Get ready for a marathon of vintage Halloween films

Vintage Halloween films: Halloween

With the arrival of Halloween, the best scary movies in the history of cinema regain their prominence, with mythical characters such as Leatherface.

Halloween is getting closer and closer, with pumpkins, ghosts, witches and scary movies taking centre stage. For this, there is no better idea than to get psyched up with this marathon of vintage films that we propose and that never fail.

Vintage Halloween films: Halloween

HALLOWEEN

The film Halloween (1978), directed by John Carpenter, is one of the great Halloween films, starring actress and writer Jamie Lee Curtis, and a landmark film. It was such a success that it has spawned a saga with a total of 13 films.

The first of these, the original, begins when Michael, our six-year-old protagonist, kills his entire family on Halloween night. As a result, he is sent to a reform school, from which he manages to escape nine years later, precisely on the night before Halloween.

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

Leatherface is another of the iconic characters of the night of terror.

The story of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), directed by Tobe Hooper, unfolds when several friends travelling in a van pick up a hitchhiker who starts behaving abnormally. They are forced to stop at a farm owned by the Hardesty family. Kirk, one of the main characters, decides to go to get fuel to continue travelling, but is attacked by a man wearing a human skin mask: Leatherface.

The young members of the group are pursued by this killer, who is part of a family of cannibals.

The film was so controversial that it was banned in several countries and some cinemas decided to stop showing it.

Vintage Halloween films: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Vintage Halloween films: It

IT

It (1990), directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, changed our concept of clowns and their smiles. This film is based on one of the most iconic novels by horror master Stephen King.

The more than three intense hours take place in a town in Maine, where It, a diabolical force, hides behind a clown mask.

Some time after the first victims, a gang of seven childhood friends decide to get back together to put an end to the evil clown.

King’s brand of psychological horror is evident throughout. If you haven’t seen it yet, you won’t find the clowns as endearing or funny after watching it.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY

The film Halloween (1978), directed by John Carpenter, is one of the great Halloween films, starring actress and writer Jamie Lee Curtis, and a landmark film. It was such a success that it has spawned a saga with a total of 13 films.

The first of these, the original, begins when Michael, our six-year-old protagonist, kills his entire family on Halloween night. As a result, he is sent to a reform school, from which he manages to escape nine years later, precisely on the night before Halloween.

Vintage Halloween films: The Addams Family

SLEEPY HOLLOW

Sleepy Hollow (1999) is one of the classic Halloween films directed by Tim Burton and starring his fetish actor Johnny Depp, for which he received the Oscar for best art direction.

It is a story set in late 18th century North America. Constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is an investigator who employs methods not seen in his time to investigate crimes and events.

Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow, a remote village where he must discover what is true about the legend of a headless horseman who terrorises the locals.

The film is based on the book by Washington Irving.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

Vintage horror can be glamorous, as The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975) proves.

It is a very funny musical and is another fetish film of this era.  The story takes place when a couple is returning from a wedding, when their car breaks down in the middle of a violent storm. Nearby is the castle in which they take refuge and which is owned by Dr. Frank-N-Furter, who is trying to create Frankenstein.

A film that you will enjoy and that will make you move your skeleton thanks to the performances of Susan Sarandon, Tim Curry and Meat Loaf, among others.

Vintage Halloween films: The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Vintage Halloween films: The exorcist

THE EXORCIST

The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973) is another legendary film that marked an era. It is based on the book by William Peter Blatty which, in turn, was inspired by a real exorcism that took place in Washington in 1949.

Twelve-year-old Regan is the victim of paranormal phenomena. He starts levitating and experiencing supernatural situations. His mother doesn’t know what to do and, after trying a myriad of possible solutions, decides to seek the help of a priest specialising in psychiatry. She soon realises that the origin of everything is nothing more than a demon that has possessed her soul, so she decides to exorcise it. But not everything is going to be as easy as it seems.

Few things are more terrifying than an innocent girl possessed by evil.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

Night of the Living Dead is an authentic vintage horror film, directed in 1968 by George A. Romero, in which zombies are the main characters.

A satellite emits different radiations that cause the dead to resurface and come out of the tombs in which they are buried in a cemetery in Pennsylsania.

The protagonists, attacked by several undead, decide to barricade themselves in a farmhouse, but it is not going to be easy to get rid of them, as they will follow them there.

They realise that in order to survive they will have to hit them on the head, so it won’t be an easy task. Will they manage to come out of such a situation victorious?

Needless to say, thanks to this film, a large number of zombie films and series such as The Walking Dead have been made.

Vintage Halloween films: Night of the Living Dead
Vintage Halloween films: The Shining

THE SHINING

The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) is one of the great masterpieces of cinema. Jack Nicholson’s mythical performance as Jack Torrance is to take your hat off to him.

Torrance is a writer looking for inspiration for his next book. So he decides to move with his family to Colorado, to the Overlook Hotel. All he has to do is take care of its upkeep during the harsh winter, when it is closed to the public.

There they are totally isolated by the snow and the cold, at which point the writer’s behaviour begins to change. The personality disorders are disturbing, to which must be added strange scenes in the hotel premises.

A film that will make your hair stand on end.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

The great Robert Englund played Freddy Krugger in Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), which also stars Johnny Depp.

Several teenagers in a small American town live in fear of the coming of night, suffering nightmares in which they are chased by a man with a burnt face and a glove with sharp blades.

Some of them, during the nightmares, will never wake up again.

After watching this film, which has spawned eight more films, including Freddy vs. Jason and a series, you’re bound to think long and hard about whether to sleep or wait a while longer to watch another film, perhaps A Nightmare on Elm Street II?

Vintage Halloween films: A Nightmare on Elm Street

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