With the Halloween season upon us, we all have a limited time to pick out which horror films we want to revisit to take us back to what makes Halloween great! Dressing in costumes, eating candy and drinking a stupid amount of alcohol and trying to scare the bejezus out of ourselves and the ones we love. Halloween is a magical time, and what would Halloween be without our personal favorite Horror films. The following films are my personal most favorite Horror films.
6) Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Cabin started out just like any other horror flick, and I am guilty of passing judgement before it really kicked off. I thought ‘ah darn, here comes another lame lost in the forest movie’ but I was wrong… oh so wrong (Please forgive me oh Great Joss Whedon!!). Cabin was cliche’ ON PURPOSE! and it added to the plot so deliciously that it instantly became a classic in my book. If you haven’t seen Cabin in the Woods you are seriously doing yourself a disservice. It quite literally has EVERYTHING a classic horror film has… and I mean everything because when the shit hits the fan in Cabin nothing is left out and that includes Fornicus Lord of Bondage and Pain. This film is truly epic in every sense of the word.
5) The Skeleton Key (2005)
In horror, setting can make or break a film. Whether its a creepy haunted mansion or suburban neighborhood, terror can strike us anywhere. The setting for The Skeleton Key is deep within the voodoo ridden bowels of the Louisianian swamps. The location alone sets you up for a killer ghost story with a dilapidated plantation house and creepy old people, ew… old people. It stars Kate Hudson who takes us on a journey from skeptic to believer with no escape from her hell on the bayou. Don’t let the 38% percent on rotten tomatoes scare you away from this film. You might be able to guess the twist, and if you do it won’t matter. Watching the terror unfold under the Spanish moss is worth it, and the eerie soundtrack adds to the overall feel of the film. This underrated gem will not disappoint!
4) Thirteen Ghosts (2001)
I’m not going to be a snob here and say ‘I prefer the original’ to shamelessly drop the fact that I know that the original 1960 version exists. Well screw that! I’m talkin about the remake, cause the remake was stunningly terrifying. The Ghosts are what make the film a classic. From the Jackal to the Hammer, each ghost was petrifying and they jumped at you from know where to deliver the kind of scares and thrills that we all want from a horror film. The ghosts and the house they wander are so great that you don’t even notice that a plot twist is coming. However the very best part of the whole film is the very end when the doors of the house reopen, and the wraiths are set free to roam the countryside, looking for their next victims.
3) The Thing (1982)
Very few horror films actually affect me when I watch them The Thing is on that very short list. Watching those guys trapped up in the ice, never knowing who to trust and turning on each other gave the monster enough time to pick them off one by one. Even by the end you can’t be sure the survivors are even survivors. Another reason this film is so fantastic is that it came from an era where the production teams actually had to create real monsters and props instead of using CG. In my opinion, CG has always looked fake and soulless and it will always looks fake and soulless. The creature in The Thing looks like it crawled out of the depths of hell. It’s the kind of nightmare that would make Francis Bacon wake up in a cold sweat and never paint again.
2) Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Every once in a great while, a movie comes along that captures the raw essence of Halloween. Trick ‘r Treat is one such film. It features four different stories which happen on Halloween night in Small-Town America. Trick ‘r Treat is funny, creepy, and full of spirit. This film is a holiday tradition in our house and we watch it every year. The film warns us to keep the holiday traditions of Halloween alive and obey them lest Sam, the spirit of Halloween comes for you and murders you with a piece of candy fashioned into a weapon. The stories are brilliant, the costumes and effects are stunning and the film is just downright fun to watch. This makes Trick ‘r Treat a must have for any scary movie night playlist.
1) Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Who other to top a list of horror than one of the greatest masters of all time, Sam Raimi. The man you brought us the Evil Dead films pays an exquisite homage to himself in my most favorite horror films of all time, Drag Me to Hell. This film tells the story of a nice little innocent lady who accidentally crosses an elderly gypsy woman. The old hag curses our heroin with the most powerful spell you can imagine. It’s a jaw dropping story of a person who starts out nice and innocent but has to break every moral code she can to rid herself of a curse that will damn her to an eternity of pain and suffering. Raimi’s signature is all over this film and what we get is classic Raimi at his best!
This Fall season, make sure your Halloween film parties include this list of outstanding horror movies! There are so many more I wanted to add to this list but I had to narrow it down to the ones I love to watch over and over. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
