Sunday, October 23, 2011

20 Scary Movies for Halloween Viewing




It's that time of year--when people want to be frightened. Where they will dare to view scary films on television or by DVD.

I watched these kind of movies all year round, but more so at this time of the year. It's just a Halloween tradition for me (I read scary books too), just as Christmas films for December are, too. Below is twenty hauntingly scary films compiled for your viewing pleasure . . . or is that your viewing fear?

1. The Haunting (1963)--this film is just like the book it's based on--The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson- is the only book to scare me in the daytime, in a room full of people.




2. Killer Klowns of Outer Space--this is a great film, where the clowns are actually aliens, out to take people, not to probe, but for food! And with humor thrown in, maybe those scared of clowns will even enjoy this. (By the way, there's supposed to be a sequel in 2012 (in 3D)-Killer Klowns from Outer Space 2).



3. American Werewolf in London-a great classic werewolf horror film, with touches of black humor.


4. Alien--Space, where no one can hear you scream. A haunted house movie set in outer space.



5. Halloween (1978)-not into slasher flicks, but this one was intense and down-right scary. Forget the fremake--watch the original.





6. The Lost Boys--a 1987 vampire flick that is mixed with a Peter Pan theme. Very good--unlike the sequels.




7. Dracula (1931)--another vampire movie--the star probably the most famous vampire in the Western world. I adored Bela Lugosi in the role, his accent and presence brought the Count to life for me. Read the novel by Bram Stoker--still one of the best vampire novels around.




8. The Blob (1958)--Actually Caltiki the Immortal Monster (some places the Undying Monster)-1959-- scared and creeped me out more--but still this is a cult clasic of a blob monster from outer space that consumes all life in its path as it grows bigger and bigger.




9. John Carpenter's The Thing (1982)--so like the short story, "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell that it scares me. The first version in 1951 starring James Arness as the alien was fine, but this was that short story brought well to the big screen.




10.  Ghost Story (1981)--based on the novel of the same name by Peter Straub, is a good ghost story. Four successful elderly gentlemen, members of the Chowder Society, share a gruesome, 50-year old secret. When one of Edward Wanderley's twin sons dies in a bizarre accident, the group begins to see a pattern of frightening events developing.


11. Dog Soldiers--a werewolf tale set in Scotland where a troop of English soldiers battle a family of werewolves. It's intense, has action, and one of tnhe better werewolf movies around.




12. The Howling (1981)--Another great werewolf movie.



13. Lady in White (1988)--a very good ghost story, where the ghosts aren't bad, but has for a villian a killer. Like something Stephen King would write, with a boy growing up in a small town, who encounters a ghost of a young girl who'd been murdered.



14. House on Hauntd Hill (1999)--a remake did made a super haunted house movie.



15. Descent (2005)--A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators. What makes this really terifying, is the tight places below earth is the setting for this film.




There are so much more movies that I like and would love to add--Ghostbusters, Mummy from the Thirties to Mummy starring Brendan Frazer, many, many more, but twenty is all I said I would put here in this post. So do leave comments on those you think people should watch.


HAPPY SCARY WATCHING!



3 comments:

Author Guy said...

The Changeling is one of the scariest ghost stories I've seen.

Phantasm is splendidly creepy.

Poltergeist is still good, the best version of the effects that Spielberg unfortunately still uses.

Geoffrey Gould said...

While I agree that Poltergeist should be on the list, also omitted is the best Halloween film which is ABOUT Halloween: "Trick R Treat" (link to [seriously discounted] price DVD below)...
regards,
Geoffrey Gould
http://geoffgould.net

Pamela K. Kinney said...

I agree, Geoffrey. Forgot that movie, and I own the DVD. :/