If you're anything like me, for the past six months you've been gearing up for the glorious day when dressing in ridiculous costumes and wearing layers of grease makeup a lá 1950s zombies is not only socially acceptable, but encouraged. Of course, if you're anything like me, you've also eschewed responsibility in favor of watching "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and emulating Tim Curry (and his fabulous high kicks) to the best of your ability, but that's another matter.
Because I've seen 589 articles describing the ultimate Halloween soundtracks and have listened to "The Monster Mash"/"Thriller"/"Werewolves of London" more times than I care to admit, I thought I'd change it up. Throw a wrench in the plan. Raise my fist and shout, "NO, I will not bow to the oppressive societal pressure to listen to the same 10 songs every day for an entire month!" Instead, here are some creepy, fabulous musicals EVERYONE should become familiar enough with that, at any moment, they could engage in a duet with me in via media.
How much more Halloween can you get than "Young Frankenstein"? I'm pretty much a sucker for anything Gene Wilder does (Hi, my name is Katy and it's been zero days since my last G. W. movie), but this one in particular has always been a favorite. If you enjoy silly puns, slightly vulgar humor, or movies whose quality definitely reflect the money put into its making (i.e, very, very little), then you'll DEFINITELY love the musical. It's kind of one of those deliciously awful train-wrecks, slightly less embarrassing than "Shrek On Ice." Mel Brooks directs the musical version of his successful film so you KNOW you're getting the best of both worlds: bad jokes set to music.
Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Tim Burton: the Dream Team of spooky film. Add a little musical flare and a lot of fake blood, and you have "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." Just watch it. It's suspenseful, it's musically brilliant, it's funny, it's Johnny FREAKIN' Depp singing for reals. Do yourself a favor.
Personally, if I could somehow make an otherwordly creature beholden to me by feeding it evil people, I think I'd have a lot less rage rolling around in my gray coils, but as intergalactic space travel hasn't been perfected as of yet, I settle for watching "Little Shop of Horrors," the version with Rick Moranis from "Spaceballs."
It's got all the charm of "Hair," the talent of "The Newsies," and the same gospel-y feel as "Hercules" (the Disney one, not the one with The Rock prancing around in naught but a lion skin, although that one's good for other reasons). Taking ALL of that into account, and sprinkling in a little bit of Steve Martin trying really hard to be a villainous scoundrel, you've got all the makings of a great movie.
So try to keep yourself from watching "Night of the Living Dead" 400 times this upcoming week: distract yourself with these musicals. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
