We all the know the drill: Halloween is just around the corner and with that, comes the inevitable onslaught of horror films. Each one promising more slicing, dicing and tearing than the last, Halloween releases are unabashedly competitive, trying their best to completely scare us out of our wits. And yet, each year, scary films tend to become more and more tepid. With the extreme gore and shock tactics, we lose the heart of the film. Many scary films seem to have forgotten that, in order to really hook an audience, you need a little more than a few cheap thrills. Sure, they’re effective in the moment but pretty soon, the effects wear off and become long forgotten.
The mark of a good scary film is one that not only terrifies you to the core but also, makes you feel something else. The best horror films – like the best films of any kind – hook their audiences by making them care about the characters. They make narrative sense and follow a clear trajectory. Instead of going to see the latest constructed horror film, why not have a look back into cinematic history and pluck one of these films out? A warning before you do; not only will these films creep you out but also, they will make you love them for it.
1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
We all know that silent films are just as lasting and effective as the talkies and there is none more creepy than The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Filmed around a sinister circus, the story tells the story of the murderous Dr. Caligari who employs a somnambulist to do his dirty work in the night. Of course, not all is as it seems and as the film continues, it is very hard to know who to trust and from whom to cower away. The form of the film works entirely in its favour; the lack of dialogue gives the film an uneasy placidity which becomes increasingly suffocating as it goes on. The German Expressionist style is used to its height here too; jutting set pieces and distorted frames imbue the film world with an uncanny sense of unreality. What we watch is ever so slightly displaced from reality.
2. Don’t Look Now
Taken from the Daphne Du Marier story of the same name, Don’t Look Now tells the story of two parents who travel to Venice to get over the grief of losing their only child. The city of Venice is perhaps the star of the film; transposed to a winter setting, the streets are misty and dank, winding and entirely sinister. The city is eerily deserted and it is little surprise that soon both parents believe they are seeing things that cannot possibly be there. The build up throughout the film is achingly intense; the sheer lack of explicit ‘scary’ action makes the film all the more effective.
3. The Exorcist
Of course, if you’re going to reach into the scary film archive on Halloween, it’s very likely that you will come out with The Exorcist. The film has been referenced time and again and for some, may seem tiresome. However, there is undeniable longevity in the cinematic narrative. Set in the innocuous family home, the film fractures any sense of normality that we may typically associate with the set up. Genuinely disgusting and disturbing, the images of the films will burn themselves on your retinas for ever. Just don’t try to eat anything when you watch it.
4. Les Diaboliques
Set in a French school, much of Les Diaboliques is about what goes unseen and what is not said. When two school teachers murder an abusive boyfriend, they think they are free of his clutches. Soon, they begin to receive signs that perhaps it hasn’t entirely finished and that they didn’t complete their task. Whilst there are relatively few scary moments in the film, when it reaches its climax, the narrative becomes somewhat unbearable. A study in the darker parts of human nature, the film will leave you with a very bad taste in your mouth.
5. The Shining
You can’t have Halloween without a murder house and none comes more murderous than the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Subject to endless debate (which even culminated in a conspiracy theory type documentary), it has never been made entirely clear what Stanley Kubrick meant by his disturbing imagery in the film. One thing’s for sure though: Never enter an icy maze in the dark.
6. Rosemary’s Baby
A film that takes the body horror thing to a whole new level, I wouldn’t recommend this film to any pregnant women. Whilst we all know the set up of Rosemary’s Baby, it is the way in which it is filmed that makes it so scary. Using queasy colouring and intrusive close ups, Roman Polanski’s view of the New York apartment block is one of the reasons that the film is quite so scary. Culminating in a final scene which is unsettlingly calm, Rosemary’s Baby is a sticky film, hard to shake off.
7. The Borderlands
We all think of rural England as quaint, antiquated and, let’s face it, a little backwards. In The Borderlands, that all goes out of the window. The films is unforgivingly claustrophobic, unsettling and horrifying. Whilst it takes a little time to get going, once it does, you will wish that it never even started. With a closing that had this writer writing in discomfort, the film is not for the faint of heart.
8. Ringu
I don’t want to be one those of people who shuns the English language remake and remains a purist but: You should only ever see Ringu if you want to be really scared. Granted, the English language The Ring was pretty creepy but there are no better at the art of horror than the Japanese. The story is well known and we all know the creepy imagery but truly, there is no version more scary than the original. If a film can make you afraid of the technology which pervades your life, you know it’s a good’un. Just don’t answer your phone in the immediate aftermath.