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Enjoy Halloween all year long with these DVD picks
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Halloween comes only once a year, but you can recreate its chills and thrills anytime, with a scary movie on DVD and a bowl of your favorite candy. Here is a list of films to choose from if you are in the mood for a suspense-filled evening. You will not find any iterations of “Saw” or other slasher flicks on this list, but you will find a mix of tension-filled tales spanning different time periods and cultures.
The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961)
What would you get if you crossed “Wuthering Heights” with “The Exorcist”? The result would probably be something like this moody and suspenseful adaptation of Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw”. With gorgeous cinematography reminiscent of “Citizen Kane”, “The Innocents” follows ingénue governess Miss Giddens (Deborah) into the English countryside, where she has been dispatched to care for young Miles and Flora (Martin Stephens, Pamela Franklin). The two orphans live at the manor of their gruff and wealthy uncle (Michael Redgrave), a man who does not hide the fact that he is unwilling to care for the children himself.
With some trepidation, the inexperienced Miss Giddens arrives in the country to find a lovely property, a kind staff headed up by the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose (Megs Jenkins), and a charming companion in her young charge, Flora. Unsettled soon after by the news that Flora’s brother, Miles, has been expelled from school because of his negative influence on other boys, the governess is later confounded when she meets the charming young Miles. He seems to be a demanding, but ultimately polite and pleasant boy; what reason could the school have possibly had for expelling him? Soon, Miss Giddens realizes that things are not what they seem in the house. She perceives a sinister presence on the property, and she learns some disturbing secrets about the unsavory past of previous staff members who died on the premises. Most troubling of all, she realizes that the children are being influenced and manipulated by the dark forces that surround them.
With a solid screenplay by Truman Capote, William Archibald, and John Mortimer, this is a creepy and entertaining tale of evil spirits and possession.
Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)
Filmed in part at the infamous Dakota apartment building in New York City, this hallucinatory film recounts the story of Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse (Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes), a young and carefree couple who decide to move into a new apartment. What awaits them inside their new residence is unimaginable and startling: nosy, controlling, and sinister neighbors; the mysterious suicide of a resident; and accounts of the building’s past inhabitants that involve both violence and witchcraft. When Rosemary becomes pregnant after a drunken and violent interlude with Guy (or so it seems, for Rosemary does not remember much from her evening), she and Guy are happy at first. But, as the calamities around Rosemary continue and as evidence of an evil presence mounts, Rosemary can no longer be sure whether she is carrying a demonic being that is controlling her, or whether she is losing grip on reality.
Told in Polanski’s deliberate and subjective style, this gem of a story draws us into Rosemary’s terrifying journey. The film includes gripping performances by a talented cast that includes Ruth Gordon, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy, and Charles Grodin.
The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
Legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick successfully tackles the horror genre in this brilliant adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. Recovering alcoholic Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson, in an unforgettable performance) accepts work as a caretaker at a secluded mountain resort for the off-season. The resort has a reputation for inducing madness in its winter staff, but Jack, who is writing a novel and has few employment prospects, attempts to settle into his work there with his wife, Wendy, and son, Danny (Shelley Duvall, Danny Torrance). We quickly discover that young Danny is psychic, and through his visions, we catch glimpses of the horrible secrets of the hotel’s past. In the meantime, Jack falls under the hotel’s malevolent influence, to the horror of Wendy. The film’s terrifying images and events build a sense of dread and terror in the viewer, and as the film careens toward its inevitable finale, we are taken on a journey that explores both the supernatural and the psychological components of the horror genre.
Brotherhood of the Wolf (Christophe Gans, 2001)
A weird and outrageous tale that uses conventions from many genres including horror, historical drama, and the martial arts film, this movie’s eclectic cast includes Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, and Mark Dacascos (whom television fans will recognize from roles such as Eric Draven in “The Crow” series and as the Chairman on “Iron Chef America”). Based on an 18th century French legend, the film follows two bounty hunters of sorts, as they are sent into the French countryside by the king to slay a monster who has been feasting on innocent villagers. The two hunters, one, a French nobleman and scientist (Samuel Le Bihan), and the other, a member of the Mohawk nation from the new world (Dacascos), encounter an unusual mix of characters and battle bigotry, superstition, and, of course, the beast itself. This film includes many unexpected twists and turns that leave the viewer breathless.
This film is in French, with English subtitles.
