It’s that time of year again, party peoples: Halloween. Browse any of your cable channels or the schedule at the Century Theater and you’ll notice a slew of horror movies being pumped in, whether it’s the fourth (yes, fourth, because three spooky ghosts weren't enough) Paranormal Activity installment or the round-the-clock slasher genre fare on AMC. Given the absolute glut of thrillers floating around in pop culture this week, it can be hard to discern what’s worth a watch and what to skip. Here’s a rundown of the top five college-related flicks to check out in case you and your friends find yourselves haunted by some devilish spirits:
5.) Blair Witch Project (1999):
Speaking of Paranormal Activity, here’s the movie that spearheaded the now-lamentable “found footage” horror genre: 1999’s The Blair Witch Project. Brilliantly marketed as an actual documentary, the shoe-string budgeted BWP details the travels of a group of college students set out into the woods to uncover the secret of the eponymous witch. The film, written and directed by partners Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, is less about scares and the witch itself than it is about mounting paranoia and ambience that reaches batshit insane levels towards an eerie, ambiguous climax. BWP is scariest when watched alone, to maximize the atmosphere of desperate isolation. If you hate yourself, however, you should just check out the sequel.
4.) Scream 2 (1997):
Wes Craven’s neo-slasher Scream 2 (Screamier? Scream Harder?) takes a witty, meta look into the horror lexicon as college students attempt to avoid a masked serial killer who inspired every bad costume ever. By lampooning horror tropes and cliches while still retaining their fundamental terror, Craven provides caustic, sometimes too-knowing satire for a genre he proved himself to masterfully handle in earlier decades. Scream 2 isn’t high art, or even as good as the original Scream (1996), but it’s dumb fun that knows it’s dumb, and the whole production positively reeks of being made in the 90s (Courtney Cox and David Arqutte were still relevant enough to land starring roles).
3.) The House of the Devil (2009):
A college student (wearer of beanies Jocelin Donahue) strapped for cash decides to housesit for a strange family on the night of the lunar eclipse in indie director Ti West’s breakthrough work. The House of the Devil isn’t for everybody; it is what cinephiles with patience call a “slow burn” type film, and what people on IMDb forums call “FUKKING BOOORRRRINNGGG.” The movie’s divisive quality is rooted in West’s singular style; the atmosphere he creates bursts with tension, but the actual jump scares (BOO!, cue music moments) are sparse and only ratchet up to 11 at the very end. It’s all about the anticipation, not the payoff. With a careful attention to period detail (cuz everybody lervs the '80s) and a great supporting performance from other pretty lady Greta Gerwig, The House of the Devil is a quiet, chilly winner. It's available on Netflix to watch instantly along with West’s equally wonderful The Innkeepers (2012).
2.) The Cabin in the Woods (2012):
Trekking off into the woods is going to become somewhat of running theme on this list. Working from a script by sci-fi auteur Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marvel’s The Avengers), director Drew Goddard has crafted a finely wrought, meta-horror, deconstructionist picture in Cabin *takes deep breath*, a film rife with references to everything from Clive Barker’s Hellraiser to the wildly underrated The Strangers. Like Blair Witch Project, Cabin opts for slick style over jump scares, pitting college students against forces unknown in the remote wilderness. To give too much away would spoil the fun, but if you really dig mermaids and Kirsten Connolly, then Cabin is an absolute must see.
1.) Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987):
Evil Dead 2 is one of the, if not the, greatest horror movies of all time. Four-fifths of the films on this list probably wouldn’t exist without it and its influence. A flawless blend of rattling scares, seamless practical effects and gallows humor, Sam Raimi’s camp classic takes all of the elements that worked in the original Evil Dead and ups the ante tenfold. Again, we travel into the woods with a gang of horny college teenagers on break, led by an amnesiac Bruce Campbell who's forgotten what transpired during his last stay at the cabin. Sure enough, all literal hell breaks loose, consequently inspiring demented humor and jump-out-of-your-seat scares. Most importantly, the movie never takes itself too seriously, riding the line between black comedy and trippy atmospherics with a craftsman’s balance. Grab your boomsticks; it’s an absurd amount of fun.
Any I missed? Disagree with the order/selection of the films? Do you find Greta Gerwig attractive? Feel free to drop suggestions in the comments section below.