If you really want to get into the Halloween spirit, then watching a frightening movie is a must.
Every Halloween aficionado will tell you this. There really is nothing better than getting those chills up your spine and having a girl (or guy) you fancy cling to you for dear life as you pretend you’re not scared.
But out of the wide variety of horror movies to pick from, it can be confusing to narrow it down to just one title. After all, there are many. And you likely don’t want to end up with a movie like, say, Frakenhooker (it’s real).
Also, another consideration is whether you want to see an older slasher horror, a psychological thriller, or maybe you just want to see murderous clowns or leprechauns or both. It’s your choice.
Still, a solid list of some tried-and-true classic horror movies is necessary, along with a couple newer suggestions:
The Shining (1980): Director Stanley Kubrick did a stellar job on this flick, despite what the book’s author Stephen King has to say about it. The ominous music and film shots are amazingly creepy, and Jack Nicholson shines (no pun intended) as a progressively worsening, manic, psychopath.
Psycho (1960): Speaking of psychos, why not see Norman Bates, the original cross-dressing mad man? One of the first seminal horror flicks by Alfred Hitchcock.
The Exorcist (1973): A landmark in horror films, The Exorcist makes you feel as though you are the dark prince himself, and is, by no means a pleasant or happy flick. Scenes such as the possessed little girl, Regan, twisting her head around a full 180-degree turn, or crawling down the stairs like a spider, face up, make this movie not for the timid or weak-stomached viewers.
Halloween (1978): The first movie starring America’s favorite serial killer, Michael Myers. Starring a young Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween number one is quite hilarious to watch, and is really is more entertaining for its nostalgic value, showing the many horror clichés it helped initiate. This would include a house on the street that should be avoided, cheesy dialogue, teens partying, an inspector who saves the protagonist, and, of course, the villain feigning death only to get back up.
Se7en (1995): Though not technically classified as a horror film, Se7en easily makes this list. Just watch it in the dark, and see if you don’t get chills. The psychological thriller, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as detectives and Kevin Spacey as the crazed, eerily calm killer, is a Halloween must.
Stephen King’s It (1990): Here is another movie to be viewed primarily for comedy purposes. Apologies to college-age students that It would still frighten. As a kid, this film is nothing short of traumatizing, turning any circus trip into an anxiety-riddled experience. As you get older, however, it turns into a great heckle movie.
28 Days Later… (2002): This one is fairly recent. The cool thing about 228 Days Later is that it’s like a zombie movie but much better. These "zombies" are not brain-dead freaks, moaning and moving sluggishly. They are called "the infected" and are extremely vicious and violent. Pretty graphic violence, in fact, but if you’re looking for something relatively newer that will freak you out, this might be a good choice.
That should do nicely. Now get out to the video store. Halloween only comes once a year; and sure, you can watch horror movies anytime of year, but it’s never as special as during the month of October. Happy Halloween.
