There are already enough horror movie guides haunting
bookstores to choke King Kong. Nathaniel Tolle justifies the existence of yet
another one by employing a welcome premise: movies that conjure just the right
atmosphere for Halloween viewing. He lays out his criteria in the introductory
chapter of Pumpkin Cinema: nothing
too slow, too long, too depressing, too cruel, or too off-season for Halloween
fun. Such seasonally perfect selections as Something
Wicked This Way Comes, House of
Frankenstein, The Adventures of
Ichabod, and of course, Halloween
are shoe-ins.
Sometimes Tolle has trouble sticking to his own premise, as
when he chooses the swelteringly Amazonian Creature
from the Black Lagoon instead of more appropriately autumnal alternatives
like The Wolf Man or Dracula (which he disqualifies for being
too slow…blasphemy!). While those are some glaring omissions matched only by
the near-total absence of Hammer horrors, I appreciated Tolle’s otherwise
appreciation of classic monster movies from all eras and how he further distinguishes
his book from similar guides by getting into cartoons, short films, and
Halloween episodes of non-supernatural TV series. I also liked the fact that he
selected movies he likes, so you don’t have to hunt around to locate his
recommendations. You still might want to approach a lot of those
recommendations with caution since Tolle can be undiscerning when it comes to
direct-to-video cheapies and holiday movies starring Ernest or The Olsen Twins.
That unfettered enthusiasm extends to writing that is accessible yet can get dodgy
without enough editorial intervention. Someone certainly should have steered
him away from writing “working quite well are the many ample bosoms that
constantly struggle to stay confined in their tiny bikini tops” in his entry
for the notorious rape-monster movie Humanoids
from the Deep. Yeesh.
