Editorials
The 10 Greatest Horror Icons of Halloween!
For some reason, horror movies are more prone to fully embrace holiday theming if they’re set at Christmas rather than Halloween. Perhaps the iconography and visuals of Christmas are just easier to capture on screen, or maybe horror is just considered synonymous with Halloween from the outset.
But while many horror films set around Halloween are tenuous at best in their connection to the holiday, that doesn’t mean we’re in short supply of quality seasonal offerings. There are numerous movies and characters that instantly evoke crisp Fall weather and Halloween vibes. It is the best time of the year, after all.
In celebration of Halloween, we’re shining a spotlight on the 10 most iconic characters of the genre that perfectly capture that holiday spirit!
The Sanderson Sisters – Hocus Pocus
This family-friendly comedy-horror movie is a tried and true Halloween staple. Think horror lite for the budding fan, created by horror royalty that includes Mick Garris (Masters of Horror, Critters 2, The Stand), David Kirschner (producer behind the Child’s Play films), and Neil Cuthbert (The Return of Swamp Thing). As for the central villains- sisters Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimi), and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker)- they may have been comedic in their attempts to understand the modern world, but their sole goal was to suck out all the souls of Salem’s children before dawn so they may return to life permanently. Delightfully dark Halloween material, but with a whimsical charm. They’ll put a spell on you.
Billy the Puppet – the Saw franchise
From 2004 to 2017, you could count on the Saw franchise to bring the Halloween chills with late October theatrical releases. While the series is by no means traditional holiday fare, it was always a comfort to know you could count on a Saw film to release in October (hello, sparse theatrical horror releases here in October 2019). Franchise mascot Billy the Puppet might be Jigsaw’s favorite communication tool, but his creepy appearance and eerie laugh makes him a great seasonal icon as well.
The Firefly Family – House of 1000 Corpses
Rob Zombie’s feature debut is an over the top, violent ode to Halloween. The very idea behind it was birthed when Zombie was designing a haunted maze attraction for Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights (which has come full circle for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights). Set over October 30-31, 1977, two young couples run afoul of the Halloween-loving Firefly clan while researching urban legends in backwoods Texas. The victims are subjected to torture as well as bizarre Halloween rituals from the likes of Otis, Tiny, and Baby. But perhaps none as are iconic as Captain Spaulding.
Silver Shamrock Novelties – Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Discourse has long since turned around on this once maligned entry in the Halloween franchise, and a major component of that belongs to the evil corporation behind it- Silver Shamrock Novelties. The mastermind behind the company is Conal Cochran, a witch aiming to resurrect an ancient age of witchcraft through Stonehenge runes. How? By creating deadly Silver Shamrock masks, a hot commodity, to implement a mass sacrifice of children. Those masks are the true icons, having been visually referenced in other holiday classics like The Guest. It also helps that the musical jingle associated with the masks is so damn catchy.
Elvira
Beloved horror host and Mistress of the Dark, Elvira, has long been associated with Halloween. Endless Halloween promos, commercials, and an Elvira Halloween costume that never goes out of style at the Halloween shops would be enough to earn her a spot on this list. But there’s also the 1986 MTV special Elvira’s Halloween Special, Hulu’s 13 Nights of Elvira Halloween series in 2014, a long-running Halloween-themed musical comedy featured as a fixture of Knott’s Scary Farm theme park, and various judging roles in Food Network’s Halloween competition series. Don’t even get me started on the endless Halloween-centric Elvira merchandise. More than a Mistress of the Dark, Elvira is a Mistress of Halloween.
The Headless Horseman
Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” birthed a Halloween icon. An icon that naturally inspired many TV and film adaptations. The most definitive of which are 1959’s Disney animated classic, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Tim Burton’s 1999 film Sleepy Hollow. The latter of which digs into the Hessian soldier origins behind the original tale. There’s a version of this story for all horror ages and tastes. Across the board, though, they all scream Fall atmosphere and Halloween.
Pumpkinhead
Stan Winston’s feature debut isn’t Halloween related at all, but over the years it’s been assimilated into Halloween iconography by devout horror fans. It’s easy to see why. The biggest symbol of the holiday is the pumpkin, or the jack o’ lantern, and the titular creature is birthed from a pumpkin patch. By a terrifying swamp witch, no less. That checks off two Halloween boxes right there- witches and pumpkins. Add in the poem by Ed Justin that inspired the tale, and well, that marks three. It’s official. Pumpkinhead is a Halloween demon.
Angela Franklin – Night of the Demon Series
When Angela Franklin throws a Halloween party, she really throws a Halloween party. Three films and a remake worth of Halloween parties that literally raise the dead. Or more like demons, but you get the gist. Goth queen and Halloween fanatic, Angela just wants to revel in the holiday. Really, after becoming inhabited by a demon in the first film, Halloween is the only day she’s allowed to play. That makes this franchise one of the very few associated with Halloween, and Angela a villainous Halloween icon worth celebrating.
Michael Myers – the Halloween franchise
The poster child for the definitive holiday set series, Michael Myers is the Halloween boogeyman. When you think of Halloween set horror, this silent killer is likely the very first one to pop in mind. Beginning with John Carpenter’s 1978 film, Michael Myers has slashed his way through 10 movies with two more already on the way. His slaying field is Haddonfield, on Halloween only, of course. Michael is a rare Halloween fixture who has transcended beyond the holiday to become a definitive horror icon.
