10 Great Scary Movies To Watch Before Halloween
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With only a few days to go before Halloween, why not take some time to get seriously spooked by watching the following outstanding, scary films? These 10 films are some of the best the horror genre has ever created.
Cat People (1942)
This 1942 classic marked the first collaboration between producer Val Lewton and pioneering director Jaques Tourneur. It’s famous for a number of now legendary sequences and influenced generations of horror filmmakers in the decades to come.
Behind the scenes
Lewton was working as a story editor for famed producer David O. Selznick when he was hired by RKO Radio Pictures to produce a series of low-budget horror movies. Cat People was the first film that he developed for the studio and was directed by Tourneur, a French filmmaker who’d previously made a handful of little-seen B movies.
What happens
Cat People tells the story of a young Serbian woman named Irena, who falls in love with and marries nice-guy engineer Oliver. Unfortunately for poor Ollie, Irena descends from of a race of ancient cursed shapeshifters, who transform into big, murderous cats when aroused. This, of course, does not bode well for their marriage.
Why should I watch this?
RKO expected a horror quickie with a snappy title--and, in many ways, that’s what they got. But alongside the melodrama and sometimes stilted acting, Lewton and Tourneur brought a level of artistry unusual for this sort of low-budget fare. The idea of the cat women becoming deadly through arousal was radical for the age, and Tourneur's directorial style differed substantially from his horror contemporaries. In lieu of spending money on creature transformations, the filmmaker used shadows and sound extensively, creating some truly memorable sequences.
Shocks and scares
Cat People contains two of the most famous scenes in horror history, both showing Jane Randolph, playing Oliver's workmate, being menaced by a jealous Irena. The first sees Randolph followed down a lonely nighttime street, the sound of footsteps echoing all around her. A sudden screeching noise reveals a bus moving into view, inspiring the term "Lewton bus" to indicate the now well-worn horror trope of built-up tension resolving into something harmless.
The second scene is the famous moment where Irena, in cat form, prowls around a swimming pool while a terrified Randolph screams for help. We see virtually nothing, but the use of silence and shadows helps create a sequence that still terrifies.
Not to be confused with
Catwoman, Cat People (1982 remake), The Cat in the Hat, Garfield
Dead of Night (1945)
A British fright classic, Dead of Night is a still-effective example of horror anthology. In fact, Martin Scorsese rates this as one of the scariest films ever made.
Behind the scenes
Like many horror anthologies, Dead of Night uses a number of different directors--namely Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Robert Hamer, and Basil Dearden. All made notable films in the years following Dead of Night, and despite their different backgrounds, their collective work here maintains a consistent tone of eerie mystery.
What happens?
A wraparound story unites the individual tales, which focuses upon an architect named Walter who is called to the countryside home of a wealthy man. Upon his arrival, Walter encounters various dinner guests and tells them that even though he's never met them before, he has seen them all in a dream and some terrible tragedy will soon befall them all. The group begins sharing supernatural stories to lighten the mood, involving premonitions, ghosts, haunted mirrors, cursed golfers, and a creepy ventriloquist's dummy.
Why should I watch this?
Dead of Night is a rare horror anthology in which every story is a winner. Although the sections work extremely well together, the various filmmakers do vary the tone of the individual parts. So Crichton's golf course tale of a vengeful wronged husband is relatively light, while the story of a cursed mirror is far darker and scarier. The tale of a terrifying ventriloquist's dummy that ends the film is probably the strongest and features a standout performance from Michael Redgrave.
Shocks and scares
Every tale has its standout moments, from the appearance of a spooky bus conductor in the opening vignette to the weird visions seen through the glass of an ancient cursed mirror. And the wraparound story ultimately pays off with a scary twist and time-looping final scenes that feel decades ahead of their time.
Not to be confused with
Creepshow, Dead Calm, Night at the Museum
Day of the Dead (1985)
The third film in George A. Romero’s zombie trilogy, Day of the Dead was released at a time when gimmicky slasher movies and horror comedies were popular with horror audiences. Its dark tone meant it didn’t find the same audience as Romero’s previous zombie movies, but 30 years later, it remains a deeply impressive film.
Behind the scenes
While the undead had existed in horror cinema for decades, it was Romero who established the modern movie zombie that we know today. His 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead laid out the now familiar "rules" of the living dead, such as reanimation after a bite and a fatal head wound being the only way to snuff out a zombie. A decade later in 1978, Romero made Dawn of the Dead, widely considered to be one of the greatest horror movies of the '70s. Finally, the intense, claustrophobic Day of the Dead completed the trilogy.
