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Editorials

Halloween in the 90s: The Last Great Decade That Got it Right

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Every year around this time, I think about how Halloween was when I was a kid and how so much has changed over the last 20 years. I think many of us can collectively agree that the ’90s were probably the last great decade that gave the Halloween holiday its proper due. As a young kid in the 80s in October, I can vouch that era, in particular, is yet to be unmatched except for perhaps the 70s (but I was only a twinkle in my dad’s eye in that decade, so I can’t speak on that); but as an older kid, and teen in the 90s, Halloween fucking rocked then. And I refute the accusation that I’m looking at the times through rose-colored nostalgic glasses.

Growing into a young adult, a mom, and into now just a grumpy 40-year-old witch, I’ve watched the holiday slowly lose its lackluster and excitement. Modern-day paranoia along with today’s technological advances and a lazy attitude brought on by corporate America all have a filthy hand in this. It’s quite rare these days to see a kid wearing a homemade Halloween costume, and what’s worse, is that the Halloween whore costumes have become so goddamn ridiculous that when you come across a Sexy Ronald McDonald costume, you gotta know that the Halloween holiday has taken a turn for the worse.

Yep. This dumb shit really exists. I would, however, like to know who actually thinks this is sexy because I’d like to get a restraining order on you, thanks in advance.

Halloween Costumes

Anyway, Halloween in the 90s looked a lot different from decades prior. It was a lot more colorful, loud, and in your face. Much like, well, the 90s as a whole. And damn it was fun. The costumes became much bolder for us kids, while still suffocating under cheap plastic masks, and more creative than ever before. The homemade Halloween costume was still in effect, however, you’d see more than your fair share of Batmans’, Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers throughout the day/night. As for the girls, a sea of Disney Princesses and later in the decade, Spice Girls were the popular choice. Of course, the slasher would always reign supreme among both boys and girls who knew their Halloween shit, especially with the addition of Ghostface in the mix.

I still think to this day, those Beavis and Butthead masks were more terrifying than anything on the market.

Halloween TV/Snacks

Halloween TV went hard. Every other commercial was dedicated to Halloween, and every brand got on the spooky bandwagon. The Pepsi and Doritos collab in the early ’90s, is one that many from that generation remember the most.

Speaking of Universal Monsters, they had one hell of a revival during the decade, and I think the PEPSI CO giant may have had a hand in that with these commercials- making them “cool” for the new generation. As if they ever weren’t... The Universal Monsters massive VHS set came in around this time as well, and Frankie and Drac just exploded into pop culture all over again like it was a brand-new thing. Now, I had been watching these movies since I was in diapers, but it was definitely nice to see Bride of Frankenstein cookies in my lunchbox.

The commercials went hard, but the Halloween specials went even HARDER. We still had old faithful airing every year like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and Garfield’s Halloween Adventure, but the 90s brought in into syndicated programming that was already encased in the blocks. Series TV like Roseanne, The Simpsons, and Home Improvement had Halloween specials every year that every single damn one of us tuned in for. The early 90s in particular, brought prime cable channels to more homes than ever before and with newer kids channels like Nickelodeon and Disney having their own network stations, new programming came along with that. Shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark, Rugrats Halloween specials, Pete and Pete and AAAH! Real Monsters were just a few that were a mainstay in October.

But, that being said, Nick or Treat/ Snick or Treat was where it was AT, because we all wanted to win those prizes so badly.

The contests were usually sponsored by McDonald’s and the one I remember the most in particular is the one where you would pick up an entry form at McD’s and if Nickelodeon called you, you would winsome cool prizes. The anticipation of the phone ringing and answering every phone with “Nick Or Treat!” was, by far, both anxiety inducing and exciting. I never won, but damn, I tried, and it was pretty hilarious when salespeople would phone the house and I would answer like that.

Also, Disney religiously played Disney’s Halloween Treat all through October, whereas it’s not even on their oh-so-mighty streaming service. LAME!

Since Halloween snacks and TV sort of go hand in hand, the cereals released during Halloween in the 90s were on par for some of the best. Of course, we had our Monster cereals, but we would also get Halloween themed versions of Rice Krispies, Fruity Pebbles, and hell, even Waffle Crisp if you remember that one! Actually, before someone shoots me, Halloween Waffle Crisp was introduced in 2000, but the OG was a 90s cereal so I’m letting that one-year difference slide. Sure, we still have that today. But we don’t have Halloween Waffle Crisp. And that, my friends, is a Halloween catastrophe.

