Halloween is approaching!

There’s a chill in the air; it’s blowing gusts of energy and excitement all around, and everyone is extra cautious when they walk their trash outside or turn their lamps off at night. It is the dawn of a happy, spooky season! As one of my favorite holidays, Halloween is observed each year in many exciting ways: trips to the cider mill, purchasing and staging Halloween decorations, carving pumpkins, costume shopping, visiting haunted houses and other terror-filled attractions, eating candy corn, and — arguably the best of all — cuddling up on my couch and enjoying some of my favorite scary movies! My favorite scary films range from 1970s classics to modern-day chillers! As a horror movie enthusiast, I am pleased to present you with my top ten Halloween flick picks for this year!

10. Scream (1996)

If you’re not familiar with this classic slasher, the film follows Sidney Prescott (Nev Campbell), a high school student in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, who, along with several friends and classmates, becomes the target of a mysterious killer known as Ghostface. Not only was the movie an epic for its time, but let’s admit, Skeet Ulrich, who plays Billy Loomis, was kind of cute! Although the film has lost its ability to scare me over the years, I still get chills during the opening scene when the camera zooms in on Casey Backer (Drew Barrymore) and shows her hanging from the tree just outside of her house, having been brutally murdered by Ghostface. This scene left me with a horrible image and a sincere sympathy for Casey’s parents, as they were the first to stumble upon the horrors that had been committed against their daughter. Interestingly, to keep Drew Barrymore terrified and crying during the filming of the movie, Wes Craven, the film’s director, kept telling Drew real-life stories about animal cruelty, as she is a keen animal lover in reality! Scream was one of the first classic horror films to feature high school students as murderers. When you think of the real horrors that occur in U.S. schools today, you realize just how far-fetched this film isn’t anymore! Yikes!

 

9. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

What’s not to love about this unsettling and imaginative horror flick? A Nightmare on Elm Street is another classic slasher film, written and directed by the before-mentioned Wes Craven. The grisly plot focuses on four teenagers who are invaded in their dreams and killed in reality. Their attacker is none other than Freddy Krueger, a burnt killer with a bladed glove. In the original film, due to then-current events and respect given to them, Freddy was not portrayed as a child molester. However, the recent remake suggests he may have been. I’m not sure what motivated Freddy to attack these teens in the original film, but as we’ve learned from the Halloween series, a serial killer with no motive makes the story more off-putting! Perfect for the Halloween season! I will never forget the iconic scene where Tina (Amanda Wyss) runs from a long-armed Freddy in her dreams and is attacked as an “invisible” Freddy holds her over her bed. She tries her hardest to fight Freddy off, while her boy toy Glen (Johnny Depp) watches in disbelief. She eventually loses the fight for her life, as Freddy slashes her from neck to stomach and drops her onto her blood-soaked bed. How gruesome. There are some things you can’t unsee. Even more terrifying, the film was allegedly based on a series of newspaper articles from 1981 about “mysterious death dreams” which, in one particular case, resulted in the death of one young man in his sleep. I may never snooze again.

 

8.  Halloween (1978)

Before you curse me for making this number eight, please understand that I am ordering this according to its scare factor. Halloween is undoubtedly one of my favorite Halloween horror films. A haunting movie in its time, Halloween tells the story of serial killer Michael Myers (Nick Castle) who stalks and kills teenage babysitters on Halloween night. On Halloween night of 1978, after being confined to a sanitarium (as a child) for 15 years, Michael escapes from Smith’s Grove Hospital and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois to “reunite” with his younger sister Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). There have been 11 Halloween films (if you count Halloween 3), including this weekend’s release and the two Rob Zombie adaptations from 2007 and 2009. The film spawned a rather low-key paperback novel, written by Curtis Richards, in 1979; a video game for the Atari 2600, by Wizard Video, as well as arguably one of the coolest iPhone ringtones to date! There is no question as to how loved this film, and its sequels are. Of the many infamous scenes in the film, the scene where Laurie walks over to check on her friend Linda (who had left a concerning impression on Laurie during an earlier phone call, as she had been strangled by Michael Meyers while speaking to Laurie), and Laurie runs into Michael for the first time, is definitely one of the most frightening moments in the film. The film’s story is based on an experience Director John Carpenter had in college, while touring a psychiatric hospital. Carpenter claims he’d met a child who stared at him with “a look of evil,” which terrified him. It is incredible that he turned such a practical experience into one of the most adored and honored horror films of all time!

