If you haven't gotten into the October groove yet, then I'm here to solve that problem with a prescription of horror movies to awaken that need! Some of these will be classics, while others will be from the last 40 years. Each one serves a purpose for treating the dilemma. So sit back, grab your popcorn, and lets start counting down....
10. Creepshow (1982)
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"Two of the most venerable names in the horror field, author Stephen King and director George A. Romero, present this anthology of original twisted tales inspired by the E.C. horror comics of the 50's and 60's (themselves a more direct basis for the popular Tales from the Crypt TV series). The five stories are framed within the pages of a comic book which a boy's insensitive father has thrown in the garbage." - IMDB
Nowadays, movies like this would get laughed at by teens and tweens alike. But back in the 1980's, these kinds of films ruled the silver screen! To me, it's a classic movie to whip out and put into your DVD player or find on your Netflix. Without this movie, Trick R' Treat would NEVER have been made! That movie was very much inspired by this film and others who tackled many stories in a single film.
This movie also paved the way for television shows to be made, which included Tales from the Crypt and Are You Afraid Of The Dark. Campy stories of that variety for adults and teens alike were a hit. It also inspired the well known writer, R.L. Stine as well. So don't knock this film off your list till you've watched it first!
9) Scream (1996)
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"Scream is a 1996 American slasher film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven. The film stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore, and David Arquette. Released on December 20, 1996, Scream follows the character of Sidney Prescott (Campbell), a high school student in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, who becomes the target of a mysterious killer known as Ghostface. Other main characters include Sidney's best friend Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), Sidney's boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), Billy's best friend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), film geek Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), deputy sheriff Dewey Riley (Arquette), and news reporter Gale Weathers (Cox). The film combined comedy and "whodunit" mystery with the violence of the slasher genre to satirize the cliché of the horror genre popularized in films such as Halloween and Friday the 13th. The film was considered unique at the time of its release for featuring characters who were aware of real world horror films and openly discussed the cliché that Scream attempted to subvert."
A horror movie buff friend started his own list on Facebook and it totally reminded me why this movie is worthy of this list! First off, a movie about teens, talking about horror movies, using a list of rules to not die, and trying to figure out who the killer is! That alone makes for a good movie plot. Kevin Williamson wrote the script in 72 hours, while working on the pre-production of what we know now as Dawson's Creek.
Wes Craven vowed at the time to stop doing horror movies. But little did he know he was holding the gem of horror movie scripts that would revive an entire genre that was dead by 1990. Craven and Williamson, together they created something special that would not give horror a comeback on the big screen, but it changed the way the genre would be forever!
(And it doesn't hurt to add it to your list in honor of the last Wes Craven himself.)
8) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974 or 2003)
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"A group of teenagers on the road in Texas stop off at the wrong farm and encounter a family gone awry. Once abattoir workers, the decay of the Southern rural economy has left them unemployed, and the directionless father and sons take to using their butchering skills on passing people. One by one, the kids encounter members of the grisly family."- IMDB
Whether you can only watch the original, haven't seen the original, or enjoy both, this movie & remake are worth adding to the list every Halloween season. Not just for Leatherface to make an appearance, but for the whole story in general.
The idea that 5 teens get lost out in the middle of nowhere is how every perfect slasher flick and this was the one that started it all! You go back to some serious roots of horror slashers by getting into the 1974 classic. They've now just re-released it mastered to higher quality and crisper imaging on screen, so it's now worth watching again! To see more of what you couldn't the first time, that alone will make this enjoyable.
The scream queen herself, Marilyn Burns, passed away recently. She played the blonde lead in the 1974 version that Jessica Biel took on in the 2003 remake. It should be enough to watch alone, to honor a true horror beauty queen this season.
7) The Hills Have Eyes (1977 or 2006)
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"The Hills Have Eyes is a 2006 horror film and remake of Wes Craven's 1977 film The Hills Have Eyes. Written by filmmaking partners Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur of the French horror film Haute Tension, and directed by Aja, the film follows a family which becomes the target of a group of murderous mutants after their car breaks down in the desert."
