Scary Movies for Halloween?

I know....not another poll question, but I'm curious, what's your favorite, ultimate scary movie?

On 2003-10-15 12:08, DawnTiki wrote:
I know....not another poll question, but I'm curious, what's your favorite, ultimate scary movie?

Bedtime for Bonzo

For a long time it was "In the Mouth of Madness" by Halloween director John Carpenter, but I really liked "The Ring". It is one of the best real scary movies I've seen in a long time.

We are thinking about haveing some friends over for Halloween, I would like to see something really scary. Seamus I just got done watching The Ring not five minutes ago. I'm home alone, watching this pretty scary movie with the mute button on. I am such a wuss!

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2003-10-15 12:28 ]

"Killer Clowns from Outer Space"

Now that's scary! Kinda.

Psycho Beach Party!

Oh, and I like to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight on Halloween at the local Roxy theatre. Toast, rice and playing cards are of course thrown all over the place.

Session 9 is the scariest movie I've ever seen. Jamie, my wife, walked out toward the end because it freaked her out so much.
A

Oh ya, Killer Clowns from Outer Space is a classic!

Don't forget Lobster Men from Mars!

I'm always one for scary movies, but Jeepers Creepers really freaked me out. I actually had to turn it off until the next day.

Can't go wrong with the horror staples:

The Exorcist
Alien
The Haunting (the original, not the crappy remake)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Night of the Living Dead
The Thing (John Carpenter's version)
Evil Dead
Poltergeist
The Shining

I have friends who swear by the film Susperia but I've never seen it.

"Phase 4" does it for me. I dunno, there's just something about the hyper inteligAnt ants destroying humanity that freaked me out & never stopped.

Good list Muggler. Here's some more;
Phantasm
The Prince of Darkness
Angel Heart
The Wicker Man
Parents(50's retro themed black comedy but still kinda scary)

O you guys have forgotten Show Girls
Scary very scary and a few boob shots as well.

I still have to see Killer Clowns since I thought it was cool, corny & scary, but still, for me, it's Trilogy of Terror. Don't remember it? Take a look at my post from last year for a reminder picture. (Inky, don't look!!)

That damn Zuni doll!

Enter The SoCal Hoity Toity Schedule

[ Edited by: sugarcaddydaddy on 2003-10-15 13:24 ]

I have a soft spot for all of the E.A.Poe/Vincent Price films. They may not be as scary to todays' film buffs, but they boast the creepiest castles in film history (IMHO).

-Z

(interesting: this post is my #66th. spooky!)

Thank God The Tiki Bar Is Open
Thank God The Tiki Torch Still Shines...

[ Edited by: Feelin' Zombified on 2003-10-15 13:35 ]

On 2003-10-15 12:45, TheMuggler wrote:
I have friends who swear by the film Susperia but I've never seen it.

"Suspiria" is not that scary. It's quite artsy, which makes it a lot different from most horror films I've seen, but it didn't give me nightmares the way "Silence of the Lambs" did. I liked the music in this film, but the composers didn't write enough of it -- they just keep repeating the same thing over and over again throughout the film and it gets annoying after a while. If you liked Jessica Harper in "Phantom of the Paradise" you should check this one out.

--cindy

One night on cable a long time ago I watched Crumb (the documentary about cartoonist / illustrator R Crumb and his family), followed by the Blair Witch Project. The strange thing is that I ended up being more disturbed by Crumb than by BWP, which I thought was pretty dumb and didn't measure up to all the hype. The whole thing about Crumb's crazy misanthropic brother who never left his mother's house for years, and who killed himself after the movie was completed, and their sick sibling rivalry, and their other brother in SF who laughed as he told the story of assaulting a girl in a store. Quite a contrast - the real horror of a documentary, and the fluff horror of a contrived thriller. Course, to be on topic, the thrillers are much more fun on Halloween.

-Randy

On 2003-10-15 14:26, aquarj wrote:
One night on cable a long time ago I watched Crumb (the documentary about cartoonist / illustrator R Crumb and his family), followed by the Blair Witch Project.

Crumb was quite a creepy film; BWC just made me laugh because it was so cheesy and I knew it was all fake.

(BTW, BWC was the last movie I saw at the Burlingame Drive-In before it closed. sigh)

Few people have seen it, and almost nobody but me actually liked it, but I thought Blair Witch 2 was very scary.

I'd also recommend Ringu and Dark Water for scary films.

Not frightening but dark and eerie would be Suicide Circle, Battle Royale.

if you like older horror movies, i'd recommend The Changeling, starring George C. Scott, and The Legend of Hell House, starring Roddy MacDowall.

