Ah, it’s Halloween. Surely you have a favorite scary film list rattling around in your brains (mmmm…brains)...here are some sites to help you jog your memory.
I’ll share a few…
- The Exorcist (1973). I didn’t get to see this film at release (I was 10), so I saw it on video and it met all my expectations regarding nightmares. The scene where the beast rises in a shadow in Regan’s room freaks me out.
- Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Day of the Dead (2008). Zombies rule. I saw the original on the big screen for the first time at one of the old revival houses in NYC in the 80s; that it was shot in black and white made it very effective. Dawn and Day are unmercifully doom, gloom and gore, a perfect fit. The Day remake’s ending creeped into my nightmares for days.
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974): OK, this low-budget Tobe Hooper film felt so authentically deranged, and the acting borders on laughable to terrifying (jesus, the sounds and affect of Leatherman and those family members make are so gross and horrible) that my brother and I kept repeating their lines after watching it. I think I’ve see this one at least 5 times. I didn’t bother with any of the remakes.