I love this time of the year, with its mildly warm afternoons and crisp, dark nights (what my buddy Cheno calls “jacket weather”). I love the colors of the harvest: yellows, golds, oranges and browns, colors that evoke a pleasant childhood in the 1970s. I love the rattle of dried cornstalks, now more often store-bought than standing in the fields, and the smell of woodsmoke rising from chimneys (sadly, that’s one I don’t notice so much anymore; wood-burning fireplaces are fading into history, I guess). I love the way the autumn sunlight slants across the lawns in great amber patches like the dimming embers of the summer just ended. And I love Halloween.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Always has been, which is kind of a surprise when you consider what a wuss I was as a child. For too many of my younger years, I was easily frightened and truly gullible. Hell, a friend of mine once convinced me he was a vampire just by sticking unswervingly to his story for a while, without presenting any corroborating evidence whatsoever. I spent twelve miserable hours worrying that he was going to come kill me before my dad gently pointed out that it had been broad daylight when my friend told me this, and yet he hadn’t gone up in a puff of smoke like any proper, self-respecting bloodsucker would have. I had harsh words for my friend the next day, let me tell you!

Halloween never bothered me, though, not that I can remember. Maybe that’s because Halloween was the one time of the year when I got to be scary instead of being the scared one. And there was the candy, a definite plus for a sweet-toothed child like myself. And for me, of course, there were spooky movies, as well.

Today, on this Halloween, I thought I’d share with you my favorite horror films. You’ll notice that most of the titles on this list date from the late ’70s and early ’80s. They are, by and large, the films I saw in my early teens, when they ran non-stop on cable TV and were always prominently displayed at the local video store. These are the films that most strongly influenced my horror aesthetic, and they are the ones I like to return to when I feel the need for a scare-ride. As shameful as it is to admit it, I have not seen most of the classic Universal monster films of the ’30s and ’40s, and I’m only familiar with the Hammer Studios films of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing by reputation. Nor have I seen many recent horror films. They don’t much appeal to me, I’m afraid. I disliked the post-modern self-awareness of Scream, watching The Blair Witch Project was like having ants in my underwear for ninety of the most irritating minutes of my life, and I have absolutely no interest in the currently trendy Japanese imports or their Americanized remakes, with their creepy little black-eyed girls and dank, sewery visuals. Bleah. Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned horror movies about bare boobies and unkillable, unironic psychokillers? Kids these days don’t know what they’re missing…

Anyway, without further ado, here’s my personal list of Top Ten Horror Movies, presented in no particular order:

