Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. Ever since I was a little kid, Halloween has held a place in my heart that few holidays could dare to match. Christmas has wonderful television specials, presents, and time with family and friends. Thanksgiving comes with football games and tremendous meals. Arbor Day celebrates trees and Groundhog Day is all about a wonderful Bill Murray film. However, none of those holidays matches the magic or wonderment that comes with Halloween.
Halloween is the one day of the year when you can dress like a fool and act childish without serious repercussions. You wander the streets in costumes and beg for candy like a homeless person without the police arresting you. In addition, the best horror movies ever made are on television around the clock to frighten, thrill, excite, and entertain views young and old alike. In all honesty, the horror movies are my favorite part of Halloween. Ever since I was a wee lad, I have loved horror films like a fat child loves cake or an alcoholic loves hooch (or an alcoholic child loves rum cake).
My love for horror films began when I was four years old. Thankfully, I had a wonderful mother who trusted me enough to know I could tell reality from fantasy. That is why, without hesitation, I started renting horror films alongside my cartoons at Brewer’s Movie Club in Madison, NC. Initially, the covers of the movie boxes drew me to the films.
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With covers like those, how could I not want to see what was on those VHS tapes? Therefore, when I checked out films for the weekend, I always had the best of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Kruger or some low-budget slasher flick with scantily clad young women alongside my copy of Disney’s Robin Hood or The Transformers: the Movie and my Coliseum Home Video release of the latest WWF event. Horror movies spoke to me. In a way, these films were the perfect films because they had everything – adventures, thrilling situations, pretty girls, and heroic characters overcoming tremendous odds. In addition, the films came with many wonderful life lessons that I still hold near and dear to this day. Those include:
- Never say, “I’ll be right back.”
- Avoid camping trips, summer camps, and the woods at all costs
- Never anger a goalie
- Do not do drugs
- Do not speak to or trust strangers
- If a town has a “town loon,” take his words as gospel because Crazy Ralph is always right
- Never enter a dark room
- Never split up from your friends, family when lost
- Always make sure there is one person in a group weaker than you are
With October 31st right around the corner, I thought now would be a great time to look back at the horror genre and some of my personal favorites (and least favorites) in this special edition of The Highlight Reel. Joining me in this venture into the abyss, I have some wonderful friends and horror fans contributing to this discussion on the best and worst of the horror genre.
Villains
In order to have a good horror film, one must first have a good villain. The villain can range from a vicious animal to a cold-blooded psychopath, an evil entity to an inhuman monster, or whatever else the imagination can conjure. I have selected four that stand on my Mount Rushmore of horror film villains: Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, the zombie, and the Reverend Harry Powell.
For me, Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise will always be my favorite horror movie character. The mask is iconic. The body count is incredible. The character just exudes fear and evil with every cold, calculated movement from the mongoloid Momma’s Boy in a hockey mask. Jason Voorhees is a classic and legend in a genre full of memorable characters. Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise is another silent slayer hidden behind a mask. However, Michael differs from Jason in one extremely important way – motivation. Michael Myers initially is a murderer based on pure, unbridled rage with no real motivation. Unlike Jason, who witnessed his mother’s beheading at the end of the first Friday the 13th, Michael Myers just snapped at age six and began murdering his family and everyone standing in the way of Myers ending his bloodline. That initial unknown motivating spirit made Michael Myers intriguing. The engulfing power of the zombie leads me to hold zombies in high esteem. Regardless of if they are slow and lumbering like in the George Romero zombie classics (Night of the Living Dead; Dawn of the Dead; Day of the Dead) or fast and vicious like in the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake or 28 Days Later (I know they were infected but they acted like the undead), zombies offer a never-ending threat that I find absolutely chilling. Finally, I love Robert Mitchum’s performance as the Reverend Harry Powell in 1955’s The Night of the Hunter. Mitchum plays a misogynistic, murderous traveling preacher on a quest to find stolen money belonging to a former cellmate. His cold-blooded demeanor blended with the Southern charm only Mitchum could deliver on-screen provides one of the greatest individual performances in horror cinema history.
The responses of others provided an interesting list of favorite horror villains. While one villain shined brightly, there were many included in this who’s who from the horror genre.
