Ten Films to Check Out This Halloween

Being a non-Christian, popular holidays like Christmas, Easter, and, to a certain extent, Thanksgiving, hold absolutely no meaning for me. For me, these holidays, especially Christmas (which I loathe more than any other), are about wasting money, dealing with idiots in stores, and having to put up with family. Those things aren't worth a day off and truth be told, I'd much rather be at work than have to put up with that crap.

The exception to this has always been Halloween. Ever since I was a little kid, I absolutely loved Halloween. The mythology, the costumes, all of it. Give me a holiday that allows me to revel in the occult, and I'm happy as can be. When I was young, I would dress up in a new costume every year (with some exceptions) and I would eagerly look forward to Trick-or-Treating and a Halloween party my parents threw for my schoolmates and I.

Now I'm an adult, but my love of Halloween has only strengthened. These days, I go all-out in preparing my costume and I've traded the candy gained from Trick-or-Treating to drinks at the local bar's Halloween party. And one other thing I've discovered in recent years is a strong love for horror movies.

Everyone knows the classics. Everyone's seen Dracula and Frankenstein. The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, Alien, Halloween, The Shining, A Nightmare on Elm Street-we've seen them all before. Chances are every year on Halloween, you rent some of these old favorites.

But how would you like to try something new? Maybe you'd like to sample some movies you've never seen before, and discover some new terrors you never even knew existed. After all, it's been pretty slim pickings for horror films this Halloween-we have the fourth film in the groan-inducing, rip-off-of-SE7ENSaw series and then there's 30 Days of Night, which might as well be called 120 Minutes of Crap. Things We Lost in the Fire seems far more frightening, mainly because the idea that people believe Halle Berry can act causes me to wake up screaming in a cold sweat some nights.

But I digress.

I had originally thought of making a list of the top ten greatest horror films. But this close to All Hallow's Eve, you've probably seen enough such lists to make you cross-eyed, and the idea of yet another pretentious film snob telling you what your favorite horror films should be probably makes you want to pick up a chainsaw yourself and go to town.

No, instead, what I'll do is give you a list of ten films you've probably never seen and, in some cases, have never even heard of. And I'm going to tell you why they're worth checking out this year. These aren't in any particular order, just ten films I'm randomly compiling.

Marebito (2004)

By now, most people probably know Takashi Shimizu, director of the popular �Ju-on series and its American counterpart, The Grudge. Now, while the American counterpart is horrible and the Japanese version is far better, none of them hold a candle to Marebito. It was shot in only eight days, between the time when Shimizu finished production on Ju-on and started on The Grudge and it stars the irreplaceable Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man). Tsukamoto plays a cameraman who journeys into the subways and discovers a strange, feral young woman who lives on blood. Very moody and atmospheric, extremely effective, and the greatest film Shimizu has ever made.

The Exorcist III (1990)

The Exorcist is a classic and Exorcist II: The Heretic is a waste of film. Instead, skip over the sequel and rent The Exorcist III. In reality, this is the true sequel to The Exorcist. William Peter Blatty, who wrote The Exorcist, wrote and directed this film, based on his novel Legion. George C. Scott plays Lt. Kinderman, taking on the role originally played by Lee Cobb in the original. The pattern of a new serial killer matches the pattern of a killer who was executed the same night as the exorcism of Regan MacNeil. While not as good as The Exorcist and somewhat cheesy in parts, the performances of Scott and Brad Dourif (famous for the voice of Chucky in the Child's Play series) elevate it to the status of a satisfying sequel few ever get the chance to watch.

Frailty (2001)

As Nicolas Cage said in Adaptation, "The only idea more overused than serial killers is multiple personalities." And this is true, almost every other horror film involves serial killers-Psycho, Halloween, Friday the 13^th, and The Silence of the Lambs to name a few. Still, this film starring and directed by Bill Paxton and featuring Matthew McConaughey and Powers Boothe is not to be missed. It focuses on the story of a serial killer who believes he's doing God's work and that he can see demons. The film flashes back and forth between the present and the past, showing how Paxton's character becomes a killer and how it affects his sons. I don't want to say much more about the film than that, because I don't want to spoil the ending. So just watch it for yourself.

Event Horizon (1997)

With a few exceptions, the 90s was a pretty bad time for horror films, nothing more than bad sequels and horrible imitators. Event Horizon was the exception to this, providing a thrilling story that can best be described as a mix between The Shining and Alien. Sam Neill gives the creepiest performance of his career in this film, and Laurence Fishburne is great as the captain of the rescue team. There are several scenes in this movie that have been burned into my memory, simply because they scared the crap out of me.

