My Top Five Favorite Horror Movies

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e weeks of fall right before Halloween are my favorite. The weather is perfect, the trees are turning and it’s the best time of the year for television programming. That’s when a lot of great horror movies and episodes of shows like the Twilight Zone run on television. There are more fun shows about ghosts, psychics and other aspects of the paranormal

And, it’s not unusual to see great new and older classic movies like “The Craft” and “Rosemary’s Baby” at any time. I can’t resist movies with great horror stars Boris Karloff, Lon Cheney, Jr., Vincent Price and Christopher Lee.

I love it all from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” to B vampire movies like the more obscure “Blood and Donuts.” But, for horror movies to really work for they have to be frightening enough to send a chill without being too realistic. After all, there are too many real life horrors and great horror movies should be a diversion from those things, not a reminder.

So, here is my personal list of great horror movies – perfect for viewing at Halloween-time or any time.

Hocus Pocus: If it has Bette Midler in it it’s gotta be good! “Hocus Pocus” is another great Disney Halloween movie that doesn’t disappoint. Three witches in great costumes – one of them is Sarah Jessica Parker, so go figure! – come back to haunt an unsuspecting little town on Halloween night. While this movie is a great Halloween romp, it also a story about the importance of family and, in particular, the relationship between brothers and sisters.

Trick or Treat: Ozzy Osborne and Gene Simmons… Enough said! But, I’ll add this, anyway. This is one of my all time favorite B-movies. It’s great any time of years. And, if you can remember the days when all the T.V. preachers were preaching against heavy metal as the “music of the devil” then you are going to love seeing Ozzy doing a brilliant parody of one of these guys. The soundtrack for this film was done by Fastway and I think it is one of the best albums they ever made.

Here’s the gist: Sammy Curr, a highly successful rock god dies tragically in a hotel fire just days before he was supposed to play at his old high school. His #1 fan, Eddie, takes this really hard until a D.J. friend of his (Gene Simmons) gives him a special acetate copy of Sammy’s last album. Eddie takes it home and plays it backwards (of course!) and conjures up the spirit of Sammy Curr to do his bidding. Great Faustian parallels are drawn at the beginning of this movie – which I just love, being a huge fan of Marlowe and Goethe. It’s a nice touch! Now here’s the really great part – if you’re a metal head, you’ll get it and if you’re not, you’ll love this movie, anyway – Sammy Curr comes through anything electrical including electrical sockets and batteries and he’s at the height of his power on Halloween night!.

This movie is just so much fun. All it requires you to do is sit back and totally suspend disbelief.

Rosemary’s Baby: “Rosemary’s Baby” was made from the book by Ira Levin. If you love the movie, you’ll love the book. The script followed it very closely. And, if you can’t get enough of “Rosemary’s Baby,” there is a sequel to the book that you will probably enjoy almost as much. I have often wondered about the life of Roman Polanski and who or what he was really involved in. There are rumors – supposed to be false – that Anton LaVey (the founder of the Church of Satan) appeared in this film as the devil. There are some elements in this film that are genuinely Satanic in the LaVey sense of the term. I have often wondered if he was familiar with LaVey or his church, but I’ve never found anything to confirm this suspicion.

“Rosemary’s Baby” is a study in psychological terror. Therein lies its brilliance. There is something strangely comforting about this film, too. Maybe it’s the entire atmosphere that the film creates, most of which takes place inside Rosemary and Guy’s apartment. The decor was very trendy for its time, the colors and the furniture, along with Rosemary’s wardrobe impart some sense of comfort. Yet, something seems dreadfully wrong the whole time. The story unravels with one suspicious event – some of them subtle – after another until the shocking ending.

Eve’s Bayou: This is a very artsy film. It sets a beautiful atmosphere among the Louisiana bayous. It’s a story about the power of second sight and voodoo. It is so brilliantly done with a remarkable twist of an ending that is so impressive that if you see it once, you will probably have to see it a second time. Apart from being an outstanding film that tells an intriguing and complex story, its narrator is grown woman telling the strange tale of her childhood as the daughter of a well-respected and somewhat wealthy doctor in the 1950s or early 1960s, it is characterized by an all African-American cast. I highly recommend getting the DVD and watching the extras including the mini-film upon which “Eve’s Bayou” was based and commentary by the two women who made the film. This film is worth seeing just for the remarkably photography that is employed, the scenery is beautiful and they went to great extremes to capture it on film.

The Ninth Gate: Roman Polanski strikes again! The fact that handsome Johnny Depp plays the lead role should be enough – but, no! – there’s more that makes this movie great. It was based on an international best seller by Arturo Perez-Reverte called “El Club Dumas.” The original Spanish language novel was translated into English and released as “The Dumas Club.” The novel stands on its own. Polanski took this gold nugget and polished into brilliance in the film, “The Ninth Gate,” by extracting one important strand of the tale and taking into a really dark place.

If you love antiquarian book collecting, particularly antiquarian occult books (one of my specialty areas) then this movie is for you – it’s a book collector’s dream. Even more so, the book will be for you because it contains a veritable bibliography of antiquarian occult books. Even if you’re in the trade, you’ll likely learn a thing or two from reading the book! The movie centers around a rare book called “The Ninth Gate,” that contains part of an much sought after demonic secret. It will take you on an adventure to some hauntingly beautiful locations in Europe.

Polanski conjures the same atmosphere in the “Ninth Gate” as he did in “Rosemary’s Baby.” Something just isn’t quite right, but you’re not sure what it is until the very end.

So, there it is: My five top favorite, irresistible movies perfect for viewing at Halloween or whenever the fancy strikes you.

Pleasant dreams!