Okay, Psycho's a great Halloween flick, and so is Halloween, of course. But how about a little more cerebral fare? Here are my suggestions for some off-the-beaten-path movies for All Hallows Eve.
1. The Wicker Man 1973
This tops the list, with its pagan rituals done in full light of day, before the eyes of aghast Christian bigot Sergeant Howie (played by Edward Woodward). Britt Ecklund and dozens of other lush young ladies dance nude, a cheeky Jennifer Martin talks back to the sergeant, and it all ends with the virgin Sergeant sacrificed to the goddess of the fields. Creepy, spooky, and tantalizing all at the same time. Wonderful!
2. American Psycho 2000
The biggest question we're left with at the end of this film is, did anyone get murdered? Was it all in Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale)'s twisted mind? There's gore aplenty here, but it's never quite clear how much was spilled, and how much was fantasy. We do get plenty of clues about Bateman's existence as an empty mask, a hollow imitation of others. The horrifying thing about this story is not the murders, but the fact that dreaming about them is the only release available to Bateman.
3. Dracula 1979
This is the version with Frank Langella in the title role. What Langella captured was the "fatal attraction" of the blood-drinker for the women he encountered. The heavy sexuality and blatant come-hither the Count received from naughty Mina (and even from the engaged Lucy Seward, played by Kate Nelligan) played well off the languid good looks of Langella, then at the height of his beauty. In previous films, Dracula was a beast, a boorishly dirty old man with special powers. Langella made him rapturously, dangerously delectable.
4. Hocus Pocus 1993
Campy, goofy, and thrilling, this movie is a Disney-fied version of a scary tale. Three witches who feed on the life-force of young children (played to the hilt by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sex in the City's Sarah Jessica Parker) are brought back to life on Halloween when a virgin (boy) lights "the black-flame candle." Among the delightful touches in this silly romp: a witch, unable to find a broom, takes off on the museum's vacuum cleaner. Careful, though—this flick is scary to young kids where American Psycho would just put them to sleep.
Article comments
1 - Tan The Man
What about Suspiria? With a 3 disc Limited Edition DVD including a Soundtrack CD, Suspiria has lots of special features for what "Entertainment Weekly" calls the Scariest movie of all time.
2 - Aaron Fleming
What about Fulci's City Of The Living Dead? Or that Lovecraft classic From Beyond?
And sure to bejesus, Nosferatu, the original, that classic.
3 - MazeBorn
I tried to watch Suspiria once. I rented it, but I kept falling asleep. ISTG, it was just too surreal to stay awake with!
The only horror was trying to figure out the plot!