthropic nature will be harmful to Willow; Willow worries that she's dabbling in magic beyond her control; Xander battles his perceived irrelevance in the group; and Buffy comes face to face with her fear of abandonment. Primarily a traditional haunted house tale, scares are perfectly offset by comedic turns provided by Watcher Giles and Xander's new love interest, the hilariously literal ex-vengeance demon Anya (EMMA CAULFIELD). By episode's end we learn that all involved are the ones actually providing power to the demon who, when finally revealed, is not half as threatening as their minds would have them believe.
Together both FEAR ITSELF and HALLOWEEN provide a great night of entertainment for those looking to get into the spirit of Halloween. Even those less familiar with the show will find themselves quickly wrapped up in these spirited holiday romps. The combination of scares, laughs and character examination can be found throughout the series' seven-year run but, with everybody's favorite day as a backdrop, Buffy's lantern shines all the brighter.
Traumafessions :: Reader Toni on ACRI Creature Feature
I suppose this was a good program, but I wasn't old enough to watch it. But the ACRI CREATURE FEATURE commercials scared the living sh&t out of me! I was all of 8 or so, I think. When the commercial came on the screen would go black, and then a small dot in the middle would start to grow. This disembodied, creepy looking head would smile and laugh his evil cackle (HA HA HA). Watch the ACRI CREATURE FEATURE! Eventually when the commercial started I'd run to my mom, close my eyes, and cover my ears.
I have to admit that now this is a funny memory of growing up in the Mid-West. But I would like the shows creators, producers, and sponsor (who is still in business) to know that they certainly did their job well!
UNK SEZ: Toni, I wish I could have located the television spot you are speaking of, but no luck! Here's a sample of the opening of the show though, which will hopefully bring back some memories for those who were old enough to check it out. Y'all can learn more about the ACRI CREATURE FREATURE HERE
The Hardy Boys And Nancy Drew Meet Dracula
AUNTIE SEZ: Kids, your Unkle Lancifer and I are off today (we're still trying to track down discount Halloween candy), so please clang your juice boxes together and give a warm Kindertrauma welcome to frequent commenter Professor Von Whiskerson who is going to take us back to a gentler time when that plucky PAMELA SUE MARTIN solved mysteries and stubby singer-songwriters dominated popular culture!
This episode of HARDY BOYS/NANCY DREW MYSTERIES is a two-parter and despite the title, it is NOT a Halloween episode. It is perfect for Halloween, though, complete with a Count, creepy castles, dungeons, costume parties and musical little people.
In this episode, Frank (the good looking Hardy boy), Joe (the Hardy Boy everyone pretends is a good singer), and Nancy Drew (who is better looking than even Frank and non-singing) journey to Vlad Dracula's castle in Transylvania to find the boy's missing father. There is a convenient "rock festival" being held at the castle by PAUL WILLIAMS which gives both he and Joe and excuse to sing (separately and in a duet). Yes, THAT PAUL WILLIAMS. He was all over the place back in the '70s, so I'm surprised it took him until the second season to show up. More on that later. Also guest starring in this episode are LORNE GREENE and BERNIE TAUPIN.
The story starts out with the boys dad, Fenton Hardy, arriving at Castle Dracula to investigate a string of art thefts occurring throughout Europe. Wait. Let's rewind a second. The story ACTUALLY starts out with a long shot of the castle, silhouetted against the night sky and the howl of a distant wolf. Remember the sound of that wolf. You will hear it about 10 million times during the next 90 minutes. I expect you to down a shot of your favorite hard liquor every time you hear it.
Not long after Mr. Hardy starts creeping around the castle, you (the viewer, in case you forgot) see that he is not alone. There is also a pair of jackboots that follow and capture him. Remember these boots. If you are brave, or have an especially high tolerance to booze, you will want to incorporate them into the drinking game as well.
Frank and Joe arrive in Eastern Europe to search for their father, who they haven't heard from in several weeks. The first person they meet is Inspector Hans Stavlin, of the Romanian police. Inspector Stavlin is played by none other than Canadian Battlestar Commander LORNE GREENE. Stavlin was working with Mr. Hardy on the art theft ring investigation. Since this is the boy's show and they can't be shown up by some commie thug, they discover evidence overlooked by Stavlin.
