With the month of October comes the desire (for some) to watch horror films. This year, I watched several movies, but some of which were the beginning of certain genres, or the first of many remakes. To my mind, these are the “original horror” movies—they sparked something that helped create an obsession (ex. zombie movies) or influence movies or TV shows today. These films are Night of the Living Dead [IMC DVD 791.4361 N687 2004], The Haunting [IMC DVD 791.4367 H373 2003], and The Hills Have Eyes [IMC DVD 791.4361 H655 2003].
Night of the Living Dead is a movie that is infamous for its influence in the zombie genre. It had an incredibly small budget of $114,000, and ended up grossing $12 million domestically. It was an instant hit, and has become a cult classic, sparking five subsequent films and inspiring two remakes. The premise is that “living dead” creature begin to terrorize the local inhabitants, and two groups of people end up barricading themselves in a farmhouse. They are able to fend off the zombies for a time, but eventually there is a breakdown amongst themselves and things fall apart. While it might not seem like much now, there is great cinematography in how it was shot, and their use of the shadows. There is a lot more to this movie than you get from the first viewing. It is also interesting to note that in 1968 when this movie came out, there was a much different movie censorship system in place, so movie critics mentioned that most of the audience for this movie was 16 years old or younger. While the first half of the movie is clean horror, the tone drastically changes halfway through, and I can’t imagine what audiences thought at that time. This movie helped shape the nature of the splatter/gore genre, and it is clear why. If you haven’t seen it, I would recommend it.
The Haunting is a movie that has had at least one movie remake, and recently sparked a new TV show that is based on the same novel (The Haunting of Hill House). It is an interesting type of horror film, because while it does explore a haunted house (Hill House), it is more about mental breakdown and the impacts of terror. Another black and white film, the sets are characterized by a late Baroque style, where everything is overdone, adding to the feeling of claustrophobia that the characters have in the house. There is plenty of suspense in this movie and several special effects were used to heighten the audience’s discomfort.
My final movie was The Hills Have Eyes. This was my least favorite movie, partly because the screenplay seemed choppy at parts. Wes Craven directed it, as well as the sequel. He was also involved in the remake and sequel in 2006 and 2007. The movie follows a suburban family which gets stranded in a desert supposedly off-limits because of nuclear testing. While stranded, a savage family of cannibals attacks them and kidnaps their baby. I thought the premise was interesting, but there was a lot of the story that was only revealed at certain parts, and it made the movie feel choppy.
The IMC is featuring horror movies this month, so come check out a movie for a scare before Halloween! And as always, don’t forget to follow along on your own film travelogue at https://letterboxd.com/peterstanley/list/1001-movies-you-must-see-before-you-die .
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