 

7. Paranormal Activity (2007)

Although paranormal horror films have become a dime a dozen, the first Paranormal Activity film was the “Blair Witch Project” of the 21st century. The first of many possession films to come in the 2000s, Paranormal Activity centers on a young couple — Katie Featherston and Micah Sloan — who is seemingly haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. Similar to The Blair Witch Project, the main characters used their real names in the film, and the film begins and ends sans any opening or closing credits. This was done to give the illusion that the footage and story were real. Moviegoers were so terrified of this film that they would get up and walk out of the theatre. Today, even this film is unsatisfactory for thrill-seekers, as we desperately look for the next movie to run us out of our seats. Even so, the film will go down in history as one responsible for the spark of the supernatural genre. I will never forget the scene where Katie and Micah are sleeping at night, and the demonic force drags Katie from her bed, down the long, dark hall of their home. Even Stephen Spielberg had to stop watching the film halfway through one evening, as the experience genuinely spooked him. He had to wait until the daylight hours to try again– and here I thought I was the only one!

 

6. The Strangers (2008)

I was about 13 years old when this film came to theatres. One of my best friends and I snuck Barbie dolls into the screening — proof that we had no business being there. Home invasion films were by no means new when this film came out; however, a new approach was taken in terms of the motivation for the invasion. Upon returning home from a friend’s wedding, Kristen (Liv Tyler) and her boyfriend James (Scott Speedman) prepare to unwind from an unexpectedly stressful evening. Their plans are quickly interrupted, as three masked intruders leave the couple struggling for survival. This film exploited one of our greatest fears — the unexplainable. In this particular tale, the intruders are not just merely looking for some loot to make off with. They have plans to hunt, taunt, and slaughter — and the only explanation they offer: “Because you were home.” The most chilling scene from the film captured my attention from the release of the first trailer. Kristen stands alone in the kitchen of her boyfriend’s summer vacation home drinking a glass of water when a masked man steps slowly out of the dark room behind her and into the light. He stands there silently, just watching Kristen. The moment I saw that scene in the trailer was the moment I knew I had to see the film on opening night. I had nightmares the night after I’d watched this film. It remains one of the eeriest and unsettling films I have ever seen. The film’s director, Bryan Bertino, claims the film’s inspiration comes from an incident that he experienced as a child. One evening, a stranger came to his door, asked for someone who was not there, and then left. Later, Bertino would find out that other homes in the neighborhood had been broken into that night. Close call! I wonder what excluded him from being a target.

 

5. Insidious (2011)

Although I am not a big fan of the “Insidious” films, the time for paranormal, “jump scare” films was riding high and in its prime. As a young, thrill-seeking 15-year-old tween, I had no choice but to head to the theatre to check out the first of what would become a serious of films, on opening night. Insidious, directed by James Wan, centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts in an astral dimension called “The Further.” At first, this sounded too similar to “The Amityville Horror,” and was not of much interest to me. This movie more than held its own! I was beyond creeped out during the scene where the ghost, or apparition, paced outside of the bedroom window — especially since it was inspired by a true story that comes from one of James Wan’s friends! The friend of Wan’s claimed he knew someone who’d seen a figure pacing back and forth outside of his window one night. He did not think much of it until he closed his eyes and opened them again to see the same figure pacing back and forth at the foot of his bed! It’s a good thing I sleep with my back to my bedroom door. I don’t want to know if a ghost walks in and proceeds to watch me from the foot of my bed. It’s bad enough that I will not survive. I want to enjoy my final moments of ignorance blissfully!

 

4. The Shining (1980)

Wait for it…

“Here’s Johnny”!

The Shining was such a deranged film for its time! Even today, it freaks me out! The film is about Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic, who accepts a position as the off-season caretaker for the isolated historic Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. Unaware of the hotel’s twisted history, Jack brings along his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd). Once at the hotel, Danny possesses psychic abilities that allow him to see the hotel’s gruesome past. After a winter storm confines the Torrances to the hotel, Jack begins to mentally deteriorate due to the influence of supernatural forces that continue to inhabit the hotel, which places his wife and son in grave danger. Like several other horror movies, I watched “The Shining” way before I was ready. The scene where Danny rides his bike down the narrow hall of the hotel, approaches two young girls who wish to “play with him,” and sees momentary glimpses of the girls’ dead, bloodied bodies, continues to haunt me. There are many freaky scenes in this film — I found myself hiding under my blanket waiting for the madness to end. I wonder if I was the only one who felt like I was going insane.

