Entry: Thirteen Halloween Movies Monday, October 30, 2006



If you're looking for some Halloween viewing suggestions, check out thirteen of my favorite horror movies.

A Stir of Echoes (1999)
Dismissing this creepy film as a copycat of "The Sixth Sense" would be a mistake. Kevin Bacon is haunted by visions like an itch in his head that he can't scratch, which lead him to a terrible discovery.

Alien (1979)
The crew of a deep-space mining ship are awakened from suspended animation to investigate an alien distress call, only to find out too late that the message was not a call for help... but a warning.

An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Two American tourists in England are attacked by a wolf. One survives... and finds that his subsequent dreams of hunting on all fours are unfortunately real. The twist here is that a werewolf's victims haunt him, urging him to commit suicide.
 
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)
A somewhat campy, yet cool, cross between spaghetti Western and horror. A traveling vampire slayer and his faithful assistant arrive in a European village to deal with a youth-draining vampire. The trick is that each type of vampire can only be killed in a specific way. When one of the victims "turns," Kronos and crew must experiment with various methods of killing him until they find the right way to kill the master vampire.

Carnival of Souls (1962)
After surviving a car crash, Mary's life begins to take a surreal turn, as nightmares become ever more indistinguishable from reality.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)
In this sequel to Night of the Living Dead, a group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall. As in the first movie, it's the relentless, single-minded tenacity of the undead that make them scary.

Event Horizon (1997)
Seven years ago, the ship Event Horizon disappeared into a self-created black hole during a secret trial of its new propulsion system. The last transmission heard was a garbled warning in Latin, of all things. Now the ship has returned, but where has it been... and what unspeakable evil has befallen the crew?

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Barbara visits her father's grave in rural Pennsylvania, never dreaming that the recently-dead are returning to life. She and a few survivors barricade themselves in a remote farmhouse against the growing horde of undead. They're slow-moving, but relentless... and very hungry.

Pitch Black (2000)
A ship full of passengers, including a captured criminal on the way to face justice, crashes on a remote desert planet with three suns. The survivors must work together, pinning their hopes on an abandoned ship at an old mining station. But if the ship was abandoned, where did its crew go? It turns out that the planet is not as devoid of life as it seems... rare night is approaching... and the criminal holds the key to their survival. 

Rosemary's Baby (1968)
When Rosemary and her husband moved into a new apartment, she had no idea that she was about to become pregnant... or that her new neighbors would have an unholy interest in her child. Right up to the the end, the viewer doesn't know whether she really is living in a nest of Satanists, or is just going mad. "Creepy" doesn't even begin to describe this movie.

Suspiria (1977)
An innocent American girl enrolls at a German ballet school, and becomes ever more entangled in a nightmarish world of witches and demonic influences.

The Exorcist (1973)
When a young girl's apparent mental disorder begins showing symptoms like telekenesis and speaking in tongues, her mother is forced to face the truth: her daughter has become posessed by an ancient demon. Let me just say that, of all the horror movies I have ever seen, the crab-walking scene in The Exorcist was the only one that nearly made me leave a theater.

The Wicker Man (1973)
A police officer travels to a small Scottish island to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, but no one seems to have heard of her -- not even her mother. He begins to suspect that the entire island is covering up for a murder... but the truth is far worse, as the investigation becomes a clash between the modern policeman's Christianity and the ancient pagan cult to which the villagers belong. Note: Make sure you get the "director's cut" full version of the film, not the 84 or 88 minute versions.

UPDATE: Be sure to check out 50 Favorite Horror Films Of All-Time at RightWingNews.
   3 comments

Jim
October 31, 2006   12:18 PM PST
 
My personal favourite (for good, clean, scary fun) is Disney's "The Changeling" It was made in 1980 and stars George C. Scott. Great old-fashioned suspense tactics, unlike today's shock and awe gore. Don't judge this movie by its counterpart, "Watcher in the Woods" which is only scary if you are 5 years old.
Irish Diablo
October 31, 2006   12:31 PM PST
 
Here are my Top 10 all-time faves - we have a few in common:


(Alphabetical order)

1. A Stir of Echoes - It really was that much better than "The Sixth Sense." M. Night Shama-lama-ding-dong is totally overrated.


