![]() ![]() ![]() Charlotte Rampling brings ice cold, dead-eyed menace to her Margaret Krusemark, alias Madame Zora, alias the Witch of Wellesley, the debutante with the ceremonial dagger, and the right hand of a convicted murderer, cut off while his neck was still in the noose. He invokes the most evil parts of Martin Scorsese for a charismatic and seditiously seductive overseer. Robert De Niro’s Louis Cyphre is a Mephistophelian marvel, which is a mouthful in Manhattan, whose very presence tingles with the charge of sinister energy. Made by master storyteller Alan Parker, the devil is in the details, and they are always shrouded in a corner, framed by burnt color coding, and teasing foreshadowing. But be warned: most horror films will pale in comparison, leading viewers to a deeper dive into demonic terror looking for a more potent dose. Every year, I follow Mickey Rourke’s Harry Angel from his private detective’s office on 23rd Street, down to Coney Island, and off to New Orleans for the all-consuming thrill of dread. Mind you, I may watch it in the middle of June, but it will set off a binge of deep psychological satanic horror that will last until Christmas. The spooky season, for me, begins with Angel Heart. ![]() – David Crow It’s not Halloween until I watch… Angel Heart TVTROPES THE OUTER WORLDS MOVIEWhen those two interact around Sir John’s wayward son in the finale, it’s as good as any monster movie there’s ever been. And the movie is heightened further by two truly great performances courtesy of Claude Rains as Larry’s doubting father, Sir John, and Maria Ouspenskaya as the Romani woman who sees all. Later I came to better appreciate the underrated sense of despair in Chaney’s performance conveyed through his doleful eyes. What he finds is the most werewolf-obsessed town in movie history… and eventually an actual werewolf to boot.Īs a kid, the appeal to me was Jack Pierce’s iconic monster makeup that glued Yak hair to Chaney’s face, as well as the overwhelming Grimm Fairy Tale quality to a film that seems simultaneously set in the early 20th century and the land of medieval Europe that time forgot. And there is something primal about the battle between good and evil in the story of Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), the unlikely son of a Welsh nobleman who returns home from America after his brother’s death. Screenwriter Curt Siodmak alleged late in his life that the idea for The Wolf Man occurred to him because as a German Jewish immigrant who fled the rise of the Nazi Party, he had seen firsthand how “good men” turn into monsters. But it was my favorite growing up, and the one I wore out the VHS tape on every October. Nor as an adult do I recognize it as the best Universal Monsters movie. Universal Pictures’ original The Wolf Manis not the first of that studio’s fabled monster movies I watched. It’s not Halloween until I watch… The Wolf Man (1941) But none of that matters when October rolls around, because The Shining is the perfect Halloween mood-setter. Save for one notable exception of a dead lady in a bathtub, there is nary a ghoul to be seen. The Overlook Hotel isn’t crawling with cobwebs, werewolves, or slashers. There aren’t many of the usual Halloween trappings in The Shining. Let us know in the comments what your Halloween must-watch is… It’s not Halloween until I watch… The Shining TVTROPES THE OUTER WORLDS HOW TOIf you’re looking for suggestions of how to ease into Halloween month, here are the movies Den of Geek writers are drawn to as the nights get shorter and the blankets get snugglier. Spooky season has to start somewhere, and just like Christmas, it often kicks off with a movie. Decorating the house, dressing up like monsters, trick or treating, apple bobbing, throwing toilet paper at people’s roofs or, even just putting on a warm sweater and getting hot chocolate on the go – it’s all part of the autumn fun. We all have our own Halloween traditions. ![]()
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