CJ Swan 💀

It’s ironic that such a well-executed film was made by an ex-commune-living hippie who spent his early years popping pills & churning out 8mm stop-motion movies (#BrianYuzna), and a guy who didn't graduate from college after staging a nude Peter Pan (#StuartGordon). #ReAnimator

Made for $3M, #MotelHell boasts a budget most #horror films would kill for. But poor marketing led to the film getting far less attention than it deserves. Tobe Hooper was asked to direct early in production, but he declined after Universal passed on the film. #TerrorDetective

Here we see effects master #CarloRambaldi with his troll creation for #CatsEye (1985). He also designed the werewolf suit for #SilverBullet, the head for the OG xenomorph in #Alien, and the squat little alien in Steven Spielberg's #ET the Extra-Terrestrial. #TerrorDetective

Director Marcus Nispell wanted the literal biggest actor he could find for #Leatherface in his 2003 remake of #TheTexasChainsawMassacre. The first guy cast lied about his size and ended up in the hospital pretty much immediately. Enter Andrew Bryniarski. #TerrorDetective

Although she’s mostly known as #Superman’s girlfriend, Canadian-born #MargotKidder had strong roots in horror. One of her earliest roles was in De Palma’s psych #horror flick ‘Sisters.’ Followed by Bob Clark’s cult classic #BlackChristmas and of course #TheAmityvilleHorror.

Director Jim Gillespie wanted to build tension by implying gore rather than showing it in #IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer. #Slasher fans were less bothered by this than Gillespie's decision to reveal a killer who was a completely new character.

In the OG script for #Candyman, you had to say his name 13 times, like Bloody Mary. But one read-through w/ the cast proved 13 times was way too many. Bernard Rose says 5 is the most times we can hear a single word repeated. Plus, it worked for Beetlejuice. #Horror #CliveBarker

Happy Birthday to #HelloMaryLouPromNight2 released on this day back in '87. It's a revenge flick with a supernatural and psychological twist. Part of a larger group of #slasher flicks spawned by 'A Nightmare on Elm Street.'

#HappyBirthday to director #KevinTenney who has given us several iconic horror classics such as Witchboard, Night of the Demons, Witch Trap, and The Cellar.

Happy Birthday to one of my fave 80s horror slashers: #SlumberPartyMassacre2 (1987). It's the landmark queer horror movie about #DrillerKiller - the wisecracking rockabilly boogeyman who represents the pain of sexual repression and "coming out."

You know I went to the theater to see this last night, then rewatched on Peacock the second I came home. I had a blast. Only part that left me scratching my head was the insane asylum dude jumping out the window. I was like, huh? But loved the rest. #HalloweenKills

Happy Birthday to one of the most important horror films ever released: #EvilDead (1981). Sam Raimi’s gorefest helped popularize the ‘cabin in the woods’ sub-genre. And it showed filmmakers how to make a great movie on a tight budget, and get it distributed to the world.

#TheThing (2011) had awesome practical #creature effects by Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff Jr. The film was initially going to use slight CGI enhancements on Studio ADI's creations. Then Universal demanded new #CGI effects be laid over the practical, effectively erasing them. Meh.

Happy Birthday to Stan Winston's #Pumpkinhead - a film that screams #Halloween with its imagery, color palette, iconography, and summoning 'rules.' #Samhain has its own ancient traditions like feasting to bring good harvest, or carving faces in gourds to stave off evil. 🎃

Happy Anniversary to #WesCraven's #NewNightmare released October 14, 1994. Freddy's return came with a new face (with ripped skin rather than burned), a new outfit (trench coat, turtle neck, combat boots), and a non-removable glove augmented by long metal spikes. #FreddyKrueger

#TalesFromTheCrypt ran for 7 seasons on HBO. One of the first shows to feature film stars as actors & directors, it spawned 3 films, a morning cartoon 'New Tales from the Cryptkeeper,' and a kids' game show 'Secrets of the Cryptkeeper’s Haunted House.'

According to #BobClark, John Carpenter asked him what he would do for a followup to #BlackChristmas. He said: "it would be the next year, the guy would've been caught, escaped from a mental institution, returned to the house to start it all over again. I'd call it #Halloween.”

"Is my makeup ok?" Clip: Suzanne's eye-popping demon sex scene from Kevin Tenney's #NightOfTheDemons (1987) #demonpossession #hauntedhouse #slasher #goth #LinneaQuigley #gore #horror #halloweenspirit

Happy Anniversary to 'A Nightmare Before Christmas' - Tim Burton's beloved childrens' horror classic that reminds us variety is the spice of life. #TimBurton #ANightmareBeforeChristmas #kidshorror #stopmotion #DannyElfman #thisishalloween

Happy Anniversary to 'Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers' released on this day in 1989. 🎃 #Halloween #Halloween5 #MichaelMyers #Slasher #TheShape #TheBoogeyman #spookyseason