• Halloween (1978). The father of the afore-mentioned boobies-and-psychokiller sub-genre, John Carpenter’s biggest hit is also not quite the film most people remember. It’s much tamer than its sequels and imitators, far more interested in building suspense than shocking the audience with gore. Most of the bloodletting happens off-screen, and what’s truly scary about the film is wondering when and where the masked boogeyman is going to appear, not what he actually does when he turns up. This small, low-budget movie — which for years held the record as the most successful independent film of all time — is a masterpiece of the genre. Highly recommended.
• The Fog (1979). Carpenter’s follow-up to Halloween was not nearly as successful, either commercially or artistically, as its predecessor, but I actually like it more. Essentially a moody ghost story about double-crossed sailors returning from the grave to exact their vengeance, this film makes up in creepy atmospherics and striking imagery for what it lacks in logic and coherence. It’s like a dream that doesn’t make much sense after you wake up, but while you’re in the moment, it’s brutally effective. And it stars Adrienne Barbeau, the pneumatically blessed B-movie queen who occupied many of my adolescent thoughts. Gotta love that.
• The Thing (1982). Another John Carpenter movie… I seem to be developing a motif here. What can I say? Back in the early ’80s, he was The Man when it came to horror and low-budget action/sci-fi flicks. His remake of the classic ’50s film The Thing From Another World was unappreciated when it was first released, but I believe its reputation has improved with time. I always liked it, myself. It’s effective on both a visceral and psychological level as a handful of men trapped in the harshest environment on Earth try to defeat an alien menace that could be hiding inside any one of them. It leaves you with a lingering unease that can only be doused by viewing a few minutes of Spielberg’s E.T.
• An American Werewolf in London (1981). A lot of first-time viewers don’t know what to make of this film, which is equal parts comedy and gore-fest. Personally, I think the funny bits make the doomed protagonist even more tragic, as they demonstrate what a charming, likable guy he is and how he doesn’t begin to deserve his fate. This movie literally does make a receptive viewer laugh, cry, cringe, and cower, all in a brief 90 minute runtime. The film’s special effects were ground-breaking in ’81 and hold up quite well, in my opinion; the brief glimpse we see of the werewolf’s complete body as it stalks a man in the London underground still raises goosebumps on my arms. Pointless personal trivia: this was one of the first movies my parents and I rented when home-video technology started becoming a big fad, and I’m pretty sure it contained the first sex scene I ever saw (although Mom did her best to block the screen from my view).
• Psycho (1960). Hitchcock’s best-known film has been imitated and parodied so many times, it’s difficult to imagine that it could still pack any sort of punch, but I believe it does. Unlike a lot of the movie killers that came along in later years, the title character of this film is as much pathetic as frightening, and that adds a thoughtful edge to the proceedings that most serial-killer movies lack. And of course, there’s that whole thematic issue of voyeurism and how the audience is little different than Norman Bates as we silently observe the actions of others…
• The Evil Dead (1982). I debated long and hard about which Evil Dead movie to place on this list. The Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn and Army of Darkness, are really much better movies than the first entry in this trilogy. Certainly they’re better made than the ultra-low-budget schlockfest that came first. But they’re also goofier, veering into outright comedy before all was said and done. The first ED is played more or less straight, and is for the most part quite effective with its scares. And I also love the history behind it, of how a couple of childhood buddies set out to make a movie and ended up becoming (relatively) major players in Hollywood because of it. It’s an inspiring story, and the end result of their work is fun, if really goopy and icky in places.
• Shaun of the Dead (2004). Comedy, romance, coming of age, action, English pubs, music by Queen, and zombies. A perfect combination. I love this movie more and more each time I watch it. The way it satirizes zombie-movie tropes while simultaneously honoring them within a story about people I really, truly like… well, like I’ve said before, it’s just brilliant.
• Interview with the Vampire (1995). This is more of a period costume drama than a horror film, but given that the characters are all vampires, I think it probably qualifies for inclusion on this list. This is a sumptuous film that beautifully embodies Anne Rice’s debut novel. Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Cruise as Lestat, the rock star of the vampire world, are all perfectly beautiful and unearthly, the costumes and sets are rich, and I even like the Guns ‘n’ Roses cover of “Sympathy for the Devil” over the end credits. Books are rarely translated to film more accurately than in this case.
• The Shining (1980). Stephen King was reportedly unhappy with Stanley Kubrick’s chilly version of the Master’s third novel, which made some pretty substantial changes to the story. That debate aside, however, I think the film is damn near perfect, one long exercise in dread and foreboding. Jack Nicholson has given life to many memorable characters and catch-phrases over his long career, but I think Jack “Heeeeeere’s Johnny!” Torrance is certainly going to be one of his signature pieces. He scares the hell out of me, as do those creepy little English ghost-twins that want Danny to come play with them… forever and ever. And, of course, this movie gave rise to one of the funniest Halloween segments ever on The Simpsons: “That’s odd… the blood usually gets off on the third floor.”
• The Phantom of the Opera (1925). Finally, one of the very first movies that could be considered a “horror” picture, the original cinematic version of Phantom with Lon Chaney as Erik, the deformed and deranged (but brilliant) musician haunting the Paris Opera House, is a film that Anne and I have traditionally viewed every October for years now. While many of the conventions of the silent age now seem faintly ridiculous to modern eyes, Chaney’s performance as the tortured psychopath remains startingly fresh and effective. If you’ve seen the musical, you owe it to yourself to see what inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber; if you can, see it with a live musical accompaniment, preferably on a theater pipe organ as it was meant to be seen. I guarantee you’ll never forget it…

