Scary movies, popcorn and Halloween, oh my

• Tammy Malgesini
 

 Hermiston Herald, Community Editor

• Oct 23, 2018

• With Halloween just around the corner, what better way to celebrate the holiday than having a fright-fest.
  Whether forking over a fistful of cash at the theater, hitting up the local Redbox or checking out Netflix, ’tis the season for scary movies.
  After dragging my husband to several sub-par shows, he now refuses to step foot into a theater for flicks that don’t score well on Rotten Tomatoes. However, I think it’s going to take additional convincing to get John to take me to the cinema to see “Halloween.”
  It’s been so long since I’ve been in a theater that I’m not even sure where my “movie purse” is — you know, a purse big enough to smuggle a Hydro Flask with ice, a can of Pepsi and a couple of bottles of water.
  My mom taught me that trick. She actually had one big enough for two Big Gulps, along with various candy and snacks.
  But I digress — initially pitching my case to see “Halloween,” I told John the latest confrontation between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode received 80 percent on the Tomatometer. However, with the World Series vying for his attention at least through Saturday, I may have missed my chance.
  Although technically comedies, the “Scary Movie” series is a must see. Featuring satirical parodies of classic horror films, the original came out in 2000. I couldn’t wait to see the second.
  John and I were vacationing in a small village in New Hampshire and headed to the North Conway Theatre. I don’t know if it was standard procedure, but there weren’t trailers before the show. Instead, a theater employee stood up front and talked about the upcoming releases. That, and the free popcorn coupons made for quite the entertaining experience.
  More than a decade ago I was into the “Saw” series. I saw “Saw,” I saw “Saw II” and so on. They churned ‘em out yearly from 2004-10, and then last year, “Jigsaw.” As far as I’m concerned they hacked that series to death.
  Some of my favorite horror flicks from decades ago remain steady on the Tomatometer, including “Psycho” (1960) in third place of the top 100 with 97 percent, “The Exorcist” (1973) ranks 60th with 86 percent, and “The Omen” (1976) comes in at 79 with 86 percent.
  A classic, “Psycho” relies on people’s minds to create the creepiness. It was so fantastic that a 91-minute documentary, “78/52,” premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The title refers to the number of camera set-ups and edits that resulted in the frightfully familiar 3-minute shower scene.
  Linda Blair’s head-spinning and projectile vomiting in “The Exorcist” is embedded in my brain, as is my mom’s response when she found out I saw it. She tracked down Stan McSwain — aka the “Popcorn King,” owner of the Egyptian Theatre — telling him she was none too happy that I got into the R-rated film at age 14.
  For awhile, the theater cracked down on underage movie-goers. However, a couple of years later, my friend and I went to “The Omen.” So, how freaky is it that barely 15 minutes into the flick the screen went black?! After getting “rain checks,” we finally experienced the little spawn of Satan’s reign of terror.
  I guess if I can’t convince my husband to go see “Halloween,” I might have to catch “Get Out.” The 2017 release is ranked No. 1 and looks pretty fresh with 99 percent on the mater-meter.
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  Tammy Malgesini is the community editor. Her column, Inside my Shoes, includes general musings about life. Contact her at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4539.