Here are seven movie ideas for watching with friends during the Halloween season.
The original zombie movie
Nothing beats “Night of the Living Dead” for pure shrieks and gross-outs. While other zombie movies might be technically gorier, “Night” shows that fewer guts can still deliver more screams. But don’t worry, there are still plenty of intestines, headless corpses, reanimated bodies and dismembered limbs. Filmed in black and white, the low-budget shooting technique makes it seem as if you’re actually there with the protagonists – and that something might just tap you on the shoulder at any moment.
Fast zombies
What’s worse than dead people who want to eat you alive? Really fast ones who can outrun you. Lots of them. “28 Days Later,” and its sequel, “28 Weeks Later,” tell the story of a viral zombie infestation that turns victims into rotting Usain Bolts. “Days” includes a twist that gives a band of survivors double trouble, while “Weeks” picks up the story months after the virus is supposedly contained.
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The first (and scariest) slasher scene ever filmed
Filmed in black and white, the shower scene in the original “Psycho” featured chocolate syrup for blood, quick cuts and no wounds. But director Alfred Hitchcock’s famous scene is still studied in film schools today. Even without that stick-your-fingernails-into-the-couch-armrest scene, Tony Perkins’ creepy innkeeper and the surprise, shocking ending make this a classic Halloween favorite.
A phantastic cult classic
A B movie when it originally came out, “Phantasm” is just as unsettling today – because there’s no escape. At least you can run away from a mummy, hide underground from aliens or freeze a blob. Not so with the menace that’s discovered in this small town. Just when you think you’ve made it to safety…
Anything hosted by Elvira
Need I write more? If you’re in the mood for laughs, visit Amazon.com for a selection of B movies hosted by the campy Mistress of the Dark. If you want your guest to groan more than moan (they might do both), get one of this vampiress’ top-reviewed movies. If the movie doesn’t make you shake your head, Elvira’s jokes most likely will!
Try some Brit humor
Combine a bit of ghoulishness and lots of guffaws by renting “Sean of the Dead.” Brit comedy legends Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are often oblivious to the mayhem around them, and even when they’re aware or it, they take supremely stupid steps to save themselves and their friends – losing a few along the way. This is one of those films your guests can watch in bits and pieces as they do other things at your party, while still enjoying however much or little they see.
Warning: The above clip contains explicit language
