‘Tis October, aka Halloween Month, at least to superfans of the Halloween holiday (like me). I, along with my fellow nerds, like to celebrate by watching tons of horror films. Along with watching new releases, I always check out the classics, the movies that made me love horror films in the first place. I’m sure that if you're a fellow geek, you do the same thing. If you don’t, and you’re interested in binge watching some scary movies ahead of Halloween, below are five examples of classic game changing horror movies. If you’ve seen them before? Cool. Try to watch them again with fresh eyes. If you haven't viewed them ? You’re in for a treat, and I envy you.
Well, now that I think about it, I kinda don’t. Some of these movies, you’re gonna have trouble sleeping after you watch them. You’ve been warned (insert evil cackle here).
1. The Exorcist.
Considered by many to be the best horror film ever made. You’ll get no argument from me. This 50 year old film still kicks you in your soul while scaring the @#$* out of you. This is the movie that frightened and pulverized a nation when it was released, and it’s lost none of its power in the years since. This movie works because its late director William Friedkin made The Exorcista serious movie. There’s nothing silly about it, there are no real attempts at humor. It’s just a stark telling of an awful, evil story.
2. Alien.
Another movie that shook up audiences and much of America when it debuted in the 1970s. Besides that legendary scene, Alien created a new template for sci-fi horror, the haunted house in space. Essentially, the characters/victims on the spaceship can’t leave the craft and the threat. Their only escape would be…the vacuum of space which would ensure a quick death. The protagonists are faced with the horrifying dilemma of dealing with an internal alien threat and their deadly outer environment. Much like The Exorcist, Alien is a horror flick that still holds up and terrifies years after its initial release.
3. The Thing (1982).
Much like Alien, the characters in The Thing have to battle a number of issues for survival in this film. Mistrust. The arctic environment. Paranoia. A hostile alien on a tear. These are the problems that arise when a thousands year old supergerm is unleashed on a group of American researchers stationed in Antarctica. The Thing is a tense and horrifying sci-fi tale of survival that grips you pretty much from the first few frames. Also, its alien monster is the best realized film beast in movie history (although Alien fans may disagree, and I’d listen to their argument).
4. Night of the Living Dead.
The very definition of a game changing film. This Pittsburgh based independent movie rewrote the rules for horror movies by ignoring three big ones; 1. There must be a cure or solution for the film’s evil, 2. There should be a happy ending, and 3. The movie’s lead would always be white. Night of the Living Deadkicked them in their rear ends with its two big and terrifying revelations…there is no cure for preventing the rise of the undead, and the ending of this movie would not be happy. It’s third seismic rule smashing would be casting (by the late horror legend George A. Romero) black actor (and Antioch College professor) Duane Jones. Night has impacted and influenced legions of creatives for decades. Take a look around you. That little movie from Pittsburgh's DNA is nearly everywhere in American media.
5. Halloween (1978).
Halloween wasn’t the first slasher movie. But it was the first one that was fun to watch. What legendary director John Carpenter did was create a thrill ride for the audience…his slasher flick was a blast for audiences to experience. Not only that, but he gave us the first true post-Universal Studios movie monster with the introduction of Michael Myers, aka The Shape. The result of Carpenter’s innovations was Halloween for years being one the biggest grossing independent movies of all time, and also one of the most influential. Friday The 13th? Scream? These franchises owe a humongous debt to Carpenter and his story of babysitting gone wrong.
These are my horrific five. What are yours? Tell me at grgsmmsjr@gmail.com.
