HALLOWEEN - Hollywood Style

Almost since the birth of cinema, Hollywood has continually tried to scare the #@&*! out of the movie going public. And why? Because people love being scared at the movies, and there’s lots of money to be made from that. But let’s face it – it’s very difficult to scare people these days. Moviegoers have become much more sophisticated. We are much more savvy and have become far too aware of all their tricks. And when it comes to genuine thrills, Hollywood has simply run out of treats. Almost everything has already been tried and done. So tinsel town has had to resort to cheap gimmicks to try and scare us – things like having a cat suddenly jump out into an open area or having a door suddenly slam shut during a moment of tense silence. These are tactics that scare people for a split second, but leave no lasting impact. Long gone are the movies that really scare you and stay with you for days or weeks afterwards.

But Hollywood has not given up. The major studios are always on the look out for the next Jaws, Psycho or Exorcist – movies that truly terrified people and brought them into the theatres in droves. And yet, what really scares us is a very personal thing. I know people who are really frightened by movies about serial killers. Personally, I'm more frightened by movies about supernatural phenomenon.

Now at this point I should make a distinction between movies that are scary and movies that are disturbing. Almost all disturbing films are scary to some degree, but not all scary movies are disturbing. A scary movie is more like a roller coaster ride – something that’s thrilling, chilling but ultimately inconsequential. Disturbing movies on the other hand are life altering, perspective changing and innocence tainting. Disturbing films give us a vision of darkness and touch us in a way that forever leaves its mark. Obviously these distinctions aren’t black and white, but still worth noting for the purposes of this article. For in the next following paragraphs, I will present my personal choices for the eight scariest movies of all time. Why eight? Why not eight? The focus of the list is primarily movies made for the sole purpose of scaring us silly; which is why some disturbing films that also truly frightened me are not on this list. Please also note: the movies on the list are ranked according to their fear factor – not according to their overall quality as a film.

08. The Others (2001)
Some may think this movie is too recent to already be on any kind of ‘best of all time’ list. However, The Others is a superbly orchestrated supernatural thriller with enough twists and turns to rival anything that has come out of Hollywood in the last twenty years. Incredibly, the filmmakers were still able to fool the audience – a feat not easily accomplished with today’s savvy movie going public. As well, Nicole Kidman gives a great performance and the director does a brilliant job of drawing us into the story, of creating some truly tense moments and of building the suspense right up until the shocking finale. The Others didn’t give me nightmares, but it was completely absorbing and unsettling.

07. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Anthony Hopkins gives one of the most chilling and unnerving screen performances of all time and he is really the main reason to see this film. I have to admit, I wasn’t that impressed with Silence of the Lambs the first time I saw it – although, even then, I still felt that Anthony Hopkins performance was brilliant. However, my initial sense was that the movie was much more of a gore fest and a glorification of violence than a real fright fest. Having recently seen it a second time, I was quite surprised to find the experience far more frightening than the first time – which again validates my theory that one should see a film at least twice before saying anything definitive about it. The first time I saw it, I was much more focused on the plot development. The second time around, I was able to focus more on the subtleties that complement the plot and make the film truly terrifying. I think this is a real credit to Jonathan Demme, who takes his time in letting the story unfold and allowing the fright factor to build naturally in the construction of the plot. Demme isn’t in a rush to scare us and he doesn’t use cheap gimmicks to accomplish this end; instead, he takes his time, bringing out the power of the story with amazing subtlety. I still think the film is somewhat a glorification of violence, but it’s still worth seeing – if for no other reason than to witness Hopkin’s history making characterization of Hannibal Lector.

06. Alien (1979)
Alien, Ridley Scott’s masterful science fiction horror film, has become a true modern day classic. Alien, in essence, is the resurrection, evolution and modernization of the sci-fi horror genre, which had been virtually dead since the sixties. It not only broke new ground, it raised the bar for sci-fi horror films and set a new standard for the genre. We had never seen aliens quite like this in the movies before and we had never seen the genre treated quite like this before – with such a strong sense of realism and authenticity given the story's supernatural context. The movie also broke new ground in terms of creating one of the very first female action heroes, which is just now becoming a staple in Hollywood. Apart from that, Alien has a great set-up. After all, what could be more terrifying than being adrift in the immense isolation of space – trapped aboard a starship with an unstoppable, super powerful, alien predator aboard? And to his credit, Scott takes full advantage of this premise, making the most of the dark, claustrophobic environment; pacing the story quite well, while resisting the temptation to substitute genuine suspense with cheap thrills. Alien does tend to be a little bit of a gore fest, but it still manages to succeed as a classic, supernatural thriller.