“Pazuzu (The Exorcist), Dracula (1958 Hammer version) or Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th).” - Doug Smith
“Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th) - He is the OG. No one is better. He would make Michael Myers his b-tch and use Freddy’s glove to scratch a itch he has on his nuts. A total beast. Plus, he is retarded with a healing factor and beat the hell out of a b-tch with super powers. Bar none, the best.” - James Walsh
“My favorite horror villain is, without a shadow of a doubt, Freddy Kruger (A Nightmare on Elm Street). The fact that it’s a game for him. He could kill you at any moment but that wouldn’t be any fun.” - Steak Sauce
“I actually like Kane Hodder’s Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th: Part VII - Jason X). I guess my all-time favorite is Norman Bates (Psycho) or Pennywise (It).” - Terry Sligar
While I have many favorite horror villains, only one irks me to no end: Chucky from the Child’s Play franchise. He was a doll. I do not care how murderous the spirit was inside the doll; he was a doll. You step on him and move on. Chucky would not bother me nearly as much if Child’s Play were a one-time deal either. However, this series lasted for four sequels with each more ridiculous than the last. Chucky was not funny, not frightening, and not entertaining. Chucky was only the worst.
The debate for worst horror villain was a two-man race with a pint-sized villain and a psychopathic mastermind drawing the majority of their wrath equally.
“Jigsaw (Saw).” - Brian McNail
“Michael Myers - never liked him. I think it goes back to how he was smaller and more ‘realistic’ in the first (Halloween) films. Horror movies are an escape for me; not something that I want to sit and think about.” - James Walsh
“Least favorite is probably Chucky (Child’s Play) or the Puppet Master toys because they are toys! Break them in half!” - Jeremy Johnston
“My least favorite is that doll I won’t name from Child’s Play. Toys are meant to be your friends as children, not the creators of nightmares.” - Stacey Holt
“My least favorite would be Madea… or Jigsaw (Saw). That stupid f--king voice.” - Steak Sauce
Best and Worst Films
Choosing a favorite horror film for me is like trying to choose my favorite Taylor Swift song – so many choices and every one wonderful in its own way. Unable to choose merely one, I selected my ten favorite horror films. They are not necessarily the best horror films, just my favorites. They are the horror films that I can put into the DVD player at any time and feel at peace with the world. Each is uniquely entertaining for a cavalcade of reasons varying from gory and violent to haunting and bittersweet. These are my ten favorite horror movies (in alphabetical order).
28 Days Later – The first film of the 2000s’ “zombie renaissance,” 28 Days Later does not even include zombies; it features swarms of people infected by a disease called “rage.” The infected swarm England and create an apocalyptic setting that captivated me from the very beginning frames of this modern classic. The performances of Cillian Murphy and Naomi Harris only add to the excellence of this film.
Christine – John Carpenter turned Stephen King’s novel into a severely under-appreciated horror gem in this story about a boy and his car. The metamorphosis of Arnie from nerd to bad boy is almost as chilling as the 1958 Plymouth Fury from Hell.
Dawn of the Dead – The 1978 original film stands out as the best zombie film of all-time. The zombies never looked better while the setting, the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, created a desire within me to be inside a shopping mall after hours that I will carry with me until I die. This film was full of gory, desperation, and apocalyptic dread that makes a zombie film work.
Friday the 13th Part VI : Jason Lives – Violent, funny, intense, brutal, and down-right entertaining in every way, Friday the 13th Part VI revived the franchise with the rebirth of Jason Voorhees after the appearance of faux Jason in Part V. The killer soundtrack added to the charm while Jason Voorhees was never better than his tour of duty at Camp Crystal Lake in Part VI.
Halloween – Many say Psycho was the original slasher film. Others say it was The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. For me, John Carpenter’s Halloween set the gold standard for what every slasher film has attempted to be since 1978. That makes Halloween the original slasher film in my book.
Hostel: Part II – Brutal, violent, gory, vicious, and unrelenting, Hostel: Part II picks up where the first film left off with the kills even more horrific and brutal. I love the view into the mindset of the villainous clientele and the ultimate comeuppance of the villainous financers behind Elite Hunting that come with Hostel: Part II.
Scream – Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson breathed fresh life into the stale genre in 1996 with Scream. Innovative by approaching horror with a sarcastic approach that mocked the genre as well as reinforced the great things about the genre, Scream was vicious, insane, and captivating to the end credits. This film showed that anyone could be a suspect, you should always expect the unexpected, and you had better know the rules.
