This Halloween, it’s time to load up on discs and treat yourself to a feast of frights to make sure the night goes off with a scream or seven! From men mutating into flies, to cannibals in cages via killer dolls and clowns, and cave-dwelling beasties, here are a selection of some of the greatest shocks ever committed to screen.
The Omen (1976)
Little Damien (Harvey Stephens) is the picture of chubby-cheeked innocence. It’s a shame he’s the Devil’s son with a penchant for getting anyone who gets in his way to die in horrible circumstances. Witness the fate of his nanny at his fifth birthday party. It’s enough to put you off jelly and ice cream for life.
The Fly (1986)
In David Cronenberg’s horror masterpiece, scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) inadvertently uses his teleport machine while a lone fly is inside the device with him. The result – Brundle begans mutating into a fly-creature. In the film’s most horrifying moment in the film’s climax, Brundle, now fully mutated, emerges from the teleport pod fused with… well, you’ll just have to see it to believe it.
The Silence of The Lambs (1991)
So you’ve got psychopathic cannibal Hannibal Lector (played by Anthony Hopkins) in a huge cage, in the middle of a big room, under police guard, inside a heavily secured building. That should keep him out of mischief, shouldn’t it? Ordinarily, but Lector is extremely clever, and very bloodthirsty. His escape from captivity is incredibly audacious – and also horribly gruesome.
Misery (1990)
Kathy Bates plays the thoroughly disturbed Annie Wilkes in this brilliant adaptation of the Stephen King novel, directed by Rob Reiner. She rescues her favourite author, Paul Sheldon (James Caan) after he crashes his car, takes him in and looks after him. And decides she isn’t going to let him go. What she does to keep him there – involving a sledgehammer and two blocks of wood – will give you the jolt of your life.
Poltergeist (2015)
Some people are scared of clowns – it’s an actual fear called ‘Coulrophobia’. Anyone in their right mind would have a fear of a clown doll, that moves around on its own accord. Like the one that attacks young Griffen in the 2015 horror remake. As the tagline of the film said: “They know what scares you”.
Child’s Play (1988)
The iconic Chucky doll, from the hit horror film that spawned a franchise, looks harmless enough – with his red hair and dungarees. But don’t be fooled! When little Andy’s new toy Chucky first comes to life with his sinister cry of ‘Wanna play?’, the best answer would have been ‘no thanks’.
The Descent (2005)
It’s one of the most terrifying shocks in horror cinema, no arguments. In Neil Marshall’s British chiller classic, a group of all-female potholers are being terrorised by things unknown. Lost and afraid, deep underground, one of the women is using a camcorder’s infrared facility to see in the dark. What she sees is… not good. Sweet dreams and happy Halloween!
Available to own from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
