When Halloween rolls around, fans of scary movies tune in to rewatch their favorites. We know them like the back of our hand, from who lives and dies to when the jump scares are coming. What we don't always know are the unique, notorious and even dubious stories surrounding these movies.
Check out this mix of horror movie trivia from scary classics to new fan favorites that are as delicious as Halloween candy.
Barrymore Breaks the Rules
Drew Barrymore revealed some tasty insights about the movie "Scream" (1996) during an episode of her talk show in 2021. First, she was originally asked to play the lead character Sidney Prescott, but pushed instead for the role of Casey Becker.
Barrymore knew Becker’s murder in the movie’s opening sequence would leave audiences stunned. The brutal killing of a believed main character, especially one played by a well-known star, broke all the “horror movie rules,” which is a major plot focus in “Scream.”
Another fun fact is the connection between the 1983 Brain De Palma movie “Scarface” and the platinum wig Barrymore wore as Casey. Barrymore asked her wig maker to recreate Michelle Pfeiffer’s look as the character Elvira in "Scarface."
Be a Crystal Lake Camper if You Dare
The very first “Friday the 13th” movie takes place at the fictional Camp Crystal Lake. The real-life filming location is Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco (NOrth BErgen BOy SCOuts) in Hardwick, N.J.
The 380+ acre camp is private property owned by the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) Northern New Jersey Council and they regularly host public events with a Crystal Lake/Friday the 13th theme.
Activities range from canoeing and archery to tours of film locations and meet-n-greets with cast members. Not afraid of Jason coming out at night? The overnight events include a campfire, a “Friday the 13th” screening and sleeping in one of the cabins used in the movie.
The camp was founded in 1927 and the events support its ongoing restoration and maintenance, as well as BSA camping programs. The camp maintains a website with information about its public events.
An Unusual Film Debut in a Scary Classic
The shower scene in “Psycho” is an amazing piece of filmmaking that’s still analyzed and discussed to this day. But, the shower wasn’t the only thing in the Bates Motel bathroom to make cinema history.
In the film, the character Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, tears a note she’s written into pieces and flushes it down the toilet. This is the first time a flushing toilet ever appeared on screen. The flushing was tied to a major plot point, a fact Hitchcock used to get the scene approved by the censors.
Deadly Dancing Doll is a World Champion
The hugely successful movie “M3GAN” (2022) tells the story of a robotic doll that takes her role as a little girl’s friend to murderous levels. The scene of M3GAN’s creepy dance before grabbing a paper cutter blade and chasing down a victim caught the public’s attention and was mimicked across social media.
The performer was Amie Donald, a 12-year-old New Zealand actress and dancer, who wore an animatronic M3GAN mask for the role. During publicity interviews for the movie, Donald attributed her ability to portray the robot’s precise and controlled movement to her dance training. She won a bronze and silver medal for her country at the 2019 Dance World Cup, a first for the country.
In addition to Donald, other versions of M3GAN used in the film included numerous puppets and sometimes just parts, such as an upper torso or legs. The M3GANs were created by Adrien Morot, an Academy-award winning special-effects make up and prosthetics artist, and make-up artist Kathy Tse.
In case you’re wondering, M3GAN stands for Model 3 Generative ANdroid.
No Pigs Were Harmed in the Making of this Film
In Steven King’s book, “Carrie,” the main character is a telekinetic, tortured teen. At the prom, Carrie unleashes her powers after being victimized by bullying classmates who doused her with pig's blood.
For Brain De Palma’s 1976 film adaptation, Sissy Spacek plays Carrie. She explained in a Yahoo Entertainment story (2018) that a warmed mixture of corn syrup and red food coloring was used for the pig’s blood.
From chocolate blood, peanut butter blood and even blood so real it had to be remixed to look more artificial – filmmakers have to get pretty creative when it comes to making injury and death look believable.
Check out "A Brief History of Fake Blood" by Slate (2017), for a deeper dive on how filmmakers evolved tricks and techniques to create bloody scenes in films such as "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957), "The Godfather" (1972) and more.
See Sam on the Big Screen
“Trick ‘R Treat” is a 2007 horror film that’s often found on watch lists when October rolls around, yet it only got a theatrical release in 2022. In fact, it initially went straight to video after a successful premiere on the film festival circuit.
Why? No clear explanation. One theory, the execs at Warner Brothers were nervous after “Superman Returns” flopped, according to recent Screen Rant articles. Another possibility, the studio was unsure how to market the movie and its unique storytelling style.
