Death in a shower, a girl possessed by the devil, an insane man trying to kill his family, a psychotic cannibal serial killer who feeds his victims their own brain, a child murderer who kills victims in their nightmares, a chainsaw wielding murderer, and the devils son. These are all from some of the best classic horror movies of all time.
These movies may not be the scariest movies you’ve ever seen, and their special effects may not be up to the standards of the new horror movies but they are the roots of today’s horror movies.
First, we have The Omen made in 1976. It is the story of Robert Thorn, a US ambassador whose wife has a stillborn child. Before the wife learns her child is dead, a priest comes up to Robert and proposes that he take a newborn baby whose mother has died. Without telling his wife he agrees to the plan. Later when the family relocates to London, strange things start happening, the child’s nanny hangs herself, a mysterious dog appears, and a priest is killed mysteriously. It turns out that Damian is the Devil’s son, and that Robert must kill the boy he has been raising as his own.
Next, we have another encounter with the Devil in The Exorcist. This time its victim is Regan McNeil, a girl whose mother starts noticing a change in her daughter’s physical and behavioral ways. After violent bed shakings, strange noises, and levitation, the mother turns to Father Merrin, a psychiatrist and expert in exorcism. He is then convinced that she is possessed by the Devil. Finally Father Merrin and a fellow priest Father Karras try desperately to drive the Devil out of this young girl.
Our next horror classic is Silence of the Lambs. This is a story of a murderer known as Buffalo Bill who kidnaps young women and skins them. In order for the FBI to better understand and track down Buffalo Bill, Agent Clarice Starling is sent to interview another murderer and cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lector, who is currently at Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He was once a respected psychiatrist and is now one of the only ways to track down this serial killer.
Alfred Hitchcock directs this next classic horror film Psycho. It’s the story of Marion Crane, a woman tired of sneaking away during lunch times to meet her lover who she cannot marry. An opportunity comes where she is trusted with $40,000 to put into the bank for her boss. She then decides to steal the money and start a new life. On her getaway, she stops at a motel for the night. After eating dinner prepared by the motel’s owner Norman Bates, Marion decides to take a shower. This is when the horror begins.
Finally we have The Shining, a movie based on Stephen King’s novel about a family of three living in an isolated hotel during its off season. Danny, the son, begins having troubling visions of this hotel’s past through telepathic powers also know as “The Shining.” Jack Torrance, is convinced to kill his family by the hotel’s previous guests’ spirits. Now the only way to save Danny and his mother is through “The Shinning.”
These classic movies are what began the horror movie phenomenon and will definitely keep you on edge. If you want a good scare this Halloween, or if you just want to see some good horror flicks, then you should rent these movies, invite your friends, turn off the lights, eat a bunch of Halloween candy and embark on a ride for a frightening night.