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I just re-watched the theatrical version of this. It's included on a bonus disc of an old DVD set that I have of the original trilogy. It was such a treat to see the film again, as it was initially released. I don't want to get hung up on nostalgia, but it was a bit like stepping back in time, back to the old Vogue Theater in my small central Minnesota town. Yep. Stage, curtains, balcony...the works. I was 16 years old at the time and excited like never before to see a movie.

I'd forgotten the stop-motion goodness of Han and Luke riding Tauntauns on ice planet Hoth. The intimidating thunder of the Imperial Walkers as they attacked the rebel base. The fierce light saber battle between Luke and Darth Vader. The Millennium Falcon was practically a main character, too.

There's some real corn here. The sexual tension between Han and Leia is super juvenile, but it's funny. The suave hustle that Lando puts on Leia. "Laugh it up, Fuzzball!".

The visual effects, which were ground-breaking at the time, look mostly dated now. The matte paintings, green screen, and stop-motion show their age. But those things didn't negatively affect my enjoyment of this at all. The story is so simple and the characters so rich that anyone who dismisses this wonderful film based on dated effects is someone I don't want to share a movie-going experience with.

This is a true cinematic classic. I don't know that I would ever call it better than its predecessor ("A New Hope") but it's certainly its equal.

This M. Night Shyamalan effort centers on the Hess family, who's lives are shaken by an alien invasion. The best thing about "Signs" is the dialogue between Graham and Merrill Hess, played by Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix. The lessons each of them have learned about life, and how an alien invasion brings out their emotions and their opinions, is well done. "Signs" manages to be funny and quite frightening, as well. There is some truly scary imagery, both on the Hess farm and on TV news reports.

The biggest knock on this movie is the problem many viewers have with how the aliens are fought. Many viewers leap to the conclusion that because the aliens have invaded Earth, they must be so technologically advanced that they couldn't have made a miscalculation. This sounds like spin but I actually enjoy the movie immensely for the idea that the aliens have gotten in over their heads. And what if the aliens gathered up humans for consumption and not to conquer the earth? Perhaps they were quickly harvesting people for food and sent down workers to gather them up. Maybe they knew they had a very limited time to loot the earth. They got what they needed knowing they would suffer casualties and then left. The key here is that nothing is known about the aliens so why do people jump to the conclusion that the goal was for the aliens to take over the earth?

Regardless, the movie is about destiny and faith, and the alien invasion is a tool used to present them.

I've seen "Halloween" many times and it's endlessly re-watchable. John Carpenter is absolutely Hitchcock-ian in his delivery of an evil entity's return to his hometown of Haddonfield. Maybe it was seeing it for the first time in High-Def that made me notice Carpenter's use of widescreen and extended camera shots. No fan of today's tasteless gore fests would have the ability to sit still and marvel at the way Carpenter glides the camera through the small town neighborhood. The way that the Shape (Michael Myers) lurks around corners and hides behind trees stalking Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) is truly creepy. Later, he pops out of the shadows and dark spaces and relentlessly pursues her.

The music is so scary and is so representative of the horror that occurs on screen. It encourages the way you react to the film as much as the visuals do. The story itself is so simple yet entirely engrossing and somehow Carpenter gets you to really care about Laurie her friends and even Dr. Loomis. Dr. Loomis, played by the awesome Donald Pleasance, intensifies the danger of the Shape with his retelling of his psychiatric struggles with Michael.

This is easily one of the greatest examples of how to make a scary movie without slicing and dicing the cast into a bloody mess. In fact, "Halloween" is practically bloodless in its telling of pure walking evil.

One of the meanest gags imaginable backfires on a high school class who will never again get the chance to pick on "Carrie".

There are going to be some younger viewers of this film that won't be able to get past how dated this looks or the surprising way that the teachers, specifically Miss Collins (Betty Buckley), slaps some of her students around. There are also some who will recoil at the extreme bullying portrayed or maybe even the copious amounts of full-frontal nudity on display throughout.

But "Carrie" is filled with wonderful directorial choices and great moments. The way that Carrie (Sissy Spacek) stands up to her lunatic mother, played way, way over-the-top by Piper Laurie. The touching moments of Carrie becoming a beauty and the way that Senior Class stud Tommy (William Katt) ends up falling for her. John Travolta, Nancy Allen and P.J. Soles are mischievous but clearly misguided teens that you also get all kinds of chances to loathe.

