Horror Movie Email

Original Title: Horror Movie List
Original Date Sent: April 13, 2010
Sent to: An old co-worker
Context: I was asked to provide a series of movie recommendations to a co-worker who had just gotten Netflix. This was the first of those. The other two, documentaries and film noir, have previously been posted. Names redacted to protect the innocent.

Here is your list. XXXXXX and I compiled it this afternoon. Blurbs are mine:

Halloween (1978) dir. John Carpenter: My personal favorite. Started the "slasher movie" genre, but doesn't delve into the trashy, exploitative depths that later imitators did. The classic opening scene sets the tone for the whole movie. And the music...wow.

The Thing (1982) dir. John Carpenter: Quite possibly the best in-camera effects of all time. But it's quite a bit more than that. Carpenter creates a feeling of claustrophobia and paranoia that few other movies can touch. The blood test scene is particularly tense. Plus, it has Kurt Russell in the early 80's. You want to see this.

An American Werewolf in London (1981) dir. John Landis: On second thought, maybe this has the best in-camera effects of all time. One of the better examples of the horror-comedy sub-genre (without having "unnecessary violence" like Re-Animator or any number of Troma movies). Plus it will remind you of the Warren Zevon song, if you're into that kind of thing.

Night of the Living Dead (1968) dir. George A. Romero: This movie gave me nightmares as a kid. The grainy 16mm B&W cinematography adds the sort of atmosphere that other horror movies envy. Sure, by today's standards the zombies are slow and fat and not very menacing. But the (copious) images of their pale bodies emerging out of the darkness are not something that you'll soon forget.

Creep Show (1982) dir. George A. Romero: A XXXXXX favorite. It's based on a horror comics series and is made up of several shorts that are loosely fit together (through a frame narrative of a kid reading the Creep Show comics, of course). Highlights include Stephen King "acting" and Leslie Nielsen playing a douchebag.

Rosemary's Baby (1968) dir. Roman Polanski: An upper-crust NYC couple just moved into a new apartment. They throw classy parties, discuss theatre, and get to know their elderly neighbors. The wife gets pregnant. It's not the husband's baby. The father is, well, you'll just have to find out. The whole movie is probably an elaborate allegory for class struggle or something. It is also creepy as hell.

Alien (1979) dir. Ridley Scott: Essentially a Haunted House movie in space. As the title suggests, there is an alien involved. I hope you've already seen this. And the sequel (which is happens to be one of the best films in the 80's Action sub-genre).

The Descent (2005) dir. Neil Marshall: I saw this in the theater and it scared the crap out of me. A group of female friends decides to go cave-diving for a weekend. This will really get to you if you're at all nervous about tight spaces. Or if you're at all nervous about being attacked while in these tight spaces.

That's all for now. I CCed XXXXXX so that he can add any comments or correct any mistakes that I've made. See you tomorrow!

Mike Coast