Halloween Movies 🎃

[Ealdwyn]

Although this article claims that it was

How An Iconic Scene In 'Cat People' Created The Cinematic Jump Scare As We Know It Today - SlashFilm

The Cat People jump scare invented the the modern cinematic horror scene, but most movies took the wrong lesson from this classic.

www.slashfilm.com

Spoilers, if you haven't seen it

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

You got it, Ealdwyn. It was indeed called "The Bus" by directors and writers for years afterwards.

Interesting article too, thanks. Lewton knew how to slowly build tension; those RKO films he produced are all classics -- I recommend "The Seventh Victim" for an example of how to introduce an increasing sense of dread, while showing absolutely nothing explicit.

The story is that some studio suit just gave him titles, and told him to make a movie. Amazing what he did, given titles like "I Walked with a Zombie", Isle of the Dead", and of course "Cat People".

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

I didn't know about tinglers on people's backs, but of course, that was the one where William Castle talked theater owners into wiring some seats with electric "tingler" buzzers, to be activated during the scene where the tingler is loose in the theater.

"Scream! Scream for your lives!".

That could never happen these days.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

I didn't know about tinglers on people's backs, but of course, that was the one where William Castle talked theater owners into wiring some seats with electric "tingler" buzzers, to be activated during the scene where the tingler is loose in the theater.

"Scream! Scream for your lives!".

That could never happen these days.

Yeah, the seats were wired to vibrate 😃

The Tingler had “Percepto!” whereby seats in the audience were wired to buzz and vibrate when the tingler was let loose in a movie theater scene on-screen. Vincent Price, star of The Tingler, would warn you to “scream—scream for your lives!” and the seats would activate.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

And just when the screen went dark, too. 😄

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

And just when the screen went dark, too. 😄

Wait Until Dark is another really good one that has a good jump scare in it.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Ah, I see I'd already gushed about Lewton's RKO horrors back on page 1, a couple of years ago:

Post in thread 'Halloween Movies 🎃' https://thetolkien.forum/threads/halloween-movies.29191/post-537480

He -- and Jacques Tourneur -- knew how to do it!

 

[Deimos]

Wait Until Dark is another really good one that has a good jump scare in it.

Yep...and Alan Arkin's character is just so malevolent, sadistic ...a real psychopath.

 

[greyssy]

t's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) and Halloween (2018). Halloween is one of my fav holidays. I collect cool vintage halloween images from depositphotos. They have best prices starting from $0,22 and plans and subscriptions for any budget.There are thousands of stock images and photos on every taste.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

It's October -- so I'm reviving this Halloween thread before EA starts yet another one! 😁

Why don't we start off with a real, er, classic
-- "starring" Christopher Lee!

Here's the movie:

If the Christopher Lee prologue doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the movie, it's because -- it doesn't. That was shot for another film that ended up not getting made; the people who made this one bought the footage, and stuck it onto theirs.

It's a terrible, grade Z production, but aside from a distinct lack of meatcleavers, is notable for having the original director replaced by none other than Ed Wood, Jr., a fact unnoticed for years, because he's listed under a pseudonym, for some reason. A must for Ed Wood collectors!

 

[Deimos]

I could just link to my earlier post (where this is taken from) but some folks (including Yours Truly) don't like caroming around the forums like a pinball.
So here here is my movie list redux. (I've added some original Twilight Zone episodes to it)

Village of the Damned (original one, 1960, w/ George Sanders actually playing a good guy😄)
FYI this is a pretty faithful adaptation of the story The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham (highly recommended )

House on Haunted Hill (w/ Vincent Price)

Fright Night (first one w/ Roddy McDowell and Chris Sarandon) Cheesy but I like it because of the way R-McD character ( a two bit TV actor) masters his "not wanting to get involved" timidity and rises to the heroic.

Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920 Silent Version)

Freaks (1932)

Invisible Man (1933 with Claude Raines in the title role)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original 1956)

The Thing from Another World (1951, not the Carpenter remake)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (the one with Gary Oldman and, w/o checking, I think Coppola directed. It is also the one imo most faithful to the book )

Night of the Demon (which made it into Martin Scorsese's list of the top 10 scariest movies), The Studio forced the writer and director to actually include and show a monster, and it's cheesy (the monster). Where the movies excels is in its suspenseful mood. Based on a 1911 short story (in itself very good) The Casting of the Runes by M.R. James.