One Hour Photo (2002)

Robin Williams is one of the greatest actors currently working. Everyone just thinks of him for his comedy (and don't get me wrong, his stand-up is hysterical), but few give him the credit he deserves for his more serious roles, like in Good Will Hunting, Insomnia or Dead Poets Society. But my personal favorite is One Hour Photo-if you thought Williams was creepy in Insomnia, you haven't seen anything yet. Williams plays Sy Parrish, a lonely photo technician who has no family or friends and becomes obsessed with the Yorkins, a family whose photos he's been developing for years. What's really great isn't only the chilling performance, but how sympathetic you feel for Sy's character.

The Brood (1979)

David Cronenberg is a highly underrated director-The Fly and Videodrome are two of the greatest movies I've ever watched. The Brood is another film that explores his body horror themes. Dr. Hal Raglan (Oliver Reed) is the creator of psychoplasmics, a new type of therapy that causes a patient to express their negative emotions in such a way that their body changes. One of his patients, Nola Carveth (Samantha Eggar), expresses her rage through a brood of mutant children she has given birth to that respond to her thoughts and viciously and brutally attack the subjects of Nola's rage. The film is not for the faint of heart, and features some extremely disturbing scenes which are difficult for even a horror veteran like me to watch. It's not as great as some of Cronenberg's later films, but a strong film from an accomplished director.

3... Extremes [Saam Gaang Yi] (2004)

Fruit Chan. Park Chan-Wook. Takashi Miike. Three accomplished directors from three different countries (China, South Korea, Japan), and each of them contributed a short film for this compilation. Chan's segment, Dumplings, stars the great Bai Ling in a creepy story involving dumplings that regress the aging process due to a disturbing ingredient. Chan-Wook's segment, Cut, is about a film extra who kidnaps a director, forcing him to play a sadistic game-if the director fails, he's forced to watch as his wife's fingers are chopped off, one by one. And finally, Miike's segment, Box, features a young woman with a recurring nightmare about being buried beneath the snow in a box, and how it connects to her long-lost sister. Three frightening and original films by three very accomplished directors, definitely worth a look.

Pulse [Kairo] (2001)

This film may sound familiar, as it's one of the many great Asian horror films that's been raped by Hollywood and shoddily remade, sacrificing originality and terror for stock characters and clich�d scares. The original version of Pulse, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira), is haunting with a slow-burn pace and subtle scares throughout that slowly builds to an incredible climax that had my jaw hanging on the ground when I saw it. If there's one rule I've learned when it comes to horror film remakes, it's always seek out the original. Nine times out of ten, the original will be far superior, and nowhere is that more true than with Pulse.

Shutter (2004)

Another Asian horror film, this time from Thailand. Tun (Ananda Everingham) and Jane (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee) are on their way home from a party when Jane hits a young woman on the road. They flee the scene of the accident and shortly after, find themselves haunted. However, as time goes on, Jane discovers the haunting has less to do with the accident and far more to do with Tun. This was a movie I picked up on a whim and was instantly impressed with how well-made it was and how much it scared me shitless. The twist at the end only enhances the film's horror.

Audition [�dishon] (1999)

I've saved the best for last. Audition was a film I rented one night at college out of boredom and thought it would be fun for a few laughs. Imagine my surprise when I discovered just how terrifying this film really was. Takashi Miike (who has since become one of my favorite directors) created a horror film that works on every level. It provides great character development (thanks in large part to the talent of Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina), an intriguing story, and a nice, slow build-up to a thrilling climax with one of the most disturbing torture scenes I've ever witnessed. Ishibashi plays Aoyama, a widower who wants to remarry, but rather than go through the effort of finding a wife, he and his producer friend (Jun Kunimura) hold an audition for a fake film so Aoyama can find his perfect candidate for a wife. It's how he finds Asami (Shiina), a beautiful, talented, and soft-spoken young woman who seems absolutely perfect on paper. Unfortunately, appearances can be deceiving, something Aoyama discovers as he learns more about Asami's disturbing past. This is the one film I always recommend, and I make no exceptions now. It's not only my favorite horror film, but just one of my favorite films, period.

That about wraps this up. Ten films you may never have heard of, and ten films that are worth checking out this Halloween. These are films that have given me chills, and continue to do so, regardless of how many times I've watched them. And these are films I'd recommend you should give a look, especially if you've never seen any of them before.