Top 10 Films To Watch on Halloween

One thing I absolutely miss about living in the United States is Halloween. This isn't to say that we don't celebrate Halloween in Australia, but it is nowhere near as big a deal. I miss it being a big deal!

I experienced my first real Halloween in 2008 when I was living in Los Angeles and studying at California State University Long Beach for a semester. I have to admit that Halloween was one of the things I was truly excited about when starting on my journey and it did not disappoint. Halloween parties were in full swing all through the week and I never knew that there was such thing as haunted mazes until I saw the ones opening up at the Queen Mary, Universal Studios, Knotts Berry (Scary) Farm and Griffith Park. It was the Halloween decorations on some of the mansions along the shore and also at Disneyland which really got me excited.

I did have my first (and only) Trick or Treat experience in which my roommate (who was also Australian) and I took to the streets of Huntington Beach in our costumes as a pirate and a flapper. Everyone was pretty understanding and accepting of the idea that these two Australian girls were on their first Tick or Treat, apart from one neighbour who at first told us that we were a little too old to be doing this and when we told her that we were from Australia, she said "Oh yeah, I can do that too" in the worst possible Australian accent.

Five years on I am still confused whether she was joking or not. All I know was that she couldn't imitate our accents to save her life.

So being in Australia and not being able to celebrate Halloween as much as I would like, Halloween is reserved for watching a scary or Halloween themed film. This year I decided to help those who are in the same position as me, or just want to have a low key Halloween. Plus Halloween this year is a Thursday so chances are most people will be doing all their partying over the weekend and will be working on the Friday afterwards.

We have tallied up the votes collected and put together a list of the top ten films to watch on Halloween. Nearly 80 films received votes and all types of films were represented. There were classic horror films, B grade horror, family friendly films, animation and thrillers. However, the film that has received the honour of being the top film to watch on Halloween has won by an incredible margin. Please note that this top ten is the results of the public voting and the films and order in which they appear has not been altered in any way.

10. Shaun Of The Dead (2004)

Halloween doesn't always have to be a serious movie night and nobody says you can't have a laugh. Shaun of the Dead is the creation of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and a parody of such zombie films as Day of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead. Shaun of the Dead is the perfect mix of comedy and horror, as there are still a lot of blood, gore and frights as well as plenty of laughs. Shaun (Simon Pegg) is an ordinary guy, not quite everyone's favourite person and especially not in girlfriend, Liz's(Kate Ashfield) good books. However, he has to find his inner superhero when he tries to save his family and friends from the zombie apocalypse.

9. Saw (2004)

Saw caused quite the sensation when it came out in 2005, and like all horror/thriller films which cause a sensation has been followed by six follow-up films (the latest being Saw 3D in 2010). A film absolutely not for the faint hearted, Saw is incredibly suspenseful and intriguing. It is just like a car crash, you can't look away no matter how bad it gets. Two men wake up and have no recollection of what happened, where they are, who the other one is and why there is a dead body between the two of them. They have to play by the twisted rules of a serial killer only known by the name Jigsaw if they are to survive.

8. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

When The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was released in 1974, it became an instant horror sensation. Gruesome and terrifying, the film has the ability to cause nightmares in anybody who watches the film, because what could possibly be scarier than a serial killer with a chain saw as his weapon of choice? What was even more scary at the time was the persistent rumours that it was based on a true story, this is only partly true. The film is based on true events, but not an actual true story. In The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, five teenagers take a trip to their grandfather's house and are hunted by a man only known as Leatherface and his cannibalistic followers.

7. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)


A Nightmare on Elm Street gave birth to one of the most famous and scariest horror film villains of recent time, Freddie Krueger. Krueger was an evil man who preyed on children in his life, but after he is killed by outraged parents, he starts coming for their children where nobody can protect them...in their sleep. Krueger is one scary man with his scarred, burnt skin and knives for fingernails and he comes for you where you can't be saved. A Nightmare on Elm Street is extremely creepy, but on the brighter side, you do get to see Johnny Depp in his first ever acting performance.

