Saturday, August 20, 2011

Classic Horror Movies That Stand The Test Of Time

By Adriana Noton


People have always enjoyed a good scary story, something that keeps them on the edge on their seat. Whether it be a ghost story around a fire, horror movies, or a thrilling book by the likes of Stephen King or Dean Koontz, people have always found getting scared by a story perversely satisfying.

There are so many types of horrors, especially when it comes to films, whether they be bloody gore films, satirical comedies, ghost stories or psychological drama, the genre is diverse and wide.

It is very difficult to compare horror movies because they can be so diverse. After all you can hardly compare The Nightmare on Elm Street with a movie like Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, other than the fact that both may give you a fright. However the following five films are the best examples of different classic horror genres, and are also responsible for inspiring thousands of other films over the years.

The first I have just mentioned, Psycho, perhaps the most eerie of all Alfred Hitchcock's masterpieces. Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates is absolutely brilliant, and to this day, this classic piece of cinema will scare almost everyone. It is nerve-wracking and the tension is unbearable throughout, and while it may not be as scandalous as it was in 1960, it remains one the iconic horror movies of all time. Who will ever forget that shower scene.

In 1973 The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin and starring Ellen Burstyn, Max Von Sydow and Linda Blair, hit the screens and scared the world like never before. This was the movie that caused many sleepless nights for its audience, as the scary story of a young girl, played by Blair, is possessed by a demon, and we follow the story of the priests who try to exorcise the demon out of her. It is still as disturbing today, and should not be watched alone, unless you are very brave.

The next classic in this list of horror movies was directed by Hollywood royalty. Jaws, from the one and only Steven Spielberg, remains a leader in its sub-genre. It is the movie that stopped millions of people from swimming carefree in the sea, and humming the theme music at the beach is enough to stop quite a few people from even dipping the toes in the water.

While there are many to contend with when it comes to the slasher genre of horror movies, the original Halloween, made in 1978, stands out from the rest, perhaps because it was directed by the legendary John Carpenter. Michael Myers has had his fair share of competition from the likes of Friday the Thirteenth's Jason or Elm Street's Freddie Kruger. Jamie Lee Curtis and the eerie Donald Pleasance were the stars of that first film.

Poltergeist finishes the list. This 1982 movie starring Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams, and directed by Toby Hooper, was actually produced by Steven Spielberg too. According to the cast, Spielberg also cast and directed them and did the movie's storyboards, but because he was doing E. T. At the same time, could not be the actual director. This is arguably the best of all haunted house horror movies, and tells the story of a family who have to deal with their home being haunted.




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