Stephen McDermott’s Top 5 Horror Movies to Watch this Halloween Weekend
By Stephen McDermott
Horror movies can be firmly put into 2 Categories… Scary & Gory.
While the golden age of the horror movie has certainly passed, today’s offerings concentrate more on the Gore side than the spooky side.
So, let’s take a trip down memory lane with some of the most iconic horror movies out there that you can watch and a couple of honourable mentions for modern offerings.
Remember these are all about making you feel uncomfortable and nervous as opposed to blood splattering special effects.
One movie that didn’t make the list but is currently on Netflix and worth a look is February. Haunting, slow building and terrific music that leaves you feeling very unsettled. Now, on with the list.
5 – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)(dir. Tobe Hooper)
There is a reason that this movie is on the list. Yes, I know, I mentioned about no gore, but that’s why this movie is so good and well crafted. There is very little actual gore on screen.
When it was originally released people were convinced they had seen young girls and guys being chopped up by a chainsaw, when in fact it was the mere suggestion of it that tricked their brains into thinking they had seen something they hadn’t.
4 – The Blair Witch Project (1999) (dir. D Myrick & E Sanchz)
Like it or loathe it, this is granddaddy of the modern “found footage” genre. 3 students go in to the woods to explore the legend of a witch. They disappear. Their footage is found and we have a front row seat to a group of friends starting to wonder whether they will see the morning alive.
The genius marketing campaign behind this movie, including the websites, hotlines and everything else, just goes to show that you don’t need to blow millions of dollars on advertising. Gets a mention in this list, as its first official sequel hit cinemas this Halloween.
3 – The Exorcist (1973) (dir William Friedkin)
What can you say about the exorcist that hasn’t been said already? Terrifying. Controversial. Disturbing. The list of superlatives could fill this entire page.
Starring Linda Blair, Max von Sydow and the wonderful Ellen Burstyn, the Exorcist tells the tale of a little girl, possessed by the devil himself and the priests who try to rid her of this demon.
Lifted from the pages of William Peter Blatty’s novel of the same name, this is one of the most terrifying and disturbing movies you will ever see with iconic scenes as well as unforgettable dialogue. And who can forget the theme tune….
2- Psycho (1960) (dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
The behemoth of the horror world. One of the greatest horror movies out there. Stunning performances by its cast of characters.
A visionary director in Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. The story of how it got to big screen is almost as good as the movie itself. Selected from the pages of a pulp fiction novel by Robert Bloch, Hitchcock managed to give us one of horrors iconic villains as well as an unforgettable score by Bernard Herrmann.
What’s sad today is more people remembering the shot for shot remake by Gus Van Saant instead of the original. Please, I implore you, sit back and watch this with the lights out. And marvel at the one of the greatest horror movies of our age.
1 – The Shining (1980) (dir. Stanley Kubrick)
This was a tough choice between Psycho and The Shining.
Why do I think the Shining deserves number 1? Well, let’s look at its list of merits. An iconic maverick director? Check.
A leading cast playing against type? Check. Spooky surroundings? Check. Memorable Lines? Check. Okay, you see where I am going with this.
The Shining is one of the most terrifying movies out there for the simple reason of watching one man, Jack Nicholson, descend into utter madness and murderous rage as the spirits of a haunted hotel overtake him and set him on a path to hell.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the backstory to this is as interesting as the movie. Kubrick was suffering from mental block and wasn’t sure what direction to take next. He was throwing things around his office, much to the annoyance of his PA sitting outside, when suddenly everything went quiet and upon investigation, in which she found him reading Stephen King’s, The Shining, his PA was told “ I have found my next movie”.
Stephen King hated it, so did audiences of the day, but it started to build up a following to the point at which today, it stands up and alone as one of the greatest horror movies out there. Watch it at your peril!!
Honourable Mentions
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – Kids get terrorised by Freddy Krueger
Friday the 13th (1980) – More kids terrorised, this time by Jason
Village of the Damned (1960) – Parents get terrorised by kids
CUJO (1983) – Parents AND kids get terrorised by dog