Darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour close at hand, which means it’s time for Halloween. The spookiest night of the year is just around the corner, and nothing gets the blood pumping on Halloween like a good horror movie. This guide will take you on a journey through the best films to keep you from going out in the dark, then make you afraid of it.
Searching for that killer classic this holiday? Then look no further than “Halloween,” the 1978 slasher that started it all. The story of “the night he came home” is still one of the most effective genre films ever made, a near perfect film that still frightens to this day despite its age and simplicity. With a style and score that still shake the bones and a villain more influential than perhaps any other in Michael Myers, nothing provides that eerie spirit of the holiday better than “Halloween.”
Another trip down influential lane, “The Shining,” stands tall not only as the ultimate ghost tale, but as the cornerstone for the artful horror film. Crafted by master filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, the tale of an unhinged man pushed over the edge by a haunted hotel is unmatched in its technique and intensity. It features one of the finest horror performances ever from Jack Nicholson (“The Departed”) and some of the most iconic scenes in horror history. Not to mention it pioneered not only the haunted location genre, but modern filmmaking as we know it with many of its impressive set-pieces. If ghosts are your thing to explore on Halloween, this is the one to watch.
If you like more horror on the more modern side, the independent scene has offered some of the best horror offerings in decades over the past few years. Another fine exemplar for the horror film as art is the disturbing “It Follows,” a masterpiece of filmmaking about a young girl hunted by a supernatural creature burdened upon its victims through sex. The film is a love letter to the 80s horror film with a modern flavor, defined by its gorgeous cinematography, brilliantly original plot and haunting electronic score. Similar in artistic prowess and genre, Australia’s magnificent and freaky “The Babadook” has dominated conversation in horror circles since its release. A fiercely acted tale about grief, the film follows a mother and her difficult son as they are haunted by a mysterious entity known only as the Babadook. Their struggle against the creature features is not only some of the best acting in a horror film in years, but one of the deepest scripts the genre has ever seen. To talk about it too much would to be to spoil one of the finest stories, let alone horror stories, put to the screen in the past decade.
Finally, it’s important to note the wonderful presence of foreign cinema in the horror world: the classic Swedish vampire film “Let the Right One In.” A haunting but quiet tale of the relationship between a troubled young boy and the vampire that moves in next door, the film is the most beautifully shot and acted vampire film ever. It has that haunting, powerful feeling that only a truly great horror film can provide. The film has enjoyed a large but quiet admiration over the years, making it one of the most underrated films ever. If you really want to push your boundaries this Halloween and watch something different than anything you’ve seen before, watch “Let the Right One In” with the lights off and the subtitles on.
This list is only a small sampling of the many great horror films you could watch this Halloween. Whether it be a movie on this list or a classic such as “Alien” or “Psycho,” films are the key to having a spectacularly spooky Halloween. Just remember to check under the bed afterwards.
