13 Movies for a Dark and Stormy Halloween
Oct 06 '00 (Updated Oct 09 '03)
The Bottom Line It's Halloween again, and these movies can create the mood and the scary vibe for ANY Halloween party...
Halloween is approaching and everything is starting to scour their memory for that one movie to play during their Halloween parties. The problem is that you can’t just have one – there are too many great movies that are destined to be played across the country on this festive night (sadly, most of the world hasn’t discovered the pleasures of Halloween...). These aren’t necessarily the greatest horror films, but the best ones for that dark and stormy night where friends gather and watch in terror together.
Whether for a single room in your own little haunted house party or for a complete Scare-Fest Halloween night (which sadly falls on a Tuesday this year), these movies are guaranteed to have you looking over your shoulder at every little noise for nights to come. So grab your witches brew, turn off the lights, fire up some candles and eat the bags of candy you didn’t hand out, ‘cause there’s someone or something knockin’ on the door...
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1 - Halloween (1978) -- Even beyond the name, this is the movie for Halloween night. Michael Myers – a child who makes Jason Vorhees look like Barney the Friendly Dinosaur – is out on the loose and looking to pick up where he left off so many years ago. After escaping from the asylum where he was placed for hacking apart his promiscuous sister, he returns to his old neighborhood to look for naughty little girls. Jamie Lee Curtis debuts here as the stalked babysitter, while Donald Pleasance plays the hero scientist with a desperate candor. Make no mistake, director John Carpenter uses his skills at using tension and pure anxiety rather than slasher skills to scare the heck out of you. And make sure to lock the door before you hit ‘PLAY’...
Oh, and don’t open the door for ANY sequels. Trust me on this...
2 - Dracula (1931) -- Bela Lugosi plays the ultimate in old movie monsters, creating the image of the vampire that all would follow after. The film, directed by Ted Browning, is a classic in it’s own right, but particularly as a horror film. Lugosi’s desire and pursuit of waif Helen Chandler is portrayed brilliantly in black and white, even without the special effects of later films. Subtle quality replaces it and gives this movie an aura that most horror movies of today lack. Lugosi’s Dracula is the quintessential vampire, and no one – and I mean no one – will ever utter those immortal words as well as he, with his peculiar accent: “I am Count ... Dracula”. This is a great movie to watch as an opener, and a classic monster movie for Halloween.
3 - The Exorcist (1973) -- What horror-filled night would be complete without a little girl’s head spinning completely around? Although you can see the re-release in theatres (see what George Lucas has wrought?), the VHS/DVD version should suffice for your viewing pleasure. Not for the faint-hearted, 14-year old Linda Blair looks like Buffy’s latest victim, acts like Damien having a temper-tantrum and sounds like Richard Pryor in a Holly Hobbie nightie. Not to mention the things with a crucifix that make you realize that the girl just ain’t right. Father Damian Karras (Jason Miller) provides a great performance as the exorcist who tried to rid this girl of the evil spirit which has possessed her. One of the most visually terrifying movies of the genre, no night of terror could ever be complete without this movie.
4 - Poltergeist (1982) -- Sometimes it’s hard to know which is creepier – this movie or the real-life tragedies that followed it. Outside of the film, both daughters (Dominique Dunne & Heather O’Rourke) were killed in violent odd circumstances. Seeing them now on the screen makes this movie that much more eerie. Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams play the parents of three children (including the willowy and haunting O’Rourke). Nelson, a real estate developer, moves his family into a dream house, where they start to encounter some of the typical settling in problems with new homes – moving chairs, phantoms on the stairways ... oh, and an inter-dimensional void in their daughter’s bedroom which steals Carol Anne away. This film was a special effects delight and featured some freaky sequences which scared many a viewer. The hauntings in Poltergeist are some of the best in the movies, giving you that creeping feeling up your own back as you watch the spookiness unfold.
5 - Friday the 13th, Parts I & II (1980 & 1981) -- This was a tough choice to make, so I didn’t make it. Both Part I and Part II offer their own brand of classic terror and both are completely different. Although each uses the slasher mentality, Part I adds a more tension-filled build-up to a stunning climax – not since “PSYCHO” has Mom been so scary. Part II has little Jason as a much bigger fella, and he’s got some hereditary homicidal mania to share. This installment of what beget a blithering and inane saga is the only true “Jason” episode which pulls off the slasher motif without being tired and used (well, the scene in Ep. IV where the girl drops the porch roof is amusing as hell, but other than that...). Extra points go for pretty much single-handedly establishing the “rules” for slasher horror.
