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What with Halloween kicking off today (and let’s face it Lake Tahoe loves Halloween) I thought I would share a few personal scary favorites that I watch again and again. These are ten of my personal favorites that I watch not just on Halloween either. Although what with all that is happening on Wall Street and the financial markets these movies might be a little tame. Reality. Now THAT is scary! Oh, all of these flicks received the coveted 5 out of 5 bagel rating by the way.
“Halloween”R (1978)
What better way to begin than with the title flick that would spawn so many sequels? “Halloween” is director/writer John Carpentaer’s horror masterpiece and introduced us to the new ‘Queen of Scream,” Jamie Lee Curtis and a Sci-Fi standard, the late great Donald Pleasence as Dr. Sam Loomis. “Halloween” had it all didn’t it? A psychotic murderer, The Shape (later to be known as Michael Myers in subsequent sequels) who loved to slash his victims, a terrifying music that sticks to your soul and by far one of the most frightening experiences I have ever had in a theater. There were some equally scary sequels but nothing that captured that first scream as the original.
“Alien,” R (1979)
To this day when you witness that alien bursting out of John Hurt’s stomach you know that director Ridley Scott’s terrifying flick has you captivated. “Alien” and it’s sequel, “Aliens” (1986) are still two of the better Sci Fi/Horror flicks out there even though their version of high tech by today’s standards looks antiquated. The aliens are still some of the creepiest and scariest I have ever seen in a movie which by the way were based on the work of H. R. Giger (for which he received an Academy Award under Best Visual Effects category).
“The Exorcist,” R (1973)
It would forever typecast a little known actress, Linda Blair into always being that possessed girl who spit up that pea soup. One of the scariest and psychologically tinged movies, “The Exorcist” caused a sensation when it first premiered including religious protestors that of course only made me want to see it more! And yes, there were countless sequels and prequels but none of them hold up to the mother of all satanic movies.
“Hellraiser,” R (1987)
Clive Barker knows a thing or two when it comes to messing with people’s minds and this to me is one of his best in that department and one of the most original too. Originally titled, “Sadomasochists from Beyond the Grave,” Barker (who wrote, directed and produced) must have been on some sort of medication (or stopped taking it!) when he came up with this classic horror gem. The character of Pinhead, the lead Cenobite is truly one of the more original icons in horror. You’ll never play with a Rubik’s Cube again if you haven’t seen this classic that’s for sure. Go ahead I dare ya!
“The Grudge,” R (2004)
Based on Takashi Shimizu’s Japanese movie, “Ju-On: The Grudge”) the American version is just as good. Why? Because someone out there in Hollywood was smart enough to let Takashi Shimizu do a remake from his own movie! How about that? The original creator gets to do his own work and wow-the results are impressive. Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as an American nurse living and working in Tokyo, she discovers (and is exposed) to a mysterious curse that causes a person to experience an uncontrollable rage before taking their life. The part that still creeps me out is that of images of zombied looking kids in this waterlogged black and white image with freaky noises that stay with you long after the movie has ended. You’ll never want to enter an uninhabited house again unless accompanied by an army of eye witnesses.
“The Thing,” R (1982)
Hands down the best remake ever!! I first saw this as a double feature not knowing what to expect and oh my! I was literally blown out of my seat it was that good. Starring a bearded Kurt Russell as the head of an American Antarctic expedition, “The Thing” still boasts some of the best special effects ever and has an all-star stellar cast that includes Wilford Brimley, T. K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard A. Dysart and Charles Hallahan. Directed by the master himself, John Carpenter, you’ll be grabbing anything when you see what happens when an alien being replicates itself into anything starting with huskies and moving on up from there. Every movie mentioned so far has had a sequel or two and yet this one is the one that I wanted to see a sequel but alas-Carpenter felt otherwise.
