12 Scary Movies to Watch this Halloween
Why do we scare ourselves?
What drives humans to tell ghost stories, and why are we so obsessed with urban legends? Perhaps it is an attempt to laugh at death and maybe mock our own mortality. Whatever it is… these movies will suffice.
So grab the popcorn - turn out the lights and prepare to be scared.
PSYCHO (1960)
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
A woman stays at a motel while on the run. She soon becomes concerned with the proprietor's disturbing behavior. Detectives follow a lead on a homicide case that points to the very same motel and they begin to suspect the anti-social owner.
2. FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)
Starring: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram
Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
A shadowy figure named Jason Vorhees stalks and murders teens at Camp Crystal Lake. This is the debut film in what would become a long series of highly successful slasher flicks. The look of the iconic villain is inspired by a little known grindhouse-film ‘The Town that Dreaded Sundown.’ [1]
3. THE MUMMY (1999)
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Dwayne Johnson, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh
Directed by: Stephen Sommers
Imotep, a pharaoh from ancient Egypt is seeking re-incarnation; and will stop at nothing to attain his goal. A band of unlucky crypt-robbers must contend with this, and much more. Luckily they have Rick O'Connel - a daring scoundrel with a heart of gold.
4. ALIEN (1979)
Starring: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton
Directed by: Ridley Scott
A space-freighter named The Nostromo comes across the distress beacon of a stranded ship. Once on the planet they encounter a creature that changes the path of humanity forever.
Alien was acclaimed director Ridley Scott’s debut feature - in what would soon become - the most successful Sci-fi/Horror franchise of all time.
5. HEREDITARY (2018)
Starring: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, and Gabriel Byrne
Directed by: Ari Aster
A movie about a family dealing with grief and emotional trauma. Declining mental acuity due to traits inherited from our ancestors plays a part too. Of course, that's all subtext; really this film's about creepy occult stuff and satanic possession.
Interested? Be warned, it's scary as shit.
6. THE OTHERS (2001)
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Eric Sykes
Directed by: Alejandro Amenábar
A mother and daughter are consistently frightened by ghosts that inhabit their large heritage home in 1940s New Jersey. The Others is a loose adaptation (or homage) of ‘The Turn of the Screw’ a novella by Henry James. [2]
7. THE EXORCIST (1973)
Starring: Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller
Directed by: Robert Friedkin
A young girl is subjected to a terrifying and trying ordeal, when an ancient demon named Pazuzu posseses her - through the use of a Ouija board. Two catholic-priests must intervene in an attempt to exorcise this creature of pure evil.
Based on a novel by ‘William Peter Blatty’ - who also wrote the screenplay.
8. THE THING (1982)
Starring: Keith David, Kurt Russel, A. Wilford Brimley, T. K. Carter, David Clennon,
Directed by: John Carpenter
An extraterrestrial is unearthed in the ant-arctic by a team of Danish researchers. Then it is stumbled upon by American scientists. The evidence says that the Danish team all went mad and murdered each-other, one-by-one – does the same fate await their American counter-parts?
9. ROOM 1408 (2007)
Starring: John Cusack, Samuel Jackson,
Directed by: Mikael Håfström
A writer elects to stay in a hotel room – famous for its hauntings, attempting to debunk any claims of the room's supernatural qualities. The night goes from un-eventful - to bad - to abjectly terrifying. Based on a short story by Stephen King.
10. LEPRECHAUN (1993)
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Warwick Davis
Directed by: Mark Jones
A vengeful leprechaun who wrongly assumes a family has stolen his pot of gold begins to hunt and kill them. In an attempt to destroy the evil being, the family bands together to locate his gold and use its power against him.
11. TREMORS (1990)
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter
Directed by: Ron Underwood
Inhabitants of a rural town in Nevada contend with giant underground monsters that appear suddenly and swallow their victims. Is there anywhere safe for them to run and hide?
12. WEREWOLF BY NIGHT (2023)
Starring: Gael García Bernal · Jack Russell ; Laura Donnelly ·
Directed by: Michael Giacchino
A lycanthrope hero, and a female adventurer - both try to find a magical amulet before it's too late. The plot thickens, when a whole team of 'hunters' prepare to join a rather in-humane game of catch-the-monster. Note: Werewolf by Night is not technically a feature-length film, it’s a TV event. The duration is 53 minutes, which does not meet the requirements to be considered a movie per se. Still, it’s a great watch!
Enjoy.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
welldonemovies.com
Compiled & Written by: Lee Fenton
sources:[1]
[2]“Ultimately, The Others isn't an exact adaptation of The Turn Of The Screw, but it's a proper ghost story told in the gothic style James was known for. Likewise, its characters share some similarities to those present in the Henry James novella, they aren't the same.”
MARA BACHMAN PUBLISHED NOV 20, 2020 on www.screenrant.com
https://screenrant.com/bly-manor-connection-others-movie-adaptation-turn-screw/#:~:text=Ultimately%2C%20The%20Others%20isn't,they%20aren't%20the%20same.
[1]The second film to inspire Jason's burlap sack look was 1976's The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Much more obscure today than Friday the 13th, that film's killer - based on a real murderer - also wears a sack over his head, albeit with two eye holes cut out.
https://screenrant.com/friday-13th-part-2-movie-jason-voorhees-burlap-sack-mask-reason/
