The Halloween season will always be one of my all-time favorites, not just for the costumes and candy, but for the wide variety of pop culture that makes the season feel all the more spooky. To get us all into the Halloween spirit this year, I’m going to be sharing my top 5 favorite horror movies of all time and telling you why I think they’re so spectacular.
5. Get Out (2017)
Get Out is a blend of thriller and horror that makes commentary on several social issues, including interracial relationships and systemic racism. It is widely known as a “social thriller”, and does a strong job of adding something new to the “terrors in a secluded area” trope. The movie follows a man who meets his girlfriend’s parents for the first time…at a very high cost. At no point did I know what was going to happen while watching it, and the plot twists were well done. At this point in my horror movie-watching career, it’s pretty hard to scare me, but this movie still sends chills down my spine. A close friend of mine huddled in the corner of the room in fear after the first 20 minutes of the movie, and is still traumatized by some of the jumpscares.
4. Scream (1996)
Scream is one of the more recent horror movies I’ve watched, and I absolutely loved it. It follows a group of teenagers living in a suburban town that is being haunted by a vicious slasher killer. The movie is extremely meta, but it doesn’t feel corny and really works to subvert horror movie tropes by playing off of other classics. The opening sequence is one of the scariest scenes I’ve ever seen in a horror movie, and Courteney Cox absolutely stole the show in her role as Gale Weathers. The Ghostface killer reveal is well-executed and very layered. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and even let out a few audible screams throughout the movie. I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the franchise!
3. Psycho (1960)
My grandmother is an avid Alfred Hitchcock fan, so I grew up watching many of his films; Psycho is by far my favorite and is a classic for a reason. Don’t let the black and white cinematography and older feel fool you – this movie is terrifying. It follows a young woman named Marion Crane who, after stealing money from her boss, has a bone-chilling run-in with Norman Bates, owner of the Bates Motel. Almost everyone can recognize the infamous shower scene, but the movie has tons of other gripping layers. Anthony Perkins does an incredible job embodying Norman, and while the final plot twist hasn’t aged perfectly, the viewer can still see how innovative the movie was for its time, and how scary it probably was (and still is) for those experiencing it for the first time.
2. The Shining (1980)
Based on Stephen King’s classic novel, The Shining follows Jack Torrance and his family as they journey to the Overlook Hotel during a Colorado winter. While the movie and novel are very different and should be viewed as separate entities, Stanley Kubrick’s film terrifies me down to my bones, and I’ve seen it almost a dozen times now. Jack Nicholson blows it out of the water as Jack, and the movie’s musical score paired with its real-life hotel setting are guaranteed to leave viewers with a pit in their stomachs. I still have never been able to make complete sense of the movie’s unsettling ending, so I always find myself coming back to it every Halloween season. My biggest recommendation: don’t watch this one alone! I normally have a hard time sleeping after my annual rewatches.
1. The Silence of The Lambs (1991)
The Silence of The Lambs is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris. I have not read the book yet, but the movie is the most well-done and most terrifying piece of horror media I have ever consumed. I watched it as a young teenager with my parents, and woke up with night terrors on a consistent basis for almost a year afterward. The movie follows a young FBI agent who is hunting a serial killer named Buffalo Bill. On her journey to catch one killer, she meets another. Both serial killers fill me with fear beyond my own comprehension, but Hannibal Lector, played by Anthony Hopkins, is the cause of my worst nightmares when Halloween comes around. There is a scare at every turn, and the movie is incredibly well-done in terms of the musical score, cinematography, acting, plot, and scare quality. This is the first movie I always suggest to anyone who is looking for a new recommendation; it is the whole package!
I’m always looking for new horror movies to explore, so if any of my readers think of some that are not on this list, send them my way! This spooky season, gather your friends and family, make some popcorn, close the curtains…and keep the lights on.