Halloween Events in Australia

This post is going to provide information about upcoming events, functions and gigs with a Halloween theme.

I know the post is meant to feature Zombie events; however I figured that being Halloween you can always dress up as a Zombie - so it ties in neatly together.  By the way, these events are from all over Australia.

Event 1 - Perth

Halloween Dress Up Party @ Villa

The Villa Nightclub on Stirling Street, Perth will be hosting a Halloween Party. This popular Halloween Party has become an annual event with decorations, best costume giveaways and a great line-up of local and international DJs playing all your favourite tunes.

This year the Halloween Party at Villa Nightclub will feature Swanky Tunes and plenty of local talent. Dress up in your most ghoulish or craziest costume and join in the fun on Wednesday 31st October, 2012, starting at 10pm.

Tickets start at $20.00 per person and available through Moshtix.

Event 2 - Perth

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Event Cinema's in Morley and Innaloo will have a special screening of the classic horror movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Wednesday 31st October, 2012 and Friday 2nd November, 2012. 

Tickets are $20.00 each and this price includes a medium popcorn. 

Event 3 - Perth

Brothers Grimm Halloween Party

Wolf Lane, just off Murray Street in Perth is holding the Brothers Grimm Halloween Party on Wednesday 31st October, 2012 from 6pm. Get dressed up in your favourite costume and scare yourself senseless.

Tickets are $39.00 per person and this price includes canapés and a Halloween cocktail on arrival. 

Tickets can be booked through Iwannaticket.

Event 4 - Perth

Halloween at Pancho's

Pancho's Mexican Villa Restaurant in East Victoria Park is having a Halloween night special. Dress up in costume and receive a free beer or frozen cocktail on arrival.

Pancho's is also offering $5.00 Nachos, Corona's and Frozen Cocktails with any main meal.

Event 5 - Perth - kid friendly

Halloween Party at Chipmunks

Chipmunks Playland and Cafe in Port Kennedy will be hosting a Halloween Party on Wednesday 31st October, 2012 for children up to the age of eleven years old.

This fun, safe event will run from 6pm till 9pm. There will be lots of spooky games and activities and a prize for the best costume. Food and coffee will be a available from the cafe during the night.

Tickets are $10.00 each.

Event 6 - Brisbane

Halloween mischief in Bulimba

Hubble bubble, toil and trouble, there's some mischief afoot this Halloween in Bulimba. If your little ghouls and gremlins love the idea of Trick or Treat but you're not so keen on walking the streets knocking on strangers doors, Hocus Pocus in the Park could be just the trick for your tots.

Event 7 - Brisbane

The Hi-Fi (West End) will host its inaugural Creepshow Halloween Festival on Friday, November 2. Live bands, burlesque performers, and DJs will haunt the Hi-Fi well past the witching hour. Tickets cost $20. 

Event 8 - Brisbane

Eat, drink, and be scary on board a Kookaburra River Queen. This creepy cruise on the Brisbane River includes a seafood and carvery buffet dinner with live entertainment. The boat departs the Eagle Street Pier at 7:30pm on Friday, November 2, 2012. Tickets cost $39.50 for a child, $79 for an adult, or $197.50 for a family. 

Event 9 - Australia wide

Frankenweenie opens in Australian cinemas on October 25. Directed by Tim Burton, famous for his dark and quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie tells the tale of a boy named Victor who brings his beloved dog Sparky back to life.

Event 10 - Sydney

Dracula, creepy cocktails and Transylvanian treats

Escape the irritating, screeching children that loiter around the streets on October 31st like the mischievous little horrors they are and head to the Gazebo Wine Garden for a spooky and very adult Halloween.

The bar will be decked out like Dracula's lair - think coffins, candelabras and creepy cocktails (but definitely no crucifixes), and most importantly costumes; don't be an (un)dead bore and dress up.

Tickets are $60 and include entry, food and drinks.

