What constitutes a scary movie? Is it a film with hideous monsters, gore-filled slashers, or a haunted tale of spectral beings? Think of the hundreds of movies about traditional cinematic monsters like “Frankenstein” (1931), “Dracula” (1931), “King Kong”(1933), “The Wolf Man”(1941), and “Godzilla” (1954). In past Halloween columns we’ve written about franchise slasher films like “Saw” (2004) or “Halloween” (1978), and on ghostly tales like “The Others” (2001) or “House on Haunted Hill” (1959). But scariness is in the eyes (and mind) of the beholder. Today, we are going to discuss what movies really scare the two of us. …
Take One
As a kid, one of the most horrifying movies to me was Peter Weir’s “The Mosquito Coast” from 1986. Starring Harrison Ford as a brilliant inventor who feels confined by American life, so he uproots his family, that includes an excellent Hellen Mirren and a young River Phoenix, to Belize to begin a new utopian society deep in the jungle. But what begins as an optimistic foray into a new way of life quickly devolves into chaos as the inventor’s personal ambitions eclipse his new environment, his family, and even himself. I confess that I’ve never particularly liked the film, but to this day I find its slow-creeping descent into paranoia terrifying, particularly in the power of one man to destroy the lives of so many others. Keen viewers may draw cautionary parallels to some of today’s most prominent billionaires.
Perhaps the scariest film of our generation is Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion” from 2011. Based on an alternate doomsday scenario of the 2002-2004 SARS epidemic, the film achieved broad notoriety in 2020 for its “prediction” of the horrors of early COVID-19: stadiums converted into public hospitals, massive closures and lockdowns, disinformation campaigns and public distrust. One key component is particularly frightening! Unlike COVID’s early 1% fatality rate, the disease in “Contagion” has a fatality rate of nearly 20%. What’s even scarier is that the number is actually realistic for many future potential pandemics! The film features a star-studded cast that includes Jude Law, Lawrence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, and Gwyneth Paltrow, many of whom will be gone by the film’s final act.
Take Two
I have to admit that I’m not scared by monsters, ghosts, nor zombies. I’m scared by real things that appear in daily life. As a child I was terrified by Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” (1963) based on the 1952 short story by Daphne du Maurier. The film stars Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren as a couple that are continuously attacked by an enormous flock of birds. The birds’ bizarre behavior cannot be explained, but as a 12-year-old I watched every tree and telephone pole on my walk home from the theater. I never again looked at my grandma’s parakeets the same way.
As an adult, I was (and still am) frightened by Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” (1975). Having had two close encounters with sharks, one of which left a considerable bite mark on my floating raft off Captiva Island, I know these monsters are real, and bumping into one might make you the entree for lunch. Spielberg’s thrilling story is the granddaddy of all summer blockbuster films. Prior to “Jaws” most critical and financially successful films were released around the holidays as summer was referred to as “box office poison.” Now, the major slate of Hollywood releases all target July and August.
“Klaatu barada nikto.” One of my favorite sci-fi films is “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951) and (yes) the remake from 2008. The original starred Patrica Neal, Billy Gray (as her son) and Michael Rennie as a humanoid alien, Klaatu, sent to earth to warn its inhabitants that nuclear proliferation will not be tolerated by other alien civilizations. To demonstrate their advancement (and power) Klaatu stops all electronic power and engines worldwide for one hour with exceptions for airplanes in mid-flight and emergency hospitals. He is also accompanied by Gort, a robot with laser-like vision that can melt weapons and people. The original film is beloved, but the 2008 remake, starring Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, was panned by critics. In this version, Klaatu is concerned by human ecocide destroying the earth’s atmosphere. He is accompanied by nano-bots that swarm like insects and destroy anything in their path. After each film, I found myself thinking how I, or my family, would survive if all electric power ceased to exist: no communication devices, no electricity, no batteries to start automobiles or most machinery. It would be like living in the sixteenth century. Now to me, that’s scary!
All films cited are available on Amazon Prime or YouTube.
(This column is written jointly by a baby boomer, Denny Parish, and a millennial, Carson Parish, who also happen to be father and son.)