I think Ringu 2 tops all of the four "Ring" movies. (Ringu, Ringu 2, Ringu 0, and The Ring)

I didn't find the The Wicker Man to be scary, but call me a wuss - I kept looking at my TV for reflections of aliens after watching "Signs." Oh, and Communion has one or two creepy moments. Some laughable ones, though, as well.

Battle Royale was GREAT!

It's a shame youse didn't get to see Blair Witch pre-hype - it's a worthy film. I predict it's a cult classic in the near future once the hype circus is forgotten.

I heartily agree with the recommendation of the original "The Haunting," especially since you can now get it digitally restored--not, unfortunately, with a Dolby 5.1 remix, as some were hoping (the movie relies on really scary noises, and would have been enhanced by a remix). And ditto to the person who recommended "The Changeling," another very stylish and opulent ghost movie (with ties to "The Haunting") which IS in stereo, and very creepy-sounding it is. It scared the gee-whillikers out of me, personally.

If yer in a Tiki-style drinking mood, I would recommend "The Killer Shrews," which features lots of drinking and was made by the evil director Ray Kellogg, who was also responsible for "The Giant Gila Monster," a film that features no drinking to speak of, but demands drinking to help the viewer get through it.

John Carpenter's "Halloween" and "The Fog" also both feature decent amounts of drinking, for those looking for some inspiration.

Hot Buttered Rums all around!

On 2003-10-15 15:38, Rain wrote:
Battle Royale was GREAT!

It's a shame youse didn't get to see Blair Witch pre-hype - it's a worthy film. I predict it's a cult classic in the near future once the hype circus is forgotten.

I was in Baltimore when Blair Witch came out. My wife, grandmother, and I stood in line to watch it the first night it was out in a really great restored theater. We loved it, and still do.

Blair Witch 2 was a different film (and rightly so IMO). Nothing like the original, but a worthy film in its own right, again IMO. Haven't found anyone else to date that agrees with me though. :)

Horror movies? With Arnold as our guv, who needs movies???

But seriously, I second John Carpenter's "The Thing". Eerie, remote setting, creepy monsters, much suspense, and a bit o humor (the blood test). Good stuff.

Another one I didn't see here already which is actually a good movie is American Psycho. It's not hardly gory at all, but implication of violence is intense and the suspense is killer - pun intended.

While not a horror movie, a great, edge-of-your-seat suspense movie was Phonebooth. Very smart and logical thriller with an astounding perfermance by Colin Ferrel. Very clever filmmaking techniques, too, that really helped add to the intensity of the story. I never believed they could hold my interest so tightly with nothing but a guy in a phone booth, but they did.

I thought Blair Witch was pretty good. The end gave me a jolt. I caught BW2 late one night and thought it was pretty good too. There was a fake documentary that ran on cable before BWP came out that I thought was really creepy. It was all the legend of the witch and how they found the personal belongings of the student filmakers down under an old foundation way after they had disapeared. It was brilliant pre-hype marketing for the movie, but still kinda creepy.

The original "The Haunting" from the 50's. Very scary to me even now. The lesbian overtones are pretty cool, but the ghost stuff is first rate and is more like a real haunting than most over done movies.

My Vote for a truely scary movie is

The Entity - Granted it's dated because it's a 1981-82 flick...but it's by far one of the most disturbing pictures I've ever watched, and in the end it's based on a true story. Personally I prefer a good William Castle film (original 13 ghosts, or House on Haunted Hill, or The Tinkler) --- If you intend on a public viewing of The Entity you may want to preview it first.

TB

yeah, i forgot about the entity - that's definitely creepy. except for the stupid guitar noise every time the thing makes a move.

i didn't care for blair witch 2, really, but i like the director's other work - paradise lost, etc...

i just remembered another recent low budget movie - for those of you that are hp lovecraft fans (i now live in lovecraft territory! sweet!), check out dagon. i think that's what it was called, anyway. it's not the best movie ever, but it's really atmospheric and pretty creepy. another fun lovecraft flick is the dunwich horror, starring a young and mustachioed dean stockwell. this one has a GREAT score - i listen to it all the time.

as far as movies that one person likes but others don't - i LOVE the ninth gate, starring captain jack sparrow and directed by roman polanski. one of my all time favorites.

Live from Rapa-Newi-England

[ Edited by: Rain on 2003-10-15 16:48 ]

HP Lovecraft rocks! I caught Dagon by chance one late night on cable. It was good. If you've ever read any of his books, you can catch the occaisional tip of the hat to him in so many flicks. Miskatonic University is one of the most common. The greatest American horror writer bar none.

Sorry Hanford, I started this in the wrong forum.

"The Changeling." My Favorite
"The Haunting" (the original)
"The Fog" fun minor hack fest
"Fiend Without a Face" if you can find it you will get a kick.

My Pics Are:

Halloween 1 & 2
The Fog
The Thing
Terror Train

Of course the Dunwich Horror has a great score... it was done by none other than LES BAXTER!!!