Event 11 - Melbourne

Dress ups and candy can't be beat

Halloween is one of my favourite holidays. I think this is partly because I had an American upbringing, but also because when you are a kid and celebrating this holiday you get to dress up and get candy: a great combination.

Halloween is slowly becoming more popular in Australia. In Melbourne this year I spotted a few Halloween signs in grocery stores and shops. The first sign I spotted was for a free chocolate soft serve and I immediately wondered what the catch was. You have to dress up in your Halloween costume and go to Cacao Green to receive a free small serve. So, it does pay to get dressed up for this holiday, the free goodies are already beginning.

This trick-or-treat event will run from 3 pm to 5.30 pm. 

Event 12 - Melbourne

Haunted Melbourne Ghost Tour – There are a few different ghost tours in Melbourne and I can't personally recommend any of them as yet (although joining one of them is on the ever lengthening To Do List). However, the Haunted Melbourne Ghost Tour has featured on several reputable TV shows (think Postcards, Coxy's Big Break etc) so I figure it must be pretty good. Don your finest zombie outfit and join a two-hour walking tour led by Haunted Bookshop founder and Haunted Australia TV presenter, Drew Sinton. Tours begin at 8.30 pm on Saturdays at The Haunted Bookshop, 15 McKillop Street, Melbourne CBD and cost $20.

Event 13 - Melbourne

Old Melbourne Gaol – One of Melbourne's top tourist attractions, the Old Melbourne Gaol incorporates Melbourne's oldest prison, historic Magistrate's Court and former Police City Watch House. Located in Russell Street, it has seen the highs and lows of crime, law and order in Melbourne since the 1840's. Melbourne Gaol witnessed 133 hangings in total and the site was home to dangerous criminals, petty offenders, the homeless and even the mentally ill. There are various different experiences on offer but the Night Tours (there are several different types) would definitely be the most fitting if you're after the macabre and mysterious. Check the website for prices, ticket types and opening hours.

Event 14 - Melbourne

Halloween Night Tour: Melbourne General Cemetery – Now this one truly is macabre. Melbourne General Cemetery runs educational night tours based on historical figures with memorials in the cemetery, with the money made going to cemetery maintenance projects. On Halloween night (October 31st just in case you didn't know) there are special Halloween Night Tours in operation leaving every 15 minutes. Unfortunately these are all now fully booked for Halloween 2012 but remember it for next year for some serious spooking, or you can always go along at a different time and hear the tales of Frederick Baker, the famous Princess Theatre Ghost, Sir Redmond Barry, the judge who sentenced Ned Kelly to death, and ill-fated explorers Burke and Wills. More information can be found here.

Event 15 - Sydney

Notre Dame Halloween End of Semester Party

So it's coming to that time of the year yet again when essays are frantically being written, final touches are put on presentations and exams are frighteningly close.

It's the end of another semester in a year that has absolutely flown by!

So if you're looking for a party to kill all those nerves and anxiety before exams, don't look anywhere else but the end of semester Halloween Party at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney!

The event itself, to be held on Monday October 31st, will start from 3pm and continue til late. Perhaps the greatest thing about this uni party is the fact that everyone from anywhere is invited and tickets are the same cost for everyone.

Tickets themselves are wristbands and will be $15 for alcohol or over 18 tickets, whilst there are also $8 tickets on sale for non-drinkers and under 18's.

And yes, I know what you're thinking. What do I get for $15 that makes this party so unique from the rest?

Well here it is.

Your ticket will give you entry into a cordoned off courtyard which will feature slushy machines, alcohol, the Red Bull car, a barbecue, food stalls, carnival games, house DJ's, Triple J Unearthed indie rockers Castlecomer, an exclusive photographer and in the spirit of the day, face-painters!

There is one catch though.

Once you get into the courtyard, everything is FREE!

The event will begin at 3pm on campus and then carry on to the Abercrombie bar right next door from 6pm til late.

