13 Horror Movies to (re)Watch on Halloweek (Vol.2)
by Anass El Wardi - October 2017
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UnFramed’s movie collection is a rubric destined to the writings of articles about movies that have changed our vision of film-making and that we want to share with you. Movies which are coming from all time and all continents alike.
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Horror is one of my favorite genre in cinema, in my opinion the horror genre is the most varied in films, there are countless subgenre making the use of imagination almost unlimited. But lately, imagination is a word that studios, film-makers and as a result audiences have completely veiled and forgotten about, being either satisfied by the endless wave of mass-produced, brainless and normalized horror jump scare fests or giving a wide berth to the whole genre. Thus, sadly, true great horror is being burried underneath a pile of pop-corn teen movie whilst great feature are underrated. Therefore, I’m doing this list to give back to the horror genre its nobility letters, inviting you to rediscover what good horror is, what the horror genre has to offer, to reevaluate the notion of fear itself and what better week to do so than Halloweek!
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The Babadook by Jennifer Kent (2014) – A brilliantly crafted independent Freudian Australian horror movie
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It was chocking for me to discover that this movie was the first one that Jennifer Kent ever directed because it’s in my opinion easily one of the very best horror feature of the decade. A single mother and her son are trying to cope with a very difficult past, one night she reads him a story called Mister Babadook, the tale of a tall top hated monster that lives in houses and that can visit if you just let him in. A simple childish narrative that transformed into one of the scariest films I’ve seen in recent years.
I’m well versed in horror movies, it’s one of my favorite genres and I try to watch as many as possible but what strikes me in modern horror movies is the lack of depth there is in tone and character building. We often end up with movies like John Leonetti’s Annabel or Stiles Whites’ Ouija where the whole element of horror is in the gore, the jump scare and more broadly what we can see onscreen, as opposed to that what the Babadook well understood is the importance of the off screen and the setting of a peculiar mood. Horror in this movie isn’t just based on the classical element of the genre, yes, the creature the creature itself is frightening but its creepiness lies in the fact that it isn’t shown much, this isn’t just a monster movie, it’s a movie about grief, depression and how this can affect this little family that we end up liking more and more during the movie. In this vein, we can easily link the Babadook to the work of Roman Polanski in the late 60’s with movies like Rosemary’s Baby where the true horror is to see a woman under the oppression and claustrophobia imposed by a society refusing to hear what she truly wants. There are a lot of metaphorical imagery, and it’s important to underline that since horror movies aren’t usually smart and don’t try to explore other things than mere fear or at least they don’t understand fear in a much deeper level.
This film truly unsettled me to my core, it really got under my skin in the best way possible thanks to the melding of a very good screenplay that understands that horror isn’t a mere jump scare but the setting of deeply oppressing general ambiance, a very exciting style in directing by the surprisingly new director Jennifer Kent, very efficient cinematography, brilliant sound editing and an Oscar-worthy performance by Essie Davis who gave a life-like, real performance that made me forget I even knew this actress. I cannot oversell this movie, I was reverted to a little boy last night whilst re-watching it checking my closet to see if there was any Babadook in there!
Eraserhead by David Lynch (1977) –
Mind-fucking experimental Midnight Movie
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When I was 15 years old, my brother sat me down and we watched Eraserhead. I’m not going to lie, upon first viewing I didn’t understand a thing about this movie only that my brother was as I suspected back then a pretentious douche. But throughout the years I’ve constantly tried to re-watch Eraserhead each time understanding more why this movie was so acclaimed and praised in cinema circles, and I think that it’s a must see for someone like me who enjoys horror as well as thought provoking mind-fucks. In an industrial city, Henry Spencer has a dull and splenetic boring life until the day that his fiancée gives birth to some kind of monster baby and flees, leaving Henry alone to take care of it.