6. The Exorcist (1973)

No one can deny that The Exorcist is one of the scariest, if not the scariest movie of all time. However, it does rank as also being one of the best films of all time and was the first horror film to be included in the Best Picture category at the Academy Awards. What makes The Exorcist so scary is that it is the unseen enemy of the Devil that takes possession of a young girl, Regan (Linda Blair). Regan becomes unrecognisable and it is terrifying to see such a pretty young girl turn into such a monster. The fact that it is such a wonderfully made film only adds to how terrifyingly real it feels.

5. Halloweentown (1998)

Now for a completely different change of pace! Halloween is a big day for kids as well and Halloween is not always about scaring yourself silly, but also having a bit of fun. Halloweentown was released as a television movie in 1998 and gathered quite the following for adults and children alike. In the first movie in the Halloweentown series,  Debbie Reynolds plays grandmother Aggie who is from Halloweentown and visits her grand-daughter, Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) to teach her how to be a witch. Marnie and her brother and sister travel back to Halloweentown with Aggie in order to face the danger that is lurking there.

4. The Shining (1980)

Based on the book by the Master of Horror himself, Stephen King and directed by the great Stanley Kubrick, The Shining is incredibly creepy and spooky. Set in an abandoned hotel which a writer, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd) move into for the winter and it isn't long before strange things begin to happen and Jack starts to turn into a violent monster. The Shining is like watching a nightmare with creepy and unsettling images throughout the film which have since become famous. The most memorable being the twin girls in blue and Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny!"

3. Halloween (1978)

It couldn't be a Halloween film list without Halloween. This is the ultimate horror Halloween classic as it encompasses both the night of Halloween and real horror. It's a relatively simple story with an incredible amount of suspense and terror. On Halloween 1963, a young boy by the name of Michael Myers kills his sister in cold blood and is locked away in an institution. It isn't until 15 years later that he escapes and brings terror back to Haddonfield, the scene of his crime. Myers is one scary villain, as he never says a thing and wears an ice hockey mask. The ultimate Halloween slasher film!

2. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a favourite animated film of many people and comes in at number two on our top Halloween films. Nothing like your traditional Halloween film, Tim Burton's film combines the holiday with Christmas, making The Nightmare Before Christmas both a Halloween movie and a Christmas movie. Jack Skellington is the hero of the film and king of Halloween Town. He gets bored of doing the same thing every Halloween and after stumbling on Christmas Town, decides to combine the two holidays. The result is of complete mayhem, but a wonderfully creative, original and memorable film.

1. Hocus Pocus (1993)


At number one is 1993's Hocus Pocus, which is only fitting as this Halloween marks the film's 20th anniversary. Hocus Pocus is a truly wonderful Halloween film with it's holiday atmosphere, great story and flawless characters. When Max (Omri Katz)  and his younger sister, Dani (Thora Birch) move to Salem, they immediately hear the story of the Sanderson sisters who were witches hung hundreds of years ago. Legend has it that if a virgin lights the Black Flame Candle,  the sisters will come back to take the lives of all the children in Salem. Max, of course, doesn't believe this, and lights the candle as a joke. He soon realises that it is more than legend when the Sanderson sisters walk through the door and puts every child, including Dani in danger.

Hocus Pocus is another Halloween film which the whole family can enjoy. The film catches the essence of Halloween the way it is celebrated in a community, while also having a scary (but not too scary) side. Bette Midler plays head sister, Winifred Sanderson and is wonderful. Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy played sisters Sarah and Mary and the three of them have amazing on screen chemistry. This is perhaps Sarah Jessica Parker's best role. No disrespect to her Carrie from Sex & The City, but she plays a completely different character in Hocus Pocus and is truly hilarious.

The 19th of October saw the films 20th anniversary and a screening was held at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Please see here to check out all the action and see photos of some of the stars 20 years on.

Other films which received a considerable amount of votes were:-
The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Nosferatu (1922)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Wolf Man (1941)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Paranormal Activity (2009)
Fright Night (1985)
The Wizard Of Oz (1939)

HAVE A WONDERFUL HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Thankyou to everyone who voted and to Nicole Voigt for helping out with the voting.

