October arrived last week although the first few days have felt more like summer (or at least spring) than fall.
Still, the leaves have begun displaying their bright colors and all the traditions of fall return once again, even if slowly.
For me, one of the traditions for October is scary movies which will be shown throughout the month on various stations like TMC and AMC. From the black and white classics to the low-budget horror titles of the 70s and 80s, October is perfect for days and late nights of thrills and scares.
One of my earliest horror movie memories was convincing my mom to rent the John Carpenter classic “Halloween” not long after we got our first VCR.
I had heard many tales of how scary the 1978 low-budget film was but I figured I was ready to handle it. After weeks of pestering my mother, she finally gave in and rented it and I settled in to watch it. Truth be told, I was expecting a “blood and guts” movie but, in return, got something that was a lot scarier than that ever could have been.
Carpenter used the more effective technique of atmosphere and creepiness for scare value and for this young teenager it was a lesson in how true horror should be done. I’m only glad I watched it in the middle of the day and not after nightfall. From the opening scene with a rather scary looking carved pumpkin to Carpenter’s masterful musical score, the original “Halloween” film remains must viewing for me each year at this time.
Featuring a young Jamie Lee Curtis, along with veteran British actor Donald Pleasance, “Halloween” tells the story of a young boy who murders his sister in the 1960s and is then sent away to a mental institution. He eventually, years later, escapes and returns to his hometown to create havoc while being pursued by Pleasance, who was his doctor, along with the local sheriff, played effectively by Charles Cyphers.
While “Halloween” would spawn numerous sequels (way too many to be honest) the original is up there with the best of horror including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic “Psycho.” In fact, the latest (and hopefully last) movie in the “Halloween” series is set to be released later this month.
Even Tobe Hooper’s 1974 film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” whose title alone would keep many people from ever watching it, was actually very low on gore, relying more on the effective method of suspense and letting your mind imagine what is actually taking place.
From this film I remember one of the scariest scenes was a frame of the isolated farmhouse the killer family lived in which was powered by a generator. That sound alone echoing off a desolate country backroad was scary and, of course, did not include an ounce of blood or gore. Like any movie genre, horror has numerous categories including the vintage vampire and werewolf movies as well as the enjoyable (for me anyway) 1950s black and white science fiction movie such as “Creature From the Black Lagoon.”
And few people can actually forget the ending of the Vincent Price classic “The Fly” which can stay with you for days after seeing it for the first time.
The two movie stations I mentioned will certainly play all the classic horror movies this month including “Friday the 13th” and its multitude of sequels as well as older films ones starring Bela Lugosi and ones directed by Hitchcock and Carpenter.
Some titles, like the newer “Saw” movies, are too gory to be shown on non-pay television but they do feature known actors such as Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter and later Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block and “Blue Bloods’ fame. Similar to the “Scream” movies made by “Nightmare on Elm Street” creator Wes Craven, “Saw” helped rekindle new interest in horror in the 2000s, just as “Scream” did in the 1990s.
Regardless of your taste in movies when it comes to being scared and how graphic you like your films, October is the perfect month for it. So turn out the lights, lock your door and try to ignore those sounds you may hear during the night.
