10 Scary Movies for Halloween pt. 2
6. Hereditary
I’m still experiencing this movie and I saw it when it came out. Four years ago. Death. Mental illness. Grief. And demented family members, oh my!
The car scene with the sister...damn...
Annie’s decapitation…If you know you know.
Now, I have always loved horror films. I like to be scared. Aside from gross out movies (No thank you “Human Centipede”) and torture porn I’ve always imagined myself up for any scary movie.
Hereditary made me rethink my boldness. I made the mistake of watching this movie for the first time, alone at home, late at night. I didn’t see it in the theaters because my wife and I recently had our second child and movies were by then more often watched at home when they came out on video. But that had become my treat. On nights when I was alone with the kids when my wife was out for a “girls’ night” I would kick back and watch a movie I had missed in the theaters. This was very often a horror movie (Hello “Babadook”). So I put on a Hereditary and unaware of what I was in for, sat back and watched with growing unease. Then came the car scene.
After it happened I literally turned off the movie, stood up, and had to walk out of the room. I actually asked myself if I thought I could finish the movie. I wasn’t sure. By then I was in a cold sweat. wonder whether you’re actually going to be able to finish the movie. I decided to finish it. The movie is a suspenseful and unsettling tale that is not like many other movies I’ve ever seen. You’ll be having nightmares about clicking noises and demonic possessions.
This is easily one of the creepiest movies of this century. Steer clear of sleepwalkers with paint thinner and matches.
7,8,9. The Zombie Trilogy
(okay okay I know, this is 3 movies not 1, and they are not technically a trilogy, but hey, this is for Halloween, so consider this my trick) Night of the Living Dead/ Dawn of the Dead (the Dario Argento re-edit version with the score by Goblin)
as well as the 2004 remake directed by Zach Snyder, which has maybe the most suspenseful scariest opening 10 minutes in any movie
And finally, Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later.”
From Romero’s classic 1968 original which redefined what audiences thought of as zombies from the hypnotized half-dead of Haitian lore into the reanimated shambling corpses of departed loved ones, friends, and neighbors, all the way to the rage-virus infected running zombies of Danny Boyle’s digital cinematic reinvention of the genre, this wouldn’t be a Halloween movie list without zombies.
Whether the cause is celestial, biblical, medical, or environmental zombies have always been our most topical monsters, which might explain why more than any other of the monsters, save vampires, zombies have their own sub-genre in both movies and books.
Notable mentions:
28 Days Later was one of the first movies to be shot entirely on digital. Boyle and cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantel
I also include The Crazies and Lucio Fulci’s Zombie on this list (shark fighting a zombie scene!) because they’re both scary good movies. However then it starts to become its own zombie-focused list which is for another time. (But is surely coming soon!)
Michael Kelly and Ty Burrell stealing the show in nearly every scene in Dawn remake.
10. Halloween 1 & 2
Essentially one movie in two parts, the original 1978 movie that gave us Michael Meyers is amazing. Its opening scene is easily one of the most unsettling, if not outright scary. Few things more frightening than a child being killed. Except perhaps when they’re killed by their younger brother. Who then refuses to speak about it. Providing a special kind of hellish torture for the parents who are left only with senseless grief perpetuated by the unanswered question: why did Michael do this? At least Donald Pleasance’s “Dr. Loomis” finds an answer he can believe. Which is that Michael Meyers is pure evil. This was a far more interesting concept when we thought of Meyers as a crazy man, but still a man as we do throughout the entire first movie. Before Michael Meyers kept dying and returning from the grave. The notion of evil is not one we like to talk about in polite society. Yet it exists.
Then of course this movie gave us Jamie Lee Curtis, one of the original scream queens, and an actress I’ve personally always liked. She is a unique actress. As for her connection to the Halloween franchise, she has returned time and again to reprise her role as “Laurie Strode” Notable mentions:
Michael Meyers is referred to as The Shape in the original script. Suggesting a slightly supernatural element to his killing sprees.
In Halloween H20, Jamie Lee’s mom has a cameo as the “Norma” a teacher at the school Jamie Lee runs. anet Leigh's character's name is Norma, a reference to Psycho. The car Janet gets into is the same one used in Psycho, down to the license plate. Janet Leigh states, "...if I could be maternal for a moment...", a reference to Janet and Jamie's relationship. You can also hear a brief moment of the score from Psycho. Janet's line "I guess everyone's entitled to one good scare" is a reference to the first Halloween. Earlier in the film, Norma says the showers aren't working