Happy Halloween!!! Well, it’s not quite Halloween yet, but since it falls on a Monday, I’m spending my weekend celebrating it. I sort of treat this day like a holiday. I kick back, relax and watch my favorite horror flicks. I figured I’d share some of my favorites, as I’ve done for a few years (though the list has changed some). Feel free to share yours.
The Exorcist (1973): Zombies, vampires and ghosts do not scare me. I can handle the undead. Demons and the occult freak me out. This movie, based on William Blatty’s book, about a young girl, Regan, that becomes possessed by “the devil.” Her mother seeks out the help of a local Catholic priest (also a psychiatrist) with faith issues. The Church decides to call on the help of the elderly priest to exorcise the demon.
Memorable Quote: “You’re gonna die up there.”
Dawn of the Dead (1978): Dawn of the Dead is the second installation of George A. Romero’s Dead series. It’s also the best, in my opinion. A group of four people escape the city and seek refuge in a mall until they are overrun by the living dead.
Memorable Quote: “When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.”
Shaun of the Dead (2004): This comedy flick is a tribute to the zombie sub-genre. Shaun, a guy without much direction in his life, leads a group of survivors, including his best friend, girlfriend and mother, to a pub in London to wait for the military to rid the street of the undead.
Memorable quote: “You’ve got red on you.”
Constantine (2005): The general rule in our home is that movies with Keanu Reeves suck. This is flick, based on the comic book of the same name, is an exception. I saw this for the first time last year and loved it. It heavy on biblical themes, such as spiritual warfare and the struggle between heaven and hell.
Memorable Quote: What if I told you that God and the devil made a wager, a kind of standing bet for the souls of all mankind?
Evil Dead 2 (1987): Evil Dead and this movie are basically the same, though there are some differences. Ash, played by Bruce Campbell, takes his girlfriend for a weekend away in a cabin. He stumbles across the work of the previous inhabitant of the cabin and plays the audio of the Necronomicon, an ancient Sumerian text, which unleashes evil in the woods.
Memorable Quote: “Someone’s in my fruit cellar. Someone with a fresh soul. “
Honorable mention:
- Dawn of the Dead (2004): Remake of the original with a different take.
- Paranormal Activity (2009): Remember what I said about the occult and demons?
- Dead Alive (1992): A rat-monkey bite turns a demanding mother into a zombie.
- Army of Darkness (1993): The squeal to Evil Dead 2. Ash is stuck in the Dark Ages and is trying to find a way back.
- Re-Animator (1985): A medical student creates a re-agent to bring the dead back to life.
