MACABRE DAILY'S OCTOBER STAFF PICKS: FAVORITE HORROR MOVIES TO WATCH ON HALLOWEEN!
Happy Halloween! Another October has come and (almost) passed, and we hope you have been enjoying our morbid, lurid, strange, and occasionally unknown Staff Picks. While everyone has their own Halloween watchlist tradition, we figured we would throw our undead hats in the ring with our Favorite Horror Movies to Watch on Halloween!
Remember boils and ghouls; stay safe, have fun, and watch horror movies!
Your Fiends at Macabre Daily
CREEPSHOW (1982)
Directed by George Romero
Rich Harris on his “Favorite Horror Movie to Watch on Halloween” pick: The horror anthology movie, as a concept, has a lot going for it. For example, what happens if you don’t like the current segment you’re watching? You chill the fuck out, man - - another one will be along in a couple ‘a minutes. Truth is that you tend to find a better quality of story when the story in question is up against the clock. You have to establish your characters quick-snap, you have to set up the situation and not fuck around with non-essentials to pad out the running time, your antagonist (where appropriate) needs to have a clear, unclouded purpose, etc., etc. They’re more concise, more focused, and, in the case of CREEPSHOW with its EC Comic Book motif, more fun.
CREEPSHOW, for the uninitiated, is the love child of disgustingly underrated director GEORGE ROMERO and bestselling horror author STEPHEN KING. It is a collection of five (six, if you count the wrap-around) short horror stories starring some of the classiest cult talent in Hollywood and has special gore n’ creature effects by TOM SAVINI. I don’t know what else you want.
If nothing else, CREEPSHOW handily shows what ROMERO was capable of when he was handed a reasonable budget, time, and actual acting talent rather than DAVID EMGE. It also showcases how razor-sharp KING’s writing can be when he’s not rattling on about the texture of drywall for 14 pages or some shit.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
Directed by Wes Craven
Christopher Boise on his “Favorite Horror Movie to Watch on Halloween” pick: I have loved this movie for as long as I can remember ever liking horror movies. I grew up with the franchise and house that Freddy built with all these films. I love each and every one of them in their own way but the original will always be a classic Halloween film I watch every year. There are so many things where you can see the true creativity of Wes Craven, and hey it's Johnny Depp's first movie.
GOOD BURGER (1997)
Directed by Brian Robbins
Nick Bankhead on his “Favorite Horror Movie to Watch on Halloween” pick: This might not seem Halloween-y, but something’s up with Ed’s secret sauce. Said to be written originally as a Slasher movie, I dove into this theory in a past Macabre Daily article.
NIGHTBREED (1990)
Directed by Clive Barker
Matt Orozco on his “Favorite Horror Movie to Watch on Halloween” pick: Nightbreed is easily one of my favorite horror movies, and it’s a great one to watch on Halloween purely because of the outstanding practical creature effects aplenty along with one helluva Danny Elfman score which he ripped off himself for using similar notes in A Nightmare Before Christmas…but I digress.
Nightbreed got unfairly maligned upon release, and despite a theatrical cut that was heavily edited there is still an amazing horror film in here complete with great gore gags, terrifyingly beautiful makeup for the residents of Midian, and a David Cronenberg performance that is as legendary as it gets. There was a time before Scream! Factory, Arrow, and others where the only cut of the film available was the theatrical whereas now viewers can literally pick from at least 3 versions. My personal suggestion is the Director’s Cut as it feels the most complete and coherent. While I love the Cabal Cut it’s a bit of a mess, and the theatrical I have a soft spot for it even though I don’t suggest it as the penultimate version.
Clive Barker just understands the kind of horror I love. It’s visceral, haunting, sexual, and above all things that only your wildest nightmares could imagine. He takes risks in both his writing and his directing, and as far as best costumes go, you’d be hard-pressed to find better dressed than the monsters in Midian!
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