I made this list of Halloween movie suggestions for a co-worker who wanted something contemporary and gory as a counterpoint to the rather innocent The Blob for his Scary Movie Night. I share it with you now, because you crazy kids need to watch some scary movies, and also to get all the ANUS ANUS ANUS off the top of the -- oh, crap.
MOVIES FROM THE HILATRON AND JOSH CATALOG:
Two Thousand Maniacs, dir. Herschell Gordon Lewis, 1964
Lewis, the pioneer of red-paint-and-animal-organs gore, somehow convinced real people from a backwater town in Florida to be extras in this exploitation-fest about a backwater town in Florida that collectively tortures and kills a group of rich Yankee tourists in various medieval ways. Much screaming, blood, blouse removal and gruesome misuse of carnival games commences.
Re-Animator, dir. Stuart Gordon, 1985
Stuart Gordon takes latex-and-goo style gore to a giddy new level in this classic about a crazed scientist who learns to bring corpses back to life, with predictable results. Jeffrey Combs is exceptional (and hilarious) as the twitchy, bad judgment-prone doctor.
Ginger Snaps, dir. John Fawcett, 2000
Slick angsty-teen-girl-power werewolf movie starts out dark and funny and ends up dark and blood-drenched. Two outcast sisters struggle with the fact that one of them seems to be turning into a mythical beast, until the pressure of her new appetites and keeping the secret from their crazy, in-denial mom causes a rift between the two that ends in lots of people-eating.
Battle Royale, dir. Kinji Fukasaku, 2000
Teenagers on a class trip are drugged and dropped off on an island, where they discover how the Japanese government plans to deal with the juvenile delinquency problem: force the classmates to engage in a no-holds-barred, last-kid-standing fight to the death. Not super gory, but violent. Featuring the world's only all-teenage-girl John Woo-style gun battle.
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, dir. Sam Raimi, 1987
Hands-down, the best slapstick horror movie yet made. Featuring dancing skeletal ex-girlfriends, animatronic zombie parents, revivified body parts, the funniest self-amputation ever, etc.
MOVIES NOT (YET) IN THE HILATRON AND JOSH CATALOG:
28 Days Later, dir. Danny Boyle, 2002
Old-school movie zombies get upgraded to superfast, extramean, killing machines courtesy of the Rage Virus, which can be transmitted by a single drop of blood, and turns the victim into a mindless, violent throwback. A group of survivors tries to hack and bludgeon their way out of a decimated England, only to discover that what they thought was a safe haven with a military unit might be even more threatening than the Rage victims themselves. Stylish, tense, grim, and smart -- highly recommended.
Deep Red, dir. Dario Argento, 1975
Italy's answer to slasher movies, giallos, reached their peak in the 70s, and this is one of the best, by the best. A musician witnesses a gruesome murder, and then we get to witness a lot more of them as he tries to figure out who the killer is while avoiding suspicion himself. Great cinematography, melodramatic plot devices, sadistic brutality and creepy dolls, all with a throbbing, if dated, soundtrack by 70s rock band Goblin.
It's Alive, dir. Larry Cohen, 1974
The concept of a killer mutant baby may be a bit over-the-top, but I defy you not to be creeped right out by the hospital scene that starts off this ode to (maybe) chemically-induced birth defect paranoia. Plus this is not just any killer mutant baby: it's a killer mutant baby you can really relate to, a killer mutant baby you might even feel sorry for. Fun times and bloodletting abound, along with a surprisingly serious social critique.
The Stuff, dir. Larry Cohen, 1985
Speaking of Cohen, if you want to be thematic, you could show this movie, which is sort of like a reverse Blob: it eats people from the inside out. More funny than it is gory or scary, this is still a great, quirky movie. Definitely worth a viewing.
What are your favorite scary movies? Surprise me. I challenge you!
Rob looooooooves him some Ginger Snaps. As for me, I have positively no ability to watch gore and violence, which is really too bad, because I hear it's fun. When we went on a date to see 28 Days Later, I went into Pirates of the Caribbean instead.
And I hear Saw is the new hip scarefest, but I'm still trying to work up the nerve to watch the preview online. God, I'm a pansy.
Posted by: nikita at October 26, 2004 02:57 PMSaw, if it is any good, looks like it promises to be rather an endurance challenge...not something for the violence-averse to test themselves with. (The trailer is not TOO bad, although there is a fair amount of promised or barely seen grossness.) And it's really too bad that Gingersnaps is inaccessible to you, because I bet you'd love the particular sort of deranged female bonding it contains without all the shuddery stuff.
It sounds like you need a list of good scary movies that are light on the gore and violence. Do you need a list? I ENJOY MAKING LISTS.
Posted by: Hilatron at October 26, 2004 03:11 PMI don't care for the gore myself. It doesn't scare me, exactly, but I don't like it. The movies I've seen that freaked me out the most were Mulholland Drive and Mothman Prophecies, both of which were pretty much gore-free. Oh, and The Shining, but that was mostly because after I watched it my roommate kept crouching next to my head while I slept and muttering "Redrum."
But Psycho, Blair Witch, Silence of the Lambs--nothing.
Posted by: Jess at October 26, 2004 09:00 PMScare-wimp here who nevertheless enjoys an occastional spooking. I'm kind of a fan of The Ring; which is to say that I get large segments of the movie running on loop for days at a time in my head (this also happens with All About Eve), to the point where I rented and watched it ALONE two weeks ago. For a girl who wrote an essay in 9th grade about how movies are too scary and should be toned down for sensitive viewers, this is a big thing.
Posted by: Agent Court at October 27, 2004 09:17 AMoh wow! the goblins are dated?! how dare you! hah. ummm, i love me some 'suspiria' and i looooove se7en (not so much scary/spooky as gross and thrilling), and re-animator, tho i think i've only seen the first and only long ago. the hills have eyes is the scariest movie i've ever seen, hands-down. and the original ring, ringu, is terrifying. i like wild zero a lot, tho it's not scary. i fell asleep during audition. i loved ginger snaps but have yet to see the second and third - i think i need to see the original again. i wanna see may - i've heard it's "cute." i didn't like the original grudge. um, what else... i love me some horror! oh yeah, and 'children shouldn't play with dead things' bites wang. seriously tho, the scariest ever - the hills have eyes. horrible. rent it!
Posted by: j at October 29, 2004 11:35 AMOH. MY. GOD. We totally watched The Stuff last night and it was so strange. The kids looked like Bradys and/or Brunet(te) Children of the Corn and I never want to see marshmellow fluff again in my life. So odd! And an odd coincidence that you wrote about it because I had honestly never heard of it until last night.
Posted by: Meredith at November 1, 2004 02:24 PM