Pure Terror: Top 10 Halloween Films

In the last of this year’s Halloween Top Tens, I’ll be looking at the films that instil pure dread. Those movies that leave you unable to sleep at night, scared to turn off the light. Now of course, fear, like humour, is a very personal thing, so what gives me the galloping terrors might not do the same for you, but these are ten of the films that really spooked me. Feel free to argue the case for your favourite fear flick in comments below.

Nosferatu (Nosferatu: Eine Syphonie Das Grauens) (1922)

Where better to begin than with one of the oldest surviving horror films. Nearly lost on its inception after failing to get permission from Bram Stoker’s estate for adapting his infamous novel “Dracula” for the screen, it only survived through a handful of prints, but thank god it did! Though it’s over 90 years old, it’s still gloriously eerie, with dance-like performances and striking expressionist stylings, full of peaked arches and long shadows. Though it’s been copied, lampooned and adapted numerous times, there’s still no other film which captures its unsettling otherworldliness.

The full film

Still, if Nosferatu is your idea of horror, you might like Herner Werzog’s weirdly romantic 1979 remake, or for another true expressionist classic, try the inimitably eerie “Cabinet of Doctor Caligari” (1919), the first true horror film.

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

Though not strictly a horror film, this strange allegorical thriller is deeply unnerving. It follows the disturbing experiences of a Vietnam veteran as a squadron of demonic beings begin hounding him. Are they real? Is Jacob going mad? Or are they the result of some sinister military experiments enacted on his platoon in ‘Nam? Though the truth turns out to be both surprising and satisfying, it’s the surreal hallucinatory sequences that really sell this. From an unsettlingly satanic seduction in a party to a genuinely horrific descent into a hellish hospital, it’s spattered with unforgettable sequences that’ll have you shuddering.

The trailer for the film which hints at some of the creepier scenes

Again, there’s no film quite like this, though a similar central theme (which I can’t go into without spoiling the plot twist) isn’t unusual, films that combine the theme, or even similarly surprising twists, with such arresting visuals are rare. However, for slick direction and a sense of dread, try “Don’t Look Now” (1972) or the spooky 1962 classic “Carnival of Souls”.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

This was the film that turned the zombie from a lumbering creature of voodoo legend into the slathering, hording monster we think of today, whether that’s a good thing or not, though notably the “z” word is never used in the film and the creatures are, more correctly, referred to as “ghouls”. The build up of tension is masterful, from that first staggering figure and the classic sing-song cry of “they’re coming to get you Barbara” to the tense and claustrophobic finale, there’s plenty to keep you on edge, with some nasty moments in between (who can forget the murderous little girl and that ear-shattering musical shriek?). But if all that wasn’t enough to leave you tossing and turning at night, there’s the horrible racial tension subtext, with the very likeable black lead taking control of the situation but doomed beyond his survival skills.

The full film (like Nosferatu it’s currently in the public domain)

Unlike the last few films there are quite a few which followed this influential film’s lead. The second in the “of the dead” saga, “Dawn of the Dead” (1978) adds an impish critique of consumerism to the mix, both funny and unsettling in equal measure. Or for another indie film, on an even smaller budget (an incredible £45!) try 2008’s “Colin”.

The Wicker Man (1973)

Another tense thriller (which like Nosferatu and Night of the Living Dead spawned a totally unnecessary remake) with an almost unbearable build up of tension, this sees a slightly bigoted policeman travels to a remote island to investigate the apparent disappearance of a young girl. What he discovers is cheerful pagan community ruled by Lord Summerisle, a mesmerising performance from genre legend Christopher Lee. The subtle, incredibly slow shift in tone, making the pagans turn from rather sweet children of nature to an incredibly sinister costumed army, by which point the tension is actually painful.

The trailer gives the imagery but not the tautness of the finished product

Arch-playwright Anthony Schaffer, who wrote the screenplay, knows a thing or two about thrillers. For a lighter but equally distressing adaptation of his, 1974’s desperately witty “Sleuth” is fabulous. For those who prefer to be scared Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) has a similarly unbearable build up, turning the fussy old lady next door into a Satanist at the heart of a horrifying conspiracy. Eek!

