Tag: nostalgia

38 Years Later: Say what you will about the weird mask, Halloween 4 still has the greatest opening in horror history

Halloween 4 was released 38 years ago… how has it aged?

Perhaps it’s the season that’s gotten to us, but it just feels like the right time for a nostalgic post. And what better to be nostalgic about than the 38th anniversary of the release of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers?

The movie was released on October 21, 1988, and as we write this, we’re now 38 years removed from a film that, for a lot of people, was a game changer.

Kids of the ’80s weren’t even alive when the original Halloween came out in 1978, but they were certainly around ten years later when Michael Myers made his triumphant return. And quite frankly, despite what some might say, perhaps this movie was even better than the original!

Now, nothing could really ever compete with the original or even the second film for some fans. But there was a certain magic that Halloween 4 had. Something that made it special. Something that, even 38 years later, still holds up remarkably well.

Picture it. We’re in the middle of a Michael Myers drought. Halloween III: Season of the Witch didn’t exactly quench our thirst because it didn’t even feature the white-faced horror icon. And by 1988, fans were more than ready to see the Shape return.

Then came Halloween 4, and the promotional poster showcased that familiar original mask. We all got excited.

And then we actually saw the mask.

It was like a brutal insult.

But George P. Wilbur did his best to become the Shape of a new age, and in 1988, the opening sequence of Halloween 4 gave us what might very well be the greatest October scene in movie history. Arguably the best. We’ll get back to that in a moment.

Critics at the time panned the movie. They hated it. Critics always seem to hate horror movies, but this one especially seemed to get under their skin. Yet despite their disapproval, the movie was a huge commercial success, opening at number one across the nation.

And why wouldn’t it?

It was released at exactly the right time, during the Halloween season, and it gave audiences precisely what they wanted. The name of the movie said it all: The Return of Michael Myers!

When you go back and watch the movie today, it still holds its own. It didn’t overuse cheesy special effects or try to become something it wasn’t. Instead, it gave us a pretty great storyline, a wonderful atmosphere, and the remarkable and impeccable Danielle Harris, who has long been heralded as one of the greatest actresses to ever appear in the franchise.

We’re not going to talk about what happened in Halloween 5 and Halloween 6. That’s an entirely different conversation, and perhaps one best avoided on an otherwise pleasant October evening.

But Halloween 4 gave us a great storyline, a great atmosphere, and, in our opinion, a really worthwhile movie.

Heck, we even got to meet Bucky, the electrical worker who met an unfortunate demise when he crossed paths with Michael Myers. Poor Bucky. Just another guy trying to do his job.

But now let’s talk about that mask.

The funny thing is, 38 years later, it almost looks like it’s aging better than it did when the movie first came out.

It’s aging, nonetheless. I mean, heck, 38 years is a long time.

In a strange way, the mask at 38 almost looks better than it did at age one.

And that was perhaps the most insulting part about this movie. The promotional posters, and eventually the VHS artwork, featured the original Michael Myers mask. That sinister, haunting, unforgettable face.

But what we actually got in the movie was something we can now effectively describe as the Temu version of Michael Myers.

Seriously. Look at it.

That might be the least forgivable part of the entire production.

That being said, some people actually like the mask. And we’re not going to get too deep into that debate because, frankly, it’s been going on for nearly four decades and nobody is changing anybody’s mind at this point.

But let’s end this with something that really matters.

Go back and watch the opening sequence of Halloween 4.

Those empty rural landscapes. The autumn decorations. The farm equipment. The gray skies. The lonely roads. The feeling that summer is long gone and winter is just around the corner.

And that haunting music.

There is something about that opening that captures October better than almost anything ever put on film. It doesn’t need Michael Myers. It doesn’t need blood. It doesn’t even need a single person.

It just needs autumn.

And I dare you to watch it without feeling nostalgic. Without feeling a little sad. A little vacant. And, strangely enough, a little comforted.

Maybe it’s because we’re getting older. Maybe it’s because those October days of 1988 are now so far behind us. Or maybe it’s because that opening sequence reminds us of a time when the world seemed a little different, the seasons seemed a little longer, and Halloween itself seemed to have a certain magic that is increasingly difficult to find.

