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Alien

One of the most popular things to do around the Halloween season is to go to a haunted house and get the living crap scared out of you. It’s this haunted-house mentality that makes Alien such a great horror film, while also being a great science-fiction film. Alien’s a great hybrid of the genres, and has been the template for many horror films since its 1979 release. The premise, as you know, is pretty damn simple: seven people are on a spaceship heading for Earth. Their ship is detoured to a mysterious planet that’s sending out strange signals. When they investigate, they find evidence of alien life that sneaks its way back onto the ship. From that point on, it’s just a matter of seeing who gets killed first, and who makes it out of the film alive.

Of course, thanks to the film spawning a lengthy franchise, there’s no use in me worrying that I’ll ruin the film for you. Only one person makes it out alive in Alien, Ellen Ripley, played masterfully by Sigourney Weaver. Weaver was a relatively unknown actress at the time of the film, though none of the actors in Alien have ever been wildly famous. Maybe it’s because of that that there’s genuine fear in the film: Alien is not anchored by a big-name actor, so anyone could get offed by the monstrous title creature at any time. The sequels have had diminishing returns, though the second film, Aliens, is one of the best action films of all time. Alien made a name of a lot of people including Weaver, the film’s director, Ridley Scott, and it also changed the way we saw horror films.

The Shining

Jack Nicholson straddles the line between being an over-the-top nutjob and being a nuanced actor in the 1980 classic The Shining. Since this film, Nicholson’s too often leaned on being a crazy son of a gun in his major performances. Before the film, he could play nutty but also bring humanity and soul to his every role. Of course, like the other films on this list, The Shining is filled with iconic moments. If The Simpsons is making fun of you, you know you’re a classic (see the great Treehouse of Horror story called The Shinning). Directed by Stanley Kubrick, The Shining is a very unique horror film. Unlike most, it has barely any blood - though a single shot of two elevators pouring blood out of their vehicles helps balance the gore out. What’s more, from the beginning, you’re pretty sure you know who the violent party in the film will be.

What the film may lack in surprise, it makes up for in suspense. On the one hand, it’s pretty obvious from the get-go that Nicholson’s character, Jack Torrance, is going to become the most insane man to ever be the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. On the other hand, with the film being so long (nearly 150 minutes), the tension lies in exactly when Torrance will go over the top. The film’s most memorable image is of Nicholson, leering through a door, holding an axe. When will this moment come and what will drive him to it? Kubrick’s direction is, as always, amazing and the Steadicam cinematography is worth the watch even if you’re squeamish. What’s more, as I mentioned above, this is easily one of the least gory horror films, with barely any blood spilled. Stephen King, the author of the book on which the film is based, may not like this movie, but The Shining is a great horror film.

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