Many people get excited at Halloween to watch a horror film with their friends. But when it comes to the day when you get everyone around, your mind goes completely blank. That’s where we come in. We have collated a few Halloween favourites to guarantee yourself a good Halloween movie night.
Film Recommendations
Where the found-footage horror films Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity fail to deliver in supplying a successful combination of tension, immersion and jump-scares. Creep (2014) certainly puts in a good attempt. The film begins with the arrival of a freelance cameraman, Aaron (Patrick Brice), at a remote house where he meets and gets to know his client for the day – Josef (Mark Duplass).
Aaron quickly discovers that this is going to be a slightly different videography project. His client proclaims to be a dying man, seeking to create a video diary to be shown to his unborn child. This instantly sets the scene for an unforgettable day, but Josef’s complex persona, extensive lies, and hidden desires amplify and twist some perhaps innocuous moments into deeply unsettling experiences. Ensue eccentricity, confusion and at times, very uneasy viewing. With a sprinkling of one of the genre’s staples, simple jump-scares.
The layered performance of Mark Duplass in the role of Josef must be commended. His lapses between an enigmatic, erratic man staring down death and a sinister, unsound creep are fluid and well-controlled. He masterfully walks the line between innocent inappropriateness and skilful manipulation. I can’t promise a wholly satisfying ending but for a 77-minute film, it can hardly be condemned for this. Now, let me leave you with two intriguing words…tubby time. You’re welcome.
– Alec Malkin
Kubrick’s The Shining is one of my favourite horror films that I can’t help but return to every Halloween. I am a huge Stephen King fan and must admit that a lot of the films based on King’s books come across as a bit lacklustre compared to their source material. Despite this, I think The Shining captures the horrors of the Overlook hotel very well despite its deviations from the original novel.
Struggling author and recovering alcoholic, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), takes up a caretaker role at the Overlook hotel, which is closed for the winter season, so he can focus on writing his new book. He is advised upon entering the hotel that the previous caretaker murdered his family before taking his own life. Jack’s son Danny (Danny Lloyd) begins to have frightening visions of horrors happening in the hotel while Jack’s mental health deteriorates as he struggles with writer’s block and begins drinking again.
This film honestly has everything that makes a movie perfect for the Halloween season: ghosts, creepy twins, a haunted hotel and madness brought on by isolation. As an added bonus, Shelley Duvall is incredible in the role of Wendy Torrance and her reactions really highlight the horror.
– Megan Cooke
For me, a great horror film is one with an incredible story while catching you with jump scares. Sinister does exactly that. This 2012 gem follows a crime writer, Ellison, who moves his family to a house that once witnesses gruesome murders. As you can guess, this is not a smart idea whatsoever. As his research continues, more and more sinister events begin to happen within the house. See what I did there.
This film just knows how to set a scene and get you engrossed in the story of the family. You begin to care about what happens to the family and are always questioning what happens next. This movie goes against how traditional jump scares happen with the build-up sometimes amounting to nothing except putting you on the edge of your seat. Plus, with a score like Gyroscope by Boards of Canada, can you possibly go wrong.
– Connor Bragger
Image Credits – The MovieDB