Show This years halloween hall owe en movie briers briefs Diana Joy Jones Arts Reporter With Halloween just a day away its it's the perfect time timeto to bring out the hardcore psychological thrillers and classic sleeper horror honor films For those undecided on a good creepy I flick to best commemorate the end of this cavity- cavity inducing holiday here is isa isa isa a list of 23 chillers The following titles though not entirely inclusive are spook films that in this movie buffs buff's humble opinion arc are worth a couple of cheap thrills Vacancy 2007 What can you possibly do when youre you're trapped in ina a hotel with your ex For Forone Forone Forone one thing pray youre you're not in the same hotel where the creepy owners use lost travelers as victims in their snuff films Vacancy is isa isa isa a traditional style horror honor movie echoing elements from Psycho and features decent performances from Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson Gore level Moderate Baby 1968 Usually having a child is an exciting next step ina in hi hia a young couples couple's life For Rosemary Mia Farrow pregnancy is more than thana a hormonal adjustment As the months n nosy sy neighbors get creepy her husband grows I tart t tand and things turn demonic in this classic from Roman Based on the novel by Ira Levin Gore level Moderate Silence of the Lambs 1991 Effective and systematic Silence of the Lambs marks the introduction of Anthony H Hopkins's twisted performance as Hannibal This film is an ari excellent Halloween choice for those who prefer suspenseful crime thrillers thriller's over mindless blood Gore level High Psycho 1960 Its It's a known fact that bad things are bound to happen when you begin begina a scandalous affair and rob thousands of dollars from your workplace For Marion Crane Janet Leigh a ridden guilt-ridden conscience isn't sufficient punishment for her amoral actions Nonetheless a creepy night in an abandoned hotel maybe may maybe maybe be a little extreme Yeah hotel Owner Norman Bates Anthony Perkins seems sweet but what about his seen little-seen crotchety old mother Its It's considerably tame for modern modem audiences but it is a legendary example of Director Alfred Hitchcock in his prime Gore level Moderate Pet 1989 A cautionary tale of why its it's never nevera a good idea to bury your recently deceased cat at an ancient burial ground He may just come back backwith backwith with an evil spirit and a bite n worse than a rabid dog Gore level Moderate John Carpenters Carpenter's Halloween 1978 Halloween is infamous for its haunting musical score and the introduction of the Boogeyman AKA AKA soulless killer Michael Myers n r Tony Moran Laurie Jamie Lee Curtis nip in Ilip q her f I fir first Jea feature film on All Hallows Eve and ends up on the therun therun therun run from Myers who has recently escaped the insane asylum This film illustrated that knitting needles are not only useful for making a quilt but can double also as asa asa asa a weapon if ever a maniac is loose in your home Gore level Moderate Night of the Living Dead 1968 George Romeros Romero's Night of the Living Dead is fairly dated low-budget low fare but if one is craving classic horror honor they need to look no further This film started a zombie craze that continues to be redone time and time again today Gore level Moderate Friday the 1980 Viewers Viewer's who tire of horror flicks that seem to tobe tobe tobe be just a bad excuse to systematically off a group of teenagers can blame school old-school films like this one Tension is slowly built in this tale about camp counselors that are arc mysteriously murdered Maybe there is a connection between the killings and the previous drowning of a ayoung ayoung ayoung young boy Jason Voorhees Gore level Moderate The Omen 1976 This one is a slow paced yet an eerily effective effort The Omen tells the story of Robert Thorn Gregory Peck whose duties as a father become treacherous as he learns his son may bethe be bethe bethe the antichrist Gor l vr v l I u May 2002 This odd talc tale is heightened by Angela Bettis's driven character-driven performance as a socially awkward vard disturbed young woman Born with a lazy eye and an outcast among her peers May Bettis experienced a rough and lonely childhood A motionless porcelain doll served as her only true companion After facing rejection as an adult May decides that inanimate friends are the best kinds to have Gore level High Carrie 1976 Its It's difficult being an adolescent but for Carrie Sissy puberty is beyond a nightmare She is plagued by a religiously