From jump scares to gore-galore. A top 5 of Halloween classics

Avant Garde
29 okt 2019
3 minuten om te lezen

It is that time of the season; the nights are turning darker, the weather gets colder, and Halloween is just around the corner. What better way to celebrate this time to cozy up on the couch and settle in for a night of horror.

Unfortunately, 2019 hasn’t been the best year for major horror releases. The only movie to come out for Halloween this year is called ''Countdown'', which is about an app that predicts when a person is going to die. Doesn’t sound that exciting for a fright night now does it?

Sure we’ve had our fair share of thrills throughout the year, but it seems that Hollywood is bypassing the tradition of releasing high-profile scary movies altogether. And let’s be honest, a movie about a killer app is not exactly reaching our standard expectations of what we want on October 31st. So grab your popcorn and bundle up, because here is my top 5 of Halloween favorites of all time.

5. Hocus Pocus (1993)

I can’t make a Halloween list without at least mentioning this classic. Hocus Pocus is a comical and charming story about 3 witches who have been resurrected by a teenage boy. With the help of his love interest and his little sister, the three of them try to stop the witches from stealing the souls of children. This movie definitely stays on my marathon watch list for Halloween. As an adult, I can appreciate the comedic scenes, but it won’t make me sit at the edge of my seat anymore; as a kid, this movie genuinely terrified me.

4. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

‘’three film students set out to make a documentary on the urban legend of the Blair Witch in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, only to disappear. A year later, footage of their voyage is discovered, and this film is that very footage.’’ The way this is filmed makes you forget you’re just watching a movie, and this actually never happened. It is a reminder that what scares us the most is the things that we can’t see. The noise in the dark is almost always scarier than what makes the noise. It is definitely a good watch if you haven’t seen it already.

3. The strangers (2008)

“Why are you doing this to us?” “Because you were home.” A story about a couple that falls victim to masked assailants who terrorize them at their isolated cabin. The existential dread that is coming from inside the house is build up in such a way that the audience knows what is about to happen before the couple does. What is terrifying about this movie is that this could happen to anyone, anywhere. There was no reason for this couple to be the one that was stalked and hunted, they were simply at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

2. Texas Chainsaw massacre (1974)

In my opinion the forefather of all slasher movies, and an essential horror classic. The movie follows a group of teens who happen to stumble upon a family of cannibalistic psychopaths. Despite the heavy dose of gore, this movie goes a lot deeper than just a maniac with a chainsaw. No matter how many filmmakers attempt to recreate the insanity that is the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, very few have come close, and I believe that the 2003 remake will never do the original classic justice.

It is a very disturbing slasher movie that can’t be ignored or forgotten. Needless to say, I definitely did not sleep well after seeing it.

1. Halloween (1978)

Number 1 on my list for good reason. The first Halloween movie that kicked off a franchise. The story involves a young boy who kills his sister on Halloween of 1963. He is then sent to a mental hospital which he escapes 15 years later, only to return to his home town in order to wreak havoc and let history repeat itself. What makes this movie so great is that it is suspenseful and chilling without blood and gore, yet it is remembered as a brutal, gory slasher movie. Halloween is the perfect horror movie that is atmospheric and masterfully directed. The original is a masterpiece and a must-see on Halloween night (I think the title speaks for itself).

There you have it, the top 5 of best Halloween movies ever made. I am dying to know what you think of these movies. And what would you add to the list? Don’t be scared to let us know!