Kinder-News:: Kettlebottom Gets The Boot
I'll be honest with y'all, here at the Castle we go through maids like Pringles potato chips. The latest to be canned is Hagatha Kettlebottom who has been with us for years. Unfortunately, she's been having more senior moments than not lately. Once was all she had to do was bat her eyelashes and do her spot on Urkle impression, "Did I do that?" and we'd be rolling on the floor laughing, broken commemorative ANNIE plates be damned. Well her cute act has worn thin, and today it was Aunt John's turn to drop the axe (I fired the last seven). Before I knew it, that old softy Aunt John and Hagatha were wiping away each other's tears and I had to step in and be firm. I pushed the old broad into a conveniently located wheelbarrow and hauled her ass off the grounds, even as Auntie howled and begged for a change of heart on my part.
How was this old woman able to push your usually patient as a saint Unkle Lancifer's cool as a cucumber Pisces disposition to it's ultimate breaking point? Why did I feel that steering her kicking and screaming body off the grounds in a wheelbarrow was not enough? Why did I also decide to end her little impromptu ride by dumping her ancient carcass into a fish bone strewn trash pit in back of the local RED LOBSTER?
I'll tell ya… that biznitch ruined my Halloween! I told that ninny to rent as many horror movies as she could find at the local video store for our Halloween festivities. Mind-blowingly an hour later she had the nerve to hand me over a sour smelling empty milk crate with these incredibly NOT Halloween movies nesting inside!
1. DYING YOUNG (1991): JULIA ROBERTS is a nightmare, agreed but this is not a horror movie by any stretch of the imagination. Hagatha's only explanation was whispered to her fake baby. Yes, Hagatha carries around a "reborn" which she dotes on when she should be cleaning and paying attention to my whims!
2. THE KILLING FIELDS (1984): I'm sure this a good movie and that I would learn a bunch by watching it, but that is exactly the opposite of what I'm looking for.
3. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940): I can still hear her horrible quivering voice trying to make sense of this choice "Me thought the mister would get a fright if the grapes attacked, I did." It was all I could do not to slam a frying pan into her face. Thank god Aunt John held me back!
4. NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (1964): O.K., I can kinda see where she could get confused here but ever thought of reading the back of the box?
5. FIERCE CREATURES (1997): "It stars JAMIE LEE CURTIS it does."
6. CRAZY PEOPLE (1990): This is a DUDLEY MOORE "comedy" for Christ sake. What is wrong with this woman? She only made matters worse by regaling the same tired story about her "Nutter" brother Ian who stripped down naked to his socks and chased several town people about while waving a cleaver, "One early St. Swithin's Day."
7. WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLF? (1966): As much as no movie on Earth depicts life at Kindertrauma Castle better than this film, it's simply not appropriate Halloween fare.
8. KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (1985): ditto.
9. 28 DAYS (2000): No, not 28 DAYS LATER the one with the zombies, 28 DAYS the one with SANDRA BULLOCK in rehab.
10. GIANT (1956): I'm not going to complain about a JAMES DEAN movie, but the idea that this mad woman thought it was a film about an actual scary giant boggles my mind. Do they even make movies about scary giants?
11. THE WHALES OF AUGUST (1987): Yes, VINCENT PRICE is in this and yes the specter of death hangs over all proceedings, but it's not scary and contrary to Hagatha's protests, it does not have a killer whale in it.
12. THE DEAD (1987): This was the last straw. I'd had it. We have here a JOHN HUSTON FILM based on the work of JAMES JOYCE. Halloween is just around the corner. Thousands of guests are due to arrive and now I'm going to be left with only the millions of horror movies that I have lying around the castle to entertain my guests. Some of whom are traveling hundreds of miles to get here!
You're fired Hagatha, fired,fired,fired. Your Urkel impersonation will not get you out of this one!
Kinder-Coloring Book :: A Very Happy Days Halloween
One of our main focuses here at Kindertrauma is exposing our readers to the best in contemporary literature. Recently while antiquing (that's code for shoplifting) in Piscataway, NJ, we stumbled across this tome that coyly describes itself as a "Happy Days: Coloring & Activity Book." Even though it did not come with the Oprah seal of approval, we picked it up anyway on account of the fact that we're so avant garde (that's code for illiterate). How could we pass up this treasure when the cover sports a photo of the Fonz attempting to break into HEATHER O'ROURKE's apartment? (See image above). Little did we know that beyond several stories depicting the Fonz's spiraling out of control sex addiction that there was also a tale just perfect for this time of year called "The Halloween Party." We admit that the ARNOLD'S sponsored get-together depicted looks innocent enough on the surface, but you can tell that this shindig is about to get all sorts of bacchanalian. So why not print out these pretty pictures, put on the soundtrack to LOST HIGHWAY and get coloring!!!! (Click the pictures to make them grow and remember: Kidertrauma is not responsible for its reader's mental welfare after images have been viewed).
