If you’re like me, you love, simply love, horror movies. Especially when watched all at once. Halloween being the perfect time to enjoy these tasteless, gory, decadently violent films, I have decided to create the perfect collection to watch on Halloween weekend. I have classified them into various categories, which are by no means mutually exclusive of each other; for the sake of simplicity, however, I’ve left duplicate entries out.
This is by no means a unique or original concept. Lists have been the staple of retrocrush’s finest content, and indeed, my own contribution was inspired by this post.
Nevertheless, I will attempt to inject a little “something something” into the works, hopefully providing you with a collection that will suit your individual tastes. Let’s not waste any more time – Blockbuster horror shelves tend to empty quickly around this time, so get yer licks in sooner rather than later. Here we go!

Serial Killers, Slashers, and Mean People

Bloodletting aside, these movies are all about jerks and how they torture, kill, and otherwise torment poor, defenseless horror rubes, most of which are either teenagers who have had sex, or teenagers who are about to have sex.

Halloween (1978) was the seminal work in horror movie history, the one that defined the genre for decades until a little movie called Scream came along and played hopscotch on its conventions. Notable is Writer/Director John Carpenter’s fantastic synth soundtrack and some interesting camera work.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) grew out of a true story from Wisconsin that stole the interest of young film students Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, who created the most psychologically stunning horror film of the seventies and eighties. The documentary feel lends it credibility lesser films since have only dreamed of attaining.
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) was Wes Craven’s somewhat original contribution to a then flagging horror film palette. Johnny Depp plays a cocky boyfriend whose demise is the most memorable out of the entire series. Not much to be scared of here, but it’s quite a nice concept that’s been driven into the ground by crappy sequels.
Scream (1996) Kevin Williamson’s homage and parody of horror movie staples of the past scores solidly with the late 1990’s teenager crowd, which means that this isn’t so solid a hit after almost ten years. There’s just something wrong with a film where David Arquette walks away unscathed.

Monsters of Yore and Gore

B-Movie monsters usually don’t cut the mustard in the scares department, though a few vintage flicks made this cut.

Nosferatu (1922) is a classic of German Expressionist cinema, a wonderfully filmed gothic tale by F. W. Murnau. Clearly influenced by the original story, Murnau expertly layers several frightening themes into his classical vampire story, including the intrusion of rats into the city, bringing with them the dreaded plague. The dismal ending is most satisfying, especially to jaded horror-lovers.
Shadow of the Vampire (2000) goes with the improbable, but highly plausible idea that F. W. Murnau used a real vampire to film his Nosferatu. Willem Dafoe is creepily unholy as the actor Max Schreck, and John Malkovich is a wonderfully obsessed Murnau. Incredibly disturbing at times.
The Thing (1982) is an icy thriller featuring more great John Carpenter writing and a fantastic story that pits men against an ice-bound parasite that turns them against each other. Kurt Russell with a beard is surprisingly watchable, but watch out for the dogs.
Night of the Living Dead (1968) is an unfettered, truly remarkable zombie tale of lost hope in a world of black and white starkness. At times a criticism of the atomic age, Romero’s vision is harsh but honest, and adds poignancy to the terror and hopelessness of the story.
Dawn of the Dead (2004) is a remake of George Romero’s third movie in his Dead trilogy. Director Zach Snyder laces this with enough humour, gore, and fashionable violence to slake the thirsts of modern audiences, and excellent performances by Sarah Polley and Jake Weber make this a thoroughly enjoyable modern classic.
The Howling V: The Rebirth (1989) surprisingly is the best of the Howling series, even though Joe Dante’s original comes in a close second. A group of strangers meet in a Romanian castle, and are one by one ripped apart by one of their own, who just happens to be a werewolf. Genuinely creepy throughout the entire film.
Pitch Black (2000) is a sci-fi horror pleaser featuring the Vin as a killer with the ability to see in the dark. Crash-landing on a planet, he and the other survivors not only have to prevent themselves from killing each other, but they are about to be enveloped in a 23-day darkness. And that’s when they come out.

