Monday, October 31, 2011

MONSTER MARY'S TOP 10 HALLOWEEN MOVIES

Happy Halloweeeeeeeen, Everyone!
I have a TREAT for you!

JimSmash Reader MARY BASTIAN is THE Horror Fan Supreme
and has graciously provided a ghoulish list for us!

JimSmash presents....
MONSTER MARY'S
TOP 10 HALLOWEEN MOVIES!

"Here is my list of my top 10 favorite horror movies (in no particular order) also suitable to watch during the Halloween season. I tried to mix it up a bit so it’s not all your usual movies, but they are all still my favorite movies."
--Mary
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
1974 Directed by Tobe Hooper
He also directed another close favorite of mine, Poltergeist. In this movie, we follow a group of care free teenagers who stumble upon a seemingly harmless family. When only too soon you realize that this is no normal family. To this day, I get creeped out by the sound of a chainsaw and instantly it reminds me of the films ending.

Amityville Horror
1979 Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
This has been on my favorite list since I was 4 years old and my dad brought me and my brother to see this in the theater. It always remained scary to me because it’s based on a true story and seems like it can happen to any family on our block. We are introduced to a newlywed couple who just purchased their dream home and quickly learn of its dark past. I love the eerie occurrences the ghost presents and also the journey the film takes you on watching the father break down mentally after the town priest’s exorcism did not work.
Dawn of the Dead
1978 Directed by George Romero
I cannot have a favorite horror movie list & not include a Romero zombie movie, question was, which one. My favorite was always Dawn. This is a story of strangers locked in a shopping mall fighting together to survive a zombie invasion. Zombies have always been appealing to me but also the idea of being in your local shopping mall after hours has always resonated with me also. (Night of the Comet is another example) The make-up is classic Tom Savini zombie makeup and still remains a classic horror movie to me.


Jaws
1975 Directed by Steven Spielberg
Controversial pick I know. But after finally seeing this on the big screen last year, I now know why this was considered a horror movie in 1975. Between the score, story and Bruce the shark, this will keep you on the edge of your seat like any great horror film intends to do. Spielberg placed his career on the line to make this movie and fans of film are still thanking him today for doing so. You really get acquainted and attached to main characters including Sheriff Brody & Quint the shark hunter.


Trick r’ Treat
2007 Directed by Michael Dougherty
Trick r Treat was a fantastic find in recent years and reminds me very much so of Creepshow. In this movie, we follow 4 stories all taking place on Halloween. There is something for everyone in this film. My favorite character is Sam (derived from Samhain) and I highly recommend this film to anyone looking for a great horror movie.
Suspiria
1977 Directed by Dario Argento
On my favorites I list, I picked Suspiria from Argento. I easily could have picked any of his films. The film follows an American ballet student who transfers to a prestigious dance academy only to discover that it is controlled by a coven of witches. Also the score is amazing, performed by Goblin and in itself is so beautifully eerie and strong. Also one of the most colorful movies I have ever seen.


City of the Living Dead
1983 Directed by Lucio Fulci (also known as Gates of Hell)
In this abstract movie we see the priest hang himself in the cemetery and the gates of hell are opened. Now super strong zombies appear and start killing the towns people. There is a psychic who is buried alive as well. And what is mind blowing for me is that just recently I was able to meet some of the cast members of this movie and never in my wildest dreams would I thought that would happen when I was renting this movie in middle school from the mom and pop VHS store.


The Wolf Man
1941 George Waggner
What I can say about this timeless Universal classic that hasn’t been said already. It has been my all-time favorite movie since I was introduced to it when I was 4 years old by my grandmother. We get to follow Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr) on his journey of being a mourning & love struck man who is bitten by a werewolf. (his brother had just passed away) And we get to watch his internal and external struggle with turning into this creature. The recent remake was a respectable nod to the original.

Halloween
1978 Directed by John Carpenter
(Halloween III Season of the Witch tied with the 1st Halloween)
Ok, part 1 and 3 tied for me. I am hard core fan of both in this series although many will argue that part 3 is not part of the Halloween series. John Carpenter created a serial killer by the name of Michael Myers and to this day is one of the scariest characters in a horror movie. He carries much mystique with him, is he a real man or he is supernatural? Between the score and Myers famous head tilt, I still get the heebie jeebies watching part 1. This was easily Americas first slasher as Canada had Black Christmas but that was over looked at the time and Halloween rose to the top of the charts.

Friday the 13th The New Blood (Part7)
1988 Directed by John Carl Buechler
A friend once summed this movie up as Jason vs. Carrie & I agree. In my opinion, this is my favorite Jason in the series. His design, demeanor & build are what make him so badass in this movie. Which are attributed to the director who is also a make-up artist. The infamous sleeping bag against the tree scene will forever be one of my favorites scenes in any horror movies. Also Kane Hodder who portrays Jason is also my favorite actor to play this part. As much as the recent Friday the 13
th remake wasn’t movie gold for me, I was impressed at their part 7 references.
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Awesome List, Mary!
Thank you!

and visit her store:
Bastian's Boutique

10 comments:

Maker said...

GREAT LIST!
- love all of those, and I've never seen, but always wondered about 'Trick or Treat'
I'll definitely check it out!

Timewaster said...

City of the Living Dead is a fantastic choice. Just re-watched it on Friday night. Has 2 of the greatest, goriest and most disturbing kills of any horror movie.

Friday the 13th Part 7 is probably the best looking Friday the 13th movie out of all of them. Jason's design is awesome, but the movie also is shot in a pretty smart way. Take for example the scene where the stoner guy goes to the fridge to get something to eat. You can see Jason standing in the corner, just stalking him. There are a lot of neat touches like that in the film.

Plus I see the director of part 7 every now and then at the mall. I'm always tempted to approach him and tell him how good I think that movie is. But then I realize I come off as a weirdo and just leave him be.

Monster Mary said...

I am jealous that you see him at the mall. he has never come to an east coast convention, so I never met him. But I would approach him and tell how good you thought the movie is. I bet that would make his day

Jim said...

Yeah, Timewaster - get Mary an autograph next time! :)

Timewaster said...

Ha - maybe I will. He's kind of a gruff looking dude, so that always scares me off just a bit. But if I see him again, I will definitely think about it!

And then Jim can swing by my place and pick up the autograph for you! (inside joke)

Jim said...

Hahaha, nice :)

Monster Mary said...

sweet!! Thank you, I can add it to my ever growing autograph collection. I only hve Kane from pt 7 so far :)

R4i 3DS Cards said...

I am junkies of horro movie. I have enjoyed above all the movies, but i like the most Dawn of the Dead which is the original of George A. remake of Romero and Sarah Polley, who has little to do with this script.

Tim said...

I agree with most of them except for City of the Dead and Halloween III. Halloween III is utter crap and I fell asleep during City of the Dead. However, I thought I was the only one who loved Friday the 13th Part VII the most! Awesome.

denialjohnn said...

Good list of movies. I have seen many of these movies. Most of all movies are very good. But Down of the Dead is my favourite movie from the above list.