Sunday, April 24, 2011

Five Fantastic Horror Movies For A Great Night In

By Adriana Noton


One of the best ways to spend a night with friends, no matter what age you are, is watching horror movies. A night of popcorn, screams and laughter can make for great entertainment, especially if you have a great home theatre system.

Many of these classics have been released recently on Blu Ray in High Definition, but they are also available on the web, so you could download or stream them too, if you have the capabilities. A few of the latest televisions have internet access now, so you can download the films directly to the TV. Or you can connect a projector to your computer and create your own little cinema in your lounge area.

These five films are a perfect choice for a classy night of horror movies. It is a choice of titles that have been produced over the last half a century, proving that first class horrors never date. These were not only great scary movies though, they were also highly rated films, nominated for many awards, and in some cases winning. These are five films that every film-lover should see at least once.

Made in 1960 by the legendary film director, Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho is still as shocking and creepy today as it was back then. The original starred Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, and should not be confused with Gus Van Sant's remake starring Vince Vaughn. Unless your name is Janet Leigh, Bates Motel is definitely worth re-visiting if you have not seen this movie in years. Hitchcock's direction is as always impeccable, and you will watch most of this from the edge of your seat.

In 1973 William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist was released on the big screen. Ever since it has been scaring folk around the world, and this story of a possessed teenager played by Linda Blair, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her role, is guaranteed to send chills down your spine. The Exorcist won 2 Oscars, for Best Sound and Writing, and received 8 other nominations.

Steven Spielberg's Jaws was an instant classic when it was released in 1975. It may have a few silly special effects compared to more modern material but it is still as frightening as ever. Jaws captured 3 Academy Awards, including one for original score by John Williams.

Stephen King has been the master of horror writing for the better part of four decades and picking one of the film adaptations of his books can always add to a scary night. Kathy Bates won an Academy Award in 1990 for her role as Annie Wilkes in Misery, a chilling tale about an obsessed fan who rescues a famous writer after a motor accident.

With 6 Oscar nominations in 1999, The Sixth Sense is a modern masterpiece. While many of his other movies have fallen short of being great, M Night Shyamalan hits every note perfectly in this one. Haley Joel Osment delivers one of the best child performances ever as the boy who sees dead people, and Bruce Willis and Toni Collette support him brilliantly.

For those who have not seen these films, go watch them now and be ready to fall in love with the horror genre. For those who have already found that love, there are films just waiting to be watched from Japanese ghost stories to the bloody gore movies that gained popularity in the seventies.




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