Michael. Jason. Freddy. Pinhead. Yes, these are the film monsters nightmares are made of…especially if you live on Elm Street. A lot of these bad guys came from the ’70s and ’80s, the time of the slasher flick…and like the undead are being resurrected. Whether their stories are being retold for the bucks or the sheer horror (or both), the fans are flocking. First, you have a stronger, tougher Michael Myers in the new Halloween run by Rob Zombie, or the unstoppable Jason Vorhees (yeah, that scary force of nature in the hockey mask) in the recent Friday the 13th. Then there is the success of Jigsaw from the seemingly infinite number of Saw films. And let’s not forget the upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street reintroducing us to Freddy Krueger and his long steel claws all over again. Close your eyes and pass the popcorn! Make what you want of this resurgence but Halloween is coming and these are some creepy customers that will cause you to lock your doors and windows and hide in the closet.
Still feeling bold? Okay. Here are some of what SJCPL offers:
• Halloween (and Rob Zombie’s Halloween)
• Nightmare on Elm Street series
• Friday the 13th series
• Hellraiser & Hellraiser: Deader
• Saw series
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre (prequels remakes etc. featuring the beloved Leatherface)
Also check out some recent flicks of the last few years such as Let the Right One In, Last House on the Left (the remake of Wes Craven’s classic), The Strangers, Midnight Meat Train (the title says it all), The Hills Have Eyes, Hostel 1 and 2, The Orphanage, Going to Pieces/The American Nightmare (both excellent documentaries), among many others too numerous to mention.
If you would like an SJCPL list culled from the American Film Institute, try this. Also, IMDB has a list as does Rotten Tomatoes with their own top 50! You will find some classics from all these lists.
A final tip of the hat goes to George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead series for making me believe in zombies again.
What are some of your favorite scary movies?
Enjoy the popcorn and be sure not to go to sleep until the sun comes up.
October 17, 2009 at 10:18 am
I have to say that you completely forgot to mention Ash and the Evil Dead trilogy. Where would modern cinema today be without Sam Raimi’s films before Spiderman? Nowhere; that’s where.
October 17, 2009 at 10:23 am
Just seeing these pictures is scary enough to make me shiver. I think I’ll just skip the movies…
October 17, 2009 at 4:45 pm
In a brief (and fun!) Halloween blog on modern movie creeps and baddies there will always be some memorable films, characters, and directors left out (but not forgotten, Jake). That’s the way it goes. I would like to think somewhere in the blogosphere there are fans and film students with comprehensive analyses deconstructing Raimi’s influence on the modern cinema scene…. But for now, I think I’ll pass and just check out his newest movieDrag Me to Hell and call it a day.
October 17, 2009 at 4:56 pm
I perfectly understand, Libby. Maybe some Marx Brothers instead! Sounds good to me!
October 19, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I’m not one for the “slasher” pics generally, though I loved Alien and Aliens; I think I’m more down with creepy crawlies in space, where I’m now 90% sure I’ll never go, than in my basement, backyard, school, or cemetery.
I also have a soft spot for psychopaths of the more realistic stripe: Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs (I still have to check out Manhunter, which I have heard is superior) and Max Cady (Robert Mitchum’s character) in the original Cape Fear. Also Robert Mitchum’s Harry Powell in Night of the Hunter.
Hitchcock: Psycho, of course, and also Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train, and Vertigo.
And the more atmospheric Coen Brothers films: Blood Simple and Fargo come to mind.
And although I never saw Friday the 13th, there was a very good episode of Psych (season 2, I believe) which paid homage to the 1st installment. Will I ever see Friday the 13th the movie? Not while I still have a basement I won’t!
October 19, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Nice blog J-man! As far as the horror movies I enjoy, I knee jerk back to Romero, Argento, Fulci, William Castle, Corman (of course), Cronenberg, Lynch, H.G. Lewis, Val Lewton … director wise. Film wise: Carnival of Souls, The Tingler, Spider Baby, Eraserhead, Freaks, Dawn of the dead (original), Basket case, Evil Dead, Xtro, Scanners, Opera, Blood feast and Two thousand maniacs, Bucket of blood, Zombi 2 and The beyond, just to name a few. Ahh the fall brings such sights to see…creatures of the night, what sweet music they make.
October 20, 2009 at 12:00 am
The modern day horror shows are overpromised and under-delivered (in my opinion) unless you like predictability and gore. Kenny Rogers face will put more goosebumps on your arm than these no wit/no plot, 2 hr time killers.
The latest movies that seem to have hit it off are The Strangers (relying on creepy people stalking a couple in creepy masks) and Paranormal Activity….ok, I havent seen P.A. yet – but it proves to be a hair raiser from the trailers I have seen so far.
Quite possibly some overlooked spooky shows of yesteryear include: Candeyman; The Sentinel (for you young amatuers out there, dont go running to the library looking for the M Douglas version, you want the “70′s Sentinel); Wizard of Oz (yes, the witch on the bike still scares me); Suspiria; Race with the Devil; Blair Witch; Exorcist; The Omen; and the creme de la creme is the original Nosferatu….enjoy!
October 20, 2009 at 12:09 am
Evil Dead?
