Thứ Bảy, 20 tháng 8, 2011

Classic Horror Movies That Started The Trends

By Adriana Noton


People have always enjoyed a good scary story, something that keeps them on the edge on their seat. Whether it be a ghost story around a fire, horror movies, or a thrilling book by the likes of Stephen King or Dean Koontz, people have always found getting scared by a story perversely satisfying.

When it comes to horrors, there are so many types of stories to scare you. Monster stories, gory films, the silly and wacky horrors, psychological thrillers and ghost stories have kept audiences on the edge of their seats.

It is very difficult to compare horror movies because they can be so diverse. After all you can hardly compare The Nightmare on Elm Street with a movie like Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, other than the fact that both may give you a fright. However the following five films are the best examples of different classic horror genres, and are also responsible for inspiring thousands of other films over the years.

The first I have just mentioned, Psycho, perhaps the most eerie of all Alfred Hitchcock's masterpieces. Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates is absolutely brilliant, and to this day, this classic piece of cinema will scare almost everyone. It is nerve-wracking and the tension is unbearable throughout, and while it may not be as scandalous as it was in 1960, it remains one the iconic horror movies of all time. Who will ever forget that shower scene.

Thirteen years later in 1973, William Friedkin directed The Exorcist, and this is still a movie you had better not watch alone, and even then you may find yourself not being able to sleep afterward. Linda Blair stars as Regan, a girl who is possessed by a demon, while Ellen Burstyn is brilliant as her mother, as is Max Von Sydow as one of the priests who attempt to exorcise her. You will never forget this movie, or some of the music after you watch this.

While not the most traditional of all horror movies, there is no doubt that Steven Spielberg's Jaws scared more people out of swimming in the sea than anything before it. It also inspired hundreds of other movies with a similar story, of a real life creature demonizing ordinary people. Still to this day almost four decades later, humming a few bars of the theme at the beach will scare enough people to believe a shark is nearby.

When it comes to slasher horror movies, there are many to consider for the top spot, with Friday theThirteenth's Jason and Elm Street's Freddie Kruger close contenders. But it is Michael Myers in the 1978 original Halloween that tops the list. Perhaps it was Jamie Lee Curtis' scream, or Donald Pleasance's creepy psychiatrist, or the fact that it was directed by a true master of suspense, the one and only John Carpenter. Carpenter's The Thing and The Fog are two other great scary choices.

Finally, and to show Steven Spielberg's influence on horror movies, is a movie produced by him, and directed by Toby Hooper, the one and only Poltergeist. Released in 1982, the film revolves around a haunted home, and the family these ghosts decide to terrorize, eventually even taking the youngest child, memorably into the television set. Leading the cast were Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams.




About the Author:



Không có nhận xét nào:

Đăng nhận xét