Also, we had Addams Family cereal. Can’t beat walking around your house at 2 AM with your Cousin ITT flashlight, rummaging through the cabinets for snacky-snacks.

Halloween Books

If you were a bookworm like I was in the 90s, series like Goosebumps and Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark were must reads all year-round of course, but essential during spooky season. It was even better when they were featured outright in the Fall Scholastic Book Fair.

While I’m here, special shoutout to the Scary Stories For Sleepovers series that always got overlooked because those were damn, good books.

Halloween Decorations

The 90s were also the last year of true die-cut and paper decorations, along with lawn leaf jack-o-lanterns. I want to say I’m wrong, but after the new millennium hit, you just didn’t see these as often as you would, if at all. Gel clings have taken over the Halloween window market these days, and well.. let’s just say the art of the matter doesn’t compare here.

Hefty. Be smart here. You’re sitting on a nostalgic gold mine. Bring these back. Thanks.

Trick-or Treating

Trick-or-treating was nowhere near as cool as in the 90s. It seems that more and more people forego that old-fashioned, door-to-door trick-or-treating in lieu of trunk-or-treating. Instead of enjoyable neighborhood candy-soliciting, the kiddos can go to a parking lot to collect their wears while the pumpkin spice latte-fueled parents’ pretty much ignore their kids.

Trunk-or-treat sounds more like a threat than a good time to me.

Kids in the ’90s celebrated all day with school parades and activities, and we immediately went out after an hour intermission between school and home, to obtain a shitload of candy. We were out all night for hours at a time, staking rich houses for those full-size candy bars for hours. My parents usually had to buy three bags of candy to keep up. These days, you’re lucky to get a handful of kids. Last year, I got ONE trick-or-treater. It felt like the end times for me. Now, I know this isn’t in every neighborhood, and maybe I’m exaggerating a little based on my own bitterness about present practices, but I’m not far off here.

Seriously, the last time I saw anyone give out homemade treats was in the 90s. Popcorn Balls are underrated, and a lost art, folks.

The ‘90s were arguably the best and, for what I feel, the last time for a kid to have a real Halloween experience the way it should be. Unfortunately, in these weird and wild times, I don’t know if things will get better or worse. But at least we have memories and those of us that still have that nostalgic Halloween spirit, can continue doing things our own way. That is, at least until dementia kicks in for me.

Editorials

Here’s The Story Behind That Blonde Michael Myers Mask From “Halloween 4”

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Halloween 4 was released theatrically around the time I was old enough to comprehend that a NEW Halloween film with Michael Myers was within my grasp. Being as how yours truly was 6-years-old at the time, apparently the maternal parental unit didn’t think it was a great idea to take me to the theater for the long-awaited return of The Shape. With the unfortunate flop of Season of the Witch, fans bitched and whined enough to bring back their pale-faced Haddonfield homicidal maniac. Now, again I was six, and none of that shit ran through my head as I had only seen the prior films with my Dad-the biggest Halloween fan in the universe. And I didn’t give two shits about any of that fanboy/girl bullshit. I just really wanted to see this film! Alas, pretty sure the mother didn’t want to deal with the dirty looks from theater patrons and opted for Oliver and Company instead.

BULLSHIT. K, it was an ok movie but it was lacking some serious George P. Wilbur malarkey.

Anyway, I got my fix a few months after the release at a birthday sleepover. My older, and very snotty cousin was turning eleven. Myself, being only six, stuck out and clearly didn’t belong there with the pre-teen crowd. However, because of family politics, she was forced to invite me. Which was fine with me because I was hanging out with the big girls! Upon my arrival, my uncle pulled me to the side and had stated he stopped at the video store for some late-night entertainment for us girls. He pulls out A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, and: TADA! Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers; stating that he had heard I was really wanting to see this and got it JUST FOR ME!

And I’ve watched it about 600 times since.