And just because I’m not tired of blabbing yet, here are a few honorable mentions that would’ve made the list if I’d done a Top Fifteen instead of a Top Ten:

• Salem’s Lot (1979). While this was a TV miniseries instead of a movie, I still include it on my list of favorite Halloween viewing. This adaptation of Stephen King’s second novel scared the hell out of me when I was younger — the child vampire scratching on his friend’s window probably reminded me of that damned buddy of mine — and I still think it’s pretty creepy, despite the obvious budgetary limitations of the time and the huge, flapping shirt-collars worn by the entire cast. I believe this was remade a few years ago, but I haven’t seen the newer version and I’m not sure I want to. I thought the original version was just fine.
• Nosferatu (1922). A silent adaptation of Bram Stoker’s seminal Dracula, this was the first vampire movie ever made, and it’s telling that even recent vamp flicks continue to recycle certain scenes, camera angles, and even the look of the film’s vampire make-up. The German actor Max Shrek is amazing as the extremely inhuman monster, so different from the elegant vampire that Bela Lugosi would later popularize.
• Fright Night (1985). Yes, I do like vampire movies, and I like this nearly forgotten example of the genre very much. Chris Sarandon is a charismatic and handsomely elegant bloodsucker (even if his 80s-vintage sweaters are now somewhat painful to gaze upon) and Roddy McDowell is heartbreaking and heroic as a washed-up actor who discovers that the fake monsters he’s battled in so many B-movies are, in fact, very real. Slightly less effective is the film’s actual protagonists, William Ragsdale as horny teenager Charlie and Amanda Bearse as his frustratingly chaste girlfriend Amy. They’re not actually bad, they’re just a bit out of their league alongside the grown-up actors. (Incidentally, both of them later did quite well on television sitcoms for the Fox network; Ragsdale was the central character in Herman’s Head, and Bearce became one of Al Bundy’s foils on Married… with Children.) I think this film gets overshadowed by the other big teens-battling-vampires flick that was released about the same time, The Lost Boys, but this one is every bit as good as that somewhat overrated (though enjoyable) cult favorite.
• The Silence of the Lambs (1990). This one, like Interview with the Vampire, is not exactly a horror movie — it’s more of a police procedural with some elements of suspense thriller — but its genuinely horrific subject matter and not-insubstantial gore factor bring it close enough to make it an honorary member of the genre. Silence, of course, made Anthony Hopkins and fava beans familiar to the masses, but it also gave rise to a whole slew of ’90s vintage films and television, most notably The X-Files, which copied Silence‘s visual style almost note for note. Aside from its influence on other properties, however, it’s a damn good movie that combines measured characterization with over-the-top violence to emerge as a uniquely frightening film experience.
• Night of the Living Dead (1968). It’s rare that a single film gives rise to an entire sub-genre, but this one did. The modern zombie film was basically invented by George Romero when he wrote and directed this low-budget shocker about the recently deceased brought back to a monstrous existence by a strange cosmic radiation. This film is unusually well-made compared to most horror films, with a tight script and a lot of interesting and even beautiful cinematography (shot in black-and-white, Night contains a lot of striking usage of light and shadow). There are some pitifully amateur performances in places (the sheriff explaining how zombies can be killed by a head-shot is downright laughable) but the protagonists are strong and realistic, given the absurd circumstances, and Romero even managed to slip in some sly social commentary amid the mayhem. I can only imagine what sort of controversy this film must’ve caused upon its release, and I’m not talking about the scenes of zombies feeding, either. If you think you know what this one is about but have never actually seen it, go and pick it up tonight. Imagine yourself in 1968, in an America torn by racial strife, with the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy still fresh on everyone’s minds. Horror, like science fiction, often holds up a mirror to reality and dares us to look in…

Well, that’s that, plenty of suggestions for your evening viewing. I don’t know what you’ve got planned for tonight, but I intend to pop one of these films into the ol’ player as soon as I get home this evening and watch as I wait for the neighborhood younglings to come a-tapping at my chamber door. Happy Halloween, kids!