31 Films for the 31 Days of Halloween Horror Countdown – Part 2!
Hope you all enjoyed the first ten selections in our Halloween Countdown. As promised part two is here for your viewing pleasure. Some really good films to choose from in this next group. Don’t forget that we still have plenty of great costumes available in our Halloween Boo-tique! See you on the 21st with our final list of frightful films! If you missed part one you can find it here.
21. Dawn of the Dead (Both)
The second installment to Romero’s “Dead” Trilogy sees a group of survivors hold up in a huge shopping mall. The original film was made in 1978 and remains a classic in its own right. A remake directed by Zack Snyder came to the screen in 2004 and I’m not ashamed to admit was an excellent film. I personally prefer the 1978 version but I never shy away from an opportunity to watch the Snyder remake.
20. Poltergeist
The movie that made ghosts fashionable again! I loved Poltergeist for the fact that it handled ghosts as confused spirits seeking peace. For the most part. However there is always that malevolent entity that rattles the cage and that is a big part of the film’s appeal. Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams star.
19. Evil Dead
Sam Raimi changed horror films forever with the release of this film in 1983. Bruce Campbell stars as Ash whose friends travel to a deserted cabin and wind up unleashing an unspeakable evil on the world. That simple explanation doesn’t do the Evil Dead justice but I’m not going to spoil it for you. See this one but don’t see it alone!
18. The Tingler
We have another William Castle / Vincent Price collaboration. This time Price stars as a scientist that discovers where the physical aspect of fear lives in the body and a means to destroy. Fear doesn’t want to go down easy though! Castle created another gimmick for this theatrical release. Dubbed “Percepto”, it required random seats in the theater to be rigged with buzz motors that could be triggered as the “Tingler” moved through the crowd. Beware the bath tub!
17. House on Haunted Hill (1958)
Yes I did have to put the date in there. There was a remake of this horror classic in 1999 that left me wanting. The original on the other hand is a wonderful haunted house movie brought to us in glorious black and white. Vincent Price stars as the eccentric Frederick Loren. He and his 4th wife (yes his 4th wife!) host a haunted house party and invite five guests to remain in the house for a single night. The prize for surviving is $10,000.00 each. You folks know the drill. Ghosts, secret passages, and deceit ensue in this great romp by cult director William Castle.
16. The Thing From Another World
This Howard Hawks Production is a sci-fi classic. An alien spacecraft crash lands in the Artic and an intrepid team of soldiers and scientists are all that stand in its monstrous pilot’s way. This movie is fast-paced with snappy dialogue and very natural acting. It’s available in a colorized version but do yourself a favor and see it in black and white. A much better treat!
15. Forbidden Planet
A retelling of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, Forbidden Planet has been voted the best Sci-Fi film of the 1950’s and rightfully so. Set on the colony planet Altair IV, a group of explorers investigates in an effort to discover why the colony there has gone dark. They discover two survivors, their mechanized assistant Robbie the Robot, and one horrible secret. Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, and Leslie Nielsen star.
14. The Sixth Sense
M. Night Shyamalan’s first directorial foray still stands as one of his best. Bruce Willis stars as a depressed child psychologist that must aid a young boy played by Haley Joel Osment who literally sees dead people. These restless spirits terrorize Osment and it is up to Willis to save his sanity. The Sixth Sense has without a doubt one of the best surprise endings in my opinion. It’s a rock solid film with genuinely scary moments well-placed throughout.
13. REC
This is a brutally scary film out of Spain. Now don’t shy away! The subtitles in no way detract from this suspenseful well-paced gem. A nightshift reporter and her cameraman are doing a human interest piece at a local fire station. A frantic call from an apartment building turns out to be the greatest most terrifying story of the reporter’s life. If she can survive to report it.
12. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Shows like AMC’s The Walking Dead owe everything to this low-budget film that has become legendary. Made for a paltry $114,000.00 this cult classic has grossed over $30,000,000.00 worldwide. You know the drill. A group of survivors hold up in an old farm house to battle flesh eating zombies. Highly imitated yet never duplicated, Night of the Living Dead stands alone atop the zombie heap.
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