Blood, gore, bone-chilling villains — these often make up some of the best horror films. It may not always make sense, but some people love to feel that kind of fear you get when watching your favorite thriller. This feeling is only heightened once Halloween rolls around. So, grab some popcorn, cozy up under a blanket and prepare to be scared this Halloweekend.
“Scream” (1993) (Apple TV)
What’s your favorite scary movie? Mine is “Scream,” the 1993 horror classic directed by Wes Craven. The movie tells the story of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) when she and her town are terrorized by the masked killer, Ghostface. For fans of slasher films, this movie is a must watch as it is one that helped define the slasher horror genre. Ghostface’s mask is modeled after the face in Edvard Munch’s painting “The Scream,” contributing to the movie’s name, and Ghostface themself has gone down as one of horror’s most notable (fictional?) killers. After all, Craven’s iconic killer was based off Danny Rolling, otherwise known as the Gainesville Ripper, a serial killer who operated from 1989 to 1990. Its twists, gruesome deaths and iconic characters put “Scream” at the top of my horror movie list.
“Late Night with the Devil” (2023) (Hulu)
The occult comes to life in this horror film directed by Cameron and Colin Cairnes. On Halloween night in 1997, Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) tries to save his struggling talk show, “Night Owls with Jack Delroy,” through special guests, including para-psychologist June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon), a possessed young girl named Lilly D'Abo (Ingrid Torelli) and the devil. With a found footage/documentary style, this film keeps the viewers on edge from beginning to end and forces you to ask the question: how far would you go for fame?
"Late Night with the Devil” also happens to be playing at 7 p.m. Halloween night at the IU Cinema in a double feature with “The Blair Witch Project,” another scary found footage film.
“A Quiet Place” film series (2018-24) (Paramount+)
Don’t make a sound when you watch the “A Quiet Place” series. In a world where aliens that hunt by sound roam the earth, everyone must be careful with every move so as not to be killed. “A Quiet Place” and “A Quiet Place Part II” are the first two films of the series, both following the same storyline about the Abbot family. Director John Kransinki and his wife Emily Blunt both star in this film as Lee and Evelyn Abbott. Together they help their three children survive this new world where sounds can be deadly.
“A Quiet Place: Day One,” released in 2024, strays from the plot of the previous films as a prequel in the franchise. After surviving the invasion of the alien creatures, Samira (Lupita Nyong'o) and Eric (Joseph Quinn) must learn to work together if they are going to reach safety. All three movies do a great job drawing you in with the compelling and heartwarming story of the heroes, while also using the forced silence and terrifying aliens to keep you on the edge of your seat.
“Halloween” (1978) (Plex or AMC+)
When a murderous psychiatric patient escapes and heads back toward his hometown, there is absolutely nothing that could go wrong, right? The hit 1978 film “Halloween” clears up this issue with the story of Michael Myers (Nick Castle), a crazed serial killer who murdered his sister on Halloween as a young boy. Exactly 15 years later he escapes from Smith Grove Sanitarium and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois in search of his next victim. Since the release of the first film, Myers has become one of the ultimate horror villains. His mask, jumpsuit and the fact that we almost never fully see his face throughout the franchise makes the killer even scarier. Though the first “Halloween” film is arguably one of the best movies in the series, the “Halloween” franchise as a whole is composed of 13 films all following the murderous exploits of Michael Myers.
“A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984) (Max)
Director Wes Craven brings another classic movie to the horror genre in the form of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” a film which explores the idea that everything can be scarier in our dreams. When a group of Midwestern teens fall victim to Freddy Kreuger (Robert Englund), a boogeyman-esque monster that torments people in their dreams leading to real-life demise, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) and her boyfriend, Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp), must unravel the mystery of the vicious killer before it’s too late. I think it’s the idea of Freddy Kreuger, a monster that can attack us when we are most vulnerable, that makes this movie so scary. How can you defend yourself against a killer that only attacks when you’re asleep? You can’t. So, while I recommend “A Nightmare on Elm Street” as one of the horror movies to watch this Halloweekend, maybe keep one eye open at night.
