It’s beyond a doubt that 2020 will be remembered in history as a year of mourning — mourning not only of the lives lost because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other societal problems, but of the normalcy we had grown accustomed to. It is a repeat of 1816’s “Year Without a Summer,” but instead of a short stint inside due to volcano-induced rain, it’s 12 months (and possibly more) of almost no in-person contact with people outside of your own household. While there are worldwide disruptions in trade, communication, and other huge things, there was also an almost dead stop to media production — both closing doors and opening new ones. 2020’s year of horror is unlike any other, and will probably be different from here on out.
The biggest change we’ll see is the switch from in person movie-going at theaters to a VOD and streaming service explosion. You might remember our love letter to Alamo Drafthouse and how we wanted to spend more time there. After having been closed to the public for months, theaters like Alamo and AMC have been allowed to reopen with limited capacity and therefore, limited screenings and movie selections. It’s unfortunate to see such a resurgence in the ultimate theater experience go to the wayside. Instead, we’re faced with a dilemma: pay exorbitant fees to see the latest flicks through a streaming service or VOD, or risk getting sick by going to a theater. The first option affords you the comfort of your own home, but not the professional movie quality (i.e., lighting, screen size, and sound) we need and all at an extremely high price. Besides getting sick, the second option allows for those things, but often not the latest movies and less showings.
Even if you do go to the movies, chances are the film you were waiting to be released was postponed, or even stopped production completely. Halloween Kills (as well as Halloween Ends) and Candyman, both highly anticipated fall releases, were postponed until 2021 (and 2022 for Halloween Kills). Even the behemoth Comic-Con was switched to an all-digital event (Comic-Con@Home), opting to offer a series of free videos available on YouTube, an online exhibit hall, and other programming fun. Blumhouse too got on the bandwagon with online events, featuring October’s “Welcome to the Blumhouse,” with live musical performances, videos, and an interactive website. While film production and releases were instantly put on hold, there was still enough wiggle room to offer online experiences to at least sort of get us by this year.
Releases that did actually happen were hit and miss, to say the least. While we met releases like Host, Dracula (miniseries), Ju-on: Origins, and Phasmophobia (game) with great praise, others were not held in such high regard. In particular, The Grudge and Antebellum were pretty much fan failures, offering nothing new except bland, overdone stories with no motivation. The jury is still out on The Craft: Legacy, as one side sees it as a modern teen classic and the other sees it as an abomination of the 1996 original.
And for major Halloween events like Halloween Horror Nights? Almost-complete no-go’s. Universal Orlando opted to cancel the event and instead open just two houses and their HHN Tribute store. Disney cancelled their Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Busch Gardens’ Howl-o-Scream had a series of scare zones only. Many local events became drive-thrus (with great success). All of this happened to keep social distancing an option, and for the most part it worked. We do admit it feels like there’s a giant hole missing where these events (both in-person and seeing them online via vlogs) were, but it’s better than nothing. Better safe than sorry!
2020 was a year of massive global change, and it seems that you could say everything is split 50-50 in terms of how we feel about these changes. There’s a group who loves everything going on and being able to be in the comfort of their own homes while still enjoying “social” things. Then there’s the group who misses being somewhere and is wary of how this is affecting how we get our entertainment. While there are pros and cons to literally every scenario, it’s still a change that everyone will have to get used to. Unfortunately, 2020 is mostly “lost” in terms of major horror and Halloween events and releases, but that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way; next year will no longer be a learning experience but a continuation of improvements — and of course those new releases we missed this year.
How did your 2020 year of horror go? Leave a comment and share your stories.