“Poltergeist,” PG-13 (1982)
Would you believe that back then executive producer (and writer) Steven Spielberg had to lobby to give this movie a PG rating? The film was originally given an R rating so he (along with the filmmakers) protested successfully and got a PG rating (the PG-13 rating did not exist at the time). This was the movie that gave us the immortal line, “They’re baaaaaack” that was uttered by Heather O’Rourke, the cute little blonde who played Carol Anne, daughter of to Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams in the movie. The movie is a stark reminder of what happens when developers, in their zeal to construct urban sprawl forget to move bodies from a cemetery they are building on. The movie took on a life of its own with real life actors dying in each production. The eldest daughter in the movie (played by Dominique Dunne) was killed in real life by her boyfriend upon completion of the first film. Actor Julian Beck died of stomach cancer after shooting the second film and actress Heather O’ Rourke died of a mystery case of intestinal stenosis shortly before completion of the third film. Also, many cast members’ careers have suffered after appearing in the films. The ghosts at first appear friendly moving moving objects around the house to the amusement of everyone but then they turn nasty and start to terrorize the family before they “kidnap” Carol Anne. Still a great ‘scare factor’ to this day, “Poltergeist” has a great story and great effects that rival only that of “The Thing.”
“Psycho,” PG (1960)
The one movie that would forever make showers a creep experience (if you’re a woman) and would brand those of the male species who were too close to their mom a horror just waiting to unfold. Think of it as a momma’s boy becoming momma. Leave it to Alfred Hitchcock to deliver one of the truly frightening masterpieces of all time. Phoenix office worker Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam (John Gavin) at lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony payments. One Friday afternoon Marion is entrusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and run, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam's California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man called Norman (Anthony Perkins) who seems to be dominated by his mother.
You know a movie has stood the test of time when taking a shower still freaks out women after seeing this classic ("Psycho" is famed for its shower murder sequence. Also, there were three sequels but none could capture the same uncomfortable feeling as this one did.
Some Trivia About “Psycho”
Hitchcock insisted that audiences should only be allowed to see the film from the start. This was unheard of back then as people were used to just coming in at any point during a movie. The reason for this was that the film was advertised as starring Janet Leigh, but her character is killed in the first half of the film. After the film's release Hitchcock received an angry letter from the father of a girl who refused to have a bath after seeing "Les Diaboliques" (which was released in 1954), and now refused to shower after seeing "Psycho." Hitchcock sent a note back simply saying "Send her to the dry cleaners"
“28 Days Later,” R (2003)
Movies that contained a virus theme in them have always creeped me out because you can’t see them and in the current client we live in you never know what’s going to kill our species first. Will it be an in-your-face detonated device or an anthrax type of monster? Whichever it might be director Danny Boyle plays on that scenario combining the terror of its after effects and the tried and true zombie story. The movie also takes a look at what might happen if we experiment on things that go unchecked. It’s that ‘unknown’ element that can be the scariest physchologically. Londoner Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up in a hospital room all alone. No one else is in the entire hospital. He puts his clothes on, walks out into the empty streets. He does meet other survivors but how long will they survive? Not just that but it’s the manner in which they die that will make you writhe.
“Night Of The Living Dead,” R (1968)
If this movie were made today it would be considered tame for the current crop of gore permeating the marketplace, but “Night of the Living Dead” is a true classic that definitely deserves its place in the Smithsonian Institute of Horror.
The movie is still quite effective. I had the rare privilege of seeing this film in a theater at a midnight screening. The audience found themselves screaming and jumping as I did in certain parts of the film. It's raining weird rays from outer space that causes the dead to awaken from their graves to feed on human flesh for sustenance. After seeing this movie originally on television, I never slept near my sister again. This movie falls into the same category with “The Haunting” in my mind, where I can't decide if it is my all time favorite horror film but ranks right up there.
There are so many other flicks that make Halloween worth celebrating include the original “Saw” (2004), “Basket Case” (1982), “Night of The Living Dead” (1968), “The Omen” (1976), “House of Wax” (not the Paris Hilton version but the original 1953 rendition with Vincent Price), “The Haunting” (1963), “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984), “The Blair Witch Project” (1999), “Scanners” (1981) and the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece, “The Birds” (1963). For campy horror fun you must see “An American Werewolf in London” (1981), “Scream” (1996) and “Shaun of the Dead” (2004). |
