After a bit of a hiatus, Cryptic Collectibles is up and running again – just in time for Halloween.  While mulling over what to post, I serendipitously came into possession of a few vintage (30-year-old or more) issues of TV Guide – one of which covered Halloween of 1981. So, seeing that many horror fans (particularly if you’re of a certain age) were introduced to the genre through television, I thought it would be nice to celebrate our favourite holiday with a look at some the classic ads featured within the magazine.

Happy Halloween, everyone!
It’s also Rue Morgue‘s birthday, and to celebrate we’re hosting a screening of the extended cut of the original My Bloody Valentine, with cast and crew in attendance, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in down town Toronto (corner of King and John) this evening at 6:30. (More details here.)
Slasher films don’t get much more fun, or Canadian, than My Bloody Valentine, and this is your chance to see it like it’s never been seen before on the big screen, with a crisp picture, all the benefits of the killer sound system at the Lightbox and several of the deleted gore scenes put back in the film. After the screening, we’ll have a Q&A with director George Mihalka and several other crew and cast members. Plus, we’ll have a few other treats for audience members too. Join us for a Harry Warden Halloween tonight!

Episode Six of the Production Diaries for THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH profiles the art department: Art Director & Props Master Twitch Couvier, Production Designer Jason McQuarrie and Art Director Susan Eves.

Enjoy!

:- FDBK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aJbnxRoSp4&feature=youtu.be

[Paul Counelis checks in with a special Halloween edition of Monster Kid Corner. The kids in the pics below, incidentally, are a few of Paul's very own little monsters.]

The earliest memories I have of Halloween are of an exotic night air – children giggling as they sang their Trick ‘r Treat song, an electricity seeping out of the evening and filling us all with a sense of excitement and promise. What a strange night, too, born of a myriad of different eras: mixed-up traditions, modern interpretations and vintage, charmed, stark imagery.

I remember taking it all in. The smell of the treat bag, the different costumes marched around in the most unorganized masked parade up and down the entire street, the squeals and startled laughter emanating from the decorated porches and ghoulishly attired yards.

The ever present wind, just chilly enough to remind us that a new season would soon begin, but for now, the orange/yellow moon staking its mysterious claim on the current harvest season.

This Halloween at the Tiff Lightbox in Toronto, visiting filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has programmed a series of classic horror movies along with a couple of screenings of his early films – and Rue Morgue is giving away two pairs of tickets to all of them.

The Innocents – Sat, Oct 29th.
http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiffbelllightbox/2011/5500000293

Cronos – Sun, Oct. 30th
http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiffbelllightbox/2011/5500000294

The Devil’s Backbone – Sun, Oct. 30th
http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiffbelllightbox/2011/5500000295

And on Monday, Oct. 31st, Rue Morgue will present a screening of the Canadian slasher classic My Bloody Valentine with director George Mihalka in attendance.

My Bloody Valentine – Mon, Oct. 31st.
http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiffbelllightbox/2011/5500000461

Send an email to contests @ ruemorgueradio.com and indicate which film you’d like tickets for. Winners will be selected randomly the morning of each screening.

Happy Halloween!

If Halloween’s in your blood, make sure you cobble together a costume for Rue Morgue’s 14th anniversary Halloween party – THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29 – at Revival (783 College Street in Toronto). Don’t miss out on this year’s fangtastic Hallow’s evening of cheeky burlesque, black-hearted beats to get your pumpkin shakin’, devilishly good prizes, go-go ghouls and the most elaborate array of garish get-ups this side of Transylvania!

Advance tickets are now on sale online or at the Rue Morgue House of Horror (2926 Dundas St. W. 416-651-9675), Suspect Video (605 Markham St. 416-588-6674), Eyesore Cinema (801 Queen St. W. 416-955-1599) and Helles Belles (463 Queen St. W. 416-504-4335), or of course you can pay at the door. See ya Saturday!

Quality Bigfoot collectibles are as elusive as the creature itself, so when I heard that Sideshow Toys was planning to release a statue based on the legendary ape-man, my anticipation was high. And rightly so. This excellent collectible definitely deserves high praise for its overall quality and coolness.

Capturing the elusive American legend in exacting detail, this high quality polystone statue stands 19 inches tall and is presented in approximately 1:5 scale. Each piece is individually painted and finished to exacting standards, each with its own unique quality and detail that is the trademark of a handcrafted Sideshow Collectibles product. Bringing to life one of the most famous examples of cryptozoology, the Bigfoot statue makes an outstanding addition to any collection.

This (Thursday) evening, Rue Morgue and TIFF are co-presenting the first in a series of del Toro screenings. It begins at 7pm at the Lightbox with In Conversation With… Guillermo del Toro, which is exactly what the title implies. If you’ve ever heard him talk, you know the man is a fount of insight and a great storyteller. (Details here) After that he’ll be introducing an Italian film he programmed called L’arcano incantatore.
In addition, we’re showing two of his early features at the Lightbox this coming Sunday: Cronos and The Devil’s Backbone.

[Rue Morgue contributor Peter Gutiérrez checks in with a preview of Scary Movies 5, which kicks off tomorrow at Lincoln Center in New York City.]

Now more than ever the Big Apple feels the blow it suffered in July with the passing of Michael Hein, the driving force behind the New York City Horror Film Festival. The absence of Hein and the event he founded has left a void in the horror community here, one that the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the folks behind the world-class New York Film Festival, is gamely filling with the fifth edition of its Scary Movies series. Not quite a festival—there’s not a big emphasis on premieres and no competition at all—Scary Movies nonetheless feels like much more than a collection of screenings that capitalize on the fact that the calendar says “October.”

Maybe that’s because it is.

In the mood for some ’80s musical porn inspired by the work of John Landis and Rick Baker? Of course you are; why wouldn’t you be? So if you’re in New York City, get yourself over to Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street) this Friday, October 28, for a rare screening of the 1984 adult film spoof of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, presented by the fine folks at Wild Eye Releasing. Producer Tim Green Beckley will be in attendance, and the screening will also include The Most Awesome ’80s Trailer Show, which features an assortment of 35mm horror, action and comedy trailers.

“Driller is a nearly forgotten porn-horror hybrid from the heyday of New York smut and exploitation, long before Michael Jackson was icky and adult parodies were the flavor of the month,” says Wild Eye Releasing’s Rob Hauschild. “It’s so wrong on so many levels – cinematically, musically, sexually and culturally – that I am shocked it does not already boast an adoring legion of freaks and weirdos. We are tingling with excitement to give Driller its first theatrical screening in nearly 30 years, and hope to break at least one New York State law before the night is over.”