The above events are all scheduled for Wednesday, 31 October 2012 - or the following weekend, so hurry and get your tickets!

Event 16 - Sydney

Circo Loco Halloween at The Greenwood Hotel

On the 29th of October the European flavour and character will be replicated at the Greenwood Hotel, Sydney's premier outdoor venue. Bringing top of the line techno and house to Circo Loco, the night will be defined by locals such as Matt Aubusson and Robbie Low.

WHEN & WHERE:29th October - The Greenwood Hotel

HOW MUCH?1st Release - $40 BF
Moshtix.com.au

For more information please see here.

PASSED EVENT!

The following event has passed; however take note of the event organiser's details for next year!

The Apocalypse Undead Festival, in conjunction with The Brisbane Zombie Walk, is a fundraising event for the Brain Foundation of Australia. Held on Sunday, October 21 at Victoria Park in Spring Hill, this festival promises to be the biggest zombie party in the world. Mayhem includes live music, make up booths, market stalls, movies, and more. Gates open at 10am while the walk itself begins at 3pm. 

                                                                    Zombie Walk

*There are other events around Australia so please check your local newspaper or Google it!

Zombie Movies

OK.  Back to the Zombies.

Today I'm going to talk about Zombie movies and TV shows.  To be honest I haven't seen a lot of these, so they're not in any particular order.  The information is courtesy of Zombie Zone News, Boston.com and About.com.

The Walking Dead - In this uncertain world, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his band of survivors must not only fight the dead, but also face a whole new fear: the living. 

Cemetery Man (1994) - Rupert Everett was playing a cemetery worker who just wants someone to love. 

Plague of the Zombies (1966) - This horror gem of mid-'60s British cinema is set in the English countryside, where a mysterious ailment is killing off a small village's populace. It takes a while for the zombies to get their screen time.   The movie progresses at first like a mystery as a newly arrived doctor tries to get a handle on the situation. Once they appear, the living dead here are indeed scary, and the film has once of the best rising-from-the-grave scenes of all time.

Dance of the Dead (2008) - A surprisingly entertaining movie in the vast wasteland of modern zombie comedies, this one keeps the mood light while maintaining some good zombie-killing action. Most enjoyable were the scenes involving a punk rock band holding the living dead at bay and two teenage zombies overcoming their inhibitions and making out in a school bathroom. Perfect for the disaffected, high school zombie-loving crowd.

Dead Snow (2009) - "Dead Snow" is a pretty straightforward modern zombie flick with equal parts gore and humor. It's like a twisted combination of the video games Resident Evil and Wolfenstein, with a dash of the movie "Evil Dead II" thrown in, and served over a bed of virgin Norwegian snow.

White Zombie (1932) - "White Zombie" is the grandfather of the American zombie film, Starring Bela Lugosi.

Land of the Dead (2005) - The living dead have taken over the world, and the last humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they come to grips with the situation.

Versus (2000) - The only Asian zombie film on the list, "Versus" is worth watching for the fast-paced Samurai-style battles between the living and the dead.  Martial arts mayhem, kooky characters and non-stop kinetic energy propel this oddball Japanese genre-bender. When a group of gangsters arranges a meeting in the woods where they've dumped the bodies of those they've "bumped off," they don't realize said woods have the power to resurrect the dead. 

Cockneys vs Zombie (2012 IR) - Follows a group of plucky cousins as they try to rob a bank to save their grandparents care home from developers. Little do they know that while they're cleaning out the vault, zombies are cleaning up the East End and shuffling towards Bow Bells' care home with an appetite for OAPs.

Zombieland (2009 US) - Zombieland is one of the best Zombie movies I’ve seen. Chock full of fun, sadness, comedy, and good old fashioned Zombie gore, it is a well rounded movie that pits four survivors against themselves, each other, and, of course, the Zombie masses.

