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Halloween is always a good time for a frightfest, so today I’d like to suggest four movies and one TV show that fit the bill. The oldest title is from 1965, the most current one from 2008. I guess that says something about my taste (not so au courant!). Some have questions of God and religion in them along with the required jump scares, while some adhere to the “It was a dark and stormy night” concept. Most have a real eeriness to them. So, settle in on the couch with your favorite blanket (to shield your eyes) and a tub of popcorn, and enjoy these creepy and frightening examples. And make sure all doors (and windows) are locked:
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: “An Unlocked Window” (1965) – In Season Three, Episode 17 of his expanded anthology series, the Master of Suspense presented the perfect scare. In “An Unlocked Window,” a killer whose preferred target is nurses is on the loose. Cut to a home (the house used in Psycho) where the bedridden Glendon (John Kerr) being cared for by two nurses, Stella (Dana Wynter) and the no-nonsense Miss Ames (T.C. Jones). Also around are housekeeper Maude and her husband Sam, played by Louise Latham and E.J. Andre. And of course, it’s a dark and stormy night with a noisy unlocked window in the basement. Sam is sent out for an oxygen tank for Glendon, which then leaves just the able-bodied ladies to deal with the impending doom. The electricity goes out, so candles are used.
Maude starts hearing a man laughing and is given a sedative to calm her. Threatening phone calls are received warning the nurses that they are next. I am not going to spoil the conclusion,but I will say 11-year-old me and my 16-year-old sister did not sleep the night it aired. As an adult who recently watched it again, I saw a major plot flaw…one which I won’t reveal here. Leave a comment if you know.
Fallen (1998) – This Denzel Washington starrer got mixed reviews when first released, but it’s worth a watch for its sheer creepiness. Washington is Philly police detective John Hobbes, investigating a series of murders. Killer Edgar Reese (Elias Koteas) has recently been executed with Hobbes in attendance. Before he was put to death Reese touched Hobbes’ hand, spoke in an unknown language, and sang a few bars of The Rolling Stones song “Time Is on My Side.”
In the days that follow more murders occur in the same manner that Reese used. When complete strangers on the street start eerily singing the Stones song to him, Hobbes enlists Gretta (Embeth Davidtz) a theology professor, to explain this phenomenon. Presenting her with some strange clues he has discovered, Gretta explains that one of them, the name Azazel, is a fallen angel who possesses people by touch. The Book of Revelation is also a source. With his family in danger and his job on the line, Hobbes fights the demon in a violent confrontation. Donald Sutherland, John Goodman, and future Sopranos star James Gandolfini and his TV sister Aida Tuturro also star. If you really listen during the beginning of the film, you might guess the outcome.
Stir of Echoes (1999) – Kevin Bacon stars as Tom, a telephone lineman married to Maggie (Kathryn Erbe) with a 5-year-old son, Jake (Zachary David Cope). Jake has the ability to talk to dead people, unbeknownst to his parents. Jake’s sister-in-law Lisa (Illeana Douglas) is a wannabe hypnotherapist who at a party convinces Tom to try being hypnotized. While under she suggests to him to be more open-minded. Afterwards Tom begins to have strange visions involving a young girl. He later finds out that the girl, named Samantha, went missing from his Chicago neighborhood six months ago, branded as just another teen runaway.
When a babysitter they hire (Liza Weil from Gilmore Girls), hears Jake talking to Samantha, she grabs him and runs from the house. Tom senses the abduction and rushes to find Jake. He finds them and it turns out that Samantha is the babysitter’s mentally challenged sister who has been haunting Tom. Tom’s behavior becomes more erratic, alienating him from his wife and neighbors. When he has Lisa hypnotize him again, he receives the message “Dig.” He digs up his backyard with no luck and then starts in his basement. There he discovers the truth.
Bacon and Erbe are fine, little boy Cope is excellent, and Illeana Douglas lights up the screen in her few scenes. Kevin Dunn (Veep) also has an important role.
The Strangers (2008) – If you like a real explanation at the end of a movie, this one might not be for you. Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are a couple staying at his family’s home in the woods, and things aren’t going well. He has asked her to marry him, and she’s not ready to commit. It’s the middle of the night and suddenly there’s a knock on the door. It’s a girl looking for “Tamara.” They politely tell her she’s got the wrong house and shut the front door. And as in all horror films, James leaves Kristen alone to go get her cigarettes and clear his head from the proposal rejection. He also calls his friend Mike to come pick him up, so he can leave without stranding Kristen with no transportation.
A few minutes later there’s a knock on the door and the same girl is still looking for “Tamara.” Kristen again tells her Tamara is not there. Then strange sounds start coming from outside along with more door banging. Kristen calls James and tells him to hurry back. James returns and seems hesitant to believe Kristen. Once these masked strangers, two women and a man, start using a hatchet at the front door James gets more serious. He goes out to his car to get his cellphone and finds his windshield smashed and his car ransacked. Kristen and James try to escape in the car but are rear-ended by one of the women in a pick-up truck.
Some hope is provided by James finding his father’s shotgun (to a tragic outcome), and Kristen using a CB radio to call for help, but the strangers are relentless. The film has a real creepiness about it and is unsettling. Also unsettling is the unsatisfying ending. After providing many genuine scares, the final moments of the film fail to reveal any clear motive. I have read some theories that the point of the film is the randomness of violence, comparing it to 1969’s Tate/LaBianca Murders. But with those killings there was a reason the Manson Family members chose their victims’ houses. With The Strangers, maybe it was just lazy screenwriting?
Jacob’s Ladder (1990) – Jacob’s Ladder is a different kind of horror film. It’s creepy and disturbing but with a very peaceful ending. A terrific and heartbreaking Tim Robbins stars as Jacob Singer, a Vietnam vet suffering from horrific visions. He lives in Brooklyn with his girlfriend Jezzie (Elizabeth Peña) and works as a postman. He was married once and has three sons. but is haunted by the loss of one of them, Gabe (Macaulay Culkin) from a car accident. He also suffers from a bad back and visits his chiropractor Louis (a solid Danny Ailello) frequently. He also gets some philosophy lessons there.
As the film proceeds, Jacob’s visions become more horrifying, and he has a few brushes with death. A phone call from Paul (Pruitt Taylor Vince), a Vietnam veteran he served with provides some clues. But Paul is killed when his car blows ups. When attending Paul’s funeral, he talks to other guys from his unit and realizes that they all might have been part of a military experiment. They decide to hire a lawyer (Jason Alexander) to investigate, but they all suddenly drop the case, and it’s another dead end.
A phone call and a meeting with a chemist (Matt Craven) finally provides the answer to what happened to Jacob in Vietnam, And another visit to the wise chiropractor explains even more. The screenplay was by Bruce Joel Rubin, who also wrote Ghost and My Life, two films which also dealt with mortality. Jacob’s Ladder is an interesting thriller that tries to solve the big questions about life and death.
And even though they are comedies and not technically scary, what is Halloween without watching The Addams Family or Addams Family Values? They really are a scream!