So I had the chance to watch the remake. I forgotten how gruesome the remake is! I had also forgotten the faces that have graced the screen as well. The practical effects alone on actors' faces were amazing! I've never truly looked at them untill today and I'm floored by the job!
The movie itself, whether you stick to the classic or give the remake a chance, the plot in itself makes for a good horror film.
6) Evil Dead (1981 or 2013)
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"The Evil Dead is a 1981 American horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi and executive produced by Raimi and Bruce Campbell, who also stars alongside Ellen Sandweiss and Betsy Baker. The Evil Dead focuses on five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a remote wooded area. After they find an audiotape that releases a legion of demons and spirits, members of the group suffer from demonic possession, leading to increasingly gory mayhem."
You can't say "horror movies" without including this classic from the early 80's. It's familiar to anyone who is a huge buff of this genre. Whether you love or hate this film or the remake, you know it's part of the package at this time of year. The sequel is more comedic, yet the original is clearly filled with more horror. With the new Ash vs The Evil Dead slowly approaching on October 31st, if you haven't seen this film yet, you might want to add it to your list so that you can get caught up on why there is a TV show happening now.
Anyway, the original had, at its time of release, some of the most interesting and visually "groovy" techniques that a lot of horror filmmakers have come to use today. The director set forth a new way to capture characters and help break the mold for some ghastly gruesome ways in killing them too. Tom Savini is the mastermind behind these effects (ie - Creepshow, Friday the 13th, etc...) and helped bring Raimi's vision into reality.
5) Friday the 13th (1980 or 2009)
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"Friday the 13th is an American horror franchise that comprises twelve slasher films, a television show, novels, comic books, and tie‑in merchandise. The franchise mainly focuses on the fictional character Jason Voorhees, who drowned as a boy at Camp Crystal Lake due to the negligence of the camp staff. Decades later, the lake is rumored to be "cursed" and is the setting for a series of mass murders."
This film is the main reason, besides the infamous 1978 Halloween, as to why slasher films became the bread and butter of the entire decade of the 1980's.
Mrs. Voorhees started the whole situation and once she was killed off, her son came back to finish the task. The scary part is he doesn't stop there. He goes and kills anyone coming onto the Camp Crystal Lake property. I always figured it was because he doesn't like people trespassing on his private property. I mean Jason never talks, so that could be a reason. I would be pissed too if teens kept having sex on my property.
Even if that's not the case, Voorhees is a force you just don't mess with. From his almost 7" stature to his inability to die, it's easy to fathom why everyone runs from this gun. It also doesn't hurt that he can throw with perfect aim.
So don't forget to add this film to your list this season.
4) Cabin in the Woods (2012)
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"When five college friends (Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams) arrive at a remote forest cabin for a little vacation, little do they expect the horrors that await them. One by one, the youths fall victim to backwoods zombies, but there is another factor at play. Two scientists (Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford) are manipulating the ghoulish goings-on, but even as the body count rises, there is yet more at work than meets the eye." - NewsReview
One of the few movies that mixed some intelligent wit and great timing of horror elements into a new film by the creator Joss Whedon
(Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, DollHouse) and Drew Goddard (Marvel' s Daredevil and Alias).
The film the classic scenario of 5 teens/college students and infuses the idea of a typical slasher film, just one twist: it isn't. And that's what makes this film stand out. You think you know what you're watching, but as you stick around viewing, you start to realize it's not going in the direction of most horror movies. It makes you want to yell out, "DON'T GO IN THERE!" and yet it feels like they might be actually listening to you from the other side of the screen. These characters actually contemplate the typical deaths that could happen if they go into the dark basement or split up to investigate.
The best part is the last 30 minutes of the movie when so much is revealed and if you look back every time you watch it, you notice new creatures/monsters from a few of your other favorite horror films and more (IT, Hellraiser, creature from video games, greek mythology, etc...).
