October 2021 Recommended Reading/Viewing

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Fall is officially underway as we enter October, and the witching season is starting to come alive as well. Pandemic or not, Halloween never fails to come. It's taken a bit to make my choices (which is why I'm a little late this month), but I think I've picked out some suitable recommendations for the holiday. If you're in the festive mood, maybe you could give these a go!

Reading: Carrie (1974) by Stephen King

This is the one that started it all - the first published (but fourth written) novel of horror icon Stephen King, one which he almost discarded if not for the encouragement of his wife. An updating of classic Gothic melodrama, the story centers around bullied and isolated high school teenager Carrie White, victimized by both abusive classmates and her fanatically religious mother (identified, if I remember correctly, as belonging to a cult-like fundamentalist offshoot rather than mainstream Christianity). Unbeknownst to the public at large, Carrie is also in possession of telekinetic abilities which she tries to control. The tension builds as a genuine act of kindness leads to a now infamous prom night of carnage and city-wide destruction. For a debut novel, Carrie is surprisingly fast-moving and attention-grabbing, ranked by some fans as one of the better of Mr. King's works; there is also an undercurrent of feminism beneath the horror that was quite groundbreaking for its time. For fans of King and those who like classic chillers, it's definitely worth checking out.

Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/Carrie-Stephen-King/dp/0307743667/ref=sr_1_1?crid=LTTXAJIJGV9K&dchild=1&keywords=stephen+king+carrie&qid=1633478654&sprefix=stephen+king+carrie%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-1
Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Carrie-Stephen-King/dp/1984898108/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1633478654&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Carrie-Stephen-King-ebook/dp/B001BANK2I/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1633478654&sr=8-1



Viewing: Phantasm (Don Coscarelli, 1979)

Released the same year as Ridley Scott's seminal sci-fi scare flick Alien, director Don Coscarelli's independent feature managed to hold its own and amass a significant cult following through a use of childhood themes, foreboding atmosphere, a chilling soundtrack, and an ambiguous dreamlike narrative. When a young boy begins to have suspicions about the tall mortician at the local funeral parlor, he enlists his brother and the local ice cream truck driver to investigate further, leading to the discovery of dwarven hooded creatures, a flying steel ball that kills, and an interdimensional gateway, all maintained by the inexplicably inhuman "Tall Man" who is collecting corpses of the dead for his own nefarious purposes. Despite the box office odds, the film - made up of a cast and crew of relative amateurs - is regarded as a classic of horror cinema that would influence later films in significant ways; four sequels would follow, though they wouldn't gain the acclaim of the first one. Definitely one to watch!

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Phantasm-Remaster-Angus-Scrimm/dp/B01LWXBAWN/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1633482337&sr=8-6
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Phantasm-Remaster-Blu-ray-DVD-Combo/dp/B01LXWKDJW/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1633482337&sr=8-6
Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Phantasm-Remastered-Michael-Baldwin/dp/B087P5J77X/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=phantasm+remastered&qid=1633482370&sr=8-2

So that's all for this years October. I hope the season finds you all well. Happy Halloween!