DAY 19: HALLOWEEN DANCE PARTY
I guarantee I posted this clip last year, but you know what? I need a 100-proof shot of Halloween goodness right now, so I’m posting it again. Behold the greatest Halloween dance party in the history of cinema! It’s from 1981’s Strange Behavior, a.k.a. a mostly forgotten New Zealand slasher/horror-spoof that was originally titled Dead Kids. This scene is SO GOOD.
I love everything about this scene: the song (Lou Christie’s “Lightin’ Strikes”), the punk-y and haphazardly choreographed dancing, and the fact that it involves Marty’s brother from Back To The Future and Billy the Kid from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I also love a YouTube comment I just noticed: “If I ever directed a film, I would pay homage to this scene, no doubt about it.” I’m right there with you, pal.
DAY 18: NICK CAVE COASTER
I’m still in a goth mood (see Day 17), so it’s as good a time as any to bust out this totally sweet Nick Cave fused glass coaster. I bought it last month at a store called Rusty Raven in New Glarus. The goth lady who checked me out nodded in silent approval.
The coaster is the work of Chicago-area artist Laurie Freivogel, who sells all sorts of glass creations via her Kiku Handmade imprint. And yeah, that’s my copy of Cave’s book-length interview, Faith, Hope And Carnage, under the coaster. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Also, here’s my absolute favorite Nick Cave song, “Euthanasia.” When I heard him play it live in 2023 (!) he said it was a discarded/forgotten song that never seemed right for the Bad Seeds. As far as I know, it’s only available on his 2020 pandemic-era live album Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace. It’s an incredible album. It’s an incredible song. Not really a “Halloween” song, but it’s on my Halloween playlist anyway. (More on that in the days ahead!)
DAY 17: GOTH IN THE PARK
One of the stated goals of this countdown is to force myself (and hopefully inspire you) to get out there and enjoy the Halloween season before it slips away. Last night, despite every fiber of my being telling me to stay home and stare at a wall for six hours, I indeed forced myself to get out there. I hopped on my bike, pedaled my sorry ass to Cathedral Square Park, and checked out Goth In The Park. It was incredible.
Goth In The Park was the final 2026 installment of the ever-popular Jazz In The Park series. This year’s lineup was pretty eclectic and not-very-jazz to begin with (’80s tribute bands, Grateful Dead tribute bands, etc.), but last night’s shindig was way off the map. And delightfully so: Milwaukee’s Goth Barge DJs set up shop on stage and delighted the crowd of goths, goth-adjacent folks, and slightly puzzled Jazz In The Park regulars to music from Siouxsie And The Banshees, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and more. The vibes were great, and they only got better as the sun went down and the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist loomed in the background.
Did I dance? Yes, for the first time in years, I danced. (I’m helpless when I hear “Head Like A Hole.”) Oh, and I put together a quick video of the event, too. Enjoy! Have a goth day/night!
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DAY 16: PSYCHO
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is 66 years old this year. This countdown is 66 days long. Coincidence? Absolutely. Am I using that coincidence to rewatch the entire Psycho franchise? Absolutely.
What’s left to say about the original film? It’s a masterpiece, Anthony Perkins is brilliant, the score is brilliant, the final denouncement kind of blows, blah, blah, blah. But watching it last night (via Shudder), I was reminded of my favorite sequence: the long, wordless “cleanup” scene and the subsequent “car sinking” scene.
The first scene is just Norman, diligently cleaning up the mess left by his mad, murderous mother. (No spoilers for 66-year-old films here!) It goes on for nearly seven minutes:
The second bit is even more stunning/subversive. Norman attempts to get rid of Marion’s car (and, um, Marion herself) by pushing it into a swamp. We watch as the car starts to sink. And then…it stops. Norman becomes concerned. We become concerned. The car continues to sink. Norman breathes a sigh of relief. We breathe a sigh of relief. Are we, the audience, silently implicated in this scene? Oh, Hitchcock, you devil!
DAY 15: HARDWARE STORE HALLOWEEN JUNK
I kicked off this countdown with a look at some CVS Halloween junk [complimentary]. So how about a look at some Halloween junk [complimentary] I spied at my neighborhood hardware store? Okay!
Honestly, I’m good on lights and stencils for the year, so the most appealing thing in this photo is the wood. Oh, how I wish I had an indoor or outdoor fireplace for some autumnal bonfires! Maybe there’s still time…
DAY 14: HONEY BUNCH
I’ve spent the past two weeks trying, and failing, to find a good new horror movie. This search has mostly been happening on Shudder. Unfortunately, as any Shudder subscriber knows, for every new gem in the streamer’s catalog there are 8,000 duds. But last night I struck gold: the Canadian slow-burn Honey Bunch, from 2025. I loved, loved, LOVED this movie.
“Diana’s husband is taking her to an experimental trauma facility deep in the wilderness, but she can’t remember why,” reads the synopsis. “As her memories begin to creep back in so do some unwelcome sinister truths about her marriage.” Here’s the trailer:
The whole thing is shot—and scored!—like a ’70s Hammer horror flick. It’s the kind of thing you could see Ti West doing if he was still following the thread he started with The House Of The Devil, and not doing, um, a Scrooge movie with Johnny Depp. Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli are the dual writers and directors of Honey Bunch, and they absolutely nail the retro vibe without going overboard. Oh, and star Grace Glowicki—who is fantastic—was the director, co-writer, and star of the batshit Dead Lover, which screened at the 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival. And which was subsequently marketed by Milwaukee’s own Kurt Ravenwood! A local connection! How ’bout that!
DAY 13: LABOR DAY
Happy Labor Day, dedicated 66 Days of Halloween-ers! You know what that means: it’s the unofficial end of summer, and the unofficial beginning of fall! Hell yes! Time to get serious! Here’s a clip from John Waters’ Serial Mom!
DAY 12: I WANT TO BITE YOUR HAND
It’s no secret that I love “Weird Al” Yankovic. (Buckle up for Milwaukee Record’s upcoming Weird Al Week! Details soon!) But I also love the zillions of forgotten, unsung, and under-appreciated parody artists who never got anywhere close to Al’s success. You know, the artists who didn’t just get their start on the Dr. Demento show, but peaked on the Dr. Demento show.
Enter “I Want To Bite Your Hand,” a 1964 parody of The Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” What GENIUS took an early Beatles hit and spiced it up with a goofy Dracula voice? That would be Gene Moss, an L.A. kids TV show writer and host, AND the voice of Smokey The Bear. “He was a total ham, an absolute ham,” Moss’ son said when his father passed away in 2002. My kind of ham!
Here’s the song. I’m not quite sure what’s up with the video.
And yes, the only reason I’m aware of this song is because Von Munz always plays it during his weekly WMSE radio show. Shout-out to Von Munz!