Now, let’s get down to business. If you’ve seen Halloween 4 as many times I have, you know of what I speak when it comes to the scene that sticks out like a sore thumb. Ahh yes, the blonde-haired Michael Myers in the schoolhouse that it seemed everyone in the audiences caught immediately yet somehow got past the cast, crew, and everyone in the editing studio. However, just in case you need a refresher, here’s the clip in question:

If you ever wondered what in the bleach-blonde fuck that was about, you’re definitely not alone and have the mystery solved for you. Several stories have made the rounds giving an explanation for the California fun-in- the-sun Myers, however, the one that rings the most truth is that it was simply a mistake from the crew and budget restraints didn’t allow for a reshoot. According to the January 88′ issue of Gorezone magazine and then confirmed via Michael-Myers.net, Don Post Studios was commissioned to make a slew of Myers’ masks for the movie. I’m guessing the people in charge had never seen a Halloween film, which actually sounds really irresponsible if that were the case, because the studios had sent the film a set of “pink masks with white hair”?!

Anywho, the make-up coordinators paint over this pink monstrosity with white paint, (which explains the really PALE version this time around) and the hair brown to get the desired look. In regard to the school-scene, what you’re seeing is the ACTUAL unconverted mask. Why it was just sitting around on set, and no one had noticed that, “hey, this doesn’t look right“, might be the biggest mystery here.

But that, boils and ghouls, is pretty much the sum of it. Just a blunder from the production crew and restricted shoot guidelines. Even so, it still serves as a fun, little laughable moment in what is a truly great sequel in the franchise.


Now that you’ve made it this far, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for reading and sharing my crap for the past few years, as Nightmare Nostalgia has been honored by gracing Feedspot’s Top 100 Horror Blogs and Websites For Horror Fans on the Internet! What I do is from pure passion and my desire to use the blog scene to spread positivity, fun things to read and reminisce on, and talk about horror film culture is my total pleasure and will be doing it until life says I can’t anymore. Thank you everyone and Happy Halloween Month!

Editorials

THAT TIME KING KONG ROBBED A HOME RUN

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I know what you’re thinking: Jessica Lange is incredibly distracting. ‘Tis true, and an excellent guess, but you would be wrong. The American League Championship Series gets underway tomorrow night, but twenty years ago I was parked in front of the television hoping the Red Sox would oust the Evil Empire in the 2003 ALCS and head to the Fall Classic for the first time since JASON LIVES (1986) hit theatres.

Alas, that wouldn’t transpire until the following October when Boston became the first team in major league history to storm back from a 3-games-to-none deficit to win a playoff series. But Game 7 of the ’03 ALCS was neck-and-neck, and when it slipped into extra innings, I noticed that KING KONG ’76 was on AMC.

The rest, as they say, is part of dumbass history.

It began innocently enough. Between innings I would flip over to catch a minute or two of Rick Baker in a gorilla suit, but as extra frames stretched deeper into the night, I started clicking “last” on the remote between pitches. To be fair, this was before the advent of the pitch clock, so between mound visits and Nomar Garciaparra’s rain delay routine — there was time. Or so I thought.

After Mariano Rivera finished his third inning of work out of the bullpen–setting the Red Sox down in order in the top of the 11th–I flipped over to AMC..

Therein lies the problem: Kong had reached the World Trade Center. How does one not get lost in that scene? It happened to me. And about the time Jeff Bridges put his hands on the glass in wide-eyed terror it came flooding back — “shit, the game!”

The next image on my screen was Aaron Boone rounding second base as the Bronx lost its collective mind. The Yankees’ third baseman had just blasted a knuckleball over the left field wall off of the late Tim Wakefield (it still hurts to say that). The pennant belonged to New York and I had missed one of the greatest moments in baseball history.

While it’s true Florida would take the title from the Bombers (at Yankee Stadium in a delicious twist) and the Red Sox would exorcise their own demons the following fall, it didn’t change the fact that I didn’t see Boone’s bomb with my own yes. And Kong still fell,

And not for nothin’, but ’03 represented Hideki Matsui’s rookie season in the bigs. Why do I mention this? Matsui’s nickname was Godzilla. King of the Monsters.

One will fall, indeed.

The words Dino De Laurentiis shared with the Philadelphia Inquirer promoting KING KONG held true 27 years later–and remain true today: “when monkey die, everybody cry.”