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Top 7 scary movies

Emily Campbell

I’ve decided to dedicate two of my blogs this month to Halloween because it’s my second favorite holiday behind Christmas, and well, because I want to and I can. One of my reasons behind loving Halloween so much is that they show pretty much any scary movie you could ever hope to see on every single cable movie channel 24/7 from October 10th until the big day. On Monday night I watched Halloween 2 while folding laundry. Tuesday night I saw The Conjuring. And last night Awesome and I watched The Exorcist, and I realized while watching Linda Blair’s head turn around how awesome of a movie it is.

So I’m sharing a list of my top scary movies to see around Halloween, or just on a random Tuesday, who cares because YOLO. Grab onto your sweetie, turn out the lights, and get ready to get the bejesus scared out of you.

Don't try this at home. Linda Blair turns her head around in the Exorcist. (Movie still)
Don’t try this at home. Linda Blair turns her head around in the Exorcist. (Movie still)

The Exorcist – It’s 40 years old this year and still one of the scariest movies around. Sure, the special effects are laughable at times, but you can’t beat the sheer creepiness and blatant vulgarity that this classic doles out every ten seconds like Halloween candy. And hello, the terrifying millisecond images of Captain Howdy intercut throughout the film? Gives me chills every time.

The Scream series – If I were Sidney Prescott I’d be packing a .38 special and sporting a black belt at all times. And you had better believe that by the fourth movie I would be running towards the murderer instead of away from him. But it’s the stupidity of the characters that makes the Scream movies one of the best horror series ever. Settle in and watch as everyone runs in the wrong direction and makes all the wrong choices. It’s bound to make you feel better about your life.

Gaslight – It might not be a jump-out-of-your-seat scarefest, but this 1944 black and white film starring Ingrid Bergman is one hell of a psychological thriller. Housewife Bergman knows she hears noises in the attic, but her seemingly loving husband convinces here that it’s all in her head. Is Bergman insane – or the victim of an evil scheme plotted by a loved one? It’s an oldie but a goodie.

The Nightmare Before Christmas – It’s the best of both worlds – you can watch this at Halloween or at Christmas and you still get terrified and/or that warm fuzzy feeling in your tummy. No one can resist the smooth-talking, velvet-tongued Jack Skellington and his tortured decision to choose Christmas over Halloween. Plus the soundtrack by the incomparable Danny Elfman can stand on its own even without the awesome Claymation.

Insidious – Everyone keeps saying The Conjuring is one of the scariest movies of all time, but I didn’t think it was as scary or creative as this one. At least the writers tried to come up with a semi-new concept of haunting – a person being haunted instead of a house, a coma victim who was slowly being possessed unconciously. The whole “possessed by an evil spirit” thing is so last century.

The Uninvited – Generally when I think of Elizabeth Banks I immediately think comedy. But she does an awesome job at creeping me out as the scary stepmom in this 2009 horror flick also starring Emily Browning as a mentally ill teen whose mother recently died – possibly at the hands of her new stepmommy.

Alien – A baby alien that looks like a penis with razor teeth bursts out of a man’s stomach in a bloody, fleshy mess while everyone is sitting around a spaceship eating dinner. I don’t think I need anything else to convince you that this is an amazing, amazing film.