What happens
While the living dead remain a constant threat in Day of the Dead, the film's conflict is between an army squad and a scientific team, both holed up together in an underground missile silo. The two groups have very different ideas about how to deal with the outside zombie menace, and the simmering tensions ultimately boil over in some spectacularly gruesome ways.
Why should I watch this?
While Night of the Living Dead set the original template and Dawn of the Dead delivered an exciting, gory mix of horror action and witty social satire, Day of the Dead arguably exerted the most direct influence over modern zombiedom.
For the first time, the zombies were less of a threat than other humans, with the increasingly unstable Captain Rhodes and his men far more likely to harm the scientists than the living dead on the surface. Romero strikes a perfect balance between gripping drama and gruesome undead action, showcasing some jaw-dropping effects work. Plus, in Bub--the zombie slowly remembering who he once was--we have one of the most iconic horror heroes of the 1980s.
Shocks and scares
Day of the Dead saw special-effects whiz Tom Savini and his team working at their absolute peak. The drama of Romero's story is punctuated by a variety of gore-soaked set pieces, with skin torn, guts munched, and limbs chopped with wild abandon.
Not to be confused with
The Day of the Triffids, Day of the Jackal, Deadpool
Eyes Without A Face (1960)
Eyes Without a Face is one of the very best to emerge from France, a country with a long history of making quality horror movies. A striking, artistic take on the mad scientist genre, it's had a major influence on horror movies and directors in the subsequent decades.
Behind the scenes
Georges Franju was an acclaimed documentary filmmaker whose hard-hitting, socially conscious movies made him a sometimes controversial figure. Eyes Without a Face was his second fictional feature and was just as divisive--some viewers were appalled by its dark themes and scenes of surgery, while others came away impressed by its style and haunting atmosphere.
What happens?
Eyes Without a Face is about a scientist who's obsessed with restoring the face of his disfigured daughter. With the help of his assistant, he kidnaps young women at night and attempts to fix his daughter's face by transplanting the beautiful features of his victims onto her.
Why should I watch this?
In an attempt to satisfy the differing objections of censors in France, Germany, and England, Franju set out to make the most disturbing film he could while omitting explicit gore and overt cruelty--and Eyes Without a Face is all the more effective for it. The standard crazy scientist cliches are absent, and the movie emphasizes suggestion rather than showing the results of the film's surgery scenes. Among the many filmmakers influenced by the this haunting movie was Halloween director John Carpenter, whose decision to give iconic killer Michael Myers a "faceless" mask was inspired by Franju's film.
Shocks and scares
The movie starts with one of horror's most haunting opening scenes: The assistant dumps the results of a failed experiment--a young girl's body--in the River Seine. And while the surgery scenes aren't overly graphic by modern standards, the matter-of-fact way in which Franju shoots them--clearly influenced by his documentary experience--makes them incredibly unsettling.
Not to be confused with
Scarface, Face/Off, Eyes Wide Shut
It Follows (2014)
The third film from director David Robert Mitchell places a curse on a group of unfortunate teenagers--and delivers some of the most unnerving scenes in an American indie horror movie in many years.
Behind the scenes
Mitchell scored an indie hit with the drama The Myth of the American Sleepover, but It Follows took him into full-blown horror territory. He avoids many of the cliches of modern teen horror and places a group of believable kids into a terrifyingly surreal situation, evoking a constant feeling of dread without relying on lavish effects. The movie also features a standout lead performance from rising star Maika Monroe, who can also be seen in the '80s-influenced thriller The Guest.
What happens?
It Follows uses the familiar horror concept of a curse passed from one person to another, seen in such films as Night of the Demon and The Ring. In this case, the curse is passed along after a sexual encounter. The curse manifests in the form of someone following you--it could be someone who you know, or a stranger--but always invisible to others. If they catch up with you, you're a goner.
Why should I watch this?
Mitchell adopts an almost fairytale-like tone for this story of modern suburban terror. The gliding camerawork creates a sense of constant dread without resorting to traditional scare tactics. The terror results almost entirely from scenes of people walking quickly in the direction of the main characters, and Mitchell assembles a cast of likable, sympathetic actors. Plus, electronica artist Disasterpeace's pulsating, discordant synth score is one of the best soundtracks of recent years.
