Get cosy this Halloween and settle in for some horror movie classics, Sophie McLean has chosen her top 5!
The Exorcist (1973)
No matter how many times this movie is watched, regardless of how old it may be, William Freidkin’s classic is bound to send shivers down your spine from the moment the blood red letters pierce your screen with the opening title ‘The Exorcist”. The central theme of the movie is Good versus Evil and the satanic references throughout give an eerie overall feel. The Devil takes possession of an innocent little girl who starts diabolically tormenting her family and as a last resort the family call for the help of a priest to perform a dangerous exorcism to remove the evil other-worldly presence from her body.
Stephen King’s Pet Sematary (1989)
The King of horror movies Stephen King terrorises viewers with this blood-curdling movie and best selling novel Pet Sematary. A perfect family move into their dream home in an idyllic neighbourhood in Maine. Things take a turn for the worst when their beloved pet cat is killed in a road accident and an old wise neighbour advises burying the cat in a mysterious Indian burial ground. The sour ground has supernatural qualities and the pet returns from the dead intact but all is not what it seems. A tragic family death leaves the desperate father to bury the corpse in the soil out of heartache, hoping that the loved one too will return. He returns. However, not as he once hoped and horror unfolds.
Poltergeist (1982)
Another timeless classic from Steven Spielberg which combines a realistic setting with a series of out of the ordinary events. In a typical American suburban neighbourhood, a young child witnesses seemingly harmless magical occurrences in her own bedroom which play with her toys and TV unsighted at first by her parents. However, as the story develops so do the occurrences and the young child soon becomes swallowed up by her own home resulting in a large scale family rescue in a battle between the supernatural and the living.
The Shining
Based on Stephen King’s novel, this movie is a Halloween must if you’re searching for something truly psychologically horrifying. This intense movie starts off simply with a family taking a relaxing winter break to a remote and scenic hotel in the snow-covered mountains of Colorado. Jack Nicholson who plays the role of Jack Torrance, has started a new job as a caretaker working at the hotel. As the movie progresses a paranormal force inhabiting the hotel starts to influence Jack who turns maniacal towards his family.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
This dark adaption of Ira Levin’s horror novel will definitely tick all the boxes this Halloween. A young American couple move into a new luxurious apartment in New York when the wife finds herself to be unexpectedly pregnant. Rosemary finds herself surrounded by an ever-growing group of friends who seem overly interested in her pregnancy and well-being. The pregnancy progresses and Rosemary discovers the horrifying true identity of her baby’s father.
