Happy Spooky Season!
If you haven't already caught it, check out A to M of my Halloween A-Z... for everyone else, let's finish what we started.
N - Nightmares
Though I thankfully haven't experienced it yet, this pick could absolutely be about films that gave you nightmares. Night House came pretty close with its shadows and shapes coming to life, or Annabelle Comes Home, which is the first time I've watched something and felt a twinge of terror.
Instead, I was thinking about the ghastly things that insight nightmares in the movies, and I will admit to being a terrible movie watcher... again... but I have seen the original Nightmare on Elm Street yet. I apologise profusely.
Ones to watch: Nightmare on Elm Street, Last Night in Soho, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Doctor Sleep.
O - Ominous Camera Angles
The scene is building, someone is running in terror or the complete opposite... everything is a little too calm. Suddenly the camera is looking over someone's shoulder, there's a door, there's an empty space, or there's something that wasn't open just before... the anticipation at those sorts of moments is epic because you can feel something is about to happen, you're just not sure what.
My favourite one of these is definitely in the recent Invisible Man. Before even seeing the film I was mad that they'd put such an epic moment in the trailer, surely they were just missing a massive opportunity to scare the daylights out of us! But it still managed to scare me even though I'd already seen it, it just gave even more anticipation, waiting for it to happen in the film.
Ones to watch: Looming shots of Michael looking out of windows at people (most of the Halloweens), camera angles that leave the protagonist in a funny section of the screen so you can watch the gap for the killer (Halloween 78, Invisible Man), opening the door to the shadowed Priest in the Exorcist, stand and watch the world burn (Carrie, Halloween 2018).
P - Phone Calls
Has there ever been a phone call in a horror film that wasn't bad? Used for taunting or jump scares, they're honestly quite amusing. I'm not sure we'll ever beat that original Scream phone call though. Iconic moment in horror history.
Ones to watch: Dial M For Murder, Scream, When A Stranger Calls, Ring, Countdown, Black Phone, Scary Movie.
Q - Quiet
I cannot express how traumatizing it was watching A Quiet Place with snacks... terrible, terrible idea. Nuff said.
Ones to watch: Jurassic Park in the kitchen, A Quiet Place... basically the whole movie.
R - Reading Things (Don't do it)
"I found this spooky book that's been hidden for hundreds of years and it's said that..." How about no!? Close it. Bury it. Burn it. Drop it in a vat of acid. DO NOT READ IT!
Ones to watch: Mummy, Hocus Pocus, Hocus Pocus 2, Goosebumps.
S - Screaming
A good horror film is nothing without someone screaming in terror, and there are plenty to choose from... but I'm not sure anything can beat this dramatic moment.
Ones to watch: Carry on Screaming, Scream, Psycho, Halloween (78), The Shining, King Kong (33).
T - Theme Tunes - You should be able to hear them and run
I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I could hear the theme tune to my life... I'd probably leave the house less. And that's where we have the upper hand in a horror movie... we know when something bad is about to happen.
Ones to watch: Halloween, Jaws.
U - Unseen
Whether it's invisibility or fate, the absence of something can be terrifying. But not seeing what's after you isn't just scary for the characters in the movie, filmmakers are also getting us unsuspecting viewers with fakeout shots behind doors.
Ones to watch: Predator, Predators, Invisible Man, Bird Box, Hollow Man, Final Destination.
V - Vampires
They vant to suck your bluuuuud. Or perhaps just be friends with you and learn about the internet. I'm still not sure if I prefer serious or silly vampires, the only certainty I have is that the best vampire was a duck.
Ones to watch: What We Do In The Shadows, Blade, Vampires vs The Bronx, Dracula 2000, Blood Red Sky.
W - Witches... not the movie... but also, the movie
Between the wretched ones that like to lure children to their doom, and poor misunderstood women who are just trying to honour the terms of a legally binding contract that a ditzy teenager went into not thinking about the consequences, witches definitely have a firm place in the Halloween season.
Ones to watch: Hocus Pocuses, Fear Street Trilogy, The Craft, Emperor's New Groove, Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, In Fabric, The Little Mermaid, Maleficent.
X - Xmas
You knew I was going to sneak this in! (Plus, my other option was Xenomorph, and you'd all mock me for my favourite Alien movie.) Christmas is a time to be judged as naughty or nice... If you decide on naughty, make sure it's not as extreme as some of the films below.
As a note, I've put Better Watch Out in the ones to watch... but I dislike it with a passion, I'm sure there's something in there to like though...
Ones to watch: Secret Santa, Black Christmases, Better Watch Out, Christmas Evil, Santa's Slay.
Y - You're Next... the ominous prediction, not the movie... but also the movie
Honestly, this letter could easily have just been the film You're Next, it's a classic tale of family gatherings gone wrong. But the flips side of this one is fate picking on unsuspecting survivors of tragic accidents. Who doesn't fear trucks loaded with logs after watching the Final Destination series?
Ones to watch: You're Next, Final Destination, Final Destination 2, Final Destination 3, The Final Destination (which was such a lie, because...), Final Destination 5.
Z - Zombies
Of course, I had to finish my A-Z with a Halloween classic. The Zombie, the differently living, be they fast or slow, they be fun. I have to admit to being a fan of the goofy ones, and if you find yourself unable to choose... always pick the zombeaver.
Ones to watch: Zombeavers, One Cut of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Aquarium of the Dead, Black Sheep, Rezort, Night of the Living Dead - Romero, Office Uprising, Zombie Tidal Wave.
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