Age of the Geek

Five Flicks For Halloween

     Halloween is here and what better way to celebrate than by turning off all the lights, setting out a bowl of candy, and enjoying some horror movies.

     Now, horror movies can be enjoyable whether they're good or bad. As long as you've got some friends to comment with, even the worst horror movie can make for an entertaining evening.

     However, these are movies that are legitimately scary on their own.

     Also, it should be noted that “Ghostbusters” while not on this particular list, is a great movie to watch any time of year.

Night of the Living Dead

     Zombie movies are a dime a dozen, but very few have managed to improve on George Romero's 1968 classic.

     One of the most successful independent movies ever made, "Night of the Living Dead" pushed boundaries across the board. From the controversial decision of casting a black actor in the lead role, to the shocking level of gore (for the time), to the ironically tragic ending.

     "Night of the Living Dead" also has the unusual distinction of being the first movie in two separate franchises. While George Romero continued his line of zombie movies with "Dawn of the Dead," co-writer John Russo created his own spin-off franchise with "The Return of the Living Dead."

     Romero fought Russo in court over the rights to use his film in the marketing campaign and while the marketing campaign was shut down, Russo was allowed to use the "Living Dead" title.

     That wouldn't be the worst of Romero's copyright problems though. Due to a clerical error from the distributor, "Night of the Living Dead" has been entered into the public domain. Bad news for Romeo, who isn't making a dime off one of his greatest works, but great news for anybody who wants to track down this classic.

The Exorcist

     Like "Night of the Living Dead," there are lots of movies out there about demonic possession, but few are as good as "The Exorcist."

     Known as one of the scariest movies of all time, it starts with the slow burn of watching a poor 12 year-old girl gradually succumb to demonic possession eventually ramps up into a dramatic rollercoaster of great special effects and a killer soundtrack.

     Virtually every possession movie since has fallen back on the tropes established in this flick, so you may as well get them directly from the source.

Halloween

     Of all the slashers out there, Michael Meyers is my favorite. Another insanely successful independent film, "Halloween" set the framework for Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruger, and every other slasher to follow.

     The sequels haven't all been great. The third in particular is notoriously bad, and has nothing to do with the rest of the franchise anyway. But the first two movies watched back-to-back make for an excellent slasher experience.

     It's a shame the same can't be said for the Rob Zombie remakes. While I enjoyed Rob Zombie's remake of the original film, its sequel was a complete disaster and should be avoided at all costs.

     Unless you're really into white horses.

The Ring

     American remakes of Japanese horror flicks are rarely worth noting, but "The Ring," with a script co-written by the original story's writer, Koji Suzuki, arguably surpasses the quality of its source material.

     Unlike most American horror movies, where the supernatural spook is an obstacle to be overcome, Japanese horror tends to lean towards stories about angry spirits that are virtually unstoppable. You don't beat them, you just try to survive them for as long as possible.

     "The Ring" balances these two sensibilities extremely well, all while ramping up the suspense to unnerving levels. It's one of the few movies to ever get me to nervously check the back seat of my car during the long, dark, drive home.

     And while the sequel may not be popular among the masses, I would personally recommend it if you enjoyed the first.

Paranormal Activity

     If there's a movie on this list that made me edgier than "The Ring" did, it's "Paranormal Activity."

     Found footage style films are an acquired taste, personally I can't get enough of them, but even people who suffer motion sickness should still make the attempt to get through this one. Everybody knows that feeling they get when it feels like something is watching them and this movie capitalizes on that feeling for maximum effect.

     "Paranormal Activity 2" is arguably better than the first one, with a stronger story, bigger stakes, and better special effects. I'd avoid the rest of the franchise though. None of the other sequels have managed to live up to the standards set by the first two entries.

     Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and is open for other Halloween movie suggestions.