If the Pagans and gave birth to the holiday, the Americans raised it their attic and beat it into the freak it is now.
It started with the Monsters of the 30's, darkened after the war in the 50's, had a psychological break down in the 60's, threw up slashers in the 70's, woke up from a night terror in the 80's and has now evolved into a revolving conundrum of blood, guts, boobs and demonic possession.
The following is not a list of the scariest films, but rather 10 overarching films that have had a heavy hand shaping and defining the American tradition of Halloween. In short, they are the 10 must watch films of October.
#10) Young Frankenstein-
Blucher! This Mel Brooks classic has had audiences rolling in laughter for decades. Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman are in top form as Brooks pokes fun at the biggest monster of the 30's. What better way to start off a list than to laugh at the trailblazers of the genre?
#9) Stanley Kubrick's The Shinning-
While King may have initially been irate about Kubrick's take on his most popular horror novel, Kubrick's take on King's terrifying genius may prove to be the most lasting. The imagery is compelling, the tone and pace are methodical, Nicholson fulfills a roll he was born to play and while there is little to make you jump in this film, the deeply disturbing unveiling of Jack's psyche leave you unsettled, to say the least.
#8) One of James Wan's Big 3 (SAW, Insidious, Dead Silence)-
Call me a cheater for putting three different films into one, but if the passive observer is curious to know what has become of the genre today, look no further than the work of James Wan. The gore is excessive, the sex is toned back, the music/sfx dictate the tone and let us know when to jump-- but the ultimate success of the film can no longer depend on pushing the evolve. There must be a more deeply rooted theme or fear embedded into the piece-- and each film, in its respective sub genre, does. Saw is the updated slasher, Insidious the embodiment of the demon possession and Dead Silence is latest monster movie.
#7) 28 Days Later
While Danny Boyle will try and tell you that the zombies in his movie are not actually zombies, let me just start off by telling you that they are, and he has do for zombies what George A Romero did for zombies in the 60's. The Zombie film has become somewhat of a rite of passage for aspiring filmmakers. They're easy to do, but hard to do well. Boyle takes a risk and shoots the whole picture digitally, giving the picture a very raw, gritty feel-- oh, and did I mention that the zombies can run?
#6) The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tim Burton's masterpiece has become more than just a cult classic among gothic trannys. It's a nostalgic melody of German expressionism and classic movie monsters. A rare flick that has the ability to capture the attention of children and adults alike. As a whole, this film does more to embody the spirit of Halloween than any other picture on the list (and probably in the world). It's hard to image how we ever experienced a Halloween without this little number.
#5) Alien
Arguably, Ridley Scott's best picture. With art direction from the late H.R. Giger, Alien transcends the genre in a way that has never been done before-- mixing classic sci-fi with true horror. It's been said that a movie is only scary until you see the monster. Not so here. Alien has as much to hide as it does to reveal and does so brilliantly. The movie is terrifying and will captivate you from beginning to end.
#4) Night of the Living Dead
This film gave birth to a craze that has not died since the late 60's. If you're watching your TV right now and looking for someone to blame for the Walk Dead train wreck, this may be your culprit. But before you cast the first stone, judge the original for yourself. At it's time, it was dismissed as a cheap, trashy gore flick (which, in a way, it was) but after circulating cinemas around the country, it developed a cult following more contagious than the disease itself.
#3) Arsenic and Old Lace
For every decade or so of classic horror pieces, a film must come around to poke fun at the very things that once terrified us. This popular Broadway play turned Capra-corn is one for the ages. Carry Grant gives us one of his most exhilarating and animated performances ever as he plays the nephew of a pair of aunts who lure in and poison strange men before burring them in their basement. In the careful hands of Frank Capra, Arsenic and Old Lace is a hilarious and cunning comedy, playing off of the theatrical themes of halloween and terror of its day-- and is just as relevant now as it was then.
#2) The Sixth Sense
It is no secret that the products of this genre have rarely caught the attention of the intrinsically sophisticated. By it's very nature, horror tends to lend itself to the pools of cheap thrill and instant obsession as opposed to the "deeper" explorations of the human condition. Time seems to be the only thing that can save these poor, under appreciate works of art from the pompous snobbery of Tinsletown. However, on occasion, the powers that be will reach down from their majestic thrown to observe what the dog in the corner of the room has done with his bone. The Sixth Sense is only one of two to have been graced with such a nod. It is a ghost story as thrilling as they come, with purpose and a meaning rarely found amongst its peers.
#1) The Exorcist
The top spot on our list has been reserved for what is considered to be the most terrifying movie of all time. While not the first of its kind, The Exorcist lived on a plane of its own, bringing a presence into the theater that hadn't been there since Psycho. The Exorcist delivered a Demonic Possession unlike anything we'd ever seen before and paved the way of the modern horror, which to this day, has not been shaken. Never mind the crazy and supernatural stories that accompanied the making of this film, The Exorcist will terrify you on it's own, making it a must watch come Halloween.
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