Last night I watched a couple movies off the suggested "Duality" theme: The Dark Half and The Stepfather. That first one was a bit much. Pure Stephen King shlock and If I am remembering right, it's one of the last ones he wrote before getting sober, and it shows - in both theme and how all over the map this was with ideas. I also had forgotten it was a Romero directed movie.
The Stepfather, on the other hand, I really dug. Like most horror that elevates beyond kills and boobs, this has roots in those suburban fears that I dig showing up in movies - ie Halloween, et al. It could also be read as an allegory for 50s ideals getting pushed aside for new family dynamics. That still plays today as well. Also that opening scene, and the acting throughout from O'Quinn elevate this one even farther. I had thought I had watched this one before, but I think more likely is that I saw a scene or two maybe a crappy sequel or remake. I am glad I caught up with this one and it shoots up to the top of my "new to me" horror movie ranking for October. I think it would be The Stepfather..............................The Dark Half/My Best Friend's Exorcism.
The 3rd movie in this Triple Feature was Sleepaway Camp, which is also a great use of the theme. I've seen it a few times, and I know my wife wouln't dig it, so I will probably skip over it this month. I wrote down 10 of these themes that had all or 2 of the movies available to me streaming and will be using them a lot this month. Next up I believe was the "Something's Not Right" theme.
