By: Louise Lizan, Danielle Macadangdang
Photo from the Internet
The 2017 remake of Stephen King’s IT has again shocked and awed thrill-seekers around the world. It has, in such terrifying fashion, made apparent the looming excitement that awaits lovers of Halloween.
In this regard, we give you 10 harrowing, frightful films tailor-made for the Halloween spirit. The scares, the thrills, as well as the occasional goosebumps, await you!
The Grudge
For starters, this movie has been a nightmare for all men and women who dared to watch this. Besides the fact that the movie revolves around curses – that a lot of people, especially Asian ones, that believes in such things. The Grudge is a remake film of the Japanese film Ju-on: The Grudge but is directed by the same person who made the franchise, Takazi Shimizu. It was released in 2004, and has been haunting people ever since. It follows on the timeline when the Williams, moved into a house in Japan, where a family was horrendously murdered. The family, Saeki family, suffers a hereditary curse in which if someone dies with great rage, an entity will replace the person who died. Thus, every person who disturbs the silence in the house will get the curse as well. What’s horrifying, besides the fact that the main ghost, Sadako, is down-right creepy, is the other fact that you may have staircases at home and she might just show up anytime.
Shutter
This other Japanese horror film is surely on this pile of horror films. Directed by Masayuki Ochiai, Shutter gave its viewers memorable (unfortunately) moments from the film. Shutter, in its form, is about a married couple Ben and Jane Shaw, having their honeymoon at Tokyo, and as all horror films come and go, it went horribly wrong. Released in 2008, Shutter scared its viewers into not wanting to take pictures of anything for quite some time, after Ben sees something strange in his photos, and we all know it didn’t go well. Nowadays, almost everyone takes pride in their photos and creates new memories that they can keep forever, but always be careful not to include something that isn’t alive… anymore.
Insidious
A creepy and eerie house combined by a comatose-into-another-dimension son. As married couple Josh (played by Patrick Wilson) and Renei (Rose Bryne) along with their children, Dalton (Ty Simpkins), Foster (Andrew Astor) and Cali, things went down-hill as Dalton was pursued by a demon from the other side. Insidious is directed by James Wan, and was released in 2010, the first of the Insidious franchise. This film offers ghosts and apparitions, that are sure to terrify its viewers along with the reminder to never sleep after getting your head hit. Why? Watch the movie and find out.
Sinister
Cliché as it sounds, Sinister is more of a 'there's-something-in-the-attic' and loud strange noises kind of horror film. Fictional writer Ellison Oswalt (portrayed by Ethan Hawke) that puts his family in danger after discovering something he shouldn’t have. Boogeyman, the film’s mysterious children-influencing-monster, however, made some impression from all the viewers, because of his gruesome influence to the children (who kills their families, I know...) that are horrendous than a guy who appears in photos, moving. Please, can ghosts stop appearing in pictures? It's terrifying. Sinister is a 2010 supernatural film directed by Scott Derrickson.
Coming Soon
This Thai horror film that debuted in 2008 will surely put its viewers at the edge of their seats. Sopon Sukdapisit, the film’s director is an overall genius, as if knowing how much realistic the movie is. He made this film about a village lady who has been blinding and abducting children throughout the years, then was hanged by the villagers after finding out about it. The scary thing is, that everyone who watched the movie gets killed by the lady on the film, just how Coming Soon’s viewers will think of after watching it.
The Ring
If you don't like girls coming out of your television, literally speaking, AND deadlines, then don't watch this film. It's a story about a cursed tape, and if you don't watch it in 7 days, you die. The Ring, directed by Gore Verbinski, was released in 2002. This horror film will give you the real thing = sleepless nights and all that, wondering if someone will come out of your television any second. If you found a tape just strangely lying on the ground, leave it be.
Lights Out
What would you do if you saw a monster after turning off the lights? You run. This film was released just this 2016, directed by yet again, David Sandberg, making the viewers never turn their light off. Shadowed figures, silhouettes, and zombie-like figures come out every time the light is off but not when turned on. Lights Out was originally a short-film and can be seen on YouTube, but as it grows popular, it was then turned out to be a movie. It’s terrifying to find out what’s lurking in the dark, and don’t forget to leave your lights on while watching this movie because you would regret turning it off.
The Shining
What better way to do a horror movie marathon than this classic masterpiece? A writer, Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson) tries to cure his writer's block just for it to progress into more.... psychotic. Which is unfortunate for his own family whom he brought with him to ease his writer's block, to take care of a hotel. The Shining is a 1980 classic film directed by Stanley Kubrick, which took the horror enthusiasts by storm. Also, it might be a wonder to many if why was it called the Shining (for some who haven't watched it yet), his son, Danny, possesses "the shining", an ability to see the hotel's horrific past, so there you go. It is also the film adaptation of Stephen King's "The Shining" so it's a must watch.
The Conjuring
This film was one of the highest-grossing horror films and received many positive reviews. It was released on 2013 and directed by James Wan. A supernatural horror film set to spook you with a family moving into a rundown house where a series of paranormal activities happen. As horror genre films come and go, this will also take its viewers on a horrifying ride.
The Nightmare on Elm Street
Sleep is for the weak, or in this case, sleep and you die. This is a film about some teenagers who are disturbed in their dreams by a disfigured man wearing a blade-fixed glove. Later on, they find out that their nightmares are coming into life, as they are killed one by one by the man, also known as Freddy Krueger (played by Robert Englund). This film is directed by Wes Craven and released on 1984. Viewers can relate to sleepless nights, especially after watching this film, but come on, who would even dare if Freddy's waiting for them in their dreams?
Now that Halloween is creeping around the corner, why don't we start watching these films that would surely get you into the Halloween spirit?