A value priced witch hat sold at a dollar store can be a convenient and affordable option for those looking to complete their Halloween costume on a tight budget. Dollar stores often offer a wide range of inexpensive seasonal items, including costumes and accessories. The witch hat being sold at such a store may not have the same level of quality or durability as one found at a higher-end retailer, but it can still serve its purpose for a one-time event like Halloween. While the hat may lack intricate details or premium materials, it can still provide a fun and recognizable look for a fraction of the cost. Additionally, a value priced witch hat can be a great option for children who may easily misplace or outgrow their costume accessories. Despite its lower cost, the hat can still add to the overall enjoyment and festive spirit of Halloween.
The film starts by following a group of students telling scary stories about their place of education. One story claims that one the school’s mirrors has the ability to suck people in, other about a mysterious accident that happened to a previous class, in which the whole class full of students died. Both seem dubious at best, but perhaps there’s more truth to them than one might think? From there we suddenly jump to a group of friends breaking into the school to shoot a horror film. They are older than the students seen previous and the building is now completely abandoned. While messing about, trying to stage a ghostly encounter in the school bathroom, the fearful foursome ends up catching a real-life ghost on camera. And if that is not bad enough, they soon find out that the building (or its ghostly occupants) will not let them leave, making them wander its corridors in hopes of finding a way out. Little bit later, we are introduced to the final protagonist, a lone woman entering the abandoned building to honour the memory of her late mother’s school mates; the very same mates that died in the freak accident all those years ago. Along the way she reveals some home truths about those haunting the halls of this learning establishment and shines a light to the mystery behind it all.
You will probably agree that negative talk, gossip, and hurtful words are less preferable than encouraging, kind words, and constructive conversations. As it turned out, the picture was only OK, offering a few interesting ideas but undermining itself with tongue-in-cheek humour never really reaching the nightmare pitch achieved in the best of its predecessors Ringu , Ju-On The Curse , Ju-On The Grudge , The Ring.
Despite its lower cost, the hat can still add to the overall enjoyment and festive spirit of Halloween..
Hideo Nakata, Takashi Shimizu, & the Golden Age of J-Horror
I might not have mentioned, but I was recently at FrightFest, which is always the highlight of the year for me. We’d been promised a mysterious new Adam Wingard picture entitled The Woods, which was set to be the very latest thing in scaring audiences’ pants off. Well, as it turned out, it wasn’t really The Woods at all, but rather a new sequel to The Blair Witch Project. At the same time, it turned out we weren’t really getting to see it at all, but THEN it turned out that instead we were getting Sadako vs. Kayako, i.e. The Ring vs. The Grudge. For me, that was a good result – I’d been eagerly awaiting Sadako vs. Kayako since its announcement, & nothing could dampen that enthusiasm.
As it turned out, the picture was only OK, offering a few interesting ideas but undermining itself with tongue-in-cheek humour & never really reaching the nightmare pitch achieved in the best of its predecessors (Ringu, Ju-On: The Curse, Ju-On: The Grudge, The Ring). Perhaps this shouldn’t be too surprising. Those films all came out within a remarkably short period of time – a Golden Age for what was called J-Horror.
J-Horror is not simply any horror that comes out of Japan, but in order to qualify it does have to be Japanese. The films from J-Horror’s Golden Age favoured vengeful spirits, usually girls in white dresses with stringy black hair. The approach to horror, while often incorporating a hefty dose of surrealism, was subtle too, usually avoiding gore, or even any specific depictions of harm, in favour of maddeningly relentless pursuits. They were also heavily reliant on intelligent use of the frame, hiding characters in background shadows or just out of shot. Naturally, this meant the films required talented directors making them work, which is exactly what they got: Hideo Nakata helmed Ringu, Ringu 2 & The Ring Two, leaving other, less talented directors to follow him on pictures such as Ringu‘s discredited sequel Rasen, the surprisingly effective prequel film Ringu 0: Birthday, & the tacky, CGI-filled later revivals Sadako 3D & Sadako 2 3D. Hideo Nakata’s relationship to Ju-On is similar; the series had its origins in the shorts “Katasumi” & “4444444444” released in the anthology Gakkô no kaidan G. Nakata expanded around them with Ju-On: The Curse & Ju-On: The Curse 2, before giving the series its first reboot with Ju-On: The Grudge, which earned its own sequel in Ju-On: The Grudge 2. Following the success of Ringu‘s even better US remake The Ring, lavishly staged by later Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, Ju-On: The Grudge received a similar US treatment, yet again directed by Shimizu, who would also stay on for The Grudge 2 before abandoning both the Japanese & American iterations of his franchise. The Grudge 3 went straight to home video, but the American series continues to hold out hope, with a reboot reportedly in the works. In Japan, the series never quite fell out of fashion, & the spin-off films Ju-On: White Ghost, which was pretty good, & Ju-On: Black Ghost, which was less so, marked the series’ tenth anniversary before yet another reboot in Ju-On: The Beginning of the End, whose sequel was Ju-On: The Final Curse. Sadako vs. Kayako, for those who are interested, reboots both series yet again in order to incorporate some minor changes to the mythos.