28 Days Later (2002 UK) - This movie deserves a spot on this list because of it's huge influence on the nature of zombie films that followed it. The movie not only popularized the fast-running zombie of many modern films, but was also a good post-apocalyptic survival story to boot.

28 Weeks Later (2007 UK) - Some sequels are better off skipped. I’m on the fence over 28 Weeks Later.  It wasn’t bad.  But it wasn’t as good as the original. There were several great fast Zombie scenes, and a great beginning sequence. The plot wasn’t bad, and definitely added to the original in a meaningful way, but most of the film was spent laying a slow foundation for the last 30 minutes of action.

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1975) - A straight-up zombie film for the zombie film lover. "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" has fantastic and realistic zombies of the "freshly dead" variety. It also features some graphic and long sequences of them chowing down on human flesh like they're at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Fido (2006) - If you've ever fantasized about having your own zombie pet, zombie bodyguard, or zombie housekeeper, then "Fido" is your kind of movie. It's been described as a cross between "Night of the Living Dead" and "Lassie," although it is clearly a comedy film. Fido is a house-broken zombie thanks to a collar that renders him harmless and obedient - most of the time. Billy Connelly plays the title character, and offers probably the best acting job done by anyone portraying the living dead.

Day of the Dead (1985 US) - Zombies rule the USA, except for a small group of scientists and military personnel who reside in an underground bunker in Florida. The scientists are using the undead in gruesome experiments; much to the chagrin of the military. Finally the military finds that their men have been used in the scientists’ experiments, and banish the scientists to the caves that house the Living Dead. Soon, Zombies do what Zombies do best.

Dawn of the Dead (2004 USA) - Ana, played by Sarah Polley, decides that her neighborhood is going downhill after her kid, and the rest of the neighborhood, turn into murderous Zombies. After meeting up with some other “survivors”, Ana eventually ends up at the local mall with a bunch of others. They spend the days generally safe, but slowly running out of time and resources. They hatch a plan, and make their attempt at survival.

Zombie (1979) - The best of the Italian zombie factory of the late '70s and '80s, director Lucio Fulci's film is probably best known for its underwater encounter between a zombie and a shark.

Deadgirl (2008) - The film delves into the deranged psyches of bored suburban teenage boys, and exposes the different levels of depraved morals among them.

Shaun of the Dead (2004) - The top modern zombie movie (post-2000), "Shaun of the Dead" incorporates the best of zombie comedy films - with realistic walking dead, ample gore, and fun use of everyday items to fight off zombies (like the famous record-throwing scene) - without getting too silly. Plus, the scene where the survivors "play dead" can serve as a educational film for zombie walk newbies everywhere.

The Return of the Living Dead (1985 US) -  featured fast-moving zombies decades before they became mainstream in modern day zombie movies. Second, it introduced the zombie call-to-arms, "Braaaains!"

Night of the Living Dead (1968 US) - To say this movie is a classic is an understatement.  Chaos descends upon the world, in George A. Romero’s pivotal first movie, as the brains of the recently deceased become reanimated, causing the dead to rise and feed on human flesh. Speculation rests on a radiation-covered NASA satellite returning from Venus, but it only remains a speculation.  The only way to destroy the zombies is to destroy the brain. 

Night of the Living Dead (1990 US) - “Night of the Living Dead” is the 1990 remake of George Romero’s 1968 classic of the same name. With more money and better technology, the film follows the same storyline as the original, with some minor changes, and this time starring Patricia Tallman as Barbara, and Tony Todd as the strong and heroic Ben.

Dawn of the Dead (1978 US) - The film's immediate focus is the action inside a suburban mall, where a band of survivors try to keep swarms of undead at bay. However, it's the setup to the zombie apocalypse at the beginning of the film - where the world tried to make sense of it all - that really makes it resonate. The world is forced to cope with the inevitability of a slow, plodding, violent end. And yet there is still hope. Kind of.

