pumpktoberfest #37 - fear everything.

film: cape fear
beer: flying dog the fear imperial pumpkin ale

happy first...er...second day of our fourth annual pumpktoberfest everyone! though i've managed to be the worst slacker in the history of slack when it comes to regularly posting over the past months, pumpktoberfest is a special time of year, so i've got a WHOLE MONTH'S WORTH of pumpktastic posts lined up for you. get ready, world. you're about to get a heavy dose of horror films & pumpkin beers & snacks & the like.

to start off this pumpktoberfest, we've got the scorcese-directed 1991 remake of cape fear, a thriller starring robert de niro, nick nolte, jessica lange & a young juliette lewis. both de niro (actor) & lewis (supporting actress) were nominated for academy awards for their performances and nolte & lange both hold their own. it also features performances by gregory peck & robert mitchum, who played nolte & de niro's characters in the original. i vaguely remember enjoying it years ago but in going back & watching it, i enjoyed it quite a bit.

it's the story of sam bowden (nolte), a lawyer who defended this dude named max cady (deniro) fourteen years ago & withheld evidence, resulting in cady going to prison. now cady's out & he's kinda pissed. plus, in his fourteen years in prison, he's studied law & found god & shit. that doesn't mean he's not f'n crazy though, so as soon as he gets out of the joint, he starts harassing bowden and his wife (lange) & daughter (lewis). the kicker is that since he's learned law, he's doing it in ways where he can't get in trouble. cady poisons their dog & the cops bring him in, leading (obviously) to him taking off his shirt in a lineup featuring only him. that's when we see all the creepy bible passages tattooed all over his body. shit like "vengeance is mine." bowden's all like "AWESOME."

with no evidence, they let him go & from that point on, cady keeps upping the ante. by the film's end, shizz gets cray & we're treated to a suspenseful frolic filled with definite nods to hitchcock. it's chock full of psychological horrors & features one of scorcese's better endings. oh...& i guess it takes place in CAPE FEAR or some junk...the cape is scary in both name & the events that take place. GENIUS.

f vanessa williams. this pumpktoberfest, we ain't saving the best for last. HELL NO. we're kicking off the season with the pumpkin beer that's got the most attention from me over the few weeks leading up to pumpktoberfest. out of frederick, MD...weighing in at...er...12 fluid ounces...flying dog's THE FEAR imperial ale! it's their brand new pumpkin ale, one complete with a back story about embracing the fear & the usual ralph steadman artwork, this time all evil looking & whatnot for the season.

it pours a dark brown color & upon pouring, you can definitely catch pumpkin & spice scents. what makes it different than most of the pumpkin beers on the market is that it's an imperial ale made with four different malts, including a chocolate malt. they've blended pumpkin puree & "secret spices" into it & all together, even though it's a 9.0% ABV brew, it's not all that strong. the squash flavor takes a back seat to the spices but the malts really come into play in the mix, with chocolate & brown sugar notes.

from what i can tell, it's available in the mid-atlantic area, so if you can usually find flying dog in your area, there's a good chance this'll be on shelves for a little bit longer. HIGHLY recommended as a way to celebrate pumpktoberfest. EMBRACE THE FEAR.