In search of a new October tradition

Fail!

I tried. I really did. I was looking for some way to usher in the month of October because I really, really love the month of October. Like really, really. Can't explain it, other than maybe I had a mom who went all out with costumes and trick or treating and the whole she-bang. (Boy George one year, I kid you NOT!).

So instead of waiting another three weeks to get into the October spirit, I announced to the family last week that each Friday night in the month of October shall be known as "Halloween Movie Night." (Royal Proclamation, even...)

The plan was/is to have one kid-friendly movie...eat popcorn...watch movie...put kid to bed. The second of the double feature would definitely be kid un-friendly and would showcase the gore, the screams, the scares. The AWESOMENESS. Yeah!

For week one, I scanned through Netflix and found "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I haven't watched it in a grip, but I remember being somewhat fond of it...I think. We had dinner. We popped the corn. We started the movie. And then...and then...

Twenty minutes into it, P comes up with an errand he has to run after making a comment about the disproportionate amount of songs in the movie (Oh god, it was so true, as much as I hated to admit it...way too much singing. About walking, about thinking, about thinking about walking...GET ON WITH IT, Tim Burton!). Boy Wonder is watching the movie upside down, hanging off the couch. (Never a good sign.) He hangs on and sticks it out until the end, but by then, even I was getting bored and scratching my eyes out whenever Jack the Pumpkin King sang. Something about that voice...

I remember it being WAY cooler in 1997 and we must be spoiled in 2009, because there were moments when I considered jumping on Facebook and abandoning ship altogether.

*sigh*

We put Boy Wonder to bed, told him to stay put because a "scary movie" was coming on and started movie # 2. Rob Zombie's version of "Halloween." I never saw the version with Jamie Lee Curtis in the 70s (80s?). I think I saw this one a few years ago, but the memory is foggy. So we fire it up. And it's disturbing.

Not really in the "wow! a halloween movie!" kind of way. More like the "I really could have gone my whole life without seeing that nasty crap" sort of way. I've now seen both movies R.Z. has directed and I gotta say I'm kinda disgusted with his obsession/need to include a violent rape scene(s) in his movies. To be honest, it pisses me off. There, I said it. Makes me want to stab him in the eye with a pencil.

So yeah. The movie was violent and disturbing in ALL THE WRONG WAYS. I hated it. Hated hated hated it. I had trouble sleeping that night with the random, disturbing vibes I was feeling. Not cool. As we were heading to bed, P made a casual comment somewhere in the vein of "You know, I really like comedies..." I get it, I get it...

Total first week failure.

But all was not lost...

We redeemed the weekend by getting a babysitter and seeing "Zombieland" last night. AWESOME movie. I like where this Horror/Comedy genre is going. It felt like an American take on the "Shaun of the Dead" vibe, and I dug it. P laughed, too, so that's a complete success in my book.

Haven't figured out what movies are on the schedule for week 2. Totally open for suggestions...