I just heard it for the first time thanks to a fellow TC'er. Wow.

On 2003-10-16 13:25, tikifish wrote:
Of course the Dunwich Horror has a great score... it was done by none other than LES BAXTER!!!

wow, now i feel dumb. i had no idea. i'll have even more appreciation for it the next time i listen.

"Mr. Sardonicus", a very old movie about a guy with a grotesque, ear to ear grin (sardonicus means smile in Greek I think).

When he realized he buried his dad with a winning lottery ticket in his pocket, he dug up the corpse, which had the ear to ear grin from rigor mortis or something. The shock made his face do the same thing. His teeth are clenched tight forever.

The scariest part of the movie is when you hear him eating behind a closed door. A lot of slurping noises because all he can eat is soup.

Just a list of some of my favorites... some are classics, others are really bad but somehow I found them entertaining...I offer commentary on the bizarre/unexpected choices.

• Psycho (1960)
• Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
• Dracula (1931)
• Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)absolutely brilliant in 3-D
• American Werewolf in London (1981)
• Psycho 2 (1983) entertaining and pretty well done
• Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (1956)
• Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) before they turned Freddy into a stand-up comic this one scared the hell out of me...still does
• Creepshow (1982) a tribute to the EC Comics of the 1950's, not a masterpiece or even very well done but still an entertaining Halloween movie!
• Shriek of the Mutilated (1974) this is without a doubt the biggest piece of crap on my list...students set out on a college field trip to find the dangerous and elusive yeti and end up getting killed off one by one...bad acting, bad special effects, bad script (if they even used one), bad cinematography - I love it! In my opinion one of the worst films ever made! But hey, it's got a surprise evil cult ending and the classic annoying tune Popcorn by Hot Butter!
• The Skull (1965) Christopher Lee & Peter Cushing in a tale about the stolen skull of the Marquis de Sade and it's evil and deadly powers. Some cheesy effects of the skull crashing through a display case and levitating around the room on monofilament but it is so fun!
• Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (1972) A bunch of actors go to an island for a seance and end up raising the dead - good B zombie flick but actually pretty creepy!
• Carnival of Souls (1962) A classic low budget horror film and also kinda creepy!
• House on Haunted Hill (1959) Vincent Price in a fairly watchable "group of people spending the night in a haunted house film" - good Halloween viewing.

Yes, the prolific Les Baxter did a lot of AIP scores, including the beach movies (pretty scary), "The Raven," and Mario Bava's "Black Sabbath." See, Tiki = Horror and Horror = Tiki. No, that's kind of a big stretch, huh. Ok, well, not really.

I lean towards the "extreme" horror films that are not high dollar productions. Favorite the give me the willies are as follows:

Lucio Fulci's Zombies 2 (still have nightmares from this one)& Cannibal Holocost.

Great popcorn eatin scaries are of course
The Exorcist and From Dust Till Dawn

Chow down folks

Trustar

On 2003-10-16 17:53, johntiki wrote:

• Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)absolutely brilliant in 3-D

Yes, 3-D movies rock, and Creature From the Black Lagoon is one of the best! I'm such a 3-d movie geek I actually bought these LCD glasses that connect to my DVD player so I can watch them at home. It really works, too, not like those red-blue glasses.

3-D movies are hard to come by because they haven't been commercially released in this format but there is a small cult audience that trades them on DVD-R so I have a few great horror flicks -- Creature... as well as It Came From Outer Space, House of Wax (with Vincent Price and a young Charles Bronson), Dial M for Murder, and Andy Warhol's Frankenstein.

If anyone here is into 3-D and wants to trade movies email me.

On 2003-10-16 16:58, kctiki wrote:
"Mr. Sardonicus", a very old movie about a guy with a grotesque, ear to ear grin (sardonicus means smile in Greek I think).

Another classic William Castle flick. If you are interested in B movies try and pick up a copy of his autobiography "Step Right Up! I'm Gonna Scare The Pants Off America." It's out of print but you can find used copies:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0886876575/ref=lpr_g_1/103-4628184-0088644?v=glance&s=books

The things he did to promote his movies were hysterical, often better than the movies themselves.

For Mr. Sardonicus, he created something called "The Punishment Poll" moviegoers were given glow in the dark "thumbs up/thumbs down" signs and right before the last reel audiences were asked to vote whether Sardonicus should live or die. They shot both endings but audiences were always bloodthirsty, so the ending where he lives has NEVER been seen.

The first "interactive" movie!

William Castle's original version of 13 Ghosts is available on DVD and it comes with a "Ghost Viewer" just like audiences were given to see the "hidden" ghosts in the movie.

For The Tingler, staring Vincent Price, he had theater seats wired to give small electrical shocks during certain parts of the movie. Genius!

