Leaves are falling, the nights are getting longer, and the abandoned Chuck E. Cheese on the other side of our parking lot has temporarily become a Spirit Halloween store. It’s officially Halloween season, and this week I have four horror films to recommend that I watch every year to get me into the Halloween spirit.
First on my list is Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks’ classic Frankenstein sequel/parody released in 1974. Not all of Brooks’ films have aged well, but Young Frankenstein still stands up as a classic comedy. The film stars Gene Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein’s grandson, who travels to Transylvania to prove to the world his grandfather was not insane. After arriving he discovers his grandfather’s notes and equipment and is ultimately able to reanimate a corpse… with mixed results. Wilder is joined on screen by Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Kenneth Mars, and Gene Hackman, and Peter Boyle as the monster. Even though I seem to catch bits and pieces (no pun intended) of this on cable throughout the year, I put it on the list because it’s best enjoyed all the way through from start to finish. If you remove this one from the shelv but change your mind, be sure to put it, and the candle, BACK.
Second on my list is 1985’s Silver Bullet, based on a Stephen King novella. In Silver Bullet, a small town in Maine (it’s always a small town in Maine…) is under attack by a murderer that turns out to be a werewolf. After a young boy named Marty manages to wound the werewolf, he and his sister set out to determine the werewolf’s identity. But when the moon is full, the hunters quickly become the hunted. Starring Corey Haim and Gary Busey, Silver Bullet is a classic that gets me into the Halloween spirit every year.
Next on my list is John Carpenter’s The Thing, released in 1982. I have long considered this film along with a few others like Jaws and Back to the Future to be essentially flawless films. I’ve watched The Thing a dozen times and there’s not a thing I would change. It’s the perfect combination of traditional scares and psychological terror. When researchers discover an alien life form that not only consumes people but can physically imitate them as well, a group of researchers quickly discover who among them they can trust — no one. Starring Kurt Russell and featuring a cast of familiar faces, The Thing is the perfect way to instill fear and paranoia before bedtime.
The last film on my list is 1985’s Fright Night, a film about a teenage boy who believes his next door neighbor may actually be a vampire responsible for the uptick in murders reported on the news. When Charley’s family, friends, and even the police fail to believe him, there’s only one person he can turn to: Peter Vincent, host of the late night horror-themed television show, Fright Night. The bad news for Charley is that by the time he discovers the truth about his neighbor, his neighbor is on to him. Fright Night is classic 80s horror — it’s a little scary, a little silly, and a whole lot of fun. It’s worth a watch if you haven’t seen it recently.
I hope you are as excited about Halloween as we are here at the Video Store Podcast. Help yourself to a complimentary pair of plastic vampire teeth and fake blood capsules (careful — they’ll stain clothing) and take all the candy corn you want (we can never get rid of that stuff). I hope at least one of this week’s movies gets you into the Halloween spirit. Let us know your favorite “must watch” films that get you into the Halloween spirit!
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