Halloween: 25 Years Of Terror’ is an extensive documentary covering the entire Halloween series and includes loads of bonus features that would impress even the most knowledgeable Halloween fanatic. Since there’s so much to look at over on this 2 disc set, let’s go in order, shall we?

The documentary itself is so extensive, that it’s mandatory viewing for even the most casual Halloween fan. Over the course of 84 minutes, we go into the entire history of the Halloween franchise, starting with John Carpenter’s classic and going thru all of the sequels, uncovering the answers to questions that fans have always wondered, debated and complained about for years. It’s all here. Why’d Tommy Lee Wallace pass on directing Halloween 2? Why’d Halloween 3 take a radical different direction? Why’s the mask look so freakin’ weird in Halloween 5? Why does the mask CHANGE during the course of H20? Were they REALLY going to make a ‘PINHEAD VS. MICHAEL MYERS’ film with Clive Barker and John Carpenter on board? All answered. And then some! Just about every one from the cast and crew of all the films, along with recognizable horror enthusiasts such as Rob Zombie and Clive Barker pop up to give their 2 cents on the longevity of the Halloween series. The doc alone is worth the price of the DVD. The only draw-back (and this is really geeky nit-picking) is that the first 15-20 minutes focuses primarily on the first movie, which if you’re a Halloween geek like me, you probably already know just about everything there is to know. So, for the most die-hard Halloween fans, the doc will really kick in for you about 15-20 minutes into it when the subjects shift toward the sequels. (Which up until now was uncharted territory!) There’s a nice mix of interviews, movie footage, pictures and footage of fan’s professing their love of all things ‘Halloween’. (More on “the fans” in a second.) The documentary is plain and simply top notch entertainment that ANY horror fan will appreciate. And that’s just the beginning of the disc!

Up next, is Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – a television show created and hosted by Sean Clark. Now, this is a treat. Sean walks us to all the original locations from the first Halloween movie in South Pasadena, and is joined by the lovely PJ Soles half way thru his trek. (Who by the way, also narrated the documentary) Sean’s knowledge thru-out the tour is impressive and his sense of humor only makes us, the viewer feel more welcome. I love that he name checks just about every street he’s on, just in case any Halloween fans watching want to take it upon themselves to make the journey on their own. I really loved this edition of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds and HOPE to see more episodes from other landmark horror movie locations. Quite frankly, this is a segment that every horror fan will watch and love.

The remainder of Disc One consists of extended interviews with various celebrities and people involved in the first 2 Halloween films. There’s also some rare on-set footage from Halloween 5 (which also appears on the new Halloween 5 special edition disc), the entire Halloween 9 contest winner announcement (from the 25 th anniversary convention), and a wonderful 4 minute montage from the madness that WAS the ‘Return To Haddonfield’ convention back in 2003. One of the highlights of disc one, and probably one of my favorite features to watch is the ‘Fans Of Halloween’ featurette. It’s a series of shorts and clips of various Halloween fans from around the globe professing their love of Halloween. You’ll see clips from fan-made short films, or gals singing aloud that they are “the biggest Michael Myers fans of them all!”, or even bizarre stop motion shorts using Halloween action figures. You never know quite what to expect from this feature. There’s a re-enactment of Halloween’s 1 thru 8 by two Halloween fans that I personally found hilarious.

Disc 2 is the perfect souvenir for anyone that attended the 25 th anniversary convention. And even if you missed it, then this is the perfect way to feel like you were there, because practically all of the panel’s are on here. Among my personal faves are the Halloween 2 panel, Halloween 6, the Michael Myers panel (look for Dick Warlock doing “the walk”) and the Dean Cundey panel (Which for anyone who’s interested in filmmaking, this one’s very educational.) Also included on Disc 2 are various location still galleries, original fan artwork, and behind the scene photos from the convention. Last but not least, the first pressing of this DVD includes a limited edition comic book titled ‘AUTOPSIS’, written by ‘25 Years Of Terror’ director Stefan Hutchinson. If you’re a Halloween fan, then you HAVE to buy this. Plain and simple. –robg.