As October winds down and Halloween draws near, there’s no better way to embrace the spooky season than by indulging in a thrilling selection of horror films.
Whether you’re gearing up for a costume party or enjoying a cozy night in, these Halloween classics promise to elevate your festivities and get you in the eerie spirit.
Also read: Did you know these movies were filmed in and around Cape Town?
Classics:
Evil Dead (1981)
The Evil Dead is a tribute to genre cinema, rooted in director Sam Raimi’s short film Within the Woods (1979). It embodies the classic ‘lost in the woods’ horror trope, following five young adults who vacation in a secluded cabin. There, they find a cursed book, The Book of the Dead, which unleashes evil spirits from Hell.
The Evil Dead is a masterful blend of conjuring tricks and shocks. With cameraman Tim Philo and special effects artist Tom Sullivan, Raimi used low-budget techniques to deliver a gut-wrenching experience.
While the violence in the film is visceral and memorable, its true appeal lies in its creativity. Beyond effective jump scares and graphic gore, the film embraces absurdity and celebrates horror history as a post-modern work.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Director Tobe Hooper’s 1974 slasher is still one of the most masterful horror films ever made.
The next time you watch The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – or if you haven’t seen it, prepare yourself – try closing your eyes for the first five to ten minutes and just listen with good headphones. While the visuals are extraordinary, the film’s true essence lies in its unsettling soundtrack.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Tobe Hooper’s iconic horror The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, where a group of friends falls prey to a cannibalistic family, introducing the legendary slasher, Leatherface. Though sequels, prequels, and remakes followed, none capture the original’s haunting charm.
Dawn of the Dead (1978):
Dawn of the Dead follows four survivors of a zombie apocalypse as they take refuge in a shopping mall, symbolising America’s consumerism.
George A. Romero’s triumphant return to the genre features a likeable cast and clear character progression, despite many fading from prominence afterward. The film critiques consumer culture while using it as a safety net for its characters. A true classic, it proves that a zombie movie can deliver impact without relying on action or effects, marking a significant milestone in horror cinema history.
Director George A. Romero creates a world of slow-burn despair and mounting claustrophobia, operating in a unique lane in a somewhat over saturated zombie genre.
Halloween (1978):
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween 1963, Michael Myers escapes a mental hospital and returns to Haddonfield, Illinois, to kill again.
John Carpenter’s terrifying 1978 masterpiece about babysitters and the murderous Michael Myers has been imitated and remade countless times, often overshadowing its radicalism. Unlike other movie monsters, Myers walks steadily, revealing nothing about himself. He never speaks and offers no motivation for his killings, serving as an absence amid the mundane suburban life.
For the kiddies:
Coraline (2009)
Based on Neil Gaiman’s novella, Coraline follows a girl (Dakota Fanning) who moves into a run-down house in Oregon with her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman). Struggling to adjust, she discovers a portal to an alternate world, where her Other Mother (Hatcher) offers the paradise she desires, only to reveal a much darker side.
This famously dark kids’ movie features scary visuals and intense scenes rare for its genre at the time.
Monster House (2006)
The story follows DJ (Mitchel Musso) and his buddy Chowder (Sam Lerner) as they investigate the spooky house of old man Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi), who scares the neighbourhood by seizing kids’ toys. DJ, eager to mature, spies on Nebbercracker, leading to a confrontation that sends the old man to the hospital, leaving the haunted house to awaken.
Monster House may look promising with its animation and Spielberg-Zemeckis involvement, but it’s more Stephen King than E.T. or The Polar Express. Despite some clownish characters, it holds a dark, horror-movie edge, making it more trick than treat.
For the cinephiles:
Train to Busan (2016)
Train to Busan revitalises zombie horror with a thrilling twist: a bullet train outbreak. The cramped, narrow setting creates tense, inventive scenarios – from crawling through baggage storage to fighting through aisles. Along the way, you’ll root for a memorable cast, though not all will make it to Busan.
It Follows (2015)
It Follows is a slow-burning modern slasher that subjects its protagonist to a haunting curse, prompting the question: ‘What would you do?’
The film cleverly subverts slasher tropes while remaining deeply frightening. If you’ve ever felt like someone is following you, this film is for you – maybe not. It uses subtle horror – vague outlines, shadows, and unsettling camera angles – to instill fear, showing that nothing chills the blood quite like a seemingly normal figure walking steadily towards you.
A Violent Nature (2024)
What if you watched a movie from the killer’s POV? A Violent Nature explores this experimental angle with a bare-bones story.
A young camper discovers a locket in the woods, unknowingly tied to Johnny (Ry Barrett), a deformed corpse seeking revenge on those who stole it. The film follows Johnny from behind as he stalks his victims with an axe, deliberately portraying them as forgettable horror stereotypes. Director Chris Nash effectively commits to this perspective, positioning the camera perfectly and allowing shots to linger, building a quiet crescendo throughout the film.
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