The big Halloween party has to be canceled this year, but these horror strips still offer the urgently needed distraction from Corona.
Whether ghosts, witches, horror clowns, vampires or zombies, they too have to adhere to the corona rules this year. Big Halloween parties are not included, but you don't have to do without the shock tober entirely. If you can't celebrate yourself as a creepy figure in a large group, remedial action must be found in the already dreadful year 2020 more than ever with old splatter classics or brand new horror pearls. With these films you are guaranteed to get that Halloween feeling.
The perfect films for the festival of horror
There are horror films. There are films that take place on Halloween – and there is "Halloween – Die Nacht des Horens" by John Carpenter (72). Of course, the cult shocker from 1978 should not be missing. The film is practically the "Dinner For One" of all Halloween fans. Those who are particularly brave can also watch one of the countless sequels or reboots of the original. Less because they're so scary, but more because they've gotten a little more catastrophic with each additional piece. The most recent sequel from 2018 is an exception.
But there are also other films that are worth seeing that have chosen Halloween as a setting. The humorous horror film "Trick 'r Treat" (2007) for example, which knows how to shock in several episodic stories about the pumpkin festival. The fantasy film "Hocus Pocus" (1993) also takes place on Halloween night and lets Bette Midler (74) and Sarah Jessica Parker (55) rush around on their brooms as evil witches. The best: "Hocus Pocus" can also be watched with brave young monsters without further ado, FSK 12 makes it possible.
An outsider suggestion: "Donnie Darko" (2001) with Jake Gyllenhaal (39) plays for Halloween and has produced what is perhaps the scariest rabbit costume of all time.
Brand new horror
Despite Corona, there is also brand new food for all horror aficionados in the cinema, the renewed closure of the cinemas due to the partial lockdown will not come into force until November 2nd. The anthology film "The Mortuary – Every Death Has a Story" has been running since October 22nd. In it, undertaker Montgomery Dark, played by "Highlander" villain Clancy Brown (61), presents various horror stories between gore and black humor.
American director Ari Aster (34) has turned out to be a real prodigy of the genre in recent years. Those who don't have blood in their veins in their film "Hereditary – Das Vermächtnis" (2018) are probably not afraid of anything in the world. And his unusual, because glistening bright horror flick "Midsommar" caused eerily beautiful enthusiasm last year.
The horror classics
There are a handful of horror films out there that are so infamous that even those who despise the genre will at least know them by name. So if you want to prove your courage in front of the screen for Halloween, you could close a few educational gaps in one wash. How about, for example, "The Exorcist", a film that caused quite a stir when it was made (1973) – and won two Oscars for it. Even today, the strip by William Friedkin (85) has lost none of its disgusting fascination.
Apropos disgust: If you don't mind not having an appetite for the rest of the day – also a way to resist the sweets – you should eat David Cronenberg's (77) body horror festival "Die Fliege" (1986). The 1986 film with Jeff Goldblum (68) and Geena Davis (64) combines sheer horror with a repulsive mutation and – believe it or not – a tragic love story that makes you feel sorry for the "monster". And also Oscar-winning ("Best Make-up").
A treat for all body horror fans is John Carpenter's "The Thing" with Kurt Russell (69). The two killers Freddy Krueger from the "Nightmare on Elm Street" or Jason Voorhees from the "Friday the 13th" series should not be missing from any Halloween list. Here too, however, the numerous sequels require courage to trash.
If you prefer to watch a modern classic, you should treat yourself to the "Scream" series. In the best slasher manner, one teen after the other is assassinated – as creative as possible and of course as bloody as possible. Four parts are possible in a "Scream" marathon, a fifth is currently in the making with all the stars of the original films.
Those who can't get enough of zombies in the times of "The Walking Dead" are spoiled for choice. It is better to watch the original films by George A. Romero (1940-2017), like "Zombie" ("Dawn of the Dead") from 1978, or instead the also very successful remake from 2004 with the same name, but incomparably nimble monster cannibals.
A little bit of fun is always good
But Halloween doesn't always have to be deadly serious. For those who don't want to forego horror but still want to strain their laughing muscles, there are scary comedies in all levels of slapstick. The more serious undertone of our proposals would have to offer "The Cabin in the Woods" (2011), in which the most common horror film clichés are made fun of and turned upside down in a charming way.
The same applies to the film "Shaun of the Dead", with which Simon Pegg (50) celebrated his breakthrough on the big screen and has now even made it into the "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" universes. The "Scary Movie" series, which mixes the most famous horror flicks into a silly joke, offers a significantly different level (almost none). Perhaps just the right thing in a sociable and sometimes beer-loving company.
An absolute classic that is always possible outside of Halloween is "Ghostbusters – Die Geisterjäger" from 1984. Just don't make the mistake of buying the new edition from 2016 by mistake. The strip Melissa McCarthy (50) and Kristen Wiig (47) is also scary, but in the worst possible way.