I’m a big fan of David Lynch work whether in the controversial science fiction movie Dune or the jaw-dropping Blue Velvet, but Eraserhead is unique in his filmography as well as in cinema history. Melting black humor, gore, surrealism, gorgeous black and white cinematography and oddball performance, the movie has a special vibe to it that you just cannot manufacture or copy. It’s hard to talk about this feature without spoiling it in details and if you’re up for it we could have a detailed spoiler filled analysis on the Unframed website but I would argue that Eraserhead is one of the few experimental films that you can actually watch and enjoy alongside 2001: A Space Odyssey, Persona or The Night of the Hunter and even though it was the first movie of Lynch it’s by far the most radical of his filmography providing us with a horror black surrealist fable comedy (a genre I had to invent to describe this one) that is at the same time gore, repulsive, softly poetic and melancholic. It’s the hardest review I’ve had to write for this article, you just can’t put world on Lynch’s work but I urge you to check out this movie for yourself and your general knowledge.
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Alien by Ridley Scott (1979) – The cornerstone of 80’s science fiction body horror
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It’s kind of sad to look back on the releases of recent years and see that an alarming number of movies came out featuring aliens or bizarre creatures from outer worlds, yet not a single one of them has ever been able to top the genius and terrifying masterpiece that is Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien movie. Alien is about the crew of the ship Nostromo who are awoken from hyper sleep to investigate a distress signal on a planet, but as they get to the latter a very strange entity attaches itself to a member of the crew and eventually gives birth to a gigantic alien creature that takes them out one by one.
I didn’t see Alien as a child but I saw it last year to catch up for the new releases that were about to come out and I was blown away upon first viewing. The fact that I experienced it for the first time as an adult allowed me to appreciate even more what Alien had to offer, especially the very disturbing yet somehow aesthetic sexual imagery peculiar to H.R Giger which is very prevalent in the movie. From the design of the Alien, to the way he breeds and attacks, everything about it is deeply worrying and psychologically unsettling, we get from that gross aspect a feel of sexual violation as efficiently as when witnessing a true sexual assault (In Paul Verhoeven’s Elle for instance, insert a link to Yann’s review). In addition to that the Alien vibe resides in this very innovative contained suspenseful horror, we spent most of the movie in a unique location and that set design is immaculate. The inside of the ship feels like a real environment, it’s very tangible as if you could reach into the screen and be a part of this story. Finally, the strength of the show lies in the excellent character that is Ripley (played by), not only a female empowerment figure (important to underline considering that it’s so rare in horror movies) but a very likable person that we genuinely care for to the point of fearing for her life the entire time, which make us even more implicated in the story.
Alien is a must-see for horror and science fiction fans alike and more broadly for every person that cares for a brilliantly edited suspenseful movie, intensely scary, with engaging characters and top notch set design. The feature has stood the test of time and inspired so many great works all along the 80’s, and much of the science fiction body horror scene of that time, from David Cronenberg’s movies such as Videodrome or the Fly to John Carpenters the Thing, it’s an incredible classic that you shouldn’t miss out for any reasons!
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The Exorcist by William Fredkin (1973)– A unsettling gore visual experience of stark demonic horror
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I’m quite certain that many of you know the iconic theme composed by Lalo Schifrin (brilliant Hollywood composer also responsible for many instantly recognizable themes whether it be mission impossible, Dirty harry or Bullit music), I’m less convinced that a lot of people have actually sat down to watch this movie. Shameful since if the stressful soundtrack sets the tone, the path breaking cinematography is even rawer and gives this movie such an important place in cinema history.
A little girl masturbates with a crucifix, her cheeks covered with her own blood. Her anxious mother tries desperately to stop her from doing so only to find herself throwed to the ground with a violent backhand. This scene is representative of a movie that chocked Nixon’s America upon its release and is one of the reason that you should give it a try, never have I stumbled upon another movie that disturbed me as deeply as this one. It may seem a rather obvious choice to a list that tries to redefine what horror is and can be, but I would make the case that you couldn’t make a more terrifying movie.
Everything from the soundtrack, the costume-design, the path breaking subgenre of demonic possession, the amazing performances, the light design and groundbreaking special effects are made to make you pee your pants and be scared for weeks to come upon hearing the first note of that iconic score. I’m not going to add much on the Exorcist, you’ve heard of it, you’ve probably seen it on cable, but if you haven’t it’s the perfect movie for a night like this one.
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Get Out by Jordan Peele (2017) – A politically charged horror story
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Another directorial debut pick in our list! What is interesting with fresh new directors like Jordan Peel is that they have the ability treat a genre from a very unique perspective without prior bias and indeed Get out is far from being your typical horror movie. The story centers around Chris who goes to meet his girlfriend’s parents at a pretty secluded location, he has some concern about this because of the interracial nature of his relationship, and when they get up there, things go from slightly awkward to straight up weird.
