I know what you’re thinking, “Ugh, Holden, a piece about movies again?” and to that, I say, “Yes!” I am truly in the spirit of Halloween on this newsletter, and I also just couldn’t think of anything else to write a listicle about. With that all being said, welcome back to the Sunday Listicle here on Trauma Response! As the title suggests, today we will be talking about movies, some scary some not, that are perfect for the Halloween season. Without further ado…
Halloween (1978), dir. John Carpenter
Let’s get the easiest one out of the way. John Carpenter’s Halloween is a classic that arguably birthed the slasher genre as a whole. Slasher films are probably my favorite kind of scary movie (nothing beats some good old fashion stabbing), and, while this isn’t my favorite slasher movie (I’m a Scream girl), it undoubtedly is a great Halloween movie that fits the season. Not to mention the fact that it stars one of the best actresses of all time, BAFTA winner Jamie Lee Curtis, and also a young Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards. Yes, this is technically a “scary movie,” but in the year 2022, this film is hardly anything to piss your pants over. Nearly 50 years after its release, Halloween remains a great movie for the Halloween season, a great slasher flick, and just an all-around good time.
Scary Movie (2000), dir. Keenan Ivory Wayans
At this point in the culture, parody movies are overdone. After the mid-late 2000s delivered such trash as Epic Movie, Date Movie, and Disaster Movie you’d think that all parody movies were just as bad as all of those. You’d be mostly correct in that assumption, but Keenan Wayan’s Scary Movie manages to stand above them all. Like I said above, I love the movie Scream, but, spoiler alert, that movie will not be on this list, so it’s only fitting that I put the movie that parodies it and so many other horror movies on here. The original Scary Movie is a brilliant piece of comedy, coming at a time when no one else was really making films making fun of genre films. It’s a movie filled with 90s/early-2000s humor, sometimes to a fault, but still manages to be a solidly hilarious movie 22 years later. Much like Halloween, this movie also features one of the best actresses of all time, Anna Faris who, for whatever reason, has black hair in this film. Horror-comedy has become a very popular subgenre in recent years, but frankly, none can hold a candle to the masterpiece that is Scary Movie.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), dir. Jim Sharman
Admittedly, it has been a minute since I last watched Rocky Horror, but when I did I saw it at a midnight screening at Chicago’s majestic Music Box Theatre and it was one of the most transcendent experiences I have ever had. For the uninitiated, Rocky Horror is a musical comedy horror b-movie that follows two newlyweds as they find themselves stuck in the home of a cross-dressing Dr. Frankenstein from outer space. To try and explain what happens in this movie anymore would be far too complicated, but from that very short description alone you can see that this movie has a lot of wackiness going on, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The film was barely noticed upon its release but has found a cult following in the decades since and is a favorite for fans of midnight movies. The show I saw at the Music Box featured live actors playing the parts in front of the movie screen and tons of audience interaction and audience in-jokes that I was blissfully unprepared for. Rocky Horror, especially when you see it in theaters (which I’m sure wouldn’t be too hard to find), is a truly communal experience that not only makes the Halloween season feel alive but also nourishes a love for going to the cinema.
Scooby-Doo (2000), dir. Raja Gosnell
I love Scooby-Doo, I just do. I loved the cartoons when I was a kid, I have a big soft spot in my heart for it now, and I plan on naming my first child “Scooby.” Needless to say, whenever I watched this movie as a child I really, truly loved it, and having watched it more recently I can tell you it still holds up. Scooby-Doo is another early-2000s masterpiece that tickles my love for the humor of the day and it’s interesting to note that screenwriter James Gunn (director of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy films) had originally planned that the film be more adult with Shaggy being a stoner, Velma kissing Daphne, and Fred being gay. Though the more adult elements didn’t fully make it into the film, you can still see hits of Gunn’s original idea in the final product. Scooby-Doo is a staple of kid’s cartoons and the Halloween season, and I can vouch that this live-action Scooby-Doo movie is not just for kids anymore.
Malignant (2021), dir. James Wan
For a more recent, and scarier, movie than all the rest, I would suggest 2021’s Malignant. I saw Malignant in theaters with my boyfriend, the theater was packed and absolutely no one knew what they were getting into. Malignant follows a woman who begins experiencing waking nightmares about a killer killing the people around her, when those visions turn out to be real she begins uncovering secrets about herself and her past that change the course of her life forever. Okay, that was a cheesy synopsis, but I just don’t want to give too much away. Malignant is 100% a horror movie, and takes a lot of inspiration from the Italian Giallo genre (another one of my favorites), with that being said the movie is so absurd much of the time that Caiden and I found ourselves laughing out loud in the theater. By no means is Malignant a comedy movie, but it is just so crazy and wild and the only way that you’ll understand what I mean by that is by watching it. Undoubtedly my favorite horror movie of 2022, Malignant is a solid 21st-century horror movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously and isn’t afraid to be absurd and have fun.
That’s my list and I’m sticking to it! Have a wonderful Sunday everyone and maybe even sit down with the family and enjoy one of the movies on my little list. See you all on Tuesday, and then again next weekend! Au revoir!
This is the first time I’ve ever felt like I failed as a mother-you never watched Rocky Horror with ME??? 🤦🏻♀️