Scary Halloween Films !

25 films to consider watching on Halloween.....starting with number 25!



25. The Island of Lost Souls
This really is more of a science fiction film than a horror film, but it is still very scary. It isn't terrifying, suspensful, or shocking, though, It relies on a horrifying thought or idea to chill the audience (trademark H.G. Welles). The thought of torture, sadism, and inhumanity drive the horror in this film. The character of Dr. Moreau is arrogant and childish in his search for perfection, and is played extremely well by Charles Laughton. The monsters themselves are brilliant because they are the perfect combination of animal instinct and humanity.

24. Gothic
The only way I can begin to describe this film is as an "assault upon the senses." Gothic grabs you early on and bombards you with emotional sequences and disturbing moments that leave you bewildered. Once the emotion begins, there isn't anything tying the scenes together except for the characters. While this hurts the movie as a whole, it gives the director free reign to scare us out of our wits. And it's based on a true story.

23. The Silence of the Lambs
No real explanation is needed. Not much of this film is really scary in the traditional sense; it relies mostly on shock value and disgust to influence its viewers. However, there is the horror mainstay: Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. Hopkins plays Lecter as an intelligent, evil manipulator so well that you can't help but get goosebumps.

22. Hellraiser
Sadly this film often gets lumped together with the other Hellraiser films as just more mediocre horror from the 70's and 80's. Those that know the film, though, realize that it is a very unique horror film. Unlike the others, it doesn't rely soleley on gore and shock to scare you. Hellraiser works with simple themes: love, romance, death, and the pain suspended between them. It deals with simple themes in a well-designed plot; and as a result, it is a very interesting and unique horror film that scares you in a different way.

21. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
As a rule sequels tend to be cheaper and less entertaining than the original. However, some sequels of very good quality are often overlooked just because of the number at the end of the title,. The third Nightmare on Elm Street film is one of the best, because it reverts to the formula of the original: you can't escape, you can't hide, he'll always get you. Freddy, of course, is incredibly fun to watch due to his creativity and humor. And of course, you have to sleep with the lights on after watching this one.

20. Hold That Ghost
Yes, I am serious. It's true that most of the comedy/horror films are never actually scary and rely on merely the presence of scary things to scare you. Hold That Ghost is different. It reaches the impossible balance between comedy and horror. The mood, photography,. and direction are classic haunted house techniques even in a comedy film. This rates as one of Abbott & Costello's best and most overlooked.

19. Dr. Giggles
Dr. Giggles should really be classified as a comedy. Larry Drake is hilarious, and the script keeps feeding him one-liners. Again though, it is still a very scary and disturbing movie. There is a large gore factor, but there is also a very scary story behind it. The suspense and chase scenes are directed very well, too. "The doctor is out -- of his mind."

18. The Howling
It's amazing that a film as poorly made as this could spawn six sequels. (The Howling III is high on my list of worst film ever made) Again though, even a poor film can succeed at being scary. Werewolves are hard to handle in film today, but The Howling used them well. The chase scenes and transformation scenes are astounding, and the atmosphere and mood are both done very well.

17. The Wolf Man
Rarely can a film create a horror character with such classic style and popularity as the Wolf Man. Werewolf stories are legend, but the modern trend of the common man watching his life torn in half owes its popularity to The Wolf Man. Lon Chaney, Jr,. plays the role of Larry Talbot flawlessly.(he would sadly be typecast for life) Horror techniques and cliches are combined with new ideas for characterization and filming. This is one of the best horror films, but it is also very scary.

16. Bram Stoker's Dracula
Another very difficult concept in film is to blend horror with romance. Dracula is the perfect example, and Coppola brought Stoker's novel to the screen with remarkable romance, integrity and terror. Dracula had been perverted for so many years, that it was time to get close to the original novel again. Vampire movies are back again because of the chills caused by Bram Stoker's Dracula.

15. Halloween 2
It's true that the second Halloween film isn't as good as the first. Still, it can't be denied that the same techniques are used to scare as in the first film, with great results. It may not be believable, but an empty hospital is a wonderful setting for a horror film. The filmmakers overdosed on gore this time, but it is undeniably a terrifying film to watch(especially in the dark on Halloween).

14. Poltergeist
Poltergeist is a very different horror film for many reasons. The first is the sense of reality. There is very little fantasy involved in this film, it works on the basis of everyday people in an ideal world caught in a horrific situation. Put a young girl in the middle of it, and you have a scary film. The second difference is that you don't actually see the "monsters". So many horror films no rely on visuals and gore to scare peoplem, but Poltergeist shows us that the lack of a scary presence can be just as terrifying. And it's based on a true story.

13. The Blair Witch Project
This is, of course, unlike any horror film you've seen before. Its realism is so great that you almost forget that you're watching a movie. The horror isn't shock value or gore, it's all psychological. You are left to wonder about all the little clues the film leaves. It also taps into our childlike fears of unknown noises in the dark, only this time it's much more real. The suspense and pressure build wonderfully at the end, and I must admit I loved the ending, even though it did leave me wanting more.

12. Friday the 13th
No line of sequels have been more stupid, senseless, and bad than the Friday the 13th sequels (they beat out Police Academy!). However, many people forget that the reason so many sequels were made is because the original was so damn scary! No stalk-and-slash film (except for Halloween) has been directed and filmed so effectively. You can criticize it all you want, but weren''t you constantly terrified every time somebody walked around a corner? Didn't you jump every time someone was killed? Weren't you constantly on the edge of your seat? That's all that matters.

