Blood-curdling Halloween movies
Written by Emily Hanson Friday, 30 October 2009 08:00
Who doesn’t love the fall? The changing colors of the trees, the crunch of the leaves beneath the feet, the crisp and cool autumn air. With the change in seasons comes a favorite holiday: Halloween. It’s hard not to love the costumes, trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins, and all that ghoulish, fun stuff.
For those people who don’t have big Halloween plans, or are looking to stay home and have a low-key night, here is a list of my favorite Halloween (or all around scary) movies for you to enjoy.
So grab a blanket, some popcorn and Halloween candy and prepare to be spooked! Don’t forget to invite a friend, or that special someone, to console you when you’re scared!
Hocus Pocus: It’s hard not to love this children’s movie. Over 300 years ago, three witches were sentenced to die in Salem, Mass. for stealing the souls of little children.
Now it’s Halloween, and the witches are back! This time, they’ve got their eyes on immortal life. The witches have turned their wrath on trick-or-treaters and it’s up to a 300-year-old cat, the teenage boy who is responsible for bringing back the witches, his little sister, and the girl he has a crush to save Salem.
Halloween 1-?: With over 10 installments of this classic horror film, viewers can easily get their fix of the ultimate murderer Michael Meyers (and we’re not talking about the “Austin Powers” actor here …)
The never-ending series begins with the 1978 John Carpenter original tale of a psychotic murder (Michael Meyers) who has been institutionalized since childhood for murdering his family. Meyers escapes on a mindless rampage and stalks his younger sister.
Some may not find these movies very scary, but let’s take into consideration that when you’re a 12-year-old girl baby-sitting for the neighbors at 1 a.m. and have to walk home after watching “Halloween IV,” these movies can be slightly terrifying. Especially when Michael Meyers NEVER DIES!
A Nightmare on Elm Street: It’s hard not to forget the razor blade fingers and badly scarred Freddy Krueger. In the early 1980’s the psychopathic Krueger murdered several children. When a judge decides to set him free, Krueger is burned alive in a boiler room by an angry mob of parents whose children he terrorized and murdered.
Years later, the children whose parents are responsible for murdering Krueger experience nightmares of a man with razorblade fingers being burned to death. When people start to violently die in their sleep, Nancy Thompson realizes she must stop the evil psychopath’s reign of terror or never sleep again.
Texas Chain Saw Massacre: While this film takes place in the summer months, that doesn’t stop this movie from being an ultimate nail-biter. For five friends, an idyllic summer day has become a nightmare of fear and blood. Five teenagers travel to visit the home of one’s deceased grandfather.
On the drive, the teens pick up (and quickly drop off) a sinister hitch-hiker who is eating home-cured meat. Not thinking much of the incident, the teenagers arrive at the old family home and are quickly plunged into a nightmare as they meet a family of cannibals who are well-equipped in the art of chain-saws.
Nightmare Before Christmas: This Tim Burton film is an excellent cross-holiday mix of Halloween and Christmas. The Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, Jack Skellington, is longing for something more than the usual Halloween antics.
After stumbling into Christmas Town, Jack discovers a land full of snow, trees, lights and candy canes. In a scheme to take over Christmas, Jack recruits the bats, goblins and witches to help turn Halloween into the best Christmas the world has ever seen.
The Strangers: Your mother always had a reason when she said “Don’t talk to strangers.” After returning from a wedding reception, a couple staying in a vacation house in the middle of nowhere receive a knock on the door in the middle of the night.
Three violent strangers, their faces hidden behind masks, invade the home and leave the couple struggling for survival. This movie is enough to make ANYONE stay far away from strangers!