2. Alien - The queen of space horror. You can't get any more frightening than a H.R. Giger design that impregnates people to reproduce.


3. Christine - When I think of horror, the first name that comes to mind is Stephen King. Unfortunately when his books are translated to the silver screen, they all-to-often turn out to be complete garbage. Though a few managed to translate well. Among those select few are "Carrie," "Cujo" and of course, "Christine."


4. Creepshow - Classic stories from the "King" of horror. How can anyone forget, "I can hold my breath a looooooooooooooong tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime?"


5. Friday the 13th - The murderer in the goalie mask who simply will not die. If you saw Kane Hodder on the streets you probably wouldn't know who he was, but he is the actor who gave eternal life to the character of Jason Vorhees.


6. Halloween - There's nothing more scary than a killer wearing a horrific Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) mask. Not only that, but what made Michael Myers so ominous was the fact that he never ran after his victims. He had that cold, maniacal walk that defined his character.


7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers - This was a great horror movie with a nice surprise twist at the end.


8. The Evil Dead - Though both "Evil Dead 2" and "Army of Darkness" are just as classic, this is the original. The movie that spawned one of the most famous cult-classic horror films of our generation. "Give me back my hand!!!"


9. The Exorcist - Absolute all-time greatest classic horror/thriller. How many movies do you know created such a ruckus that priests were offering to "cast off the demons" from those who went to the theaters to see this movie. The power of Christ compels you... to watch this movie!


10. I have reserved this slot for any and every classic horror movie with Vincent Price. No other actor, no other voice exudes excellence in horror than that of Vincent Price. Even his "Black Widow" monologue on the Alice Cooper song is unforgettable. I personally love the renditions of the Edgar Allen Poe classics he did on the big screen.


Two "newer" movies that are of honorable mention are "The Grudge" (or the original Japanese version, "Ju-on") and "Hostel." If you haven't seen "Hostel" yet, it's a must-see. The story is really F'd up to perfection.
Rick
November 7, 2006   05:11 PM PST
 
I would add to the lists the following.

1). Prince of Darkness. This is a very scary film from Halloween director John Carpenter. Very under rated and a real hidden jem. It is about a group of college kids who help a preist prove that the son of the devil is about to release his father to take over the earth.

2). Exorcist 3. The perfect follow up to the original. What a shocker should be.

3). The Exorcisim of Emily Rose. Based on a true event where a priest was put on trial for the death of a girl he was performing an exorcisim on. Very good.

4). Carrie. One of the best film adaptations of any Stephen King novel. This one has some very creepy scenes and is a true classic.

5). Children Shouldn't play with Dead things. Another lost classic. This one involves a group of actors going to a cemetary island to dig up a dead body to use in a ritual, and in doing so unleash the dead upon themselves and the world.

6). Mask of the Red Death. A good Roger Corman horror film with Vincent Price as the lead charictor. Based on the Edgar Allen Poe classic.

7). A Clockwork Orange. While not a true Horror movie, it is a good demonstration of how our society is becomming so permissive towards juvinile criminals. This was written as a futuristic commentary on society but is in fact becoming true in many countries like the UK and France.

8). War of the Worlds. Either the original or the new version with Tom Cruise. Both are good modern tellings of the HG Wells classic novel. The new version has some very good special effects and is one of the few Tom Cruise movies I can stand to watch.

9). From Hell. A good movie based on the Jack The Ripper case. Johnny Depp is excellent as the inspector who investigates the case and uncovers the true identity of the killer.

10). Sleepy Hallow. Another Johnny Depp movie directed by Tim Burton. A good telling of the fable of the Headless Horseman. Very funny in parts and creepy in others.

These are some of my modern favorites. Most of my old time favorites are what I call "Giant Bug Movies". Movies like Them, The Black Scorpion, Trantula and others where mutations have made various species of insect gigantic and attack mankind. Usually mutated due to atomic testing. I have loved these movies since I was a kid. So sue me. lol

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