A cautionary tale for religious fanatics and bullies, “Carrie” takes the notion that high school can be horrifying to a new plane. This cinematic landmark by Brian De Palma was fundamental in defining the teenage horror subgenre. Another title on this list to be based on a novel by Stephen King, “Carrie” follows misfit Carrie White (the inimitable Sissy Spacek), a high school senior who has the misfortune of living with an obsessively religious mother (Piper Laurie) and of attending school with a gaggle of merciless classmates who torment her daily (William Katt, Amy Irving, and John Travolta, among others).
Within the first ten minutes of the film, we realize that Carrie has the power to hurt those who thwart her, and our dread mounts gradually as the bullies around her step up their efforts to humiliate her, her mother ceaselessly attempts to subdue her, and we wonder what Carrie will do to retaliate.
The lovely Betty Buckley gives a nuanced performance as the iron-fisted but empathetic gym teacher.
The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963)
Perhaps no list of scary movies would be complete without an offering from the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. While many consider “Psycho” (1960) as the epitome of Hitchcockian horror, my preference would be to bestow that honor on “The Birds”. The film has an apocalyptic feel, giving us some insight into what would happen if a natural element went awry on a mass scale.
The film starts off very lightly and innocently, with socialite/prankster Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) deciding to play a practical joke on potential love interest, Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) after an encounter with him at a pet store. With a gag gift of love birds in tow, Melanie leaves her home in San Francisco and heads to Mitch's weekend home in the coastal town of Bodega Bay. As Melanie embarks on her journey, she cannot begin to imagine the horrors that will unfold. From the initial attack by a lone seagull on the waters of the bay, to the subsequent discoveries around town of the unusual behavior of various species of birds, and to the eventual unleashing of the wrath of all winged creatures, the film’s increasing sense of horror and panic provide entertainment for those looking for a good fright.
The Devil's Backbone (Guillermo Del Toro, 2001)
Like Del Toro’s 2006 international hit, “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “The Devil’s Backbone” is set in Spain and takes place in the aftermath of that country’s civil war. Where “Pan’s Labyrinth” uses the vehicle of fantasy to spin its political yarn, “The Devil’s Backbone” uses the conventions of the horror film.
The film introduces us to Carlos (Fernando Tielve), the young son of a war hero who has perished while battling Franco’s fascist army. Abandoned by his tutor at a remote orphanage, Carlos suffers horrors both human and supernatural. Bullied by others, threatened by a ticking bomb on the premises, and haunted by the spirit of a dead child who warns of impending doom and death, Carlos struggles to defend himself, to understand his surroundings, and to pinpoint the true source of evil in his environment.
With “The Devil’s Backbone” (as with “Pan’s Labyrinth”), the clever and whimsical Del Toro manages to approach the telling of some significant war stories with originality and energy.
This film is in Spanish, with English subtitles.
Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973)
Like “The Birds” (and several other Hitchcock films), “Don’t Look Now” is based on a Daphne Du Maurier story. This gripping and unpredictable European thriller starts in the tranquility of the English countryside, where John and Laura Baxter (the brilliant Donald Southerland and Julie Christie) reside with their young son and daughter. After their daughter drowns in a lake on their property, the couple send their son to boarding school and spend some time away from home, in Venice, where architect John begins working on a church restoration. When Laura, who is still traumatized by the loss of her daughter, meets two sisters who inform her that the spirit of the little girl is present among them, she suffers another shock. Eventually, she befriends the sisters and comes to believe them. John is skeptical and is very protective of his wife. Soon, however, he becomes preoccupied by his own visions of his daughter.
“Don’t Look Now” is an unsettling and complex film whose impressive cinematography showcases the dual nature of the beautiful but macabre city of Venice.
28 Days Later … (Danny Boyle, 2003)
A great film (or perhaps the wrong film, depending on your perspective) to watch in the era of SARS and the swine flu, this horror / sci-fi thriller follows its protagonists on a harrowing journey through England after the country has been ravaged by a pandemic that has killed off most of the population. When Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up in a London hospital, he takes stock of the scene around him, and slowly comes to realize that he may be the sole survivor of the merciless virus. Eventually, Jim finds other survivors, some of whom become his companions, some of whom turn out to be among the “infected”, unfortunate individuals whom the virus has transformed into bloodthirsty zombies. As Jim and his companions, Selena, Frank, and Hannah (Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns) scramble to find other healthy survivors and to avoid the violent, virus-infected masses, they head north on a dangerous mission to find a cure for the virus.
A suspenseful, creepy, and genuinely scary film, the cult status of “28 Days Later …” is well-deserved.
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