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On Halloween, there are those of us who like to get dressed up and go to parties. And there are those of us who like to stay home curled up with a mug of hot cider and watch scary movies. We know who we are. A new Scorsese list got us thinking about what movies we would recommend. Here are five:
1. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
We've only seen this once. We may never need to see it again. John McNaughton's deeply disturbing tale has less in the way of gore than most horror movies, but its Chicago location filming and gritty low budget texture heightens the impact. Like us, after seeing this movie you may avoid Lower Wacker Drive for the rest of your life.
2. Tales from the Crypt (1972)
Years before the HBO series, this surprisingly stylish British anthology movie riffed on the old E.C. Comics. The stellar early-70's British cast includes Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Patrick Magee, and Sir Ralph Richardson as the Crypt-Keeper. One of the movie's highlights involves twin walls of razor blades.
3. The Host (2006)
Toxic waste creates a tentacled river beast in this monster movie par excellence. South Korea's all-time box office champ is a bloody riff on Godzilla with a dark sense of humor.
4. The Tingler (1959)
Scientist Vincent Price discovers that fear creates a worm-like creature which tightens its grip on the victim's spine, and the only way to subdue the parasite is by screaming. In order to study the creature's effects he drops some LSD to frighten himself. Really. The 40th Anniversary DVD has a beautiful anamorphic transfer that's definitely worth a look.
5. Stuck (2007)
Ever since seeing it at CIFF a few years ago, we've championed Chicago-born Stuart Gordon's grisly suspense thriller. For pedestrians like us, at the mercy of motorists who only seem vaguely aware of our presence as we cross the street, it's the ultimate horror tale.
What horror movies do you like?
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Don't forget Hocus Pocus!
Audition
I wouldn't necessarily call it a horror movie, but I love 28 Days Later.
I've really only been frightened by one movie in my adult life ... though I'm sure this will earn me snide derision. But there is this moment near the end of The Village when the monster appears in the distance behind Ron Howard's blind daughter, the camera moves away for a moment, then turns back and the monster is RIGHT THERE!!! My skin has never crawled so far.
If I look back to childhood, there was this one movie about Nostradamus narrated by Orson Wells that involved some turban-wearing guy shooting missiles that looked like Coke bottles at New York. I had nightmares for weeks.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose kept me sleepless for about a week. Jennifer Carpenter was really good in that movie.
This is even lamer -- I was scared absolutely shitless when I saw the Blair Witch Project on opening night. Before you think I'm a total puss, consider the circumstances:
1) I was living in Orlando, FL at the time; the students who made the film were from the Univ. of Central Florida, so it got a lot of coverage. The local news and the Orlando Sentinel both stuck to the "it's completely real" angle and never let on that it wasn't.
2) I had just moved in to an apartment, so I had severely limited internet access.
3) My wife (who at the time was my girlfriend) was camping in the woods that weekend.
4) Did I mention the apartment was haunted? (For a different thread altogether.) So I was already a little edgy.
At any rate, that final scene, where they're in that creepy ass house in the woods and they come up on the guy standing in the corner right before the cameraman falls to the ground -- I have never been more terrified in my entire life.
And I wasn't the only one -- when the credits started rolling, the entire theater (and the place was PACKED, too) filed out in complete silence. Everyone looked absolutely stunned. It was surreal.
...
Of course, I saw it about a year later in my dorm room and thought it was the stupidest thing I'd ever seen.
OMG I saw that Orson Wells Nostradamus special in grade school. I remember that. Scared the crap out of me.
suspiria!
Hell. Yes.
"Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer." Great low-budget 80's Chicago movie. Disturbing as hell though not really a "horror" movie technically.
Guess I have to read the damn post first! Sorry. Great call though, I just assumed this wouldn't be mentioned.
Not a horror film, but I have To Kill a Mockingbird at home from Netflix, plus the bonus feature disc. The documentary about William Castle is on its way so I should be able to watch that this weekend as well.
Horror Genre films don't scare me...the ones that scare me are like Cape Fear or Silence of The Lambs. My knees were weak after seeing Cape Fear for the first time...I had to sleep with the lights on after seeing it!
the original 'halloween' still packs a punch for me. and the original 'night of the living dead.' they're coming to get you, barbara............
I recently realized that I've never seen the 30's classics, even on late night TV. So I just got Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, and M. I feel like being a homebody on Saturday, so that will make a nice evening.
Yeah, "The Bride of Frankenstein" is awesome. Also worth a view (although I think it's still VHS-only alas) is "The Island of Lost Souls."
A movie I want to see again: this cheesy 70's horror flick called "The Dark." Cathy Lee Crosby and Keenan Wynn. Alien with killer laser-beam eyes. Only attacks at night. Scared the bejesus outta me when I was a kid and I haven't seen it since. Anyone else remember that one?
Frailty (2001) is amazing. Bill Paxton directed and stars in it. A single father in rural texas with two young sons gets a message from God that he is to rid the earth of demons. Demons who look just like everyone else. Is he crazy? Is he on the level? The whole thing just leaves you breathless. It's not gore-porn, most of the killing is off-camera. But it's SMART horror.
Ravenous (1999) has Guy Pierce and Robert Carlyle, cannibalism and California wilderness. The line "He was licking me" sounds funny...til you see it in context.