6 - Phantasm (1979) -- The dark horse of my picks, few people have had a chance to experience the jewel of the horror genre. There is nobody in it that you have ever heard of – their careers begin and end pretty much with this series – but the movie scared me out of a week of sleep after seeing it at the drive-in (remember those?). Phantasm went for the psychological terror, creating a growing unease and then fear for the two boys who discover strange things going on at the morgue next store. Tall Man (played chillingly by Angus Scrimm), decides to make these boys pay for their curiosity in a multitude of increasingly scary ways. Phantasm features such delectable delights as a yellow squirming finger which comes alive and the nearly-famous flying sphere. The movie is a hidden classic, frightening you and making you wonder if you might want to walk on the other side of the street from that strange house down the road from now on...
7 - Omen (1976) -- You think that your child or sibling was bad? At least they weren’t the third Antichrist! In this horror masterpiece starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, the parents of little Damien (played masterfully by the young Harvey Stephens), find themselves surrounded by strange events. It seems that the new Prince of Evil in Pampers is causing mysterious deaths to all those who might stand in his way. Patrick Toughton and David Warner play a priest and a photographer, respectively, who know the truth about the adoption of Damien, while Mrs. Baylock (Billie Whitlaw) makes Norman Bates’ mom look like Mrs. Brady. This movie was one of the first non-monster horror movies I saw as a kid (I was 7, and it was on HBO) and it was probably not the kind of thing a 7-year old should watch. But as an adult movie, the innocently evil Damien’s existence creates an especially scary movie for a Halloween night.
8 - Frankenstein (1943) -- What Lugosi did for vampires, Boris Karloff did for Frankenstein’s monster (no, "it" was not Frankenstein – read Shelley and you’ll understand). Karloff carries this film, which also starred Colin Clive as Doctor Frankenstein, creating a remarkably tragic character out of a monster. Even under 4 hours of make-up, you can see the struggle of this modern Prometheus goes through. Although DeNiro’s version holds much truer to the book, this version will remain the epitome of what Frankenstein is to movie watchers.
9 - Sixth Sense (1999) -- The first movie given to us by M. Night Shyamalan, this was a classic in every sense of the word. He never relies on slasher techniques, instead building up incredible tension and fright by what he DIDN'T show you. In a sense, what you CAN'T see is what makes this movie so damn eerie (similar to the Blair Witch Project. On top of that, Shyamalan's little twist at the end adds a Hitchcock-esque feeling to it - fright and so much more.
10 - Sleepy Hollow (2000) -- Although campy at times, Tim Burton’s vision of this legend is nothing short of fantastic. The story has been adapted (no longer is Ichabod Crane the coward; instead Johnny Depp infuses him with a bit of spine and spirit as the investigating constable), but still holds most of the fright that the original story did. It’s delivered as pure Burton – taking a relatively simple story and transforming it into an elegant spectacle of style and spirit. In this case, that spirit has a completely different form, however – the terrifying figure of the Horseman, which provides a magnificent scare in a movie full of them. But don’t expect this ex-Disney artist to hold back on the gore – there is a bit of that as well, although it definitely adds to the film. Christina Ricci also stars in this film where Ichabod manages to also have a love interest (and not just a distant crush). A great feature for this set of films.
11 - Scream (1996) -- After so many years of “Jason Terrorizes Someone Else Somewhere. Again.”, “Halloween XXXIII” and other soporific horror flicks, Scream broke out with something new and wonderful. Wes Craven broke out of his near-failure string to create a smart, funny and actually frightening tale which took the country by surprise. This movie is part horror, part teen-flick and part comedy and it amazingly works. I can’t say that it scared ME, but it – as well as later movies The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense and What Lies Beneath - restored my faith that someone could create a new idea and run with it in the horror genre. This movie is best served as a break during the horror-fest, to set them up for the next nail-biter...