The Butler (2013)

 

 

Year: 2013
Running Time: 132 minutes
Director: Lee Daniels
Writer: Danny Strong (screenplay), Wil Haygood (article)
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Robin Williams, John Cusack, Terrence Howard, Elijah Kelley, Yaya Alafia, James Marsden, Minka Kelly, Live Schreiber, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda

The Butler opens in Australian cinemas on the 31st October 2013 and is distributed by Hopscotch Films.

Whilst The Butler may not be the flawless masterpiece that many were hoping it would be, there is still no denying that it is an enjoyable and entertaining slice of modern American history on the big screen.

Lee Daniels latest is a fine feature which offers the viewer a great deal of information regarding the changing face of America's racial relations and the role of presidency in the White House. Although The Butler is extremely thorough in it's examination of the major events in the USA of the past 60 years, this attempt to cover so much results in the depth and emotion of the film suffering. Yet, the representation of the times and the acting being so impressive means that there is still so much to marvel at in The Butler.

The butler is Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), a man who's journey takes him from slavery in the cotton fields of Georgia to the White House in Washington, DC. He is directly effected by the changes that are slowly taking place for the coloured of America as his son, Louis (David Oyelowo) becomes active in trying to orchestrate these changes. As the years progress, Cecil serves and has his own special encounters with each of the American presidents. While he is told to make sure the presidents feel as though there is no one in the room when he is present, all the presidents are aware of Cecil's presence and value his contribution to the White House and their presidency.

There is so much covered in The Butler which is both a blessing and a curse at the same time. It is a blessing because, as previously said, it is a thorough study into recent American history in regards to racial relations and the office of President. Lovers of American history will find this film to be an absolute treat for how much they will see being recreated. The period of the 1960-70's in the southern states is very well done, but still quite disturbing. There is also the perfect musical score to accompany each period in time represented. It is the portrayals of the different presidents that many Americans will be interested to see in The Butler and these portrayals are definitely intriguing. Unlike many other historical films which past US presidents have been featured in, these presidents are not the focal point of the film, but are the supporting players in Cecil's story. Dwight Eisenhower (Robin Williams), John F. Kennedy (James Marsden), Lyndon Johnson (Liev Schreiber), Richard Nixon (John Cusack) and Ronald Reagan (Alan Rickman) are the presidents featured in the film, and there is also a small scene with Martin Luther King (Nelsan Ellis).

As well as these historical representations, there is also Cecil's personal family life which is featured greatly throughout the film. While all these events are taking place, Cecil also fights to keep his marriage to Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) alive and well and to be a present and effective father to Louis and Charlie (Elijah Kelley). As one may expect, this is a lot to fit into one film. At 132 minutes, The Butler is not a short film to begin with, but it is still not long enough to pack all of this in without it feeling rushed. So much is covered yet isn't covered in great detail. It feels like many details are just skimmed over and not gone into too much detail as there is just not enough time to. As a result, it does feel as though there is a lack of depth and emotion in the film. This isn't to say that it doesn't evoke emotion at all, because the film absolutely does. However, this emotion could have been pushed further and just as you begin to feel something, it is lost as you have to move onto the next thing. Even though the film is enjoyable, it does feel considerably rushed (particularly the last decade of Cecil's term), which is a strange thing to feel in a film which is over two hours long.

Forest Whitaker is wonderful as Cecil Gaines. Towards the beginning of the film he takes seizes the chance to make his character as likable as possible so that the audience can go on this journey with him and feel connected. Again, there are times which he could have taken his performance much further emotionally, but this isn't to say that his performance flat-lines in the emotional department.

Oprah Winfrey makes an incredible return to the big screen as Gloria. Her character is a very real woman with a great deal of character. She has her flaws, but also her undying love for her family, She is superb, and you stop seeing the talk show host in her as soon as she opens her mouth for the first time.

David Oyelowo is also very good and displays wonderful character development throughout the film as his character grows from a boy into a man. Yaya Alafia also does very well as Louis' love interest, Carol. Cuba Gooding Jr and Lenny Kravitz are great to watch on screen, especially Gooding who provides much of the comedy relief. Although each of the actors who play the presidents do well, none of them are really given enough of a part to be outstanding. However, Minka Kelly and Jane Fonda, who play Jacqueline Kennedy and Nancy Reagan, do particularly well as the first ladies.