Shelley Duvall, the actress who plays Jack’s wife, suffered from nervous exhaustion throughout filming, including physical illness and hair loss! That is crazy! I can’t even begin to imagine how terrifying and physically abusive this film must have been to make for someone to experience such awful symptoms!

 

3. Quarantine (2008)

I don’t even know where to start with this film. From beginning to end, this film creeped me out. The acting in the movie is excellent, the plot is unimaginably terrifying, and boy do they get you with those jump scares! I’ve never really been too big of a zombie or apocalypse advocate, but something about this film worries me! Parts of it seem so realistic; perhaps not the outbreak of human-threatening rabies, but certainly the confinement and demise of those in entrapment. I could never imagine being trapped in an apartment building with a rapidly spreading virus and absolutely no way to escape– like a caged gerbil. Quarantine follows News Reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her Cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) as they shadow the Los Angeles Fire Department for the night. Hoping for a night of thrill and excitement, Angela, Scott, and the residents of an apartment complex in LA (who phone-in the first emergency call of the night) end up in a fight for their lives as they try to outrun and escape a deadly virus that they become contained with. No scene of this film is easy to watch, but the most difficult to watch, without squinting, is the very last scene. Angela finds herself trapped alone in the apartment’s attic as the sole survivor of the plague that has broken out. Her cameraman has just been attacked and killed by a tall, gaunt man who lives in the attic, and is assumed to be the individual who brought the virus to the apartment complex, beginning the spread. Angela lies flat on the floor after a nearly fatal brush with the haggard, infected man, and tries to pull her body toward the camera, which she plans to use to escape the apartment building. Suddenly, and after several heart-stopping seconds, Angela is pulled quickly by her legs into the darkness as the infected man presumably murders her as well. The screen falls dark, and I immediately need a pick-me-up. It appears in October 2008, the Knott’s Berry Farm theme park in Buena Park, California, developed a Quarantine-themed walk-through maze. I would become petrified if I were ever expected to navigate that maze. Seriously. Who could I call to be airlifted back out?

 

2. The Conjuring (2013)

The only reason this film beats out “Quarantine” is because it is based on the real accounts of Paranormal Investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren — a married couple who held paranormal investigations in the early 1970s. The Conjuring movie follows Ed and Lorraine’s case from 1971. The Warrens (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) head out to visit Roger and Carolyn Perron (Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor), a married couple who claim their farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, which houses themselves and their five daughters, is being manipulated by evil spirits. By 2013, the concept of this film was nothing new, and at 18, I was starting to think I had finally gotten over it. Maybe I had, but I must admit that The Conjuring was a very startling supernatural movie! I have a lasting fear of the “hide and clap” game from the film! During one of the scenes where Carolyn partakes in a game of hide and clap with who she assumes is her daughter, Carolyn is led to the door of her basement where a spirit shuts her in and sends her tumbling down the basement steps. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck rise as Carolyn looked cautiously around the basement for the force that closed her down there. I hate those moments. The “jump scare” has conditioned me, so I fully expect something to happen every time the camera pans a dark basement. To make it through this scene, I tuck the lower half of my face into my jacket, which I only brought to the movie to shield me from the movie monsters. If you haven’t noticed, for a thrill-seeker, I’m a total coward.

 

1. The Blair Witch Project (1996)

The 90s were a great time for horror films! Without a doubt, my go-to movie — not just around Halloween, but anytime I am looking for a genuine scare — is The Blair Witch Project! I cringe and sweat through every moment of this movie. Written and directed by Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, The Blair Witch Project captures the story of three student filmmakers — Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard — who hiked in the Black Hills forest near Burkittsville, Maryland in 1994 to film a documentary about a local legend known as the “Blair Witch”. While exploring the woods, the three students disappeared, leaving behind their equipment and horrific footage to be discovered a year later. Another film styled to appear real, this “recovered footage” is what moviegoers see. One of the most successful independent films ever made, The Blair Witch Project snagged $250 million worldwide on a modest budget of only $60,000. The film’s tale has become legendary, spawning a handful of sequels, several novels and short stories, a comic book, and a series of PC video games. The film is credited for the rise in popularity of found footage films such as REC (2007), Paranormal Activity (2007), Cloverfield (2008), The Last Exorcism (2010), V/H/S (2012), and End of Watch (2012). The scariest moment in the film is when Heather hesitantly stumbles down to the basement of the house in the woods, to find Michael standing eerily with his back to her, facing the corner of the wall. This references a story introduced earlier on in the film. The Blair Witch is suggested to have made her victims stand to face the wall so that they could not watch her, as she “could not stand to have eyes on her.” I hate this scene! It is the most gut-wrenching scene in any of the horror films I’ve ever watched. I pretty much cover my eyes and wait for the nightmare to end. Heather’s blood-curdling screams, as she hopelessly tries to get Michael’s attention, are the perfect complement to an already heart-stopping moment. She’s out in the open of this thought-to-be abandoned house, and the viewers are just waiting for something to pop out and grab her. Instead, Heather is attacked out of view, and the camera drops to the floor, allowing for a few more seconds of recording to occur. Even here, I wait for something to creep out in front of the camera screen for one last spook, but nothing does. The saying “less is more” proves to be true. Certain parts of this film leave you guessing, and nothing is more frightening than the unknown. One thing viewers do get to know is that the majority of the gory props used in the film were real! The teeth found by Heather near the end (which were presumed to belong to Josh) were real human teeth, supplied by Eduardo Sanchez’s dentist! What kind of dentist hangs on to old pulled teeth! That’s disgusting! There are also some theories that the Blair Witch was never thought to be real either by Michael or Josh and that instead, the pair intended to take Heather to the woods and murder her! When you watch the movie and read the theory, you can easily connect all of the claims that increase the theory’s plausibility. The film was scary enough when I thought the culprit was an ugly, hairy ghost.

