‘My Halloween Marathon List’

One of my favorite holidays is coming up.  The holiday where it’s ok to be scared.  It’s actually socially acceptable to scare other people.  You can actually wear ‘weird’ clothes and get candy.  Yes, this time has come for Halloween.  Many people have plans for this holiday.  Personally, I’d prefer to grab a pizza, soda, junk food and watch some good old fashioned horror movies.  Here are eight of my favorites.

1) Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The immortal classic is a main staple in horror cinema.  George A. Romero had no idea the impact he would have when he made this film.  Not only did he help create the fearsome zombie, he showed us humans can prove just as deadly as flesh eating creatures.  This classis isn’t as gory as other entries, but still has plenty of suspense.

2) Child’s Play (1988)
What can possibly be dangerous about a doll?  Dolls are cute and cuddly.  But Chucky isn’t either of these things.  This pint sized terror creates quite a body count.  This film gave me many nightmares, but to this day is one of my favorites.  Brad Dourif is awesome as the creepy killer, Charles Lee Ray.  He gives an even better performance as the voice of Chucky.  Remember everyone, Chucky is your ‘friend til the end.’

3) Halloween (1978)
Serial killers are scary.  Michael Myers, could well be one of the most deadliest cinema villains.  Director and film visionary John Carpenter created a terrifying killer that showed no hesitation or mercy.  What’s worse is that Michael Myers would sneak up on you.  Leatherface would give you a warning as he started up his chainsaw.  But with Michael Myers, there was no warning.  One second you’re safe, the next you’re a corpse.  There are many entries in this series, but the first is a must see…over and over.

4) The Grudge (2004)
This American remake of the original was one of the few Horror movies to actually scare me.  Most movies involving a haunted house gave us the safety knowing if you escaped the house, you lived.  This movie proved us wrong.  The evil entity born out of murder and rage, would follow you home.  There was no escape.  This movie gave us plenty of scares with little gore.  Be warned, this movie is scary.  You can hide all you want, but The Grudge will be right behind you.

5) The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
This may seem like a weird entry considering all the others are horror movies.  But this movie is a blast to watch.  It has a cool premise, in which each holiday exists in a parallel world.  Imagine the possibilities in a world where every day could be Halloween!  This movie was aimed more at kids, but has enough promise to please adults.  Then again, this movie would be great to watch at Christmas too.

6) Fright Night (1985)
We’ve all had that one neighbor that creeped us out.  This classic Horror entry pits a young man against a sadistic vampire who just happens to live next door.  It have plenty of scares and charm to boot.  Roddy McDowall gives an outstanding performance as a washed up actor and self-proclaimed vampire expert, Peter Vincent.  This is one classic 80s movie that shouldn’t be missed.

7) Fright Night (2011)
Remakes are hit and miss.  This one was a surprising hit.  It stayed true to the original with a few plot tweaks.  It also had a smashing performance by David Tennant as Peter Vincent.  In the remake, Peter was re-invented as a douchebag illusionist\occult expert.  Tennant was awesome in this role and and really brought the remake some extra juice.  It’d be an interesting double feature to watch both of these back to back.

8) Aliens (1986)
This is a great movie to watch regardless of the holiday.  James Cameron really outdid himself with this Sci-Fi\Action\Horror thriller.  It had everything: aliens, gore, jump scares and a group of bad ass Marines toting some impressive firepower.  I can never see this movie enough. Let’s not forget the classic line, and say it with me now: ‘Get away from her, you bitch!’

So there you go.  No matter what movies you pick, grab some snacks and enjoy.  Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of my list.