Halloween is coming up, the scariest time of the year. The best way to spend your October is watching horror movies, to get in the mood of the spooky season. This is one of my favorite things to do, whether its with friends, family, or by myself. I always get a group of different horror movies to watch on designated days. But, nothing is better than watching an old movie, the original version of the horror movies. I say that more appreciation should go towards those movies, they were the movies that truly inspired us. They were so iconic that references from them are still made to this day. This is my very opinionated list on what are some must see oldie movies everyone should watch to gte ready for Halloween.
Just a heads-up, all the following movies are R-rated so please ask your parents first.
The first movie that has been left behind so much these past years is The Exorcist. The Exorcist was released in 1973, it it about the daughter of an actress suddenly getting possessed and it shows a lot of religion. If that may be something you could be uncomfortable with, then do not watch it. It was banned in a few countries when it first came out because of that and it is R rated. The most impressive aspect of this film was the acting that Linda Blair, who plays Reg an–the possessed daughter–, was so young and so talented when she made this movie. It truly takes dedication to pull off this creepy film. When I watched the movie, I found it much funnirer because I watched the Scary Movie version (a satirical horror movie) beforehand, however, it didn’t stop me from feeling anxiety and being nervous when watching it.
Second on this list, is The Lost Boys, released in 1987. I do have a bias for this movie, I’ve been watching it since I was 2 and ever since, meaning, I grew up with it. I wasn’t scared of it then or now, however, it does create a sense of anxiety and some uneasyness to the movie, while having some comedic dialogue. The movie is about a single mother moving with her two sons to Santa Carla, California, a city filled with vampires. For me, the music and the vibe it gives really helps pull off this film, along with the cast choices which later created the Two Coreys –which consister oof Corery Haim and Corey Feldman– popular 80’s heartthrobs.
The Thing, from 1982, is a horror sci-fi movie that is extremely underrated. I don’t enjoy sci-fi too much, I’m very neutral with it, but this movie really makes me enjoy the genre. It is about American researchers who are in Antartica and as they are outside of their base, they come across a killer monster. Unfortunately, I cannot specify on the monster’s name as it is called Thing, but to summarize, it can take shape of the people or animals it has killed. It is truly filled with uneasyness and if you decide to watch this movie, grab a blanket.
To continue in this sci-fi horror genre, the movie Alien from 1979 is also a masterpiece. I refused to watch it for many years because I saw one scene when I was young and ended up traumatized, but now that I genuinely enjoy horror movies, I can confirm it is amazing. Alien is about a group of people waking up from crypto-sleep capsules and they leave their ship to go to an alien ship, where they find eggs. The movie contains a few jumpscares, but the production of the movie is so sophisticated and should be appreciated to the fullest.
The Shining is a classic, well-known, iconic movie. It is one of the most known movies since it’s release in 1980 to this day. Unlike most movies, I read the original book which it was inspired by and bother are worth it. It’s hard to find a movie that is as good as it’s book, but The Shining is one of those that somehow both are equally amazing. It is about a man Jack Torrance, who is going to be a caretaker for a hotel over the winter and is bringing his wife and son with him. He does it in an attempt to get inspiration for his book and then slowly the movie starts having weird things occur. What weird things? You have to watch the movie to find out. It has a slow beginning but it is absolutely worth every minute of its wait for the climax.
The last must watch horror movie is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). It was originally banned because of its amount of violence and it is very gory. Don’t watch it if you cannot handle gore. The plot of the story is that there is a group of friends traveling, driving around and they come across with a hitchhiker, who, as it turns out, is Leatherface -the killer-. The murderer is based on real murderer, Ed Gein, but the rest of the movie is all fictional.
I would also recommend Psycho (1960), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and Carrie (1976), however I have not watched them. I’ve only heard that they are good, so I do recommend them but not personally. There are other old horror movies that I do enjoy, however, I believe the list I gave above tops other horror movies like Child’s Play (1988) or Jaws (1975). As iconic as they may be, they didn’t give me the entire Halloween horror experience like other movies above.
Horror movies may not always appeal to people, but just trust the process and before you know it, you may end up enjoying it!