This week's Topic
Tuesday post, as suggested by Kage Alan, is an either/or kinda deal. The topic
is "What 5 Halloween films are your favorite and why" or "Which 5
Halloween films scared the bejesus out of you and how"? I decided to do both.
I could pick, but why should I?
Halloween is probably
my favorite holiday, or season, or whatever you chose to call it. I don't have
the money to do what I'd really like...you know, go batshit crazy with
decorating and such. My kids would love it if I could, I'm sure. I'd love to
have a haunted house. Not a "haunted" house...I already have one of
those, but a Halloween haunted house. My kids would love that, too. LOL
Anyway, back to the
real reason we're here...Topic Tuesday.
What 5 Halloween films are your favorite and why?
(In no particular
order):
1. Salem's Lot (1979)--I loved the novel, adore King, and what more do you need in
your scary movie? It's got the creepy house at the top of the hill overlooking
the town, the servant of the dark lord willing to do the dirty work while he
waits for his master to arrive, and the towns people who fall like Lemmings
under the vampire's sway. Two thumbs way, way up for this one!
2. Rose Red (2002)--This was a TV mini-series,
but it rocked! Once again a Stephen King creation written specifically for
television. Rose Red is a house with a long, convoluted history of deaths and
disappearances with the premise of the film being an unorthodox college
psychology professor, along with a group of psychics, gaining access to Rose
Red for a weekend in an attempt to prove the existence of paranormal activity.
Yeah, this can't go wrong, right? It's a King, and he spins a tale of creepy
and "what if" in a basis of reality with his house being modeled
after the Winchester Mystery House in California. It combines several of my
favorite things--creepy, mystery, and a touch of an actual haunted house.
3. The Changeling (1980)--After the death
of his wife and daughter in a horrible accident, composer John Russell rents a
mammoth house in an attempt to write and overcome his grief only to discover he
is not alone. The spirit of a murdered child haunts him, trying to revel the
circumstances around his death decades previously. If you haven't seen this
one, I think you need to check it out. The plot has the right amount of creep
to have it on the "scare the bejesus" list with the seance playback,
the ball on the stairs, and the wheelchair scenes, but I can watch it after
dark and alone, so it can be on this list instead.
4. The Other (1972)--Set in summer 1935,
9-year-old twins, Holland and Niles, live with their family on a Connecticut
farm. When deaths begin to occur with the twins seemingly at the center, their
grandmother takes matters into her own hands. It's a classic tale of creepy,
and the epitome of good and evil. As you move farther into the story, you
discover nothing is as it appears, and things are about to get real.
5. The Haunting (1963)--Based on the
novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, the movie follows
the book surprisingly close. An eighty-year-old house with a history of violent
death and insanity is the setting for a researcher, a psychic, a shy woman with
paranormal history, and a relative set to inherit the property. The inhabitants experience supernatural occurrences with Eleanor, the shy woman, becoming the
increasing focus of the house and the forces at work there. I love this movie.
It's a 1963 release, but the creep factor is off the charts. When the...whatever
it is...tries to get into the bedroom where Eleanor is, that is freaky! It
might be a 1963 release, but the cinematography and camera angles make this
movie.
This concludes my
favorite five Halloween movies. Now, on to my list of scare the bejesus out of me.
Which 5 Halloween
films scared the bejesus out of you and how?
(also, in no
particular order):
1. Hostel (2005)--This film is one I
watched with a look of horror. The plot is three guys backpacking across Europe
get more than they bargain for when they are kidnapped and taken to a factory
to be the human specimens in a macabre business of torture and mutilation. I
watched this film once. I couldn't stomach more than that. It was a combination
of "HOLY OH MY JESUS. WHAT IF THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED?" and "OH
MY GOD, I'M GONNA BE SICK." It is the height of blood and gore, and this
could happen. That's enough to scare the hell outta me.
2. The Exorcist (1973)--Ah, what to say
about this film? As a person raised as a Catholic, this movie is THE movie I
will not watch at night...alone...with my back exposed. Not happening. No way.
Ever. I know it's the special effects which make this movie frightening for me.
I've read the book. It didn't scare me. The movie? Every time. I'm not going to
summarize this one. It's been around a while now, and most people know this
one.
3. The Conjuring (2013)--Okay, this one
is a new release (out on DVD today, as this will post on Tuesday). It had just
the right amount of creepy to make me jump in the theater, and the right amount
of creepy to make me sleep with the light on. I have plans to purchase the DVD
but it's gonna go into the watch it only with others, in the daylight, with my
back against a wall category.
4. Event Horizon (1997)--This is a
combination of gore and "oh *&^%". The Event Horizon is an experimental
spaceship capable of opening worm holes to travel through them. It disappeared
on its maiden voyage and returned after a seven year absence bringing with it
more questions than answers, and no crew to speak of. This one has a major
creep factor for me for two reasons. One, the gore. Lots of blood and nasty
business. Two, the "life-force". The idea of this intelligence being
able to manipulate and control the members of the rescue ship is just plain
freaky.
5.
I've thought about
this, and I can't come up with a number 5 on my scare the bejesus outta me
list. I've tried. It's not working. There are none I can think of that fall
into the category with these four movies which keep me awake, with the light
on, and only able to watch them every so often. So, for now, my list will have
to be a top four.
I've enjoyed this
topic, and I have to say Thank You to Kage for the suggestion. I hope you enjoy
my list and maybe you'll check out these shows if you haven't seen them
already.
