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Details of events on page 8
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Movie Reviews by Jonathan Montgomery
Zombieland Remember mad cow disease? What if it had actually escalated into a global epidemic, spreading infected zombies into your surrounding cities? (Yeah, zombies! Not those wimpy vampires that have been running around lately.) Well, apparently, deceitful, young attractive girls, a Michael Cera clone, Jesse Eisenberg, a Twinkie-obesessed Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray would be among the survivors. Directed by Ruben Fleisher, “Zombieland” takes viewers on a roller coaster ride while hitting a large spectrum of emotions and film styles. The movie is driven by protagonist and narrator Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a timid, awkward teenager with self-declared loner tendencies. After surviving plagues of zombies by himself, he meets up with the eccentric Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), his love interest Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin.) The group agrees to not get too close. Their pasts reveal hardships of loved ones literally being eaten alive. As expected, there are a lot of bullet rounds ripping through zombie flesh, but
the movie really focuses on the character development of lone survivors. It is everyone’s selfishness and adherence to selfinterest that kept them alive thus far. But as their time spent together lengthens, an imminent family bond grows between them. With that said, this isn’t just a sappy story. It is still a zombie movie, and it follows most of the zombie film rules. Similar to “Shaun of the Dead,” the movie is hilarious at times (Bill Murray, you god), even frightening. It’s kind of like “Superbad” but with the walking dead, and depending on the person, that may or may not be a good thing. “Zombieland” aims to be fun, which it definitely accomplished. Some scenes, specifically the ones in slow motion, were beautifully executed. It’s evident this movie had some good vision and direction, however, such moments almost felt too short-lived. As any zombie movie typically alludes to, we may be living more zombie-like lives than we are aware of. As this movie goes to show, when the possibility of death is around the corner, it’s really about enjoying the small things in life, perhaps a rule we should already be trying to live by.
Jennifer’s Body Typically, “scary” is the last word that comes to my mind when I think of Megan Fox (“Transformers,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”). However, “Jennifer’s Body” really presents her in a way I’m not accustomed to: a blood-sucking, flesh-eating, boy-killing kind of gal. Directed by Karyn Kusama (“Aeon Flux”) and written by Diablo Cody (“Juno”), “Jennifer’s Body” is a campy look at high school life turned horror story. At first, characters are walking stereotypes, pumped full of hormones and uncontrollable sexual urges. Jennifer Check is the “hot” girl, wtih her skimpy outfits and lusting habits for the opposite sex. She and her “BFF” Needy Lesnicky (Amanda Seyfriend, “Mamma Mia!”), live their typical lives at a high school in a small town. Of course, all of this changes once the growing number of mutilated bodies of boys start popping up. Apparently, a group of “indie” rockers performed a satanic ritual only on Jennifer because a real virgin wasn’t used (Jen-
nifer is openly, well, open); she turns into some sort of boy-hating vampire, and her quest for blood begins. Between the gruesome killings and brief moments of comedic relief, the movie itself never really commits to either genre. That is not to say the movie doesn’t shine in either respects. Diablo Cody delivers some expected clever one-liners and memorable quirky quotes; however, the appeal to teenagers’ lingo left me frustrated at times, perhaps because it hit too close to home in regards to how some people my age talk nowadays (It’s the first movie I’ve ever seen that uses the word “Hella”). If you’re looking for something truly scary, then this isn’t your movie. If you want a horror-film version of “Juno,” this is far from it. But there may be enough entertaining and blood-filled moments for “Jennifer’s Body” to sneak by as a decent movie, for some. Oh yeah, sorry fellas, the movie may be called “Jennifer’s Body,” but you don’t actually get to see Megan Fox nude (I’m sure I just saved some people $13).
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Top 10 Scary Movies 1) Psycho (1960) Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh Villain: “Mother”
2) Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Starring: Mia Farrow, Ruth Gordon Villain: Rosemary’s neighbors/ Satan 3) The Exorcist (1973) Starring: Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn Villain: Evil entity (Satan) that possess Regan 4) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Starring: Gunnar Hansen, Marilyn Burns Villain: Leatherface 5) Carrie (1976) Starring: Sissy Spacek, John Travolta Villain: Carrie White 6) Halloween (1978) Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, P.J. Soles Villain: Michael Myers 7) Night of the Living Dead (1968) Starring: Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea Villain: The Zombies 8) Friday the 13th (1980) Starring: Kevin Bacon, Betsy Palmer Villain: Jason 9) Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Starring: Johnny Depp, Heather Langenkamp. Villain: Freddy Krueger 10) Child’s Play (1988) Starring: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon Villain: Chucky
Costumes for guys
A few costume ideas, which are available at the Little Professor bookstore during their seasonal Halloween sale, for those struggling to make their own costume. Photos by Jeff Lambert:
Left: Robert Duran dons a “police pig” costume which includes full body suit, mask, aviator sunglasses and baton. Officer Swine also comes with a baton perfect for enforcing the peace. Right: Duran mimics “Bruno” in a costume which is perfect for guys not shy when it comes to showing a little extra skin.