The Orphanage (el Orfanto) (2007)

This fine film from fantasy maestro Guillermo del Toro proves that the traditional ghost story can still be perfectly terrifying. A woman moves into the disused orphanage she grew up in, planning to reopen it, with her imaginative adoptive son claims to have found a new invisible friend. But when he vanishes during a party, a frightening tale of deformity, mistreatment and murder unfolds. With expert use of music, sound and visual effects, arresting images and, in some cases, lack of images, this is a modern day ghost story with just the right mix of gothic archaism and modern technology. The result is genuinely frightening, and despite a heart-warming finale, it’ll still be with you hours later.

The very creepy trailer

The ghost story has made quite a comeback recently. 2001’s “The Others” had a really creepy tone despite a slightly obvious twist, while del Toro’s 2001 piece “The Devil’s Backbone (el Edpinazo del Diablo)” covered some similar ground with some beautiful and very unsettling visual effects.

Hellraiser (1987)

Although its success turned it into a lamentable franchise, the original Hellraiser remains a deeply unsettling and unsettlingly deep film. Combining vicious gore and really nasty-looking makeup with a disturbing tone, the film concerns a magic puzzle-box which opens a portal to a visceral hell. When the adulterous Julia discovers that her brother-in-law and former lover has fallen foul of the beings that live beyond the portal, she is more than happy to murder in order to revive him, and only her perceptive stepdaughter can stand in her way. Raising uncomfortable issues about love and lust, and oozing with overtones of sadomasochism, what’s most frightening about the film is the feelings it instils in the viewer, that uneasy, somewhat guilty, allure. Since it’s release the otherworldly Cenobites, particularly the lead cenobite dubbed “Pinhead”, have become icons and it’s easy to see why: with their strange intonation and archaic dialogue, their ghastly yet priestly appearance, and their obsession with the flesh, they’re the very image of perverse pleasure.

Trailblazer for Hellraiser (sorry couldn’t resist)

Though the franchise soon fell into silliness, the second film “Hellraiser 2: Hellbound” (1988) retains the key central themes that made the first film so arresting, even if the climax is a bit of a stretch of the suspension of disbelief.

Silence of the Lambs (1991)

This classic psychological thriller brought horror into the A-list. Though Anthony Hopkins is memorable as the essential sociopath, it’s Ted Levine’s unhinged Buffalo Bill that really terrifies. What gives his character real bite is knowing that all his ghastly activities are inspired by real life murderer Ed Gein, a killer who made clothing and furniture out of his victims and exhumed corpses in what some have described as a sort of shamanic transvestism. Hopkins’ cannibal capers and creepy hissing are nothing by comparison.

A suitably slick trailer for the film

Like every good slightly-scary flick since the seventies, this spawned a spate of sequels and prequels, of which “Red Dragon” (2002) is probably the most effective. If you like your thrillers unnerving and slick with gore, 1995’s “Se7en” has a neat twist and some horrific deaths that give “Saw” a run for its money. Or if you like gore and thrills mixed with some biting satire, “American Psycho” (2000) might be to your tastes.

Alien (1979)

We’ve had tense thrillers, we’ve had haunted houses, we’ve had arty visuals, nifty effects and films that make one think of one’s sexuality and gender in a way one would rather not, but what would happen if you combined the lot and thrust it into deep space in a grungy-looking space ship? Well, you’d get a horrible mess, but you might get something close to “Alien”. Sumptuous direction, beautiful biomechanical designs by the wonderful H R Giger, fantastic acting, atmospheric music and some ghastly effects makeup: this is a film that has everything. Critics have often referred to it as “the haunted house in space” and it’s certainly shot like a ghost story; only the tiniest glimpses of the alien itself are seen, giving us just enough to be afraid but never too much to reveal its true strength, or indeed reveal the limitations of the effects.

