Halloween: the night of the classic horror movies

This year for Halloween, we’ll treat all our visitors with series of “oldies but goldies” horror movies, which still succeed to terrify us, even if half of century has passed from their release. Although this year’s scary movies are in top positions in box office, neither “Saw VI”, nor “Paranormal Activity” can be regarded as a memorable horror story.

So, take your taffy apples, candies and caramel popcorn and let the marathon of terror begin!

The Frankenstein series is by far one of the oldest and scariest series of horror movies done by Universal Pictures. The most memorable movies from the Frankenstein series are the first “Frankenstein” movie, which was released in 1931, and the sequel “Bride of Frankenstein”, which hit the screens in 1935. Both films have their roots in the novel with the same name, written by Mary Shelley. If the first film tells the story of Dr. Henry Frankenstein who tries to create human life by piecing together a human body and connecting it to electrical devices he perfected, the second movie is about the creation of a female mate for the monster Frankenstein. The director of both films was James Whale and the big success of the films has led to a number of sequels and remakes.
                                                                                                                                                                                                               
30 years later, in 1960, Alfred Hitchcock has terrified the entire world with the story of the secretary Marion Crane who steals $40,000 and ends up at the Bates Motel, where she’ll suffer a violent death. “Psycho” opens the door to a new horror genre: the suspense, psychological movie. The sequels Psycho II, III and IV, although they do not benefit from Hitchcock’s touch, have generated enough incomes to become top hits.

“The Exorcist” series have been an icon of the horror movie genre from the ’70s. The first film appeared in ’73 and even today it is considered to be one of the most successful horror movies of all times, grossing $402,500,000 worldwide and winning two Academy Awards (for best sound and best adapting screenplay) from ten nominations. The first movie is adapted after the novel by the same name, written by William Peter Blatty, and tells the story of Regan, a 12-year-old girl, who suffers violent behavior changes. After the medical cures are exhausted with no result, the family tries to exorcise her with the help of Father Karras and Father Marrin.

Although the expectations for “Exorcist II: The Heretic” were high, due to the success of the first movie, the movie didn’t appeal to the public and ended up disappointing the audience and critics.

If you are still not scarred, then prepare to be terrified by some Aliens!

“Alien” and “Aliens” are two of the most successful and terrifying science fiction horror films of all times. Although both movies are fresh in my memory, they have been released a long time ago, in 1979 and 1986. The films benefit from two famous directors, Ridley Scott (Alien) and James Cameron (Aliens), and from the acting skills of a younger Sigourney Weaver. The plot behind both movies is the battle between humans and aliens, the entire action being set in a far, far away future. Both criticized and praised, the movies have received numerous nominations and awards and have generated an “alienmania”: novels, comic books, video games, toys and more mediocre sequels.

After reviewing all these movies, it’s easy to see that the big difference between the classic horror movies and the most recent ones is that the former achieved success not through the abundance of blood and monsters, but through a well conceived plot, subtle elements of terror and ingeniously creative approaches.

Happy Halloween!

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