Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Halloween Mix 2007 Track 3 - Who Want To See A Midnight Movie?

With a blood curdling shriek we’re off to track number three… an instrumental scorcher from Joe Gibbs and the Professionals called "Midnight Movie" from the LP African Dub All-Mighty on Gibbs’ own label and embellished with audio from the classic 1959 William Castle film "The House On Haunted Hill." I thought long and hard about what film I was going to blend with this track and I finally made the decision when I posed myself the question, "What horror movie would you most want to see at a midnight screening on Halloween?"


The House On Haunted Hill would never be considered the best film ever made and it's full of those time-honored comic book style haunted house cliches that we've known since childhood which makes it that much more enjoyable. Besides, being a fan of vintage/campy horror I've always wished I could see the film complete with the original theatrical gimmick that Castle had devised for the House On Haunted Hill's theatrical release which he called "Emergo." Emergo was an elaborate pulley system that allowed for a plastic skeleton to be flown over the heads of the audience at the appropriate times in the film. As you can imagine the film was a box office success and it has been said that Alfred Hitchcock was so inspired by the mighty performance of the low-budget thriller that he created Psycho in 1960. An interesting side note and on a completely unrelated topic, the house that cameos as the House On Haunted Hill was a 1923 Frank Lloyd Wright designed home in Los Angeles called Ennis House. But enough about that let's get back to Jamaica for Joe Gibbs' "Midnight Movie." Take your seat, the show is starting soon.

Track 3

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i wasn't a reader of your blog last halloween (didn't know music blogs existed!)but i'm really looking forward to burning this once all the tracks are in. i'm not listening to them 1 by 1 so it will be a complete surprise.btw, not to sound like a pompous asshole, but i am a college prof and your writing is really good.some of the people(americans) who have their own blogs seem barely literate. not a dig on them but an observation. i also never ceased to be impressed by your knowledge of both reggae and jamaican culture. sorry for the long comment but i enjoy your posts and get excited to read the new ones.

thanks for everything.jah bless!!