The film has garnered cult status and is in theaters again during October 2023. The movie, which has an 82% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has all the right ingredients – an original story, excellent cast, great special effects make-up, jump scares, creepy sets, hair-raising suspense and a memorable looking mysterious character/villain (Sam).
"Trick ‘R Treat" is also easily found on streaming platforms. And, remember to follow Halloween lore or tradition-stickler Sam might visit you!
Too Much Soup For You
In “The Exorcist” (1973) a young girl named Regan, played by Linda Blair, is possessed by a demon with very bad manners. Under the demon’s control, Regan’s head spins, she cusses out everyone, and spews green vomit into a priest’s face.
Green pea soup is widely cited as the fake vomit, but the film’s director, William Friedkin, set the record straight in a 2008 Director’s Guild of America article saying:
“Over the years, everyone refers to the vomit here as pea soup, but it was really porridge with pea soup coloring – it had a much better texture than pure pea soup.”
Yuck! It’s no wonder movie theaters handed out barf bags, especially when the spewing came from Blair looking grotesque thanks to special effects makeup.
The Original Scream Queen had a Beastly “Boyfriend”
Fay Wray, whose character Ann Darrow was the object of King Kong’s affection in the classic 1933 movie, was dubbed a “scream queen” by entertainment writers at the time. And, its believed to be the first use of the title, making Wray the original scream queen.
Although Wray let her scream rip in a series of scary pictures during the '30s, she’s best known for those captured on celluloid for “King Kong." The most famous scream is her very first one in the movie.
In the scene, the character Carl Denham, the producer spearheading the ocean voyage to Skull Island to see Kong, asks Ann to pretend she sees the giant beast for the first time. After an emotional build up under Carl's direction, he shouts, "Scream, Ann! Scream for your life!" And, she let's it rip. Wray did the scene in one take.
In 2016, Wray was interviewed by filmmaker and friend Rick McKay about her career. Of the famous scream, Wray didn't understand why hers was more famous than others. "I don't understand that really, exactly," she said. "But, I'll take it, if that serves to be something people appreciate."
The Family That Screams Together, Stays Together
Well, they didn’t technically scream in the same movie, but Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis reign supreme at the only mother-daughter scream queens. Leigh earned her crown for the shower scene in “Psycho” (1960).
Curtis earned hers for screams throughout “Halloween” (1978) and subsequent roles in horror films. Curtis also starred as the character Dean Musch in “Scream Queens,” a dark-comedy television series about a university plagued with murders.
In one episode, Curtis recreated her mother's iconic shower scene. Curtis shared her thoughts about the scene and the filmmaking tricks to make it during an interview at the Paley Center for Media in 2016.
Be A Good Dog
“Cujo” is the 1983 film adaptation of Stephen King’s book about a rabid dog terrorizing a mother and son. The role of Cujo was filled by numerous St. Bernards, a sweet and family-friendly breed. So friendly, in fact, that 7-year-old Danny Pintauro, the son character in the movie, wasn’t allowed to play with the dogs for fear they would wag their tail and be too excited around him during filming.
Pintauro recounted his Cujo experience on the Behind the Velvet Rope podcast in 2022. Pintauro said Cujo’s rabid look was achieved with mustard and ketchup, which the dogs liked to lick off their face. In addition to real dogs, mechanical dogs and even men in dog suits were used for filming.
Give Credit Where Credit is Due
As the credits roll for John Carpenter's "Halloween" (1978), the Bowling Green Philharmonic Orchestra is listed as performing the haunting original music. In actuality, Carpenter wrote and performed it, but credited a fictitious group (the city didn't have an orchestra until 2000).
This is among the many nods Carpenter gives to Bowling Green, K.Y., where he spent most of his youth. The Carpenter family moved to the small city when the filmmaker was five years old because his father, Howard, joined Western Kentucky University's (WKU) music faculty.
Carpenter references Bowling Green and the surrounding area in numerous films. For instance, Michael Myers escapes from the "Smith's Grove Warren County Sanitorium." No such facility exists, but Bowling Green is in Warren County and Smiths Grove (spelled differently) is a small community near to the city.
For mega fans, see what inspired Carpenter first hand with "Reel Sites, Real Scary," a self-guided tour by the The Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Tour spots includes references made in "Halloween," "Halloween II" (1981) and "The Fog" (1980). Plus, time stamps for when references are made in each film.
Additionally, the tour includes trivia and places important to Carpenter's life, such as WKU. The Carpenter family lived on campus in a historic log cabin, which still stands today, and John attended WKU for two years before transferring to University of Southern California to study film.
