Halloween DVD Set
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Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006)
OK, so it's going on a little more than 25 years since John Carpenter's Halloween first burst on the scene, but who's counting? The DVD has a lot of extra features dating back to the 25th Anniversary, but they have not been released in this format previously. Mostly, they consist of uncut panel discussions with much of the cast from almost all the Halloween movies.
The original Halloween is still a great flick that really holds up and stands the test of time much better than, say, its "holiday horror" predecessor, Black Christmas. However, you do not get the movie on this 2-disk set.
What you get on Disk 1 is, an extremely comprehensive documentary chronicling the evolution of the Halloween film franchise from the beginning till now. Cast (P.J. Soles, Danielle Harris), crew (John Carpenter, Moustapha Akkad), savvy genre critics (John Fallon, Kim Newman), and famous fans (Rob Zombie, Clive Barker) join together in the ultimate retrospective, and they all have genuinely interesting perspectives. And, as an added plus for the male viewers, there's a "Girls Gone Wild" flash moment (no, sorry, it's not Danielle Harris).
The doc features rare behind-the-scenes footage and over 80 interviews with cast and crew including the aforementioned as well as Debra Hill, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Kathleen Kinmont, Nancy Loomis, Greg Nicotero, Joseph Wolf, John Carl Buechler, Nick Castle, Ellie Cornell, Dean Cundey, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Rick Rosenthal, Tommy Lee Wallace, and Allan Howarth.
25 Years of Terror is practically flawless, but my favorite featurette on Disk 1 is actually Sean Clark's Horror's Hallowed Grounds. The show focuses on the locations of a different horror movie every episode, so of course this is the Halloween special — Clark knows his stuff and is the kind of tour guide any horror fan will enjoy following, as he has the right mix of humor and reverence for his subject. Along for the ride, at least part of the way, is P.J. Soles, "Lynda" from the first Halloween film. Locations visited include the Strode house, the high school, and the hedge from which Michael Myers peeked at Laurie. I have never seen anything quite like this on a DVD, but I think it's a great idea and I'd like to see more Horror's Hallowed Grounds on other genre-related disks.
Disk 2 has extended features, but these are for the hardcore fans only — there are a lot of static shots of actors and crew sitting on panels at fan conventions talking about the movie.
- Halloween II and Halloween III extended interviews
- Extended celebrity interviews
- Halloween 5 On-Set Footage
- Halloween Convention Montage
- Halloween panel discussion
- Halloween II panel discussion
- Halloween 6 panel discussion
- Ellie Cornell panel discussion
- Dean Cundey panel discussion
- Halloween producers panel discussion
- Halloween location still gallery
- Halloween Convention Behind-The-Scenes gallery
- Original artwork gallery
There is an impressive, small exclusive comic book inspired by the series inside the DVD keep case.
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Also out on DVD from
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) introduced the character of Jamie (Danielle Harris), the crazed killer little niece, who of course becomes the target. One year later (a mistake,
Additional Release Material:
Halloween 4:
- Commentary with actors Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris.
- Commentary with writer Alan B. McElroy, moderated by Halloweenmovies.com's Anthony Massey.
- Halloween 4: Final Cut - Making-Of featurette from a previous special edition release.
Halloween 5:
- NEW – Commentary with director Dominique Othenin-Girard, and actors Danielle Harris and Jeffrey Landman. Everyone is pretty enthusiastic, though it seems the somewhat pompous Othenin-Girard still doesn't "get it" after all these years.
- Previously released: On the Set of Halloween 5 (behind the scenes); and Inside Halloween 5 (interviews).
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson