Halloween Movie Night

I always get super excited for Halloween weekend because it means I get to revel in one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures: no, not pillowcases full of candy (though I do love that), horror movies! No seriously, Nat and I can't get enough of them (much to Micha's chagrin, might I add). We've been obsessed with horror movies pretty much since we were allowed to start watching them as pre-teens. We used to spend many a Friday night roaming the horror movie aisles of Blockbuster with our friend, Shari, searching for a movie that we hadn't yet seen. The cheesier, the better.

So if you, like me, want to treat yourself to a little horror-movie-watching fun this weekend, here are my top recommendations for movies to rent that are sure to make you scream out loud, but not lose your lunch (we're all about the scare factor, not the gore factor).

1. Night of the Living Dead - I remember when we decided to rent this one, after having seen our fair share of the horror section already and, being the cocky 15-year-olds we were, we thought, "how scary can a black-and-white movie even be?" The answer, my friends, is blood-curdling-screaming-at-3am-that-wakes-your-friend's-parents-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night scary. Be prepared to lose some sleep after seeing this one!

2. Poltergeist - After seeing this, you'll never be able to hear the name Carol Anne again in your life without first hearing it in that tiny woman's voice and then thinking: "don't go into the light!" Oh, and you'll be terrified of giant trees located directly outside your window. And closets. And creepy clowns under the bed... Don't say I didn't warn you.

3. The Exorcist, director's cut - This version is seriously worth it. The extra scenes with the crucifix (shudder!) and the spider walk (double shudder!) will freak you out down to your bones. Never watch this one alone at night. (Although, I suppose that goes without saying for all movies of this genre...) Or after playing with a ouija board at a sleepover party.

4. House of Wax - You certainly won't want to step foot in Madam Tussaud's for a while after seeing this one, let me tell you. Natalie and I first watched in on a flight to Europe. The poor woman sitting next to us was so confused by our intermittent screaming and batting our arms in fright. We bought the dvd a few months later and it's our number one horror movie guilty pleasure. Sure, it's one of the cheesier ones out there, but it's all worth it to see Paris Hilton try to act her way through a death scene. And besides, the main characters are twins!

(I promise this is the first and last time Paris Hilton will ever make an appearance on this blog.)

5. Sleepaway Camp - This is one of those awful movies we found after having seen all the good horror movies already. It's totally campy (pun very much intended), a little gross, and the plot is absolutely absurd. Exactly what you should be looking for on Halloween! The sequels are pretty entertaining as well. (And I personally very much enjoy that one IMDB reviewer wrote about it: "The disclosure of the murderer's identity is the most shocking climax in the history of American cinema.")

I will be viewing at least two of these with friends on Monday night while indulging in some spooky cocktails and yummy pumpkin treats. And to start it all off, I'm heading to an early screening of Paranormal Activity 3 late tonight! (Behind the times, yes, but it doesn't come out in Germany for another week...)

Happy Halloween weekend!

All images via IMDB: Night of the Living Dead | The Exorcist | Poltergeist | House of Wax | Sleepaway Camp