Short list of Halloween movies...short movie reviews for people with short attention spans!
Spoilers Possible!!!
Normally I would start this with a movie poster and let you know who the director is, then who stars in the movie. Immediately after that I would give my thoughts on the whole thing to include the production, costumes, acting, etc. This one is more about the movies that pushed me into the love affair that I have with the Horror genre. I will not be rating these movies but will be talking about what scared me about them.
So here is a Top 10 of sorts of the movies that scared the hell out of me growing up but that I appreciate more now.
In no particular order:
This movie was directed by the horror movie legend himself Wes "MF'ing" Craven, who also directed classics like Last House on the Left, and The Hills Have Eyes. He scared more people over his career than he could ever have counted, sadly he passed away in 2015 but left behind a fantastic legacy.
Plot
Two adults and a juvenile break into a house occupied by a brother and sister and their stolen children. There, they must fight for their lives.
What I Think
The People Under the Stairs had a few things that bothered me and scared me as well. Never mind the whole incestuous love affair by our villains, that is a whole other story. What bothered me is that these folks had kidnapped a small army of boys and mutilated them, then starved them, and then kept them in the basement to use one day for protection. Next, they kept a girl that they basically tortured physically and mentally. Even as a kid the thought that someone would treat a child like this bothered me, now that I am a father it bothers me even more.
The main thing that I got from this movie is that monsters aren't real, but they exist in humanity itself. Deep right.
Clive Barker wrote and directed Hellraiser, Candyman, and Lord of Illusion. He is also an accomplished author and occasionally an actor.
Plot
An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover; the demonic cenobites are pursuing him after he escapes their sadomasochistic underworld.
What I think
Hellraiser as a whole is very disturbing, from the way the movie starts to the S&M gear of Pinhead, there is plenty to be fearful of. The main thing that got me is the fact that a dumb ass decided to unlock a puzzle box that released not only a gory trap of death but a demon of epic proportions. A demon that had a huge love of extreme suffering without the benefit of a safe word. Also, I was not very fond of the fact that you had a dude that was skinned alive just kind of stealing other peoples skin. This movie is a little bit gross but acts as a kind of cautionary tale that basically ends in an existence of nonstop pain and suffering. Don't sign me up for that.
The Exorcist was directed by William Friedkin who also directed The French Connection and Cruising. His most recent movie, 2017, was a documentary called The Devil and Father Amorth.
Plot
When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.
What I Think
I am a Catholic and do believe in the Devil as it is in the bible. The thought that a demon could possibly enter my body and take control of my mind has always been a fear of mine. Was I being paranoid or was I letting my religion dictate how I perceived what "Captain Howdy" was doing to Reagan? Who knows...all I know is that there is a point in a persons life where you have to ask yourself if you would allow anyone to tell you "Your mom sucks d***s in hell". I would have to say that is a Texas sized hell no. Even with that if you throw up on me and talk to me in tongues there is a chance I will get the hell out of there. Great movie.
John Carpenter directed The Thing and insisted that his name be above the title as he also did with his other little movie called John Carpenter's Halloween. This master of horror has been scaring us for 4+ decades with other movies like The Prince of Darkness, In the Mouth of Madness, and The Fog.
Plot
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
What I Think
The Thing made it hard to enjoy spaghetti for a while, if you have seen it then you know why. If you were in an isolated area with 10 other people and limited communication with anyone else then you can see how that, with the addition of an intruder entering your area, can cause an unbelievable amount of paranoia. The alien that is in this movie becomes its victims to lure others unknowingly to their deaths. That in itself is terrifying, what makes everything worse is that once it is discovered it transforms into something not of this earth that caused extreme nightmares for me in my childhood and made me very wary of people that I was unfamiliar with. It brought a whole new level of stranger danger to my doorstep.
As stated earlier, Wes Craven also directed this movie...need I say more?
Plot
A monstrous spirit of a slain child murderer seeks revenge by invading the dreams of teenagers whose parents who were responsible for his untimely death.
What I Think
Right from the start we see that someone is sharpening knives and attaching them to a glove that is later placed in a menacing fashion to instill an unsettling feeling within you. This, in turn, sets off a chain of events that include the killing of high schoolers under mysterious circumstances. As soon as you see Tina getting killed by an invisible entity all over a room, to include the ceiling, there is an unimaginable amount of tension. When you first get a look a Freddy walking down the alley with those super long arms and then cutting off his fingers, the fear gets ratcheted up a bit more. This movie made going to sleep scary and it accomplished its mission. I was very scared.
John Carpenter opened up the flood gates with this feature by not just introducing Michael Myers but by creating a soundtrack that makes you hair stand on end.
Plot
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
What I Think
As we witness the actions of the young Michael killing his sister there is a feeling of terror that we are complicit in the murder. By putting us in the act we are every bit as guilty as Michael but it also shows us what we are dealing with...a monster. The way he stalked Laurie Strode throughout the movie and killed everyone with no empathy or remorse showed that he was indeed vicious and unstoppable. His inability to be killed even when he is shot numerous time adds to the absolute evil inside this man. A true original and innovator at the time ensured that the movie Halloween would etch its place in horror movie history.