Costumes for girls Photos by Jeff Lambert: Left: Bre Miles dressed up as a “gypsy princess,” includes dress and head scarf Right: A well-practiced pirate voice goes well with this “sea-captains” costume which comes with dress, hat and shoes. Sword and scurvy not included.
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Top 10 Halloween Candies 1) Candy Corn (1880s) – The symbolic candy of Halloween was created by George Renninger. The original colors are similar to an ear of corn: white tip, orange middle and yellow bottom. 2) Hershey’s Milk Chocolate (1899) – The Hershey’s chocolate bar was the first chocolate sold by Milton Hershey. 3) Milky Way (1923) – The Milky Way was the first filled chocolate bar, and is made of a chocolate-malt nougat center, topped with caramel and covered in chocolate. 4) Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (1928) – Created by H.B. Reese and produced by the Hershey Company, Reese’s are circular chocolate cups with peanut butter on the inside. 5) 3 Musketeers (1932) – Produced by Mars, Incorporated, this candy bar is filled with nougat, whipped chocolate and is covered by chocolate. The bar was the third product from M&M/Mars. 6) Kit Kat (1935) – The Kit Kat was created in the United Kingdom by Rowntree. In 1988, Nestlé acquired Rowntree, and since then, Kit Kats have been produced in the U.S. 7) Nestlé Crunch (1938) – The candy is made of milk chocolate mixed with crisped rice. When it first came out, the crunch bar sold for five cents. 8) M&M’s (1941) – The original M&M colors were brown, yellow, red, green and violet. The originals were also made without the famous ‘M’ printed on them. 9) Whoppers (1949) – Hershey Foods Incorporated purchased the original makers of Whoppers, Leaf North America confectionery operations, in 1996. 10) Reese’s Pieces (1978) – In 1982, the candy made an appearance in Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” boosting sales by 65 percent.
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Arboretum transforms for Haunted Garden event By Kymberly Snew
Daily Titan Asst. News Editor news@dailytitan.com
Cal State Fullerton’s beautiful garden will turn into a dark and scary haunted garden on the evenings of Oct. 23 and 24. It will be the sixth year the Fullerton Friends of the Fullerton Arboretum boost Halloween spirit for children and adults in the Fullerton area. “We have a unique situation here with the gardens; it’s a perfect setting for Halloween, with the trees and the bushes. It’s a natural setting for Halloween,” said Mary Haller, a volunteer-coordinator for the Haunted Garden. The Haunted Garden started in 2004, and this year will hold more characters than before. Favorite characters that will return include the “tomb stone tapper” and the “snake lady,” with her bats and night-time creatures, which will be on display. Witches, ghosts, ghouls and goblins will be lurking along hidden trails while Dracula’s vampires will guide visitors down the garden paths into the forest where cemeteries come alive and witches come out to play. The path will lead to a bat cave that will have new mysteries
and various Halloween items to look at. This event is geared mainly toward children ages 6 – 12. “After the kids go through the tour, I’ll ask the little boys if they were scared, and they say no, then (they) point to their mothers and say, ‘but she was’,” Haller said. “It’s fun to see how brave the children are after the tour.” After the spooky trip through the haunted gardens, visitors are greeted at the Haunter’s Ball with a “treat” and Halloween fun. “We hope to raise $5,000 for the Friends of the Fullerton Arboretum through this event,” said Mary Dalessi, president of the Friends of Fullerton Arboretum. The goal as a group is to raise money for different events the Arboretum houses. The money raised at the Haunted Garden every year allows free admission to the garden during regular business hours. Students and faculty will be able to continue to enjoy the peaceful features of the garden without having to pay. Students, faculty and their families are encouraged to attend the Haunted Garden. “It’s not scary in the sense of Knott’s Scary Farm; it’s not aimed to scare teenagers,” Dalessi said. “We don’t have people
photos By Mark castillo/For the Daily Titan Pictures taken from last year’s Haunted Garden in the Arboretum where visitors are guided through spooky forests and cemeteries.