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The Unseen Masks of Halloween
Anybody with anything half resembling a human brain knows that the iconic Michael Myers mask from the classic horror film HALLOWEEN was, in fact, a slightly altered WILLIAM SHATNER mask. What's not so well known is that many other celebrity masks were considered before director JOHN CARPENTER decided that SHATNER was the way to go. We were lucky enough to interview a not very real individual close to the production about the various other visages under consideration in an exclusive Kindertrauma interview. Due to our source's inability to prove that he was anything more than a figment of our imagination, he will henceforth be referred to as Mr. Narp.
DON KNOTTS
Mr. Narp: JOHN loved the DON KNOTTS mask. About a third of the film was filmed with this particular style mask, but later scrapped. The problem was that once the mask was on, the actor portraying Michael found that he couldn't fight an irresistible urge to do broad double takes. Some of these unexplained ticks even resulted in "the shape" looking directly at the camera and quivering like a Chihuahua.
TIM CONWAY
Mr. Narp: When the DON KNOTS mask failed to deliver, CARPENTER naturally instructed a P.A. to immediately fetch a mask of CONWAY. Both actors were white hot at the time due, in large part, to the global success of the juggernaut THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG. Unfortunately KNOTTS, who had a serious rivalry with his frequent co-star, caught wind of the switch and made a stink. He trashed the set (the dilapidated Myers house was not in the original script) and threatened JOHN and DEBRA HILL with an old school Hollywood blacklisting.
PARKER STEVENSON
Mr. Narp: The PARKER mask was HILL's idea. The problem was that his heartthrob image really changed the tone of the film. Early testing showed that many females found themselves far too attracted to this version of Myers to be properly scared. JAMIE LEE CURTIS's performance suffered the most. Rather than run away from her attacker, she would shuffle in her shoes and absent-mindedly twirl her hair.
MARCIA WALLACE
Mr. Narp: The neck was so thin on this mask that it caused its wearer to asphyxiate on multiple occasions. It also gave off a sci-fi vibe that CARPENTER was not yet ready to deal with. Years later though, he used this mask in several early scenes of THE THING. Eventually special-effects maestro ROB BOTTIN was able to convince CARPENTER to go with a vision of the space creature that was a little bit more down to earth.
ERNEST BORGNINE
Mr. Narp: At this point CARPENTER was getting frantic. He had filmed just about every scene he could without Myers and he had a tight schedule. When he was presented with the BORGNINE he finally broke down and wept into his hands. Remarkably, this is another mask that would come into play later in his career. BORGNINE would later star in the CARPENTER film ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. Playing the part of "Cabbie," ERNEST was required to do extensive driving scenes. On several occasions he showed up to the set surrounded by chorus girls, drunk out of his mind and unable to get behind the wheel. If you look closely, many of the shots of "Cabbie" driving in ESCAPE are actually show-biz trooper ADRIENNE BARBEAU wearing the BORGNINE mask.
BEA ARTHUR
Mr. Narp: Speaking of BARBEAU, many insist that she met future hubby CARPENTER on the set of the television film SOMEONE IS WATCHING ME. In reality, the two were introduced when JOHN would repeatedly stop by the MAUDE set while wooing ARTHUR into lending her image to HALLOWEEN. ARTHUR was over the moon with the attention and graciously endured hours of face casting with little by the way of payment. The mask proved to be TOO successful in the end though. If it had been a GOLDEN GIRLS-era ARTHUR things may have turned out differently, but the MAUDE-era ARTHUR, if you'll excuse the expression, was a horse of a different color. Producer MOUSTAPHA AKKAD, it is said, hit the roof when he saw the dailies. CARPENTER was contractually obliged to deliver an R-rated film and AKKAD was convinced the ARTHUR mask would not get past the censors.
WILLIAM SHATNER
Mr. Narp: It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time before Priceline commercials when people were not horrified at the sight of WILLIAM SHATNER. In a last ditch effort to placate AKKAD, CARPENTER chose the then more audience-friendly SHATNER mask to represent Myers.