Whatever the reason, that opening still works. It might even work better today than it did 38 years ago.

Halloween 4 was a great movie.

But it also gave us what may very well be the greatest opening sequence in horror movie history.

And 38 years later, that’s something worth returning to.

Tim Curry definitely had a clue!

Tim Curry had so many movies.. but in retrospect CLUE was one of the best.

This week, as people continue to deal with the death of Tim Curry — legendary actor and, in many ways, a hero to misfits across the world — his movies and roles are naturally coming back into focus as people renew their love for everything he gave us.

Pennywise the Dancing Clown will obviously be near the top of that list.

Bill Skarsgård’s movie version is amazing in its own right, but Tim Curry created something in 1990 that simply stuck. That face. That voice. The humor mixed with menace. Curry’s Pennywise became an image burned into pop culture and helped establish the character for an entire generation.

But there’s another Tim Curry movie we’d like to celebrate right now, one that deserves just as much attention:

Clue.

Tim Curry’s performance as Wadsworth in Clue was, hands down, one of his greatest.

He was basically a real-life comic book character running around that mansion as this collection of wealthy, eccentric and increasingly suspicious people attempted to figure out who was murdering everyone around them.

And Curry never stopped moving.

Especially during that incredible final act, when Wadsworth practically reenacts the entire movie — racing from room to room, retracing everyone’s steps, changing voices, throwing himself around the mansion ..

He even a medical issue from it!

Tim Curry once described the toll this role took on him: “I actually had a sort of incident of high blood pressure towards the end, when all of the conclusions were happening, because I was running around like a mad person. They took me to the doctor and I had to take pills for a week, my blood pressure was so high. Which was very tiresome.”

Clue is one of those rare movies that remains fun across generations. Kids can watch it and laugh at the physical comedy. Adults pick up on an entirely different layer of jokes. People from completely different backgrounds and generations have discovered it, quoted it and watched it over and over again.

And I think a tremendous amount of that comes down to Tim Curry.

Go back and watch Clue sometime and mentally remove him from the movie.

Just imagine those same scenes with everyone else.

It’s still a good cast. It’s still a clever story. There are still funny performances.

But something is missing.

It doesn’t quite hit.

Tim Curry was the electricity running through that movie. There was something special about what he did with Wadsworth that elevated everyone around him and helped turn what could have been a forgotten 1980s comedy into a movie people are still watching and loving more than 40 years later.

The world lost a great actor, and for many people who grew up watching him, it almost feels like we lost an old friend.

So perhaps this weekend, or whenever you find a little spare time in life, go back and revisit some Tim Curry.

Sure, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and IT will understandably be near the top of the list.

But give Clue another watch.

And while you’re watching it, try to imagine that movie working without Tim Curry.

You won’t be able to.

The missing scene from Halloween 2

The long desired footage of Michael Myers in a children’s ward in Halloween 2 has never been seen.. but reportedly existed.

In this post we explore the hidden scenes that we know of, and those we don’t.

We’re hunting down the lost footage from Halloween II.

And we’re probably not going to find it but still try anyway..

We’ve reached out to Trancas International Films and the Akkad family, and we’re thinking about who else we could possibly reach out to in an attempt to solve a little Halloween II mystery that’s been sitting around for more than four decades.

And before we go any further, there’s an important distinction here.

We’re not talking about the deleted Halloween II scenes that are already out there. We know those exist. We’re talking about footage that was apparently shot but, as far as we can determine, has never actually surfaced publicly.

Over the last couple of years we’ve seen plenty of supposedly “lost” Halloween images floating around online that turned out to be AI generated. But there are legitimate production stills from Halloween II showing material that isn’t in the finished movie, and one particular missing sequence has fascinated us.

The made for TV movie version may have excluded the boob-shot but it definitely had in other scenes that made more sense when considering… In theatrical cut we didn’t get why Laurie was seemingly drugged and the hospital was dark.. it was the made for TV scenes that explained she was drugged by the doc and the power was cut by Mike..

