You've heard of them, you know of them, and you know that they're a big deal - but have you actually watched them? Well here are a few timeless classics, and a few unknowns to boot, for this Halloween season that you may have always overlooked, but should really give a go tonight!
- Classic - Psycho (1960) Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
Marion Crane (Leigh) is a secretary who embezzles $40,000 for her partner Sam Loomis (John Gavin) so they can be together. On her way to her see Loomis, she is caught in a storm. Pulling into the Bates Motel for the night, she meets Norman Bates (Perkins), who seems to be dominated by his mother.
A classic horror that has inspired countless directors that are still working today. This movie has many iconic moments, from the sharp music by Bernard Herrmann to the famous shower scene. The shower scene is so famous that there is a documentary decade to that scene. Psycho brings the audience face to face with a murder, like the cinema had never seen before. Normally, it was monster, a vampire or something that couldn’t hide for long. Here off the quite road, is a normal and charming person, who welcomes you in. This movie works for many reasons, from the great cinematography to the slow build before the attack. The movie takes a few twists and turns, which keeps you griped. Psycho from start to finish is amazing, chilling and surprising.
If you like this you may like Rear Window (1956) Psycho 2 (1983)
- Overlooked - Identity (2003) - Director James Mangold
Ten strangers stranded at a desolate motel during a heavy rainstorm, find they have things in common, such as they have the same birthday and they are targeted by a murderer.
A classic ‘whodunnit’ premise that twists and turns but never becomes confusing or a disorganised mess. The storytelling is tight and works very well. The writer Michael Cooney has written a wide range of movies from the comedy Christmas horror Jack Frost (1997) to the sci-fi thriller The I Inside (2004). I believe Identity is his best writing as the mystery and characters are strong, and keep you guessing. This is early in James Mangold’s film career as a director but you can see his talent on the screen, and he went on to direct Walk the Line (2005), 3:10 to Yuma (2007) and Logan (2017). The isolated motel is a great back drop to this murder mystery and the tension of who is next is pulled tight. A suspenseful horror will have you guessing the identity of the murder.
If you like this you may like Bad Times at El Royale (2018) The Game (1997)
- Classic - I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) - Director Jim Gillespie
After four friends knock down a person in their car, they decide to dump the victim’s body in the sea and cover up what happened. One year later, they all receive notes reading “I Know What You Did Last Summer”. Now their lives are in danger.
The writer Kevin Williamson was fresh off Scream (1996) and once again he hit a great balance between teen slasher horror and mystery. There is a little more at play here, than just murder, blood, and gore, as there is a mystery to who is harassing them. The cinematography is amazing here and has great vibrant colours. A few jump scares, suspense and an interesting story. This is more then just a teen slasher horror from the 90’s and will get you into the Halloween feeling. A fun and exciting horror for October and maybe summer.
If you like this you may like Scream (1996) Urban Legend (1998)
- Overlooked - The Faculty (1998) Director: Robert Rodriguez
Star: Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Famke Janssen
The students and teachers at Herrington High School are acting strange and Casey (Wood) suspects an alien invasion.
After the success of Scream (1996) there was a burst of teen slasher movies such as I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Urban Legend (1998). The Faculty came out in this slue of teen and may have been lost in the mix of others over time but this has a great science fiction twist. Rodriguez style is to make a mainstream movie feel like a B movie and that works here, as this is a modern retelling of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). Although I would say that The Faculty is more The Breakfast Club (1985) meets The Thing (1982). This is a great cast, and is fun to see some young actors in there early roles. Product of its time, been a teen horror mystery, having a punk rock soundtrack, awkward teen romance and horror elements that are more entertaining than scary. But that is the charm of teen horrors from the 90’s, they are entertaining and have a fun vibe for Halloween. The Faculty is a fun, mystery sci-fi horror, well worth a watch around Halloween. It is flash, gory and ‘guaranteed to jack you up!’
If you like this you may like The Craft (1996) Disturbing Behaviour (1998)
- Can we call it a classic? yes we can. - Freddy Vs Jason (2003) Director Ronny Yu
Stars: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena
Freddy Krueger is forgotten and he is unable to enter the children dreams of Elm Street. Resurrecting Jason Voorhees and sending him to Elm Street to remind the children what fear is.