fanatical mother telekinetic powers and loser status at school A few therapy sessions may have helped prevent the disastrous rain of blood which ensues Then again Brian De Palmas Palma's horror honor classic would have had a lot less edge Based on the Stephen King novel Carrie has plenty of style camp but it is a sustaining psychological chiller Gore level High A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 What a way to die in your sleep For the time it was made Elm Street caught on fire Maybe its popularity is owed to the fact that through it a lack of originality in horror honor cinema was remedied Freddy Robert Englund was a serial killer that stalked the subconscious rather than the streets The concept of a amad amad amad mad man who can commit murder within a persons person's dreams left room for numerous original killings If you haven't viewed this popular classic yet look out for a young Johnny Depp v UV vv v. v Evil Dead 1981 Evil Dead 2 1987 Army of Darkness 1992 These three films are campy fun for almost any horror fan The Evil Dead movies are a mix of the off-the- wall humor and outrageous antics ultimately cult classics in their own right It all started when a group of friends took a trip to toa toa toa a remote cabin and then unwittingly awoke the dead Its It's up to wide-eyed wide Ash Bruce Campbell to ward off one evil possession after another Cumulative Gore level High The Exorcist 1973 This film is like the common cold everybody has heard of it and it is easy to catch at least for fans of the macabre A young Ellen Burstyn strives to save her daughter Regan Linda Blair from froma a strange possession As a alast alast alast last resort Father Damien Karras Jason Miller steps in Its It's a good thing he can tolerate green demon vomit because he may be beRegan's beRegan's beRegan's Regan's only hope This film is slow-paced slow against a realistic setting yet the devil spirit and his nasty deeds still have a chilling effect even today Gore level High Dawn of the Dead 1978 Zombies in a shopping mall it doesn't get much more bizarre than this A real show in suspense- suspense building if you can forgive that it shows its age This film is a genuine fest creep-fest also directed by George Romero Gore level High Shaun of The Dead 2004 A hilarious romp Shaun of the Dead both pokes fun at and pays tribute to Dawn of the Dead Shaun C n L J L 11 a egg c bl cit armed with a cricket bat ashe as ashe ashe he fights off zombies tries to appease his estranged girlfriend Kat Ashfield and simultaneously attempts to keep his sanity Gore level High Shallow Grave 1995 Half creepy half quirky Shallow Grave is a tale of greed unlike any another When Alex Ewan McGregor and his friends are unable are unable to make rent they enlist the help of a fourth roommate Hugo Keith Allen When Hugo dies from what looks to tobe tobe tobe be a drug overdose the three discover he was in pos possession of large sum of money The decision to bury Hugo and keep his discarded cash has deadly re results This tale of greed directed du by Danny Boyle utilizes unique camera angles and a t twisted sense of humor Gore level 30 Days Day's of Night 2007 A solid modem modern horror honor in which Josh Hartnett combats some some- nasty blood suckers A small town in Alaska prepares for a month of complete darkness What the townspeople didn't count on was a visit from froma a group of contemporary vampires the Off-the- Gore level meter American Psycho 2000 disturbances afflict P Patrick trick Bateman Christian Bale He is socially savvy in public but has a tendency to turn into a tactical killer kilter in his private time Bales Bale's performance is chilling The film based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis in t yin fl flits its entirety leaves a sickly feeling Gore level Heretofore Unseen T T house or 01 a i housand Corpses 2003 and The Devils Devil's Rejects 2005 Warning this duo is an acquired taste Those who have weak stomachs or abhorrence to gruesome concepts will want to avoid these two films Director Rob Zombies Zombie's House of ofa a Thousand Corpses is a disturbed yet ch esI wai waito to classic horror movies f and introduced introduce J to a twisted family of killers killer's void of consciences House utilizes raucous beats crazed images and even crazier characters to induce fear Sequel The Devils Devil's Rejects is arguably a superior film with a more realistic quality Rejects is isa isa isa a loud and abrasive follow up to House It trails the original family of brutal killers on their run from the law Cumulative Gore level Oh Dear God |