Halloween is in six days, and this year I’m fairly worn out on typical horror movies. Like I said before, slasher and gore, torture and mutilation, these things don’t work on a 42-yr-old man, but there are some movies that can scare me, and i still haven’t seen Paranormal Activity, so I can’t say for sure it will.
For years, I would faithfully trot out my pet Halloween movie as the main course for friends and family to scream and shudder to: Richard Donner’s The Omen (1976). THRILL as Damien’s nanny hangs herself! CRINGE as the photographer’s head is sliced off by a pane of glass! Good stuff, to be sure. But it’s gotten old, so this year I’m adopting a new favorite; a movie I didn’t think I was going to like, mostly due to the odd title.
The Mothman Prophecies is a well-told, chilling tale of the psychological bent, that creeps into the realm of truth and fact in a jarring climax straight out of Hitchcock’s wet dreams. Based on a novel by John A. Keel, the fantastic world of cryptozoology sprung clean and new from the Richard Gere vehicle. It’s a testament to weird beliefs that spread easily, just because someone wrote them in some book. But now I’ve come full circle to The Omen, again.
Anyways, I can’t wait to screen this new scary favorite this week for friends and family, and hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween.