The Evil Dead (1981 US) - Five friends, including Ash, played of course by Bruce Campbell, go up to a cabin in the woods where they find unspeakable evil lurking in the forest. They find the Necronomicon, an evil tomb of demonic rites, and the taped translation of the text. Once the tape is played, the evil is released. One by one, the teens become deadly evil dead Zombies.

Evil Dead II (1987 US) - “I’ll swallow your soul! I’ll swallow your soul! I’ll swallow your soul!” “Swallow this!” say’s everybody’s favorite Zombie/demon killing comedian, Ash, as he aims his shotgun at Henrietta’s face. What a way to end a relationship.  Bruce Campbell does it again in this sequel to Evil Dead. After the blood-bath of Evil Dead, Ash is still in the cabin when “help” arrives in the form of the professor’s daughter and a few other people. Soon the evil forces of the Necronomicon are at it again. 

Evil Dead: Army of Darkness (1992 US) - In this sequel to the Evil Dead films, a discount-store employee (“Name’s Ash. Housewares.”) is time-warped to a medieval castle beset by monstrous forces. Initially mistaken for an enemy, he is soon revealed as the prophecised savior who can quest for the Necronomicon, a book which can dispel the evil. Unfortunately, he screws up the magic words while collecting the tome, and releases an army of skeletons, led by his own Deadite counterpart. 

Resident Evil (2002 US) - Something rotten is brewing beneath the industrial mecca known as Raccoon City. Unknown to its millions of residents, a huge underground bio-engineering facility known as The Hive has accidentally unleashed the deadly and mutating T-virus, killing all of its employees. To contain the leak, the governing supercomputer, Red Queen, has sealed all entrances and exits. Now a team of highly-trained super commandos including Rain, Alice and Matt must race to penetrate The Hive in order to isolate the T-virus before it overwhelms humanity. 

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004 US) - After waking up in a hospital a-la 28 Days Later, our hero Alice, played by Milla Jovovich, discovers the undead have overwhelmed Raccoon City, with only small pockets of uninfected still surviving, led by Jill Valentine, another femme fatal Zombie killer, played by Sienna Guillory. To make matters worse, they are all trapped, sealed off in the city by the Umbrella Corporation. Of course the Umbrella Corporation takes this as an opportunity to play with their new deadly experiment. Soon, time begins running out as the clock ticks down before the city is sanitized.

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007 FR) - It'll never be confused with high art, but the third entry in the Resident Evil franchise is miles ahead of the dreck that was Resident Evil: Apocalypse. It's amazing what a competent director (Russell Mulcahy of Highlander fame), a scenic desert setting and hot pants with leather stockings will do for you.  

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010 UK) - In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice (Jovovich), continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead – and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap. 

Re-animator (1985 US) - Apparently cats do have more than one life. Re-Animator was a well done, funny, and often suspenseful Zombie movie.  Herbert West, played by Jeffrey Combs, is kicked out of a Swiss university after his involvement in the death of his mentor. He continue his studies in the United States – but little do his acquaintances know that West has discovered a serum that brings the dead back to life… with terrible consequences… Dan Cain, a local medical student, lets West rent a room from him.

The Fog (1980 US) - A Northern California fishing town, built 100 years ago over an old leper colony, is the target for revenge by a killer fog containing zombie-like ghosts seeking revenge for their deaths.

I am Legend (2007 US) - I Am Legend is chock full of tips for survival in the event of the Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse. The creepy Zombie-vampire mesh was portrayed well. The story, or course, is based on the novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.  

The homework is to sit down and watch as many of these as you possibly can.  I have seen some of these and I intend to go through and watch any that I have not seen before.  I know I am Legend is not really a Zombie movie, but it does have mindless super fast beings in them which could be classed as a Zombie.

If there are any suggestions or recommendations for other Zombie movies to watch please let me know.

In the next installment of Zombie fortnight, I will be posting information about Zombie books.  I have read a few of these which are awesome!