It's almost Halloween! (Or Hallowe'en; since the name comes from All Hallow's Even, "Hallowe'en" is an alternative way of spelling it). It's tomorrow (Saturday 31st October) and so it's time for the yearly themed post. :)
Back in 2016 I wrote a post called Hallowe'en Faves + Round-up, which was about my favourite Hallowe'en/scary things and also a round-up of previous spooky themed posts on them both (Hallowe'en and scary subjects in general). Check it out here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloween-faves-round-up.html
For 2020 I'm doing another round-up of newer posts, plus featuring some new things. :)
First up here are the posts from 2017 onwards:
More Hallowe'en Films + TV (2017): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/10/more-halloween-films.html
Features Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark + It: Chapter Two (not a Hallowe'en post): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/08/upcoming-horror-films-scary-stories-it.html
Hallowe'en Inspiration (2018): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/10/halloween-inspiration.html
World Horror for Hallowe'en (2019): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/10/world-horror-for-halloween.html
K-pop group Red Velvet's RBB video (featuring a werewolf!) (2019): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/10/weekly-music-video_30.html
So now let's move to onto more scary themed entertainment. :)
TV
Quantum Leap- A Portrait For Troian
Quantum Leap was one of my fave TV shows growing up, and I still watch it sometimes now. I previously did a post featuring my favourite episodes which you can see here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/07/quantum-leap.html
One episode I didn't write about was A Portrait For Troian. Since it's about ghosts, I thought it fit the spooky theme!
Note: Check out the post above for a background on the show if you haven't seen it. :)
A Project for Troian is Episode 11 of Season 2 (1989) and is set in February 1971. Sam (played by Scott Bakula) leaps into the body of Dr. Timothy Mintz, a parapsychologist who is helping widow Troian Claridge (played by Deborah Pratt, who was married to show creator Donald P. Bellisario at the time).
Troian lives in a big house with her brother Jimmy (Robert Torti) and housekeeper Mrs. Stoltz (Carolyn Seymour). She believes that her dead husband is trying to contact her from beyond the grave, but Jimmy is sceptical.
Al, Sam's hologram adviser from the future, (Dean Stockwell) tells Sam that Troian is set to drown in the same lake her husband did. Is Troian really being haunted, and can Sam save her?
I can't find a trailer for this online, but it is available to buy on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sWwC-Fv_oY
This is a good episode, a bit eerie. There's also a twist at the end!
Interesting facts: Deborah was an Executive Producer and writer on Quantum Leap. This episode was named after her and Donald's daughter Troian, who is now an actress herself. Troian also appeared in Another Mother as a child, playing the character Teresa.
Carolyn Seymour also played Zoey, Alia's hologram turned enemy in the Evil Leaper episodes. You can read more about them and Blood Moon (where Sam plays a supposed vampire!) in my Quantum Leap post.
Inside No. 9- The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge
Inside No. 9 is a British TV series by two of the creators of the dark comedy show The League of Gentlemen, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. I featured The Devil of Christmas in my 2018 Christmas Round-up 2 post, which you can see here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/12/christmas-round-up-2.html
The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge is Episode 3 from Series 2, and is about two 17th century witchfinders, Mr. Warren (played by Steve) and Mr. Clarke (Reece) who are called to the village of Little Happens by Sir Andrew Pike (played by veteran actor David Warner) to try an accused witch.*
The woman in question is Elizabeth Gadge (Ruth Sheen), who is being accused by her daughter and son in law Sarah and Thomas Nutter, of having dealings with the devil. She protests she's innocent and it appears that her family are rather desperate to get rid of her, so who is telling the truth? It's up to Warren and Clarke to find out! But can they be trusted to give her a fair trial?
Again, I can't find a trailer for the individual episode, but here is the trailer for Series 2. Scenes from The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge are shown. The seance clips are from Seance Time (S2. Ep 1) which is another good one. I just watched them both again recently.
Interesting info The Nutters were named after Alice Nutter, who was a real woman accused of being a witch and then hanged, during the Pendle Wich Trials in the early 1600s.
*Their names me think of the actor Warren Clarke, which I guessed was intentional! According to IMDB it was a tribute to him.
Films
Child's Play (2019)
I just discovered that there is a Child's Play remake! The original 1988 film is one of my favourite films. You can read my post about it here (No. 5 on the list): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2013/04/my-top-10-films.html
Andy (played by Gabriel Bateman) is given a Buddi doll for his birthday, by his mum Karen (Aubrey Plaza) (The doll is named Chucky but he's no ordinary toy- he's possessed! Stars Wars actor Mark Hamill is the voice of Chucky.
There are several differences from the original, including Andy being older (13) and hearing impaired, and Chucky is now a high-tech doll. The film makers also seem to have dispensed with the serial killer storyline. I haven't seen this so can't write too much on it, but look forward to seeing it in future.
Here's the trailer:
If you're a fan of horror remakes, check out the trailer for the 2019 Pet Semetary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK0LNzU2TQI
I saw it last year, and while I didn't like it as much as the original, it's worth a watch. :)
Hope you enjoyed the post. Happy Hallowe'en! :)
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