The use of split screen is amazing and when Carrie, covered in pig's blood, glares insanely from the stage with flames leaping behind her...it's nightmarish stuff. Also checkout the amazing extended shot of Tommy and Carrie dancing at the prom. The camera is closely zoomed in on them and then spins in a 360, around and around, over and over, faster and faster. It's very disorienting and in addition, a not too subtle hint that things are about to spin horribly out of control.

There is a strange sense of humor that runs through this movie. John Travolta plays the role of Billy as a complete idiot. His girl Chris, the clearest teen antagonist, is slapped numerous times by him, but she has him wrapped around her little finger. When Billy jumps into a pen to bludgeon a pig, it's so ridiculous it's funny. And the religious ravings of Carrie's mother are so wide-eyed crazy and boisterous, they come off as a parody of preachers most of the time. There's also a moment when a red Pontiac Firebird skids and veers off the road, only to roll over and erupt into flames as a Chevy Chevelle. It makes me laugh at the thriftiness employed on that shot.

I usually over-analyze endings and the finale of "Carrie" packs a wallop. And while the face-off between Carrie and her Mother is satisfying, the tortured screams of lone survivor Sue (Amy Irving) wraps up a nightmare that's even more cruel than the way Carrie was treated. And what's even more terrible is that Sue's curse was her reward for attempting to help Carrie.

"Carrie" is an emotionally affecting film that really engages you in the plight of Carrie and then repulses you with her extreme form of vengeance.

I've never made an attempt to watch the entire Original Series. I'm certain I haven't seen all of the episodes in syndication so I recently purchased them on Blu-ray to watch them at my own pace. Now I don't have to worry about yet another streaming service sucking cash out of my wallet every month, only to drop the show before I can get through it.

Anyway, I decided to watch "The Doomsday Machine" because I recall being amazed by the planet killing machine, which looks like a big cornucopia basket. Actually, the enhanced special effects that have been created for the Original Series really helps make this episode even more appealing.

Spock is absolutely awesome here as he is forced to give over command of the enterprise to Commodore Decker. I've never been a fan of William Windom, who plays Decker in this episode. To me, he always seems like he's chewing scenery, which he does here. So much so that he makes Shatner look like a cast extra. That gripe aside, I love the episodes where the Enterprise has to battle an enemy that is malevolent with a purpose that is mysterious or even vague. So this one then, obviously scores very high with me. While I knew that no one of note would die during the battle with the super weapon, it sure managed to build a lot of suspense. Scotty is the unsung hero in this story. The dude is constantly coming up with solutions to bring the damaged U.S.S. Constitution back with just enough power to enable Kirk to save the day.

What is it about this show that makes it so special to me? I was a newborn during its first run, so I was most certainly infected by its charms when it was in syndication. I'm sure it's got much to do with the monsters (or "bears" as the show runners referred to them), but there's much more to it than that.

It's another example of a show (some movies also follow suit) that carries such value for me. I want to just pass it off as nostalgia for my youth, and maybe there's some of that, but I think the sincerity of the creators almost always shines through. There's such a curiosity for things greater than ourselves within its stories. Some of the messages and couched opinions are strong, some of the stories are dark and scary. And yes, some of the sensibilities of the past are evident here, but there's almost always a ray of hope, or maybe a general lack of cynicism. There's definitely a near absence of nihilism, which is so overwhelmingly present in almost every show made today.

This show is a time capsule that you can crack open and discover a different perspective of the way things work or an attempt to make sense of what doesn't actually make sense.

"Poltergeist" is nothing less than a great horror movie. It is suspenseful, scary, and it's full of surprises. I think the key to the success of this film is that you really like the characters. You care about the danger that they're in and there is a sense of wonder that permeates the entire film.

It is loaded with lots of creepy elements. The old tree, the television, the clown doll, etc. And there are also all of those other-world nasties that have captured Carol Anne. The way that the story pulls you into its family and makes you care about their plight is amazing.

