Essential Music for Halloween

Besides my undying love for horror movies, I am also a huge fan of the music. To me the musical score is just as important in creating that eerie ambiance to a film as the images themselves. Since Halloween is exactly a week away, I thought I would list some highly recommended tunes to add to the Halloween party playlist. I wish to thank the lovely Brittney-Jade Colangelo at Day of the Woman for inspiring me to put this list together.

Christopher Komeda - Fearless Vampire Killers


John Harrison - Creepshow


Goblin - Tenebre


Fabio Frizzi - Zombi 2


John Carpenter - Prince of Darkness



Keith Emerson - Inferno


Christopher Young - Hellraiser

Horror Movies for Newbies: Halloween III Season of the Witch

So for this first installment of Horror Movies for Newbies, I thought I would take everyone back to a treasured film from my childhood. A film bound by controversy from the beginning but not the kind of controversy that brought attention to films such as The Human Centipede or A Serbian Film because of its disturbing nature. Instead this film is taboo for its title and the franchise it’s supposed to be representing. In the past, members of horror movie message boards across the globe have expressed that this film is one of the worst horror films of all time. I on the other hand consider this film to be one of the greatest horror films of the 1980s. Anyone who likes to hate on it does so only because it’s so far from what they were expecting: a Halloween movie without Michael Myers? BLASPHEMY! The film in question is Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

I have scoured many horror movie message boards reading fans’ responses to what they consider the worst horror movie of all time. A majority of the responses were on Halloween III and all of their answers are the same, “There’s no Michael Myers, therefore it sucks.” Okay, here’s my question to those that bash the film: have you actually sat down and watched the movie? Now I am a big fan of the Resident Evil games, but I actually watched the first film with my expectations set aside and thought that the film was fairly decent, even given how little it actually had to do with the first game. So are you going to give an automatic knee-jerk judgment on a film because it strays from the pattern set by its predecessors?



Well, here is a bit of trivia for you that may help you to understand the reason Halloween III is so different. After Halloween II was released in 1981, John Carpenter devised the idea of turning future Halloween installments into a collection of spooky stories set on Halloween night. While the idea sounds intriguing at first glance, I suppose it was only natural for the audience to expect that since the first two movies had both focused on the same characters (Laurie Strode, Michael Myers, Dr. Sam Loomis), the next sequel would feature more of the same. When John Carpenter and company gave them something completely different, no one knew what to think, and the film tanked at the box office.

I’m gratified to see that the film has since developed a cult following, and that it’s beginning to get some real recognition: Rottencotten.com now sells Halloween III T-shirts, and well-known Internet personality Brad Jones (of “Cinema Snob” fame) has cited it as one of his favorite horror movies. Now with the audience understanding why the film is so different in the first place, they’re beginning to take a second look. If you can overlook the fact that it is “supposed” to be an official installment, Halloween III is an effective horror film that really exposes the dark side of this fun, beloved holiday.



Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) is called in to see a patient that has been brought to his hospital. The man is passed out with a Halloween mask in his tight grasp; he wakes up in terror to the sound of a commercial for Silver Shamrock Novelties, the manufacturers of the mask he’s holding. Just minutes later, the man is found dead in his room with a crushed skull. The man’s daughter Ellie (Stacy Nelkin) comes looking for answers, and Dan teams up with her to work out the mystery of her father’s death. Their investigation leads them to Silver Shamrock’s headquarters and factory in Santa Mira, a quiet and perfectly normal small California town -- which, like all small towns in horror movies, hides an ugly secret.



Atkins and Nelkin give fantastic performances as Dan and Ellie. You feel for Ellie in her search for the reasons behind her father’s death, and Atkins portrays Dan as a man with grave concern and the determination to seek results. He could have chosen not to meddle in this unforeseen situation, but he instead risks everything to uncover the truth. His desperation leads him to explore the unspeakable grounds of the factory and unmask Silver Shamrock’s mysterious plan and the perpetrator behind it. Ellie is right beside him all the way. She does not lose courage as they discover Santa Mira’s bizarre quirks (shady townspeople, security cameras on ever corner, et cetera). In fact she risks blowing her cover as she runs towards her father’s car on the factory’s lot, right in front of the building‘s security staff.



Of course, Halloween III’s strongest asset has to be the villain himself. All right, so you don’t have Michael Myers quietly accosting people and butchering them to death, but the baddie here is certainly a worthy substitute. Dan O’ Herlihy was best known for playing likable characters like Grig in The Last Starfighter, or even the Old Man in Robocop. Here, playing against type, O’Herlihy churns up a deliciously wicked performance as Santa Mira’s prized and feared leader, Conal Cochran -- the CEO of Silver Shamrock. His presence is intimidating even without the business-suited, zombie-like security drones that swarm about him. His cold yet calculating demeanor, and the venom in his soft voice, are enough to make an audience cringe in trepidation. If you can sit through his speech to Dan about the reason behind his scheme, with that cold and iniquitous tone in his voice, and not felt a chill go down your spine… you’ve got guts, my friend! I consider Cochran’s monologue one of the most memorable and chilling scenes of the entire Halloween series, next to Dr. Loomis talking to Sheriff Braddock about his first meeting with Michael Myers. It is a travesty that Conal Cochran is not on any mainstream lists of Most Terrifying Villains, because he most definitely deserves that honor.


