I’ve written before about my favorite scary stories to read in the dark, now I’m sharing my favorite scary movies by decade. Read on… if you dare!
1970s
Child of Glass (1978)
First aired as part of the Wonderful World of Disney series , Child of Glass is the film adaptation of Richard Peck’s THE GHOST BELONGED TO ME. This movie, about the spirit of a little girl seeking a “child of glass” terrified young me to the point that I refused to walk into dark rooms for months afterwards (I would reach around the corner to turn on the lights, certain that a cold hand was about to grab mine in the dark). I rewatched it last week, and while the special effects have lost their ‘otherworldliness,’ it is still sufficiently creepy. A kid’s movie? No way.
1980s
Watcher in the Woods (1980)
Another Disney film! Starring Bette Davis and Kyle Richards (never thought you’d see those names in the same sentence did you), this is a super-creepy haunted house/missing child story. It is also where my refusal to look into mirrors at night stems from (see also, Candyman). This film underwent massive rewrites to make the ending ‘happier,’ and I am still on the hunt for the original ending. Also, I just learned that it is based on a 1976 novel of the same name by Florence Engel Randall, so I’ll be adding that to my Goodreads list this month. Maybe check in on me November 1st to make sure I’m all good, ‘kay?
Night of the Creeps (1986)
The tagline tells you everything you need to know: “The good news is your date is here. The bad news is he’s dead.” Zombifying alien slug infestation on a college campus? Yes please. The irony is that this movie, which pays homage to classic horror directors, is not very scary. That said, the friendship between the two main characters is surprisingly affecting, and makes viewers root for their survival. For whatever reason, this was my go-to late-night horror movie in my teens. Watch this one with some popcorn and Mountain Dew at your next slumber party.
1990s
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
This is the movie that puts the “spirit” back in “Christmas spirit.” I waffled over this choice because, to me, this is both a Halloween AND a Christmas movie. But hey, it’s so good, I don’t mind watching it twice a year. One skeleton’s quest to break free from the expectations of others, it also tells an incredibly sweet love story of finding the person (doll, reanimated corpse, whatever) whose weird matches yours.
The Crow (1994)
Not just for spooky season, this is one of my favorite movies, full-stop. Brandon Lee is heartbreakingly good (and no one really ever mentions it, but he’s also incredibly funny) as a resurrected vigilante rockstar avenging the murder of his girlfriend on Devil’s Night. This violent, blood-soaked love story is sheer perfection from its writing to its casting (Michael Wincott, Ernie Hudson, David Patrick Kelley, just to name a few). Reality and fantasy merge in this movie’s tragic history; the loss of what might have been is haunting.
2000s
The Ring (2002)
Writing this article, I am wondering if Child of Glass had anything to do with why I found this movie so terrifying (children and wells do not mix). A curse being summoned by VHS tape seems almost quaint by today’s technology standards, but the image of Samira appearing on a television screen absolutely petrified me, to the point that I refused to sleep with my feet out from under the covers for weeks. The phrase “Seven days” is still enough to send a shiver down my spine.
Paranormal Activity (2007)
This is one of those movies I watched by myself when it first came out, and I had to see it in the daytime. Now I am rewatching the series with my son, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised (read: sufficiently scared) by how well the series is holding up (we have watched the first four installments). The first movie had the benefit of being unpredictable and largely unscripted, which added authenticity to the experience. I’ve been impressed in subsequent films with the mythology, the build up, and the camera angles all lending themselves to a feeling of dread. If Shirley Jackson had written found footage films, she would have written these.
2010s
The Conjuring (2013)
Can we all agree that “The Clap-Clap Game” is the scariest game ever? Based on the experiences of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, the film follows the couple as they explore a series of unexplained supernatural events at a farmhouse in Rhode Island. I’ve not watched any of the other movies in the franchise or spinoffs, because the first one affected me so greatly.
It Follows (2014)
This is another movie that amps up the creeping horror factor. Literally. Similar to The Ring, this is the story about a curse that is passed from victim to victim, both forwards and backwards. The cinematography ensures that viewers are constantly watching over the characters’ shoulders. In my opinion, the simple suggestion that something might be creeping up on me is an insidious way to instill fear (Admit it, you just looked behind you, didn’t you?).
2020s (so far)
Candyman (2021)
Candyman can be viewed as a standalone film, but it is also a sequel to the 1992 original and offers multiple satisfying callbacks to its source material. This version has solid scares and a sense of humor (It’s delightful to see characters display common sense, declining participation in some of the genre’s most obvious “don’t go in there’ tropes), but also has a lot to say about current events. It is tense through and through and is the rare horror film that doesn’t diminish with multiple viewings. Don’t watch this alone and be careful what you say.
So what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Agree to disagree? Which movies scare you? Comment and let me know!