Said to be one of Stephen King’s favorite horror films, Burnt Offerings starts off innocently enough and then turns spooky & violent. Oliver Reed is great as the lead and Burgess Meredith (Penguin himself) is so perfect in his few scenes (as always). The highlight though is the creepy, grinning chauffeur, just as scary today as he was in 1976. It’s the stuff of nightmares.

Kubrick drew a lot of inspiration for The Shining from this film and you can see why from the quiet eerie moments to the photography & lighting to the family in a terrifying situation. You could almost think of this film as a prequel to The Shining. The list of similarities goes on to the point where some have wondered if The Shining went too far in its copying of this film. But I think The Shining has its own thing going despite the similarities and frankly, The Shining is the superior film.

It’s dated in some places, moving between mundane, almost dull scenes to utter terror and creepiness but it’s worth sticking with because the great moments definitely outweighs the slower scenes. There’s almost a mesmerizing pace to the scenes and if you have a reasonable attention span, you’re going to love this.

This is the definitive Dracula movie, a masterpiece of gothic horror. Frank Langella (Skeletor himself) stars as Count Dracula and exudes an air of sexiness and underlying threat in every scene. Donald Pleasence provides a great supporting role as Dr. Seward. And Lawrence Olivier perfectly (as expected) plays Van Helsing. The performances are wonderful across the board.

John Williams (just coming off his tremendous success with Jaws and Star Wars) provides the score, adding musical impact to every scene. The only parts that really don’t hold up well are the bat attacks. The puppet bat doesn’t look horrible but it just seems so ridiculous compared to all the other gothic beauty and realism in the other scenes.

One thing that really sets this apart is its art direction and costume design. There’s a timelessness to the period piece and the photography is so grand, you’d hardly know this was made in 1979. And because the film is telling such a classic story, all the vampire tropes are put together in a wondrous combination. A truly gorgeous and engrossing film.

In some ways, this movie is like a live action version of a Scooby-Doo episode (without Scooby and the gang). There’s a campy vibe that runs through the whole thing. But that’s also what makes it so effective at times. Because just when you are settling into the “joke”, there’s a super creepy moment that is truly terrifying. Like when an old woman ghost (with white eyes) appears in a dark hallway for a second. Truly disturbing image. The black & white photography also helps to add to the atmosphere.

This was the first film to experiment with screams & sounds over a black screen. It’s how the film opens and this must have been super effective back in the days while it played in theaters. Hearing those creepy sounds in the dark set the perfect mood. Of course, seeing it now on TV, the effect is largely lost (wish I could see this screened somewhere. Would make an awesome late night movie in a dark theater).

Vincent Price owns every scene he’s in and the wonderful character actor Elisha Cook Jr. (The Maltese Falcon, Twilight Zone, etc) gives a tremendous performance as well. The dialogue is one of the best reasons to watch this. So many great lines and snappy deliveries abound. Great little haunted house flick.

A great haunted house movie that has virtually vanished from distribution and pop culture, this film stars Roddy McDowall in one of his best performances as a clairvoyant who along with 3 other people is tasked with spending time in a haunted house to determine if there really is an afterlife. Of course weird things start happening from the instant they settle in at the house and the events continue to escalate, becoming more terrifying and more violent.

The Legend of Hell House is based on a book by Richard Matheson (who wrote some of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone along with Rod Serling) and Matheson actually wrote the script for the film as well. There’s some iconic stuff here, especially in the way the entity in the house lashes out at the visitors with weird voices and object levitations. You can see how this film influenced Kubrick’s The Shining, especially with the eerie title cards that bookend each scene, showing the date & time similar to Kubrick’s use of title cards to show the day. This is up there with some of the best haunted house films of all time.

Possibly the first successful combination of martial arts and horror, Spooky Encounters (1980) (also known as Encounters of the Spooky Kind) is a cult classic Hong Kong-Chinese language film. It’s part comedy, part kung fu, and part horror but the film has more in common with a movie like Army of Darkness (1992) than Enter the Dragon (1973).

There’s a lot of physical comedy here with tons of sight gags including a zombie mime mirroring the main character’s movements, a kung fu showdown with a reanimated dead body, a fight with an evil mirror, and a ridiculous demon conjuring ceremony. The characters are all overacted and animated as you’d expect for a film like this and everyone seems to be giving 110%, making the film feel like it’s constantly in motion. It helps that there are tons of quick cuts during the action, giving everything a frantic and comical pacing.

The makeup & effects range from passable to the ridiculous but that all just works to make things more funny. The story meanders in places but even when a scene seems to have no point, it’s still fun to watch. This one’s a real classic and it seems like the film has flown under the radar for a lot of people. A great Halloween watch for anyone who hasn’t seen it.

I know some critics say this film is amateurish but I disagree. The brilliant effects guru Stan Winston directed Pumpkinhead (his only full length feature film) and I wish he would have done more. I especially love the lighting. This does not look like a low budget horror movie and frankly, it doesn’t look like a typical horror movie at all. It’s quite cinematic and that only adds to the mood.

I’m a big fan of Lance Henriksen and he’s in top form in this. There’s also a surprising amount of weight to the emotional scenes. Sure, some of the kids are terrible actors but thankfully, they’re given less screen time than Lance. The creature effects are stellar (as you’d expect from something Stan Winston is involved in) and the story is actually pretty compelling, especially for a horror film. I’m a big fan of this one.

Baxter is a bizarre and gloriously disturbing film about a serial-killer dog who is searching for the perfect master. The entire film is shot from the point of view of the dog with the dog’s voice-over deep thoughts interspersed along the way. If that sounds awesome, you’re right.

Baxter isn’t the first title you think of when Halloween comes around but that’s exactly why it’s on this list. The film is French and has that late 1980’s independent vibe. There’s very little blood & gore. Instead, we get lots of clever cutaways and quite a few surprising twists as the story unfolds.

There’s some truly disturbing moments, especially in the second half of the film when Baxter meets a little boy who is obsessed with Hitler. Without giving too much away, it’s interesting to see the differences between Baxter’s more instinct-driven characterization and the boy’s disturbed childhood. Definitely worth a watch.

This film was released around the time Star Wars (1977) debuted in theaters and subsequently, The Car (1977) was completely lost in the shuffle. Up until recently, I’d never even heard of it but I’m glad for the recommendation because The Car rocks!

It fits in nicely with the weird sub-genre of killer-car films such as John Carpenter’s Christine (1983) and Steven Spielberg’s Duel (1971). All three films deal with a seemingly possessed car that driverlessly murders unsuspecting victims. But The Car sets itself apart with a surprising amount of indie-style character development. Weighty issues like domestic abuse, alcoholism, and divorce are all explored, giving the characters more depth than typical horror movies. And that helps to make some of their subsequent roadside murders much more impactful.

There’s some amazing stunt work here as well. The car design still looks creepy even now. James Brolin (Josh’s dad) is excellent in this as the lead. And the cinematography is stunning much of the time, making you almost forget you’re watching a horror movie.