1990
A small town radio station rebroadcasts \War of the Worlds"" for Halloween, convincing a simple-minded crew of passing Martians that they're late for the invasion. However, when the Martians reach Earth, everyone, except a skeptical little girl, thinks they're kids in costume. The prosthetics and puppeteering are great, especially in the little robot helper. It's one of the great family comedies of the early nineties.
1988
Inheriting her aunt's house, dog and spell book, Elvira has to defend against a conservative small town and a warlock uncle. It's a good mix of low brow humor and gore, and its constant airing on Comedy Central should give you some idea of its quality. I still like it, because of two big reasons.
1993
Just as much a movie about Halloween as about Christmas, this is one of the greatest animated movies ever. Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween, becomes obsessed with Christmas, so he tries to take it over. Both the stop-motion animation and the music are beautiful, and Tim Burton's vision shows that Halloween can be just as much about wonder as it can be about gore.
1996
Marky Mark is a terrifying presence in this thriller, where he stars as David, a psychotic boyfriend who terrorizes his girlfriend's family. While David's attempts to win Nicole over (Reese Witherspoon) by raping her best friend and beheading her dog are creepy, the scariest thing in this film is Alyssa Milano's attraction to the scuzziest, nastiest biker who's ever walked onscreen. ""Fear"" offers standard suspense-film startles and jolts but is also oddly humorous. It's hard to take the premise seriously, and the acting is far from Oscar-caliber (Witherspoon shows anger by making her nostrils flare to an incredible circumference), but it gets the point across'don't date a Wahlberg.
2000
""The Blair Witch Project"" was wildly successful because it played on the idea that people trapped in the dark freak themselves out by imagining all kinds of scary things that aren't even there. ""Pitch Black"" takes this idea to the limit. A group of people is trapped on a planet inhabited by flesh-eating, insect-like creatures. Vin Diesel is blessed with an ability to see in the dark and must save the group from becoming entrees. What makes this movie so scary is the sound'the faint sounds of the creatures approaching, the high-pitched screeches they make, the realistically wet slurping noises made by the creatures when they eat a person. The noise, combined with the dark, deserted atmosphere, makes the audience as afraid as the characters.
1999
Tim Burton's spooky telling of the headless horseman tale received mixed reviews from the public and critics alike, and it's understandable if it wasn't fully appreciated on first viewing. But with a second look, when not trying to be scared, the beautiful sets, costumes and cinematography stand out. Many familiar aspects of a Tim Burton movie are in place here, including a dark story, Johnny Depp as the quirky main character and a score by Danny Elfman. ""Sleepy Hollow"" probably won't freak you out too much, but the brilliant direction by Burton and the dark comedic moments splashed throughout make it a worthy Halloween treat.
1992
If you didn't catch this bloody flick when it came out ten years ago, you may want to give it a chance this Halloween. And if you haven't seen it in a while, isn't it about time you revisited the horror of the man with the hook who visits you when you repeat his name five times? This movie has enough genuine scare potential to make you think twice about going into the bathroom and looking in the mirror.
