Across numerous streaming services, it is easier than ever to access horror films. As soon as someone opens Netflix, they’re greeted with an endless array of movie posters, most of them advertising seemingly generic movies that have sometimes skipped theaters altogether. These films can be fun when watched with a raucous crowd, and there are certainly some diamonds in the rough. Still, few of them likely evoke the kind of autumnal, chilling and strangely comforting atmosphere that can be associated with the best horror films — and by extension, Halloween itself.
There’s certainly no shortage of creepy atmosphere in “Alien,” the seminal science fiction horror film that helped to establish the careers of director Ridley Scott and actress Sigourney Weaver. In many ways, it is a simple slasher flick, replacing a sleepy suburban town with a futuristic spaceship and a human foe with the titular extraterrestrial, but otherwise keeping much of the narrative architecture the same. This simplicity is a large part of the film’s enduring appeal — Scott and the movie’s screenwriter, Dan O’Bannon, tell this sparse tale with maximum clarity and beautiful structuring.
As a piece of storytelling, “Alien” is as much of a perfect organism as ... well, the alien from which the film’s title is derived. What keeps me coming back to this movie, though, is the ominous and tangible vibe of it all — some indescribable mixture of its production design, cinematography, sound, deliberate pacing and direction make this the kind of film you want to watch while sitting under a blanket, preferably illuminated by the glow of a jack-o’-lantern’s candlelight.
The same could easily be said of “Prince of Darkness” and “The Thing,” two horror films directed by maestro John Carpenter. “Prince of Darkness,” a supernatural horror film released in 1987, tells the story of a group of college students in Los Angeles tasked with studying a cylinder of liquid that contains the essence of Satan.
“The Thing,” which opened five years earlier, depicts a team of researchers in Antarctica who are confronted by an alien lifeform — the titular “Thing” — with the ability to flawlessly imitate any life form it manages to kill. The extraterrestrial’s unique ability to assume the likeness of its victims is key to the film’s power and tension. The paranoia and unease infecting every interaction between the various characters becomes almost as much of an obstacle as the central monster, and Carpenter expertly increases the audience’s anxiety as the situation escalates.
This sense of claustrophobic dread is also present in “Prince of Darkness,” which similarly constricts its characters to a relatively confined central setting and meticulously ratchets up the horror and suspense. In general, the films share several strengths — gorgeous cinematography, methodical approaches to storytelling, excellent scores, hauntingly ambiguous endings and, perhaps most crucially, that aforementioned atmosphere. Just like “Alien,” these films flawlessly evoke a very particular mood that’s become synonymous with the holiday. They are both masterpieces regardless of the time of year, but it almost wouldn’t feel right to watch them without leaves strewn across the ground outside and a brisk chill in the air.
Conventional wisdom would probably be to follow these recommendations with an extended write-up on “Halloween,” another film directed by Carpenter that’s proven to have a long-lasting legacy in the horror genre. Still, it is more rewarding to stumble off the beaten path and recommend another excellent — if wildly different — entry in the franchise.
“Halloween II,” released in 2009, is a sequel to a remake of the aforementioned “Halloween.” Though greeted with negative reviews, the film is ripe for re-evaluation. It’s a bold, visceral and terrifying movie that eschews the patient simplicity of Carpenter’s classic for an abrasive look at violence and twisted family dynamics. It follows Laurie Strode, the protagonist of the previous film, as she deals with the fallout of her experience with hulking serial killer Michael Myers and, initially unbeknownst to her, her brother. While she attempts to cope with her emotional trauma, Myers, still alive and living a nomadic existence in the countryside, embarks on a quest to find his sister, leaving a hefty body count in his wake.
The film mixes gruesome scenes of violence with surreal imagery and a distressing examination of Strode’s declining mental health. On top of this, every scene is shot in a disorienting, grainy and often striking visual style. “Halloween II” isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s a formidable artistic achievement. It’s no less atmospheric than the aforementioned films, but if those strike the viewer as akin to a chill down the spine, this is closer to an uncontrollable panic attack. One would be wise to brace themselves and, if up to the challenge, dive in.
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