October certainly flew by! Hopefully everyone got a chance to check out our Halloween DVD display before it got taken down last week. I was lucky enough to get a couple more scary movies in before Halloween was over, including The Wicker Man [IMC DVD 791.4361 W636 2006], Nosferatu [available streaming online or at IMC DVD 791.4361 N897 2007], and A Nightmare on Elm Street [IMC DVD 791.4361 N688 2006]. Each of these movies was great for the Halloween season.
The Wicker Man follows the story of a policeman from the Scottish mainland who sails to one of Scotland’s smaller islands to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. Everyone on the island claims they don’t know who she is, but slowly the policeman discovers strange happenings on the island and discovers the truth. I loved the bizarreness of this movie, stemming in part from the Gaelic pagan rituals in which the islanders are participating. The music was also a big part of this movie. If you like cult movies, this might be a good one to check out next.
Nosferatu is F.W. Murnau’s classic black and white film about Count Orlok (more famously known as Dracula). I didn’t know before watching it that Murnau had not gotten rights to use the names from Dracula, which resulted in the name changes (i.e. vampire became nosferatu). However, this movie became a classic, with wonderful special effects, especially when one considers the year when it was made. In addition, even if you’ve never seen the film in its entirety, you have experienced its cultural effect—namely Dracula rising from his coffin with stiff arms held out in front of him. This was a great film and worth watching for both the content and its immense cultural value.
The final movie I watched before Halloween was over was A Nightmare on Elm Street. It was great to finally be able to see the original Freddy Krueger movie, and again, the special effects were very impressive. I learned later that they used a rotating room to do some of the scenes, which was very effective. If you’ve never seen the original (I know they made a remake in 2010), then I would recommend seeing this movie because of its huge influence on the horror genre.
Unfortunately, Halloween is now over, but the IMC has a new DVD display for you to check out: Steampunk films! Come check it out and as always, you can follow along on your own film adventure at https://letterboxd.com/peterstanley/list/1001-movies-you-must-see-before-you-die/ .
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