It’s Halloween time once again, seems like it comes every year or so, and i’m sure you are inundated by hundreds of lists as to what to watch, read, play, ect. So, i decided to throw my two cents into the mix as well.

          With the arrival of the Halloween season, everyone starts looking to be scared. It’s the one time of year where we like being afraid. This is my second favorite time of year following Christmas, and the simple reason for that is because I’m a Horror Fanatic. I love monsters, things that go bump in the night and anything that gets my overactive imagination rolling again. So here’s a list of some of the things that filled me with the triple threat of dread, fear, and utter fascination. Also, don’t worry if you only get a chance to experience one or two things off my list, cuz horror is good all year around. So remember, turn down the lights, grab a blanket and get some hot chocolate and settle in for my recommendations for a scary good time.

Movies

          Movies can be a wonderful experience and most horror movies have one thing that sets them apart from the rest. Be it one performance, scene, or even one great line, that worms it’s way into your psyche and squats like a parasite waiting for darkness to fall to emerge from it’s hole. Here are some of my favorites.

          5. The Descent – Director Neil Marshall’s gorefest about six spelunkers lost in an uncharted series of caves and the monsters they meet, is an above average tale of friendship through adversity. Realistically though, it’s the caves themselves that are the true star of this film. The claustrophobic cinematography adds the feeling of being lost in the caves right along with them. and one scene where a spelunker gets snagged in a tight spot had me literally squirming in my seat.

          4.  An American Werewolf in London  - John Landis’s modern day Beauty and the Beast tale for grownups is equally parts funny and terrifying. This movies is what landed him the job for directing the Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. Rick Baker’s Oscar winning make-up and special effects are just plain amazing. Also, If you watch the first transformation scene even on Blu-Ray it still holds up by today’s standards and just looks that much more awesome.

          3. Scream - Wes Craven’s send up/ homage to the slasher flicks he helped make mainstream. The mark of a great movie is to have it parodied, and this ingenious movie has been parodied to within an inch of it’s life. Beginning with the line ” Do you like scary movies? ” and playing out to it’s violent, bloody conclusion, this movie was scary fun and made people dread answering the phone.

          2. The Evil Dead – Sam Raimi’s cult classic, the first in the Evil Dead trilogy, features four friends on a weekend vacation at a cabin in the woods. Sounds pretty standard right? Well, when they unleash demons into the woods, it all goes to hell. Gory, over the top, and Bruce Campbell make this one a must watch.One scene in particular involving a woman, demonic vegetation and a tree branch still pops into my mind when i think of this movie. More shocking than scary, you’ll still have to pick up your jaw when it’s over.

          1. The Shining - Stephen King wrote the novel this movie is based on, but director Stanley Kubrick took it to a whole new level of scary. Stephen King was quoted as saying ” Kubrick is trying to hurt people with this movie.” Outstanding performances by Jack Nicholson as a hotel caretaker, equaly tormented and tempted, by the ghosts of The Overlook hotel and Shelley Duvall as his wife, and a haunting performance from young Danny Lloyd as their psychic son are what makes this movie number one on this list. The sense of isolation and dread that accompany each shot of empty hallway and the eerie music score only add to the effect of Jack Nicholson’s descent into homicidal madness. This movie , in the words of Jack Nicholson’s character will leave you saying ” Johnny’s gonna have him some fun.”.

Games

          Survival Horror is the name of this video game genre, but i like to call it the scream like a girl / check my shorts games. Here are a few that i liked.

          4. D - PS1 – Back before making choices that affected how the game progressed becaame a staple for hit video games there was D. The game starts with a young lady entering the mind of her homicidal father after he just killed a hospital full of people, literally, to figure out why he did it. D is mainly a point and click adventure with timed button presses thrown in for good measure. The secrets of the story are buried in the puzzles you have to solve, and a magic? pocket mirror can be used up to three times for hints to the solution, where to go, what to do next and so on. How far along you are at that point in the game determines what parts of the story you will be privvy to. Now for the kicker,….. You can’t save your game and you only have four hours real time to go from start to finish and by the end of the game you’ll understand what the title means, as well as, have to make a choice to see one of  two endings. It’s all about that time limit that gets my blood ticking, and there are a few scream like a girl moments along the way as well.

