Hallowe'en Round-up 3

Halloween (or Hallowe'en,  the alternative spelling which I like) is coming round again, so it's time for my annual post! :) It's next Friday (31st October). I also celebrate the pagan festival Samhain on the same day. 

I've previously written two round-ups featuring past spooky things and past posts on the blog. The first one was in 2016 and the second in 2020. You can see them at the links below:

Hallowe'en Faves + Round-up: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloween-faves-round-up.html

Hallowe'en Round-up 2: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/10/halloween-round-up-2.html

So since it's been 5 years since my last one, this year I'm doing another round-up of the Halloween posts after 2020, plus featuring some new things.

 

First, here are the posts from 2021 onwards: 

Spooky Videos for Hallowe'en!: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/10/spooky-videos-for-halloween.html

Selection of Hallowe'en Treats!: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/10/selection-of-halloween-treats.html

More Hallowe'en Treats!: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/10/more-halloween-treats.html

Hallowe'en Frights!: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/10/halloween-frights.html

Thai girl group Red Spin's video for The Front Person (featuring the girls as ghosts!) (2021): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/10/weekly-music-video_30.html

 

And now here is more scary themed content. :) 

 

Films 

 

The House That Dripped Blood (1971)

The House That Dripped Blood is a British horror anthology, containing 4 stories based around an old house. (Not to be confused with The House that Bled to Death, one of my favourite episodes from the Hammer House of Horror series!)

The framework story features police detective Holloway (John Bennett) investigating the disappearance of actor Paul Henderson (played by Jon Pertwee, best known for being the Third Doctor in classic British sci-fi series Doctor Who). The house's caretaker Stoker (John Bryans) tells him of other mysterious incidents that have happened to past residents.

 

Method for Murder

Charles Hillyer (played  by Denholm Elliot),  a writer known for his horor stories) and his wife Alice (Joanna Dunham) move into the house. Charles is working on his latest novel, about a psychotic killer called Dominic. But as time goes, the lines between fantasy and reality blur and he starts to believe that Dominic may be real. Does Dominic really exist, is it all in Charles' mind, or is there another option? 

Side note: I think that Reese Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton were inspired by this when it comes to the Inside No. 9 episode The Devil of Christmas, due to certain similarities! I won't mention them here to avoid spoilers, lol. 

I featuted another epioe from Inside No. 9 (The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge) in my Hallowe'en Round-up 2 post. 

 

Waxworks

Next to move in is Philip Grayson (played by Hammer Horror favourite Peter Cushing), a former stockbroker who is now retired. When he visits a waxworks museum, he comes across a sculpture of Salome, which looks a lot like a lost love from his past. It has a disturbing history, having been based on the museum owner's late wife, who was executed for murdering his friend.

When Philip's old friend Neville Rogers (Joss Ackland) comes for a visit, they both end up going to the wax museum. Once Neville sees the sculpture, he becomes increasingly fixated on it and things take a downward turn. 

Sweets to the Sweet

Widower John Reid (played by another horror fave and one of the most popular Count Draculas Christopher Lee) moves in with his young daughter Jane (played by Chloe Franks, a child actress who was also the daughter of Joan Collins' character in the Tales from the Crypt segment And All Through the House). He is strict with her, keeping her isolated from other children and not allowing her to have any dolls or toys. She also has a strong fear of fire.

However, when John hires Ann Norton (Nyree Dawn Porter) as a teacher for Jane, she upsets his regime by making changes. She wonders if the way he treats Jane has something to do with his late wife and tries her best to help her pupil. But her actions may lead to danger for John...

 

The Cloak 

Veteran actor Paul Henderson (Jon Petwee) is the most recent of the house's residents. He is working on a new horror film in which he plays the lead character, a vampire. Frustrated with the cloak he has to wear, Paul sets out to find a more authentic looking one. 

He finds a cloak that seems perfect in an old antique shop, whose strange owner (Geoffrey Bayldon) is more than happy to sell it to him. But when Paul wears it for the first time during a scene, he becomes compelled to get further into character- biting his co-star (and real life love interest) Carla (played by Swedish actress Ingrid Pitt, another Hammer star). She is outraged since it isn't in the script!

Paul feels that the cloak has an increasingly strange influence over him. Could it be turning him into a vampire for real?  

 

Here's the trailer: 

 

 

I first saw this years ago and then hadn't for a long time. But in recent years they've shown it on TV again. I mentioned before that I planned to write about it one day! 

My favourite stories are Sweets to the Sweet and the Cloak. It's also got an interesting ending when DI Holloway goes to the property himself to investigate. And then you (the viewer) find out the secret of the house! 

 

For more horror anthologies, visit these posts:

Top 5 Horror Anthologies: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2011/11/top-5-horror-anthologies.html 

More Hallowe'en Films + TV (features Tales from the Crypt and Scary of Die): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/10/more-halloween-films.html

Hallowe'en Inspiration (includes Tales of Halloween): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/10/halloween-inspiration.html 

World Horror for Hallowe'en (features Thai film Bangkok Haunted): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/10/world-horror-for-halloween.html 

Films/Music 

Thamma (2025)

Next up, some Bollywood horror! This is Tum Mere Na Hyue from the new film Thamma ("Leader" in English).  The movie is the latest in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe (previously known as the Maddock Supernatural Universe) franchise, which consists of horror comedy movies. The other films are Stree (2018), Bhediya (2022), Munjya (2024) and Stree 2 (2024). 

Thamma (which was released on 21st October during Diwali) is described as an "extraordinary love story," about a couple who are destined to be together, but must contend with supernatural forces, family problems and nature itself.

Journalist Alok (Ayushman Khuranna) is saved from a bear and an arguably worse fate at the hands of Betals (vampires) by a woman called Tadaka (Rashmika Mandanna). But as their relationship is getting started, Alok's life is put in danger and Tadaka makes a choice that leads to him undergoing a transformation. 

Here's the trailer. Click "Subtitles/closed captions" on YouTube for English subtitles! :) 

 

 

Tum Mere Na Huye from Thamma

And here is the video for Tum Mere Na Huye, a song from the film. It was the first single, released on 29th September. The other singles are Dilbar Ki Aankhon Ka, Rahein Na Rahein Hum and Poison Baby (all released in October).

Tum Mere Na Hue translates as "You Were Never Mine" (or "You Are Not Mine") in English. The playback singers are Madhubanti Bagchi (who also provided vocals for Aaj Ki Raat from Stree 2) and composer duo Sachin-Jigar (who also sang on Taras from Munjya and did the music for Nadiyon Paar from the 2021 comedy horror Roohi).

The video features the two main stars, Ayushman and Rashmika, and was also uploaded on 29th September. English subtitles available! :) 

 

 

I've seen Stree but not the other films. I would especially be interested in seeing Thamma because it's about vampires!  

 

For more Bollywood horror, check out these posts:

Bollywood Horror: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/10/bollywood-horror.html

Hallowe'en Frights!; https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/10/halloween-frights.html

Plus, the Spooky Videos for Hallowe'en, Selection of Hallowe'en Treats! and More Hallowe'en Treats! posts (linked above) also feature videos from Bollywood horror films. :) 

 

Hope you liked the post! I may do another themed post on Hallowe'en itself. Happy Hallowe'en! :)