Mr. Movie | The scariest best and worst of the season’s Halloween horror

When it comes to movies, many of my friends and colleagues gleefully point out that I don’t like “anything.”

I do like a lot of movies and none better than a good horror film. I’ve been in love with the genre since I saw my first one in 1958.

It was “The Blob” and it terrified me and at the same time, hooked me forever.

As we move toward the annual Halloween celebration, there are lots of oldies but goodies that can be streamed on this site or that.

Here are some of my favorites and not-faves.

The Best

You have to read the dialogue of Guillermo Del Toro’s, “Pan’s Labyrinth.” The focus is the horror of Nazism and a young girl experiencing the supernatural.

There’s a scene with a monster at a banquet table that is every bit as horrifying — and as much fun — as the alien that popped out of John Hurt’s chest in the original “Alien.”

Brilliantly using sound and light, Ridley Scott’s 1979 “Alien” proves that what you don’t see can be just as horrifying as a direct confrontation.

Stanley Kubrick’s loose interpretation of Stephen King’s “The Shining” has Jack Nicholson giving one of his best performances and is the best ghost story movie ever.

The 2019 sequel, “Doctor Sleep” with Ewan McGregor isn’t bad either.

For creepy you can’t beat “Rosemary’s Baby.”

Along with Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary, “Psycho,” you can also stick the thriller, “The Silence of the Lambs” in this category.

One of my new favorites is Jordan Peele’s first film, “Get Out.” It’s brilliant at a bunch of levels. His movie “Us” isn’t very good but it is disturbingly weird.

Nothing makes horror work better than humor.

Skip the awful 2016 remake and grab the original “Ghostbusters.”

Another lesser known but fun sort-of-horror flick is “Death Becomes Her” with Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep. It has one of the funniest movie endings ever.

Among my favorites for kids is “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” It was directed by Henry Selick, who also made “Coraline.” Both are an absolute hoot with “Coraline” topping the two.

A funny but little known flick about giant people eating worms is 90’s, “Tremors” with Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Reba McEntire and Michael Gross.

Paranormal freaks can always revisit original, “The Blair Witch Project.”

Who — by mid-movie — didn’t want whatever was haunting them to get rid of the lady shooting the video? Others using similar active video techniques and the “found-footage” angle are the “paranormal activity” movies. Based on originality, I liked the first one and the original Blair Witch.

The Worst

What followed hasn’t been as good.

“The Exorcist” sits on top of a lot of most horror movie lists. It’s on my worst list.

William Peter Blatty’s 1971 book is one of the best horror stories ever. The battle of wills between a demon and a priest is incredibly tense but Blatty’s screenplay and director, William Friedkin ruined the movie with lots of barfing, language and Linda Blair’s head spinning around.

Also avoid Francis Ford Coppola’s, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” It’s horrifyingly horrible horror. Coppola dressed Gary Oldman’s Dracula in the worst costumes in movie history and made him look more like a Drelconian from the first Star Trek series than the king of the vampires.

That leads us to chop and slash.

“Halloween Kills” is out today and has Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode doing battle once again with Michael Myers.

It’s the 12th of the series. I refused to screen it. Watching someone get pruned by a maniac with a mask and a machete isn’t my idea of horror.

I feel the same about Jason and the “Friday the 13th” movies. “Saw” falls in that category as do the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” flicks.

Some of you love them and I’m happy you do. I just don’t.

In 30+ years I’ve written several thousand reviews. My favorite review is from the Friday the 13th flick, “Jason Goes to Hell.” It ran one sentence and sums up my take on chop and slash films.

“Good idea.”

This story was originally published October 15, 2021 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie | The scariest best and worst of the season’s Halloween horror."