By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
October 25, 2002
There are some folks who have their Halloween costumes planned out months in advance. For the rest of us, it’s all we can do to stock up on candy and not eat it all before doling it out to the kids. But regardless of your approach to the holiday, there’s nothing like a good creepy film to ensure a frightfully fun evening. Here are some of our favorite Halloween picks, including a couple that’ll keep your kids entertained.
Halloween: Long before Neve Campbell and Sarah Michelle Gellar were being chased by stalkers, Jamie Lee Curtis set the standard for teen slasher flicks. Young, pretty and bright, Curtis was the era’s perfect heroine as she tried to outlive a creepy killer who wasn’t above wearing a victim’s eyeglasses to hunt his prey. Does she live? Of course she does. Just rent the sequels (except the last one!) for proof of her survival. But this one is a keeper.
Scream: The sequels are scary in their own right, but the first in the trilogy was the surprise winner. We watch as Drew Barrymore–the film’s biggest star–gets offed early on and spunky Neve Campbell becomes a star by proxy. The casting is perfect, from Jamie Kennedy’s know-it-all horror movie buff character to David Arquette’s goofy portrayal of a bumbling police officer. Even the pop culture references that could’ve been so 15 minutes ago are fresh and relevant years after the film’s theatrical release.
Winnie the Pooh: Frankenpooh/Spookable Pooh: What to do with the rugrats once they’re done trick-or-treating and are bouncing around the house? Calm them down with a Halloween DVD of their own. This 70-minute combo is so adorable you’re going to want to watch it, too. There’s just enough “fright” in the vignettes to keep the little ones’ hearts pounding, but not enough to keep them from sleeping well that night. Our favorite story in this collection is “The Monster Frankenpooh,” where cuddly Dr. Von Tigger transforms Pooh into a somewhat scary monster.
Elmo Says Boo: Sesame Street fans will adore this kids’ DVD that is more zany shtick than creepy scare. Everyone’s favorite furry pal visits a mysterious castle that may or may not be haunted. There are jokes, songs and special appearances by Bert and Ernie.
Marathon Man: Dustin Hoffman is a graduate student tortured by Laurence Olivier. The storyline is well crafted and full of suspense. The often imitated but never equaled tooth-pulling scene is a painful classic that has been emulated at least twice on ABC’s “Alias.” That’s not scary enough for you? Watch Hoffman run for his life. That’ll get you every time.
The Sixth Sense: “I see dead people.” Yikes! And they’re all over M. Night Shyamalan’s breakthrough film. Unequivocally better than his follow-up films “Unbreakable” or “Signs,” this extraordinary movie scares the daylights out of you even before anything happens. Haley Joel Osment lives in a world of ghosts and Bruce Willis is the child psychologist trying to help him. Shyamalan leaves clever clues throughout the film that will help you figure out the surprising ending. This film never grows old.
Silence of the Lambs: The film that brought Hannibal Lecter (and fava beans) into pop culture vernacular, the movie is insidiously frightening. It combines horror film elements with psychological drama. Starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, the movie is intelligent, scary and immensely entertaining.
Psycho: Sure you can catch this classic as a rerun. But there’s nothing like watching it all the way through with no commercials to get your blood pumping, especially when the lights are off. Tell us you still don’t jump out of your chair during the “eek eek eek” shower scene and we’ll say we don’t believe you! Be sure to rent the 1960 classic starring Janet Leigh (Jamie Lee Curtis’ mother) rather than the 1998 remake. Though it’s plenty fun watching Viggo Mortensen (“Lord of the Rings”) in the latter, even he can’t hold his own again the classic.
Gremlins: A kid gets an interesting Christmas gift from his dad: an adorable, furry creature that seems easy enough to take care of if you follow a few simple rules: don’t get him wet, don’t let him eat after midnight and keep him away from sunlight. Of course, the kid doesn’t listen and the live little present has a litter. Not bad, until he feeds them and they turn into little monsters. There are a few gross-out moments but the special effects and humor rule.