This evidence takes them first to Munich in a bus driven by Elton John's songwriter, BERNIE TAUPIN. The cover of being a member of TAUPIN 's band is just what the Boys need to trace their father without raising any suspicions. Unfortunately this bus trip is complete with a sing-along of the BEATLE's "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," a song I truly despise. It's not any better when sung by SHAUN CASSIDY and BERNIE TAUPIN. I really hate that song. I think it's the "oh blah dees" and "oh blah dahs" that I really hate. That and the association with the eponymous T.V. series…but I digress…again…
In Munich there is some mistaken identity involving a hotel bellman, who is probably a Nazi wanted for war crimes, by the Boys and Nancy Drew. Upon their first meeting, Nancy puts some fancy judo on Frank and flips him flat on his butt. The fear on Joe's face after seeing that is priceless, as is the fear on Nancy's when she realizes Frank has had it. I expected him to raise a pimp hand to her, but this was a family T.V. show in the '70s.
It turns out that Nancy had been working with Mr. Hardy on the investigation (No one ever said Fenton couldn't pick 'em). Everyone compares notes then it's off to Transylvania, and the "Dracula Festival" at the castle. The festival is being televised nightly to television audiences in the U.S. and is the brainchild of "rock star" Allison Troy. I put "rock star" in "quotes" because Troy is being "played" by singer, songwriter, and "actor" PAUL WILLIAMS.
Now a bit about PAUL WILLIAMS. I haven't done the math, and CASEY KASEM is no longer on American Top 40 for me to write in and ask, but I think PAUL WILLIAMS may have written 40-60% of the songs that came out between 1974 and 1980. He is a very 70's phenomenon, the likes of which we shall never witness again. He had a major role in DePALMA's PHANTOM OF PARADISE, and a song from that movie is featured in this episode. He also wrote "Rainbow Connection" from THE MUPPET MOVIE, one of my favorite songs of all time, and slightly kinder-traumatic with its melancholy undertones.
The rock festival itself is a pretty cool piece of T.V. production. The castle set is convincing, the bands are in continuous rotation, and all the guests wear the kind of really cool costumes that I dreamed I'd be able to wear at a Halloween party one day, but couldn't because I wore glasses. Those masks at Spencer's Gifts were almost worth being blind for, but alas, 'twas not to be. Oh yeah, Joe (CASSIDY) sings several songs like "That's Rock n' Roll" (no its not, SHAUN!). CASSIDY makes the strangest faces while singing and Frank is ALWAYS quick to come up with an excuse to leave the room before it gets this far.
There's lots of other cool stuff that I won't spoil, but some really great scenes are still in store, like:
- The Burgermeister Meisterburger gets attacked in the catacombs!
- Nancy's battle with a vampire bat, while wearing a nightgown! (Nancy, not the bat)
- Frankenstein's slow dance with his girlfriend!
- Opening Dracula's coffin!
- Angry villagers!
- The final showdown with the vampire!
I was just a couple of years too young to get to enjoy this show when it first aired, but with the magic of DVDs and the prompting of Mickster, I've become hooked on it. There were several episodes that would be fitting during the Halloween season besides this one. I like the Hardy Boys episodes and the Nancy Drew ones equally, and I just wish that the split between them was equal. The show became more Hardy-centric during the second season and PAMELA SUE MARTIN left halfway through it. Even more changes were in store for Season 3 which is not yet released on DVD. Seasons 1 & 2 are available though. At the risk of sounding like a stereotypical old person, they don't make shows like this or KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER anymore. Seeing them for the first time as a grown up just reinforces how great they were.
Kinder-News :: Don't Miss the Parade!
Hey kids, in one week, that's just seven days from now, Kindertrauma will be throwing its first ever Halloween Parade. If you haven't already, please stop whatever it is you are doing and send us a snapshot of you in your bestest Halloween duds when you were a kid.
And if you don't have one handy, now is the perfect time to get your Mom or Pop or Nanna or applicable shutterbug relative on the horn and get him or her to send it to you. If they refuse to cooperate, your Aunt John strongly suggests blackmail, intimidation, threats of bodily harm, and all other forms of coercion.
Just do what you got to do, and please send your pictures to us at kindertrauma@gmail.com by Thursday, October 30th.