Sunday, April 24, 2011

Five Great Horror Movies For That Perfect Movie Marathon

By Adriana Noton


One of the best ways to spend a night with friends, no matter what age you are, is watching horror movies. A night of popcorn, screams and laughter can make for great entertainment, especially if you have a great home theatre system.

Many great classics have been re-released in High Definition on Blu Ray Discs, but there are also many available on the internet, so you can even make a list, and let your friends choose on the night. Many televisions now have internet access, so you can watch the films directly on the TV. Or you can hook up a projector to your PC and make your very own little theater in your living room.

For a great night of horror movies, these five classics are the ideal choices. Proving that horror stands the test of time, some of these titles date back over half a century. They are not only excellent scary films, but they are also classics across all genres, being nominated and winning many awards. These five are the perfect choice because although many people may think horrors are sub-standard movies, this selection is of five movies everyone should see.

The first movie to put on your list should be the Alfred Hitchcock classic, Psycho. Made in 1960, it is still as eerie and shocking today, with a brilliant performance from Anthony Perkins. Bates Motel is always worth a visit, unless of course you are Janet Leigh. Do not make the mistake of getting the re-make which starred Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates and is not nearly as scary. Psycho was nominated for 4 Oscars.

While Psycho garnered 4 Oscar nominations, the next movie on the list received 10 nominations, and won 2 for Sound and Writing. William Peter Blatty adapted his own novel, The Exorcist, for the big screen in 1973 and to this day it remains one of the scariest films ever made. Linda Blair, who was nominated for her performance, plays a possessed teenager, as was Ellyn Burstyn as her mother.

Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg in 1975, was an instant classic. Yes, it may not live up to the technology of today, and the shark may be a little cheesy, but it still makes people scream and jump just the same. It won 3 Academy Awards, including one for the unforgettable original score by John Williams.

Stephen King has been the master of horror writing for the better part of four decades and picking one of the film adaptations of his books can always add to a scary night. Kathy Bates won an Academy Award in 1990 for her role as Annie Wilkes in Misery, a chilling tale about an obsessed fan who rescues a famous writer after a motor accident.

With 6 Oscar nominations in 1999, The Sixth Sense is a modern masterpiece. While many of his other movies have fallen short of being great, M Night Shyamalan hits every note perfectly in this one. Haley Joel Osment delivers one of the best child performances ever as the boy who sees dead people, and Bruce Willis and Toni Collette support him brilliantly.

For those who have not seen these films, go watch them now and be ready to fall in love with the horror genre. For those who have already found that love, there are films just waiting to be watched from Japanese ghost stories to the bloody gore movies that gained popularity in the seventies.




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