12 - The Howling (1981) -- The ultimate werewolf film. No offense to Lon Chaney, but this movie rocked. The werewolves are scary and human enough that they know how to terrorize you in a completely novel way. When a reporter visits a camp to ‘get away from it all’ she finds out that most of those around have a lot more on their minds than the pressures of life – they are fearing a full moon. The special effects are a bit passe now, but at the time were top-notch. The story is also strong and although it avoids most of the werewolf legends, it creates new ones in great fashion. And besides, what would Halloween be without at least ONE werewolf?
13 - Blair Witch Project (1999) -- Love it or hate it, this is one of the best horror movies in years. The movie can be hard to watch, but lends itself to a darkened room and burning candles for effect. Three students set out to search for the mysterious “Blair Witch”, and they disappear without a trace. Years later, their equipment is found and the mystery is revealed. The movie never reveals the things that stalk them, and that effect makes this a particularly effective movie. The tension that the directors are able to generate using a unique effect of video cameras and Super 8 helps set the mood for the film, and the actors do a great job at showing their fear of the unknown that surrounds and follows them. The final scene was one of the scariest cinema moments in the last 15 years and provides a great finale to a Halloween Night of Fright.
HONORABLE MENTION: Student Bodies (1981) -- This film is probably one of the dumbest and yet most hilarious horror spoofs out there. It seems that someone has started killing off the sexually promiscuous local teens in an effort to stamp out pre-marital sex. The students – typical of high schoolers and horror movie victims in general – ignore the danger signs until too late. The heroine gets the aid of various friends in trying to solve the wacky crimes of “The Breather” who has a penchant for ‘horse-head bookends’. This movie has to be taken lightly; any horror film with a blinking kill tally after each murder deserves nothing less. This is a very fun break in the horror that most of these other films present.
Amityville Horror (1979) -- Previously #9 -- Based on a true story (what? That there really is a house in Amityville?), this story is The Exorcist meets Poltergeist. After moving into their wonderful new house, a family discovers a wee bit of info that the real estate agent left out – the fact that the house was possessed. Demonic happenings provide a full round of fright as the house fights and attempts to destroy its new tenants by infusing the spirit of a homicidal killer (the son of the previous tenants) into the husband’s body. Stars James Brolin and Margot Kidder
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This list is not by any means a complete one. Individual tastes may vary so no one list will satisfy everyone but picking from this list will definitely give you some of the best Halloween horror movies out there – you won’t be disappointed. At the same time, there are many movies conspicuously absent. Some great horror movies just don’t fit the Halloween theme (Fright Night, American Werewolf in London) while others just missed the cut (Dawn of the Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). But take heart – there are always other dark and stormy nights to try out a few more...
--Marty
Update 10/9/03... Over the last couple of years since I wrote this, there have been some good horror films that have come out. I was originally going to edit my list, but after reading realized that other than The Sixth Sense, the list still holds true.
That being said, I thought that I could offer some more in the 'Honorable Mentions' category of some more recent Halloween-y movies, as well as a classic I missed before. So, if you already enjoyed my list before, here are some new choice for this year.
The Ring One of the few movies to really get it right. Most of the 'horror' movies anymore are no more than slasher films or great special effects. This film goes further, exploring the fears that live deep inside us, the things that scare us most. The film within the film is truly disturbing - but the impending terror of knowing that you might only have 7 days before a horrible death is a great tool toward true horror. A great film for any night - not just Halloween...
Final Destination Does Death ever really take a holiday? Not if you ask this crew of kids who have narrowly averted Death's plan. The Grim Reaper, however, is not so easily avoided, and he comes up with unique ways to track down the missing names in his Book of the Dead.
Creature from the Black Lagoon How did I miss this one the first time around? Another classic monster movie, I must have seen this one 100 times. The creature, something we just can't understand, terrorizes the people around it as it tries to deal with these new-found enemies.
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If you would like better (i.e. more thorough) reviews of these movies, I have picked my favorites of the batch. Please check them out...
Halloween by spraybottle
Dracula by Grouch
Exorcist by Trotterman
Poltergeist by SkylarDelaney
Friday the 13th, Pt. I by Mike Bracken
Friday the 13th, Pt. II by ZentropaJK
Phantasm by ZentropaJK
Omen by knix
Frankenstein by ladydagney1
Amityville Horror by CLKneeland
Sleepy Hollow by Grouch
Scream by Mike Bracken
The Howling by Grendelguy
Blair Witch Project by mangiotto
Student Bodies by schapman
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Member: Marty
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