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SALT LAKE CITY -- I love a good scary movie, especially in the month of October as Halloween approaches and the nights start to become longer. It is my firm belief that a movie does not need gore to be frightening, though, and I often find myself avoiding the buckets of blood some horror movies throw at audiences.
If you are looking for some movie thrills and chills this Halloween season, here are some excellent movies that scare but do not include gory scenes.
The Others
"The Others" (2001). Directed by Alejandro Amenabar. Starring Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleson and Fionnula Flanagan. A mother living in post-World War II Britain awaits the return of her war veteran husband. Her two children are photosensitive, or in other words any sunlight exposure harms their health. Because of the children’s condition, the woman and children live cut off from the outside world, with the rooms darkened and the doors locked. Slowly the woman begins to accept the possibility that they are not alone in their large home.
Director Alejandro Amenabar creates a claustrophobic and tension-filled atmosphere from the beginning of the movie. Amenabar works to ratchet up the general feeling of dread as increasingly frightening things happen to the children and then the mother. Not spoiling anything, this movie has one of the best twist endings I have ever seen. It is too bad the movie was overshadowed by the release of "The Sixth Sense," since "The Others" is superior in every way. "The Others" also offers an amazing score composed by Alejandro Amenabar.
Monster House
"Monster House" (2006). Directed by Gil Kenan. Starring Michel Musso, Sam Lerner and Spencer Locke. "Monster House" provides some great scares for older kids (depending on their tolerance level), beautiful animation and some great nostalgia for adults. The movie starts with kids living on a tree-lined street preparing for Halloween. Great mystery surrounds the old man on the street who keeps to himself, along with his old, scary house.
The kids begin to suspect the house is not only scary but that it is also alive. As the kids investigate the house further, they realize that adults that normally could help them (for example, the police) do not believe their accusations or fall victim to the house.
Psycho
"Psycho" (1960). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh and Vera Miles. What would a scary movie list be without "Psycho," arguably the best movie ever made by Hitchcock? The shower scene in "Psycho" will always live in infamy, including the oft-used score for the scene.
Do not even bother watching the horrific remake of "Psycho" from 1998 since it should be officially obliterated from the face of the planet. Hitchcock had the gift of creating heaps of tension and provided the audience with plenty of scares without showing buckets of blood, nudity or dismembered body parts, for which I admire him greatly.
The Craft
"The Craft" (1996). Directed by Andrew Flemming. Starring Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk and Neve Campbell. Campbell has appeared in more than her fair share of scary movies, including this unique film about girls at a parochial school who practice witchcraft together. When a new girl moves in, she provides the fourth witch so the coven can call the corners and obtain the power to fulfill their wildest dreams. Drunk with their new power, the group turns on the new girl when she questions whether using their powers to harm others is moral.
The movie marries the teenage high school drama with the occult with interesting results, providing an entertaining and surprising message about power and responsibility. The intense parts of the movie come as the three girls battle the new girl for supremacy.
Coraline
"Coraline" (2009). Directed by Henry Selick. Starring Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman. "Coraline" proves that a movie featuring clay characters can indeed be frightening and a lot of fun. Coraline and her parents move into an old house converted into apartments. A strange group of tenants live in the apartments, much to the entertainment of Coraline. Still, Coraline feels the need to explore and so finds a small door that was covered in wallpaper.
On the other side of the door is a mirror world that fulfills some of Coraline’s deepest desires. The one behind the creation of the other world, though, has some sinister secrets, including a plot to hold Coraline captive forever. "Coraline" is full of wild imagination, including one of the craziest scores you will ever hear.
Stir of Echoes
"Stir of Echoes" (1999). Directed by David Koepp. Starring Kevin Bacon, Zachary David Cope and Kathryn Erbe. When actors with a good name and reputation star in a scary movie, it can be an indication the movie is at least decent if not good. Bacon is an excellent actor, and that was enough to get me to watch "Stir of Echoes." The movie is about a man who goes under hypnosis by his sister-in-law and after that begins seeing and hearing a ghost in his house.
Communicating with the ghost starts to uncover a mystery surrounding the history of a young girl and her untimely death. The man’s digging for the truth puts him, his pregnant wife and son in danger. The story flows smoothly and is not overly predictable, while the ghost communications can be intense at times.
Insidious
"Insidious" (2010). Directed by James Wan. Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrn and Ty Simpkins. Remember what I said about good actors? Wilson and Byrn put on spectacular performances as the parents of three young children. Shortly after moving into their “new” old house, one son falls into a coma after exploring the creepy attic. The doctors have no explanation for the son’s condition. Strange things happen in the house, like the front door opening itself, the other son claiming strange people are walking the halls at night and strange voices sounding over the baby monitor.
When Byrn’s character finds bloody claw marks on her comatose son’s bedsheets, the family moves to a new house. The activity continues, so the family employs the help of a psychic, who reveals the son has left his body and become lost in a realm known as The Further. Hungry to taste life, ghosts and demons are circling the young boy’s body like sharks.
"Insidious" forgoes the scary movie clichés, choosing instead to strike out in a new direction. Wan does a good job of keeping up the level of intensity to the end of the movie, throwing in a good twist ending.
What Lies Beneath
"What Lies Beneath" (2000). Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Starring Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer and Katharine Towne. A professor’s wife begins believing their beautifully restored Vermont house is occupied by a ghost who writes messages in the bathroom’s fogged-up mirror. As she looks for evidence of the haunting, the woman begins to question her own sanity.
"What Lies Beneath" provides some good twists and turns while still keeping a classic haunted house feel to it. Ford and Pfeiffer both perform wonderfully in the production, not coasting on their momentum clear through to the credits.
The Exorcist
"The Exorcist" (1973). Directed by William Friedkin. Starring Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow and Linda Blair. "The Exorcist" shocked audiences in theaters in the 1970s and continues to impact horror movies today. Before other “based on a true story” horror movies were popular, "The Exorcist" vied for street credibility by being an adaptation of a book supposedly based on an actually exorcism case.
Instead of manufactured horrific scenes, "The Exorcist" offered true grit and imagery that shook even some of the most hardened audience members. So great was the influence of "The Exorcist" that it has been parodied on "Saturday Night Live" and mimicked by countless other “exorcist” movies right up to this year.
Almost 40 years later, "The Exorcist" still has viewers diving behind the couch like giant sissies. Some of you probably have had nightmares about this movie, even though you do not dare admit this to your friends, family or even your therapist.
Steven Symes works as a full-time writer, working on normal projects by day and writing about the paranormal at night. Visit his blog at writerstevensymes.blogspot.com to read more about his work.