These scenes, if included, would have made our favorite Halloween movie even better..

The children’s ward scene is what we’d really love to see..

In the deleted scene, Michael wandered through rooms of sleeping children before accidentally activating a cymbal-playing toy monkey. Nurse Karen heard the noise and investigated while Michael hid nearby, nearly being discovered before she walked away.

The sequence was ultimately cut as the film was tightened in editing, along with several other scenes. The children’s-ward footage has never officially resurfaced

But the photo from Warlock’s collection proves there was at least one more scene we never saw–presumably more than that..

In the behind the scenes photo, Warlock as Mike making a kid laugh, is surprisingly wholesome..

Director Rick Rosenthal has actually discussed it.

On material associated with Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, Rosenthal described a deleted sequence involving Michael Myers hiding in a closet in the hospital nursery. A nurse comes into the room and nearly opens the closet where Michael is hiding. The suspense builds because you expect her to find him but ultimately she doesn’t open it.

The scene was cut.

As far as we can determine, the actual footage has never surfaced publicly.

There’s also a sequence involving reporter Robert Mundy and a television news crew arriving at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital that was reportedly scripted and filmed. Production stills survive from that material, but again, the actual moving footage appears to have disappeared.

So where is it?

We all know the complicated history of Halloween II. John Carpenter didn’t particularly want to make another Halloween and has certainly never hidden his feelings about the sequel. The second movie also became considerably more violent and gory than the original .. although compared with today’s standards, it’s really not very gory at all.

Then television came calling.

When Halloween II was prepared for TV, some of the nudity and gore couldn’t exactly make the trip to network television, so material had to be removed and other footage was used to fill out the running time.

That’s where things sometimes get confusing when people talk about “deleted scenes” from Halloween II, because some deleted footage absolutely does exist and has been released.

There are additional hospital scenes, Michael cutting the power and, most memorably, the alternate ending.

Laurie is being taken away in the ambulance when suddenly somebody under a sheet behind her starts moving.

One last scare!

Except it’s just good old Jimmy.

So calling all Carpenters and Akkads.. we are searching and want the nursery scene.. and that television crew arriving a the hospital.. Maybe there is another Dana Carvey hidden gem somewhere in the pile of deletions..

Is there a reel sitting on some film rack somewhere or an unmarked box in a studio archive that nobody has opened since Ronald Reagan was president?

Is something sitting in a basement or storage facility belonging to the Akkad family?

Did Donald Pleasence take the film to the grave?

We’re not claiming that these reels still exist. We’re not claiming that somebody secretly has them. We’re just acknowledging something that makes this mystery worth pursuing: there is evidence and testimony that scenes were filmed that, more than 40 years later, apparently nobody in the general public has ever seen.

And that’s fascinating.

This goes in phases.. right now this is in an active phase again with fans talking about this deleted scene on social media..

We’ve sent out some messages, including reaching out to Trancas International Films, and we’re thinking about who else might be worth contacting. If we get responses, we’ll let everyone know what we find — even if the eventual answer is simply, “Sorry, that footage is gone.” We anticipate no responses.. but if there was some miracle, maybe someone out there will get lucky.

But we’d also love to hear from everyone out there in Internet Land.

Has anyone else ever gone hunting for this footage?

Did anyone contact people involved with Halloween II years ago and get an answer?

Has anyone ever claimed to actually see the nursery footage?

Was something shown at a convention decades ago? Did somebody have an old workprint? Is there an obscure interview, photograph, VHS tape or story from someone involved with the production that we’ve somehow missed?

Maybe they’re resting in that strange final resting place of lost cinema.. existing only in production stills, scripts and the increasingly distant memories of the people who were actually there.

Because now we’re left with a very Halloween version of an old philosophical question:

If Michael Myers hid in the children’s ward at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, but the scene was cut and nobody ever saw it… did Michael Myers actually hide there at all?

Friday th 13th Nintendo nostalgia

Every now and then there’s a good find on social media that’s worth sharing and we found one tonight.