The Birds – While many say Psycho is Alfred Hitchcock’s best horror film, my vote goes to The Birds. Just the idea that, for no given reason, birds could turn on a community and attack everyone sends chills down my spine. This is nature turning on humanity at its finest. In addition, marvelous performances from Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, and Jessica Tandy add to a chilling horror film that stands also as one of the premiere films of Hitchcock’s legendary career.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – Leatherface and his family created one of the most imposing environments in horror history within their rural Texas farmhouse. From the chilling opening narration from a then-unknown John Larroquette through Leatherface’s almost poetic dance with the chainsaw as the film concludes, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre oozes a quiet intensity often imitated but rarely duplicated in the horror genre.
The Wolf Man – This classic from 1941 is just an amazing film. While I do not find it scary, I love The Wolf Man because of its bittersweet tale of Lawrence Talbot (played by the legendary Lon Cheney, Jr.). Bitten by a werewolf, played by horror icon Bela Lugosi, as he attempted to save a young woman, Talbot suffers from the curse of the werewolf until it ultimately consumes him. The desperation in Cheney’s performance and the intensity of Talbot as the werewolf add to the horror as he unwillingly gives in to the curse at every full moon. The Wolf Man is not just a horror classic; it is a cinematic classic.
Naming a favorite horror film created a wide range of selections from my panel.
“Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Return of the Living Dead: Part 2. I watched these in secret with my dad when I was five.” - Brian McNail
“From 1980 or so, The Changeling starring George C. Scott. A very underrated-yet-scary and even disturbing movie. But there is one that trumps anything that I've EVER seen, and unfortunately it has never been released on DVD much less Blu-ray: The Dark Secret of Harvest Home starring none other than Bette Davis. This was a television movie from 1978 and it will scare the living hell out of you.” - Chris Knight
“Honestly, ones that are creepy on a psychological level. The original Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Alien, and The Exorcist are among my favorites. I also enjoy the Universal classics, some of the Hammer classics as well as quite a few silent horror movies such as Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and a few others.” - Doug Smith
“Event Horizon. Sci-fi horror is a genre that is both hard to pull off and totally under-appreciated. It was just pure perfection in my eyes (as well as a horror movie can be).” - James Walsh
“My favorites are the slasher films with small towns or summer camps and with masked killers. My favorite is the original Prom Night because I felt bad for the killer. He saw these kids kill his sister and get away with it. He wanted her death to be avenged and I felt sad when he was killed at the end. Scream is also a fav as well. Psycho is the grandfather (or mother) of all horror because the genre was different after that movie.” - Jeremy Johnston
“For starters, Nosferatu, just because it is a classic. I liked most of the Jason movies except the last one because Jason does not run, he just appears.” - Mic Grimsley
“A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. One reason was it was a huge improvement over Part 2. Plus, it made me afraid to walk down dark alleys, be around puppets, and trying to fix a static TV.” - Michael Jay Smith
“My favorite horror movies are Halloween (the Rob Zombie remake) and Friday The 13th (2009). I don’t know why I like these movies. Maybe it’s because, when I was little, Michael and Jason scared me but, as I grew older, I overcame my fear of them.” - Stacey Holt
"My favorites are Return of the Living Dead and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. RotLD because it is that blend of horror done with that speck of dark comedy and punk rock that really clicks for me. Dream Warriors because Dokken and because I like every death scene and actually give a sh*t about the characters. You could say about every Nightmare save for the remake.” - Steak Sauce
“Sci-fi horror like Fire in the Sky, Communion, The Fourth Kind.” - Terry Sligar
For every great horror film, there is a good horror film. For every good film, there is a decent film. For every decent film, there is a bad film. For every bad horror film, there is a putrid and vile waste of time that even your worst enemy should never view. Those horror films - the worst of the worst are among my least favorite horror films. As passionate as I am for the original series, I hate the Friday the 13th remake with that same passion. It turned Jason into a rip-off of multiple horror villains and Batman at one point. It was an unfunny joke. While a fan of the Saw series, I believe Saw V is one of the most pointless films in horror history. The Saw saga advanced an outstanding storyline through six films; with a seventh film - Saw V - merely there to grab cash from horror fans. Black Christmas, the 2006 remake of the wonderful 1974 original, wasted a sexy and talented cast with lame kills, a terrible storyline, and painfully bad editing. The best parts of the movie aired in the trailer and then were cut from the movie. Finally, while they have their devoted group of fans and an iconic horror villain, the Hellraiser films - all 87 of them - are complete garbage. In 1987, they tried to make a good film. It was mediocre, maybe deserving of a sequel, but nothing special. Since then, the acting and effects have gotten worse while the filmmakers continue to milk this dead cow for all it is worth. The Hellraiser franchise is a tragic waste of the talented Doug Bradley.
