Dexter middle school students get Halloween flick alternative

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

Dexter Middle School English teacher, John Stephens offered middle schoolers his third annual Halloween challenge this week.

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

And so, Stephens, who appreciates 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," he said. "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."

"We've had a great turnout every year," Stephens said. "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."

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.

"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.