Halloween was unusually warm in Toronto this year, with temperatures reaching 20 degrees Celsius, which was great for trick-or-treaters and partygoers, though I was not among them! Since my friends moved to a different city in September, and my wife is visiting her family in Japan right now, I spent Halloween alone for the first time ever! I considered going to the Halloween party at my old school to catch up with my ex-coworkers, but in the end I felt like I was getting too old for Halloween parties, so I just stayed at home and watched horror movies instead!

The first movie I watched was Leviathan, a 1989 science fiction horror film about an underwater mining crew that discovers a terrible secret aboard a Russian shipwreck. After becoming infected, some of the crew members begin to mutate into deep sea monsters! This movie was like a lower quality blend of Alien and The Thing (a small crew being hunted by a deadly creature in an enclosed space that they cannot escape from). I like movies from the 80s, so I didn’t hate this one, but it pales in comparison to the classics mentioned above, and the creature design in particular was sub-par.  

The next movie I watched was Brotherhood of the Wolf, a 2001 French period action horror film about a huge wolf terrorizing the French countryside in 18th century France. As the heroes hunt the beast to stop its killing spree, they become involved in political intrigue and eventually discover that the creature which has been killing people is not a wolf at all! This film is an interesting blend of genres, and though it features plenty of action, the mystery and intrigue are what really carry the story. I recommend watching the original French language version rather than the dub. 

The last movie I watched was Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, a 2005 supernatural horror film about a priest-turned-archaeologist who discovers a buried church on top of a Satanic temple. When the temple is uncovered, evil begins to spread across the land, and the priest must rediscover his faith in God in order to defeat the demon that resides in the temple. While The Exorcist is a beloved classic, this prequel falls far short of the original film. While it does deal with some interesting features of faith, colonialism, and post-WWII life, the ultimate conflict is not particularly thrilling.

Of the three, I suppose that Brotherhood of the Wolf was the most interesting, though none of them will be going on my Top 10 Halloween Movies list! Oh well, hopefully I can find some scarier and more thrilling movies next year! 

Vocabulary key:

To pale in comparison means to seem less important, good, serious, etc., when compared with (something else). Leviathan pales in comparison to Alien, and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist pales in comparison to the original Exorcist. 

To be sub-par means to be below average or of lower quality than usual. Sub means “below” and par refers to the average or one’s expectations. The creature design in Leviathan was worse than I was expecting (and much worse than the creature design in Alien!), so for me it was sub-par.

A period film, also known as a period drama or period piece, is a film set in a specific time period in the past. Brotherhood of the Wolf is set in 18th century France.

A spree is a spell or sustained period of unrestrained activity of a particular kind. A killing spree is when a killer/murder kills many times in a row. In Brotherhood of the Wolf, the people believe that a wolf has gone on a killing spree in the French countryside, resulting in the deaths of many people.

While the verb carry has many meanings, in the context of this post, it means to be chiefly or solely responsible for the success, effectiveness, or continuation of something. What carries the story of a film is the thing, person, or characteristic that supports the story and makes it worth following. 

A (profession)-turned-(profession) refers to someone who was once one thing but has since become another thing. For example, a priest-turned-archaeologist, like the main character in Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, is someone who was once a priest but gave up that occupation and became an archaeologist. Personally, I am an illustrator-turned-teacher.