Although Sean S. Cunningham directed the first Friday the 13th he produced many of the others to include Jason goes to Hell, Jason X, Freddy vs Jason, and Friday the 13th (2009).
Plot
A group of camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp where, years before, was the site of a child's drowning and a grisly double murder.
What I Think
As I look back at this one, the fact that there were these horny teenagers working to open this camp up but at the same time get as laid as possible was a funny premise. You had the head counselor who was basically a creep. You had the one goofy counselor that dressed like an Indian Chief at one point that was a bit annoying. There were the damsels in distress. Then you had the one decent guy and your final girl. The scariest part of this movie is that you don't really know who the killer is until the end. There are some minor hints but the big reveal is very surprising. Still the murders are bloody, and the plot is good. The final jump scare is what solidified the horror aspect for me and made me look forward to the sequel.
Tobe Hooper directed the original TCSM as well as part 2. He also directed The Mangler, Night Terrors, and Toolbox Murders (2004). Sadly he passed away in 2017.
Plot
Two siblings and three of their friends en route to visit their grandfathers grave in Texas end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths and must survive the terrors of Leather Face and his family.
What I Think
From the moment you hear the flash bulbs you know that what you are about to see is going to be strange. Not only are our unsuspecting victims clueless in the amount of danger they are in, they also decide to make several horrible decisions that, in essence, led to their deaths. First off, never pick up hitch hikers...never. Secondly, never go into another persons house and snoop around. Lastly, if you hear anything along the lines of creepy (i.e. a chain saw going in the background or banjos) get the hell out of there.
Leather Face solidified his position in the horror genre as one of the scariest MF'er out there. In the mongoloid and brutal murderer categories his only real rival is Jason Voorhees. Great movie, very scary, and traumatic in its own right.
Leather Face solidified his position in the horror genre as one of the scariest MF'er out there. In the mongoloid and brutal murderer categories his only real rival is Jason Voorhees. Great movie, very scary, and traumatic in its own right.
Yes, Tobe Hooper directed this one as well and it helped to usher in a new level of fear in the paranormal world.
Plot
A family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
What I Think
This movie is probably the reason I have a fear of the dark and ventriloquist dummies. The paranormal world was opened up and introduced people to a new term: Poltergeist. In most cases people had heard of hauntings or ghosts but didn't really know anything about violent manifestations that can interact in negative ways with humans. Even though this movie caused me to have great fear, it opened me up to something that I didn't know that I needed to know. It paved the way for other paranormal movies and shows that millions of people enjoy daily and created a job that nobody knew existed...paranormal investigator. Great movie with a curse attached to it.
John Landis, more known for his comedy movies like National Lampoon's Animal House and The Blues Brothers brought forth this horror movie with a comic edge.
Plot
Two American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
What I Think
What I Think
I never really wanted to go to England when I was young and this movie cemented that there was no reason to go there. Are you telling me that there are small villages in the UK where people know that there are these things out there and choose to not believe it? Sorry but I visit that country. Later in life I lived in England for a few years and truly enjoyed the country. This movie had 3 of the greatest jump scares of all time 1) When the werewolf attacks Jack. 2) After David wakes from the mutant Nazi dream and the mutant Nazi kills the nurse. 3) While David is dreaming again and he is waken up with the crazy demon face. All in all Rick Baker (SFX Makeup) did a fantastic job of creating a werewolf transformation scene that hurt to watch.
George A. Romero created the Zombie genre as we know it today. His vision of a zombie trilogy was realized in the Night, Dawn, and Day of the Dead franchise and this aided in the paranoia and terror that we have in recent years with the release of The Walking Dead of which he inspired. Sadly, he passed away in 2017 in Toronto, Canada. He is greatly missed.
Plot
A ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farm house to remain safe from a blood thirsty, flesh eating breed of monsters who are ravaging the East Coast of the United States.
What I Think
This is the definitive start of a sub genre. The dead rise and eat the living. That right there is what fuels nightmares, cannibalism. The fear that someone you know and love who has passed on will come back only to feast on you. That terror was passed on to a generation that was convinced that the Russians were going to drop a nuclear weapon on them anytime. As a kid, this movie created so much tension because of the dynamic of the people in the farm house and how the communicated and listened to (or ignored) each other. The human portion of the movie was scary and the zombies were there to create the external tension. This was a great movie and it still holds up.
What is in your Top 10 Horror movies list? Did I hit on one of you favorites?
Leave a Comment and let me know what movie scares you?
This is the definitive start of a sub genre. The dead rise and eat the living. That right there is what fuels nightmares, cannibalism. The fear that someone you know and love who has passed on will come back only to feast on you. That terror was passed on to a generation that was convinced that the Russians were going to drop a nuclear weapon on them anytime. As a kid, this movie created so much tension because of the dynamic of the people in the farm house and how the communicated and listened to (or ignored) each other. The human portion of the movie was scary and the zombies were there to create the external tension. This was a great movie and it still holds up.
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What is in your Top 10 Horror movies list? Did I hit on one of you favorites?
Leave a Comment and let me know what movie scares you?
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