As we enter early October the leaves are changing, the air is cooling, the days are shortening, and it is time to start watching good movies instead of braving the chill of the night air. When we celebrate Halloween we don’t have to slave over stoves, board unwanted family, or fight lines to buy gifts for undeserving children, all we have to do is sit back and enjoy the holiday as we rot out our teeth. Here are some of the best films to watch and either relax or panic during the best holiday season.
11. The Corpse Bride
Tim Burton won an Oscar for Best Animated Film of 2006 for “Corpse Bride.” It is the quintessential creepy and adorable we know him for and it is a great film to get young kids into the holiday before inducting them with blood and gore.
10. Night of the Living Dead
The original zombie movie is one to jump start your Halloween season. It is not the scariest and not the best written, but it sets the precedent for so many future movies of this genre that appropriate homage must be given to it. Also, for one of the best laughs at a film spoof, after you watch this film search YouTube for “Night of the Living Bread.” The spoof makes sitting through the original all worth it.
9. Silence of the Lambs
Hello Clarice… The film is not set during Halloween and the villain is not a classic Vampire or Zombie, but when a film has 7 Oscar nominations and wins 5, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay you cannot make a top 10 list and exclude it. Hopkins’ performance gave birth to Hannibal the Cannibal and his fava beans and chianti have not left the part of our minds that makes us pull our covers up to our eyes at night.
8. House of 1000 Corpses
Rob Zombie is one of the kings of gore and this film best combines that talent with jump factor, original story, comedy, and the ability to just make viewers queasy to their stomach. I am never the one that is pushing to re-watch the film, but when my friends make me do it I am happy that I did.
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7. Donnie Darko
The film is a cult classic for good reason. It gives you psychological thrill, fear, creep-factor, and has a film-noir quality that makes it visually appealing. The giant bunny is enough to give you nightmares for a few days and the fact that the climax of the movie is leading up to actual Halloween makes it perfect to put you in the mood for the holiday.
6. The Shining
What happens when you combine Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, and Jack Nicholson? You get one of the most frightening tales ever told on film. The film is able to terrify on several primal levels and is cinematically impressive the way Kubrick makes us feel so isolated in such a beautiful backdrop.
5. Halloween
I’m not a huge fan of slasher films, but if I have to pick one, I will pick the original. John Carpenter introduced us to Michael Myers in 1978 and since then he has given us 10 sequels which have grossed collectively over $366million. Carpenter has been called the “Master of Horror” and if you watch this film in the dark by yourself on Halloween it will be hard to disagree with the nickname.
4. 28 Days Later
I love a good zombie movie and there are so many to choose from, but “28 Days Later” my favorite to re-watch once a year. It is not the first, it is not the goriest, and it is not the scariest, but it is the best overall when it comes to storyline and jump factor. The realism of the characters’ struggle in the film is something that needs to emulated by all post-apocalyptic films.
3. Young Frankenstein
This year is the 40th anniversary of Mel Brooks’ comedic classic and it is still a blast to watch every time (and as promised Film Fad will have a coming feature celebrating the film). Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman are able to make us feel just a bit uneasy but still have us laughing through the entire film. This is a film that when you hear a friend has not seen it, you force them to sit down and watch it.
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2. Psycho
This film is my #2 because it has one of the biggest cinematic twists in a movie done by one of the greatest directors of all time. It’s hard to rank any Hitchcock film against another, but this one will have to take the lead as best for the Halloween season. It is not just the scare factor that makes this film great but the Master of Suspense is able to make us feel uncomfortable in every scene from start to finish with the power of his camera alone. When Hitchcock was once asked what the scariest thing he ever did in a movie was he answered that any police scene like the one at the start of “Psycho” put him on edge more than anything.
1. The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tim Burton and Danny Elfman’s animated classic is my #1 because it embodies all that Halloween should be about (It’s also probably my #1 Christmas film too). The film is funny and quirky, dark and creepy, and enjoyable to all ages of audiences. The plot, characters, and type of filmmaking are all original and timeless. For me this film is to Halloween as “It’s A Wonderful Life” is to Christmas. The storyline of Jack Skellington searching for meaning in his life is relatable to everyone. Travelling with him through both Halloween and Christmas town helps us share his struggle and melancholy, and allows us to celebrate with him when we learn the lesson that we can and should be happy being the best at what we do. I will continue to watch this movie every October as I put up my Halloween decorations, and when finished, scream from my balcony into the night air “I’M JACK! THE PUMPKIN KING.”