Shocks and scares
It Follows wastes no time getting to the frights--the opening scene, in which one victim is pursued by an unseen adversary, is tense and disorientating, with a super gruesome payoff. And in one key moment, Mitchell rotates his camera around and around in a school corridor, creating a remarkable moment of paranoid unease based on absolutely nothing.
Not to be confused with
It, Following, Chasing Amy
Maniac (2012)
A rare remake that improves on the original, this inventive, gruesome reworking of a 1980 cult slasher features a unnerving performance from The Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood.
Behind the scenes
Maniac was produced by Gallic horror guru Alexandre Aja--the man behind Switchblade Romance and the 2006 Hills Have Eyes remake--and directed by Franck Khalfoun. The pair used the basic storyline of Bill Lustig's original film, but instead of filming it in a traditional way, opted to make it almost entirely from the main character's point of view.
What happens?
The titular maniac is Frank Zito, a somewhat unstable young man who runs a mannequin business. Poor Frank had a seriously damaged childhood; his recently deceased mother was a prostitute who would make her son watch her "at work." Inevitably, Frank's own relationships with women aren't particularly healthy, and any attempts to date usually end up with him killing and scalping the unlucky ladies.
Why should I watch this?
While POV is often used in horror movies to put you in the head of a stalking killer, it's highly unusual for an entire film to be made this way. As a result, we only see Elijah's Wood's face fleetingly--usually as he passes in front a mirror. The POV technique is much more than a gimmick, however, since it removes any distance between the viewer and the gruesome crimes depicted onscreen--making for extremely uncomfortable viewing. We hear Frank's voice as if it were in our heads and see his hands in front of us as he conducts his acts of murder. Also, knowing it's little Frodo Baggins performing the scalping and stabbing makes it all the more disturbing.
Shocks and scares
Maniac certainly doesn't skimp on the gore, and the movie's technique puts the horrors right in front of us. There's no shortage of suspenseful sequences as Frank stalks his chosen victims around the city.
Not to be confused with
Maniac Cop, Men in Black, The Hobbit
Pulse (2001)
Part of the wave of Japanese horror that followed the success of The Ring in the early 2000s, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse stands apart from the rest. It's weird, ambitious, funny, and very, very scary.
Behind the scenes
Kurosawa is one of the key directors in modern Japanese cinema. He frequently shifts genres, dabbling in violent crime movies and sensitive romantic dramas. But it's in the world of horror that he truly excels--movies like Cure, Pulse, and the recent Creepy deliver doses of existential terror like nothing else.
What happens?
For much of Pulse, we follow two separate stories. In one, a group of young people working in a plant store experience some very strange occurrences following the suicide of a friend. Weird phone calls, spooky images caught on a computer monitor, and increased sightings of doors sealed shut with red tape. In the other story, a student starts seeing ghosts around his college after he logs on to a mysterious website and forms a friendship with an older, lonely post-grad student.
Why should I watch this?
While many of the individual elements within Pulse might be familiar to fans of Japanese horror--long-haired ghosts, freaky children, young people being menaced by an unseen terror--Kurosawa's treatment of this material is anything but traditional. The film is a strange, surreal experience that strains the boundaries of logic and combines a persistent atmosphere of impending doom with some truly terrifying scenes. Kurosawa uses long takes, allowing the tension to build, and the film has much to say about the increasing use of technology in our lives.
Shocks and scares
Pulse uses few visual effects. Instead, Kurosawa's clever framing and camerawork help create the film's many scares. One unnerving moment has the student suddenly see a weird white-faced boy lurking between the aisles of a library. In another scene, we suddenly spot a ghost standing in the corner of a room. Realizing she'd been there for several minutes is what makes the scene truly effective.
Not to be confused with
Pulse (the terrible 2006 U.S. remake), Ghost
Suspiria (1977)
Legendary Italian director Dario Argento's supernatural chiller is one of the most distinctive horror movies of the 1970s. The mix of intriguing mystery, gory violence, eye-popping visuals, and ear-splitting score creates an otherworldly atmosphere and made the director a favorite among horror aficionados across the world.
Behind the scenes
A former film critic, Argento had already carved out an impressive career with a series of striking films in the classic Italian giallo tradition--violent, twist-filled murder mysteries such as The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Deep Red. In 1977, he plunged headfirst into the supernatural with this crazy tale of ballerinas and witches.
What happens?
A young American ballet student named Suzy comes to study at a prestigious dance school in Germany. On the rain-soaked night of her arrival, two other students are brutally murdered by an unseen assailant. Suzy and her classmates begin to suspect that the staff are involved in something sinister and that the school might, in fact, be a cover for a coven of ancient witches.
