‘Halloween: Happy Haunting’ a Great Holiday Docu
Anniversary release of interesting documentary is loaded with extras and fun
written by Daniel Roebuck
directed by Daniel Roebuck and Chuck Williams
Every horror fans love Halloween. There’s a lot of genre films on T.V. and on sale at stores, we get an excuse to dress up like our favorite characters and scare little kids, and there’s an overall creepy atmosphere. Halloween: The Happy Hauntings of America is a documentary first released in 1997 that explains the roots of the holiday, as well as the impact its had on U.S. culture, in a manner that an genre fan will enjoy. It’s starts off like an old, black and white horror show, hosted by Doctor Shocker, also known as Daniel Roebuck. Roebuck is a campy character actor who has had bit parts in dozens of notable films and television shows over the years, and he also served as co-director, writer, and producer of this effort.
The program recently received a two-DVD release in celebration of its 10th anniversary. The well-executed feature is a tell-all of everything related to the holiday — history, horror, and hauntings — with comments from genre favorites Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street series), Doug Bradley (Hellraiser series), Abgus Scrimm (Phantasm series), Tom Savini (special effects guru), and more. These familiar faces talk about everything under the Halloween sun: the origins of trick or treating, why people enjoy horror films, what they were for Halloween, an explanation of the characters they portray, as well as the men behind the masks, and more.
The documentary, which runs for about fifty minutes, begins with Universal horror, where classics such as 1943’s Phantom of the Opera, 1931’s Dracula, and 1931’s Frankenstein and its sequels are briefly explored. Along the way there are many other interesting segments, including the origins a trip to Don Post Studios, the acclaimed mask makers who got their fame in 1948 with their Frankenstein masks and continue their success to this day, and a visit with Henry Alvarez, who does sculptures, masks, and more, including working on films such as The Thing. Interspliced are visits to haunted houses, horror museums, and parades across the country. Seeing them on the screen are obviously not as good as in person, but it’s still neat to see their collection of props and the like. The first disc also includes photo slide shows (with production skills, promo photos, and the interviewees) and behind-the-scenes footage of the opening segment.
The second disc is chock-full of goodies. The first of these is a 40 minuted 10th anniversary update in which Roebuck introduces us to ten more Halloween attractions. I would have liked to have seen more interviews with horror actors, but it’s still a fun watch. There’s slideshows of an additional fourteen haunted places as well. We also see Roebuck perform in Dr. Shocker’s Halloween Spooktacular, a live performance of Halloween-themed comedic magic. Clocking it at nearly a half an hour, this performance is pretty cheesy but good for the whole family.
Other extras include a look at the evolution of Roebuck’s love for horror and his impressive collection of memorabilia, an interesting seven minute interview with Halloween expert Rochelle Santopoalo, a music video, and various others. My favorite of these extras is, by far, a pilot for a show entitled Raw Talk. It’s a cool roundtable discussion in which Roebuck and co-director/co-host Chuck Williams chat with horror folks, in this case Tony Todd (Candyman), Christa Campbell (2001 Maniacs), John Gulager (Feast), and Don Coscarelli (Phantasm). Rather than interviews, it’s just them shooting the shit about the genre for forty-five minutes. I wish someone would picked this up, as I think it makes for a great series that horror fans would love.
The holiday has already passed, but this documentary already got me excited for next Halloween. Although best in October, you can watch and enjoy this any time of the year. Those who liked it ten years ago will love be greatly pleased by all of the great extras, and people who are just hearing about it for the first time should definitely check it out. Admittedly I didn’t really learn too much information, but it’s still quite an enjoyable watch. Anyone from a casual fan of the holiday to diehard horror fanatics will be able to appreciate this.
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