It’s time for another round of some of my favorite frightening films. It’s always fun to have movies to watch around the time of a certain season/holiday because it helps me get into the mood or spirit of the season; and I’m very excited for Halloween now! Anyway, on with today’s selections:
The Spiral Staircase (1946)
- Here’s another great example of how even an “old” movie can still be an effective thriller! The main character in the movie is Helen (played by Dorothy McGuire), a woman living in a small New England town in the early 1900s. A serial killer is on the loose and is targeting women with disabilities; the most recent victim was a woman with a crippled leg, and now Helen is in danger of becoming the next victim because she is mute. Helen works as a servant in a large mansion and on a rainy, stormy night she discovers that the killer may have broken into the mansion! When I first saw this movie I was impressed with how it managed to be spine-tingling, nerve-wracking and utterly mysterious! Creepy, eerie and chilling, especially during the moments when we as the viewer are able to see what the killer sees, through his point of view!
The Birds (1963)
- I am a huge fan of director Alfred Hitchcock (subject of a future blog post!) and he has certainly made some impressive thrillers in his time. This movie is one that still creeps me out. The first time I saw it was on TV in Rigby, Idaho. I was alone in the basement, watching this movie and finding myself too scared to change the channel. Anyway, for those who haven’t seen the movie here is the plot: Melanie Daniels (played by Tippi Hedren, the mother of Melanie Griffith) is a beautiful, impulsive woman from San Francisco who pays a visit to a small town called Bodega Bay. From the moment she arrives there seems to be a strange affect on the vast bird population in the town. This is followed by a series of bird attacks on the community, from small occurrences to what seems to be a full-scale war on humanity!
Disturbia (2007)
- Speaking of Alfred Hitchcock, here is a movie that pays homage to one of his classics - Rear Window. This movie stars Shia LaBeouf as Kale, a high school student living under house arrest for the summer, following a violent confrontation with his Spanish teacher. He is confined to his house with an ankle bracelet that prevents him from going beyond his front yard. Desperate for things to do Kale resorts to “observing” his neighbors, particularly the beautiful girl living next door to him. But after hearing a news report about a serial killer on the loose and seeing suspicious activities from one of his neighbors, Kale begins to suspect that this neighbor might be a killer. This is a great thriller, full of those “jump-out-of-your-seat” moments!
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