This is a very special film, often in horror movies and more broadly in genre filmmaking, codification is key and sometimes takes over the voices of directors. Of course, Jordan Peels knows how to direct horror movies, how to make a horror scene interesting, frightening and fun but at the same time his single voice is maintained and come through your stereotypical genre tropes. Yes, this film has all the defining features of horror, jump scares, things popping out at us, people walking past a hallway corridor accompanied by a loud jolted music but all through that it maintains its originality because of its original central story. The latter being characterized by quite a bit of racial commentary with a strong political message and that is rare in horror movies in general! Get out is definitely has a satirical edge to it, the script writers understand the seriousness of the subject but want to convey the message through moments of humor and are able to find the perfect balance between the two whilst still proposing a very enjoyable horror movie especially towards the third act where the tension reaches a satisfying climax.
Get Out is so refreshing, this is at the same time a very good horror movie in the classical sense and a unique one in the sense that it provides us with a strong political commentary, it allow us to feel the awkwardness of racism as another form of oppression, of fear, of horror in some aspect.
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Blood and Black Lace by Mario Bava (1964) – An Enjoyable B-Movie Italian giallo (slasher)
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One of the most known sub-genre of horror is that of Slasher movies which were immensely popular in the United States during the 80’s. The concept is very simple, we take a group of (dumb) young adults in an environment purchased by a serial killer often masked who’s going to kill them one by one (often by cold steel). You’ve probably watched one of these on cable, whether it be John Carpenter’s Halloween, the Scream saga, the very well-known Texas Chainsaw Massacre, those movies now entered the common popular culture… But at the roots of this genre, the giallo and the best representative of this Italian genre is without a doubt the film I’m recommending you here. In a castle full of fashion models and designers, troubles begin when the Countess finds the dead and bloody corpse of Isabelle, one of her models, in her wardrobe.
Blood and Black Lace (original title: Sei donne per l’assassino) was made in the early 60’s, the movie was so influential that you can trace its impact on filmmakers like Dario Argento (Suspiria, 1977) which is his direct successor, Martin Scorsese especially for the handling of suspense, Quentin Tarantino in his handling of colors and even Wes Craven with movies like A nightmare on Elm Street, an American version of giallo. Bava’s excessive use of, contrast between light and shadow, beautiful and semi-naked girls as victims, ominous music and different plot twists helped to make Blood and Black Lace the touchstone of giallo movies. Mario Bava made the movie after Black Sunday (1960) and Black Sabbath (1963) in the most fruitful period of his filmmaking career, the time when not only his movies were visually breathtaking, their plotlines were well thought and developed. Blood and Black Lace is famous for its stalk-and-kill sequences which are abundant with violence and blood and of course sex (for its time), many filmmakers repeated his style as it is for me the essence of the slasher movie.
The Strangers by Na Hong-Jinn (2016) – An incredible Korean poetic horror extravaganza
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I’ve actually just seen this film yesterday in preparation for this article (under the advised council of Sabine Audelin) and I couldn’t stop thinking about it ever since so I decided to put it on the list in order to provide diversity because I would argue that this isn’t a horror movie per say. Nonetheless, the movie definitely has its place here, it leaves quite an impression as well as room for interpretation so you’ll be thinking about it for a while after you see it. The story is about a policeman investigating a murder in a village where a strange sickness is causing everybody to become violent, if the pragmatic policeman thinks of a mushroom infection led disease the villagers seem to think that it has to do with a strange Japanese visitor that had recently arrived, the story then takes on its depth when the policemen discovers that its own daughter is showing early signs of the aforementioned disease.