The tense trailer for the film, complete with dark claustrophobic settings and evil cat

Yes, this is another that spawned some really awful sequels. “Aliens” (1986) is not a bad film by any means, but if, like me, you prefer the dread of a single monster picking off its victims to out-and-out warfare, you will prefer the original. In terms of deep space claustrophobia, the only film that, for me, comes close is the HAL section in “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968); the pale, high-contrast lighting is strikingly similar to the stasis pod room on board the Nostromo too.

Ju-On: the Grudge (2002)

It’s no secret that I’m very keen on the creepy psychological horror that populates Asian horror, and for me, the most terrifying instalment of the J-horror invasion was Ju-On”. It tells the strange tale of a house haunted by the horror of a double murder; two ghosts furiously hound any person that enters their house. The combination of a simple bu“t only partially explained story, low-budget but grossly unsettling effects, which can be as simple as a dark smudge or a little boy wearing a lot of face-paint, and freakish sound effects is one that leaves me unable to sleep after even thinking of the film. Like Hellraiser, part of the fear comes with the idea that one could be damned simply through accident or curiosity: with Hellraiser, it was toying with the puzzle-box; in Ju-On it’s stepping inside the cursed house. How would you know any building doesn’t carry the same curse? The imagery, however low-rent, is outstanding, from the long-haired shadow leaning over a sleeping grandmother, to the climatic shock of the ghost Kayako in all her gory glory, crawling down the stairs uttering her ghastly death-rattle, this is truly disturbing stuff.

A rather unnerving Japanese trailer for the film which nicely summarises some of the most effective images

Ju-On is not the only great J-horror style film to be found. 1998’s seminal “Ringu” is equally unsettling and is now notorious for it’s climactic sequence in which the yurei (a long haired, white garbed creature which is a staple of Japanese folklore and common in many films of this type) known as Sadako creeps out of a television set. Watch it on cheaply copied video if you dare! Also worth a look is “Dark Water (Honogurai mizu no soko kara)” (2002) which swaps the yurei’s usual white dress for a yellow anorak and a cute lunchbox, and gives the legend a tragic but very feminine spin. Finally, there’s “The Eye (Gin Gwai)” (also 2002) a Chinese film that combines a “Sixth Sense” style idea with a “Gary Gilmore’s eyes” one, peppered with eerie, partially seen shapes and dark revelations. If you like the style of these films but don’t like reading subtitles, all five films mentioned in this section have been remade for American audiences in bigger budget but less satisfying ventures.

The Shining (1980)

Here we are at the summit of our list: possibly the most frightening, disturbing and down-right creepy movie ever made. Combining Stephen King’s nose for spooky set-ups (and Indian burial grounds) and Stanley Kubrick’s directing genius, along with dashes of elegant special effects, jarring and unsettling music, and convincing acting, the result is as beautiful and technically brilliant as it is frightening. Employed as an out-of-season caretaker for a remote hotel, wannabe writer Jack Torrence hopes his wife and son will enjoy the peace and quiet of a few months in the snow. But with gifted youngster Danny seeing ghosts and hearing warnings, and Jack becoming increasingly unstable, the Overlook Hotel is anything but peaceful. The film is nothing if not masterful; tension builds to satisfying reveals, while little Danny’s horrific visions are memorable and alarming. It leaves so many images etched into the mind: the two little girls who want to play “forever and ever and ever”, “Red rum” written in lipstick on a door, the torrents of blood that fill the lobby, and of course Jack Nicholson heaving his way though a door with a fire-axe. But it’s the ambiguity that makes the film so unsettling. Is Jack simply mad? What does the photograph at the end mean? Why do Wendy and Danny see some of the same horrors as Jack? It’s left as a mystery, allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions, and fill the gaps with whatever deep seated fears they hold.

The trailer. Making me one of the only people on the internet not to use the door scene.

There is, of course, no film quite like it, but the creepy surrealism has, for me at least, some considerable similarities with the work of David Lynch. Kubrick’s incredible versatility means that even his own films are nothing like “the Shining”, though each is a classic in its own field.

So, I hope you enjoyed these tales of terror, and please, don’t have nightmares!