For almost 25 years now, October has meant the arrival of another Halloween episode of The Simpsons that putsAmericas favorite yellow family in the center of classic horror stories. And for this years Treehouse of Horror XXIV, the shows iconic opening has gotten bigger and more film-nerdy than ever, with an assist from director (and die-hard Simpsons nut) Guillermo del Toro. [Related: The Best Parts From All 23 Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Episodes ] The episode airs this Sunday, but the opening scene has already gone viral. The nearly three-minute-long sequence is packed with references to scary movies throughout film history. Originally approached by Fox to record a voice role or design a couch gag for the latest Treehouse of Horror, del Toro opted to embrace the Go Big or Go Extinct philosophy of his most recent film, Pacific Rim, and do a complete horror-movie rehaul of the entire opening credits sequence. Watch the Opening of Treehouse of Horror XXIV: The Simpsons titles are so iconic and yet theyve never been riffed in this vein, said del Toro in an interview with Entertainment Weeklys Inside TV . I really wanted to land the connections between the [shows] set pieces and the titles and some of the most iconic horror movies, and intersperse them with some of my stuff in there for pure joy. While imagery from del Toros own films such as Pacific Rim, Mimic, and Cronos might seem a bit incongruous alongside nods to classic horror films such as The Birds and Frankenstein, the mix does make for a unique visual experience that is unmistakably the work of the celebrated geek auteur. Below youll find a detailed guide of whos who and whats what in the title sequence. 0:07 - Zombies attack the nuclear power plant! The military strikes back, like in Day of the Dead (1985) and World War Z (2013), aiming, of course, for the brains. Mmm ... brains. [PHOTO GALLERY: Kang and Kodos Invade Simpsons Theme Park ] 0:14 - Look fast for a Jaeger vs. Kaiju fight from del Toros Pacific Rim (2013) in the background after the skeleton of the giant three-eyed crow hits the ground. .The Simpsons 0:21 - The Lard Lad of Donut Land comes to life as a reference to a story from the Treehouse of Horror VI episode, but this time Chief Wiggum — as the one-eyed, one-horned, cloven-hoofed Cyclops from Jason and the Argonauts (1963) — dunks and eats the pastry boy. 0:30 - Alfred Hitchcock makes a cameo appearance, and Ms. Krabappel plays the Tippi Hedren part in an homage to The Birds (1963). 0:36 - Bart channels Jack Torrance from The Shining (1980) ... as does the guy who wrote the book (and previous Simpsons guest star), Stephen King. 0:45 - Groundskeeper Willie is decked out as the title character from del Toros Hellboy (2004), and he fights one of that films villains, Kroenen. .The Simpsons 0:54 - Homer turns into a Reaper, a split-jawed mutant vampire, from del Toros Blade II (2002). Luckily, Carl quick-changes into Blade himself, complete with Wesley Snipes mustache and flat-top, and gives chase. 1:03 - Look fast for Matt Groenings original designs for The Simpsons from The Tracey Ullman Show buried underground, as well as the skeleton of Godzilla. .The Simpsons 1:09 - Mr. Burns is reimagined as the Pale Man from del Toros Oscar-winning Pans Labyrinth (2006), which ends up being unfortunate for the pixie Smithers. 1:19 - Major geek points here as Maggie rides on the grocery checkout belt with scarabs from del Toros first independent feature, Cronos (1993). 1:21 - Minor geek points here as things get buggy with references to del Toros second film, Mimic (1997), with Marge as a giant cockroach. .The Simpsons 1:27 - Lisa gets musical with several different film incarnations of The Phantom of the Opera, including Brian De Palmas glam-rock Phantom of the Paradise (1974). 1:36 - The giant vines might be a reference to del Toros Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), but soon theyre revealed to be the tentacles of mighty Cthulhu. Del Toro is a huge fan of author H.P. Lovecraft and was planning to do a big-screen adaptation of In the Mountains of Madness before the studio backed out. 1:42 - A drive-by of notable horror authors, including Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Ray Bradbury (with his creation The Illustrated Man) and Richard Matheson (with a vampire from The Omega Man, the 1971 adaptation of his novella, I Am Legend). 1:47 - The Universal monsters (Dracula, Frankensteins monster, the Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Mummy, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, and the alien from This Island Earth) chase after the mob from Frankenstein (1931). .The Simpsons 1:59 - Maggie terrorizes Milhouse behind the wheel of the evil 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III from The Car (1977), which del Toro called, one of my favorite guilty pleasure B-movies. 2:05 - Time to play Wheres Waldo: The Sci-Fi/Horror Edition. As the camera pans by, look fast for: — Count Orlok from Nosferatu (1922) — the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts (1963) — the robot from Lost in Space (1965) — the xenomorph from Alien (1979) — Gort the robot from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) — the aliens from Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) — the alien from The Thing From Another World (1951) — poor Andre Delambre from the original The Fly (1958) — Ro-Man Extension XJ-2 from Robot Monster (1953) — Lon Chaney in London After Midnight (1927) — some of Tod Brownings Freaks (1932) .The Simpsons 2:16 - Homer is suddenly a pale-skinned ghost with a smoking head from del Toros The Devils Backbone (2001). 2:21 - Lisa falls down the rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland ... 2:24 - ... and lands next to the Hypnotoad from Futurama ... 2:25 - ... and the family recreates the final scene of Pans Labyrinth. Did we miss any? Hit the comments and let us know! .The Simpsons The Simpsons was just renewed for a record 26th season . Treehouse of Horror XXIV airs on Sunday at 8 p.m. on Fox.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Jun 2014 01:10:28 +0000
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