Its at this time of year, when the nights draw in, leaves fall and grinning Jack OLanterns peer at us from neighbours windows that our minds turn towards horror. TV shows, magazines and websites rightly take the opportunity to celebrate an abused cinematic genre, often with lists of the greatest horror movies ever made. And so once again we champion the same few films, with 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre', 'The Shining', 'Jaws', 'The Exorcist', 'Dawn of the Dead' and a few select others annually dusted off and held up to the light. While this should make us happy, we should also bear in mind that horror is only part of the Halloween story. This isnt a holiday about nightmares, but about mischief, fun and an occasional boo! Its dressing up and bobbing for apples. Its eating too many sweets (or later drinking too much booze) and making our friends jump. Halloween is a nice safe scare. So this October 31st forget your usual top ten (if youre like me it probably changes every year anyway) and why not try these spooky films that offer just as many treats as they do tricks
10. The Wolf Man (Waggner, 1941)
Mixing tragedy with its fairground scares, 'The Wolf Man' is never-the-less one of the most entertaining pictures from Universals monster emporium. With its fog shrouded woods, manor estates and mystic gypsies, the film is a European folktale from the perspective of its American storytellers i.e. all the mystery, none of the danger. Lon Chaney Jnr moves in his fathers shadow, but defines the werewolf for all time as tortured, paranoid and hopeless. Supported by a cast that includes Bela Lugosi, Claude Rains and a show-stealing Maria Ouspenskaya as the burdened gypsy. The way you walked was thorny...
9. Halloween III Season of the Witch (Wallace, 1982)
Aka The One Without Michael Myers in it. Bored by the limitations of the series theyd created, John Carpenter and Debra Hill ditched their Haddonfield boogieman in favour of a malevolent toymaker hell-bent on killing all the children in America. While not as coronary-inducing as its predecessor, 'Halloween III' instead taps into to the pagan origins of Halloween, with a modern day Celtic witch (Dan OHerlihy) longing for the return of Samhain a night when all the goblins get to come out to play. Taking inspiration from 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' along the way and starring Tom Atkins. Mischievous, eerie and unlike the rest of the Halloween sequels, never boring.
8. The Night Stalker (Curtis, 1972)
Made for TV, but directed by Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows) and written by Richard Matherson (I Am Legend). Telling the story of an ancient vampire loose in Las Vegas, the film generates a worrying mood as the citys bright lights cast deep shadows. The vampire is brutal and his preying on young women adds a sort of uneasy, serial killer queasiness. Yet what makes 'The Night Stalker' so entertaining is Darren McGavin as old time newshound Carl Kolchak. Belligerent, worn out and sarcastic, hes just the sort of guy you wouldnt expect to see fighting vampires. Thats what makes it so fun.
7. Fright Night (Holland, 1985)
A post modern horror film made before 'Scream' and with a deeper affection for its subject matter. Charlie Brewster has seen enough vampire films to know the real thing when he sees it and enlists has-been horror actor (buried on late night TV) Peter Vincent (getit?) to help take it down. As Vincent, Roddy MacDowell is part Peter Cushing, part Cowardly Lion and brings laughs and pathos in equal measure I am Peter Vincent, Vampire Killer! The injokeyness is kept to the forefront (like 'Scream', characters discuss the rules of the genre) but never undermines the horror. Chris Sarandons vampire is icily calm and full of Byronic seduction.
6. Spider Baby (Hill, 1968)
Frankenstein, Dracula and even the Mummy are sure to end up in somebodys tummy! With a cutesy animated title sequence and a theme sung by Lon Chaney Jr. himself, 'Spider Baby' draws you into its mad web right from the start. A sort of sexually aggravated retelling of 'The Addams Family', the film watches as three deranged siblings (the Merrye family) feast on bugs, lust after whoever visits their parlour and communicate with the cannibalistic relatives kept in the cellar. Sid Haig as brother Ralph looks like one of the pinheads from Tod Brownings 'Freaks'. Chaney looms around as the sad-sack patriarch. One for the books.
5. Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (Baker, 1974)
Its Hammer horror meets the Shaw Brothers as Dracula and Van Helsing go east and get involved in some martial arts high-jinx. With Roy Ward Baker providing the billowing horror and Chia-Liang Liu directing the fight scenes, the films marriage of convenience actually works rather well. Painting in broad strokes, the kung fu gives the Gothicism a comic book feel (emphasised by Bakers garish use of colour). Adding to the fun is a group of martial art Vampire Hunters who all exhibit their own special powers. The breathless pace never lets up for a second. And its got Peter Cushing in it.
4. The Howling (Dante, 1981)
Eclipsed by Landis 'American Werewolf in London', Joe Dantes werewolf picture is just as worthwhile. Beginning in a sleazy sex district before sending Dee Wallaces Bambi-like reporter to a sort of lycanthrope holiday camp, the film effortlessly balances terror with a playful knowingness. Characters are named after directors of other werewolf movies (George Waggner, Fred Francis) while everyone from Roger Corman to Forrest J. Ackerman pop up for a cameo. Dantes love of B-movies is infectious and he revels in scenes of werewolf transformation (supplied by Rob Bottin) and talk about silver bullets.
3. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Various 1949)
Disneys take on Washington Irvings 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' (released alongside an adaptation of Wind in the Willows hence the title) is a ghoulish delight. Narrated by Bing Crosby, his warming voice perfectly catches the twilight tale of teacher Icabod Crane and his fear of the headless horseman. Full of toe-tapping (and knee-knocking) songs - with lyrics like, When the spooks have a midnight jamboree, they break it up with fiendish glee. Best of all is the finale where Ichabod takes a lonesome horse ride through the hollow, passing under clawing tree branches, his whistle echoing off into the darkness. There are films you should watch every Halloween.
2. Night of the Creeps (Dekker, 1986)
The good news is your dates are hereThe bad news is theyre dead. A gleeful homage to horror cinema, from sci-fi flicks like 'Aliens', 50s schlock like 'Plan 9 From Outer Space', George Romero zombies and 80s slashers. Never mind the plot, sit back, count the in jokes and follow leads Spanky and Alphalpha take on some seriously weird dead people running rampant over their university frat houses. Its hard to know what works best here - the likable leads, Fred Dekkers deadpan direction or Tom Atkins (him again) as the suicidal cop hell-bent on revenge. Whatever, 'Night of the Creeps' is simply one of the most entertaining monster pictures ever made.
1. John Carpenters The Fog (Carpenter, 1980)
With its haunting piano score and fireside ghost story charm, John Carpenters 'The Fog' is the perfect film for Halloween night. By taking a horror movie cliché (the rolling fog banks) and turning it into the films chief adversary, hes created a film that is at once old fashioned and modern. Scenes of fishermen adrift in the mist and gothic churches are intercut with knowing dialogue (are you weird?, Yes. Yes I am weird.) and sudden shocks of ultra violence. In the lead Adrienne Barbeau is sexy and capable and is supported by Tom Atkins (hazzah!), Janet Leigh, Jamie Leigh Curtis and Hal Holbrook. A ghost story for our times. Tom Fallows, OWF's Horror Historian