Spooky Coincidence or Something Amidst
Ryan Reynolds starred as George Lutz in the 2005 remake of “The Amityville Horror.” For those unfamiliar with the long backstory, it began in 1974 when Ronald DeFoe murdered six of his family members, including his mother and father, in his Amityville, N.Y., home. The murders took place at 3:15 a.m.
In an interview with the online entertainment site, MovieWeb, Reynolds said numerous crew members woke up everyday at 3:15 a.m. exactly. Maybe it was the power of suggestion from hours with the script, but it wasn’t something made up to sell tickets, according to Reynolds.
Horror Gets Some Respect
“The Exorcist” (1973), often cited as the scariest movie of all time, was the first horror film to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture (it won the Golden Globe in the same category).
The film was a box office smash and recognized with numerous awards and nominations. Of its 10 Oscars nominations, the only win went to William Peter Blatty for his adapted screenplay based on his 1971 book of the same name.
Scary Flicks Join the Big League
“Silence of the Lambs” (1991), the story of a FBI detective soliciting help from an imprisoned serial killer to find another one still on the loose, is the first horror film to win a Best Picture Academy Award.
As of 2023, only six horror films have earned nominations in the category. The others include “The Exorcist” (1973), “Jaws” (1975), “Sixth Sense” (1999), “Black Swan” (2010), and “Get Out” (2017).
Leaving Nothing to Chance
Director James Wan is the force behind a horror-genre empire. Among his films are the hugely successful–and frightening–movies in the “Conjuring,” “Saw” and “Insidious” franchises. When it comes to his sets, Wan isn’t taking any chances. He regularly has a priest come and provide a blessing.
Beam Me Up to Haddonfield
The mask worn by the deranged killer Michael Myers in "Halloween" (1978) is so frightening it’s hard to believe it’s actually a mask of the beloved “Star Trek” character Captain Kirk. It’s widely known, the film’s production designer, Tommy Lee Wallace, bought the mask at a store on Hollywood Boulevard.
He then enlarged the eyes, removed the eyebrows and sideburns, darkened the hair and painted it white. In my opinion, it’s those black eye holes that make the mask extra creepy.
Wallace demonstrates how he made the mask and shares some Halloween stories in this 2014 YouTube video with writer and producer Sean Clark. In the video, Wallace refers to the mask as The Shape. This is because in the first film, the killer is listed in the credits as The Shape, not Michael Myers.
Haunted House is Open for Business
“The Conjuring” (2013) is based on the real life Perron family and their experiences after moving into a farmhouse in Burrillville, R.I., in 1971. The family claims the house, where they lived for 10 years, was haunted. The family enlisted the help of paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, portrayed in the film by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.
The home is now in the hands of Jacqueline Nuñez, a spiritualist and real estate developer. The property is a destination for those interested in the paranormal. According to the website, you can tour the home, take part in investigations and even camp on the grounds. Interested? Check out the website.
I "Vant" To Be A Record Holder
Count Dracula joined the Guinness Book of World Record holders in 1992 as the character most often portrayed in horror films. In second place is Frankenstein's monster.
And, in all those appearances, Count Dracula never said the often quoted line, "I vant to suck your blood." As explained in a 2019 PBS News Hour article and numerous other sources, the phrase was never said on film. The pronunciation plays off the heavy Hungarian accent of Bela Lugosi, who famously portrayed Dracula on stage in the 1920s and then on screen in the 1930s and '40s.
Feed Me My Line Again: Horror Movie Trivia Quotes
The American Film Institute’s top 100 movie quotes includes a number from spooky movies. Here are the quotes and the characters who said them.
#21 Silence of the Lambs (1991)
“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.”
-Dr. Hannibal Lecter
#35 Jaws (1975)
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
-Sheriff Martin Brody
#44 The Sixth Sense (1999)
“I see dead people.”
-Cole Sear
#49 Frankenstein (1931)
“It's alive! It's alive!”
-Mad Scientist Henry Frankenstein
#56 Psycho (1960)
“A boy’s best friend is his mother.”
-Norman Bates
#68 The Shining (1980)
“Here’s Johnny”
-Jack Torrance
#69 Poltergeist (1982)
“They’re here.”
-Carol Anne
#83 Dracula (1931)
“Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.”
-Count Dracula
#84 King Kong (1933)
“Oh, no, it wasn’t the airplanes. It was beauty that killed the beast.”
-Carl Denham
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