When I saw that this movie was 2hours and 37mn long I was very skeptical because in my experience movie don’t need to be that long to convey their point, especially when it comes to horror. But, oddly I was instantly immersed into the Strangers, I was in it from beginning to end and never felt that I had overstated its welcome. The complex and detailed story that the movie unfolds deserves that long of a runtime; what is interesting about this feature is that it kinds of shifts from a genre to another, it starts of as a murder mystery then it feels a lot like a possession movie only to finish by turning into a full on supernatural thriller (with a zombie part at some point). The movie also does a great job of putting us in the shoes of the characters as throughout the whole thing you’re not sure who to trust or what to believe, it’s the kind of movie where you have to put the pieces of the puzzle together at the same time as the main character. The other point I want to highlight is that upon viewing as a western film-buff who doesn’t really know that much about Asian cinema, the movie gave me a lot of food for thoughts as it’s wrapped in so many interesting cultural details that I immediately wanted to learn more about. Finally, the film has a sense of doom intrinsic to it that is really intriguing for a horror movie and its main advantage as opposed to the sea of horror movies out there is that it sticks with you for a long time after seeing it, you rethink of the film trying to put the pieces together in your head and reliving some of the most graphic moments and that is once again a rare quality in horror.
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The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari by Robert Wiener (1920) – A gorgeously looking German landmark in horror history
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“The first true horror movie” to quote Roger Ebert, maybe one of the most known movie critic of our time. I would personally argue that the tricks made to scare in this feature haven’t aged that well but the interest remains strong as this movie looks gorgeous and is the cornerstone of everything we know today in suspensfull movies. Dr Caligari, a mysterious showman comes to a small German fair with his coffin-sized cabinet containing the corpse-like figure Cesare, a somnambulist who can predict the futur.
We often often put the beauty of a shot into oblivion (or at least not at the top of our preocupations) when directing the photography of a regular horror movie. Even myself, a horror movie enthusiast won’t look at the cinematography to critisize a horror movie. But it’s a huge mistake when we see what can be a truly artistic horror movie, every frame could be a painting in this expresionist work by Robert Wiener, the shots are amazingly well thought off using light and geometry in a very peculiar manner. This is an very old movie yet paradoxically when I first saw it, it appeared to me as quite innovative! This strange and fascinating classic of the silent era set the template scary movies, noirs and thrillers and that is why it’s a must-see to understand the roots of our modern day cinema. You can easily find it on Youtube and you’ll be surprised to see that the cinematography holds up to this day and the expresionism of each shot is still hauntingly beautiful.
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Silence of the Lamb by Jonathan Demme (1991) – A superbly acted psychological thriller
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If you ask me what would be my favorite subgenre of horror, I’d respond hands down that it is psychological thrillers. The unstable psychological states of a character gives him so much dept and makes him an interesting one to follow, to care for his/her progression. That is why Hannibal Lecter is universally known, and If I’m sure you’ve heard of the name maybe you haven’t got the chance to hear the story behind that name. Clarice Starling, a young intelligent FBI trainee, has been sent to the Baltimore state hospital for the criminally insane to interview an inmate, Dr. Hannibal « the cannibal » Lecter, a brilliant renowned psychiatrist turned infamous psychopathic serial killer. She must match wits with Lecter and trust him to give her clues in the search for « Buffalo Bill », a nickname given to a loose, unknown, unstoppable psychopathic serial killer…
Hannibal, very much like Patrick Batman in American Psycho (2000) or Alex in A Clockwork Orange (1971), is the archetype of what I would call the « glamourous psychopath ». Grandly portrayed by the excellent Anthony Hopkins, his only match in the film is Jody Foster who plays brilliantly this southern innocent yet ambitious woman giving us one of the best duos in thrillers; the two work so well together onscreen and in the script as the cold and eerie intelligence of Dr.Lecter starks with the impatience and action-oriented spirit of Clarice with a chemistry so rare. The confrontations between Foster and Hopkins — facing her from an ultrasecure cell — are models of chilling intensity. The film has won many well deserved oscars it is an exquisite piece of filmmaking in which basically not one single thing goes wrong at any point.
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The Shining by Stanley Kubrick (1980)- A timeless classic of the horror genre
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How could we make a list of inventive and ressourceful horror movies without mentioning the Shining. When we think of every subgenre for horror as a cinematic genre, write them down on a piece of paper we can’t seem to classify the Shining in any of these categories, the Shining is something else entirely… Jack Torrance, a writer, his wife and kid Danny are about to experience long months of solitude secluded in the closed and remote hotel were he works as a guardian. If the calm seems at first a fertile ground for Jack’s writing, the creepiness of the hotel makes him slither into a murderous rage whilst his son discovers abilities to see the past of this odd place.