A creator on tiktok is giving us an old Yamaha playing music from the Friday the 13th Nintendo game. Music from outside the cabin music from inside the cabin, it’s glorious.

Well some people may say this is not the greatest game ever created I will guarantee you this if you did play it you remember all of the idiosyncrasies, you remember all the shortcuts and secrets and all the hidden doors and forests and caves.

You had to get the pitch fork in order to get the torch and after three tries Jason’s dead we think.

Enjoy the music!!

@jake_elking

Friday the 13th (13日の金曜日) – Outside/Cabin Hirohiko Takayama (高山博彦) Yamaha CS-5 #fridaythe13th #nintendo #vgm #nostalgia #synth

♬ original sound – jake_elking

We Apologize for Another Obligatory Stranger Things Post… But There Was One Summer That Changed Everything.

Season 3 was epic.. and it all happened on July 4 in 2019.. that really was the summer that changed everything.


Everyone talks about that magical year when Stranger Things 4 arrived and completely took over pop culture, but I want to go back a little further. I want to talk about Stranger Things 3 and the summer of 2019, because for a lot of us, that was the summer that changed everything.


Think about the build-up. The excitement.. the freshness of what was coming.


This was Stranger Things embracing something completely different. Gone was the darker isolation of previous seasons and in came bright neon colors, the Great American mall, summer romance, arcades, and a season built around the idea that the kids of Hawkins thought they had already defeated the evil… without realizing something even worse was quietly waiting beneath the surface.


It gave us Starcourt Mall, one of the great fictional monuments to 1980s Americana. It gave us Fourth of July fireworks exploding over Hawkins while chaos unfolded underneath it all. It gave us a corrupt mayor bought and paid for, secret Russian experiments hidden underground, and finally let Murray become something more than just comic relief as his character began to fully develop.


Even the monsters felt fresh.
And then it happened.


July 4th, 2019.


The day Stranger Things 3 was released, right in the middle of summer, and somehow everything about that moment just felt perfect.


There was something magical about that summer. Maybe it was where we all were in life. Maybe it was the anticipation of a huge cultural event landing at exactly the right moment.. the posters, the fireworks, that unforgettable trailer, the colors, the music, the atmosphere.
It all clicked.


Even if you think Stranger Things 3 was not the strongest season, and many fans will argue the other seasons were better, there is something undeniably nostalgic about that summer and what it represented.


It embedded itself in our brains.
Hard to believe now, but it has been ten years since Stranger Things first premiered.


And seven summers since the summer that changed everything.
The truth is simple.


We will probably never experience something quite like that again.


And maybe that is exactly why we miss it so much.

Drifting into the 250th

The spirit of 26 feels a bit off compared to the spirit in 76..

I would genuinely love to know what it felt like for people who lived through major celebrations of this country in decades past, because celebrations right now feel a bit… off.

Queue the Patriotic Charlie Brown voice: It seems like everyone is supposed to be excited. Mattress companies and car dealerships are running their America 250 specials, Walmart has their made in other countries red white and blue products out, and yet there just seems to be something missing surrounding this enormous anniversary for the United States.

Maybe it is just me? If you are feeling it too, maybe it is just you! Of course, for every person feeling that way, there are probably plenty of others proudly hanging decorations and embracing the American 250 celebration with excitement and genuine patriotism. But something feels different.

When you look back through old fishwrappers and faded pieces of history from previous eras, it always feels like celebrations were bigger. Communities seemed more connected. The pride looked more visible. Maybe nostalgia distorts things, but history often paints that picture, with the Bicentennial seemingly being the most brilliant of all celebrations.. even black and white newspapers seemingly are filled with the patriotic colors..

The History Channel just showcased a number of images and information about how America celebrated in 1976..

Heck the Queen showed up and Johnny Cash was a parade marshall during the spirit of 76..

Here is Frackville PA in 1976:

Here is one from PA’s state capitol Harrisburg ..

We are fond of these old videos.. and there are plenty more still to be found.. Imagine the hidden videos still tucked away in basements or attics that we don’t even know exist yet!

