After weeks of wondering if AMC was abandoning its annual October horror movie marathon, they have finally put our fears to rest with the announcement of Fearfest ‘09. I always look forward to having horror on at any given point for my consumption but in past years I’ve been somewhat disappointed with AMC’s selections. I do appreciate that they try to balance out the selection between older classics (Night of the Living Dead, The Fly) and newer films (Exorcist: The Beginning, Alien Resurrection) but I’m always wishing for movies not on their playlist. I guess I’m just being idealistic, but can’t we have The Beyond? Friday the 13th? Suspiria? The Descent? You get the idea – all the movies that I want to watch. Screw everyone else, right?
I hereby dub you non-essential
One thing I’ll never understand is the channel’s handling of the Halloween movies. In past years, they’ve played parts IV and V but not the original! And this year, they’ve completely omitted Halloween II but are playing parts I, IV, and V in a row. How can you just skip the second one?
But enough complaining. This year brings some great selections to the table including the full quadrilogy of Alien films, Puppetmaster, The Shining, Night of the Living Dead, Psycho, and The Frighteners. Additionally, they will be offering about a dozen of B-movies streaming online, along with quizzes, competitions, and other cool content.
The TV segments will be hosted by some genre staples including George Romero, Cloris Leachman and Margot Kidder. I know I’ll be catching as much as possible. Long live the horror marathon. Check out the official site for schedules and more.
Full list of films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, Return of the Living Dead, Return of the Living Dead, Jack the Ripper, The Brain Eaters, The Fly (1958), The Fly II (1989), Dracula (1979), Exorcist: The Beginning, End of Days, Wolf, The Beast Must Die, The Frighteners, Raising Cain, The Shining, Psycho, The Innocents, Thir13een Ghosts (2001), Halloween, Halloween IV, Halloween V, Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, King Kong, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, And Now the Screaming Starts, Puppetmaster, House on Haunted Hill (1999), Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007), Blood of Dracula, The She-Creature, Sabretooth, Young Frankenstein, The Ammityville Horror, Pinata: Survival Island, Night of the Living Dead.
#1 by Kristin on October 19th, 2009
I’m so glad u posted this one dude cause i was def wondering the same thing. I love the AMC movie fest. But seriously, i with ya on the whole “playing parts IV and V” without the original, total crap. For example, i dont want to see Omen III without the first two. Brilliant antichrist movies…love love. Thanks for the info and rants as usual.