halloween movies

Herewith, a short list of my favorite horror/suspense movies, just in time for Halloween. Some people think horror movies are all gorefests, but I think there's actually a lot of variety within the genre. Of the titles on my list, some scared the living daylights out of me (Alien). Some were genuinely creepy without resorting to gratuitous violence or people jumping out of shadows (The Vanishing). Some are nightmarish in form and structure (Jacob's Ladder). And some have images that have burned themselves into my brain (Halloween, The Exorcist, The Thing).

Probably the first scary movie I remember at all was The Exorcist. I only saw parts of it on TV at my grandma's house back when I was eight or nine years old. I desperately wanted to watch the movie, but it was difficult with a bunch of meddling parents around who definitely did not approve! I seem to remember telling my parents, who were in the kitchen at the time, that if they heard any screaming, not to worry...it was just the TV! (that strategy didn't work too well, if I recall...)

Feel free to dispute or suggest other titles...

1. Halloween
2. The Exorcist
3. The Thing (John Carpenter)
4. The Fly (David Cronenberg)
5. Alien
6. Dawn of the Dead
7. The Vanishing (Dutch version - NOT the Jeff Bridges adaptation)
8. Jacob's Ladder