Five horror films to enjoy at Halloween

With Halloween being on a school night this year, I'll be celebrating tonight instead. I'm not sure yet whether to create a costume and crawl the local pubs, or invite some friends round to watch a few horror films. A good scary movie will definitely be featuring in my Halloween ritual in some form though, so here are five that I consider the very best.

1. Halloween

Well, it had to be done! How could I blog about Halloween horror films and not mention this? Although it's obviously dated, and has been weakened by terrible sequels, do not forget that what seems cliche now was ground-breaking and innovative at the time. The unstoppable madman hadn't been done to death (excuse the pun) and the idea that someone is out there- watching you from the shadows- is a very scary thought indeed. Did you remember to lock the door?

2. The Shining

All work and no play makes Jack the star of a nightmare-inducing horror with the most awesomely terrifying setting and premise to have ever graced the silver screen. I hate staying on hotels, and it's all the fault of this film. Corridors give me the creeps, especially when I reach the corner and have to peer round before proceeding...

3. The Haunting

The original, please. For a full and detailed breakdown of why this classic is such a chiller, see my earlier post. Even better, read the book by Shirley Jackson.

4. 28 Days Later

Being an avid, if somewhat jaded, horror fan, I have been finding it increasingly difficult to be truly scared. This film is terrifying on so many levels- and whatever particularly scares you, you'll find it here. There's jump-out-of-your-seat shocks, tension-building "look behind you!" moments, grabby-leg bits that make you lift your feet off of the floor, and twitching zombies that are clever and chase- fast. As well as being pant-wettingly scary, the images from the film leave a residual fear so that, even now, I have "zombie-flashbacks". 

5. Scream

Again, a truly clever and original idea that has been copied to death, but (other than its own sequels) never bettered. This film even messes with audience's expectations of the main character better than Psycho did- and that's saying something! Suddenly, nothing was sacred and all the clichés we thought we could rely on were out the window. I can't believe this film reached its 17th birthday this year, which just goes to show how old I'm getting...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notable mentions:

The Fog (the only thing keeping it off this list is that I'm sure you all know by now how much I adore this film)
The Thing
The Exorcist
Rosemary's Baby
The Others

I'm sure you can suggest many more. What's on your Halloween playlist?