Trick & Treat for October 12th:
THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951; starring James Arness, Kenneth Tobey; directed by Howard Hawks)
Near a cold and very remote Arctic research station, a large, unidentifiable flying object has apparently crashed. Scientists rush to the location and discover that the spacecraft is buried in ice. In the course of setting off thermal devices to free the craft, they’ve destroyed it. However, there’s a body–what appears to be the ship’s pilot. Cutting the body away within its slab of ice, they transport it back to the lab for safekeeping. Scientists being human, after all, they make mistakes. These scientists are, as we can see, no exception to the rule, as they allow a space heater to thaw the ice, uncovering a very large, very unhappy alien being (Gunsmoke’s James Arness), who, it’s soon apparent, dogs don’t like. Is it a letter carrier from another world? As it turns out, it’s more like a vegetable–a sort of carrot, to be precise. This carrot, like most carrots, keeps well in the fridge, and–like most monsters–it runs amok. And this being a 50s sci-fi film (and a very good one), there’s the requisite humanitarian, who begs we refrain from our animal urges and reason with the monster–er, carrot. Thus, he’s an expendable character. But meanwhile an ingenious plan to dispose of this veggie has been devised and implemented, and soon, it’s The End. Or is it? “Keep watching the skies!”, we are warned. Here’s another warning: beware of unwrapping “things”. Like your Zero bar, for instance. You just don’t really know what’s in it. 
Who wants to wait until the 31st to wallow in Halloween indulgences and scary movies?! Home Projectionist doesn’t! And so we’ll have pairings of 31 Frights and 31 Bites every one of October’s 31 nights: a scary, snack size movie “trick”, and a delicious “treat” to go along with it.
Home Projectionist 