Remember Halloween as a kid? The coolest costumes, enough candy to make a dentist faint, staying up just a smidge past bedtime and the horror. Everything seemed terrifying on Halloween, and isn’t that what the day is all about? So on Oct. 31, pop that popcorn, grab some friends and curl up with a nice blanket, because these movies will make even the bravest college student a kid again.
With psychological thrillers clogging up the stream of horror movies, “The Babadook” is a breath of fresh air. The film dusts off an oldie, bringing to life a terrifying monster and reminding the audience what it really means to be afraid of things that “go bump in the night.” Amelia (Essie Davis, “The Matrix Revolutions”) and her young son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), spend the movie running from an inescapable boogeyman brought to life by a mysterious children’s book. The story creates a mixture of nail biting suspense, true terror and a little bit of tragedy, so it’s fun for the whole family.
This classic horror film doesn’t joke around. Multiple movie theaters across the country banned trailers from being played for fear of terrifying audiences, and most of the UK banned the film itself for the same reason. “The Exorcist” tells the story of Regan (Linda Blair, “Exorcist II: The Heretic), a young girl possessed by a demon, and the two priests (Max von Sydow, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” Jason Miller, “Rudy”) who must save her soul. The movie is loosely based on a real exorcism in 1949, so keep a crucifix nearby for this one.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Imagine a particularly challenging day at work. Now multiply that by a billion. That’s “The Silence of the Lambs” in a nutshell. FBI Agent, Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster, “Taxi”), must hunt down a serial killer, “Buffalo Bill,” who skins his female victims. His latest victim just happens to be the daughter of a United States senator, and the only way to find her is with the help of renowned psychologist-turned-crazy-people-eater, Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, “The Elephant Man”). This terrifying movie gets pretty twisted, so it may require a few sessions of therapy to recover. Just make sure the therapist is a vegetarian.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Maybe some of the bloody special effects don’t quite hold up to today’s standards, but this slasher flick is no less horrifying because of it. Freddy Kreuger (Robert Englund, “A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge”), a long dead child-murderer, is somehow killing teenagers in their dreams. If the premise of being hunted while sleeping isn’t convincing enough, it may be interesting to know that this was Johnny Depp’s (“Black Mass”) first role. Supernatural serial killer, blood, gore and young Johnny Depp. What more could anyone ask for?
So ditch those Halloween ragers and settle in, because it’s going to be a long and scary night.