These are my top ten flick picks for the Halloween season! And although they are my life-long favorites, many other movies fulfill my fear needs around this haunted holiday too. Honorable mention goes to Silent Hill (2006), When a Stranger Calls (2006), A Quiet Place (2018), Dark Skies (2013), and The Sixth Sense (1999). “Silent Hill” is the whole package. I am deathly afraid of not only the Silent Hill movie but also every video game Silent Hill has spawned. I distinctly remember loving the Silent Hill video game – from a distance. I refused to play the game myself.

Anytime I wanted to see the game I made my older brother play it, while I sat on the couch hiding underneath my blanket. The film “When a Stranger Calls” has inspired several of my own early short stories. I didn’t particularly care for the film (or its acting), but the concept was horrifying. The scariest scene in that film goes without saying — when Camilla Belle is standing in the bathroom, and she gets that dreadful phone call from the police, who tell her that the stalker who has been calling and harassing her all night long is calling from inside the house! My heart sinks every time I see that horrified look on her face — such a brilliant moment of sheer terror. “A Quiet Place” was a masterful film. It was extremely well thought, well-performed, and another incredibly unsettling film. It may not have made me tremble, but that movie sure had its moments! I have a huge fear of alien invasion (I refuse to watch “The Fourth Kind” all the way through), so Dark Skies is a movie I can barely will myself into watching. It was a great film, but I have only seen it once because the idea of alien invasion is terrifying to me. Imagine: the ceiling lifts, a UFO hovers above your bed, and with the flash of a beacon of light, you are lifted and encased in an alien spaceship. Before you even realize something’s off, you’re zooming at the speed of light towards another planet. I think the aliens mean well; their tests are just not normal or engineered for human compatibility. It’s like a baby strangling a kitten — the baby was not trying to hurt the kitten, he or she didn’t know any better. Or at least that’s what I say I think, just in case the aliens are listening. Finally, “The Sixth Sense” is another long-standing classic! This movie doesn’t even classify as a horror movie, but rather a drama/mystery. Now that is impressive! It easily beats out the majority of today’s horror movies. Imagine being young Haley Joel Osment, and seeing dead people around every corner! He’s supposed to be a young child having mindless, rambunctious fun, and he can’t even do that, because he’s continually being confronted by the deceased. When Cole Sear (Osment) runs into the assumed safety of his bedroom and sees a dead girl vomiting (as her mother had poisoned her) under the fort, I nearly had a stroke. Anything done right really can terrify me. That is what this season is all about for me. Christmas has its vibe — happy, comfortable, red and green, smiles, parades, presents, family, Santa Claus, and that good ol’ Christmas music — but nothing can compare to the evil feeling of Halloween! Nothing compares to the one night a year where I can be whatever, or whoever, I want to be; walk around in the dark of the night–chills running down my spine; be terrified — and still be so happy and excited! It’s a way to experience fear in a way that’s not threatening. It’s a feeling you don’t encounter too often, unlike happiness you could feel at all times, and not exclusively around Christmas. You get to go far, but not too far! If you’re looking for a good fright this Halloween, crack a window, dim the lights and turn on one of these flicks! I guarantee you’ll receive all the terror you need!

Happy Halloween!

Header image courtesy of https://www.pinterest.com/pin/123145371041231355/.

* All movie facts and information retrieved from imdb.com.