          3. Dead Rising - Xbox 360 -Frank West is a photojournalist who gets trapped in a mall surrounded/ overrun with Zombies. There are definitely guns in this game, but you’ll love the more hands on approach to Zombie slaying. Whether using a golf club, trash can, or modified lawnmower to slice and bash the hordes of zombies while escorting survivors to the saferoom, looking for items, or just plainly trying to stay alive and figure out what’s going on, this game is immensely fun. Being surrounded by crowds of zombies while out and about on missions leads to a never ending sense of tension as you look for the next safe place to rest.

          2. Heavy Rain - Ps3- Heavy Rain is about as close as you can get to interacting with a movie as is possible at this point in time. The story revolves around four main charcters as they try to stop the Origami Killer from claiming another victim. Heartbreaking, intense, and thought – provoking the story is like a mish mash of The  Silence of the Lambs, Saw, and Seven. You rarely get to control your characters, except to explore an area, but you get to make all their choices. Boy, do you get choices. Gameplay mostly revolves around timed button pressed, joystick, and controller movements. At over twenty hours of gameplay, there’s a whole lot of intensity building up and the last two hours are furiously fast paced, and i had to play to the conclusion. So if you are good enough, you can get all of your charcters to the end of the story, but honestly, I wouldn’t expect everyone to. It takes a while to get rolling but if you get through the firast two or three hours of gameplay, you will be rewarded with a unique experience that has me anxious to see what developer Quantic Dreams has in store for me next.

          1. Dead Space - Xbox 360, Ps3 – Dead Space is the ultimate haunted house game. There are more check my shorts moments in this game than in any I have ever played before. The most scariest thing about Dead Space though has to be the sense of atmospheric dread it creates, wandering along the halls of a deserted ghost ship, listening to the Necromorphs crawling through vents on unknown missions, I was constantly stopping and checking behind me. I had my Ps3 hooked up to my home theater and i literally flew from my seat more than a couple times as something was behind me and my heart was racing. Most horror games ease you into the story, but Dead Space starts off by dropping you down the rabbit hole wishing you had taken the blue pill. Basically, Dead Space is the most errifying video game i have ever played and i can’t wait to try out the sequel.

 Books

          Horror novels bring the baddies right into our minds and feast upon our imaginations like a cannibal with a thighbone. Here are a few of my favorites.         

          5. The Traveling Vampire Show - By Richard Laymon – This is the story of three friends trying to go see the traveling vampire show, a road show featuring the world’s only known vampire, that’s coming to their town for a one night only show. Over the course of a day they go on a mesmerizing and terrifying journey in their quest for tickets. Hilarious, heartfelt and one of the best surprise ending this is a very pleasurable vampire tale.

          4. In the Dark - By Richard Laymon – Imagine working as a small town librarian, not making alot of money, when after putting some books back in the stacks, you go back to your desk and find an envelop. Inside you find a note written by M.o.G. ( Master of Games ), a clue, and a crisp fresh $50 bill. Everytime you suceed at a task the money you receive doubles and so on. As, the game progresses the tasks get harder and more dangerous as the Heroine keeps on playing leading to a climactic finish. In the Dark will definitely have you sleeping with the lights on.

          3. Smoke and Mirrors - By Neil Gaiman – A collection of short stories from one of my favorite authors that are funny, ironic, and terrifying. After one story I just had to keep going until I’d finished them all.

          2. World War Z - By Max Brooks – This story is told ten years after the human/ zombie war, as a series of interviews told by the survivors.The thing that makes this story terrifying is that by using modern day virusology, economic, and political climates you could actually see this happening. That is….. if zombies were real.

          1. It - By Stephen King – Over the course of two summers seperated by 25 years, Stephen king tells the story of seven friends fighting a monster in the sewers of Derry, Maine. Normally I can read a 400 page novel in a day or two, but it took me a month and a half to finish this book, simply because it scared the $^!7 out of me. Hands down the most frightning book I have ever read.

          Alrighty folks, i think i’ve gone on long enough. until next year, have a happy and safe Halloween from the folks here at Whyuknow.com.