Watching movies has become as customary a Halloween tradition as trick-or-treating and bobbing for apples. After the holiday's festivities and parties are over, there is nothing better than settling down with some friends and a good horror flick. The Scene staff has compiled a list of films that tingle our spines and cinematic senses around the Halloween season.
"DONNIE DARKO"
Although it may not be an instantaneously recognizable Halloween flick, Richard Kelly's modern cult classic "Donnie Darko" embodies everything that the genre requires, from scary chills to campy costume parties. In the breakthrough performance of his career, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Donnie Darko, a disillusioned high school student who becomes fascinated with transcending space and time after he begins to see a demented, life-size rabbit who warns him of the impending apocalypse. With a dynamite cast that includes Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze and Seth Rogen, "Donnie Darko" is atmospheric, whip-smart and immensely entertaining. It is a perfect film to celebrate Halloween with, as it exhausts a plethora of genres, including high school satire, comic book hero and psychological mindtrip, successfully extracting mind-bending twists and turns in each field. Come for a sharp script, brilliant performances and stunning technical achievements, but stay for a staggering ending that will leave you scratching your head for days and wondering "Why are you wearing that silly man suit?"
-DONNY T. SHELDON
"YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN"
If you love Halloween solely for the candy and a chance to dress up, watching scary movies may not be your bag of fun. For those of us who will have nightmares for a week after watching "Saw," there is luckily at least one option for a movie that contains monsters but still has a sense of humor: the 1974 classic "Young Frankenstein."
"Young Frankenstein" has the same dry humor has any other Mel Brooks-directed film, with obvious puns and awkward faces to make sure the viewers knows they've just borne witness to a joke. As hinted by its title, "Young Frankenstein" follows Gene Wilder, the son of a brilliant scientist, as he creates a monster. His awkward assistant with a hunchback and a sexy, foreign maid add comic support to Wilder's awkward, loose cannon character. You'll be in for some light-hearted, Halloween entertainment with this film as you join in the adventures of a monster, a scientist and his posse for some good laughs.
-KRISTEN BOGHOSIAN
"THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE"
Forget the sequels and Jessica Biel bomb - 1974's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is a horror genre landmark. The film charts the misadventures of a group of young adults on a road trip as they break down and search for help in a rural Texas town, finally finding a mysterious house in a desolate field. Upon entering the house, the group discovers a basement full of severed limbs, mutilated corpses and one disturbed, angry man with a chainsaw. Shot in hand-held, borderline cinema vérité, the film aesthetics lend it a distinct documentary ambiance, with raw, rapid editing and cinematography that psychologically teases the viewer, displaying horrific imagery when you least expect it. Directors of the exploitative, shock value-seeking "Saw" and "Hostel" series should learn from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" that while showing is an important factor in generating horror, continuously bombarding viewers with gratuitous violence leaves little for the imagination. A gritty tour de force, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is a sadistic souvenir of 1970s horror.
-D.T.S.
"THE SHINING"
Sit yourself down in a big empty room this weekend with some popcorn and a little "red rum." If this masterpiece by Stanley Kubrick can't creep you out, then little else can. Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack Torrance is what nightmares are made of and the psychic visions of his son, Danny Torrance, played by Danny Lloyd, aren't much consolation. It's substantive, stick-to-your-ribs, high-brow horror. If you're looking for something in the vein of Freddy Kruger, then look elsewhere. If you're looking for something that gets in your veins, look no further than "The Shining."
-TY BUDDE
"THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS"
For what Tim Burton's claymation spectacle "The Nightmare Before Christmas" lacks in terms of scariness, it surely compensates for in imagination and innovation. Jack Skellington, an individual of celebrity in Halloweentown, begins to grow tired of celebrating Halloween year-round and decides to give another holiday a try. After stumbling upon a clearing in the stark Halloweentown woods with doors boasting images of different holidays, Jack opens a door with a Christmas tree that transports him to Christmastown, a city marked with snowy hills, sleigh rides, warm lights and glistening presents. Bewitched by the town's cheerful, warm disposition, Jack decides to kidnap Santa Claus, hijack the holiday and bring it to Halloweentown. Part intoxicating musical, part scatter-brained mind trip, the film exemplifies everything that can go right with a Tim Burton film. The movie's stunning, gothic clay artistry makes "The Nightmare Before Christmas" a dazzling feast for the eyes.
-D.T.S.
"PSYCHO"
Alfred Hitchcock chose a scary script. Seven days and more than 70 shots later, he had made ... one scene. This film-lover's treat is akin to, say, the Milky Way Midnight - dark and delightful. Anthony Perkins plays Norman Bates, the deranged owner of Bates Motel, where Janet Leigh's Marion Crane is hiding out with $40,000. As "My Name Is Earl" has taught us, bad karma is for real and Marion Crane discovers this the hard way - with a knife in her back. Investigation ensues and the reasons behind Norman's oddity are discovered. If you are going into this Halloween weekend and haven't seen "Psycho," then stop, head to the nearest Blockbuster, rent yourself a copy and buy yourself a Milky Way Midnight. It's that essential.
-T.B.
"ROSEMARY'S BABY"
Based on the novel by Ira Levin, Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" is a suspense-filled journey through the psyche of Rosemary (Mia Farrow), a pregnant woman who delves into a realm of heightened paranoia. When Rosemary and her husband, Guy, move into their Upper West Side apartment in New York, she begins to suspect that he, an actor desperate for work, has arranged a deal with the strangely overbearing and welcoming next-door neighbor Minnie for her child. Ruth Gordon, who won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her performance as Minnie, is a frightening joy to behold as an evil witch who feeds Rosemary mysterious spices and vitamins. The film is grueling in that we see Rosemary slowly realize what we have anticipated from the start: that Minnie's hospitality is protecting her ulterior motive of presenting Satan with a vessel to enter the world. Leading to an iconic, unnerving birthing sequence climax, "Rosemary's Baby" is an unsettling exploration of paranoia.
-D.T.S.