11. Night of the Living Dead
It's so hard to make a scary zombie movie. George Romero did it and did it well. Of course the film itself isn't up there with Casablanca or Citizen Kane, but the whole zombie concept was used so well that the film turned out to be very scary. The whole idea of a human, yet inhuman monster that keeps coming and will never stop scares us all. That feeling of being trapped and having nowhere to go is a lot scarier than people admit.

10. The Exorcist
It's hard to call a movie like The Exorcist overrated, but surprisingly it was. It was unmistably scary and disturbing, but there always seemed such a distance between you and the characters on film that it really wasn''t significant. This may be because I've grown up in the new era or horrific images, but The Exorcist still seems fairly tame.

9. Jaws
No horror film has had more of an impact upon the viewing public than Jaws. You know you've made a damn good movie when it causes a nationwide scare among beachgoers. There are so many little things that are done well in Jaws that it would take a book to explain them. The music is fantastic. You never see the shark until the end. Shots are filmed from the shark's viewpoint, almost giving it a conscious evil. Death is painful and messy. And for the first time in mainstream horror, they killed a little boy.

8. The Thing from Another World
The original Howard Hawks classic is perhaps the premiere science fiction film of its time. Most alien films involve large attacks on big cities by dinner plates on a string. The Thing is unique; there is only one. You are trapped with it. It wants blood. You can't kill it. The Thing is scary not just because of the monster. It is scary because you can see how people react to it. The characters are so human and everday that you can see yourself in them. Again, the horror is not from seeing the monster, but from the suspense that you might see him. Each sequence is filmed and directed very well. All respect to John Carpenter, but the remake focuses on gore. There are no real characters, and you are left to be scared by the photography and music. The original is what is truly scary. And of course, there is no true closure. At the end, you are warned, "Watch the skies. Keep watching!"

7. The Blob
I am of course referring to the original. The Blob serves basically a zombie. It has no name or identity. You don't know why it kills, and you don't know where it's from. You just know it kills, it grows stronger, and it never stops coming. The film could easily have been turned into a silly farce, but it is handled with taste and precision. It's not a gore fest. You are left to wonder what unbelievable death these people could face. It keeps coming, and you can't kill it. That's everyone's nightmare.

6. Candyman
Wow. Clive Barker strikes again. Was there ever a more unique idea for a modern horror figure? An inner city urban legend that's real. He has a legend, and he has a desire to kill. He could appear anytime. Suspense in a horror film has rarely been directed better. Candyman WILL scare you. I dare you to go into a dark room and say his name into a mirror three times.

5. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Most horror icons are those that had an amazing start and make an impression on the viewing public that makes them part of film lore forever. The prime example of this is Freddy Krueger. The film is simplicity itself. Slowly stalking, great legend, unescapable death. You can run all you want, but you still have to sleep. Of course, Freddy's character is such that you can't wait for him to show up next, because he is so funny and has such personality. Still, it doesn't detract at all from the deep, instinctive fear that dwells in this film.

4. The Shining
The Shining as a film is amazing. It's very lucky that it was shot in the 70's, because the cold, distant photography seen here is what makes it so incredibly scary. Buried beneath the snow, an old hotel stands. It holds a history of horror which we unwillingly witness through the eyes of a terrified little boy. Of course, Jack Nicholson is just your regular guy, but can the hotel get to him, too? Shelley Duvall does fantastic as the everyday woman caught in her own horror, fear, and sadness for her husband and son. The images in this film are photographed better than perhaps any other(for effectiveness). A loving husband becomes a maniac chasing after his own family? Was it just cabin fever, or was the hotel really his destiny? We're not sure . . . until the end. Wow.

3. The House on Haunted Hill
Yes, I am serious. Watch this film late at night alone with the lights off and see how it really is. I really can't make many general statements about the horror, it is so step by step and bit by bit. I guess you can say that you feel bombarded by horror and carried away by the same desperation the characters feel. You know from the opening moments that you will be terrified. And then it just ends. Be prepared to be enraged by the ending of this film.

2. The Fog
thump . . . thump . . . thump. You never actually see them, but you know they're coming. Every time the fog rolls in. The story opens with a melodramatic retelling of the town legend of the old dead sailors who come back on land on that . . . certain . . . night. The night is tonight. Don't be prepared. It will send chills down your spine. Even the very ending will leave you with your mouth open gaping at the screen.

1. Halloween
What else? Michael Myers is the perfect serial killer. He doesn't feel, he doesn't hate, he isn't funny or mad. He just kills. No one knows why. He just kills. He doesn't come in your dreams, he doesn't stalk you at camp, and he doesn't live in Texas. He just prefers Halloween. He is the personification of evil. Donald Pleasence's performance is melodramatic, but isn't that what makes it fantastic? Pleasence's description of Myers is so well filmed and well acted. The mask will never stop. The ending is one of the best I've ever seen on film. It was directed (better than any other horror film has been directed) by a young John Carpenter. It is just the simplistic piano music that makes your heart stop and your throat dry out. It is just the grainy camera angles and long shots that make this film so scary. This was one of the first horror movies to film from the killer's point of view. Also, like The Blair Witch Project, there are no quick cuts and close-ups that are obviously fake. It looks like just someone holding a camera and following people around. Michael appears suddenly and the strings hit a high note, making you stop breathing. The next minute, he''s gone. The scene in the tool shed is so unique and wonderful. By the end, you are so worn out that you just want to cry. This is a film that haunts you for days. It invades your reality. Always think twice before turning a corner. Wait a minute, didn't I lock the car?