10. Creepshow (1982)
This collaboration between director George A. Romero and author Stephen King brings five tales of terror to the screen, inspired by the E.C Comics of the 1950's (which were also the basis for the popular Tales From the Crypt TV series). The five stories are framed within the pages of a comic book which a young boy's insensitive father has thrown in the garbage, and are linked to each other with animated bridges in the style of the old comics. Romero and King have effectively approached this movie with a combination of thrills and gimmickal humor.
9. Pumpkinhead (1988)
A Ten Little Indians story set in Deliverance outbacks, Pumpkinhead presents a season inspired Boogeyman, conjured by a man whose son is accidentally killed by a group of teenagers who pass across their land. Despite the hollowness of the acting (at times) and the questionable props (mostly the costumes), this is a dark fairy tale that teaches us that vengeance isn't always the best course of action. At its heart this is a tale of morality that stands out from the 80's crowd of low budget horror movies. The design of the monster is a thrilling representation of something vaguely humanoid but at the same time completely alien and foreign.
8. Halloween (2007)
Rob Zombie's resurrection of John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) is one of my few favorites in the modern remake wave. It perfectly balances the brutal gore that can only be produced by Rob Zombie, and the tinkly chilling feel of 70's original. I know most Rob Zombie fans were disappointed after his landmarks House of 1000 Corpses (2003) and The Devil's Rejects (2005), and I can agree to the extent that the little boy who one day snapped and killed his sister for no apparent reason is far more scary than the Michael Myers background story that Zombie presents. However, I adore Rob Zombie's twisted touch, his perfect ear for accompanying butcher scenes with 70's country music and the way he avoided turning it into another high school slasher but instead made it a slaughterhouse stabathon.
7. Scream (1996)
As a half-parody, half-tribute to the "dead teenagers" movies of the 70's and 80's, Scream is the 90's answer to classic slashers which instantly became a success. Though the introduction and the ending are merely simple and bloody roughness, the complicated plot in between skillfully plays with the conventions of horror movies in a clever mix of irony, self-reference and blood spills. With constant references to its classic horror predecessors, Scream pays endless homage while at the same time subverting and adhering to the "rules" of horror films. This is truly the most entertaining fright fest of the 90's.
6. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
For the die hard fans of Michael Myers (myself included) it might be hard to accept the fact that he's not the villain of the third installment of the Halloween franchise. In fact he only appears briefly on a TV screen when the main characters watch a commercial for the first Halloween movie. As a sequel to Halloween and Halloween II this movie plainly sucks. On its on though, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a perfect little midnight movie for the season, and once I got over the disappointment that Michael Myers has no place on this film, I started to notice the aspects of it that make it such an alluring movie on its own. The key element (which is also its link to the previous movies) is the mask. It holds a gateway to a greater evil that wishes to take the life away from children. As the children put their Halloween masks on they themselves become the boogeyman, the monsters and the ghouls. The trigger of the masks is the Halloween commercial from Silver Shamrock Novelties, which is an effective detail and has become a memorable aspect of the movie.
5. Trick 'r Treat (2007)
This delicious, gleeful anthology intertwines four different Halloween stories in a brilliant way, with each story complimenting the other. It holds a morbidly charming tone through out the movie and with its campfire-tale shivers and surprisingly fresh screenplay it never has a dull moment. With its thick autumnal atmosphere, jack-o-lanterns and bloody tricks, Trick 'r Treat is a full on homage to the Halloween season.
4. Fright Night (1985)
Along with my top two choices, the original Fright Night has always been my must-see-every-season-movie. Perhaps not a classic, Fright Night still is a spook show of season spirit, wit, charm and the perfect amount of suburban creepiness. The story is simple and believable (if you're a horror-obsessed geek like Charley Brewster) and Chris Sarandon's suspiciously good looks is the perfect mask for the centuries of decay and seduction that this vampire neighbor has hidden in his closet.
3. The Exorcist (1973)
It really doesn't matter if you're a first time viewer or if you've re-watched this movie since you were too young to see it in the first place; there's no mistaking the gruesome tale and unnerving shocker that is The Exorcist. It's as disturbing today as it was 40 years ago. Few movies have managed to have the same mental impact on me (The Blair Witch Project, The Fourth Kind included) and the beautiful but brutal, yet simple, special effects contribute to the indescribable obscenities. Based on the last documented and known Catholic sanctioned exorcism in the US, The Exorcist displays a journey back in time where religion triumphs modern medicine and shakes the foundation of Christianity, which contributes to the movie's great historical value.
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Although not a horror movie per se, this low-budget freak show offers an entertaining and bizarre cocktail of musical scores, weird costumes and outrageous characters. The Rocky Horror Picture Show came to be more of a social phenomena than a great picture of cinema. It turned social identification upside down with its fetish-based transsexual love musical. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a cult classic and would best be experienced as a double feature at the drive-in midnight theaters.
1. Halloween (1978)
Not only my favorite Halloween movie, John Carpenter's Halloween is my all time favorite horror movie. After all these years it remains untouched by the endless numbers of imitations and maniac-on-the-loose suspensers. Halloween is basically the original slasher movie; it came out of nowhere, was filmed in only 20 days and revitalized and patented the whole genre of slashers. With a stunning opening scene (seen from the child-monster's point of view) this suburban horror smash takes a scary stalkerish turn with its murder-incestious plot and twists into the bloody crescendos, which have made it one of the most influential movies ever.