In a nutshell Freddy and Jason fight in this movie. It is a fun and gory mess. There is not really characters in this movie, but more body-count characters, but you are not here for a character study. You are here for the gore, the kill count and the two stars, Freddy and Jason. Freddy is played once again played by Robert Englund, in his final go as this character. Englund, as always, owns this role and is a great bow out for him. Jason is not played by Kane Hodder, who had played Jason from since Friday the 13th part 7: The New Blood, but the director Ronny Yu decided to go with a larger man. Ken Kirzinger puts on the hockey mask, and plays the role very well, and makes it his own. There is one draw back to the movie, if you are a fan of Jason, you will get angry at some of the creative choices here. But if you are able to see pass some of the choices that are made here, you will have fun, as it is just a fun gory horror that is perfect for Halloween.
If you like this you may like Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives (1986)
- Classic - From Dust till Dawn (1996) - Director Robert Rodriguez
Two criminals take a family hostage to cross the Mexico border, to get to a biker bar and wait for their partner Carlos till dawn.
Although this starts out as your average crime action movie directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino, it really isn’t. Halfway through this movie it switches genre and becomes a survival horror movie, where the name of the game is who can stay alive till dawn. This is fast paced, with sharp witty dialogue and great practical effects and make up designs. This movie also has a great cast, George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Salma Hayek and Danny Trejo. From Dusk till Dawn isn’t your typical movie, it starts as one movie, a cat and mouse crime movie and then changes into a fight for your life horror movie. It is an exciting thrill ride, that changes gears fast and doesn’t let up.
If you like this you may like Planet Terror (2007) The Lost Boys (1987)
- Overlooked - Wolf (1994) Directed by Mike Nichols
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader
Will Randall (Nicholson) is an aging publisher who is been forced out of his job, and replaced with a younger upcomer Stewart Swinton (Spade). Randall is bitten by a wolf on a country road, and he may be turning into a were-wolf.
Wolf is a slow pace drama about a person fighting for a job and going through relationship issues. On the side is this horror, about a man turning into a wolf. The during the wolf scenes, it is tense and drips in atmosphere. Don’t go into this expecting to see a full on were-wolf movie like, The Wolf Man (1941) or The Howling (1981). It’s a drama that keeps getting interrupted by a were-wolf movie. This is worth a watch for Nicholson, Pfeiffer and Spader performances and the practical effects.
If you like this you may like Ginger Snaps (2000) The Wolfman (1941)
- Classic - Alien (1979) - Director Ridley Scott
The crew of the spaceship Nostromo are on their way home when they receive an unknown distress signal from a distant moon. They land on a dark uninhabitable moon to find a ship that has crash landed. While exploring the ship, one of the crew members is attacked by a creature. Attaching it self to the crew member they take it on board of the Nostromo to examine it.
Alien has been described as Jaws in space but I think there is a little more here. With Jaws, the characters had to enter the sea to come face to face with the danger. Here the danger lives on the claustrophobic corridors of the ship floating in space. There is no escape from this alien, that is picking the crew off one by one. From the set designs to the lighting the movie has this close atmospheric feeling, like the alien could be hiding anywhere. Sometimes the alien is in the shot, but you may not notice it till it moves. Starting at a slow pace and giving time to get to know these likeable characters, you are suddenly thrown into this sci-fi horror that is full of surprises. Alien is a must watch this Halloween and remember, in space no one can hear you scream.
If you like this you may like The Thing (1982) Pandorum (2009)
- Classic - The Shining (1980) - Director Stanley Kubrick
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is hired at the Overlook Hotel to be a live in caretaker during the winter season, when is closed to the public. His wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd), live in the isolated hotel but are they alone?