You can tell that The Butler intended to be far more than it actually is. Yet, it is still entertaining and a bit of fun to watch.

7/10

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Year: 2013
Running Time: 85 minutes
Director: Ryan Coogler
Writer: Ryan Coogler
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer, Ariana Neal, Chad Michael Murray, Kevin Durand

Fruitvale Station will be released in Australia on the 7th November and is distributed by Roadshow Films.

Fruitvale Station is the heartbreaking true story of Oscar Grant, who was shot and killed by police at Fruitvale Station in the early hours of New Year's Day 2009.

While heartbreaking may well be a term overused when describing dramatic films, Fruitvale Station does indeed break your heart with it's extreme sudden change of emotion. It is a film which will inflict so many emotions on you in it's 85 minutes, but does so in such an incredible way that all these emotions are welcomed. While Fruitvale Station has the ability to both sadden and anger, it must also be embraced for it's wonderful characters and human spirit.

Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan) has a troubled past which includes spending time behind bars for drug dealing. He desires change to make a better life for himself, his girlfriend, Sophina (Melonie Diaz) and daughter, Tatiana (Ariana Neal), and it seems that on New Years Eve 2008, he may finally be really starting to make the right moves towards being a better man. All this comes crumbling down when on the way back from the city with his group of friends, he is held by police at Fruitvale Station in what is ultimately a misunderstanding with tragic consequences.

For those who are not familiar with what happened at Fruitvale Station on that fateful day, the first five minutes of the film will tell you everything you need to know with actual footage taken on a cell phone by a witness to the incident. After that shockingly powerful start to the film, the film tones down dramatically to reveal how although Oscar is still far from perfect, he is trying and you immediately feel a strong bond with him. The 24 hours leading up to the event in the film can easily be described as beautiful. There is so much human spirit and it shows Oscar trying to be a good Samaritan and making friends in doing so with a woman in need of advice at his old workplace and a stray dog he meets while filling up his car. The scenes with his family and with his daughter are just filled with so much love. While you are watching these exquisite scenes take place, there is still that niggling at the back of your mind of what is coming up. Just when you feel like you have pushed this out of your mind enough to sit back and enjoy the beauty you are seeing, the change comes. You go from feeling happy for Oscar (with a tinge of anxiety) to being shocked and dismayed.

Ryan Coogler has done an incredible job at building tension in such an unique fashion. Everyone knows what is going to happen in Fruitvale Station because if you didn't know about the actual events to begin with, you know about it from the beginning of the film. Coogler doesn't build suspense in the conventional cinematic fashion, but instead relies on bringing the audience closer to the character of Oscar and showing how beautiful life can be. It's this closeness that you feel to Oscar that makes you dread the event even more. The ending of the film leaves you feeling angry about the events that followed the shooting. The final shot reminds us that this is indeed a true story and that it is not only the subject matter of the film which makes it so heartbreaking, but also the fact that is a true story, and the final shot really hits this reality home.

Michael B. Jordan is perfectly cast as Oscar Grant. He is incredibly likable despite everything you know he has done, and he makes it evident that he is not finding change easy. He is still a man who is battling his inner demons, but also enjoying the moments when he knows he has overcome those demons. Jordan has wonderful on screen chemistry with all the co-stars he works closely with, particularly Melonie Diaz and Ariana Neal, who is just a treasure in her young age.

Octavia Spencer is an absolute stand out as Oscar's mother, Wanda. She is warm, but she is also an extremely strong female figure. She is superb in every scene she is in throughout the movie and is one of those characters you really just want to see more of.

One would almost feel as though Fruitvale Station is two movies in one as it makes you feel two extreme emotions which are at complete opposite ends to each other. It is a beautiful film with so much human spirit in it for the most part, but then switches to reveal the dark side of society where there is no happy ending.

8/10





You may have also seen Octavia Spencer in......
The Help as Minny