So Halloween falls on a Monday this year, but you want to celebrate the entire weekend with a film festival of scary flicks. Well, you can get anything, but I think there are some essentials and some rules to follow. One is that the movies can't just be scary. They have to have some scary character that couldn't technically looks like anyone you know. For this reason, movies like Jaws and Pan's Labyrinth, while great, aren't really this holiday's theme. People who go crazy are good, but not realistic enough. We need someone behind a mask or in some sort of disguise. So the Omen, The Shining, and Audition are out. Van Helsing has all the characters associated with horror, but it is pretty much fluff, so it's out too. So are Candyman, Hellraiser and Phantasm because the majority of them just aren't that scary. So let's go with five movies. Double features on Friday and Saturday and a solo flick to top it off Sunday. This will get us ready for the big day on Monday.
Friday night one should thrust themselves into the terror. My suggestion is the original Nosferatu. One of the best horror films of all time, but at the same time a great love story. It's black and white, silent and has one of the creepiest looking people ever on film. Max Schrek does for Dracula what nobody has ever done since. He scares us and makes us sympathize with his loneliness. After this film, we need to step up the intensity a notch. I say we go with Night of the Living Dead. Filmed almost entirely in a basement. It's more of a thriller than a horror movie, but has all the thrills and chills we desire. The slow disintegration of the people's minds trapped inside makes the viewer almost claustrophobic. The fact they are fighting unexplained zombies makes it perfect for Halloween.
Saturday night start off with another classic. I suggest Frankenstein. Similar to Nosferatu it is scary, but tells a sad story at the same time. A monster who didn't ask to be one. Who isn't really a monster at all, but has been brought to life by a mad doctor. Great film with the amazing Boris Karloff as the monster. I'm always amazed at how many people have never seen this film. After this, we're jumping into the greatest horror film of all time. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Filmed on what looks like a $20 budget, this strangely violent-less film is one of the scariest and best films I've ever seen. I argue all the time, that this transcends horror, because it's so out there, that it feels real. When there is violence, you almost feel as if they budget was so low, they really had to go through with the gruesome acts. It's absolutely numbing the first time you see it. It also has one of, if not the oddest villain of all time, Leatherface! Watch the steel door, it will send shivers down your spine.
OK, so now it's Sunday. One day away and we can only have one movie left. John Carpenter's original...Halloween. If Michael Myers didn't scare you as a child, you probably had as much wrong with you as he did. Now, the movie isn't nearly as scary as an adult and you will question why a wire hanger does more to him than a gun, but as a child, you are mesmerized. It's easily one of the most scary movies for a child, because the horror takes place in a home. Plus, is there anything nearly as creepy as the music?
So grab some popcorn, grab some bite size chocolates, candy corn and whatever else your little heart desires. Candy eaten at Halloween doesn't have calories....remember that.
Friday night one should thrust themselves into the terror. My suggestion is the original Nosferatu. One of the best horror films of all time, but at the same time a great love story. It's black and white, silent and has one of the creepiest looking people ever on film. Max Schrek does for Dracula what nobody has ever done since. He scares us and makes us sympathize with his loneliness. After this film, we need to step up the intensity a notch. I say we go with Night of the Living Dead. Filmed almost entirely in a basement. It's more of a thriller than a horror movie, but has all the thrills and chills we desire. The slow disintegration of the people's minds trapped inside makes the viewer almost claustrophobic. The fact they are fighting unexplained zombies makes it perfect for Halloween.
Saturday night start off with another classic. I suggest Frankenstein. Similar to Nosferatu it is scary, but tells a sad story at the same time. A monster who didn't ask to be one. Who isn't really a monster at all, but has been brought to life by a mad doctor. Great film with the amazing Boris Karloff as the monster. I'm always amazed at how many people have never seen this film. After this, we're jumping into the greatest horror film of all time. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Filmed on what looks like a $20 budget, this strangely violent-less film is one of the scariest and best films I've ever seen. I argue all the time, that this transcends horror, because it's so out there, that it feels real. When there is violence, you almost feel as if they budget was so low, they really had to go through with the gruesome acts. It's absolutely numbing the first time you see it. It also has one of, if not the oddest villain of all time, Leatherface! Watch the steel door, it will send shivers down your spine.
OK, so now it's Sunday. One day away and we can only have one movie left. John Carpenter's original...Halloween. If Michael Myers didn't scare you as a child, you probably had as much wrong with you as he did. Now, the movie isn't nearly as scary as an adult and you will question why a wire hanger does more to him than a gun, but as a child, you are mesmerized. It's easily one of the most scary movies for a child, because the horror takes place in a home. Plus, is there anything nearly as creepy as the music?
So grab some popcorn, grab some bite size chocolates, candy corn and whatever else your little heart desires. Candy eaten at Halloween doesn't have calories....remember that.
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