Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me (1984)

How does an unknown artist get the biggest pop star in the world to sing on their record you ask?  Being the son of Motown founder Berry Gordy certainly has its perks.  Kennedy William Gordy believed he rocked well, so he chose Rockwell as his stage name and not play the nepotism card.  His debut single, Somebody's Watching Me, was a smash hit thanks in part to The King of Pop's vocal contributions.  The song is rather campy, though I do like to mention of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960).  For the video, Rockwell wanders around his creepy house getting the feeling he's being spied upon while enduring odd occurrences.  Michael Jackson does not appear in the video, most likely because he was filming his own music video for Thriller (1983) around the same time.

Location: Rockwell's House

Address: 1860 North Fuller Avenue, Hollywood, CA

Unfortunately, Rockwell's house joins the locations of yesteryear, though some of the surrounding area is still recognizable.  The house actually belonged to the video's director, Frank D'Elia, and was torn down in 1986.  The Pinnacle Apartment Building now stands in its place, just at the foot of the popular Runyon Canyon hiking trail.  Special thanks to Paul H at Halloween Filming Locations for finding this location.

Location Visited: October 2022

Locations Master List

Halloween Ends (2022)

 

After a freak accident babysitting on Halloween, Corey Cunningham becomes a pariah in Haddonfield.  Four years later, Laurie Strode is writing a memoir, has gotten into hair care and fixes Allyson up with the misunderstood Corey.  Meanwhile, Michael Myers has been habitating in a sewer like a ninja turtle.  After Corey encounters him, he slowly descends into madness and embarks on a bloody rampage.  Michael appears at Laurie's house for a final showdown where he is finally killed for good.  An impromptu funeral procession to the junkyard by the entire town ensues and Michael is disposed of in an industrial shredder.

Halloween Ends is a completely unsatisfying ending to a mediocre trilogy.  Halloween (2018) was certainly an improvement on Rob Zombie's Halloween II (2009), but had its share of problems.  Halloween Kills (2021) was mostly a plotless gorefest.  Halloween Ends just didn't feel like a Halloween movie.  Leaving Michael out mostly until the end was ridiculous as was the lack of scares and tension.  Going for something different is not always the best choice.

Halloween Ends was filmed in Savannah, Midway and Pooler, GA

Location: Laurie & Allyson's House

Address: 1206 E Duffy Street, Savannah, GA

Behind Laurie's House is an alleyway reminiscent of Halloween II (1981)...

Location: The Cunningham House

Address: 15 Kinzie Street, Savannah, GA

Having been an extra on and off the last eighteen years, rarely did I ever work on a show I watched or a movie I ended up seeing.  As a huge, longtime fan of the Halloween franchise, I was super excited when I was chosen to be an extra in Halloween Ends.  It was during the reshoots in June.  Wearing fall clothes in Savannah enduring humid 80+ degree weather was not fun, but being an extra is far from glamourous.  Being a part of the new ending, having Jamie Lee Curtis a few feet away and getting to touch Michael Myers will forever be the best extra experience I ever had.

Locations Visited: June 2022

Locations Master List

The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

Trish Deveraux is planning a slumber party.  But an innocent night of pizza, music and talking about boys turns into a bloodbath.  Escaped mass murderer Russ Thorn, with the help of his power drill, wreaks havoc on Trish's friends, a pizza boy, even her gym coach! Trish decides she won't be screwed like the rest and manages to take out Russ with a machete.

The Slumber Party Massacre was released during the endless parade of slashers in the early 80s.  Not particularly scary or memorable, having a power drill as the weapon of choice was a nice change from the usual knife or machete.  The film was directed by Amy Holden Jones, who had to turn down editing E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), in order to helm the movie.  I wonder if M&M's were part of the craft service table.

The Slumber Party Massacre was filmed in Venice and Los Angeles, CA

Location: Trish's House

Address: 3662 Mountain View Avenue, Venice, CA

Location: Mr. Contant's House

Address: 3670 Mountain View Avenue, Venice, CA

Location: Valerie's House

Address: 3658 Mountain View Avenue, Venice, CA

Location: Coach Jana's House

Address: 849 N Sierra Bonita Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

Locations Visited: June 2021

Locations Master List

The Strangers (2008)

 

What was supposed to be one of the best nights of their lives turns into an endless nightmare for Kristen McKay and James Hoyt.  First Kristen rejects James' marriage proposal at a friend's wedding and after returning to a secluded country home, they receive an odd knock at the door.  Shortly after they are terrorized and tormented relentlessly by three people in masks.  Unable to escape and their one lifeline blown away, Kristen and James are overtaken by the strangers and seemingly stabbed to death.  After the assailants leave, they encounter two boys passing out religious pamphlets.  They eventually stumble upon the house and find Kristen to still be alive.

The Strangers was a sleeper hit of 2008.  Released two years after filming, the tension and creepy score make it one of the more memorable home invasion movies.  The film scared up over 80 millions dollars at the box office.  Despite being a hit, it took ten years for a sequel to be released.  And to make up for the lost time, three new sequels have been recently announced to be helmed by Die Hard 2 (1990) director Renny Harlin.

Thanks to Cameron at Horror Explorer for finding some of these locations.

The Strangers was filmed in Florence and Timmonsville, SC

Location: The Intersection

Address: W Evans Street & Dargan Street, Florence, SC

Location: The Wedding Reception

Address: 3053 E Cres Circle, Florence, SC

Pee Dee Shrine Club

Location: The Hoyt Family Summer Home

Address: 4120 Oliver Road, Timmonsville, SC

Location: The Strangers Meet The Bicycle Boys

Address: 329 Green Acres Road, Florence, SC

Locations Visited: May 2022

Related Locations:

The Strangers: Prey At Night (2018)

Locations Master List