With Halloween season in the air, everyone is getting excited about the seasonal movies. Even with new ones coming out, the classics still remain extremely popular, especially with myself. I watched a large variety of scary Halloween movies this month and want to share my thoughts on some of the ones I watched.
One of the top movies I watched was the 2016 thriller movie “Hush”, directed by Mike Flanagan. This movie takes place in the middle of the night in a fairly remote area. The main character appears as a hearing-impaired woman who is obligated to face a variety of challenges throughout the night to get away from the killer, while alone in her home with no access to help.
Being one of my favorite horror movies, the movie, in my opinion, keeps you on your toes, always wanting to see what is going to happen next. From scene to scene, the main character faces a variety of challenges, each one not being too similar to the previous one. This ensures that the movie will not be predictable and as result, this definitely made me curious as to what the ending will be and continue watching the movie
Another factor I believe was done very well in this movie was the scenery and setting. It is made known in the movie that she is nowhere near another human being, excluding the killer, which creates a suspenseful setting. The movie as well takes place right in the middle of the night, which is an obvious key factor to a movie where you are trying to get a good scare.
One popular all-time favorite scary movie is the 1978 horror movie “Halloween”, directed by John Carpenter. This movie focuses on a serial killer with the known ‘Ghost Face’ mask. The plot of the movie centers around the town, including the police and citizens, trying to locate and stop the killer.
As far as the movie plot goes, I think it does a really good job hooking the audience right from the beginning- as I found it very interesting. This was done by creating an action-filled scene immediately as the movie begins. In my opinion, this was a great choice on the production end for the reason that it does not drag out the movie and delay the climax, as many other movies do.
The horror film as well maintains an element of mystery throughout the whole movie and hooks the audience, causing them to seek out the answer. For instance, in the movie the unknown killer wears a mask throughout the majority of the movie, keeping his identity a mystery.
One thing I did not love about the movie was the gore. This opinion varies by person, but for me, being not so much of a gore fan, that aspect of the movie was not my favorite.
With both of these movies being in the horror film category, not all Halloween movies have to evoke fears that give you nightmares. With that being said, I wanted to include a Halloween movie for people opposed to extremely scary horror films.
A great option for this would be the 1993 fantasy movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, directed by Henry Selick. The movie’s plot focuses around a skeleton who goes by the name Jack Skellington, who has a spark of interest in Christmas. He gets bored with presenting the same exact Halloween every year and seeks something different.
The plot of this movie is one of my favorites, as it does involve Christmas. The creators of the movie do an amazing job at keeping it a Halloween movie. The plot also keeps the audience intrigued by adding plot twists and unexpected events. For example, it seems as though every time the main character, Jack, identifies a problem, the expected solution either did not fix the problem, or a new problem arose.
These are three movies I think are great options for all the enthusiasts of the Halloween season, while including different types of Halloween movies, from ones that scare you all night, to the ones to watch with friends that may keep you at ease.
