5 Legendary Horror Movies to Watch This Year

With Halloween fast approaching, it is time to get scared.

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Watching a scary movie can be a fun Halloween activity. Image from Toby Ord on Wikimedia Commons.

Kaleb Oakley, Staff Writer

1. Halloween (1978)
This 1978 John Carpenter classic is one of the quintessential slasher films. Michael Myers, after killing his sister and being sent to a mental asylum, escapes on Halloween night and returns to his hometown where he searches for his next victim. Meanwhile, a teenager named Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis in her breakout role, babysits her cousin unaware of the nightmare she has just entered. John Carpenter makes brilliant use of tracking shots and fantastic sound design to make the audience feel as though they are being watched. I put this on the list because it is a masterclass of building atmosphere, tension, and giving a fantastic payoff.

2. Alien
In 1979, legendary film director Ridley Scott was hired to direct what would ultimately become one of the most acclaimed horror movies of all time. The film follows the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo as they awoke halfway through their journey due to a distress call from a nearby ship. A large number of unknown eggs are found inside the deserted vessel and after one crewmate is attacked by a strange creature from one of the eggs, the true terror begins. Scott relies on shadows and brief glimpses of the beast in the dark hallways of the Nostromo to create a paralyzing sense of dread that is unparalleled in the history of film. I put Alien on the list because it is one of the greatest horror films of all time and should be seen by all.

3. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Night of The Living Dead is one of the most influential movies of all time. Shot on a shoestring budget in the area surrounding Pittsburgh, it follows a group of survivors during a zombie apocalypse who all end up stranded in an abandoned farmhouse waiting out the night. This film was one of the first zombie movies and the first one to break the mainstream. I put this film on the list because it has perfect pacing and innovative cinematography, and, most importantly, it is incredibly unsettling.

4. Re-Animator
Re-Animator tells the story of a young scientist who creates a serum that can bring the dead back to life, but as they test the serum, an evil professor attempts to take it for himself. This is one to watch with your friends as the film has some of the trashiest special effects, and you will have a great time laughing at it with your friends. I put this movie on the list not because it is incredibly scary but because the film is super goofy, and I doubt anyone would not have a great time with it.

5. The Fly (1986)

“Be afraid, be very afraid,” are the famous lines spoken by Geena Davis’ character in David Cronenberg’s 1986 classic, The Fly. The film tells the story of a scientist named Seth Brundle, played by a spectacular Jeff Goldblum, who discovers a method to teleport an object from one pod to another, and after a successful trial on a monkey, Brundle decides to test the machine out for himself and ,unbeknownst to Brundle, a fly enters the pod. After his computer mistakes the two creatures for a single organism, Brundle begins to transform into a horrific fly-man mutant. Despite coming out in 1986, the film’s visual effects and makeup have aged very well and still look very unsettling. I put this on the list because it is one of the greatest horror films of all time and is the best introduction to David Cronenberg as a director.