The film contains loads of cool effects and scenes that are so much fun. There is a scene when the mother, Diane, straightens the chairs out around the dining room table. She thinks that little Carol Anne has pulled them away from the table. The shot here seems to be one single take. It's so cool because the camera shows Diane first rearranging the chairs and then passing by Carol Anne whose sitting on the counter between the dining room and the kitchen. The camera follows Diane into the kitchen for about 3 seconds. She then goes back into the dining room and within that short span of time the chairs have been stacked in a pyramid on top of the table with Carol Anne still sitting on the counter. It's a terrific trick, however it was done.

There is also a point within the movie when one of the "ghostbusters" raids the fridge for a late-night snack. He grabs a chicken drumstick and shoves it in his mouth while grabbing other stuff. A look of disgust crosses his face and he drops the chicken leg from his mouth. There it lays on the floor, covered in maggots. He then sees a raw steak begin to crawl across the kitchen counter. The steak slowly oozes into a grotesque pile of who knows what. He then runs into the bathroom to rinse out his mouth or puke or something. He looks into the mirror and begins tearing his own face off. This effect shot is pretty primitive, but it is over the top. Its inclusion seems like a tip of the hat to old zombie movies and the influences of EC Comics. And let's not forget the twist near the end of the movie. "Poltergeist" is a true classic!

The original "King Kong" is an amazing technical achievement and is a great adventure film. I've never considered it to be horror but after watching it yet again (and never tiring of it) it has much more on-screen violence and death than any of the Universal monster movies of it's day.

"King Kong" remains one of the most influential films of all time. Special effects wizard and the film's "Chief Technician" Willis H. O'Brien inspired generations of filmmakers. The stop-motion techniques he pioneered paved the way for masters like Ray Harryhausen.

Since everyone knows what this movie is about I felt like pointing out some of the details that make this one of my favorite films. I've been a giant monster movie fan since I was a snot-nosed kid and "King Kong" is probably the biggest reason why.

One thing I like about "King Kong" is that there's no analogy no political or philosophical underpinnings to suffer through, unless you consider "it was beauty killed the beast" to be a major morality play. Not that beauty is exactly respected over the course of the movie. Let me quote some of the wonderful statements about women that I noted:

"You're alright [Ann] but women can't help being a bother. They're made that way I guess."

"I've never been on a ship with a woman before. They're a nuisance."

"Do you think I want to haul a woman around? Isn't there any romance or adventure in the world without having a flapper in it?"

Here's a quote I just love because of how dated it is: "Some big hard-boiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang, he cracks up and goes sappy."

Anyway once we arrive at Skull Island, the native dance and accompanying music are worth a chuckle or two. I didn't see any horns or strings being played by the natives but I sure heard them. The Skipper speaking to the natives is ridiculous, too. Carl Denham repeats the Skipper, shouting "Bala! Bala!". The way he hold his arms out when he says it is totally corny. It makes me laugh every time I see it.

We don't see Kong until the 45-minute mark. But when we finally see him crashing through the trees, it's an iconic movie moment (this movie is full of those). Ann screams when she sees Kong and the movie doesn't let up until we see "The End" displayed on the screen.

This movie is over 75 years old but the stop-motion animation looks so damn cool. The way the Kong model moves is just amazing. Imagine the patience it took to film the special effects sequences. And this movie has tons of special effects. There is no cost-cuttingt in sight, no perceivable short cuts. I also love the closeups of Kong's face. It's a full-size model head but it isn't done in stop-motion. At first it seems odd, but the closeups do bring some emotion to Kong. The eyes of are very intense and there's even eyebrow and mouth movements that help express Kong's desires. I also like the way Kong's fur moves. I don't know it that was done on purpose or if it's a side effect of re-positioning the model, but it adds some realism to Kong's motion.

There's other beasts on Skull Island besides Kong. Denham, Driscoll and crew first encounter a charging Stegosaurus which they manage to drop with a gas bomb. The Stegosaurus springs back to its feet so they blast it with their rifles. It falls to the ground but as they approach it, Denham notices that its still alive, so he shoots it point-blank in the head. The beast roars and then convulses and finally dies. It's a pretty brutal scene.

Next, Ann's rescue team has to cross a swamp shrouded in fog. They build a raft and are attacked by an amphibious monster. I like that they chose to use models of actual species of dinosaurs. The plesiosaur chomps a few of the crew members and tosses them like the rag dolls that they are. Then, the moment they exit the swamp, a brontosaurus chases them! I never noticed before but the look of the swamp is fantastic. It's a muddy and grimy place. One of the men climbs a tree while trying to escape, but the big brontosaurus plucks him out of it with a mighty chomp. The extended blood-curdling scream of the victim is another moment of movie greatness.

