HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

We are just a week away from the best excuse for fancy dress of the year. Although we haven't quite got the hang of it like the yanks have just yet, we are starting to make a bit more of a big deal out of it. The trouble with this year is that Halloween falls on a Sunday which rules out having a massive blow out party (unless you are immune to hangovers of course). So my suggestion for this year is to go out on the Saturday night, get a bit messy and then leave Sunday, the real Halloween for a marathon of horror films (although if you have kids, I appreciate that there will be a trick or treat trip in there as well.

So I've decided to give you a bit of a steer to make sure you pick the right films to settle down for an afternoon and evening of terror and shocks.

Here's my top ten films to watch this Halloween (in no particular order - that would be too much like hard work on my part).

1) The Thing (1982)

John Carpenter had already wowed cinema-goers with the fantastic Halloween, The Fog and Assault on Precinct 13 when he turned his attention to this story alien chiller set in the Antarctic. Kurt Russell (back with Carpenter after Escape from New York) is in fine form leading a group of stranded scientists as they try to survive the menace from outer space. The monster in this is both contagious and shapeshifting so the terror lies in never knowing where the next scare or grisly death is coming from. Add ground-breaking effects for the time in to the mix and you have a classic, claustrophobic film that combines horror and sci-fi in a similar, although not as memorable, way to Ridley Scott's Alien.


2) Poltergeist (1982)

Spielberg had an idea for a film a long time ago, a suburban American family terrorised in their home by aliens. He was to call it Night Skies. He even had someone start working on the creature design. Then he had a change of heart and wanted to make a very different film about an alien. This was to become ET. The idea of the family under attack was altered to this supernatural horror. Although Spielberg only has a Producer's credit (it's directed by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Tobe Hooper) there are stories that Spielberg took everything over and put his stamp all over it. Don't be put off by it's mild certificate - It's scary and it still stands up well after all this time.

3) The Blair Witch Project (1999)

A true phenomenon. Made for next to nothing and released into the cinemas with a PR campaign of 'Is it real or isn't it?', it made a staggering amount of money and scared people out of their skins. We are still seeing films clearly influenced by it come out every year (Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield to name two), but there aren't many that have a pay-off at the end as chilling and satisfying. The final images will stay with you for weeks after.

4) Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes move into a new apartment in a building inhabited by strange neighbours and disturbing characters. Once Farrow becomes pregnant the film turns into a terrifyingly disturbing decline in her psychological state as she grows increasingly uncertain of the origins of the baby. Once again it's a film that has an ending that does the rest of it justice.

5) Ils (Them - 2006)

A little known french film that tells the story of a couple on an idyllic holiday in a country retreat. Then in the middle of the night they hear strange noises and go out to investigate. What follows is a brutal assault on the senses as they are terrorized and struggle for survival. A rollercoaster of a film that never lets up and will shock you again and again. Hollywood had a go at something similar with the Strangers (starring Liv Tyler) but struggled to have anywhere near the same sort of impact.

6) Rec (2007)

Another foreign film, this time Spanish, and also influenced by The Blair Witch Project. It starts with a girl and cameraman doing a documentary at a local firestation and then they are called to a disturbance at an apartment block. An elderly woman attacks a policeman and then panic spreads. The film is then confined to the flats adding even more claustrophobia to the single camera format. Full of scares and unpredictable turns, you will never know what's coming next. This is another film that has the confidence and belief to stay true to it's convictions and concludes in breathtaking style.

7) Evil Dead 2

Still a classic. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell picking up where they left off in the previous film, but with more gore and more dark, dark, dark humour. I will never forget flicking through the channels when I was younger and seeing Ash with the possessed hand. At first hilarious, and then you realise where Raimi is taking his lead actor, then pure shock. That is the film in a nutshell. Unpredictable, terrifying and funny. Genius.


8) American Werewolf in London (1981)

John Landis was famous for his black comedy in films such as the Blues Brothers and he continued this theme in an American Werewolf in London. After the comedy of two Americans in a Yorkshire pub the scene on the moors scared the life out of me when I first saw this film. The gore when one of the men is slain was so vivid. I hadn't seen anything like it before, but nothing prepared me, or will prepare you for the famous transformation scene. The physical effects are tremendous and surpass anything modern CGI can achieve. The comedy continues through the film, as do the scares and the finale in Piccadilly Circus will live long in the memory. The ending is also remarkably touching.

9) Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Wes Craven at his very best. A brilliantly memorable and terrifying evil baddie is only part of the reason for this film being so scary. The premise of the monster stalking and killing his victim's in their dreams is an excellent device for some grusome and surreal death sequences but it also means that when you're tucked up in bed after the film has finished you wonder whether you dare to fall asleep.....

10) The Shining

Stanley Kubrick's masterful visualization of Stepen King's creepy stroy of a family caretaking a hotel during it's winter, out of season months. Jack Nicolson's portrayal of a man descending into madness is phenomenal and some of the imagery used when the hotel get's inside his mind are truly memorable. Many films have tried to capture the same essence of The Shining but few have come close.

Oh and one more for luck...

11) Shaun of the Dead

I have a real soft spot for this film. The comedy is perfectly pitched by all of the cast (particularly Pegg and Moran) but that is only a portion of it's appeal. Towards the climax the film get's gradually scarier and I admit that I cry on three seperate occasions. Every time I watch it. Funny, scary and with characters you really care about. A modern classic.