Middle school students get Halloween flick alternative...the classics

Noreen Hyslop photo Under instructor John Stephens, students at T.S. Hill Middle School have gathered in the school library after school each day this Halloween week to watch some old horror movie classics.

"I just wanted the kids to realize that movies can still be good without all the blood and gore and sexual innuendoes that permeate today's movie industry," Stephens explains.

And so, the intuitive tutor of the English language, who has always appreciated the old classics in both literature and on the silver screen, made the sixth, seventh and eighth graders an offer many couldn't refuse.

"I bought my wife a collection of some of the old horror classics for our anniversary a few years ago and so to make a point, I offered to show a different movie after school each day during Halloween week to prove to the kids that movies can be great without the foul language and the sex scenes, the blood and the guts and everything else that kids are exposed to in today's theaters."

So, how did the students respond?

"We've had a great turnout every year," Stephens attests. "Several of the kids have come to every movie for the past three years. Tuesday we had nearly 100 kids packed into the library to see "Son of Frankenstein. It's been great!"

For most of the audience, it was not only the first time they had watched the old horror classics, but also their first exposure to a full length movie in black and white. And while some may not have truly appreciated what makes something like "The Mummy's Hand" a classic horror film, they did come to appreciate where the industry is today in comparison to the 1940 features.

Asked what was most different about the classic mummy movie, eighth grader Morgan Legate was quick to point out the lack of special effects in the old films.

Students Adam Webb and Tori Barr concurred and all three picked "The Invisible Man" as their favorite of the week.

While none admitted to being too frightened during the movie, they all said they enjoyed the films and actually found some element of humor in how elementary some of the horror scenes appeared in some of the movie scenes.

To encourage the students to concentrate on the movie during showtime each afternoon, a question concerning the feature is asked the following morning after its showing and the first student to send the correct answer to the office is rewarded with a Bearcat buck, money that may be used to purchase goods within the school system.

The makeshift theater at middle school even offered a concession stand this week, with popcorn, sodas and other treats. Stephens deems his efforts a success by the smiles on the students' faces and their "thumbs up" approvals at the end of each feature.

"Anytime you can get young kids today to enjoy a movie without them being bombarded with inappropriate language, sexual exploitation and graphic violence, then you've accomplished something," says Stephens, who plans to continue his annual film fest each Halloween week in the years to come.