05. The Birds (1963)
I recently had the opportunity to see The Birds again with a huge audience in which people were laughing at moments that I’m sure Hitchcock didn’t intend to be funny. The reason for this is simple. People recognized all the clichés that they’ve seen in a million other movies like it. Unfortunately, what they fail to realize is that Hitchcock authored these clichés. It’s only because Hitchcock has been ripped off so much, that people recognize these clichés at all – things that were not clichés when Hitchcock first created them. In other words, they only became clichés after filmmakers started imitating Hitchcock. Hitchcock is one of the few directors in movie history whose films are a genre unto themselves - a remarkable feat. The Birds is an extremely effective supernatural thriller (with remarkable special effects given the time that it came out). There is no explanation given to the birds sudden, bizarre and aggressive behaviour – but no explanation is needed. Hitchcock had enough trust in the audience’s intelligence to know that we could accept the premise without any kind of contrived explanation. The threat is simply there; and the threat is handled brilliantly in classic Hitchcock style. This is one of those scary movies that left a lasting impact. Before seeing The Birds, I never gave a second thought to crows and seagulls. Now, even to this day, they make me nervous.

04. Aliens (1986)
James Cameron seems to have a knack for making sequels better than the original. He first accomplished this with Terminator II – a follow up to one of his own films. Now he does it again with Aliens – a follow up to a film he had nothing to do with. With Aliens, Cameron virtually does the impossible and makes the sequel even scarier than the original. For Alien may have frightened me, but Aliens made me a nervous wreck and gave me a permanent sleep disorder. A remarkable feat considering the fantastical context in which the story takes place. This time around, Sigourney Weaver received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Ripley – an honour well deserved, as she did a remarkable job finding the balance between the toughness and tenderness of her character. She is the emotional center of the film and a large part of its success. There are also some wonderful supporting performances from such actors as Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser and Carrie Henn (who plays the young girl that Ripley takes on a parental role with). But James Cameron is the real star here. He does a masterful job of setting the story up, of developing the plot, of creating suspense, of building tension, and of scaring the @#*!& out of us. What’s equally amazing is how he manages to develop a heart-warming story in the midst of all this – a story that is almost as touching as the film is frightening.

03. Psycho (1960)
This is it -- the original 'slasher movie.' The 'slasher movie' to begin and end all slasher movies. And yet Psycho is so much more than a mere slasher movie as Hitchcock's masterpiece had a lasting impact on all our collective psyches. First, it changed how we perceive the lonely, socially maladjusted mamma’s boy who we never pay much attention to. Hitchcock made us start paying attention to them. Second, it changed the way we perceive the world around us. No longer was danger out there somewhere; danger was everywhere – in places you least expected. And even a simple hotel could turn out to be a haven for unspeakable terror. Consequently, no one was safe anymore; not even the star of the film; for before Psycho, killing off the lead half way through a film was unheard of. Third, it made us afraid to take showers. Volumes alone have been written about the visceral power and brilliance of the shower scene. And finally, it brought new meaning to the word twist ending. The finale was such a complete shock to everyone that they had to put out ads telling people not to give away the ending. What more could you ask for in a slasher/horror thriller? Psycho is not only Hitchcock at his best – Psycho is a milestone in cinema history.

02. Jaws (1975)
Spielberg has often been accused of ripping off Hitchcock, but I think Spielberg is more the evolution of Hitchcock. Spielberg took the best of Hitchcock and brought Hitchcock to the next level. Sure you see elements of Hitchcock in Jaws, but even Hitchcock never made anything this scary. Jaws is simply a masterpiece when it comes to the thriller/horror genre – a movie that terrified a continent so successfully that the beaches were practically empty during the summer of 1975. Part of what makes Jaws work so well is that we hardly see the shark for a significant portion of the film – we see hints of the shark and evidence of its presence, but we never really get a clear look at it until the final act. As well, Spielberg is very patient in developing the story – skillfully drawing us into the world of the film and the lives of its characters as the tension builds gradually. This makes everything that much more compelling as we are made to truly care about what happens to these characters and their world. Spielberg also uses music brilliantly here; making it almost another character in the film – one that the audience responds to immediately. There are some truly terrifying moments in Jaws – moments that are forever etched in our collective memories. In addition to scaring everybody half to death, Jaws made Hollywood history by breaking all kinds of box office records and forever changing Hollywood’s approach to movie making.

01. The Exorcist (1973)
Well this is it – the scariest movie of all time. A movie so scary, that it was only recently that I was able to muster the courage to watch it from beginning to end. Before that, I was not able to watch the complete film in its entirety. In fact, this is the one movie on the list that I don’t recommend people seeing, especially if you have a weak heart – it’s just too scary. Rumour has it that the director, William Friedkin, purposely made the set very tense by doing such things as making sudden, loud noises in order to keep the actors’ nerves rattled. Rumour also has it that some very strange things happened on the set, to the point that they actually had to call in a priest to bless it. Whatever the truth, there’s just no doubt that this is the scariest film of all time – one that had a lasting impact on many. Earlier in this article, I made a distinction between movies that are disturbing and movies that are frightening. Well, The Exorcist is a movie that is very disturbing precisely because it is so frightening. Knowing that it's based on a true story doesn't help either.