come out and poke the children to scare them on purpose.” CSUF, Fullerton College and many high school students have shown up to volunteer for the event and celebrate a fun and spirited Halloween. “We expect to have a good year this year; last year, the attendance lacked due to the fires,” said Mark Castillo, manager of Friends of the
Fullerton Arboretum. “We try and change it up every year; there is usually always a lot of interest.” As volunteers show up in their scary costumes to prepare for the night, there will be a “number of makeup artists who will be doing character makeup, rather than wearing masks,” Haller said. For the younger Halloween
fans, the Haunted Garden will feature a Children’s Party on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 1 – 3 p.m. for children 3 – 5 years of age. The afternoon will include a costume parade, pumpkin patch tours, crafts, games and refreshments. “It is a colorful event; music and spooky sounds will be playing wherever they go during the tour through the garden,” Haller said.
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Take a walk on the spooky side of Fullerton By Jonathan montgomery Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Most of the time, the seemingly unexplainable has a simple and rational explanation. However, according to Aimee Aul, museum educator of the Fullerton Museum Center, there is always a small portion, perhaps “6 percent,” which defies all reasoning. The Fullerton Museum Center launched its ninth annual “Haunted Fullerton Walking Tours” last month, which runs from Sept. 16
– Nov. 6. “Ghost hunters” are taken on a two-and-a-half hour tour through Downtown Fullerton where they are shown different locations and buildings infamously known for their spooky occurrences. Even more, this is a tour rich in Fullerton history. “The tours are a celebration of local legend,” Aul stated in a press release. “We’re not making any supernatural claims; we’re just sharing stories of another facet of Fullerton’s history, particularly that of the downtown.” The group met inside the muse-
um and started their adventure at 6 p.m. while the sun was still glaring. It was light out, momentarily, but soon the sun would drop, the moon and stars would come out, and the ghosts and ghouls would be free to roam the streets. “Every stop on this tour has reported activity,” said Sam Neill, 43, co-founder and lead investigator for North Orange County Paranormal Society. Neill carried a camera and a sense of knowledge only obtained through years of haunted exploration; although, being a real-life “Ghost-
By jonathan montgomery/Daily Titan Staff Writer Aimee Aul explains the history and haunted past of the mural painted on Fullerton High School’s Plummer Auditorium.
buster” is harder than it looks. “People look at you like you’re crazy,” said Neill. The first stop on the tour was Fullerton High School, home of the Plummer Auditorium. The auditorium’s wall exposed a large mural – a Fullerton treasure painted in 1934. The auditorium is said to house the spirits of Louis E. Plummer and a ghost known only as the “angry woman.” Despite the circulating stories acting as explanations for paranormal incidences, Plummer and his wife are not buried under the school, and “No one jumped from the tower,” Aul said, debunking the urban legend. The haunting continued across the street to the Fullerton Fox Theatre. Standing alone, the Fox Theatre can appear frightening; it is nearly run-down and closed off to the public by a locked gate. Here, along with stories, a photo was also shared among the group. A blur present in the left-hand corner of the photo is just a blur to some, but a ghost haunting the frame to others. Victoria Gross, 54, a psychic consultant and author of “Ghosts of Orange County,” said people experience ghosts all the time; they just may not be aware of it.
It could be that gentle breeze felt blowing past your neck or shoulder, said Gross. Or perhaps, “Seeing that thing out of the corner of your eye,” is actually a spirit reaching out to say hello. The evening was dark by the time they reached Le Potager, the former home of Fullerton’s first woman auto dealer. “Put your psychic feelers out and see if you can feel the ‘spot,’” said Aul, referring to the spot where the owner had died long ago. Inside the house, footsteps are said to be heard late at night when no one is around; a stubborn light switches on and off upstairs, only no one’s finger is there to flip it. “There’s gotta be an explanation; doesn’t mean that there are (ghosts); doesn’t mean that there aren’t,” said Gayle More, 51. She came with her friend Alison Deferrante, 47, hoping for a fun night after seeing an ad
