Among the greatest of Halloween traditions is the horror-movie marathon. Rather than sticking to the classics, try these alternatives this weekend.
• REC
Begin with this 2007 Spanish film, which follows a young female news reporter and her cameraman filming the night shift at a local fire station. A call comes in, and they decide to tag along. Eventually, they find themselves locked in an apartment complex with a contagious infection and no way out.
Sound familiar? You may be thinking of the poor American remake Quarantine. Skip it, and let the original work its magic. The last hour of REC is amazingly well-paced with enough jump scares and genuinely terrifying moments to keep you transfixed. The zombie effects, done on a shoestring budget, are incredible, and the last 10 minutes are an ode to the art of building tension.
• Spoorloos
What do you do if your significant other walks into a gas station for drinks and never returns? How long do you look for her or him? What if, three years later, you get contacted by the supposed kidnapper? The strength of Spoorloos, a 1988 Dutch thriller also known as The Vanishing, lies in its ability to create atmospheric suspense while letting viewers in on the mystery. An American version was created, but it’s no where near so good.
Spoorloos’ tension comes in part from the European locations and the director’s capacity to manipulate space. The actions are abominable and the film is disturbing.
• Tales from the Hood
After zombies and kidnappers, move onto this little gem. Produced by Spike Lee, this 1995 anthology is hilarious and terrifying. The story begins with a small group of teenagers picking up some drugs at a mortuary in South Central Los Angeles. As they walk through the mortuary, the owner tells them stories about some of his previous customers and experiences — spirits of the undead, A Clockwork Orange-esque torture, Ku Klux Klan members. This is a great anthology that has been largely overlooked by mainstream audiences but deserves a place among classic pseudo B-movie horrors.
• Suspiria
After Spain, the Netherlands, and LA, the next stop on the horror train is in Italy with horror master Dario Argento and his 1977 flick Suspiria. The creators of Saw and Scream got some of their best ideas from this landmark horror film. Argento’s background in opera influenced his filmmaking, allowing him to express the macabre in a unique format. His mastery of the visual frame, melodramatic use of color, and insane audio design are unparalleled in horror, making Suspiria terrifying in completely unfamiliar ways.
• The Abominable Dr. Phibes
As you finish off the night, it is important to watch something that will allow you to sleep without too many nightmares. “Love means never having to say you’re ugly” — that is the tag line from 1971’s The Abominable Dr. Phibes, starring a horribly disfigured Vincent Price as the title character on a revenge mission. After the death of his wife, Dr. Phibes sets out to kill her incompetent doctors.
Taking a note from The Ten Comandments, Dr. Phibes terrorizes and tortures with camp, not that the original Ten were known for all that much camp. The Abominable Dr. Phibes balances gore with the right amount of hilarity, allowing you to sleep tight and still be entertained.
