By: James Southworth
Over the years, horror has more and more become one my favorite movie genres to watch. Certainly when I was younger I didn't understand why people would want to watch movies just to get scared. But now I do understand. There's something thrilling about the chill that goes up your spine when you're watching a great horror movie. And oftentimes, the horror genre delivers some of the most unique ideas of any movie genre, and many of them even find ways to deliver powerful themes in their scares. Since it is almost Halloween, I find it fitting to recommend five different horror films you should definitely watch. So here they are! What's your favorite horror movies to watch every year when Halloween comes around?
1. The Babadook
You will find me constantly recommending this film. Not only is it my favorite horror film, it's also one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time. I have yet to find a horror film that so effectively uses its scares to not only make you legitimately scared, but also hone in a powerful theme about facing grief. The movie revolves around Amelia, who has been dealing with the loss of her husband for six years now. She has a tough time disciplining her out-of-control son Samuel. Things only become worse when one night Samuel asks her to read a children's book. In this book is The Babadook, and as Amelia reads it, she finds that the story to be much more sinister than your typical children's book. That plot alone should intrigue you to watch this movie, and trust me, there is not a moment for most of the movie where the tension lets up. The chills I got from the film were very natural, and oftentimes I felt realistically scared. The Babadook is never really shown, and there are no jump scares, so that works highly to this movie's benefit. It also helps that both Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman as Amelia and Samuel give compelling performances, making their characters fleshed out and realistic. Well-directed and upending horror cliches, "The Babadook" works on every front, and it is a horror movie you absolutely shouldn't miss out on!
2. Psycho
If you haven 't seen this horror classic, then just drop everything you're doing right now and watch it. This movie inspired a more edgy and violent horror genre, and was also the subtle start of slasher horror films. If only the slasher films had the subtlety and intelligence this one had. To be fair, though, not many people can match up to Alfred Hitchcock. In this movie we get to experience the intriguing personality of Norman Bates as he interacts with Lila Crane, who has run away with $40,000 of embezzled money. As we get to learn more about Norman, he becomes oddly unsettling, especially as he begins to talk of his mother Norma Bates. This movie has a lot going for it. The isolated motel setting makes you realize that no one is safe there, and there is something menacing about the Bates house as well, where "Norma" resides. Hitchcock brings a lot of sympathy to Norman Bates through the interesting themes he touches on, such as wondering if we're all a little crazy sometimes. Anthony Perkins as Norman perfects playing the likeable psycho, and he plays it convincing enough for the viewer to think that maybe Norman isn't insane. Of course there is the iconic shower scene that has put this movie into permanent classic territory, but there are so many other great moments in this movie that need to be seen as well! "Psycho" is another top favorite movie of mine, and it's perfect for the Halloween season. As a side note, after watching the movie, I'd recommend you watch the TV series "Bates Motel", which puts Norman and his mother in a modern-day setting, and it shows how Norman turned into who he is on "Psycho". It's one of the best TV series I've ever seen, and it actually honors Hitchcock's source material.
3. Don't Breathe
The title of this movie is pretty clever, as not only are the main characters not supposed to breathe in this movie because the killer's house they're in is blind, but the audience is also left breathless because this movie is just constant, white-knuckled, horror. This movie is just high-octane on the horror spectrum, with big frightening moments happening one after the other. None of the horror is supernatural either, it all feels brutally realistic. That's what you should expect from Sam Raimi though, who created the crazy "Evil Dead" series. But, even though Raimi loves to have big scares, he doesn't take away from making his characters sympathetic. The beginning bit of this movie gives all the characters a reason for being thieves. You don't agree that they are robbing houses, but you do at least understand why. When these characters are put into a horrifying situation, you actually want them to get out alive. The way Raimi does horror is very unique in this film, as there are so many twists and turns that you don't expect. This is a movie where it's better not to reveal what happens. Just watch it for yourself, and I hope you'll be constantly on the edge of your seat like I was.
4. You're Next
If you want to watch a horror film with a dark comedic edge, then this is the right movie for you. When I saw the trailer for this movie, which revolved around killers with animal masks randomly coming to a rich family's house and killing them, the premise sounded silly. The movie and director Adam Wingard seem fully aware of that, and he uses comedy to his advantage. There are some moments in this movie that are so over-the-top in regards to how people die, but they are done in a way that is just the right combination of silly and scary. The film doesn't feel like it wants to be in any form of tangible reality, and in order to make that more apparent, Wingard films the movie in a sort of fast paced, comic-book style. He does slow down a bit in some of the more legitimately scary moments of the film. I honestly think that Wingard was making fun of violent horror tropes in this film, while succeeding in making the violence in his film actually pay off. The parody is better than the original idea here. The performances are all really good, especially the delightfully interesting turn by Sharni Vinson as main character Erin, who only becomes a more intriguing character as we learn the ways in which she deals with the killers.
5. Saw
I'll admit, I think I judged this movie too harshly for too long. After all, it was this film that popularized the so-called "torture porn" genre. I never got why people would willingly go watch a movie where people are simply tortured in brutal and gory ways. When my brother and cousin insisted we watch it, I finally grudgingly agreed. After all, I did want to see why this film was considered such a pop culture icon. When the film finished, I was in shock. I actually liked it, and this movie is not at all what people have made it to be. This movie is honestly more of a thriller/suspense movie than it is a movie about torture. There is hardly any blood at all in the movie, instead letting you imagine the violent acts for yourself. The torturer, Jigsaw, remains a complete mystery for the whole movie, you never actually see him. Instead you only hear his menacing voice, which ups the fear factor that much more. This movie also actually has two really interesting main characters. Carry Elwes has an excellent performance as Dr. Gordon, and Leigh Whannell has a really good turn as Adam. You are given a reason to care for these characters, as director James Wan reveals their backstories and the "sins" they have committed that Jigsaw views as deserving of torture. This movie shows Jigsaw as a heartless psychopath (unlike the rest of the movies, which try to make him more compelling and having valid reasons for torturing his victims), and he is indeed a force to be reckoned with. The twist is shocking and well-deserved, and I ended up loving the movie. It shows how James Wan was already becoming an interesting director from the start, more concerned on making scares implied and interesting rather than in-your-face and boring. This is the only movie in the "Saw" series that I think is worthwhile. Some parts of "Saw II" are okay, but the third one really starts to show that the series is only concerned with how over-the-top gory it can get. So, just watch the first one, because it is an excellent and creative film!
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