Scary Good Times

Where to get your spook on this Halloween around Dallas-Fort Worth

With Halloween falling on a Friday this year, parties of all types take place that night. But you have many opportunities to celebrate the season in the days leading up to Halloween, because who wants to limit themselves to just one day of fun?

Even if none of the following events gets you excited, there are always haunted houses to give you a fright and that old standby Six Flags Fright Fest, which runs through November 2.

Multiple dates

Halloween at Globe Life Park
Tours of the Texas Rangers home ballpark are extra spooky over the next week, as Trick or Tours (October 25, 30, 31 and November 1) feature special activities, games, stories, trick-or-treating and more. To go even further, you can do the Flashlight Fright tour (October 30, 31 and November 1), during which guests use only flashlights to guide themselves around the park. Who knows what might jump out of the dark? Tours run at multiple times, and they are $10 for kids and $20 for adults.

Saturday, October 25

Dismember the Alamo
Halloween is the best time to watch horror movies, and the Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson screens four horror classics back-to-back-to-back-to-back. The movies remain a secret until just before showtime, but the event, which starts at noon, also has prizes for the best costumes and Alamo's usual bag of tricks. Tickets are $20 per person.

Oak Lawn Halloween Block Party
The annual celebration on Cedar Springs Road is one where you can really let loose, seeing as it takes place in Dallas' predominantly gay neighborhood. It features a Costume Promenade, with live commentary from Edna Jean Robinson, music, food, beer and more. The free party lasts from 7 pm to 2 am.

The Basement Gallery presents The Haunted Gallery
If you feel like getting a little artsy, Oak Cliff's Basement Gallery has you covered with this special Halloween-themed show. The free horror art exhibit, starting at 7 pm, allows visitors to view some of the best local artists and their creepy, horror and Day of the Dead art.

Halloween Bash at Victory Park
This party inside Victory Tavern at Victory Park promises a lot of action, including dancing, performances by Lollie Bombs Burlesque, a fire eater and more. Make sure to bring your A game in the costume department, as the winner gets a $300 gift card to NorthPark Center. Tickets are $10-$50 for this event that runs from 10 pm-2 am.

Haunted Loft Party
Only 400 people are allowed at this exclusive indoor/outdoor party at The Loft in the Gilley's complex, which features DJs blasting EDM, rap and more, as well as a costume contest with cash prizes. For $25, anyone 18 or over can attend this event, which runs from 10 pm-2 am.

Thursday, October 30

Meow-O-Ween Pub Prowl
Sometimes all it takes to have fun is to dress up like a cat and drink some beer. That's the premise of this event in the Camp Bowie District in Fort Worth, where participants are asked to dress in their best cat costumes while they do a pub "prowl" to four different stops, starting at 5 pm. Cost is $10 per person and includes a collectible pint glass for the first 150 people.

Crayon Club's Truck or Treat
For a more family-friendly affair that supports a good cause, you can check out this event at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, presented by its young professionals group, Crayon Club. Expect food trucks, live entertainment, lawn games, tours and face painting. The party, which kicks off at 7 pm, is $20 per person, with all proceeds benefiting the hospital.

Friday, October 31

Nightmare on Elm Street Halloween Extravaganza
Dallas' Young Professionals hold their annual Halloween event at the Tower Club on, yep, Elm Street. For $40, you can enjoy a costume contest ($250 goes to the winner), drinks, hors d'oeuvre, music from DJ Jose G and a special performance by Contemporary Ballet Dallas. The fun starts at 8 pm, and a portion of proceeds benefits CBD.

Day of the Dead at W Dallas Victory Hotel
Another high-flying party takes place at Altitude atop the W. Tickets range anywhere from $30 for general admission to $1,000 VIP packages (good for six people) for this event that features food, drinks, dancing to music spun by DJ Avenger and a costume contest. The winner nabs a two-night VIP suite package getaway. The party runs from 9 pm-2 am.

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig searches for elusive new bond in audacious film Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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Movie Review

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