If there’s one thing Halloween goes hand-in-hand with other than candy and costumes, it’s horror movies.
Before you settle in with go-to franchises like Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street or even the latest Paranormal Activity entry (don’t waste your time), why not try out a few of these modern horror classics:
Grave Encounters (2011)
Found footage meets reality TV, as a crew of ghost-hunters locks themselves into an abandoned psychiatric hospital for their show, Grave Encounters.
Events take a turn for the worst as the crew realizes they’re not in any normal psychiatric hospital, as they’re haunted by the ghosts of former patients, and the hospital itself, in what turns out to be an endless labyrinth.
The crew quickly begins to lose their sanity as they realize this may be their final episode.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The film that ignited the found footage craze still stands tall above its successors.
From pacing, subtlety and the eerie use of black-and-white film, The Blair Witch Project is sure to make you think twice before going into the woods alone after watching what happens to these three college students attempting to track down an urban legend for a film class.
The Ring (2002)
The Ring is the best example of taking foreign source material, Americanizing it, and still having it retain its original meaning.
This ghost story is littered with the creepy factor, from the disturbing images on the tape to the gruesome faces of the victims of Samara.
If none of this entices you, at least watch it for the fact that Gore Verbinski, the director of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, directed it.
Zodiac (2007)
While not a traditional horror film, Zodiac is the (mostly) true story about the Zodiac serial killer who terrorized the Bay Area for over 30 years and has still never been apprehended.
This David Fincher-directed film has Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist, who is able to decode the killer’s letters sent to The San Francisco Chronicle.
This psychological thriller will have you on the edge of your seat, and it also includes one of the most realistic and disturbing stabbing scenes caught on film.
Make sure you have the time to sit through this one, though – it’s nearly three hours long.