SOME OF MY FAVORITE HORROR MOVIES

No Halloween is perfect not only without the right music...you must have the perfect movies as well. What makes a great horror movie to me? Well, it is one that is creative, frightening, and one that has something extra to it, some morbid charm that makes me want to come back to it again and again. Personally, I really don't care for your traditional slasher movies. I like my horror slightly more outside the box, so here goes. These are in no particular order. There may not be anything particularly ground-breaking here, but these are the movies I find myself coming back to again and again...especially on Halloween.

1. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. George Romero's original black and white classic. The perfect zombie movie. So human, so crushing, so terrifying. This movie floors me every time I see it.



2. EVIL DEAD. Sam Raimi's first EVIL DEAD movie. There is something downright terrifying and adrenaline-fueled about this movie. Raimi's creativity runs amok here in it's most primitive form. The budget wasn't as big and the look not as sleek as the second one, but the raw energy and dementia of this film puts it over the top. My favorite of the trilogy.



3. SUSPIRIA. Daria Argento's most creative, visually stunning, and aurally unsettling movie of his career. If you're into balls out, psychedelic suspense and gore, you gotta see this one.



4. SPIDER BABY. Director Jack Hill's first and my personal favorite of his. This is what makes a horror movie for me. Very quirky and and inventive. Great dialogue and camera work. The acting and characters are what make this movie tick. If you want something well off the beaten path, watch SPIDER BABY.



5. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. I love Ed Wood, I know everyone thinks his movies are the worst ever made. Just watch this one. Low budget aside, it's full of child-like thrills and chills. I never grow weary of this film.



6. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Tobe Hooper's original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Hellish, fast-paced, nightmarish, and brilliant. The pacing of this movie is top notch. Once you get through watching this one you are emotionally drained, and you won't be able to sleep either. Downright terrifying. The energy of this movie is tremendous. It is difficult for most slasher films to reach this intensity. Accept no re-makes or substitutes. If you watch just one slasher film this year, let it be this one.



What are some your favorites?

SEE JANE RUN

Ryan Webb's "See Jane Run" (2007) is a gruesome, brilliant little horror movie that harkens back to the good old days of gore and exploitation movies from the 1960's and 1970's such as "Bloodsucking Freaks", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and "The Wizard of Gore". Just like these movies, it leaves you in a state of shock, wondering "What will they think of next? How can they top that last scene?" And it does not disappoint....it holds you from beginning to end. And after watching it....well, you may feel like you need to take a shower...but that's all part of the experience. Unlike it's predecessors from a bygone era, however, "See Jane Run", is a very slickly produced movie. It does feature some bizarre camera angles and some old country music in the beginning, along with some familiar plot devices but that's about as retro as it gets.

"See Jane Run" is about a group of teens who pick up a stranger who's car has broken down in the middle of nowhere in Brownsville, Texas. They find an auto mechanic who can fix his car, but it won't be for a while. The mechanic tells them of a great place they can get some barbecue and stay the night. Tired and hungry, the group jumps for it. Once they get to the restaurant, they realize it does not look like a place to eat. It is someone's house, and a very nice, modern, and huge house it is. And the owner, well he seems nice too. Very straight-laced, well-groomed, and well-mannered. He cooks them up some barbecue and everyone loves it. They remark on how different it tastes...

Something isn't right here, but what?

Oh, yeah. It's their host. You see, he really is a bloodthirsty cannibal that loves him some human flesh. "Why leave the flesh to rot in the earth with the rats and worms when it can live on inside of you?" he says. And he has already killed and eaten his family. That's why he lives in such a huge house alone. And he needs more human flesh!

He is very moralistic for a cannibal. Very disdainful about cheating on your loved ones, as our teens do tend to sleep around a bit. And smoking. You can forget it. It taints the flavor of the meat. And he is all about some torture: human dart-boards, a hot iron strapped to the face, etc. etc. The torture scenes are intense and gut-wrenching.

Will anyone survive and will there be anything left of them? You must watch this movie to find out.....it is time well spent.

TOBE HOOPER'S "THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE"

Tobe Hooper's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974) is a landmark film in the world of horror. There is a reason why this movie has spawned so many sequels and one remake. It is hard for a movie to come even close to this film's intensity. Filmed at a frantic, nerve wracking, nightmarish pace with bizarre camera angles and creepy sound effects laced throughout, this movie hits you hard every time. It is about a group of teenagers who make a pit stop for gas and what have you in the middle of nowhere in a creepy, small, hillbilly town. A violent hitchiker, old country music played in the background and blank creepy stares are all you are greeted with from the locals. Of course they wind up sticking around a while and snooping where they shouldn't be, and all hell breaks loose. And this is where the fun begins.

All of the sets in this movie convey an unsettling sense of desolation and decrepitude. The suspense and tension that buids with shock after shock as we watch these teens brutally murdered one by one is superb. They only had about 10 days to film this movie and it shows in the atmosphere. Working long days with little or no sleep keeps the tone of this movie on edge and delirious...the intensity of this movie never lets up, and by the end you are emotionally drained.

If you are wary of watching this movie because of all the sequels it spawned, don't be. This the one you need to watch. It is one of the best 1970's horror movies ever made, and one of the horror movie genre's greatest movies of all time. Go rent or buy this one now if you haven't seen it already. And if you have...well, watch it again.

WHITE ZOMBIE'S LA SEXORCISTO: DEVIL MUSIC VOL. 1

White Zombie's "La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1". At the time this album came out, my interest in metal had wained, and I was heavily into punk and the early 1990's alternative & grunge scene. I bought this album, gave it one listen and I was hooked. Metal had never sounded so good. They reminded me of Slayer circa "South of Heaven", slowed down a bit and loaded on LSD. This album is full of heavy grooves, guitar solos that sound as if they came from the bowels of hell, and stream of consciousness psychedelic lyrics chock full of references to horror, B-Movies, and trash pop culture. The music is loaded with samples from several clssssic cult films, including "Night of the Living Dead", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and "Faster Pussycat Kill Kill!". A sleazy yet ominous vibe permeates the entire album, and the songs flow seamlessly into one another, bridged together by samples. From the first track to the last, White Zombie transports you into a world full of 1960's and 1970's sleaze, biker babes, gore, monsters, and zombies that you never want to leave.

Thunder Kiss 65 - White Zombie

Black Sunshine - White Zombie