Unfortunately, my unplanned absence means the following: I have no idea who won the last Queen Mary Dark Harbor ticket giveaway. I wasn't able to give away tickets to the Reign of Terror in Thousand Oaks. I never wrote my review for the Heritage Haunt in Newhall, which I attended (and enjoyed) mere days before I was stricken with appendicitis. And I never made it out to the Forbidden Haunt in Sherman Oaks, the Theatre 68 Haunted House or the Dia de los Muertos celebration at Hollywood Forever, all of which I had planned to cover. And I didn't even get to dress up on the big day! OH WELL. On the flipside, I didn't die shivering from pain and clutching my abdomen on a hospital bed, so hurray for that!
After leaving the hospital, I consoled myself (read: tortured my already addled mind) while recuperating at home with viewings of Halloween II and The Exorcist III, both of which are set largely in hospitals.
I had seen Halloween II before, but never all in one sitting. (I'm kind of a purist/snob when it comes to Halloween sequels, my affinity for the Rob Zombie reimaginings notwithstanding.) While it doesn't approach the perfection of the original, and a lot of stupid people make a lot of stupid choices, it's decent...especially compared to later atrocities like, you know, Halloween 6 or Resurrection.
Jamie Lee's wig is pretty distracting, but I could relate to the panic of being stalked by a killer while still dazed, drugged and disoriented in the hospital. The Halloween decorations at the hospital where I was staying called this movie vividly to mind, especially in my Dilaudid haze.
Let's not forget about the particularly brutal hospital scenes in the 2009 version of H2. Seriously, Michael Myers, why do you have to be such a dick?
As for the third Exorcist film, I had actually never seen it before, although I knew it was supposed to be good. Two very kind friends lent it to me in the spirit of torturing myself psychologically with even more hospital-set horror.
I have to say I dug this movie, and it definitely has its share of disturbing scares. It felt a little long, and the ending was semi-preposterous, but it is, after all, a movie about demonic possession, so I can't get too uppity. They're allowed to go over the top.
There were 3 scenes in this movie that will stay with me for a very long time, and I was able to find images of all three online - enjoy!
CATATONICS ARE SO EASY TO POSSESS!!!
In conclusion, try to avoid rupturing your appendix. And if you must, wait until the Halloween season has passed! Learn from my mistakes, friends.
Oh, and Happy (belated) Halloween!
P.S. This was my 100th post.
2 comments:
First let me say that I'm glad you are doing okay after your spell in the hospital. Secondly, awesome post. I love Hospital set horror films. This is coming from someone who spent 6 months in a hospital when he was 5 year's old (ran over by a truck--i'm okay)
Great job and speedy recovery!
Wow, I can't imagine 6 months in the hospital! I was going crazy after only one week. Glad you made it through that!
Any other recommendations for hospital-set horror?
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