Halloween and Hurricanes are Coming: My Selection For 10 Best Horror Hits!
Oct 23 '05
The Bottom Line These movies scared me silly!
Well, it’s been a waiting game that pretty soon will be over..The not so funny game of waiting for Hurricane Wilma to finally make landfall…We are as ready as we can be, the shutters are up, the supplies are on hand and the anxiety plentiful…And, with Halloween just around the corner what better time could there be to write about 10 of my favorite horror / anxiety ridden movies...Movie’s that, in one way or another, will instill a fear of dread or terror.
So without further ado here are my choices though not in any special order
Number one--------Halloween
This original slasher movie, directed by John Carpenter, started a trend in movies which went on to produce so many others in the same vain…How many kids will be murdered in the two hours the movie runs?? I don’t normally like slasher pictures but this one had the suspense the others that followed didn’t have because you knew what to expect...Jamie Lee Curtis starred in this and, as the body count grew, you couldn’t help but jump or yell at the screen, “don’t go in there”! Thrilling scares took precedence over extreme gore and I wish the other filmmakers who followed suit when making their movies followed that way of making their movies…Halloween just wouldn’t be Halloween for me without hearing that famous soundtrack.
Number two-------The Dead Zone
One of Stephen King’s best books, this film adaptation is also one of the best to be taken from one of his novels. Directed by David Cronenberg, he skillfully created a movie that was as serious and spooky as the book was without too much excess. Christopher Walken was at his peak in this one while playing a gifted man who could see into the future of others just by touching them. His steel deadpan eyes told each story of what he saw with just the right amount of horror. The special effects were just perfect as were the tales told about each vision. I also must say I enjoy the TV series as well, that is, when I can find it on with it’s ever shifting time changes.
Number three------The Omen
666...Those numbers can mean many things to many people but since this movie they have an everlasting image of being related to Satan. When Director Richard Donner was able to convince high profile actors such as Gregory Peck and Lee Remick to play the parents of “Damien”, the on of Satan, the success of this movie was almost assured…As the story unfolds the chills are endless as the knowledge of Damien’s background is uncovered. I’ve never been able to look at a large dog since then without that little interjection of fear after the horrendous dog attack in this movie along with a few other truly frightening scenes…The three sequels that followed weren’t terrible but certainly were not anywhere near as good as this one.
Number 4--------Village of the Damned
As a parent there really isn’t anything more frightening than the thought that there is something just not quite right with your children or that maybe they really aren’t yours after all…Well, this film plays on that fear when a whole town passes out for a couple of hours and when they wake up every able bodied women is pregnant…Once the children are born and grow, at what seems like a rapid pace, the terror completely takes over since they all look alike with their blond hair, blue steely eyes and cult like attraction for each other…Can they read their parents and all the other adults thoughts, do they know what actions will be taken against them once they are suspected of being unworldly? Check this one out if you haven’t seen it already.
Number 5-------King Kong
I’ve always thought of this as a love story…Though a very strange one at that. When this giant ape is discovered deep in the jungle and captured to be brought back to America as the 8th wonder of the world, you just know there is going to be madness and mayhem on the streets of New York. The classic footage of Kong climbing the Empire State Building was thought to be break though film making for its time...His love for the girl, Fay Wray, always remembered for her part in this movie, truly expressed on the big apes face and eyes was also considered to be remarkable. Was there a dry eye in the house when he was shot down after letting her go so she could be saved? An animal’s unrequited love.
Number 6-------Freaks
This was truly a strange and disturbing movie since it featured the true-life exploitation of the freaks in a circus sideshow…Real life midgets, pinheads and other hard to look at unfortunate people populate this film in one scene after another. There is a feeling a dread as the film culminates in a banquet scene that ends with one incredible and shocking finale…Directed by Tod Browning famous for Dracula, the next movie on my list.
Number 7-------Dracula
This movie starring Bela Lugosi brought the theme of Vampires to the forefront of our fears...His portrayal of the bloodsucking Transylvanian Count was so intense Lugosi could never really escape from being typecast in these roles. The creepy gothic scenes, the count’s castle, the female vampires all produced a movie classic still thought to be one of the best of it’s genre.
Number 8------The Thing
Both versions were frightening, the original, with Jim Arness in his first performance on the screen. Though you couldn’t really see him that well as he appeared to look like a giant carrot…but the fear of being alone, out in the Antarctic with the men on your exploratory, scientific team once you realize you can’t trust them, brings paranoia to a new twist. After the discovery of a large something or other is brought back to base camp, nothing is ever the same once it thaws out. The second version with Kurt Russell in the starring role tells the same tale except in this version the “thing” is much more frightening visually and scared me silly just a few weeks ago when I caught on TV..The chilling end is perfect on a hot day in Miami.
Number 9-------Bride of Frankenstein
The original Frankenstein was pretty scary and a momentous film for it’s time and for Boris Karloff, but Bride of Frankenstein comes to my mind as a 10 best movie due to the image that remains in my minds eye as the “Woman”, created by the famous Doctor for his horny Franky, comes to life with her wild upswept hair streaked with white..Played by Elsa Lancaster, a very gifted actress, she will always be remembered for her portrayal in this part…The best scene, when she finally sees her intended is a filmmaking classic…The comedic Mel Brooks remake with Gene Wilder and Madeleine Kahn took this movie to new heights and her portrayal of the Bride was simply hilarious and outrageously campy.
Number 10-------Pet Sematary
Back to Stephen King..His books and stories have always been my favorite reading pleasure when I’ve been in a mood to get scared silly…Some of the movies haven’t been considered the best in filmmaking but others are simply great and not to be forgotten.. The movies The Shining and Carrie made my first list of this kind and now I just wanted to add Pet Sematary to this one.
Who among us, who love and adore our pets, haven’t been devastated by the loss of a cat, dog or other loving creature only to think, in an insane fantasy, of bringing them back to life if it could be done? Well, in this story by King is exactly what happens in a mysterious and disastrous way..The end result of the film will leave you breathless and will evoke a new found fondness for the mind of Stephen King!
Well, that’s it folks.. Now that I’ve mulled over all these movies I have to get back to the very real fear of the Hurricane making it’s way in our direction. I wonder if a movie will ever be made that can portray the uncertain horror of the unknown as the feeling I have now and all who are in harms way of that monster Wilma, which the other day, was considered the strongest storm in the history of Hurricanes…Thank goodness it has downgraded a bit so I’ll see you all in a few days when we get our power back........ I hope :)
Stay Safe
To those interested, my last list of 10 Halloween favorites
http://www.epinions.com/content_3576930436
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.