But all of the images equally give a shock to the senses.. how much things have changed.. progress led to problems. Not all boats were lifted in rising tides and when the water levels are low, we all feel trapped in a daze of old glory mixed with a sense of patriotism in a past sense.. nostalgia has been replaced with anger..

Or maybe this is part of something larger. Perhaps it is simply the slow decline of small town America. Here in northeastern Pennsylvania, many towns have become hollow versions of what they once were. Industry faded. Populations shrank. Traditions quietly disappeared. There was a time when school bands filled long parade routes, floats moved through packed streets, and celebrations felt like the heartbeat of entire communities. That is not necessarily a reflection on the people living there today, but more the changing atmosphere that happens when communities slowly lose population, industry, and identity.

There is a really cool Reddit thread called Ask Old People (funny) … there is a pretty big discussion that focuses on just how big the 1976 celebrations were.. It seems like marketing was as big as it is now if not bigger.. From one post:

It was a huge deal. I graduated HS in 1976 and my memory of it is that it was mostly just a huge commercialization ploy. There was Bicentennial everything. From toothpaste to special edition cars if they could paint it red, white, and blue, they did. I have no idea the amount of “special edition” Bicentennial crap that was sold with the idea that it would someday become collectible. I suppose some of it actually did but most of it ended up in a landfill.

Another noted the interesting juxtaposition of the bicentennial right after traumatic national events.. After Vietnam and Watergate, the USA was feeling pretty down and the Spirit of 76 made people overall just feel a little better..

One more post from the Ask Old People thread:

It was pretty huge. It wasn’t just the actual birthday, but there was a big wave of subtle/not-so-subtle patriotism leading up to and continuing after 1976. It may have been fueled in part by people desperate to feel good after the turbulent 60s and getting out of Vietnam. There was certainly a lot of Red White and Blue branding going on – for example, Wonder Woman premiered in April 1976.

I’m a little concerned about 2026 – Waving a flag seems to mean something different today than it did in 1976 and it’s hard for me to picture a unified celebration.

That part rings true.. 2026, waving a flag seems to have a whole new meaning.. It seems divisive when it should not be.. It just all feels strange at the moment..

One of the scenes in television history has always been the final episode of The Wonder Years, where Kevin Arnold reflects on the closing chapter of his life in the 1960s and 1970s, including the death of his father, all while beautiful melancholy music plays against scenes of a Fourth of July celebration in his hometown. Fireworks. Americana. Family. Nostalgia. It captures it all:

I think that nostalgic view dominates how people imagine pride itself or great American celebrations. Maybe those moments really were bigger than life.

Maybe these moments never existed quite the way we imagine them, and we were simply led to believe they did. Or perhaps the truth is stranger…. those celebrations once existed exactly as we remember them, but somehow they do not exist in the same way anymore.

So how are you feeling, America?

Soaring with pride?

Or quietly drifting somewhere between nostalgia and sadness at 250?

They were Heroes just for one day

Remember when we anticipated a new #StrangerThings? Do you even remember the show anymore? Now we just have nostalgia for the nostalgia..

It’s been months now since the series finale of Stranger Things, and fans are forgetting… they’re forgetting quickly.


Not just the friendships we made with each other, or the rekindled family moments watching the show and talking about theories together… but the friends we had on the show too. They were ours. We cried for Max Mayfield when she faced Vecna. We cheered for Murray Bauman. We stood against the Soviets. We were wrapped in nostalgia.


And now… we just have nostalgia for the nostalgia.


There’s a dullness to it now, like a blunted edge. The new animated series is coming, and no one really seems to care. The fading light of the The Duffer Brothers has cast a shadow over their newest project, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. And maybe that title says more than it should about what happened when we saw the show!


Because something very bad did happen.
The fading star of Stranger Things.


It was with us for nearly a decade… and then it was gone in an instant. So fast. Quietly slipping away with that closing credit scene, carried out by the haunting echo of a David Bowie song. It didn’t leave with a thud… it left with a whimper.


Remember the days leading up to the finale? When we were all hoping like hell that Conformity Gate was real… that there was a secret episode coming. One more piece. One more answer. One more night in Hawkins.
It never came.


