2009 Movies & Halloween

These days, the hottest costumes are generally inspired by the hottest Hollywood movies. Films like The Dark Knight, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, 300, Star Wars, Spiderman, and Shrek were all huge box office champs, and also champs of the Halloween season. We expect this year to be no different. Here are five of the films we think will be heavily influencing costume choices this Halloween season.

Star Trek - In Theaters Now
Already the highest grossing Star Trek movie of all time at the box office (even when adjusted for inflation), 2009’s reimaginingby J.J. Abrams has wowed critics and audiences alike with its fun, adventurous depiction of Kirk and co.’s first voyage together on the Enterprise. Kirk, Spock, ”Bones”, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekovare all present, brought to new life by an auspicous cast of both established and up and coming actors. This film brings a unique blend of stylized uniformity and distinct characterization that makes the updated Star Trek costumes perfect for casual fans as well as fanatics. Expect to see them in droves, during Halloween and beyond, including Trekker parties and Comic Book Conventions.

 

 

Public  Enemies -  Release Date: July 1
Between Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, Willy Wonkaand now John Dillinger, Johnny Depp has embodied characters whose costumes often achieve cult status that extends well beyond the Halloween season. The gangster costumeis already a popular choice for Halloween and 20s and 30s parties; a summer blockbuster in the genre with superstar Depp as the charismatic villain Dillinger, and Christian Bale as his FBI counterpart, should only increase the popularity and heat surrounding the classic gangster look.

 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Release Date: July 15
Another perennial favorite at Halloween is Harry Potter. The Adult Harry Potter Costume, and the unlicensed adult sexy Hermione Costume knock-off are both consistent best sellers, and the kid’s Harry Potter costume is always hot, not only for Halloween, but dress-up year-round.  With the release of the 6th HP installment, The Half-Blood Prince, Potter fans will once again be waving their magical wands this season.

 

Halloween II - Release Date: August 28
Rob Zombie is coming back for round two with the iconic Michael Myers. Considered by many to be the scariest film villain ever, the Michael Myers mask has been a consistent Halloween best-seller for decades. With the release of Zombie’s Halloween 2 just two months before October 31st, we expect it to be especially popular this Halloween night. After all, this is ‘the night he came home.’

 

Alice in Wonderland - Release Date: March 5, 2010
Why include a movie that doesn’t come out until 5 months after Halloween? Two reasons. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.  The buzz around this film has been swirling for months. Interest has spiked even further recently with the release of intruiging character models and concept art. Like Johnny Depp (who will appear in this film as the Mad Hatter), Burton’s creative characters have spawned many Halloween costume favorites, including Jack Skellington and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride, and Beetlejuice. His following and track record, along with the throngs of readers patiently awaiting a finally-faithful ‘Wonderland’ adaptation, give this film massive potential both at the box office and during Halloween season. Already popular at Halloween, Alice in Wonderland costumes, including the Mad Hatter Hat, Sexy Alice Costume and the Deluxe Queen of Hearts costume, are playful storybook choices.

 

We also believe Transformers costumes, High School Musical 3 wigs and costumes and Twilight vampire fangs and contact lenses will leave a mark on Halloween this year. And don’t count out last year’s box office champ, The Dark Knight. Batman and Joker Costumes will be doing battle in the streets of Gotham again.

New Michael Myers Mask

October 25, 1978, “Halloween” was released in America. And with it, Michael Myers was born. Thirty years later, Michael Myers is still one of the most famous villains in film.

Do you know how the mask got started?

The film’s budget was only $320,000. Even for 1978 this was a shoestring budget; half of which went to Panavison cameras.

According to Don Post Jr., President of Don Post Studios, (famous California mask-making company), the filmmakers originally approached his firm about custom-making an original mask for use in the film. The filmmakers explained that they could not afford the costs involved in creating a mask from scratch, but would offer Post points in the movie as payment for his services (”Points” refer to the equivalent of shares.) Post declined their offer, as he received many such proposals from unknown filmmakers all the time, but did suggest that they repaint/refurbish the “Captain Kirk” masks eventually used in the film. This netted Mr. Post a profit of less than $100. After the film became a hit, Post estimated that if he had accepted the original offer for points in the film in exchange for his creation of an original mask, his profit would have run well over $100,000.

Turned down by Post, the prop department had to use the cheapest mask that they could find in a local costume store. They bought a Star Trek, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) mask.  

They painted the face white, messed the hair up and re-cut the eye holes – to create one of the most famous masks ever made.

