A good friend of mine posed this question to me this past
weekend: “If you wanted to watch movies for 24 hours on Halloween, what would
your list look like?” For the sake of
ease in this, he told me to assume every movie was 2 hours long.
I really loved this question, so I thought I would put
together a viewing list for Halloween.
24 hours of horror movies. What
could be better than that?
One note before I dive in: this does not double as my list
of favorite horror movies. Rather, this
is a list of movies that put me in the Halloween spirit. I had to leave plenty of great movies off
this list. Some day, I’ll put together a
list of my favorite movies. This is not
that day.
Feel free to add your own viewing lists in the comments.
Halloween
12:00-2:00 AM
What better way to kick off the day than with a viewing of
the John Carpenter classic? Beyond being
a perfect way to set the mood, it also gives you a lot of tips of what not to
do in case the boogeyman decides to show up in your small, nondescript town. It also reminds us that everyone – even a
cynical old codger like Dr. Loomis – is entitled to one good scare. Use it wisely.
The Orphanage
2:00-4:00 AM
The atmosphere throughout this entire movie is perfect for
late-night (or early-morning) viewing. It’s
a beautiful and spooky little ghost story.
It’s not uncommon for mist to rise around this time of day, which would
be the ideal setting to watch this.
Evil Dead [2013]
4:00-6:00 AM
I realize this might seem a bit early for such a gory,
intense movie. But I believe in
you. If you’re willing to watch 24 hours
of horror movies, you can deal with watching the insanity that is this movie at
4 in the morning. I may just end up
watching this every morning when I get out of bed. Better than a cup of coffee.
Anyway, this movie is amazing.
Behind the Mask: The
Rise of Leslie Vernon
6:00-8:00 AM
The sun is starting to come up, so we need to move to some
lighter material (mainly because it just doesn’t feel right watching some movies when the
sun is out). This seems like a good way
to kick off this portion of the day. It’s
a smart, funny, and perfect deconstruction of the slasher genre, while still
managing a few scares. This is one of my
favorite modern horror films.
Drag Me to Hell
8:00-10:00 AM
Sam Raimi’s return to the horror genre is a ton of fun. Dancing goats and gypsy curses and horrible,
horrible things happening to an adorable blonde. Justin Long is terrific, and David Paymer
even makes an appearance. More like
Christine on the hoof, amiright? Anyone?
The Monster Squad
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
I hadn’t seen this movie since elementary school, and wondered
how well it would hold up. As it turns
out, it holds up wonderfully. It’s The Goonies with monsters. It’s funny and odd, and it’s everything I
wanted to be a part of as a kid. And
now. I would totally be in The Monster Squad right now (although it
would probably look like Mystery Team
at this point).
Return of the Living
Dead
12:00-2:00 PM
Crazy, bloody fun, with Linnea Quigley dancing on graves as
an added plus. It’s a fun addition to
the zombie genre. It’s extremely funny,
and I find something else to love about it every time I watch it.
It would’ve made sense to watch Night of the Living Dead before watching this, but I just couldn’t
find room for it so early in the day.
Ghoulies
2:00-4:00 PM
I don’t know what it is about this movie. This series doesn’t get overtly goofy until
the second movie (and that goofiness really hits hard in the third and fourth),
but this movie is pretty unintentionally goofy.
The effects are pretty bad. The
Ghoulies look ridiculous. But there’s
just something I love about this movie.
It doesn’t feel like Halloween until I watch it.
May
4:00-6:00 PM
As we transition to dusk, it’s time to get away from the
lighter stuff and back into the darker side of the genre. May
is a perfect fit. It’s a darkly funny
movie, but it has a heavy dose of gore and creepy moments as well. It’s The
Bride of Frankenstein or Pieces,
as lived through an awkward girl who wants nothing more than to fit in. It’s a beautiful and heartbreaking
movie. I’m always left wondering whose
side I’m on.
Night of the Living
Dead [1968]
6:00-8:00 PM
This movie may not be as terrifying as it was when it was
first released (and violence against women is generally frowned-upon these
days, even if they are in a state of hysterics about how the walking dead
killed their brother), but it still holds up extremely well. An air of creepiness surrounds the entire
film. This is still my all-time favorite
zombie movie.
Sinister
8:00-10:00 PM
The day is winding down.
It’s time to get uncomfortable.
This movie is less scary than it is deeply unsettling. It has a great story and atmosphere to
it. And, while there are a handful of
moments that I would cut (the “children dancing in the hall” scene was
downright laughable), it never quite lost me, and it drew me back in immediately
afterwards (this is in stark contrast to Insidious,
which lost me fairly early and never regained my trust). This is a dark, twisted movie that will stay
with you for long after the credits have rolled.
Trick R Treat
10:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Our day ends with Trick
R Treat, which takes 5 stories (all taking place on Halloween in a small
town) and weaves them together through the use of interacting characters and
Sam, an undersize pumpkin-man who seems sworn to uphold the ancient traditions
of Halloween, enforcing them with swift justice and a sharp lollipop. There really isn’t a likable character to be
found here, but I love the stories and the feel of the movie. If nothing else, it’s pretty good
justification for staying inside on Halloween and watching movies. It’s better than being a disturbed
principal’s human jack-o-lantern. Just
make sure to keep that pumpkin lit.
And there you have it.
Twelve movies to fill up 24 hours of your day on Halloween. Of course, limiting myself to only twelve
movies assures that some terrific options were left off. Also, in looking at the actual running time,
these would not take up the full 24 hours.
So feel free to plug any of these into the list. They just narrowly missed the cut, anyway.
Psycho [1960]
Cabin in the Woods
Amityville Horror
[2005]
The Haunting [1963]
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Bride of
Frankenstein
Poltergeist
Scream
The Texas
Shaun of the Dead
Final Destination
Paranormal Activity
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