I wish they still did stuff like this today.

As a huge horror movie buff, I can safely say that Exorcist 3 is the only film that I cannot watch alone. Something about demon possession creeps me out, I guess.

Otherwise, I love love love old "scary" movies:
Creature From the Black Lagoon - my all time fave. Has anyone played the slot machine yet? I'm addicted.
Thirteen Ghosts (the original of course)
Horror Hotel
The Haunting (original)
House on Haunted Hill - anything with V. Price works for me.

Something about black and white that adds to the creepiness I think.

They just don't make 'em like they used to.

~H

On 2003-10-16 22:47, TheMuggler wrote:

Another classic William Castle flick. If you are interested in B movies try and pick up a copy of his autobiography "Step Right Up! I'm Gonna Scare The Pants Off America."

Muggler, thanks for the tip on the book, "...I'm Gonna Scare the Pants Off America", I'll order it today.

Mr. Sardonicus certainly scared my sister & I when we were kids. Dad let us stay up late to watch it with him & got pissed off when we were too scared to go into the kitchen and make him some popcorn during the commercials.

I allways thinks you can't go wrong with watching "Carry on Screaming", 60's Brit-horror-comedy at its best.

And throw a few Hammer films on top of that, say, "Horror of Dracula" or "Quatermass and the Pit," and a couple of pints of Guinness. Per person.

did someone say Guinness?

The only movies that really scare me are ones where objects fly around of their own accord. Poltergeist, Amityville Horror (well, the book at least). Yeesh. If I think a movie's gonna have things flying around guided by unseen hands...I avoid it like the plague. Scares the bejeezus out of me! I have enough nightmares about that sort of stuff without having to see it on the screen. Werewolves? Bah, keep the door locked and stay inside. Aliens? Ditto. Demons? Stay away from the Ouiji board. A large blunt object (a tiki maybe?) rises up in the air and flies at you from across the room?! How the hell you gonna guard against that? God knows who lived where you live before you did! And what happened to them?! They could still be around...

Some favorites:
The Legend of Boggy Creek - First saw it as a kid and will still catch myself wondering if Bigfoot is real when I'm out in the woods by myself, sober.

Creature from the Black Lagoon - Classic. The "tikiest" scary movie that I can think of off the top of my head.

Night of the Living Dead - It's a cult classic for a reason. That it's in B&W is the icing on the cake. Creepy...

Requiem for a Vampire - Jean Rollin's vampire movies may not be all that scary but they are a real treat to watch with artsy cinematography and phenomenal soundtracks. Outstanding flicks. Just stay away from Mssr. Rollin's "Zombie Lake" which is possibly the worst movie of all time. No...really.

Andy Warhol presents: Flesh for Frankenstein; and AW presents: Blood for Dracula - These two movies are "must haves" for anyone with even a smidgeon of interest in quirky alternative cinema. Sexy, smart and funny. Especially Blood for Dracula. I see that they're a little expensive on Amazon. Ya might wanna watch for them on ebay if so inclined. 5 stars (each).

Them! - Sheriff Matt Dillon battles giant ants from the bowels of the nuclear contaminated earth. Made me scared of the woods as a kid. Later, as a teenager, I saw "Legend of Boggy Creek" and got scared of the woods again. Seeing "Deliverance" as a young man cemented it in my mind that the woods are not for me.

If I really wanted to have a creepy Halloween I think I'd just do a "One Step Beyond" and "The Outer Limits" marathon. Nothing IMHO captured the paranoia of Cold War America like these two series did.

"Quatermass and the Pit"...TOP horror, has anyone ever seen "Quatermass- The Conclusion" where Quatermass fights against the "Planet people" and nukes stonehenge.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008OP7B/ref=sr_aps_dvd_1_1/202-4109268-5862218

Remember this movie?
Black Devil Doll From Hell

The best horror movies these days are being made in foreign lands, Asia in particular, and Japan probably most prominently. The American remake of the Japanese movie The Ring, aka Ringu, is just the first of what is going to be many Americanizations of Japanese horror films. Most purists insist the original Ring is better, but I actually like the remake just as well. The American version is a little more coherent, not as much is left unexplained, and I think it worked in some ways better than the original. But it doesn't have as much creepiness as the original Ring.

If you're are really looking for something off the all, then search out another Japanese movie, Audition. There is a domestic DVD available but it may not be in your local video store. I know Netflix carries it. Audition was made by a Japanese madman named Takashi Miike who makes something like 5 movies a year. Most are Yakuza action films with enough gore to qualify as horror movies. But Audition is very different. If you give it a try, stick with it. The first half or two-thirds of the film is fairly slow with some subtle humor. The last 20 minutes is horrifying. It's painful to watch. There is some social commentary regarding the relationships between men and women that give it greater depth than your average gore fest.