Welcome, readers, to part two of my own personal horror film favorites! Per usual, we've got that word count cap, so let's avoid wasting space and dive right in.
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)
For those of you who've seen it, you know. Its legendary status well deserved and secured long ago, TCM still cuts deep, having the power to shake and disturb to this day. Here, we follow a group of five kids on a road trip out into rural Texas to visit a relative's former home, long since abandoned. Unbeknownst to them, a neighboring property has come to be occupied by a family who doesn't take kindly to visitors. From a line in the film's first act, "You don't wanna go foolin' around other folks' property. Some folks don't like it, and they don't mind showing you." Naturally, the kids ignore this ominous advice, forge ahead, @#$% around, and promptly find out.
When it was initially screened in theaters in 1974, the media was overrun with stories of audience members getting sick, fainting, or walking out early, too disturbed by what they saw to see it through. Arguably tamer now by today's standards but still packing a punch, this is essential viewing, especially around Halloween.
HALLOWEEN (1978 & 2018)
There's always a first for everything, and the slasher genre's no exception. Halloween was released in 1978, marking what many consider to be the first ever of its kind. The movie opens with the audience watching through someone's eyes as they slip on a mask, stalk a girl up to her bedroom, and brutally stab her to death. After then walking down the stairs, out the front door, and up to an older couple, we then leave the killer's perspective as he's unmasked to reveal a 6-year-old boy. Fast-forward 15 years, adult Michael breaks out of his mental ward, procures some coveralls and a mask, and begins his trek back home, leaving bodies in his wake.
Now, despite there being many sequels since then, you'll notice that I only include the original and the 2018 sequel here. This is due to the latter retconning all prior sequels to offer a direct sequel to that first entry - one which, to me, proves a superior follow-up. So, while there are plenty of things to love about the other entries in this "franchise," the best version of this story is told when viewing the 1978 film followed by the 2018 entry and leaving it at that.
THE THING
While we're on John Carpenter, I'd be remiss to not include The Thing in this list. I don't know if you're familiar or a fan of body horror, but many herald this movie as its posterchild. Released in 1982 (Can you tell I'm a kid of the 80s?), The Thing takes place in Antarctica, where a research team is dispatched to a facility to investigate a helicopter crash and finds an alien creature which the prior researchers had tried killing with fire. They soon find the entity to be alive and, even more terrifyingly, that not only can it assimilate into other forms including humans, but also that it spreads like a virus, which, coupled with their isolated location, quickly leads to escalating tensions and claustrophobic paranoia. With its unique story, its ability to tap into some of our most base human fears, its incredible effects that were far ahead of their time and arguably remain unmatched to this day, and its tremendous cast, I cannot recommend this one highly enough. Not for the squeamish, this is an absolutely required entry in any respectable horror fan's catalog.
Alright, sadly, I've run out of room, so here are some honorable mentions that didn't make it but that I can't bring myself to leave out: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, Rosemary's Baby, Silence of the Lambs, An American Werewolf In London, and Evil Dead 2. All brilliant, all deserving of spots on this far-too-short list, and all worthy of your time. Watch them.
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