With Halloween just around the corner, it's time to look at some good Halloween flicks. You'll notice that some tried and true scare flicks are missing in this list like The Shining and Rosemary's Baby. In their stead, I chose some non-traditional Halloween movies, some that have a morbid sense of humor or a trippy, mind-bending suspense quality to them. I hope you enjoy these movies this coming Halloween season.
It's a haunted house movie--IN SPACE!! Instead of a psychopath wearing a scary (silly?) mask, you have a monstrous alien lurking about in the air ducts, looking to kill the members of the Nostromo crew. What's great about this movie is how minimalist the set is, using editing, music and cinematography to convey the terror going on. With slow-burning scares, a running theme of horrific rape, a fearless performance by Sigourney Weaver and the weirdest birthing scene of all time, Alien is a true horror classic.
Laced with the kind of macabre sense of humor Tim Burton is known for, this 80s twist on the haunted house brand of horror is really funny. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are terrific as two ghosts trying to run the Deetz family out of the house which they haunt. The cheap-looking special effects add a bizarre timelessness as this movie looks like something you remember from your childhood. To be honest, I don't really care for Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse but the rest of the movie makes him slightly more bearable.
What says "happy Halloween" better than a ballerina going violently insane from her own unexplored sexuality? Nothing! Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her performance in this over-the-top, melodramatic psycho-horror-sex-thriller that can be alternately ludicrous and legitimately scary. With sinister, mysterious supporting turns from Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey, Black Swan makes for a solid funhouse mirror version of every ballet movie ever made.
Imagine a place where everything is what you desire it to be and yet unnervingly off-kilter. Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) finds that the Other World is a happy refuge from her disaffected real world but, as it usually does, happiness turns to horror. What I like about this movie is that it takes some real childhood issues--feelings of isolation and neglect--and puts a creepy spin on it, making Coraline an effective horror movies for both kids and adults. It is legitimately terrifying but also really beautiful in its animation. Its Oscar loss is one of the dumbest mistakes in Oscar history.
Admittedly, Diabolique is more an exercise in slow building suspense than true horror and that might make it an unsatisfying experience for a viewer looking to be terrified out of his or her mind. But it's a fun movie to watch because a lot of the scenes are really tense and suspenseful. Filmed in a sleek, mysterious black and white, the movie takes a typical noir plot and turns it on its head, mixing in some elements of the supernatural. The twists at the end are good even if decades of horror/suspense may have spoiled them for a first time watcher.
While The Game isn't your typical Halloween fare, it works as a twist on the haunted house theme where the haunted house is actually the outside world. Michael Douglas' Nick Van Orten has to travel to different locations each even more terrorizing than the last. Fincher's signature visual style makes this an unnerving experience backed by an outstanding performance from Douglas. As the movie piles on twist after twist, the sense of paranoia reaches an unbearable height until the satisfying but bizarre ending.
This one is probably the most traditional Halloween movie on this list for obvious reasons. Though the legacy of Halloween has been tarnished by dumb sequels and an unnecessary remake, the impact of the movie is still fresh after 30+ years. The movie is scary, utilizing dread and silences to their max effect. Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Psycho star Janet Leigh, shot to fame as a "scream queen" and her layered performance carries the movie. Unlike most modern slasher movies, this one isn't too violent but it's much better for it.
This Japanese fever dreamlike film is like a psychadelic head trip filled with sinister cats, young teenage girls with names like Gorgeous, Kung Fu and Melody, attacking mattresses and carnivorous pianos. No kidding. Not so much scary as morbid, creepy and downright weird. The movie, about a group of girls who visit a house with a mind of its own, is funny and disturbing and often in the same frame. House is a movie that relies on the viewer just going with it; it's a fun ride especially because of the frenetic editing and creepy sound design.
Stop-motion animation seems like a perfect fit for Halloween-themed movies as seen above with Coraline and Bettlejuice and below with ParaNorman. This whimsical blending of Halloween mischief and Christmas values is a film that has a lot of heart, wonder and magic but it doesn't lose its scares and jumps. With creative songs, a cool visual flair and terrific voice cast, The Nightmare Before Christmas is an enduring classic that works on both holidays.
Strangely released in mid-August (probably to avoid competition with other animated movies Hotel Transylvania and Frankenweenie) ParaNorman will unfortunately just miss the Halloween 2012 season with a Blu-ray release in November. But I think it will develop a small cult following in the future because it works as a loving parody of old school zombie movies. This is a joke-filled movie with lots of heart and some genuine scares. Deconstructing the cliches that come with ghosts, zombies and witches, ParaNorman is fresh and affectionate with a terrific message and voice cast.
I watch Psycho every Halloween. Well I have since 2010 and I intend to continue the tradition. Psycho is generally considered the father of the slasher movie and it definitely started the trend of violent but sexy movies with low budgets and a cast of sexy but relatively unknown actors (the most famous cast member being Janet Leigh, mother of Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis). While decades of inferior clones and film criticism may have spoiled the ending, Psycho remains an effective horror movie and that is due to the confident direction by Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock and of course Bernard Herrmann's iconic score.
Okay, not exactly a traditional Halloween movie. But it has a morbid sense of humor and the Oompa Loompas are foreboding enough to give you nightmares. And the way the kids are dispensed with throughout the movie is like the way the cast of a more traditional horror movie is killed off, with Charlie Bucket as the "final girl." Find me someone who wasn't and isn't still scared by the boat ride scene and I'll show you a liar. This movie is whimsical with a dash of the sinister and macabre and it's a fun movie to watch on Halloween, especially since it's a classic without a designated month for premium viewing (like Ben Hur on Easter).
Brooks' affectionate parody of 1930s horror movies is a great movie to watch if you're not into the whole "being scared" thing. Timeless gags, wacky supporting characters and a brilliantly unhinged performance by Gene Wilder make this a comedy classic. Made in black and white, Young Frankenstein recreates the mood and the cheap special effects of the 1930s with winking sex jokes that are totally 1970s. This is definitely a comedy that you can watch over and over.
Some other hits: Repulsion, Peeping Tom, The Birds, The Ring, The Woman in Black
I hope you liked my list. I definintely had fun writing it up. Let me know what you think in the comments. Have a happy Halloween!
Some other hits: Repulsion, Peeping Tom, The Birds, The Ring, The Woman in Black
I hope you liked my list. I definintely had fun writing it up. Let me know what you think in the comments. Have a happy Halloween!
1 comment:
Love that you included The Game!! I'm definitely going to try to get through this list before the end of the month :)
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