Halloween III- independently owned small town mask shops

[HeyDumDum 39]

At the point where we meet Marge Gutterman (?) who has a shop in Union Square in San Francisco, come down and see her sometime, it's the day before Halloween. She makes some remark about how now that Silver Shamrock is supplying to all the big retailers, the "little guys" have to make a fuss to be heard, which is ostensibly why she's traveled out to Santa Mira from the big city to check on her re-order.

 

But it's the day before Halloween! Why on earth is she away from her store and hassling the manufacturer, several hours' drive away? Let's say her trip works, they bust ass and get her her re-order... she still gets back to San Francisco in, say, the evening time. Who the hell is going to be buying their Halloween mask on 7pm October 30?! This becomes even more ridiculous because as we see in the movie, she returns to the motel frustrated because they still don't have her order. WHY IS SHE STAYING OVERNIGHT? The next day is Halloween! Your ship has sailed, lady! In conclusion, Marge Gutterman's death is her own damn fault. She should have hit the road.

 

***

 

I also wanted to add that, as strange as it sounds, there was a small, independently-owned mask and Halloween supply shop in my hometown. It thrived year round because it was also a locally-owned pet and pet supply store. That's right, upon entering the dark, creaky, Victorian storefront, you walked past rows of glass cubes holding guinea pigs, mice, and snakes, and to the even darker back counter, where you could peruse a display of rubbery Freddie Krueger and Ronald Reagan masks (it was the 80s). Topping it all off, suspended from the ceiling and running the length of the shop was a fully-enclosed wire monkey run with a real live monkey in it. A monkey which was undoubtedly incredibly mentally disturbed by the time the shop closed down in the 90s. Now it's just another 'quaint' antique shop, and I didn't really appreciate until I got older and met people who didn't grow up with a pet-and-scary-mask store in their hometown how unusual and downright macabre a shop it was. I miss it, but I hope that monkey is in a better place. Like torturing Marge Gutterman in hell! YEAH I SAID IT.

[HeyDumDum 39]

Derp- I listened to this episode again and realized I totally misinterpreted the movie. I guess Marge et al were clamoring for next year's orders? There goes my outrage. At any rate, she had no reason to be there, but that's something June, Paul, and The Zouks all agreed on, so I guess this is neither a correction nor an omission.

 

The pet/mask store in my town was real, though. And that monkey was fucked.