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Halloween Flicks
“The experiment will go on, and anything can happen...”
“Or nothing.”
“Or nothing. And I have to confess that nothing is what I would prefer. Not because I'm frightened -- though fear is undeniably an element of this business -- but because there can't be any final outcome. I'm quite sure of that.”Stanislaw Lem, Solaris
Halloween is a time to celebrate the dark side of our reality. We relish the dramatic explorations of the possibility that all is not well, that malevolent forces lurk just beneath the surface, ready to upend our lives and destroy those we love.
What could be more fun? Here's a brief list of some films to get you in the mood....
[Title links open up Internet Movie
Database listings in a new window.]
- BATMAN RETURNS
- Hey, what could be more gothic and dark than a man dressed up as a
giant bat, chasing a deformed freak who plots to kill the firstborn
children of Gotham City? Though it's set at Christmas, Tim Burton's second
batflick is an artful contrast of good and evil. The Penguin is portrayed
like a Victorian, Edward Gorey Santa From Hell, pulling toxic waste and
body parts from a stocking. Everything is dark and lifeless (the cold heart
of winter). Gotham City seems like a seedy graveyard overrun with
commercialism and political malaise. Very dark. Need more evidence?
Siouxsie and the Banshees provide the requisite dance tune.
- BURN, WITCH, BURN (a.k.a. NIGHT OF THE EAGLE)
- Fritz Lieber tale of a university professor who finds out that his wife
has been aiding his career with witchcraft. Being a rational fellow, he
convinces her to stop, but she insists that his rivals have been using
black magic against him, and....
- CADFAEL "Virgin In The Ice"
- This series about a 12th Century monk (Derek Jacobi) who does some
detective work in his spare moments has a rather clear, realistic tone. But
one episode was almost unbearably suspenseful and ... tragic. It has all
the elements of great horror: a hysterical young apprentice troubled by
spiritual torment, a shocking crime, a climate of danger and death. Takes
place in the dead of winter. Add to this a truly remarkable montage of a
young girl's frozen corpse slowly thawing out in a dark monastery, and you
have one disturbing Halloween tale. Despite the apparently trite "detective
monk" motif, this production is quite moving, sure to please fans of arcane
intrigue.
- CURSE OF THE DEMON (a.k.a. NIGHT OF THE DEMON)
- Jacques Tourneur's classic tale of mysterious paganism. Aside from a
couple of hokey effects shots (added by the studio), it's a very
suspenseful mystery. An American psychologist travels to Britain to
discredit a devil cult leader, but the cultist slips a little piece of
paper in his briefcase, which ... marks him for ... death! The ending is
un-nervingly scary.
[The IMDb reports that the video version currently available is the longer, UK release.]
- DEAD OF NIGHT
- A ripe, old classic. Several creepy and comical tales are strung
together by a central story about a man haunted by peculiar deja vu. An
architect named Craig is the weekend guest in a client's home, and when he
arrives, he confesses to everyone present that he's repeatedly dreamt about
meeting them there. As they discuss ideas of precognition, each guest
relates a story,... and the viewer is treated to a series of unforgettable
vignettes. The direction is expert, particularly in the subtle precision of
editing, sound and suspense. Although most of the stories are excellent,
this film is most well known for the infamous "Ventriloquist's Tale"
featuring Michael Redgrave; it's one of the most disturbing stories ever
put on film.
- DEAD ZONE, THE
- Somber Stephen King story about a man who awakes from a coma with the
power to tell the future related to people or objects that he touches. Sad,
like the horror genre should be.
- ELEPHANT MAN, THE
- True story of John Merrick, a deformed circus performer, and the
physician who took an interest in him and finally befriended him. David
Lynch's poignant gothic tragedy.
- EVIL DEAD II, THE
- Sam Raimi's hilarious follow-up to his super-low budget EVIL DEAD.
Rather gory. Also recommended for aficionados: ARMY OF DARKNESS (also known
as THE MEDIEVAL DEAD).
- THE FRIGHTENERS
- There are two kinds of horror film fans. Those who know
Peter Jackson, and those who don't*. His early,
super-low budget flicks are vivid, awful, and disgustingly slapstick. BAD
TASTE and BRAINDEAD are wicked little shockers. This film is no different,
though the big budget shows in every shot. It's superb. Jackson has a great
cast, too: Michael J. Fox, Jeffrey Combs, Dee Wallace-Stone
and Jake Busey. The story unfolds like a horrific, supernatural
rollercoaster ... with as many laughs as shocks. Great score by
Danny Elfman, too. (*If you're one
of those who aren't familiar with Peter Jackson, you might
have seen his sly period flick, HEAVENLY CREATURES. It's tamer, but no less imaginative.
