Five Things on Friday - Horror Movie Edition

Well, it's Halloween weekend and that can only mean one thing (or actually many, but pretend with me) - horror movies!!

I thought I would give a rundown of five of my all-time favorites, one from each of my own made-up horror movie categories. I hope you find something to enjoy!

Five Horror Movies I Love

Even the house is creepy.

1. The Scary 'Cause It Could Happen - Psycho - Norman Bates kills people in his hotel at the behest of his dead, stuffed mother. What makes this so possible? It kinda happened. Ed Gein was a murderer in the 1950's and while not quite as sensational as Norman, he did have mommy issues, keep pieces and parts of his victims and tried to build a "woman suit" out of parts of corpses. (He is actually the inspiration for Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs). Psycho is well-made and creepy, but also, sort of feasible. It's that possibility that gets under your skin. More Could Happens: See above Ed Gein films, The Strangers, American Psycho, Rear Window and it's decent re-telling Disturbia.

What I would give for a picture
of her demon breasts

2. The Ridiculous - Mausoleum - This is quite possibly the worst horror movie ever made. A woman (played by a playboy bunny - there's your first clue) is possessed by a demon and starts killing men while having sex with them. Also, her breasts become demons and grow teeth. I will watch it any time there's a possibility. So bad it's good is how I usually describe it. If you want to celebrate with a horror movie, but hate to be scared, this is the movie for you. Also on this list of ridiculousness - Grandmother's House, The Evil Dead, Hellraiser, or Leprechaun. Most slasher flicks fit into this category.

Looks all happy until
you see the rope.

3. The Creepy -The Omen - So, technically a series, you should really just avoid all of them except the first one. And maybe the remake, I haven't gotten around to that one. In my opinion, the best horror movies are those that get quietly under your skin and creep you out without the jumps and screams and blood flying everywhere. Although, there's a fair amount of blood in this one - and a decapitation! Anyway, an ambassador takes a baby whose mother died in childbirth after his child is stillborn. He fails to tell the mother and then finds out years later that the child is the devil. Or the devil's spawn. Or the Antichrist. Complete with a 666 birthmark and a penchant for suicidal nannies, Damon is creepy to the extreme. Others in this category: Children of the Corn, Rosemary's Baby, Event Horizon and Let the Right One In.

Clows always creep me out.

4. The Series - Halloween - For my money, there is no horror series like Halloween and no psycho killer from hell like Michael Myers. Michael is just a little boy when he brutally murders his older sister. He is put away for fifteen years and breaks out to finish the job - presumably by killing any slutty teenager in the county. What makes this series worth the marathon (skip number three, just trust me) is that unlike most psycho killers, Michael Myers is genuinely scary. Plus the music. Plus Jamie Lee Curtis. Plus Donald Pleasance as the creepy "hero" Dr. Loomis. Other series of note: Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Child's Play (please note, this could also be filed under Number 2).

Seriously, check out the greenscreening. Can anything
that looks this terrible not be entertaining?

5. The Creature Feature - I hate to admit it, but my all-time favorite creature feature is Lake Placid 2. This is not rocket surgery, people. A plot synopsis would be sort of an insult to your intelligence. There's giant mutant alligators. That's the upshot. Other Creature Features of note: Jaws, Aliens, Rein of Fire, Predator, almost anything made for SyFy.