I made a paper mache monster head in 4th grade that was better quality than what those hacks did….the witch or dead thing in the trap door was creepy but so is my 401k.
October 20, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Clint, I’m with you on most of those (some I admit to not seeing yet). I’m into the Italian giallo scene but Fulci is still one guy for whom I have to see more movies so I can’t speak for him. (I’ve only seen one or two at most).
Michael Ironside is great in _Scanners_ as is the Prisoner’s Patrick McGoohan as the creepy domineering manipulative psychiatrist overseeing the scanners. I also loved _Videodrome_ though I watched it when I was 14 and didn’t understand some of the social commentary at the time but it is hard to forget the TV screen-stretching scene. One of my 80s favorites is horror/sci-fi movie remake _The Thing_ by Carpenter and I still consider it one of his best. The special effects still stand the test of time. I also have a soft spot for the 1978 version of _The Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ and loved the interplay between Leonard Nimoy’s character, a Dr Phil-like self-help guru and Jeff Goldblum’s paranoid personality (whose hunches prove to be quite true!). I also like to watch some dogs of movies. I thought it interesting what they desecrated when they did the Exorcist prequels–scrapping Paul Schrader’s version _Dominion_ for the dumbed-down version _The Beginning_ by paint-by-numbers director Renny Harlin. Then they released both versions to scrape up as much bucks as the could. Despite my love of previous work by Schrader, neither version was very decent. But it was interesting to see how each of them took some of the same footage and made entirely different movies to the point where Harlin replaced many characters and reshot scenes. Oh bother! And while I agree with everyone in the world that _Exorcist 2: Heretic_ is blasted awful, William Peter Blatty’s _Exorcist 3_ based on his novel _Legion_ is well worth a visit. I would go so far to say his novel Legion is nearly as good as The Exorcist novel. Blatty had originally intended the bizarre _Ninth Configuration_film (based on same-titled book) to be the second Exorcist and was to be part of his “Crisis of Faith” trilogy but Hollywood put the kebosh on it and went for Richard Burton and _The Heretic_. Yikes.
As far as Argento, I love the Three Mothers trilogy but my favorite still is The Bird with the Crystal Plumage followed by either Tenebre or Deep Red (english title).
A more recent movie I did like was _The Descent_ along with older ones such as del Toro’s _The Devil’s Backbone_ (which isn’t quite as recent but I liked it more than the _Orphanage_).
Still most of the more recent movies have been a bit intense for me with violence and the demise of the good characters in so many of the films (hence the term “torture porn’). Still, I put them in the blog as my tastes may differ from other readers’ interests for the shriek.
Thanks for your recommendations…I am going to be very busy with some movies this Halloween season (and the next, and the next, and….)!!!!
October 20, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Kenny Rogers HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH — Oh you are so right. I have never seen a face stretched so tight. _The Sentilnel_is creepy with the whole sideshow freaks used. Burgess Meredith made that flick. I think the low-budget factor lent something to it as well. I almost forgot about that one. Although the old Nosferatu is classic I really appreciate the Klaus Kinski version. I remember liking _the Strangers_ but I must have repressed the ending. I know I did. I just watched the recent release _The Orphan_ but thought it had a sort of cheap twist in it IMHO. I guess I will get in line with everyone else and recommend _Let the Right One In_. It made me wish I read the book first. Haven’t see _Paranormal Activity_ but may have to check that out.
October 21, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I saw this link on Twitter and figured I would put a few of my favorites. I liked Night Breed and Saw. Wolf Creek scared me quite badly. Does Young Frankenstein count? I guess not.
October 21, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Scary? The pilot for Rod Serling’s Night Gallery – 3 stories – creepy, ironic twists, oppressive atmosphere, bad people crushed under the karmic wheel – a high standard maintained by some, but not all of the other episodes of the series. Stories from H.P. Lovecraft, etc. Sample stories: THE ESCAPE ROUTE A Nazi war criminal finds refuge from his pursuers – and a fitting justice for his crimes – by wishing himself into a painting. (I’ll give it away – the last one he escapes into is a painting of the crucifixion.) Also: Google “Pickman’s Model”.
October 21, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Joe, I have such FOND memories of _Night Gallery_…and own the first season. I loved those episodes when I was a kid watching them in reruns late at night…and what about the pilot episode where the painting keeps changing….the greedy young man and corpse coming out of the graveyard plot…slowly coming to get him. Brrrrrr! I also like “The Dead Man” with the character of John Fearing…whose life and death can be controlled by thought. Is he a live man in a dead body? It was one of the cleverest in my memory. I didn’t much care for “Eyes” with Joan Crawford. I know Spielberg did it and I do like some of his early stuff (_Duel_with Dennis Weaver) but not this episode….while watching “Eyes” I couldn’t help looking at the man who gives away his eyes and thinking “Hey! That’s Tom Bosley from Happy Days!” I too liked The Escape Route. I wish they would get Season 3 out on DVD…..Great stuff, Joe!
October 21, 2009 at 7:25 pm
…Joe, I also put _Kolchak : The Night Stalker_ up there with _Night Gallery_ even though it was more comedic. It was a disgrace when they tried to redo this series a few years back…and died within the year. Darren McGavin made Kolchak. Good times.