Sam – Trick ‘r Treat
This peculiar trick or treater, dressed in an orange onesie and burlap sack mask, is the connective tissue between the four interlocking stories in this Halloween horror anthology. He’s there anytime one of the characters break a major rule or tradition of the holiday. Meaning it’s quickly apparent that adorable little Sam is an enforcer of Halloween. With a savage mean streak when necessary. Trick ‘r Treat’s finale is an epic showdown between Sam and a holiday grinch, revealing Sam’s true face- a child-like pumpkin demon that’s as terrifying as it is utterly endearing. Sam, short for Samhain, is Halloween personified. Literally. And fans have been clamoring for more of this Halloween icon ever since the film’s release.
In this day and age, the word “troll” is often used to describe various online nuisances. Yet as abundant and irksome as the modern troll can be, they aren’t usually as fearsome as their mythological counterparts. I’m not talking about the small and gentler versions that have become more common to see in media. No, there are much bigger and scarier trolls out there—and André Øvredal’s movie Troll Hunter is one of the best places to find them.
It doesn’t take long for Troll Hunter (or Trolljegeren) to dump the Blair Witch Project-esque setup and aim for something a lot fresher. The trajectory of the story is augmented by Otto Jespersen’s character Hans, the titular Troll Hunter. The second he comes barreling out of the deep, dark woods and shouts “troll” at the camera, this movie takes a turn into what feels like uncharted territory. Not only subject-wise, but also conceptually.
For fantastical and made-up subject matter in cinema, found footage is a fast way to add a guise of believability. After all, what we accept to be the most crucial aspect of documentaries—the truth—rubs off on pseudo-documentaries, despite our understanding of the pretense involved. That is what Øvredal delivered with Troll Hunter: a movie so convincing that some viewers wondered if trolls really do exist. So, had this been straightforwardly made, it likely wouldn’t have been as effective. Conventional narratives would be more inclined to treat something like trolls as flat out unreal, and never try to convince the audience to think otherwise.
Hans petrifies the three-headed Tusseladd troll.
The viewers, like the characters trailing Hans, are quickly thrown into the deeper end of that extraordinary story. They have to process all this new information while staying on the go. So, although there is no significant amount of meandering, narratively or physically, there is still a good amount of atmosphere, not to mention tension building. It’s never anything frightful, but then again, Troll Hunter isn’t your standard offering of horror; it’s more on the low end of the dark fantasy spectrum. We aren’t ever spirited away to a faraway world—we stay in rather familiar surroundings, as well as dip into those less so. The outcome is a movie where you’re constantly more in awe than in terror.
As fantasy fiction might do, Troll Hunter prefers not to deal with incredulity. There is no time to waste on doubt, as interviewer Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), soundperson Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) all follow Hans around, recording whatever this character is willing to reveal about his bizarre job. Of course, the Troll Hunter himself is not an open book; in that respect, the diegetic documentary fails to fully capture and unpack the more interesting of its two subjects. Yes, all those giant, monstrous trolls are indeed incredible, but understandably, your mind wanders to their pursuer. What kind of person signs up for this gig and then chooses to stick with it for so long?
Reviews have called out Troll Hunter for its lack of character development. In regard to Thomas and his fellow documentarians, that criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they aren’t the focus of the story, either. Meanwhile, Hans is a well-crafted character. At least better than first realized. Before he was introduced, Hans had already grown tired of the troll grind. Fed up with that low compensation for his services, resentful of the bureaucracy, and wanting to expose his employer on a large scale, Hans’ discontent is glaring.
Then there are those finer details about the Troll Hunter, such as that indifference to both the natural splendor of his everyday surroundings and the affections of an obviously smitten colleague, that also suggest some level of despondency. So it is fair to say this movie doesn’t feature any sizable growth for its characters; however, the namesake isn’t underwritten. No doubt, putting a real-life character like Otto Jespersen in that role is partly why Hans is so fascinating—maybe even relatable.
Otto Jespersen as Hans the Troll Hunter.
There is always a small risk whenever using the term “mockumentary” to describe a found-footage movie, as the word could imply humor where there is none. In the case of Troll Hunter, the term’s usage is appropriate. Some folks have claimed the English-dubbed version has the more comedic tone, however, the Norwegian cut isn’t exactly humorless. Apart from the trolls’ absurd appearances, this is a movie where the characters nearly choke on the monsters’ farts, and Christians are like walking targets. Hans’ complete apathy towards everything is another cause of laughter. Overall, the comedy is intentionally dry and inconsistent. Unfunny, though? Absolutely not.
In a movie where endemic creatures are maltreated, as well as disavowed from living freely and peacefully, it’s hard not to notice the ecological message buried beneath the story. In addition to that is the unmistakable political satire. There is this whole business about intrusive and unsightly power lines—like trolls, they’re big blemishes on the land—that leads to what is perhaps the movie’s funniest moment. The scene in question is that one where certain electric lines, the ones secretly being used to keep the trolls at bay, go in a loop and don’t actually send power to any residents. Yet the monitors of said lines don’t find this at all weird. So it stands to reason that Øvredal was having a go at those who accept the government’s doings without question.
Looking past the fact that trolls aren’t actually real, this movie is an enlightening source of information. And not just for international audiences; Norwegians, too, get schooled about their homeland’s own mythology. It’s also evident from everything on screen that Øvredal and his crew were enthusiastic about the topic. The creature designs are the most indicative of that zeal; those imaginative yet myth-accurate manifestations are equally amusing and grotesque. One second you’re laughing at their phallic noses, the next you’re white-knuckling during a hairy sequence. Most surprisingly is how well the trolls’ visual effects hold up after fifteen years. It’s not all spotless, but on the whole, they remain impressive.
Vouching for a mockumentary about trolls isn’t easy, but those who do come around and give it a shot will more than likely be grateful for the recommendation. For Troll Hunter is a real find in that vast and varied genre we call “found footage“.
A bridge troll reaches up for food and finds Hans decked out in armor.
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