In fact, I think it's his best.)
- GHOSTBUSTERS
- Just because.
- HAUNTING, THE
- Inspiration for THE SHINING, Shirley Jackson's shocker about a house
that's haunted to the Nth degree ... and the parapsychologists who spend a
few nights "documenting" the goings on. One of the scariest movies ever
filmed, really.
- HELLRAISER
- Clive Barker creepiness at its cheapest, dirtiest, and most fun. LORD
OF ILLUSIONS was pretty darn good, too, though it took itself more
seriously.
- INNOCENTS, THE
- Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw," a governess discovers that her
two young charges are in the thrall of ghosts. Jack Clayton's delicate
direction masks some truly shocking moments.
- INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)
- Before his acclaimed "arty" films, before his take on Tom Wolfe's
THE RIGHT STUFF, Philip Kaufman took a stab at remaking
Don Siegel's 1956 classic of urban paranoia and isolation.
Jack Finney's book was creepy enough, and Kaufman brought the
essential story to a new generation by situating the suspense in an already
cold and distant, urban landscape. Very creepy and claustrophobic.
- JAWS
- Steven Spielberg revived the ol' "Monster in a Dark House"
genre with this suspenseful tale of a supernatural killer (shark) that's
loose in a dark house (open sea). All the hallmarks of gothic shockers are
here, including the deranged shaman/hero, here played with gusto by the
incomparable Robert Shaw. A special treat: the "ghost story" that
Quint tells of the USS Philadelphia.
- LAST WAVE, THE
- An Australian lawyer, haunted by prophetic dreams, defends some urban
aborigines on a murder charge. He suspects that they're "tribal," and the
victim was murdered with magic. As some unknown epiphany looms, the film
gets progressively spooky.
- LEGEND
- Following BLADE RUNNER, Ridley Scott concocted this sumptuous faerie
tale, complete with a princess, unicorns, elves and Tom Cruise as a
cute young forest knave. It's also got goblins, monsters, the Prince of
Darkness,... and Robert Picardo as the sea hag Meg Mucklebones, one of
my favorite creeps in all filmdom. This is a film to put on late,
curled up with a snuggle buddy, pillow and childlike wonder. Mia Sara
and Tim Curry are just soooo good together. The seduction of Lily is a
goth swoon-fest.
- LEGION (EXORCIST III)
- William Peter Blatty's follow-up to his blockbuster novel and film has
a bit less gore, and a lot more creepiness. There's also some deeper
exploration of spiritual doubt in the modern world. Despite some flaws,
this one really frightens. Watch for Brad Dourif's star turn as an
especially sick puppy; he should've gotten an Oscar.
- NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, THE
- Tim Burton's riotous tale of Jack Skellington and the denizens of
Halloween Town taking over Christmas.
- OTHER, THE
- Very scary story of gothic horror in the 1930s. Two twin brothers, one
good, one very, very naughty. Things go slowly awry one hot summer.
- SALEM'S LOT
- Pretty good TV film (by Tobe Hooper) of Stephen King's first big hit.
Vampires infest a small New England town.
[Unfortunately the video release is the 112 minute "cable TV cut" version, down from the original 200 minute miniseries.]
- SOMEWHERE IN TIME
- Spooky romantic yarn about a playwright who
travels back in time to find the woman who contacted him when he was a
younger man ("Come back to me," she had pleaded as an old woman). Problem:
now that he's back, she hasn't met him yet, and....
- TIME AFTER TIME
- H.G. Wells really did build a time machine. And he
really did use it. But ... he used it to pursue his friend, Jack the
Ripper, when he escaped Victorian London to 1980s San Francisco.
- WICKER MAN, THE
- A Scottish policeman travels to remote Summerisle
Island to investigate a report of a missing girl. Things are very odd,
though. No one admits that she's missing, but he find evidence of her
everywhere. The village seems to be harboring a horrible secret ... one
that shocks the good Sergeant Howie to his very soul. Considered by some
the CITIZEN KANE of horror films.
- YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
- Mel Brooks' classic shocker about Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, and his grudging return to his forebear's research into reviving dead bodies. A classic musical comedy.
-- D.B. Spalding
D.B. Spalding is a cross-media "infopreneur": columnist, reviewer,
producer, consultant and online content developer. He writes frequently
about music, film, computing and the mass- and multimedia. Many of his
articles can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.korova.com.
Last revision: 04 November 1997