Why should I watch this?
There's not really another film quite like Suspiria. Argento takes the stylish template set by Mario Bava--the godfather of Italian horror--a decade earlier and amps everything up to 11. The vivid colors, swooping camerawork, bizarre, often incomprehensible plotting, and sudden bursts of shocking violence help create a surreal, twisted fairytale atmosphere. Italian prog-rockers Goblin deliver one of the greatest soundtracks in horror history--a thunderous mix of primal percussion, whispered vocals, and childlike melodies as legendary as the film itself.
Shocks and scares
Argento has always been a master at delivering scary set pieces, and Suspiria is no exception. From the gruesome double murder that opens the film to the shower of maggots that rains down from the ceiling to the girl trapped in a room inexplicably filled with barbed wire, Suspiria's scariest moments might not make logical sense, but they're undeniable displays of twisted brilliance.
Not to be confused with
Black Swan, The Red Shoes, The Usual Suspects
The Changeling (1980)
George C. Scott stars as a grieving father who moves into a haunted house in this super creepy early-'80s chiller. While not as well remembered as similarly themed movies of the era, such as Poltergeist and The Amityville Horror, it's every bit as scary.
Behind the scenes
Hungarian-born Peter Medak is one of those directors who's dabbled in pretty much every genre over the years, including high-quality horror like this, low-budget schlock (Species II), crime dramas (The Krays), and acclaimed TV shows (The Wire, Breaking Bad, Hannibal). He and George C. Scott bring a level of sheer class to The Changeling.
What happens?
Scott plays composer John Russell, whose wife and child are killed in an car accident. He takes a new teaching job in the Seattle area and rents an old house--but soon finds that he is not alone. The house has a dark history, and a presence there is trying to communicate with him. But what is it? And why him?
Why should I watch this?
The Changeling is old-fashioned in the best sense of the term. It takes its time to set up the story, ensuring that the audience is fully invested in the characters before delivering the horror goods. Scott delivers a moving performance as a father coming to terms with the tragedy in his life, and the movie retains a melancholy tone throughout. There's a compelling mystery, too, as Scott and his real-life wife, Trish Van Devere, turn amateur sleuths to find out what happened in the house all those years ago. When it turns its mind to horror, the film absolutely delivers, both in terms of individual scares and the spooky atmosphere that descends whenever our hero returns to the house.
Shocks and scares
Medak is a master at evoking maximum chills from minimal props. Who would've thought that a bouncing rubber ball could be so scary? And you'll never look at a wheelchair the same way again after The Changeling. The movie also features one of the most frightening seances in horror--an unnerving scene that was a clear influence on latter-day horror hits like The Conjuring and Insidious.
Not to be confused with
Changeling, Changing Lanes
The Witch (2016)
One of this year's most acclaimed horror movies, The Witch is a dark supernatural chiller set in the harsh winter of rural 17th-century New England. Its subtitle is A New-England Folk Tale.
Behind the scenes
Robert Eggers, making his directorial debut with The Witch, has spoken about the fact that he struggled for several years to get more experimental films made, before realizing that a horror movie would be a more commercial project. Even so, the film is filled with a wide range influences--Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman, Spanish painter Francisco Goya, and experimental classical music.
What happens?
The movie focuses on a family cast out from a Puritan community over a differing interpretation of the Bible. They build a farm on the outskirts on a woodland, but when their baby son disappears, they begin to suspect that some evil lurks within the woods. Could they really be neighbors with an ancient, evil, child-stealing witch?
Why should I watch this?
In an era when most horror movies--from The Conjuring to Blair Witch--attempt to generate scares from sudden jump shocks, The Witch does it the old-fashioned way. A steady buildup, a heady atmosphere of dread and menace, compelling characters, and sudden bursts of deeply disturbing imagery.
The bleak, hugely authentic setting, use of period dialogue, and committed performances make The Witch a film that both harks back to classic movies such as The Wicker Man and marks Eggers as a director who could take horror to some fascinating new places.
Shocks and scares
To say too much about the scares contained within The Witch would spoil some key plot points--this is a film that saves its handful of shocks for very specific scenes. There's an edge of mounting dread throughout, and Eggers really mines the paranoia that develops within the family as madness descends and they start to suspect one another of witchcraft. But suffice it to say that any sequence involving a goat or a raven is probably one that you'll be thinking about for days to come.
Not to be confused with
Return to Witch Mountain, The Witches of Eastwick, Every Which Way But Loose