I love 2,3 and 5.
Also, if you really want to get scared, and grossed out, check out the French film "Inside." A recently widowed, prenant woman is stalked at her home by a femme fatale on Christmas Eve. People arrive to check on her and horrific moments ensue. Not for the squeamish or weak.
Just typing about it makes me squirm . . .
P.S. Jess Nevins, you have great taste in films!
Thank you kindly. I blame it all on a mother who read me an only slightly bowdlerized Dracula as a five year old.
I forgot a recent favorite:
Let the Right One In (2007): Easily the best movie I've seen in recent memory. A young boy in Sweden meets a strange girl who walks barefoot in the nigh snow. Eli is a vampire and the body count is starting to rise. It's a great horror movie that's also a completely realistic childhood romance. There may be a vampire glut going on these days, but this one is worth your time and money.
The Shining (1980) God, this movie scares the shit out of me. Rare case of a film being FAR superior to the book (After Salem's Lot Stephen King needed a better editor) on every level. It's all about tension, about loneliness, about madness and how you can love someone so much you just need to bash their head in rather than spend one more second in their company. It inspired this BEAUTIFUL ad from Channel 4 in the UK.
Dammit! get out of my head! Big yes to both of those. LTROI is beautiful.. the best vampire story and film in a long time.. i love the final scene (on the train)... crept into my thoughts for days, its there right now. The Shining is the Shining is the Shining is the Shit. Yes, that ad is cool (if a bit over done) ... if you haven't yet, check out the "making of" on the Shining disc. Its shot by Kubrick's daughter and is the basis for the ad. Nicholson is jesus. Kubrick is scary.
as for great Swedish films, "You, the Living", while not at all a horror film, is the best film seen by my eyes in a while.
Oh, the Kubrick behind-the-scenes thing is GREAT. Watching Stanley Kubrick slowly drive Shelley Duvall insane is really fun. The whole documentary is on google video actually.
There's another doc called "Stanley Kubrick's Boxes" about his archives, hundreds of neatly packed boxes showing his meticulous process, worth hunting down.
I actually think "Eyes Wide Shut" is a horror/comedy after a fashion. I know people HATE it, but the whole "rich white man's journey into sexual limbo-land" is very ooky. The scene in the costume shop feels like something Lynch would do, in his more lucid moments.
Didn't HATE it, didn't really like it. Has its moments, but i really don't think Kubrick finished it. May have a lot to do with Tomcruise. He not good. I will look for "..Boxes". thanks.
horror/comedy? .. Clockwork mthrfckn Orange! eh? EH?! Had anyone seen anything like the "singingintherain" scene before that film? "Ready for love!"
Well, Well, Well my droogies...
Yeah, Tom Cruise is the melba toast of films. Crumby and goes badly with everything
Loved The Host. Stuck looks excellent and is currently on the old Netflix Instant Queue, thanks for the rec!
In addition to Audition (seriously.. it will mess you up)...
Cure and Seance... both by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
this just in...
The Vanishing (not the US version)
Oh FUCK YES.
Let's go classic here. Speaking of "not the remake"
"The Haunting of Hill House" (1963) Chilling, beautiful and shot in glorious black and white. The hand scene...that's all you need.
"IT" (1990) Yeah, it's a TV movie, but it's a TV movie that left me panting and screaming as a child. Tim Curry traumatized a whole generation as Pennywise. To this day saying "They all float...down here" to someone in their mid 20's or older could induce a panic attack.
Carnival of Souls -- lo-budget creepy old fun time
HAXAN -- 20's, silent, Danish -- probably the most perfect Halloween film ... true gothic nightmare time.
Hellhouse -- recent doc-- fcked-up christian halloween fun. scary in other ways.
first 2 on beautiful criterion discs.
the hits just keep on comin'
For good ol' fashioned campy-horror, definitely check out "Sleepaway Camp". It's something we used to watch at sleepovers in the 80s and the ending scared the pants off us all. It's really messed up.
30 comments in and no... Nosferatu? the original? Come on!!
the later Herzog version no slouch either. dinner with rats.
The French film Them from 2 years ago or so sufficiently scared the crap out of me. The first hour or so is great in a thriller style
For being a Disney film The Watcher in the Woods creeped me out even the last time I watched it (what feels like ages ago) at age 24.
The Strangers was pretty frightening for me as well but I set myself up to be frightened – watched it solo, all lights in the house off, turned off cell phone, and something (maybe the fridge, maybe a ghost) kept making noise in the kitchen. I didn’t want to leave my bed to check the noise!
They used to show us Watcher in the Woods in school every year at Halloween. It was definitely scary back then, but I haven't seen it lately. "NAREK"
And I believe The Strangers is based on the movie Them, that Marcus recommended.
oh wait ... I think that should be "NERAK" ?
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983): It' a Disney movie but it's FREAKY as all get out. Jonathan Pryce as "Mr. Darque" hunting the young boys of a small Illinois town.
And the confrontation between Jonathan Pryce and Jason Robards is just CHILLING. Perfect autumn viewing.
Oh Man. Great stuff.
I am not really a big fan of horror movies but I was able to watch creepy and hair-raising films before. The ones that really stuck in head were Night of the Living Dead, Exorcist, Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Omen, and The Ruins. Most of these gave me sleepless nights, DUH!
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