Since I first saw the original Dracula when I was eight years old, I have been hooked on scary movies. Orson Welles once said, “Celluloid is a ribbon of dreams” to indicate why films in general are so popular, but the dubious pleasures one gets from scary movies are that of nightmare. The things we fear most are manifested in the creatures of the night, the creaky old house, or the wild eyes of a neighbor next door.
I have compiled a list of my favorite moments from scary films that I love to watch (again and again). This is not a “best of” list, just my favorite moments in films I enjoy watching. Perhaps some of them are yours too. I trust that there are many besides the ones I list below, and I hope you’ll tell me about them in your comments.
Happy Halloween!
1. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Director: George A. Romero
With: Duane Jones and Judith O’Dea
Tension is mounting in the farmhouse surrounded by ghouls, and the humans trapped inside are watching television to get the latest information. A news reporter interviewing a Police Chief asks, “Are they slow moving, Chief?” The chief responds, “Yeah, they’re dead; they’re all messed up.”
2. Halloween (1978)
Director: John Carpenter
With: Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis
In the climactic scene, Doctor Loomis shoots Michael Myers who falls off the house (to what is apparently his death); however, when the good doctor looks back to see the body, it is gone (setting the table for countless inferior sequels and imitations).
3. Aliens (1986)
Director : James Cameron
With: Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn
After escaping the deadly grasp of the killer Queen monster on the planet while rescuing the little girl Newt, Ripley must face her again on the spaceship in a battle of maternal wills (Ripley is protecting the child; the monster is seeking revenge for its offspring that Ripley has just destroyed). As the Alien approaches the little girl, Ripley screams, “Get away from her, you bitch.”
4. Carnival of Souls (1962)
Director: Herk Harvey
With: Candace Hilligoss and Sidney Berger
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