As someone who isn’t much of a partier, I like to partake in a different Halloween tradition than some of my friends: listening to the first few Misfits records and watching both good and terrible horror movies with my girlfriend.
I’ve compiled a list of movies that are essential for your next Halloween party. These are great to sit and watch while you peel grapes so that they feel like eyeballs, or to have on in the background if you transform into a party animal on All Hallow’s Eve.
Halloween
John Carpenter’s 1978 low budget masterpiece set the standard for today’s teen slasher flick, as well as the most awesome horror movie clichés. It stars Jaime Lee Curtis (whose real-life mother plays the woman who gets hacked to bits in the infamous “Psycho” shower scene) as a babysitter who is stalked by an escaped mental patient for no particular reason, at least not one we learn until the sequel.
“Halloween” relies more on suspense and tension rather than cheap scares that seem to plague today’s horror films. It also features one of the most frightening scores of all time, written by John Carpenter.
The Gingerdead Man
I discovered this, uh, “gem” while working at a video store one day. This is the actual premise, and I swear I am not making this up: Gary Busey plays a gingerbread cookie that is haunted by the spirit of a murderer out to get revenge on a girl who testified against him. This happens because his ashes are put into the gingerbread mix. Makes perfect sense, right?
This movie is overflowing with the worst clichés, including my favorite usage of the no- cell-phone-service predicament. Complete with inane dialogue, wooden acting and a script that makes Michael Bay look like Sidney Lumet, “The Gingerdead Man” is the perfect choice if you’re looking for howling laughter.
Nosferatu
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“Nosferatu” is definitely the movie to have on to provide a visual backdrop for your Halloween party playlist. This 1929 silent film tells the tale of a vampire who buys a house, and becomes interested in the realtor’s wife. Graf Orlok, played by Max Schreck, is by far the creepiest vampire to have graced the screen. In fact, a legend surrounding the movie is that Max Schreck was a real-life vampire who was cast as Orlok because he was so convincing.
As a silent film, “Nosferatu” is not the best choice to sit and watch but the eerie visuals will provide a perfect backdrop for any Halloween get together.
Night of the Living Dead
George A. Romero’s flesh eating masterpiece is just as influential as it is campy. Plus, what Halloween is complete without at least one zombie movie?
The zombies of late have been able to run, but they don’t in Romero movies. To me, this is much scarier than an Olympic sprinter. The ghouls in “Night of the Living Dead” seem more like an unstoppable force, hell-bent on eating your brain. Like “Nosferatu” this film serves better as background visuals to your music of choice.
Funny Games
If a horror film marathon is more your thing, try “Funny Games”. This film is about a family who is terrorized in their summer home by two very well mannered maniacs. The two gentlemen make the family a bet toward the beginning of the film, “You bet that you’ll be alive by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, and we bet that you won’t.”
The two young men holding the family hostage constantly toy with them, as well as the audience. They constantly break the fourth wall and address the audience, mocking them. This includes a particularly frustrating (and polarizing) scene involving a remote control. Instances like this make me consider “Funny Games” a parody of modern horror films. As torture scenes become more and more popular, this film turns that whole sub-genre on its head.