Halloween at the Movies

As kids, we think it is fun to be scared. Halloween makes being scared "safe," and for one month a year, taboo topics such as death, dismemberment, and witchcraft become acceptable and the norm. When I was a little girl, I used to love watching scary movies with my two older brothers on the weekends (Fright Night). We would stay up late and wait anxiously for the monster or alien or oozing being to appear; the more gruesome or frightening, the better. For some reason, movies about the Devil scared me the most -- and I know why -- because you couldn't see "it."

Today, I pay homage to some of my favorite terror film classics.

Boris Karloff played Frankenstein with a heart. Who didn't feel a little bit sorry for the big monster oaf when he met his demise? Or when his bride found him repulsive? My favorite line from the film is when Dr. Frankenstein first sees the monster's hand stir with life and says, "It's alive! It's alive!" Awesome!

I also loved Bela Lugosi as "Dracula." I am currently reading the book by Bram Stoker, and the infamous Count says to his visitor, Jonathan Harker, "I bid you welcome." As I read those lines, I couldn't help but hear Lugosi's European accent.

Vincent Price was another classic horror film actor. He was in "The Haunting" which I still think is one of the scariest films ever. The Haunting didn't have all the special effects or the gore factor of current films, but as a kid watching it I got major chills up and down my spine. I remember watching it one night by myself and I had to turn it off, I got so scared! Fun! (Vincent Price is also the deep voice and evil laugh at the end of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" song, by the way.)

When I was a teenager growing up in the 70s, The Exorcist was the BIG deal. I tried reading the book in high school, but got so scared I couldn't finish. Was I a big chicken or what??? Anyway, a few years ago I dared myself to pick up the book again. Well, I was glad I did, because it was amazing! One of my favorite books, ever. Still scary as hell, pun intended. I rented the film (which I had never seen, either, because of the fear factor), and it was not nearly as good as the book. Some nice cinematic touches, though. Love the head spinning and the nuns in white!

Steve McQueen's first movie was The Blob, about an alien "blob" thing that takes over a small town. Slowly but surely, the blob eats everything and everyone in sight. I love when the blob devours an entire movie theater! The theme song has become a Halloween favorite.

As you can tell, I am not big on current horror films. They are too predictable and gory for me. One of the most influential horror films was "Psycho" by Alfred Hitchcock (my all time favorite film director, too; he also directed "The Birds"). If you've never seen Psycho all the way through, I don't want to spoil it for you. But it was revolutionary in its day. I'll never forget the day I saw it for the first time at a New York City film revival theater. I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time!

The list goes on and on. Do you have a favorite horror film? I would love to hear from my dear readers on their favorite fright night classics.