For horror movie lovers, fall is the best part of the year because so many new and remade horror films are released. So far, there are a few that seem to be getting a lot of attention.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, “Prisoners,” released Sept. 20, is a psychological thriller starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Terrence Howard and many other great actors. “Prisoners” is about a man who takes the law into his own hands after his daughter and his daughter’s friend are kidnapped from their home on Thanksgiving. Jackman plays the father of one of the girls, and he begins a relentless search for the girls after the police are not doing enough to find them. Gyllenhaal is the cop in charge of the case and partners up with Jackman to find the girls. This intense journey takes you in one direction and then cleverly surprises you into another one. Even though the ending was a little disappointing, it was still a great, intense film.
Most people have seen the movie “Carrie,” either the 1976, 2002 and/or 2013 version. Carrie is a supernatural horror film adapted from Stephen King’s 1974 novel about an abused, painfully shy teenage girl who discovers she has telekinetic powers. Throughout the movie she is slowly pushed to the edge of insanity by frequent bullying from both classmates at her school, and her own religious, but abusive, mother. Towards the end of the movie, her classmates pull a prank on her at their senior prom that pushed her too far. She then uses her telekinetic powers to get revenge on her classmates and the rest of the town. The first two versions of Carrie seem low budget and the acting may not be that great, but they are classics. In the 2013 remake, Chloë Grace Moretz plays Carrie and Julianne Moore plays as her mother. Director Kimberly Peirce did a great job at remaining faithful to King’s original novel. Upon hearing of the new adaptation, King stated that, “the real question is why, when the original was so good?” “Carrie” was released to theaters nationwide Oct. 18.
The original “I Spit on Your Grave” was released in 1978, and was remade in 2010. Now, director Steven R. Monroe has come out with “I Spit on Your Grave 2” in 2013. These movies are all about a girl who is repeatedly gang-raped, humiliated and left for dead by four men, who she later hunts down to seek revenge. These graphic, horror/thriller films have caused a lot of controversy and were only released in theaters for a short amount of time. “I Spit on Your Grave 2” was released in select theaters on Sept. 20 with an immediate DVD release on September 24.
Some other great horror films that were recently released include the summer thriller success “The Purge,” a futuristic film about a wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legalized. This “purge” is only legal one night a year, and many take advantage of it. There are multiple plot twists that lead to an interesting ending. From the producer of “Paranormal Activity” and “Sinister,” “The Purge” had viewers sitting on the edge of their seat throughout most of the movie. Due to the success of the first film, a sequel is in development by Universal and Blumhouse.
Along with all these new horror films, there are also some great classics that you could find on Netflix or at the library. Great classics worth watching this upcoming Halloween week would be: “The Exorcist,” “The Shining,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Night of the Living Dead,” “Halloween,” “Scream” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
Whether you enjoy thrillers, supernatural or gore, there is something for everyone out there to make this fall and Halloween a little bit scarier.
