The Scary Movie Marathon

I know from past posts on the subject of scary movies that many of my readers/commenters aren’t fans of the genre. 

And 95% of the time, I’m with you guys.  Scary flicks or TV shows freak me out, they spark my-already far-too-lively imagination, and then I have to spend weeks sleeping with lights on and jumping in fear every time I hear a creak or bump in my house.   That’s no fun for anyone.  Especially me.  So naturally, I usually try to avoid them.

Except for this time of year.

It’s around this time every October that I start to get the itch to watch something fitting of the season.  Thanksgiving is over, the trees are quickly shedding their beautifully coloured leaves, it’s getting dark earlier and earlier every day, and you can just feel the excitement of Halloween slowly building.

And with it, comes the urge to spook myself silly!  (or mildly.)

I have two weekends left before the big day, and I’ve been compiling a list of flicks in my mind that I’d like to watch in anticipation of it.  I haven’t yet figured out when exactly my “Scary Movie Marathon” is going to be, but I’m kind of circling next Saturday, October 26th, for it.  And here is what I have on my list to watch:

The Call

A while back, my friend Stacy recommended this one to me.  I don’t think it falls into the traditional monster/ghost/goblin/ghoul Halloween movie – it’s more of a thriller.  But she did tell me it was kind of scary, and I handle “kind of scary” better than “super scary”, so I might see if the local store has it available to rent!

The Sixth Sense

This one holds fun memories for me.  I went with my mom and brother and some friends to see it in theatres the summer it came out for my birthday, and I do believe it might be the only “scary movie” I have ever convinced my mother to watch – and she LOVED it.  I still enjoy it because it amazes me every time how fooled I was that first time - the twist ending was incredible, and I still can’t believe we never figured it out.  It’s also not filled with blood & gore – a few jumps and gasps here and there when the “dead people” pop up, but otherwise, a great story, and good clean Halloween Fun! 

Scream

The original – the best of the franchise – and though I own 2 & 3 as well, it’s the first one that I make sure to watch every year around Halloween!  More fun memories of watching this with a group of friends when we were in high school.  It’s a little dated, and a little cheesy, but I can guarantee it will still cause a few “screams” from me when I watch it!  God, I hate that mask!!!

Halloween: H20

I know, I know.  The first Halloween is the classic.  The scary movie purists would scoff at me choosing this one. And I haven’t seen most of the others in the Michael Myers series, so I really can’t compare.  But this is the one that I love.  Probably mostly because it features a young and studly Josh Hartnett.  Stick a hot guy in a movie, and I’ll see pretty much anything.

Fear

Much like Halloween: H20, there’s a reason I go back to this one year after year – a very young and ever-handsome Marky Mark.  He plays the possessive, psychotic boyfriend to a very young & sweetly innocent Reese Witherspoon.  Again, it’s not filled with guts and gore, and I tend to lean more towards the “mildly scary”, and that makes this one a perfect fit!

The Shining

This one was added to my collection last year, and it is Creepy with a capital “C”.  Those parts with little Danny riding around the deserted and haunted halls of the Overlook Hotel on his Big Wheel?  Creeeepy.  Realizing what “REDRUM” means?  Creeeeeeepy. Jack Nicholson’s smile and the line “all work and no play makes jack a dull boy”?  Creeeeeeeeeeeeeepy!!

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

This is the kind of movie that can really freak me out.  Exorcisms and demons and stuff like that can seriously keep me up at night.  That might explain why I’ve had this one sitting in my DVD collection for several years, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually watched it since I bought it.  I did see it once in my friend Sara’s parents’ basement, and every time I think of it, I can hear my friend Sara’s husband, Graham, saying “1-2-3-4-5-6!!!” in his scary voice.  It is also the reason why I will lie frozen in my bed for about 10 minutes if I happen to wake up around scary 3 AM time.  I might have to watch it this year.  Especially since I just realized Jennifer Carpenter, who I currently love in Dexter, plays Emily Rose.

OK – I think that’s it for my Scary Movie Marathon this year!  Realistically, I don’t think I can squeeze much more than that into one day!  If you’ll notice… I make sure to usually watch movies I’ve seen before, so that I can at least be prepared for the scares. LOL!  I’m such a chicken… I’m also not opposed to just watching episodes of Scooby Doo all day.  Sometimes, that’s all the “scary” I can handle.

So, do you have any Halloween favourites?  Scary movies that you watch every year in preparation for All Hallows Eve?

I’m not sure what stage my house painting will be at by next weekend – but if my house isn’t upside down, I’d love it if I could drag some friends into watching some of these with me!  If you live in the area and are looking for something to do… pencil “Jill’s Scary Movie Marathon” into your calendar!  

I’ll supply the scares & some sorta-healthy treats! ;)