It was a long treacherous road and chance played a bigger part than any one is willing to admit, but luckily the appropriate mask found it's way into this seminal film. It's now almost impossible to imagine any other mask in HALLOWEEN. Amazingly ROB ZOMBIE went through a similar ordeal while in the early stages of his recent remake. Luckily fan outrage put the kibosh on his proposed AUDRA LINDLEY mask when preliminary sketches were leaked via the Internet.
Note: Narp is an acronym for "Not a real person." We at Kindertrauma are proud of our general policy of not being biased against individuals based solely on their level of existence on this plane of reality.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
There is a reason why this Halloween special will never go away. It says more about the world most of us live in than a decades worth of Oscar winning dramas. In a dense fog of condescending, lulling, pandering children's programming, it shines like a massive lighthouse. It reminds us that in a universe where we are guaranteed that many of our needs and wants will go unfulfilled, needing and wanting might be their own rewards; a magical fuel that inspires us to drive forward.
Comparing this Halloween special to the glorified commercials masquerading as children's entertainment produced today is like comparing the work of VINCENT VAN GOGH to doodles found on the back of an issue of Us magazine next to KIMORA LEE SIMMON's toilet. If you have children, I insist that you force them to watch it yearly. If your children don't love it, put them in a sack and throw them over the Brooklyn Bridge. Don't bother wasting your time raising duds.
I don't know if anybody has noticed but current television spews endless fantasies about obtaining more and more. Children are told from day one that they are what they own. Privilege is a virtue and gluttonous excess is to be emulated rather than condemned. I'm not here to critique modern culture, but it should be noted that in the jazzy water-colored background world of the Peanuts, you just might get a rock thrown into your trick or treat bag. In fact, you just might get SEVERAL rocks thrown into your trick or treat bag. Does that make you a loser? Possibly, but you at least get the feeling that such a fate is preferable to being a selfish jerk like Lucy. (The actually quite lovable Lucy Van Pelt will get a chance in the future to receive her own "request denied" slip as she attempts to woo the enigmatic Schroeder).
Of course THE GREAT PUMPKIN really centers around the seemingly unfulfillable dream of Lucy's lil brother Linus. (Personally I've always found Snoopy's nonverbal, consequence-free fantasy war with the Red Baron a snore.) Linus, armed with "sincerity" faces the night sky and knows there is something else out there, something larger than himself that delivers gifts to those that honor and believe. Creator CHARLES M. SCHULZ denies any intended religious allegory to Linus's faithful anticipation for the hero he alone believes in. Organized religion aside, many claim Linus' plight works as an across the board representation of man's base existential angst. In any case, Linus, like friend Charlie Brown, attempting to kick a football that Lucy systematically pulls away, does not get what he wants.
To follow a story only to find the character you are routing for fails seems almost unthinkable in this day and age. What is the point if there is no victory? Speaking of religion, isn't the idea of heaven a "victory" of sorts? It's a reward for services rendered, a prize for the loyal and most importantly a happy ending. (The idea of finding a rock in that particular trick or treat bag is enough to drive some folks bonkers) If Linus does not get what he wants then he's a blockhead right?
On the contrary. I say worship Linus. Build a religion around Linus. Linus does not want to dress up in the ghost uniform. He will not trade his belief for "candy everybody wants." I don't know about you, but I can think of worse fates than spending Halloween night in a pumpkin patch looking up at the night sky. His sack may be empty, but he's so much richer than his trick-or-treating pals. He has imagination, faith, and sincerity. He has created his own universe and nobody can take it away. His desire, his wanting for something better, more substantial than what his friends can imagine, elevates him. Receiving makes you complacent. Wanting makes you grow like a pumpkin vine toward the sun. Linus may not know it, but he's bigger than the Great Pumpkin himself. Let the Great Pumpkin and others like him continue to elude, I already have my idol and he carries a security blanket.
Buffy Episodes :: "Halloween" & "Fear Itself"
Located on a "Hellmouth," everyday is like Halloween in Sunnydale, California. Creating a specific Halloween episode of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is bordering on redundancy. Since the appearance of a monster or a demon is an everyday occurrence in this fictional California town, Buffy and pals utilize the holiday to explore their own psyches instead.
When you subtract the uncanny from All Hallows Eve, you have a date in which people "come as they aren't." BUFFY, throughout its seven seasons always rejoiced in its characters duel identities. In fact, individuals choose the paths of light and dark as if wearing reversible jackets. In Sunnydale, the only disguise that has any real power is to play against how others perceive you.