Director Stanley Kubrick, makes movies like nobody else, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a science-fiction movie yet it stands out from other films within this genre, Full Metal Jacket, is a war movie on paper but it has also this specific look, taste, feeling that makes it so unic. With the shining, it’s the same phenomenon, it’s a must-see horror film because it stands out from the rest in almost every aspect. I’m not going to spoil anything here about the Shining because I want you to experience it as I did, knowing virtually nothing about the movie but one thing I can say about Kubrick is that he masters the build up like nobody else and has ideas that could surge only from his immensly deep imagination. He basically took the novel by Stephen King and brought it to a whole different level, understanding that books and movies are different medium, art-forms and that he had to add layers for this story to be as incredible as it is onscreen.
Shaun of the Dead by Edgar Wright (2004) – A genuinely funny British horror zombie comedy
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At first glance, horror isn’t that funny. I mean unless you’re a deeply deranged psychopath what could be funny about people dying in horrible circumstances, blood spilled everywhere and frightening serial killers. So I was a bit skeptic towards the whole idea of horror comedy, until the day I got the chance to see Shaun of the Dead by one of the masters of humor in cinema, Edgar Wright. Shaun, A North London loser, is a disappointment to his girlfriend, family, friends and flatmate. Only his mate Ed, an even bigger loser, looks up to him. Then flesh eating zombies overrun the city and Shaun is forced to take responsibility for the survival of his corner of humanity.
Simon Pegg is absolutely hilarious in everything that he’s in, even the disapointing mission impossible 5 was enjoyable thanks to his regular appearances. Co-writting with Edgar Wright the script of this movie, they managed to take everything that was great about zombie horror movies, inspired mainly by the brilliant work of director George Romero in his trilogy Dawn of the Dead, and flip it backward with a typical BBC channel 4 british humor and the mix works perfectly well. Rarely have a dead-end job and a stalled relationship been expressed in such hilariously apocalyptic action.
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Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock (1960) – A lesson of suspense for horror filmmaker
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The plot is very simple, Marion Crane, a usually pristine employee steals money from her workplace and goes into hiding in a motel on her way to Texas, but somehow Hitchcock makes it an all-time cult classic that directors study thoroughly to this day and that is mainly thanks to his unique grasp on suspens.
I was going to this movie with really high expectations and I wasn’t dissapointed, it is worth all of the praise that it gets. It is so suspensful, the cinematography looks amazing you can litteraly stop the movie at any time you’ll find yourselve in front of a spectacular photography, the character of Norman Bates is fantastic as this creepy anti-hero, the story-telling is compeling and very engaging as only 20minutes into the movie we’re surprised with a brilliantly directed twist, to sum-up I can’t find anything wrong with this feature. This is the only movie with the Strangers that I only have watched once but I just needed one viewing to decide that it’s one of my personal favorite when it comes to horror and suspense.
Poltergeist by Tobe Hooper (1982) – A return to the fears of childhood
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No, Steven Spielberg didn’t direct this movie but his fingerprint is still all over it and that’s what we enjoy most about this movie! Indeed Spielberg has a sort of peculiar way to make us experience the script through the lens of the characters, most of the time an american suburban family (Also Tim Burton era of expertise) and this characteristic applied to horror gives us an interessting approach to fear. When the Bowens move into their new house, they’re quickly confronted to paranormal events. A presence haunts the place. Some night, their youngest daughter dissapears. To have a chance of ever finding her, they all have to lead a dogfight against the terrifying Poltergeist.
Very much like a lot of the 80’s movie with the involvment of Steven Spielberg, the presence of children is important in Poltergeist and it gives us quite a unique perspective on horror since it has the purpose of putting us in the shoe of our children self for the duration of the movie, for us to experience fear as a child again, a different kind of horror. I would make the case that this does work very well in this movie and even though it isn’t my favorite movie on the list, it’s quite refreshing to experience other forms of horror, to return to the fears of our childhood. Many other movies have attempted to do just that, and succeeded quite well the most recent example being of course Andres Muschietti’s It (Stephen King adaptation) or the recent TV show Stranger Things that made us enter into the skin of innocent youngsters only to make us live a scary horror story through their lens. The work of Tobe Hooper here is in stark opposition with his directing for Texas Chainsaw Massacre, proving us once again that horror can be handled in an infinite variety of way, if only one could use his imagination.