Katie Best’s Top Ten
Halloween is by far my favorite holiday (yes, even trumping Christmas). The weather is perfect, the air is crisp and clean, the leaves are a pretty display of color and getting the witts scared out of me is a hobby. So, in celebration of the best holiday ever, here are my top 10 Halloween movies— both scary and not.
10). “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!:” Charlie Brown is always a classic, and this edition is no different. The Peanut are back, just in time for Halloween.
9).  “Sinister:” Normally, scary movies don’t get me hiding my eyes behind my hands. This one did. The reason it’s not higher up on the list is simply because the beginning of the movie was slow— until the main characters finds the films. When true crime writer Ellison moves into a house where four murders occurred  — a hanging of four family members and a child gone missing — and he finds several movies and “Super 8” film in his attic. While watching the movies labeled “Family hanging out” or “Pool Party,” he realizes these films, while in the beginning have are what they appear to be, have a grisly finale, ending with the family getting murdered. There’s more to the film obviously, but this is a must see for horror seekers.
8). “Frankenweenie:” Another Tim Burton film that just came out in theaters. It is probably one of the cutest movies I have seen in awhile, and the most unique part was the fact that the entire movie was in black and white in attempt to resemble the original “Frankenstein.” An introverted boy brings his dog back to life— showing the true meaning of a man’s best friend.
7). “Halloween:” John Carpenter’s original serial killer movie about Michael Meyers, a boy who killed his sister and escaped from the psych ward, only to go on a killing spree in a local neighborhood. This was the foundation for scary movies, so you know once you seen a couple of teenagers drinking, doing drugs or participating in sexual acts (or, in most cases, all three), they are probably going to get brutally murdered by the movie’s main character.
6). “Fido:” This movie contains both humor and horror, an intricate mix for a zombie movie. “Fido” is a movie about a town where zombies are considered pets, and everyone has one. But a zombie as a pet can get out of hand… especially when they start eating people.
5).“Silence of the Lambs:” While this movie is technically a psychological thriller, I still put it on the list simply because it still managed to scare the beejeezus out of me when I first saw it. It’s another serial killer movie, however, the movie focuses on a detective trying to hunt down a crazed killer who skins his victims. In order to find him, she confronts another serial killer in jail named “Hannibal- the cannibal- Lecter.”
4). “The Rocky Horror Picture Show:” This movie is a cult classic. You can’t really understand it, you have to let it do its thing. I can’t even really give you a summary of the plot line besides the fact that there is a cross dressing scientist named Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Just watch and be amazed.
3). “Trick or Treat:” This movie is one of the scarier movies on the list. “Trick or Treat” consists of three different haunting tales: a fatal bus ride, a murderous ritual and candy laced with razor blades. But don’t look too far into those brief descriptions, because with “Trick or Treat,” nothing is as it actually appears.
2). “The Nightmare before Christmas:” Tim Burton’s classic tale about a skeleton named Jack who discovers Santa Claus and Christmas and decides to bring it to a town made out of scary creatures. It’s probably one of my favorite movies of all time, the only reason it’s not number one is because I also consider it a Christmas movie.
1). “Hocus Pocus”: Easily the best Halloween movie simply because it bring back childhood memories. “Hocus Pocus” is a story about a boy named Mac who moves to Salem, and because he doesn’t believe in witches, he lights a candle that brings back three evil witches who are out to steal children’s souls. From there, Max, his sister Dani, his crush Allison and a talking cat named Binx who was cured by the witches, have to spend the rest of Halloween trying to stop the three witches from stealing every child’s soul.
 
Nabi Dressler’s Top Five
5. Beetlejuice (1988)
Plot: A young couple dies and they become ghosts. An annoying and obnoxious couple with a goth daughter who can see them buys their house and the deceased couple wants to get rid of the new family.
Why I love it: The ghost couple are the good guys and they work together with a misunderstood teenage girl. It’s unique to a Halloween movie. And who doesn’t love Tim Burton’s work?
4. The Shining (1980)
Plot: Writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his wife and son move into a hotel to take care of it during the winter. The hotel get snowed in and Jack gradually loses his mind.
Why I love it: This movie is genuinely scary. It’s also a legendary film, with quotes that have lived on, like when Jack axes through the bathroom door to kill his family and announces, “Here’s Johnny!” Setting aside the haunted aspect, just thinking about the movie’s background – being in an isolated hotel all winter, cut off from society – is so creepy.
3. Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Plot: The Rey family’s house gets broken into, and they install security cameras to tape what’s really going on. The nanny of toddler Hunter Rey recognizes there are spirits in the house that she needs to get rid of, but oops, skeptical father Daniel Rey fires her. Demonic possessions and killings ensue.
Why I love it: It’s hilarious. Is that bad? I don’t know whether that was the director’s intention, but it’s enjoyable to watch with fainthearted friends. It’s so un-scary, it’s prime entertainment. My favorite part is when the demons possess the kitchen and Spongebob flies out of a kitchen cabinet.
2. Zombieland (2009)
Plot: Mad cow disease has turned the population into zombies. A nerdy college student, a tough guy and two con artists/sisters team up to go to a rumored zombie-free amusement park.
Why I love it: It’s a cutesy love story and good comedy. I’d watch it again just to see Woody Harrelson’s Hostess truck scene. And the cast is quality. Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone have chemistry and any movie featuring Bill Murray is a great one.
1. Donnie Darko (2001)
Plot: Set in the ‘80s (always a good sign), Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal, also always a good sign) escapes death when a jet engine mysteriously crashes into his bedroom. He survives because a demonic-looking, 6-foot-tall rabbit named Frank saves him and tells him the world will end in 28 days. A summary can’t do this film justice. Call it a thriller, sci-fi fantasy, romance or comedy or don’t categorize it at all.
Why I love it: My favorite movie. Countless analyses have been made about it, and my favorite part is that this film has a lot of grey area; viewers can/must come to their own conclusions. Watch it five times and you’ll still have questions about what just happened. If you read into it too much, you’ll never get tired of it. The soundtrack is awesome, too.