When selecting a least favorite horror film, there were many passionate responses towards films viewed as simply detestable.
“My least favorite are the Saw and Paranormal Activity franchises because I don’t see them as horror but everyone else does.” - Brian McNail
“Anything ever made related to zombies. They’re not scary and they don’t fall under the category of being ‘so bad they’re funny.’” - Doug Smith
“I hate Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 because he was trying to be artsy like a douche bag. Also, my least favorite, besides Halloween 2, would have to be The Exorcist and The Omen. I get it - the Devil is evil. Those movies are just dull in my opinion (regardless of age or praise).” - James Walsh
“Least favorite is the Hellraiser series. I just couldn’t get into them or the Saw movies. I don’t dig the new sadomasochist, gore, and twisted style.” - Jeremy Johnston
“My least favorite horror, and one I wish they would launch any and all copies they can find into the sun, is Child’s Play. I hate that movie because toys are supposed to be your friend, not the vessels of psycho’s souls.” - Stacey Holt
“Shaun of the Dead and the Saw series. Shaun was plagued by horrible acting and writing from the start. It’s a movie that just drags on. To be fair, I’ve only seen the first two Saw movies but Jesus were they bad. Also, the Hellraiser series. At least they tried with the first two but after that…” - Steak Sauce
“Torture porn. Hostel, House of 1000 Corpses, Saw.” - Terry Sligar
Overrated and Underrated Films
There are many films in the horror genre that I feel are overrated. As good a film as each may be, I feel they do not live up to the hype. It might be horror fan sacrilege but I stand by the following statement: the two most overrated horror films of all-time are Psycho and The Exorcist. Critics and fans alike list both films among the greatest of all-time, not just greatest horror films either. Don’t get me wrong; I love both movies. However, I would not dare call either the greatest horror film of all-time. The hype surrounding Psycho and The Exorcist make them overrated. In discussing overrated horror films, I have to stress that the Evil Dead series is painfully overrated. Bruce Campbell’s terrifically corny performance as Ash does not make up for the fact that both The Evil Dead and its sequel, essentially a remake of the first, are terrible movies. Finally, I have to stress again my displeasure with the Child’s Play films. There are some serious fans of this franchise and I cannot understand why. Chucky was stupid and these films gradually got worse throughout the series. These films never deserved the amount of sequels received.
As far as underrated horror films go, I have to start with the most underrated horror film of all-time: the 1983 slasher film Sleepaway Camp. There is nothing special or innovative about Sleepaway Camp for the first 85 minutes. Then, the ending happens. In the shocking finale, we see that Angela is the killer… and she has a penis. Yup. Angela is really a boy. It is an intense ending making Sleepaway Camp an instant classic. Despite being a made-for-television movie, Dark Night of the Scarecrow is one of the creepiest horror films of the 1980s. Packing a lot of action and terrific performances into this tale of revenge, Dark Night of the Scarecrow is outstanding and will always hold a special place in my heart. Night of the Demons, released in 1988, is one of many horror films where teenagers party in a location they should not and pay the price for it. However, this film deserves appreciation because of many great aspects that set it apart from its contemporaries. The special effects are outstanding with the demonic victims all sporting some great make-up jobs. Also, the film offers a rarity in horror movies as an African-American actually survived from beginning to end. Finally, a modern horror film that is extremely underrated is the 2006 horror mockumentary Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. An homage to the slasher genre, and treating the genre as reality, Behind the Mask mixes dark comedy with documentary-style film making to create one of the more unique horror experiences in the last decade.
It was very interesting to see some of the titles labeled overrated and underrated by the horror fans in my panel. It is quite the mix of established and lesser-known films making the list.
