Five fantastic horror movies for a great night in
One of the best ways to spend an evening with friends, no matter how old you are, is by watching horror movies. A night of popcorn, screaming, and laughter can be great entertainment, especially if you have a large home theater system.
Many great classics have been re-released in high definition on Blu-ray discs, but there are also many available on the Internet, so you can even make a list and let your friends choose that night. Many televisions now have Internet access, so you can watch movies directly on the television. Or you can connect a projector to your PC and make your own little theater in your living room.
These five movies are the perfect recipe for a great horror movie night. It is a selection of titles that have been made during the last fifty years, showing that the great horror never dates. Not only were these great scary movies, but they were also great movies, nominated for awards, and in many cases, winners. While many may peek into horror movies, these are five movies that everyone should see at least once.
The first movie to put on your list should be Psycho, the Alfred Hitchcock classic. Made in 1960, it is still just as haunting and shocking today, with a brilliant performance by Anthony Perkins. Bates Motel is always worth a visit, unless of course you’re Janet Leigh. Don’t make the mistake of getting the new version that starred Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates and is not so scary. Psycho was nominated for 4 Oscars.
In 1973, The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty was released on the big screen. She’s been scaring people all over the world ever since, and this tale of a possessed teenage girl played by Linda Blair, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her role, is guaranteed to give you the creeps. The exorcist won 2 Oscars for Best Sound and Writing, and received another 8 nominations.
Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg in 1975, was an instant classic. Yes, it might not be up to par with current technology, and the shark might be a bit cheesy, but it still makes people scream and jump just the same. It won 3 Academy Awards, including one for John Williams’ unforgettable original score.
Stephen King has been the master of horror writing for the better part of four decades and choosing one of the film adaptations of his books can always add up to a terrifying night. Kathy Bates won an Academy Award in 1990 for her role as Annie Wilkes in Misery, a chilling story about an obsessed fan who rescues a famous writer after a car accident.
With 6 Oscar nominations in 1999, The Sixth Sense is a modern masterpiece. While many of his other movies haven’t been great, M Night Shyamalan hits every note perfectly on this one. Haley Joel Osment delivers one of the best childhood performances as The Boy Who Sees Dead, and is brilliantly supported by Bruce Willis and Toni Collette.
If you haven’t seen these movies, please do so now as they are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the horror genre. Of course, if you love horror, you know there are thousands of movies out there, from Japanese classics to independent gore movies.