It was never going to.
But even now, months later, sitting with it… I still feel like Vecna won.


I know it was just fiction. I know that. But in this world that felt so real… it didn’t feel like a victory. We saw conformity through Mike’s eyes, and the ending felt bleak in a way that lingers longer than it should.


Maybe one day we’ll get that reunion. Maybe the cast comes back, set in the 90s. Maybe we see who stayed friends… and who didn’t.
Just like life.


Because that’s the part that hits the hardest… they move on. And so do we.
But every now and then, I catch myself. I have to snap out of it… out of that nostalgic fog where I’m thinking about a show that was never real, about people who never existed.

The eulogy-like sendoff… it just lingers there as a reminder. Time moves on and things that feel massive today become memories tomorrow.
And eventually they become something we almost forget.

How we loathe nostalgia…

Imagine watching Halloween 4 next to the iconic Vincent Drug store that was in Halloween 4!

Its going to be the hottest most nostalgic ticket if thr summer of 26!

This is si cool.. myershousenc will be screening HALLOWEEN 4 this Summer at the iconic Vincent Drug location!

Per the press release..

On Friday, August 21, 2026, I’ll be screening “H4” right next to the former Vincent Drug building featured in the film – at The Bambino restaurant on their outdoor patio, located directly beside Vincent Drug. The restaurant will be serving pizza and desserts all evening and as the sun goes down over Midvale, Halloween music will echo through the night… and The Shape returns!

This is the hottest nostalgic Halloween ticket of thr summer!

JCPenney’s was selling clowns before they were scary

Oh who are we kidding they were scary back then too

If it was 1971 and you really liked clowns, chances are you could have filled every room in your house with these amazingly frightening lamps straight from the JCPenney catalog.


Don’t be too scared .. it’s just a little taste of John Wayne Gacy in every room… or Pennywise the Dancing Clown… or even that infamous clown from Poltergeist,  though that one hadn’t yet terrorized anyone because this was 1971.


Maybe clowns were more simple and less sinister back then. Maybe all the clown-related events that have unfolded in the decades since have slowly morphed our collective clown repertoire into something darker. Because when I look at this picture, I don’t just see playful décor. I get a little heebie-jeebie feeling. There’s something about that blank, wide-eyed stare   that hints at carnage rather than comfort.


I can’t help but wonder how many kids had one of these glowing in the corner of their bedroom. And I wonder if any are still around today.. tucked away in the back of an antique shop, or sitting quietly on some auction block.


Not that we’d buy one.


But we’d definitely like to see it… preferably displayed in someone else’s house.

Lets pretend it’s 2016

Nostalgia is not healthy .. but maybe watching 2016 Netflix is on a snowy weekend in January..

This morning when I woke up, I noticed that Netflix added a new category to its main page called Let’s Pretend It’s 2016. It features movies and television shows like the Ghostbusters remake, The OA, and of course Stranger Things, since Season 1 appeared ten years ago.


Seeing that listing was a reminder of just how many things have come and gone on Netflix… and, honestly, how much better things used to feel. Over the last decade, everything seems to have gone downhill. So much of what’s released now feels rushed, made without much care or concern, with lackluster scripts and very few fresh ideas. But go back just ten years, to 2016, and we kind of had it made. We just didn’t know it.


Back then we were probably complaining that Netflix had already dumbed things down, that there wasn’t much to watch, and that the best entertainment was from ten or twenty years earlier. Little did we realize that here in 2026 we’d be decrying the bad writing of Stranger Things Season 5 and missing shows that were genuinely binge-worthy, not ones you casually glance at on a boring snowy weekend.


It’s nice to see this category, but it’s also bittersweet. Nostalgia can be one of the most dangerous things… it has a way of creating unrealistic memories of the past. Things weren’t always that great, and tomorrow isn’t always as bad as it seems. But when it comes to entertainment, movies, and television shows on Netflix, things really might be as bad as they feel right now.


So I guess this weekend, as the snow falls outside, I’ll watch what I watched ten years ago… and maybe it’ll feel new again.