Also it's best to watch this now if you haven't yet, since Hollywood is already in the works of creating a sequel or prequel to this film. But it's just an entertaining film to watch, even if it doesn't scare you.
3) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984 or 2010)
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"In Wes Craven's classic slasher film, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a disfigured midnight mangler who preys on the teenagers in their dreams -- which, in turn, kills them in reality. After investigating the phenomenon, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) begins to suspect that a dark secret kept by her and her friends' parents may be the key to unraveling the mystery, but can Nancy and her boyfriend Glen (Johnny Depp) solve the puzzle before it's too late?" - iHorror
The only horror film where the villain is loved just as much as the teens that try to stop Krueger. Generations have loved this film and the remake, even though it fell short at the box office and had a grittier villain, which shows how much hollywood cares about this series.
From the genuine way that Nancy tries to capture Freddy, the effects were done for this film, to the storyline, you can't help but watch this film at least once a year. This film broke the mold on the monster you should fear because Krueger also loved to use puns and humor when taunting his victims. There only few other villains that did at the time, including Chuckie from Child's Play when he was chasing around his targets or the killers in the Scream franchises.
Once in a while it felt like an after school special with a few of the lines used for the film between the Nancy and her mother, but that was the 80's. Today's teens are very different than they were 30-35 years ago. Hence why the remake it was more current its approach.
Overall, this is a staple in the horror movie diet and shouldn't be skipped.
2) Trick R Treat (2007)
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"Interwoven stories demonstrate that some traditions are best not forgotten as the residents (Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker) of a small town face real ghosts and goblins on Halloween. Tales of terror reveal the consequences of extinguishing a Jack-o-Lantern before midnight and a grumpy hermit's encounter with a sinister trick-or-treater." - Moviefone
One of the few movies that is centered not only on the exact holiday, but features different stories that makes you realize how all the characters are connected to each other by the end of the film. There is also a cautionary take with each story, which makes you remember all the things your parents said t not do and get to see them being implemented in the movie. From not destroying jack-o-lanterns to not eating candy that looks unsafe, each lesson gets it's own story. Many characters start this film thinking they don't have to follow the rulebook, or they can write their own; but they are highly mistake. So many things that go bump in the night get the better of adults and kids alike.
Then you have the one focalized character you see in every story: Sam.
"Sam's name originates from Samhain, the origins of Halloween itself. He is depicted as a child dressed in a Halloween costume, which consists of an orange set of pajamas, and a mask made of a burlap sack with buttons for eyes. Sam drags a dirty sack around with him throughout the film, but its contents are unknown, although as he walks down some steps early in the film, you can hear a cat making noise as sam's sack hits each step. Despite his childlike appearance, it is established that Sam is more demonic than he appears, hiding a pumpkin-shaped head resembling a skull. Dougherty described Sam's head as a cross "between an embryo and a pumpkin'". - Wikipedia
So next time you think you've got the goblins and ghouls beat on halloween, this film i a handy reminder that might not always be the case. So make sure to add this to your list this season.
1) Halloween (1978 or 2007)
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"On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith's Grove. He returns to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims." - MGO
Beyond the obvious reason it's at the top of the list, this film started it all. John Carpenter, with a very tight budget, not only directed but also scored the entire movie himself. In the many interviews he has done over the past 25 years, he always talks about how Michael Myers is meant to be the monster that is lurking around every corner. With suspenseful music setting the tone, he made sure that it built up tension without becoming too 'in-your-face'. Its supposed to psychologically scare you more than anything. You weren't supposed to feel sorry for Myers; you were to fear him at all costs.
Then in the remake, Rob Zombie decided to take a stab at his own spin on the classic. He made you want to understand the villain and why he was a mute. Which to me made no sense, cause I don't want to understand the character -I want to just flat out fear him for what he is: an unstoppable killing force that can't die and doesn't speak.
Overall, this is a classic in any Halloween movie list. Whether you consider this to be not on your top ten or in your top three, it's a film that isn't going anywhere soon.