Halloween III offers everything that a newbie could appreciate: an intriguing storyline, an incredible cast, and a fabulously haunting soundtrack by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth. There’s also some nice special effects to appease the gorehounds, but the content is not so overtly graphic as to turn away the squeamish. And all of this is capped off by one of the most unnerving endings I have ever witnessed in a horror movie, which you are going to have to see to believe. In conclusion: Leave your Michael-based expectations at the door and give Halloween III: Season of the Witch a try. I promise it will not disappoint.

Future Updates/ Attn: Horror Fans

To all of the horror followers out there, I apologize for the lack of horror content lately. However I do have an idea in mind of what I will be offering. My previous Horror Movies for Newbies list is only limited to eleven and there are an array of wonderful films of the macabre that deserve to be recognized. So dear viewers I will be implementing Horror Movies for Newbies into a regular column here on Lady Ash Presents. I will include the classics as well as films I feel deserve attention from the masses. Of course I will continue to include reviews to films that I have not seen.


... stay tuned.

The Genius of Rik Mayall part 3: Dancing Queen

There is no denying the fact that Rik Mayall knows how to make an audience burst into laughter. Even in a film with touchy subject matter like Drop Dead Fred, Rik still utilized his trademark goofy facial expressions, lively body language and animated voice to make audiences giggle profusely. Even though Rik’s niche was as a comic for the past twenty years, he was no foreigner to straight acting. Rik grew up in a household that lived and breathed theatrical arts. His parents were both drama teachers and he spent a good deal of his childhood on the stage performing in his parents’ plays. After graduating high school, Rik majored in drama at the University of Manchester where he would meet longtime business partner Adrian Edmondson and the rest is humor history.

After achieving major success in comedy, Rik would follow in the risky footsteps of such noted comedians as Robin Williams and Denis Leary by trying on the dramatic mask. In 1993 and 1995 Rik starred in his own collection of six one hour long dramas titled Rik Mayall Presents for ITV. Even though the series had its share of humor, it was a huge departure from Rik’s more energetic approach. Each episode contained a different element that steps far away from the slapstick, boisterous fare that made Rik a household name in the UK. From the dark and twisted Briefest Encounter to the rich and provocative The Big One, each episode had a unique theme. While the latter was set to the beat of a grittier tune, Dancing Queen is the lightest and best of the bunch, a soft hearted tale of love and friendship that blossoms between two unlikely people.



Neil (the lovely Rik) is a wealthy and sophisticated gentleman that is getting married. The night before the wedding, his friends throw him an extravagant bachelor party. His friend Nigel (Nathaniel Parker) hires a stripper named Pandora (Helena Bonham Carter) to dance at the party. After a drunken induced haze, Neil wakes up on a train next to Pandora (whose real name is Julie). As it turns out, Nigel and his mates drugged Neil and loaded him onto the train as a practical joke. Their plan to get the groom back home has backfired, and Neil is left stranded far away from home on his wedding day.



In the role of the unlucky Neil, Rik shows the audience that he can do more than rely on a hyperactive persona to entertain. In Dancing Queen he proves that he can provide the chops of a legitimate straight actor. His portrayal makes the audience despise Neil at first for his snobby aggressive behavior. Eventually his act of desperation grasps onto the heartstrings and never lets go. In one moving scene, he is seen on a beachside in an emotional breakdown with his arms up in the air screaming about wanting to get married. The way Rik made that poignant delivery was touching and genuine. From the look in his sad expressive eyes to his distressed cries, you experience the pain that Neil is enduring. Here is a man who has been through hell on what is supposed to be the most special and important day of his life.



Rik and Helena ignite chemistry together as Neil and Julie, two people who could not be any more different. Neil was brought up in wealth and refinement while Julie is an independent, carefree woman that lives the seedy lifestyle of a drifter. Despite his snobbish attitude towards her, Julie still maintains her caring personality. In fact it could be agreed that her act of kindness might have saved Neil’s life. As he is on the beach in an emotive state, the fear lingers in the back of the our minds that his misery might drive him to the nearest solution, to walk off into the sea and drown. Luckily Julie would emerge like an angel to rescue Neil from a fateful death by speaking words of encouragement. In the end it is clear that he has fallen in love with her, which sets the backdrop to one of the most exquisite conclusions I have ever witnessed in the show. Julie is twirling an umbrella in her hand while cheerfully dancing to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” on the boom box while Neil is racing down the coastline in his BMW to reach her. In one shot, Neil peers through the window in admiration watching Julie dance. Rik looked so stunning in that moment and the lighting upon him really exemplified his beauty. His smooth complexion, his sparkling eyes, the way his hair swayed in the breeze, Rik looked so beautiful it‘s breathtaking.



Romantic comedies are not my cup of tea but Dancing Queen captured my heart. I believe that if older American women watched it, they would admire it as much as Four Weddings and a Funeral and put Rik up on a pedestal next to Hugh Grant as the loveable Englishmen they wish to marry.

My Rik Mayall Fan Video

While I'm in the process of brainstorming what I'm going to compose for my next Genius of Rik Mayall article, I put this video together. Warning; this is a sexy tribute so you boys might not be interested in subjecting your eyes. However ladies, I hope you get your drool buckets ready because believe me, you will need it!