"Everyone's entitled to one good scare."
I have never really been a fan of horror films. Specifically those that are so sick and disgusting you want to run away and vomit. I am however, a fan of the ones that are "can't sleep at night" scary. Movies that do not require any serious gore to terrify me. These were the movies that I would never forget.
I was twelve years old when I saw Halloween for the first time. It was the summer of seventh grade when my friends and I thought it was a great idea to rent this movie. We thought we were playing it safe by watching it during the day little did I know that some of the film's creepiest moments took place in broad daylight. It was a film that was set in a typical suburban town, where evil was lurking in the most non threatening domestic spaces. Growing up in a similar suburb, I was paralyzed with fear. Once the movie was over I walked the block and a half home, looking over my shoulders and inspecting each shrub for any one who may try to jump me.
At the ripe old age of twenty, Halloween left quite an imprint on me. If you ask me, that's impressive. The fact that a movie could be so timeless and affect its audience whether it was in 1978 or 1998, is just remarkable. Of course this movie owes a lot to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho being most obvious. Hitchcock and Carpenter reminded us that horror does not have to exist in a gothic castle with vampires and werewolves. They took horror and put it into modern settings with everyday problems. This is why I believe these films are so effective and are still watched and studied today.
In honor of October I'll be watching nothing but horror movies, Halloween and Psycho being amongst many. Tonight I will start it off with Friday The 13th, a Halloween knock off that became successful with it's own style and technique.
My only problem is that there are so many films to choose from and not nearly enough time to watch them all. But I will certainly try.
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