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The bloody curtain rises on 10 great Halloween movies

October 29, 2017

Dear horror fans, let’s forget about crime, politics and sports—even sports!—in this humble space so we may entertain and frighten ourselves.

Halloween is Tuesday. There’s talk Gov. Larry Hogan might extend summer vacation to include Halloween, but so far the talk is coming only from me. There has been deadly serious talk around the newsroom about great Halloween movies. (Spoiler alert: Journalists have potent cinematic opinions when unkenneled from news gathering duties.)

We asked the crew to send top picks and a few words on why their Halloween movies are so obviously great. Italicized are the guest reviewer’s comments, along with occasional yet gifted editor’s notes.

So, in no order, cover your eyes:

“Psycho” (1960): I did not use a shower for years after seeing it as a young child. Finally had to in college when someone put a log in the dorm bathtub for an art project. Editor’s note: Alfred Hitchcock used 78 camera set-ups and 52 cuts for the 3-minute shower scene. The murdering “mother” was a stand-in for Tony Perkins.

“Halloween”: The 1978 original, of course. From script to direction to cinematography to score, the scariest “slasher” movie in the genre.

“Freaks” (1932): Still the best last 10 minutes in any horror film ever. Editor’s note: Director Tod Browning bet everything on this twisted pup—and lost his career. Baltimore’s own, the torso-less Johnny Ecks, played one of the “freaks.”

“The Shining” (1980): Rather than focus on dumb crap like jump scares, bad antagonists more memorable for their look than their motivations and poor lighting effects, Stanley Kubrick actually make you feel uncomfortable through a series of unknowns that aren’t just “what’s around the corner?”

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993): For when you’re inebriated post-Halloween party. Trust me. Editor’s note: We do.

“Eraserhead” (1977): Unsettling, ominous and unnerving, this is less a horror film than it is an experiment in assailing human psyche through explicit, unexplainable and yet still humanizing imagery with little context. For a 1977 indie film by David Lynch (“Twin Peaks”, “Blue Velvet”), the depiction of a mutant newborn and the (seemingly) dreamlike state Jack Nance’s protagonist character navigates the world did more to upset me than any Chucky doll.

“Night of the Living Dead” (1968): Editor’s note: George Romero’s cult classic (shot for $114,000) set the walking dead bar for all zombie cinema to come.

“You’re Next” (2011): This horror-slasher flick is equally scary and surprising as it turns traditional movie tropes inside out. You might think you know what’s going on, but you have no idea until the very end! Great movie for people who love tense action sequences, jump scares, dark humor and copious gore.

“Hocus Pocus” (1993): Whether or not you grew up watching this on the Disney Channel, it’s a classic. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy are a wonderfully witchy force to be reckoned with as the Sanderson Sisters. Midler’s wickedly sassy rendition of “I Put A Spell On You,” and Parker’s haunting “Come Little Children” have become part of the soundtrack to so many millennials’ Halloweens. It’s a perfect film for all ages. Editor’s note: Well said, but who are these millennials you speak of?

“House on Haunted Hill” (1959): Editor’s note: When I was in middle school in 1971, this was an after-school movie in our darkened cafeteria. Vincent Price plays a Vincent Pricey-millionaire who invites five people to his haunted house and offers $10,000 to anyone who can stay the night. I vividly remember a jangling skeleton emerging from a vat of acid. I vividly remember because I dream about it still.

Guest reviewers: Chase Cook, Selene San Felice, Dan Griffin, Phil Davis, Wendi Winters and Rob Hiaasen.