The US pictures coming out at this time that weren’t remakes of Japanese pictures ended up looking like they might as well be, while the cinemas of China & Korea both responded to the horror waves coming from Japan. A neighbouring, yet different, genre enjoying a little Golden Age of its own at the same time was Asian extreme, best represented by Korean Park Chan-Wook & Japanese Takashi Miike, while the tactics of J-horror fed into, & from, other media, such as the horror manga of Junji Ito, the novels of Kōji Suzuki, or the many survival horror videogames released in the same period.
Nakata & Shimizu made some other excellent horrors; Nakata delivered his masterpiece in Dark Water, which also had a US remake, while Nakata delivered the Junji Ito adaptation Tomie: Rebirth, the Lovecraftian Marebito, The Shock Labyrinth, & Tormented. But other directors were active, too; if you want to easily keep track of them, why not try the J-Horror Theater imprint? It gathered six of J-Horror’s leading talents to deliver one picture each; Nakata & Shimizu pitched in with Kaidan & Reincarnation respectively, while the other pictures were Infection (from Masayuki Ochiai of Parasite Eve, Saimin, Shutter, & Kotodama – Spiritual Curse before taking over for Shimizu on the Ju-On franchise); Premonition (from Tsuruta Norio of Ringu 0: Birthday & Kakashi, which was based on a Junji Ito manga); Retribution (from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, best-known for Pulse); & finally Kyōfu (from Ringu screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi). The J-Horror Theater series had mostly died off by its later entries, however, as had the brief, incredibly terrifying success of the genre. Sometimes all it takes to create a Golden Age is one or two great talents. Or maybe there was just something in the water in the late-90s.
Recent Posts
- Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, & Desilu
- Vox Lux, Celeste, & her many pop forebears
- Madonna, “Die Another Day” & “Find Another Way”
- Universal, the Dark Universe, and undead movie monsters
- Bohemian Rhapsody, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, & how to title a rock biopic
Recent Comments
| Roger Ewing on The Matrix, the late-90s,… |
| Unit 4: Auter theory… on Batman & Robin, The Room,… |
| Christian Robshaw on Twin Peaks: The Return, “2016,… |
| Brooke Grubb on Twin Peaks: The Return, “2016,… |
| Christian Robshaw on Thrilling Cities, James Bond,… |
Historically, it is thought that the kotodama belief dates back to the Nara period (710–794). It appears in the collection of poems Manyoshu, in which the expression, “the land where kotodama brings bliss,” is used to describe Japan.
.
Reviews for "Halloween Chic on a Budget: The Value of a Dollar Store Witch Hat"
1. James - 1 star
The value priced witch hat I bought at the dollar store was a complete disappointment. It was made with flimsy materials and barely stayed on my head for more than a minute. The hat didn't have a proper shape either, making it look more like a crushed cone than an actual witch hat. The elastic band that was supposed to keep it in place was also poorly attached, causing it to snap after just a few uses. Overall, I would not recommend this product to anyone looking for a durable and properly shaped witch hat, even if it is affordable.
2. Emma - 2 stars
I purchased the value priced witch hat from the dollar store, hoping to save some money for my Halloween costume. However, I was disappointed with the quality of the hat. The fabric felt cheap and the stitching was coming undone in several places. The hat was also smaller than advertised, making it sit awkwardly on my head. It didn't hold its shape well either, even after trying to reshape it numerous times. While it was tempting to purchase a low-cost item, I would suggest investing in a better quality witch hat to ensure a more satisfactory Halloween experience.
3. Laura - 1 star
The value priced witch hat I got from the dollar store was a complete waste of money. The material used was so thin and flimsy that it tore easily even during my attempts to put it on gently. The hat was also much smaller than I expected, barely fitting on my head. The elastic band provided no support or grip, causing the hat to slide off constantly. It was clear that this product was poorly made and not suitable for even the most basic Halloween costume. I would advise avoiding this item and looking for better quality witch hats elsewhere.