Creepy Ghost Stories and Weird Tales

Chalk this category up to a love of subtler chills and thrills rather than outright horror. While not very bloody, these movies provide a fear that seems to last a little longer than their sanguinated brethren.

The Frighteners (1996) is maverick Peter Jackson’s attempt at a more intelligent creepfest than his original indie horror Dead Alive. It’s a well-mixed blend of humour, outright creepiness, and some decent late-nineties special effects by his own Weta Digital, which would go on to helm the CG in a little trilogy of films called Lord of the Rings (you may have heard of these).
In the Mouth of Madness (1995) arose from the on-off creepiness of Steven King and the bizarre world of HP Lovecraft. Mix in a John Carpenter score and you have some genuinely scary moments.
Poltergeist (1982) was supposed to be directed by Tobe Hooper, but he left the production soon after it began due to creative differences. It was taken over by Steven Spielberg, and the result is quite disturbing. And I mean that in a good way. Watch out for clowns. In horror movies, they’re never a good sign.
Event Horizon (1997), as simplistic as it is upon a third or fourth viewing, contains some cool sequences that should provide some good Halloween freak-outs. Jason Isaacs, the fine British actor, finally plays someone who isn’t a Nazi-like British dragoon or a sadistic pirate, which is a rare thing.
Below (2002) is an underlooked ghost story set on a World War II British submarine. It’s a tantalizing mystery with more than a few scares, most of which have only slight relationship to small, enclosed, underwater spaces. That’s a whole other horror.
What Lies Beneath (1997) is a Robert Zemeckis vehicle starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford as a New England couple haunted by a persistent ghost. It seems that a ghost from the past has come back to put the “tense” back into the tension of their marriage. Infidelity, it seems, doesn’t make for happy ghosts. Some nice work by Zemeckis and his production team.

The Bone Shakers

What’s horror but comedy gone awry? There are enough films floating around that will satisfy your need for bleed and spleen-busting laughs.

Evil Dead 2 (1987) is one of now big-time Hollywood director/producer Sam Raimi’s legacy, featuring a bizarre mixture of morbid violence and well-honed humour, perfected through visual gags and the on-screen antics of Bruce Campbell, who plays the titular Ash.
Demon Knight (1995) is an entry by Tales From the Crypt that is equally a satiric laugh at and homage to B Movies. Between Billy Zane’s crazed, cowboy-boot wearing, satanic figure of the Demon Collector and William Sadler’s doomed but heroic Brayker, this movie manages some terrific scares and wily laughs in equal measure.
The Faculty (1998) is a cross between The Thing and Dazed and Confused, where stoned high school slackers fight the insidious takeover of their school by alien beings posing as their teachers and fellow students. It’s got an interesting cast, including non-actor Josh Hartnett and pre-Frodo Elijah Woods. Oh yeah, Famke Janssen is hot.
From Dusk Til Dawn (1996) seems to be a perennial favourite among Salma Hayek fans. Personally, her snakey vampiress dancing is a little creepy, but that’s just me. Mexican vampires, as realized by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez…well, you just can’t get much funnier than that.
Leprechaun in the Hood (1996) almost didn’t make the list, it was so over the top. Still, a film about a Leprechaun wandering the streets of Compton looking for a magic flute rates enough to be on this list. Warwick Davis is the inimitable “Lep in the Hood”, while Ice-T and Coolio try their OG impressions on a rather unimpressionable Irish killer.
Shaun of the Dead (2004) hasn’t yet reached American video release, but is worth a watch in the theatres for its dead-on British pop culture humour and relatively charming story. A horror romantic comedy doesn’t come along very often. Even less frequent is one as successful as this.

Overrated and Overwatched

Sometimes movies gain an undeserved appreciation by fans, for reasons only known to the cosmos and perhaps the fans’ psychiatrists. Nevertheless, they sometimes make for good watching, if only to make fun of the poor saps who call these their faves.

