Spooky movies: Can you face them?
With Halloween approaching, horror movies are watched to complete the scary mood of the holiday. I watched five popular scary movies and reviewed each one with my best judgement. These reviews can help you further pick the best scary movie for you to watch.
The Human Centipede (2009)
One of the most gruesome movies of all. The movie begins when two girls travel to a new country, happen to get lost, and stumble upon an isolated house. Now, an isolated house sounds scary enough, but not as sketchy as the man who lives in it: a psychotic scientist with a dream to create the world’s first human centipede. He attempts to pursue this by drugging the two girls and sewing his victims together, including another man he had previously held captive, finishing with three total people within the human centipede. Filled with action, the police, attempts to escape and more, the movie overall leaves you shocked and not wanting to see another horror movie for a while. This movie definitely takes a lot of guts to see and is mainly the type of movie to watch with friends for fun.
The Exorcist (1973)
“The Exorcist” is one of the most classic horror movies. Made in the 70s, the movie had a huge impact and lead the way for many other horror movies to come. The movie begins where a young girl, Regan, begins acting weird and eventually levitates and speaks a different language. Regan soon becomes possessed by the devil, changing her voice and appearance as a demon slowly takes over her. Regan’s mother soon brings in the church to help bring her daughter back. Taking place over 40 years ago, movie effects and editing are not as scary as the modern horror movies today and give the movie a slower and less scary appeal, although some scenes are more scarier than others. However, overall, being a classic scary movie, it definitely catches your attention by conveying a sickening mood from the appearance and actions of Regan. I found this movie to be gruesome and action-packed towards the end, but this movie was filled with very little pop-outs and didn’t scare me as much.
The Conjuring (2013)
Based on a true story, “The Conjuring” begins when the Perron family, Carolyn, Roger and their five daughters, move into an isolated farmhouse. This house has had a dark history that begins to show itself throughout the movie. As hauntings begin, all five children begin to witness ghosts and creatures during the night. Soon, the Perron’s become desperate for help and they come across Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are paranormal investigators. Eventually, the house’s past unravels and they discover that the paranormal spirit has latched onto their family and the Warren’s must do whatever they can to stop it. This movie definitely contains many popouts and creates stressful ending that can keep anyone on their toes. I found this movie to be one of my favorites due to the non-stop climax towards the end filled with pop-outs and ghosts that definitely caught your attention.
Insidious (2010)
“Insidious”- a movie filled with demons and other dimensions. A young boy, Dalton, is passed down a gift from his father: the ability to travel to the demon realm. Not knowing his gift, he is able to fall asleep and find himself in this world, assuming they are nightmares. The movie changes course when Dalton’s soul is trapped within the demon realm and his body is left unconscious. Because of the realistic point of view in this time period, Dalton is diagnosed with a coma, but the hauntings in his house, especially his room, tell otherwise. Both his parents call in a ghost specialist to help figure out the problem and figure out a way to bring their son back and stop the hauntings. This movie was my favorite horror movie for a while due to its interesting storyline. The anticipation of waiting for the father to save his son and come back safely, without getting stuck in the demon world, brought me into the movie and I became attached.
The Shining (1980)
“The Shining”, another classic movie created in the 80s, sparks the story of a young man, Jack Torrance, who works as a winter caretaker for a hotel in Colorado. Because the roads close up, no one can visit, leaving him isolated with his family in a large hotel for the few months of winter. During their stay, Jack slowly becomes psychotic as isolation takes over his mind and he begins to see things. His son, Danny begins to experience encounters with ghosts while playing in the hotel. Soon enough, Jack’s mind snaps and he goes after his son and wife with the famous line “Here’s Johnny!” due to Jack’s real name. This movie shows the side effects of what a creepy hotel and isolation can do to one’s mind. I found this movie to have a great story line, but along the way, filled with confusing parts. Jack meets a bartender and speaks with him daily, which makes no sense because Jack’s family are the only people within the hotel. His son, Danny, comes across many ghosts within the hallways, including an random old woman in a bathtub and also speaks frequently to an imaginary friend, named Tony, who is uncertain whether he is a ghost or not. Overall, this movie definitely scared me, but left me confused as well towards the end.