Fast-forward to 2008. Eight sequels have been made, although Halloween 3 didn’t include Michael Myers (but did have that really cool pumpkin.) The last film to come out was in 2007, Rob Zombie’s “Halloween.”

A year later, the Rob Zombie Michael Myers Mask is now available to the public - the first major change to the mask in 30 years. Deep cuts criss-cross the mask, giving it a new, eerie look, just like the newest film.

There are now at least seven licensed Michael Myers Masks on the market. Whether you’re a fan of the original “Halloween” or a more recent sequel or remake, you’ll find a mask, costume and butcher’s knife at SpookShop.com.

We’re a little Greener!

We have always been big on recycling at
spookshop. We recycle cardboard, paper, glass and plastics at our warehouse. Our shipping boxes are 60% post-consumer cardboard, and our paper has high recycled content. 

This year, we further reduced our use of paper products. Our boxes are thinner, which means significantly less cardboard. We no longer print packing slips for our orders. Instead, we print an invoice (receipt) only, and use this as the packing slip. This saves tens of thousands of sheets of paper over October alone. And we have opted to use a soy-based ink that, unlike petroleum-based products, is not harmful to our environment.

We do not print faxes or emails, nor do we offer a paper catalog. We use boxes from our manufacturers for storage, rather than replacing them with “pretty” ones.

It’s all small stuff, but it adds up. Now when you see our staff in bright sunlight, we all have a slight green tinge to our skin…

New Hustler Costumes

Playboy Costumes debuted in 2006. Their ultra-sexy designs and high quality made them a hit for Halloween parties. They were a bit pricey ($60 to $175), but the quality was amazing.

Two years later, Hustler has released its own line of sexy costumes. Like the Playboy costumes, their designs are definitely sexy (or naughty, depending on your mood), and they also are very high quality – much higher than the average Halloween costume. They also feature a very attractive price range, averaging $52-$80.

We’re offering five enticing styles you’ll love. The Hustler Cop costume, Hustler Nurse costume, Hustler School Girl costume, Hustler Baseball Girl costume and the Hustler Flasher costume. The first four are Hustler’s takes on classic sexy costumes, with the Hustler logo. And the Hustler Flasher? Well… 

Looks like a pretty simple costume, but when you look more closely you see how nice it is. The short trenchcoat jacket is fully lined with bright red ‘Hustler’ fabric. Hustler “boy” panties and sequined pasties with red tassles have role-play written all over them. What man wouldn’t like to come home from a hard day’s work to be greeted by this?

SPOOKSHOP 2008

First, let’s go back a year. To be honest, 2007 was a rough year for us. We had a horrible shopping cart system that kept us from operating at an optimum level. It was as if there was a poltergeist in our computer system. Unfortunately, it got worse as we rolled into October, and we couldn’t make a change until the season was over.

Priority number one for 2008: Fix it!

After months of tweaking, sweating and some cursing, the site went live in July. We are still making adjustments here and there, but this is a major improvement over 2007, and we are extremely happy. If you are one of the customers that experienced our problems last year, we sincerely apologize. We hope we can win your trust back.

That said – Let me tell you about some of the new features that will make your Halloween shopping experience more pleasant.

Email notifications. Seems simple, and it should have been. But our software last year never worked properly, and email notifications didn’t happen. Well, that is not a problem any more. Customers get a confirmation email when their order is placed, and another when it is shipped, tracking numbers included (if applicable).

Faster checkout time. Our shopping cart is greatly improved. When you are ready to check out, the process is simple and fast – Just the way it should be.

Processing time. Last year, this was a major issue. This year, we’ve cut that time in half. We’re ready for all you last-minute Halloween shoppers!

We’ve also started our SPOOKSHOP Newsletter to provide you information on upcoming sales, new Halloween products and how-to tips. We don’t want to clutter your inbox, so when you sign up, expect to see one email a month, unless something really exciting is happening and we feel you should know about it.

Now the really fun stuff.  Look at the bottom of our home page, under “Halloween Fun” and see all the activities and articles that are available. Ever wanted to know the History of Halloween? Or maybe you like games. Do a Halloween Crossword Puzzle with the kids. Like movies? Read our film reviews, like The Dark Knight or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. See what films are on the horizon, like the new Friday the 13th… in theaters (You guessed it) Friday the 13th, February 2009. View movie trailers. Or vote in one of our many film polls. Who’s the scariest villain in a horror movie? Read FX makeup how-to articles, and find other costume and Halloween ideas. Find Haunted Houses close to you. Best of all, these pages are all FREE!

Come and visit our newly improved site. Let us know what you think.