Friday the 13th (1980) is the only one of the Jason Vorhees movies that actually makes sense, and it’s the least entertaining. Not only are there multiple deaths shown in crappy lighting (making them worse than having never shown them at all), but the smarmy ending leaves one wondering if perhaps the filmmakers didn’t deserve a grisly demise as well.
Final Destination (2000) was written by X-Files vets James Wong and Glen Morgan, but is a poorly executed concept about death and fate. It became somewhat of a cult favourite in the aftermath of the X-Files’ seventh season.
The Blair Witch Project (1999) is an example of a movie that was so hyped through marketing that it accidentally spawned a sequel. Having endured 75 minutes of poorly shot “documentary footage” of three students wandering around in the woods, viewers are given a three second money shot that doesn’t come close to justifying the time wasted. But hey, it’s indie, right!
Dracula (1992) is another Frances Ford Coppola production gone into a tailspin. Its overwrought, illogical retelling of Stoker’s original story comes close to cinematic blasphemy as Keanu Reeves attempts to make us believe he is a London accountant engaged to a shoplifty Winona Ryder as Mina. Avoid unless drinking vodka straight or with a lime twist.
An American Werewolf in London (1981) provided stunning special effects by Rick Baker, but the morphing claws and fur couldn’t disguise the poorly written story or the bad British porn playing in the theatre.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) was mildly creepy in 1956, but this Philip Kaufman remake starring an Afro-sporting Donald Sutherland is trite, unsuspenseful, and unartfully ends in such a way as to cause one to scream unblinking at the screen. Yes, it’s that bad. Yet for some reason, people still seem to like it.

Classy and Artsy

Thanks to a few entries, horror retains some fashionability, and is even viewed as a genre worth exploring more. Most of these predate the 80’s, though a few since have made the list. These respectable films are worth any film student or horror lover’s time.

Psycho (1960) is the precursor to modern horror stories, utilizing an urbane but deadly Tony Perkins to realize the reality of murderers and their psychological sicknesses. Killing the lead in the shower halfway through was a stroke of genius, but the real winner here is Bernard Herrmann’s chilling score.
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) is a classical horror lover’s horror classic, a brilliant and silent film that captures, through the wonderful mechanizations of Lon Chaney’s Erik, the horror and pity of the disfigured Phantom who lives through music.
The Shining (1980) is one of Stanley Kubrick’s best films, hands down, chilling, and ending with a real sense of finality and true gloom that few horror films seem to be able to achieve. Great soundtrack, amazing camera work, and excellent bloody hallways.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) is a housewife’s worst nightmare come true. What if your husband was Satan incarnate, and a secret cabal forced you to carry his seed to become the anti-Christ? John Cassavetes is deliciously diabolical as Guy, Mia’s devilishly handsome husband. Expertly directed by Roman Polanski, this remains a cinematic masterpiece of suspense and paranoia.
The Exorcist (1973) is one of the most frighteningly realistic films of the 20th century, thanks to writer William Peter Blatty’s well-researched book and screenplay. If crucifix masturbation isn’t your thing, you may wish to avoid this film.
The Birds (1963) remains one of the more bizarre entries into horror filmdom, its villains the most unlikely, yet more frightening than most horror films offer. Hitchcock’s mastery of the screen is evident here, and though the scares are somewhat dated, its impact is still potent.
Interview With a Vampire (1994) remains one of the best vampire movies ever produced. Its high production value, splendidly gothic sets and costumes, and fantastic performances by Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst are paramount, though Neil Jordan’s direction is subtle and complex, showing a true familiarity with the territory.
28 Days Later (2002) is a new and stylish twist on the zombie story. Here, Danny Boyle’s undead are lightning quick beasts made ravenous by a monkey virus called “Rage”. The empty sets of London and Glastonbury are as unsettling as the fortress of the soldiers, who threaten the survivors as much as the zombies.

I’ve left out many movies that probably deserve to be on one or more of these lists, but hopefully these will cover all your horror needs for this year. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to Blockbuster.