Autumn is not a fun time of year, in fact it's downright creepy. Night comes earlier and earlier, the trees start looking haggard, and the wind seems to cut through even the toughest jacket.
Coupled with those factors is the sense of foreboding that precedes the heinous Buffalo winters.
All of this is why it's perfect that Halloween is at the end of October. For college students, All Hollow's Eve has become more about getting their sugar high from mixed drinks instead of candy corn, but horror movies will still scare the tight costumes off of just about everyone on Main Street.
It seems like some horror movies are terrifying to some people, but that same movie is hysterically over-the-top to others. Some people love them while others dread anything past the opening credits. But being too scared to talk while you watch a scary movie with a few friends has become a staple of the Halloween season. And almost everyone has an opinion on what really makes a movie scary.
The Exorcist caused a whole generation to lose unknown quantities of sleep, and is consistently ranked as the scariest movie of all time. At first glance it does seem scary, and the premise of a priest exorcising Satan from a young girl definitely won't be reenacted at many Kindergarten plays, but I remember bowling over in laughter whenever ol' Lucifer showed himself.
By contrast, I was dragged to the theater to see the first Paranormal Activity in 2007, and was expecting to be able to take a nice nap. By the end, though, I was screaming in fear along with a full theater of people and was only able to bring myself to see the sequel this past summer. Never did I think a simple bedroom door would make me yearn for a change of underwear.
Sure, spooky movies can be corny, but no matter how cheesy or frightening they're always fun. The gaudy acting and plots from out-of-left-field attract viewers to the genre every year.
There is even a whole crop of horror movie drinking games online. Whenever a character says "I'll be right back" and goes off to explore on his or her own, take a drink. It will cost you two drinks every time a killer appears to be dead but somehow survives a fall or brutal attack (stay away from the Halloween series if your planning on being able to walk).
This year has had its share of popular horror movies – Scream 4 was released in April and Hobo With A Shotgun is already a campy classic that's streaming on Netflix. If you haven't heard of the latter, whatever you're picturing is probably right.
It might be just me, but there's something oddly comforting knowing there's people out there trying to make movies about homicidal homeless people trying to kill Santa Claus. There's something to be said about the fact we live in a country where someone can actually make that movie. Yeah, that's probably just me.
The scariest movies are the ones with plot lines that are plausible. The Strangers (released in 2008) was about a couple being harassed by home intruders with chilling masks. Part of the reason Paranormal Activity 3 is so anticipated is because it takes place in someone's home, not in a graveyard or a remote forest.
With Halloween coming up fast, it's time to devote a night to raiding the horror section of your nearest Blockbuster (or torrent website) and turning off all the lights in your house. If anything, you'll be able to stay out of the terrible weather and have a good scare…or laugh.
Email: arts@ubspectrum.com
