Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Guest Post: Horror films for Halloween by Rachel Vincent

I'm very pleased to have Rachel Vincent guest posting on my blog today! I'm not the biggest fan of scary movies normally, but around Halloween I do try to make an exception!

Rachel Vincent is the author of Alpha part of her Shifter’s series about a pride of werecats which is out now from MIRA books £6.99.
You can find out more about Rachel and her books here:


Over to Rachel...


I was asked to write something spooky, to go along with a Halloween theme, but…I don’t really write spooky. Gory? Yes. Violent? Yes. But it’s always a kind of in-your-face violence and gore, not really intended to scare so much as to incite rage and empathy on behalf of those forced to defend themselves.


So instead of writing something creepy, I’m going to write about something creepy. But don’t worry—I brought pictures!

I’m a pretty big fan of horror movies, but I’m also a pretty tough customer to please. I like gore and…well…terror, but the movie has to have some serious plot skills to make me happy. Which means, for the most part, slashers need not apply. No Jason, Freddie, or Michael for me. I like stuff like this:



Why yes, that IS Pennywise, from Stephen King’s IT. My favorite old-school horror movie baddie. Because he’s not just physical I’m-gonna-kill-you scary. He’s psychologically terrifying. He becomes whatever you’re most afraid of. Personalized evil. Also, clowns. Seriously.

We all float down here.



The Unborn. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I went in not expecting much, because I’d never heard of it before it premiered on one of the movie channels, but it thoroughly creeped me out, the acting was pretty good, and there were lots of interesting references to the main characters mysterious family history. And I’m a sucker for some family history. ;)
Also, look at this guy. He went down the stairs like that. Ouch.

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Jennifer’s Body
. Say what you will, but I LOVED it. Clever, campy teen scream (though most of the actors aren’t actually teens. This is by far my favorite incarnation of the succubus myth. She literally devours her victims. Look at those chompers.


Also, Amanda Seyfried is awesome as “the kicker.” She should take on more action roles.



The Descent. Vaguely humanoid freakish cannibals. Gets me every time. Cannibalism is one of those concepts that truly terrifies me. Every. Single. Time. And the fact that this movie takes place almost entirely underground, in a maze of dark, bone-carpeted caverns? Awesome. Take this photo, for example. She has no idea he’s RIGHT BEHIND HER! Cause he has mad stealth skills, for a mutated freak. For real.



Pandorum. Similar to The Descent, in theory, but…so different. And so awesome. I loved Pandorum to a seriously unhealthy degree. So smart, and unbelievably tense and terrifying. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any of the shots I wanted to show, so I’m stuck with this mutant child. Mutant children are always creepy. Add to that another movie set carpeted with bones and rotting human corpses (plus the twisty, turny plot), and you have one of my favorite horror movies of all time. All Time, I tell you.




And last of all, Pan’s Labrinth.

Guillermo del Toro may be my favorite writer/director/producer/visionary of all times, and Pan’s Labrinth is his most awesome work ever, in my opinion. Part war story, part faerie tale, part horror (and foreign film), the movie is an
experience.

The shot above is from the single most suspenseful, creepy scene I’ve ever seen in my life. The kind that makes you want to break through the screen just so you can yell at the little girl to LOOK BEHIND YOU! Cause that think with eyes in its hands and rows of sharp teeth? It’s GOING TO EAT YOU!

If you haven’t seen Pan’s Labrinth, I can’t think of a better time to devote to this film than Halloween, after the trick-or-treaters have gone to bed. Don’t bother with the popcorn. Just turn off the lights and enjoy. ;)

(Phew that WAS creepy. Thanks Rachel!)

So tell me. What is YOUR favourite horror film to watch around Halloween? Have you seen any of these films?

10 comments:

  1. Urghh I cant stand horror movies. I get nightmares even at my age, I think it is because I have such an over-active imagination. Even the post scared me and I skimmed :D

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  2. You should try the British horror movie Creep. It's set in the tube tunnels and scared the pants off me. Quite disturbing.

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  3. My favourite horror flick is The Ring, I love a good scare, I do. I've seen Creep, like the previous commenter (Hello!) and it's pretty creepy!

    I'll look out for Pan's Labyrinth om the telly, as well as the Unborn one. :-)

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  4. Hi Clover, thanks for having me! Just a note, though, your link above seems to be broken... ;)

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  5. Rachel - Hello :) Have hopefully fixed the link, thanks for letting me know! I just copy/pasted :( Fail on my part! Found your post to be incredibly creepy but quite fun, so thanks!

    Ms Mac - I think Pan's Labrynth is possibly the only horror film that I've seen on this list, but I really enjoyed it. The creep factor is REALLY high.

    Splendibird - I wouldn't have recognised the movie from the title, but I think N watched Creep awhile back? Unless he didn't, I could be wrong!

    Emma - Aww! Sorry sweetie!

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  6. Great post. I've seen a fair amount of horror, and some of my favourites appear here. Pennywise is the reason I still get freaked out by the merest *thought* of clowns.

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  7. Lauren - Thankfully, I've never seen it! Just from that photo alone it looks like a nightmare-inducing film!

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  8. The only one of those that I haven't seen is Pandorum but as for the others...LOVED them all!

    Yes Jennifer's Body got slated but I really liked it.

    IT has got to be my all time favourite horror film because it was the first I ever saw. Probably not the best idea when you're 8 or 9 years old though like I was.

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  9. I am more than happy to watch these movies with you. I've watched Creep, I think you'll love it. I'm looking forward to watching all these movies this week!

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  10. N - HA. I think not, thanks for commenting though.

    Lyndsey - You seem like a horror film buff then? *shudders* Not for me.

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