In many ways these character examinations are much more relevant to our modern experience of the holiday. Once a ritual to ward off the dead or provide bountiful harvests, most people experience Halloween today as a time for little more than costumed revelry. With ghosts and ghoulies out of the picture the lone threat that remains is that, under the guise of anonymity, one might be capable of fulfilling desires best kept in check. If nothing else, there is a collective agreement that November 1st comes with a universal "Get Out of Jail Free" card.
In the second season episode entitled HALLOWEEN, many of the show's strongest characters inadvertently experience parts of themselves previously unexplored thanks to a bit of that old black magic and the appearance of a worshiper of chaos named Ethan Rayne (ROBIN SACHS). Tellingly, Rayne chants to a sculpture with two opposing faces to kick start the mayhem. He also provides our chums, and the better part of the town, with costumes that have the power to transform the wearer into what they have disguised themselves as. Like many premises on B.T.V.S. this seems like the stuff of high fantasy, until you realize that this exact phenomenon occurs to a degree in every town every year on Halloween. Let's be honest, nobody dresses as a sexy French maid to scare off the dead or grow corn. (Well, except for maybe Aunt John, but that is another story).
Fighting machine Buffy's (SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR) costume of choice is a powder-puff 18th century aristocrat (mostly in hopes to appear more feminine in the eyes of vampire love interest Angel (DAVID BOREANAZ)). Xander (NICHOLAS BRENDON) who has recently been protected by Buffy dons a military uniform as a way to appear more masculine and aggressive. Willow (ALYSON HANNIGAN) the groups' thoughtful wallflower toys with the idea of masquerading as a vixen, but in the last minute reverts to her old standby costume, a personality (and sexuality) free ghost.
Unfortunately many of the town's other inhabitants have chosen much more threatening guises. When Ethan's spell takes effect, demonoids, werewolves and other assorted beasts begin to roam looking to cause harm. In order to survive the night our three heroes, with the help of unaffected friends Cordelia (CHARISMA CARPENTER) and Angel, must reverse the spell and return to their former selves. Xander and Willow's new personas come to be quite useful. It's only Buffy the slayer's new identity that is a hindrance.
Although unaffected by the night's magic, Giles (ANTHONY STEWART HEAD), Buffy's bookish seemingly meek guardian or "watcher" reveals the most profound "other self". We get glimpses of his previous darker existence through Rayne who turns out to be an old adversary and once friend. When push comes to shove the gloves are off and Giles, by his own free will, is able to transform into what we have perceived to believe thus far as his exact polar opposite. Ultimately the intellectual librarian alone saves the day with sheer force.
By night's end, Xander has gained retribution for an earlier humiliation and Willow has learned to embrace parts of her persona usually avoided. Buffy who was beginning to think that her all-action, no glamour world of constant slay-age was a turn off to Angel finds that the very parts of herself she has been trying to shake off are the ones that he is most smitten with.
In a way this particular Halloween does turn out to be just like any other day in the Buffyverse. Monsters may roam, vampires may stalk, but the most fascinating thing is always taking place within the minds of its layered-like-gobstoppers primary characters. Characters that battle for self realization as much as saving the world.
FEAR ITSELF
Buffy, Xander and Willow now joined by Willow's werewolf boyfriend OZ (SETH GREEN), experience yet another revelatory Halloween evening in the series' fourth season. While attending a fraternity party all of the groups hidden fears come to startling life, thanks to the awakening of a demon. Trapped, separated and left to their own devices, the gang must confront that which has been gnawing on the back of their minds. Oz worries that his lycanthropic nature will be harmful to Willow; Willow worries that she's dabbling in magic beyond her control; Xander battles his perceived irrelevance in the group; and Buffy comes face to face with her fear of abandonment. Primarily a traditional haunted house tale, scares are perfectly offset by comedic turns provided by Watcher Giles and Xander's new love interest, the hilariously literal ex-vengeance demon Anya (EMMA CAULFIELD). By episode's end we learn that all involved are the ones actually providing power to the demon who, when finally revealed, is not half as threatening as their minds would have them believe.
Together both FEAR ITSELF and HALLOWEEN provide a great night of entertainment for those looking to get into the spirit of Halloween. Even those less familiar with the show will find themselves quickly wrapped up in these spirited holiday romps. The combination of scares, laughs and character examination can be found throughout the series' seven-year run but, with everybody's favorite day as a backdrop, Buffy's lantern shines all the brighter.
