Media Monday: Horror Films

It’s Media Monday again, and it is perfect timing.

Hugo and I love going to the movies, and on Friday we went to see Evil Dead, which I was convinced was about zombies for some reason.  I really wanted to go see the movie 42, about Jackie Robinson, but Hugo was in the mood for something scary and my choices were between Lords of Salem and Evil Dead.  I was going to stay the weekend at my parent’s house a couple hours away and I wanted to see the least scary one so I wouldn’t be too scared spending the night alone. The trailer to Lords of Salem creeped me out, and I was sure Evil Dead was about zombies so I didn’t even watch the trailer.  Evil Dead it is!  I mean how scary are zombies, honestly?

So we went, got popcorn, and settled in our seats.  Two minutes into the movie it was very clear it was not about zombies at all, which apparently, Hugo who did watch the trailer, already knew.  But whatever, I really enjoy scary movies.  I think I lasted about twenty minutes before I shut my eyes during a part… and they didn’t open again.  I tried to watch snippets here and there, but it was rough.  I tried falling asleep, but the sound effects were just as bad.  Hugo finally saved me from my misery and said we should just go.  I have never left during a movie before, not even when I went to go see Black Xmas on Christmas Day; I was a little ashamed.

It really got to me and I don’t know why, I’ve seen tons of scary movies over the years and I kept reminding myself that as a film student, I should  know better.  I see almost all the new ones that come out if they look good, and I went through a time in college where I would watch all of the old 60’s and 70’s scary films. During long drives, Hugo and I like to listen to scary story podcasts.  It’s a mystery, but I think it may have been a mix of the timing since I was going out of town, the plot, and how gruesome it was.  Walking out, I did see this poster; it simultaneously made me feel relieved yet somewhat like more of a punk for not being able to watch it.

Great…

It’s unlikely I’ll try watching it again, but not impossible, I may give it a second shot once it’s on DVD.  I’m definitely not the right person to review this movie, seeing as I only got about a third of the way through, so instead I’ve made a list of some of my favorite scary movies.  This is in no way supposed to be a list of the best or most classic scary movies, just a rundown of the ones I’ve enjoyed the most over the years, usually while sharing a bowl of popcorn with Hugo.  Here are ten I think are worth seeing, in order by which they were released.  I’ll try not to spoil any of them for you!

1.  The Bad Seed (1956) – Oh Rhoda!  Scary kids are by far the scariest element in most horror movies in my opinion.  They make you feel horrible because you want them to be destroyed, yet they’re kids, which puts you in a pretty bad predicament.  In scary movies though, they’re usually manipulative and pure evil and Rhoda is likely the one that started it all.

2.  Strait-Jacket (1964) – One of the few scary movies I’ve seen by myself, I came across Strait-Jacket one night on Svenghoulie.  I don’t know how many people are familiar with Svenghoulie or if it’s just a Chicago program, but he’s basically a TV host who dresses like a vampire and shows old horror films.  Strait-Jacket is about a woman who had been in a mental institution for years for killing her husband and his mistress and returns to stay with her daughter right before her daughter is to marry. While not the scariest of the movies on this list, it definitely has an interesting twist.

3.  Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – A classic which also inspired a classic haircut!  The details are what really mess with you.  The opening credits consist of a pan across a cityscape with pink lettering as a soft, almost ominous, lullaby plays.  It also has some very noteworthy scenes that were discussed in almost every film class I had.  Hugo is not as big a fan of old movies as I am, but I once walked in on him showing scenes to his brother and discussing the cinematography like my old classmates… he studies Sociology.

4. Psycho (1960) – No scary movie list is complete without the cult classic.  The first old scary film I saw was Psycho, and it is undeniably good.  It is scary, not ghost scary, but actually scary… reminds me that people can be scary, and strange.  Watch Psycho.

5.  Pet Sematary (1989) – I remember hearing my sisters talk about Pet Sematary when I was younger, but I didn’t see it until about a year ago.  This movie shows that some people just never learn from their mistakes.  Do not, I repeat DO NOT bury your family in sacred ground in a pet cemetery unless you want them to come back evil.  You can’t even consider them zombies, just evil, and it includes another one of those horrible scary kids.

6.  Paranormal Activity (2007) – I put this under the first film’s release date, but I really enjoyed them all, particularly the third one.  Paranormal Activity started a trend by using what seems to be found footage which has been used in several films since then.  I thought the method of shooting the film was clever, and no matter how many times I’ve seen them, they always make me jump.

7.  The Orphanage (2007) – I always try to support artists from Jalisco, Mexico, and producer Guillermo del Toro is among my favorites.  The Spanish language film titled El Orfanato is frightening throughout, but the ending is what haunted me for months afterward.  I always recommend it to people who are looking for a good scary movie.  Actually, I usually rent it for them myself and watch it with them, just to make sure they saw it.

8.  Insidious (2010) – This movie truly terrified me when I first saw it and is among the top three scary movies for me.  It’s another one I recommend often.  It’s just one of those movies that’s a crowd pleaser; fairly new, good story, and with a lot of scary twists without being too confusing.  The thing I liked the most about it was its lack of gore, if I closed my eyes during the movie it was because it was truly scary not just making my stomach churn.

9.  Julia’s Eyes (2010) – Another one by Guillermo del Toro, Ojos de Julia is unique and suspenseful.  Since I was a kid, one of my biggest fears has been to be blind, and this movie definitely played on that fear.  It kept my mind going and my heart pumping trying to figure out what would happen next.

10.  Sinister (2012) – One of the things I like least about this movie is what Hugo like the most, I’m about to spoil the ending, so stop reading if you intend to watch it, evil triumphs.  I know, this type of deviation from the standards of what people expect to see are what make movies fresh and unique, and while I think it was a good move from the filmmaker’s standpoint, I still wish the main character would have found a way to overcome the evil.  I think those types of endings help me cope a little better after watching a scary movie; I may have been constantly frightened for two hours but at least the end was happy and I can go on with my life in only moderate fear.  This movie makes the list because it scared me, bad.  I probably won’t watch it again, it’s one of those you probably only want to watch  once, but it has one of the most clever and ingenious use of sound and visuals that it can’t be excluded.  During a scene in which the main character is walking around his house pondering the evil he has inevitably brought upon his family, he hears creaking, the regular kind you hear in any house.  But it is not the regular kind at all!  Or is it?!  Every creak is caused by ghosts running around his home that he can’t see but the audience can.  I still can’t hear any little noise around my house without automatically tensing up.  Watch the movie because I can’t give that part  justice trying to describe it.

Do you have any recommendations for a must see horror film?  Let me know!

Have Fun,

Cris