Se7en (1995)- Autumnal, but perhaps a bit too bleak, it's
still a classic Horror/Thriller, best known for that gut-punch ending (which,
when I saw it at the time of release, made me want to do that to the writer if
I were ever to meet him!) (The gut punch, that is, not cut off his head and put it in a box!)
The Blair Witch Project (1999) - found footage has been
so overdone the last few years that the impact of this film has diminished, but
watched at night in the dark it still can deliver the chills!
Scream (1996) - whilst I enjoy films which poke fun at
genre conventions, I think this one does it a bit too much for my liking, hence
I didn't include it in my list. However
this film had a tremendous affect when it came out, and is still - rightly so -
highly regarded.
Saw (2004) - whilst you could fairly blame this for
kicking off the torture-porn fad of the last decade, it's easy to over-look
that this plays out as a well-told mystery - and isn't as gory as people
remember; it actually holds back from showing a lot of the gory details! I think the continual sequels have devalued
this film, but in a few years people will look back at this as a genre classic,
much like other Horror franchises marred by countless inferior sequels (e.g.
Halloween, Friday 13th, Nightmare, etc.)
I'm sure there are loads more I could have included - perhaps I'll do another list next Halloween? Anyway, without further ado, here's my choice for a Halloween Triple-Bill - in running order, no less!
Donnie Darko (2001)
As I previously posted, when I was a kid Halloween was
more about the anticipation, the build up to the night, more than the actual
holiday. If I had to pick out one film
which I feel reflects that it would be this one. The atmosphere, the underlying weirdness,
just captures the feelings I'd get looking at all the Halloween decorations for
sale in the shops, which fuelled my anticipation and excitement about what the
night would bring! Aside from the fact
that Halloween is a prominent date in the movie's plot (it is, of course, the
date the world will end!), in a lot of respects it doesn't seem like a logical
choice to be on here. In its own right
it is a brilliant film, if hard to categorise: is it a sci-fi? A super-hero
story? A religious allegory? Or is it simply a drama about how your teenage
years can at times really, really suck?
It's all of those, of course, and more.
I've chosen this as the first film I'd watch in my Halloween Triple Bill
because of the atmosphere and how it captures the build-up and anticipation to
Halloween.
The Shining (1980)
Enough superlatives have been thrown in the direction of
this masterpiece without me adding to them, but I think this remains possibly
the most chilling ghost-story put on film (and that's not just because of the
wintry setting - that's right, not 'Autumnal', for a change!). I have included this in my Halloween
'Triple-Bill' because I think there should be at least one very serious horror;
'The Shining' is without doubt exemplary in this respect - there's levels of
psychological horror (Jack's mental decline, the implied abuse of his wife and
son), visual horror (The Twins, The Woman in the Bath), atmospherics (the
implied menace of the empty, labyrinthine hotel; the elevator of blood), and
tension & shocks ("Herrrrrre's Johnny!" Dick Halloran's
death). I think you'd be hard pushed to
find a more perfect ghost story and horror film to spook you and give you
chills on Halloween night!
Re-animator (1985)
After the intensity of 'The Shining', to finish off my
triple bill I decided to lighten the mood (slightly!) I decided to go for some
ghoulish fun - there are a number of films I could have chosen (some are in
this list!), but ultimately I plumped for this one. It has a black, slightly sick sense of humour
(be-headings AND cunnilingus all in one scene?!?), but it is archetypal of
horror films of its era. When it gets
gruesome, it is with a wild, infectious sense of glee, so you know this is for
laughs as much as it's intended to creep you out. I figure what better way to bring
Well, these are
my choices, I'll be very surprised if anyone else would have chosen the same
three movies. Ironically, I won't be
watching any of these films this Halloween as I'll be away on holiday with my
family. But if you choose to watch some
suitable movies on Halloween night, I hope you have a creepy, ghoulish, scary,
fun evening!
Have you seen the documentary Room 237? It's all about the symbolism in The Shining and is a fascinating deconstruction of its many (alleged) hidden meanings. Whether Kubrick intended all of them is highly doubtful, but there's plenty for fans of the film and conspiracy theorists alike to mull over. The most outrageous theory is that Kubrick planted hints that he had directed the faked moon landing footage and been sworn to secrecy! Nonsense, of course, but it may have been a deliberate tease. As someone in the documentary notes, "Nothing in Kubrick's films is there by accident."
ReplyDeleteI know the film you mean - although I've not seen it, but it is highly regarded. Ironically, it appears someone has made one about Ghostbusters - as much as a classic that film is, I honestly can't see how that film would have the level of deliberate symbolism and subtext that Kubrick was fond of! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2978660/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1
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