“Italian zombie/splatter flicks are underrated because most people won’t watch dubbed/subtitled movies. Paranormal Activity is overrated because people believe the sh*t is real.” - Brian McNail
“For overrated, I say the zombie genre. I’m also gonna throw in the entire Nightmare On Elm Street series. I understand the concept and it’s an interesting one. But it’s executed terribly and Robert Englund has the acting chops of Channing Tatum. For underrated, I think silent horror is under-appreciated at least by most modern audiences. I don’t think most people appreciate how honestly frightening your mind can make something even without modern audio/visual technology.” - Doug Smith
“Under-appreciated: Event Horizon. I also think the 13 Ghosts movie did not get a fair shake considering how much thought and back story was put into the actually ghosts and 'world' that the movie took place in.” - James Walsh
“A lot of people hate the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake with Jessica Biel and Eric Balfour but I gotta say that it was the only movie where I felt really bad for the kids. I wanted them to escape so bad! It is very underrated.” - Jeremy Johnston
“Sleepaway Camp is underrated just for the ending alone.” - Michael Jay Smith
“I feel that Rob Zombie’s Halloween films are underrated. If people could look past the remake tag, they’d find two absolutely incredible movies. Also, people mistake Halloween 2 for a remake. It absolutely is not a remake; it is the sequel to a remake. As much praise as it receives I don’t think the Scream franchise has had enough. Overrated would be Paranormal Activity as a franchise as well as the Saw franchise. I really have to ask ‘who would be entertained by this?’” - Steak Sauce
“Overrated: Friday the 13th, anything with Bruce Campbell, a lot of 1990’s horror. Under-appreciated: Leviathan, La Cavaliere, Beware: Children at Play, Phantasm, the original Children of the Corn, and C.H.U.D.” - Terry Sligar
The Ideal Halloween Triple Feature
Every Halloween, I love to sit back with a cold, tasty beverage and enjoy a few of my favorite horror movies. It is a Halloween tradition of mine. In working on this ode to the horror genre, I started thinking about the perfect horror movie triple feature. What would I include in the perfect representation of this genre I love so much? Do I go with fun and excitement or do I select horror classics that display the growth of the genre? Do I choose films representing the sub-genres of horror or stick to one style? After a lot of thought, I selected these three films as my Halloween Triple Feature:
Dawn of the Dead (1978) - I love zombies. This is the greatest zombie film ever made. More importantly though, Dawn of the Dead includes everything about the zombie genre in such a perfect blend that this is not just a perfect zombie film; it is a perfect horror film. The undead roam the planet feasting on the living without a cure or cause in sight. There is no hope for humanity yet the survivors continue to fight and strive to survive. It is a perfect display of the human spirit - a desire to fight against insurmountable odds even in the face of catastrophe. The original Dawn of the Dead is a masterpiece.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives - Jason Voorhees is an icon. Throughout the Friday the 13th franchise, Jason underwent many transitions (drowning Mama’s boy, grain sack wearing redneck mongoloid, undead killing machine, traveling spirit using bodies as shells, space cowboy). For my money, Jason was never better than the sixth installment of the series when everybody’s favorite hockey mask adorning killer rose from the dead via a lightning strike homage to Frankenstein‘s monster. The blend of dark comedy and brutal, vicious death scenes make for one of the most entertaining experiences in the horror genre. This is as close to a perfect slasher film from the 1980s as you will ever find. I love this movie.
Hostel - I know that many people hate these films. Torture porn, they label them. For me, Hostel represents the age of realism in horror films where the killers were as normal as their victims. The only difference between the hero and villain came in a lack of conscious and morality. In addition, Hostel fits into one of my favorite sub-genres of the horror genre: the wrong turn into danger genre. These kids make a bad turn, one mistake, and it turned their world upside down. It makes me think how life really can change drastically based on whether or not I go left or right. Hostel is an outstanding blend of violence and chance surrounded by groundbreaking gore that entertains me to no end.
In reading the responses of my panel, it was interesting to see the selections chosen in creating the ideal horror triple feature. Regardless of how the panelists selected their films, each person has a triple feature sure to entertain any horror fan at Halloween.
The Beyond, Halloween 2, Night of Living Dead (1990 remake) - Brian McNail
The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari or Nosferatu, The Exorcist, and Saw - Doug Smith
Dawn of the Dead (with director’s commentary - dork, I know), Event Horizon, and Alien - James Walsh
Scream, one of the Friday the 13th films, and Halloween - Jeremy Johnston
Night of the Living Dead, Halloween, and Friday the 13th - Michael Jay Smith
Dracula (either the original with Bela Lugosi or the version with Gary Oldman), Halloween (2009) and Friday The 13th - Stacey Holt
Return of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, and Friday the 13th Part 4: the Final Chapter - Steak Sauce
La Cavaliere, Poltergeist 2, and Communion - Terry Sligar
I hope that everyone enjoyed this ode to horror movies. Thanks to all of the people who joined me in revealing some of their favorites and thanks to all of you for reading this special Halloween edition of The Highlight Reel. Now, sit back with some popcorn, candy, or an adult beverage and enjoy something scary. It’s Halloween and there is no better way to enjoy it than with someone getting slaughter on TV.
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