“It's Halloween; everyone's entitled
to one good scare.”
-Sheriff Leigh Brackett, Halloween
We love horror movies! We’ve recommended them
because they provide great health benefits and deserve to stand amongst the
best films of all time for providing oodles of ooky, spooky good times.
For our celebration of all things that go bump in
the night, we introduced audiences to both traditional and modern classics with
our new Cinematic Fanatic program. The program has been wildly successful and
we’re so excited to see individuals revisiting these phenomenal films. In honor
of our new program and the exciting release of Halloween directed by
John Carpenter we present to you the 5
Best Horror Movies of All Time.
1.Halloween
A great horror movie has to terrify, but also
provide thorough entertainment for an audience. No other horror film in the
history of cinema possesses those qualities the way Halloween does. John
Carpenter’s master work provided tons of slow-building scares and the
groundwork for a new generation of horror.
Did you know that the infamous Michael Myers mask is
actually a William Shatner mask celebrating the 1970s television show Star
Trek? The prop department spray painted the mask white, teased the hair, and
reshaped the eye holes to create the infamous face of Michael Myers. Halloween
proves that anything can be scary you just need to know how to use it, even
if it’s a 1970s icon’s likeness.
2.The
Exorcist
It does not get any more iconic than the special
effects driven 1973 film The Exorcist. What filmmaker William Friedkin
was doing on the set of this spooky production was groundbreaking on nearly all
levels, from the makeup to the practical effects and language.
Friedkin put his faith in a fourteen-year-old girl,
buckets of vomit-green pea soup, and a screenplay that would make the most
immoral people blush. Who would have guessed that this film would be the
smartest investment Warner Bros. would ever make, considering the film is the
highest grossing WB film of all time when adjusted for inflation?
3.The
Fly
David Cronenberg is nuts and nowhere is it more
obvious than in his 1986 film The Fly. The film features some of the
best makeup in the motion picture business. You will absolutely believe that
Jeff Goldblum is transforming into a fly before your eyes.
Makeup courtesy of Academy Award winner Chris Walas
receives the first credit at the end of the film. It’s a fitting tribute to an
accomplished creator. He provides the film a terrifying transition and
Cronenberg presents gross-out gags that possess a dark humor only he could
provide.
4.The
Shining
This 1980 film is one of the most controversial of
all in the genre. Shelley Duvall has said that performing her role was
torturous, rumors of over 120 takes per shots were circulated, and author
Stephen King was NOT a fan of the final film. Additionally, multiple film
scholars and relatively crazy people have dissected, rebuilt, and dissected
again this horror classic with unorthodox, yet fascinating, results.
Regardless of all the work, whether necessary or
not, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining still holds up today. The film
sizzles with pacing that is blood trickling slow and a climax which solidified
Jack Nicholson as one of the best actors in his day.
5.The
Evil Dead
We wanted to provide readers with an option that
might seem a little unorthodox and earns laughter as well as gasps. Movies that
come to mind are Scream, Cabin in the Woods, or Young Frankenstein,
but the film that combines both humorous and horrific qualities perfectly,
whether purposefully or not is The Evil Dead. Sam Raimi’s breakthrough
feature is a brilliant picture that utilizes simple effects and easy thrills,
but there is something deeper present in the freshman effort. Raimi moves with
his camera operator in flawless, sweeping motions that create a horror
environment that today’s modern gore fest lacks.
So there you have it! Now jump in and devour all
these delicious manic morsels including Halloween, which returns to
Aksarben Cinema this week for a special engagement. Aksarben Cinema will start
showings of Halloween Wednesday, October 29, and go through Halloween
weekend. Don’t miss an opportunity to see one of these five horrifying films
before Halloween night! You can also catch Saw for one week only! Get showtimes and tickets here.
