Horror flicks: Some options for Halloween
We tend to want to be scared on Halloween. Everything about the holiday is so dreary and dark-the only real appropriate activities seem to be things that entice the creepy mood even more. We retell scary stories, dress in ghoulish costumes and pay to get lost in the middle of a cornfield.
I for one like to be scared. I like the transition to fear. To be calm one moment, and then slide slowly toward that paranoid, on-edge, frightened state. Movies are my catalyst.
Scary movies are entrancing. Some are so viscerally penetrating, aspects of it stay with you forever. The timelessness of movies like “Psycho,” “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane” and “Jaws” prove the perdurable affect scary films can have.
Here are my Halloween-movie recommendations, in no particular order:
“Dead Alive”- (R)
When it comes to campy, B-horror films, “Dead Alive” is king. This film is so sight-gag heavy it made me drive-heave when I first watched it. From obnoxious zombie babies to man-eating entrails to a kung-fu, trash talking priest, this films know no limits. In the climax, the hero and only non-zombie in a house full of them, takes a lawn mower, points the blades toward his flesh-eating foes and goes to town, chopping off every limb in sight.
Before the Weta Workshop, hairy Hobbit feet and the CGI’d schizophrenic Gollum, Peter Jackson was visually stunning people a different way. Well, maybe not ‘stunning,’ more like grossing out. In this wild and audacious gore-heavy blood bath Jackson certainly does that. Watch for the pudding scene and try not to barf.
“Psycho”-The Remake by Gus Van Sant – (R)
No film, in terms of visceral impact, comes close to the eerie timelessness of Hitchcock’s Psycho. Hitchcock terrified a nation when he released this shocker. He was the king of suspense and blew people’s already curious minds away with a cold, coarse ending and a too-close-to-home shower slashing.
Although the original is brilliant, Gus Van Sant’s 1998 remake trails close behind. Van Sant knows what made the original work and doesn’t stray a great deal from the fundamentals of it, especially in terms of mood. When audiences first experienced the unexpected plot twist in the original with the killing of the film’s star Janet Leigh in the first 20 minutes, they were astonished.
Unfortunately, in the remake Anne Heche doesn’t die soon enough. But still, the shower scene, steeped in gore this time is bloody satisfying.
“The Exorcist”- (R)
When a film is advertised as ‘the scariest ever made,’ its got a lot to live up to. If any horror/scary film deserves such bragging rights, it’s the “Exorcist.” This film is not for the feint of heart; and not for anyone remotely scared by witchcraft and Satanism.
With no explanation to why, the devil himself slithers inside the body of a 12-year-old girl and possesses her. While locked inside, he manipulates her body, conducting sick and unnatural actions. Catholic Priests come to expel Satan out. The back-to-back showdowns between the priests and the devil are cunningly foul and terrifying, delivering entrancing cinematic greatness.
Director William Friedkin claims this film has a good triumphing over evil theme, but due to its lingering, smothering effect I would have to say that evil prevails.
“American Psycho”- (R)
This films authentic creepiness separates it from the droves of other serial killer films. In addition, it’s a satirical portrait of the lifestyles of Wall Street executives, done in film noir meets The Twilight Zone sort of a way.
Christian Bale is Patrick Bateman, a cold-hearted New York executive with a taste for nothing but the finest. Oh yeah, he’s also a brutal killer.
Bateman goes about his killings as deadpan and solemn as his business deals. This deadness in Bateman presence creates a bona fide vibe too eerie not to get caught up in. Just before he pulverizes his victims mercilessly with a variety of hardware tools – he casually explains as to why Hughie Lewis and other mainstream musicians appeal to him.
This film’s environment is hypnotically breathtaking and powerful, and pulls you into it.
“Sleepy Hollow”- (R)
What could be more Halloweeny, than the classic tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman.
The tormented townsfolk of Sleepy Hollow are plagued with a night stalking killer, who lunges flaming pumpkins at his victims. Johnny Depp plays Ichabod Crane, the oddly hopeful scientist who uncovers the identity of the assailant.
Tim Burton’s stylistic, dark, dreamscape of this familiar tale slants it with a shivering evil edge. Much like his nightmarish set creations in Beatlejuice and Batman, Burton scores again with a terrifyingly brilliant set and devilish mood in Sleepy Hollow.
Jack Saunders is a movie reviewer for the Utah Statesman. He is a junior majoring in print journalism. Comments or movies to review may be sent to jrsaunders@cc.usu.edu.