"Darkness Falls" social & Film: Hallowe'en
Tonight, back with The Hideout (and their sister group, Movie Roadhouse (MRL)) for the Darkness Falls social (I think that's a lovely name). At the BFI, as usual - I booked to eat at The Archduke beforehand - and then they tacked on a trip to see Hallowe'en at the end of the night! I've seen it a million times - but hey, it's a classic, I could see it once more!
Ah Lordy, the last post took so long to write.. what with having to finish the film listings, and actually book a lot of stuff at once, so I could say what was coming up.. I finished it in The Archduke, as the end of the post implied! I was sat overlooking the construction site outside - what with that, and the level of noise in the restaurant itself - plus the rumbling and vibration of trains overhead - I mused that the survey question they always send, about what the ambience is like, and where one of the options is "romantic", is a bit daft.. not to mention the option that it'd be good for business meals.. or has a nice view..
But, you know, the service is friendly. I asked the lady what the soup of the day was - she said "mushroom", and I said I'd have it. And then she came back a minute later apologising, and said it wasn't that at all, it had been the day before. Funny thing is, that's exactly what she said to me on a previous occasion.. do I really always miss it by a day?! or do they ever actually have it at all..? Anyway, I just had the beef bourgignon then - and it is spectacularly good - and wine. And although she'd mooted a dessert earlier, there wasn't a sign of her - or anybody else - when I wanted to pay. Nobody actually asked whether I wanted anything - not that I did. But for heavens' sake, when you have to go up to the counter to pay the bill.. I KNEW it'd be trouble, sat down the back!
Well, off I went to the BFI Riverfront bar (upstairs), where a few people had beaten me to it. The barman turned out to be a real film buff, kept me nattering for ages - I was glad when other customers came to distract him! Chat was good with the group, which included a lot of newcomers. It was kind of a shame when the time came to go to the film, elsewhere in the building - especially since hardly anyone else from the social seemed to be going. A pity to break up like that..
But the film, I have to say, was well worth going to. For the millionth time + 1. I got programme notes on the way in, which informed me, among other things, that Lynda in the film was played by one of the actors in Carrie. And then the notes went into a lot of detail about how the film was not reflective of the sociological state of America at the time, as so many around then tended to be.
Me, I love two things about the film, primarily - firstly, the music is terrific. The main theme is simple, and all the more effective for it - purely ominous. It's a delight whenever it is played, during the film. Secondly, you have Jamie Lee Curtis' performance - she's excellent. And I mean, this is a film you can laugh at, in parts - Michael Myers popping out from behind hedges, constantly driving by unnoticed: the over-earnest psychiatrist: the babysitters' shenanigans with their boyfriends. But all you have to do to flip it darker is turn on the music, look at Jamie Lee Curtis' serious face. Which is what's kept it in the lists of scary films, all these years.
Hallowe'en itself is always an important night for me to plan - I had dreadful trouble this year finding something, though. But then, London Social Detours finally posted something for the day - a lunchtime talk about the World's Weirdest Deaths (happening at the Guildhall Library), followed by a mini horror walk, followed by a trip to the Crosse Keys. I've booked it, and booked the time off work.. wanted to wait until I had a good reason.
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