This adapted from Stephen Kings novel with the same name but has many changes, so much so that King does not like this movie. Mainly because Kubrick only uses the novel as a reference point and takes it in his own direction. This is an interesting horror, as for the most part, the horror creeps in slowly. A scene will play out like a family drama, then a flash of horror then back to the family drama. The Shining is a staple in the horror genre, with its themes, subtext and tones, there is even a documentary called Room 237 (2012) directed by Rodney Ascher breaking down almost ever scene in the movie, to what it may mean. The Shining is an interesting watch, as it always feels slightly off balance, from the acting over the top and strange dialogue and the design of the hotel. For example, with the hotel, hallways that lead to know where and an office in the centre of the hotel, yet has a window to a garden that can’t exist. The Shining is entertainingly creepy from start to finish and will leave you with a strange feeling of horror and Jack Nicholson face burn into your brain saying “Here’s Johnny!”
If you like this you may like The Haunting (1963) The Changeling (1980)
- Overlooked - Idle Hands (1999) Directed by Rodman Flender
Stars: Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Jessica Alba
Anton (Sawa) is happy to continue been a stoner slacker with zero ambition but his hand becomes possessed and has murderous intentions. He is trying to hide his problem from his dream woman Molly (Alba) as they are planning to go to the big school Halloween party together, and his friends, (Seth Green, Elden Henson) have returned from the dead to offer little help with his issues.
The cast is amazing and are having a lot of fun in the roles. Sawa in the lead does a great job at playing it serious and yet still able to deliver’s a few laughs. Director Rodman Flender had worked on some comedy horror’s before this such as Leprechaun 2, two episodes of Tales from the Crypt and even the Dawson’s Creek episode The Scare. Flender’s finds a good balance between horror, gore and comedy, without ever been to heavy handed on either. Idle Hands is a great mix of a smart stoner teen comedy and a smart teen horror movie. It celebrates horror movies; it has great fun with cliches in a smart way without ever making fun of them. Idle Hands gets two thumbs up.
If you like this you may like Shaun of the Dead (2004) Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)
- Classic - Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) - Director F.W. Murnau
The Vampire Count Orlok is interested in a new residence to pray upon and he wants the real estate agent Hutter’s wife to be his next victim.
It is amazing that we can watch Nosferatu today. A short lived German movie production company ‘Prana Film’ was unable to get the rights to the Bram Stoker Dracula story, so they change one or two plot points and the names. The storyline is still the same as the Dracula novel so Stoker’s wife ‘Florence Balcombe’ sued ‘Prana Film’. The movie company had already filed for bankruptcy, so Balcombe asked for every copy of the movie to be destroyed. Some copies survived from been burnt, survived almost a century (which is amazing due to most silent movies from the era were lost in time or decayed) and eventually copies of Nosferatu was discovered and pieced back together. Amazing.
Max Schreck plays the role of the first famous vampire Count Graf Orlok, and he does an amazing job here, with his haunting gaze and creepy walk. The makeup design from Albin Grau gives the vampire a iconic ghoulish look, from standing still in doorways, or his shadow gliding up the stairs, we know these images through osmosis. As a vampires first outing, it is a shocking look, more devil looking then human. The movie style itself is, German Expressionism, is best described as ‘anti-realism’ but not ‘surrealism’. It focuses more on emotion than objective reality, this lends itself to a romanticised view of the world or using the supernatural to explain the natural. Directed by F.W. Murnau, he gives the movie a dream-like state in the romantic and calm scenes, when it’s time for the horror, he experiments with shadow and lighting, giving the movie a nightmare feeling.
The set design is visual interesting, as the is German Expressionism, shadows are painted on the ground and walls, house and windows are crooked, and buildings too close together, give a claustrophobic feeling. Most may be put off by the fact that Nosferatu is an old, black and white silent movie, as a horror won’t be scary but I would ask you to watch this with an open mind. The haunting images from this movie has inspired countless filmmakers such as Tim Burton, Guillermo Del Toro, James Whale and Alfred Hitchcock. It’s like watching someone’s nightmare play out, the black and white images make for some interesting strange visuals and the eerie silence covers you.
If you like this you may like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Dracula (1931)
Well that's all for the highlights, but here's a few further film recommendations for you if you're planning on staying up late -
Halloween (1978) Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Friday the 13th part 4:
The Final Chapter (1984) Trick R Treat (2007) Night of the Demons (1988) & any of the Universal Horror Movies
Happy Halloween!
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