Seconds later, we're already into the legendary "log" scene. This is the point at which Kong rocks a lot of the crew members off of a log that crosses a ravine. They fall off and tumble to the ground. When they hit the ravine floor, the way that they impact, bending and twisting; it's brutal and vicious.

Kong is enraged and ruthless. He is truly a monster at this point in the film and we aren't supposed to like him. I imagine that the original audiences were appalled by the death that Kong causes. At least this is what I'd like to think happened. The first time we feel anything other than fear of Kong is when he's trying to grab Jack, who stabs him with a knife. The music whimpers and Kong examines the wound on his hand. It's a rather awkward moment because just seconds ago, Kong killed about ten men. Now we are supposed to feel some sympathy toward the beast, which I did because he's such an amazing creation.

Now with Kong attacking from above, a big lizard is climbing up a vine along the cliff toward Jack. Jack calmly disposes of the lizard by cutting the vine, sending the lizard to the rocky floor below. Man! Skull Island is just crawling with monsters!

While Jack tries to escape Kong, a Tyrannosaurus Rex spots Ann. Kong notices the T-Rex and engages it in a monster battle for the ages. This is also the moment when the audience starts to care about Kong. He's no longer the savage killer but instead is the protector of Ann. I still can't get over the attention to detail. When the T-Rex first makes it's appearance, it sees Ann, roars and then stops to scratch itself. Willis O'Brien's realism extends way past just posing the monster models. He also adds traits, behaviors and even involuntary actions into the mix. The Kong versus T-Rex battle is lengthy and it concludes with Kong's jaw-snapping win. I can't even begin to guess how many filmmakers were forever influenced by this great scene. Kong also battles a giant salamander and makes easy work of a pterodactyl. Kong chases Ann and Jack back to the wall, storms the native village, and brutally bites, kills, and stomps his way to Ann before succumbing to Denham's gas bombs.

Back in New York, Kong naturally escapes his capture and bashes his way through the city. He bites a few more people, drops a lady from a high rise apartment building, and smashes a train along the way. He eventually finds Ann, makes the climb up the Empire State building, and is shot down by fighter planes. If my ramblings haven't proven that once we see Kong the movie never stops, I don't know what will.

After typing all of this, my adoration for "King Kong" is blatantly obvious. If you've read this far, thanks for you perseverance. Oh and the two-disc Special Edition DVD is filled with extras and is a prize in my collection.

The "Eddie Quist" werewolf transformation is the best and scariest one of its kind in any movie from any era. It's incredible that thirty years later it still amazes. I remember seeing this movie when I was a teenager and I recall how great I thought it was at that time. Sitting down and really watching it again giving it my full attention, it really holds up. And why am I not surprised? It's a Rob Bottin creation. He'd do "The Thing" just one year after this. The fully transformed werewolf here tops even those in "An American Werewolf in London".

The story itself is a little corny to start but Dee Wallace is at her best. She's tough but still vulnerable and cute and you can't help but pull for her. She is really up against it once she enters the 'Colony' camp, but she holds her own. The ending doesn't work well because the mood changes from dead serious to funny, but the rest of "The Howling" has such quirky characters and such an overwhelming sense of impending doom it's not too hard to accept its odd wrap up.

Back to the "Eddie" werewolf transformation...I was watching it by myself in the dark late at night and it frightened me. In mid-transformation, Eddie looks insane, his mouth stretched into a demonic grin with bugged out, practically spinning eyeballs. I've seen this look from a creation in a Joe Dante movie before, in his "It's A Good Life" segment of "Twilight Zone: The Movie". It's unnerving for me to watch in that movie but in "The Howling" it's downright scary. I'm sure it had something to do with the mood I set for myself while watching, but the effects in this scene are amazing and there are some accompanying sound effects and music that really tweak the nerves.

There are pretty good performances throughout with the members of the 'Colony' almost completely over-the top. It's good to see Patrick Macnee, Kevin McCarthy, and John Carradine with relatively substantial roles too.

"The Howling" is an underrated treat with a good story, smart characters, and really impressive special effects.