Rosemary's Baby (The book is scarier)

The Innocents (1961)... w/ Deborah Kerr, based on the story The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (book is very good)

Carnival Of Souls (1962)

The Creature from the Black Lagoon (was that a Hammer film?...can't recall),

The Haunting (1963... and book [The Haunting of Hill House] by Shirley Jackson is far scarier. I read it about every three years, and every time I sleep with the light on for about a week 😬. And I only watch the movie in daylight😬😬) Surprised that no one mentioned it.

Twilight Zone episodes (Original Series)
TZ Living Doll (w/ Telly Sevalas...Bernard Herrmann scored it...never knew that.... great movie score composer)

TZ Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (w/ William Shatner)

TZ The Dummy (w/ Cliff Robertson)

TZ Mirror Image

TZ Night Call

TZ The Invaders (w/ Agnes Moorehead who later played Endora on 'Bewitched'... This is more suspenseful than scary)

​

OK ...one more consideration but others will have to supply the episodes....
The Outer Limits had some really scary episodes but I don't have any of the DVDs, nor can I recall most of the episodes, scary or not.
Yet I know quite a few were scary as heck. So if anyone has those to add... well, post them. I'd sure like to see someone's recommendations.

 

[Fingon_Findekáno]

Invisible Man (1933 with Claude Raines in the title role)

This is also one of my favorites! I love the old classic Universal Monster movies from the early 1930’s, including Frankenstein (1931, feat. Boris Karloff) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). I have yet to see Dracula (1931, feat. Bela Lugosi), though I’d love to someday, whenever I can find it.

Of the silent film category, The Phantom of the Opera (1925, feat. Lon Chaney) is a favorite, as is Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920, feat. John Barrymore).

For more “recent” films, I grew up watching the Disney stop-motion animated movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. I love Jack Skellington as a character! Frankenweenie (both the live-action original and the stop-motion animated remake) is also interesting. There are other Disney animated Halloween specials and shorts I like watching as well.

And who can forget The Addams Family and The Munsters? Classics!😁

 

[Deimos]

This is also one of my favorites! I love the old classic Universal Monster movies from the early 1930’s, including Frankenstein (1931, feat. Boris Karloff) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). I have yet to see Dracula (1931, feat. Bela Lugosi), though I’d love to someday, whenever I can find it.

Of the silent film category, The Phantom of the Opera (1925, feat. Lon Chaney) is a favorite, as is Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920, feat. John Barrymore).

For more “recent” films, I grew up watching the Disney stop-motion animated movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. I love Jack Skellington as a character! Frankenweenie (both the live-action original and the stop-motion animated remake) is also interesting. There are other Disney animated Halloween specials and shorts I like watching as well.

And who can forget The Addams Family and The Munsters? Classics!😁

I've never seen the silent films you mentioned (tho' I've always known about them.)
I'll have to remedy that... Nightmare before Christmas was OK (not my "generation", tho')...Munsters and Addams Family (TV Series) were great.
Not really a "scary" movie but still "ghostly" is "Beetlejuice" ... Michael Keaton is just excellent.

 

[Tyelkormo the Fair]

For more “recent” films, I grew up watching the Disney stop-motion animated movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. I love Jack Skellington as a character! Frankenweenie (both the live-action original and the stop-motion animated remake) is also interesting. There are other Disney animated Halloween specials and shorts I like watching as well.

I watched it in June for the first time lol!

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

I could just link to my earlier post

That would be appreciated -- I could see the replies, and avoid repeating something I might have said.

Yet I know quite a few were scary as heck.

Yep.

 

[Ent]

Yeah... the bugs in and tone of that episode were much scarier than the .gif allows for sure. looking at the bug's face over and over like this it almost becomes just a 'cute bug'. But they did what they could do at the time.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

I may be misremembering . . . 🤔

 

[Ent]

Or I may be. This is not what I'm referring to at all.
I'll find it some day. I've got all the Outer Limits and Twilight Zone in my collection.

 

[ZehnWaters]

View attachment 25466
It's October -- so I'm reviving this Halloween thread before EA starts yet another one! 😁

Why don't we start off with a real, er, classic
-- "starring" Christopher Lee!

Here's the movie:

If the Christopher Lee prologue doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the movie, it's because -- it doesn't. That was shot for another film that ended up not getting made; the people who made this one bought the footage, and stuck it onto theirs.

It's a terrible, grade Z production, but aside from a distinct lack of meatcleavers, is notable for having the original director replaced by none other than Ed Wood, Jr., a fact unnoticed for years, because he's listed under a pseudonym, for some reason. A must for Ed Wood collectors!

Oh Christopher Lee.

 

[ZehnWaters]

That would be appreciated -- I could see the replies, and avoid repeating something I might have said.

Yep.
View attachment 25473

Or thoughtfully macabre as that one was.