Kevin Tenney’s Halloween Watch List

Looking for a little holiday cheer this season? Like Christmas and Easter, Halloween does have its own fair share of holiday favorites, at least here in the Tenney household…

First and foremost would have to be John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN. Now anyone who knows me knows I am not a huge fan of the slasher sub-genre, but this is the genre at its best. It’s a tense, scary character study of the essence of evil, with an unstoppable villain, which builds to a tremendous climax. It also introduces us to future scream queen luminary, Jamie Lee Curtis. Plus, it’s set at Halloween, and it’s called HALLOWEEN, so it’s really a no-brainer. If you need me to explain any further, then take off your costume and put your glowing pumpkin candy bag back in the garage; you don’t deserve to go trick-or-treating this year.

Second would be my own NIGHT OF THE DEMONS. It, too, is set on Halloween Night, and it’s a moody, spooky, funny thrill ride through a huge abandoned mortuary, which is not haunted, but possessed. The lighting by cinematographer, David Lewis, and the production design by the late Ken Aichle are first rate, as are the practical make-up effects by Steve Johnson. There’s also a nifty, little dance sequence with Amelia Kinkade and a memorable moment with a tube of lipstick, courtesy of scream queen icon, Linnea Quigley.

The first sequel to my film, NIGHT OF THE DEMONS 2, is directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, and I had nothing to do with it, so I’m honestly not playing favorites here. The young cast is really strong, including the future Mrs. Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, and a brilliantly comedic Jennifer Rhodes, who also played Winona Rider’s mother in HEATHERS. David Lewis and Ken Aichele are back on board as the director of photography and the production designer, so the film looks just as amazing as the original. And the phenomenal make-up effects are again courtesy of Steve Johnson.

Although not strictly a horror film, Richard Kelly’s DONNIE DARKO does eventually take place on Halloween night, and it’s possibly one of the darkest rides you’ll ever take with a film. With an amazing cast that includes, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Patrick Swayze, and James Duval, the audience is sucked into Donnie’s world and buffeted about until the final, horrifying climax. It’s definitely a thinking man’s horror film, which is well worth the trip and the thought. And it has a great collection of source music.

If you’re just looking for great horror films that are not necessarily set on Halloween, then here’s a quick list of some of my all time favorites in no particular order:

THE EXORCIST
THE OMEN (the original)
JAWS
ALIEN
ALIENS
DAWN OF THE DEAD (the original, but the re-make is pretty good too)
EVIL DEAD
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
REANIMATOR
SAW
HATCHET (yes, even though it’s a slasher film)
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (the original)
THE THING (John Carpenter’s re-make)
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (the original)

I’m sure there are many, many more that I’ve missed, but so what? You can make your own list and leave off some of MY favorites. Then we’ll be even, right?