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Halloween Event Details Sinister Pointe What: Two terrifying walk- through mazes in Brea. When: Oct. 2 – 31. Thu, Fri, 7 – 10 p.m., 7 p.m. – midnight, Sat and Sun Where: 453 S. Associated Road, Brea Price: $13 single maze; $20 both mazes Online: SinisterPointe.com
Dearly Departed Tragical History Tour What: A three hour tour that will explore close to 100 scenes of celebrity scan- dal, death and Hollywood fun. When: Oct. 5 – 31, Wed – Sun Sun 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Where: Exact meeting location details will be provided immediately upon pur-
chase of tickets online. Price: $42.95 Online: DearlyDepartedTours. com/DDT/tours.htm
Night of the Living Dead What: Stage-show of Night of the Living Dead at the Maverick Theater in Ful- lerton. When: Oct. 2 – Nov. 1, added Halloween shows Oct. 27, 28, 30 at 8:30 p.m. Where: 110 E. Walnut, Fuller- ton How much: $19. Students with current ID: $10 Online: MaverickTheater.com The Rocky Horror Show What: Not to be confused with The Rocky Horror Pic- ture Show movie, this is a stage-show version of the film at the Maverick
Theater in Fullerton. When: Oct. 16 – Nov. 21, check online for times Where: 110 E. Walnut, Fullerton Price: $25. Students with current ID: $15 Online: MaverickTheater.com Pumpkin Launch 2009 What: CSUF engineering stu- dents launch pumpkins at Titan Stadium. When: Oct. 31, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Where: CSUF Titan Stadium Price: Free Online: DiscoveryCube.org The Empty Grave What: New haunted attraction at the Anaheim Garden Walk. When: Oct. 2 – 4, 9 - 11, 16 – 18, 23 – 25, 28 – 31 and
Nov. 1., 6:30 p.m. – mid- night on Fri and Sat. On weeknights, 6:30 – 10 p.m. Where: 321 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim Price: $13. Front of the line pass: $20 Online: TheMTGrave.com
Boot Hill What: A spooky haunted house made to look like the old west town that once stood on that land. When: Oct. 23 – 25 and 28 – 31, 7 – 10 p.m.; Hall- oween 6:30 – 10:30 p.m. Where: 16 Goldenrod, Irvine Price: Free. Donations are wel- comed. Online: LegendOfBootHill.com The Password is ... ‘‘Murder’’
What: A comedy murder-mys- tery dinner-show. When: Public shows Jan. – Nov., selected Sat evenings. Bar opens at 6:30 p.m., show is from 7 – 10 p.m. Where: Wyndham Hotel 3350 Ave. of the Arts, Costa Mesa Price: $58.95 Online:KillerEntertainment. com The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D What: Tim Burton’s classic film is screened in Disney 3-D for a limited time. When: Oct. 22 – Nov. 1 Where: 6838 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood Price: VIP tickets: $22. General Admission: $13 Online:Disney.Go.com/Dis neyPictures/El_Capitan
Theme parks bring thrills Six Flags Fright Fest
What: Six Flags Magic Mountain is trans- formed into a ‘scream park.’ When: Oct. 3 – 31 Where: 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia Price: $27.50 Online: SixFlags.com New Mazes: Bite – The sexy and sinister are out for a “bite” in this recently uncov- ered nest of the undead. Lector’s Slaughterhouse – Step on these deadly docks and enter the world of the celebrity butcher, taking wretched re- venge on the bowels of society. New Shows: Mr. Six Spooktacular Street Party - Dust off your “Thriller” moves and join the authority of fun Mr. Six, as he trav- els the park in the Fright Fest hearse.
Universal Studios: Halloween Horror Nights What: The most horrifying movies come to life at Universal Studios, Hollywood. When: Various dates beginning Oct. 2 – 31 Where: 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City Price: Ticket prices vary; see Web site for details Online: HalloweenHorrorNights.com Shows: Bill and Ted Party On! The Rocky Horror Picture Show – A Tribute Terror Tram: Live or Die – A game based on the “Saw” film that takes place at the famous Universal backlot.
Knott’s Scary Farm Haunt What: All you fear is here, at Knott’s Scary Farm. When: Oct. 1 – 4, 7 – 11, 14 – 18, 21 – 25 and 28 – 31. Sun, Wed, Thu. 7 p.m. – 1 a.m. Fri and Sat 7 p.m. – 2 a.m. Where: 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park Price: Pre-sale: $31.99–$49.99. Walk-up pre-sale: $49.99. Day of event: $53.99 Online: Haunt.Knotts.com New Mazes: Lockdown – The Asylum Terror of London – set in the Mystery Lodge, which once housed 13 Axe Murder Manor Dia De Los Muertos in 3-D – Journey into Mexican folkore to face the Chupacabra and La Llorona.
Halloween Time at Disneyland What: The Disney villains have taken over Disneyland. When: Sept. 25 – Nov. 1. Times vary; see Web site for details Where: 1313 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim Price: 1-Day 1-Park adult ticket: $62 Online: Disneyland.com Halloween shows and rides: Space Mountain Ghost Galexy Halloween Screams Fireworks Main Street Pumpkin Festival Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror Haunted Mansion Holiday Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Roundup Fantasmic