DVD Spotlight: Halloween 25 Years of Terror When I heard that Anchor Bay was releasing yet another HALLOWEEN film, my initial thought was that it would be a rehash of the original. Thankfully, I could not have been more wrong. Instead, we are treated to the most comprehensive horror documentary in the known universe. Yes, there's that much going on here. This doc covers the entire series from beginning to end, up to this point anyway. Probably a good time for a DVD like this seeing how Rob Zombie is reinventing the series as I write this. Okay, fine; he's actually on tour but you get the point! What surprised me the most about HALLOWEEN: 25 YEARS OF TERROR is that everything is completely original in the film; meaning that the interviews are not rehashed from previous DVD releases. Sweet! I also couldn't believe how many people came out of the woodwork for this thing. I mean, seriously! Just within the first eight minutes you'll see the following people: Executive producers Irwin Yablans and producers Debra Hill and Moustapha Akkad (R.I.P.), director John Carpenter, cinematographer Dean Cundey, HALLOWEEN RESURRECTION hottie Bianca Kajlich, film critic Mark Shapiro, actor Nick Castle, (a.k.a. The Shape), stuntman Jim Winburn, HALLOWEEN fan and well-known horror author Clive Barker, actors Chris Durand and Brian Andrews and writer/director Dennis Etchison. The list of people who contributed to this doc is almost more extensive than the guest list for the Academy Awards. No joke! Man, do I feel bad for the people who had to man the phone when planning this event, meaning the HALLOWEEN: 25 YEARS OF TERROR Convention. Talk about a phone bill! I was most looking forward to hearing what these people had to say regarding the later films in the series. I've heard tales, both good and bad, regarding the production of the first film, but never much after that. I mean a HALLOWEEN 6 panel? How fucking awesome is that? What's also very cool is that everyone speaks very candidly in the documentary, which was not only ballsy of the filmmakers but refreshing for a change. We get to hear all about the hardships they ran into while making HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH and HALLOWEEN 5, which both left the world-renowned franchise in a state of confused peril, a seven-year period of confused peril, to be exact. And I thought the Gulf War was a tough time for our nation. I specifically enjoyed hearing director Tommy Lee Wallace comment on directing HALLOWEEN 3. I've always enjoyed that film and I think I'm in the minority on that one. Yes, Michael’s not in it. Get over it! There is also commentary on Busta Rhymes’ kung-fu battle with Michael in RESURRECTION. Nice! That was probably the worst idea I've heard since Jason Voorhees in space. I could go on and on and on about this disk, but you should just check it out for yourself. I wouldn’t recommend that you rent this DVD though. That would be insanity. You need to own this one. It's as essential to your DVD collection as the first HALLOWEEN film itself. They go together like a zombie and a fresh bowl of brains. DVD Features Include: - Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) - "Horror's Hallowed Ground" featurette - "Fans of Halloween" featurette - Halloween II and Halloween III extended interviews - Extended celebrity interviews - Halloween 5 On-Set Footage - Halloween Convention Montage - Halloween panel discussion - Halloween II panel discussion - Halloween 6 panel discussion - Ellie Cornell panel discussion - Dean Cundey panel discussion - Halloween producers panel discussion - Halloween location still gallery - Halloween Convention Behind-The-Scenes gallery - Original artwork gallery - Exclusive comic book inspired by the series