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Halloween was in jeopardy —
anti-Hallo-weenies had devised a diabolical
scheme to throw the world into chaos by
eliminating the date from calendars (thereby rendering day planners obsolete.) In a
dimly-lit, symbolically significant
Irish pub, my friend John and I, imbued with the
spirit of the Great Pumpkin, had assembled a team to save the holiday by making a list of
the top 100 Halloween movies. How our list was going to save Halloween had never been too
clear — to understand these efforts, we need first to understand the meaning of the
holiday.
Two thousand years ago, Celtic society, throughout what is now
Great Britain
and Northern France, was rigorous and rigidly scheduled — the
celebration of
Samhain, held October 31st to November 2nd, marked the passage of the
seasons from light into darkness. This was the beginning of a new year, a time when the
veil between the world of the dead and that of the living was pulled
aside to party.
For three days, the concept of time vanished, chaos reigned, insanity was embraced, and
revelry ensued. Fire, the symbol of divinity, was evoked in mass pyres to release the
hold of the past and initiate new beginnings. The Celts knew how to get
down.
When the Romans arrived on the scene, they brought their own
holidays and a
bushel of apples. The celebration of Pamona, the goddess of fruit and
trees was
symbolized by the apple and integrated into Samhain festivities. This later
gave
rise to the modern tradition of apple bobbing. “Trick or treating” was a
latecomer; the All Soul’s Day tradition of begging for “soul cakes” (crusts of bread)
was added several hundred years later, which evolved into the tradition of children
pan-handling candy.
In 2,000 years, even after losing its religious
status, the core values — the
“spirit” — of Halloween has not changed. The modern
“trick or treating” experience: the parade of goblins streaming down the streets, the
full regalia of pumpkins, cobwebs, skeletons, and cardboard creature decorations adorning
shop fronts and front lawns, fosters not only a sense of community but a ritual-based
communal catharsis. Gypsy pirates, vampire ballerinas, and ghoulish rock stars serve as
live-action metaphors, allowing children and adults alike to escape into the timeless
wonderment of fantasy where real-life social anxieties can be temporarily
purged.
Back at the bar, our experience acted as a microcosm of these
values — our
community of strangers bonded by discussing the most frightening
features of
horror movies past, and together we recaptured the “spirit” of
Halloween.
Obscure Classics
Compiled by
Josh Gryniewicz and John Murphy
25. The Hunger
(1983)
24. Scanners
(1981)
23. I Spit on your
Grave (Day of the Woman) (1978)
22. House of Wax
(1953)
21. Crypt of the
Living Dead (1973)
20. Rawhead Rex
(1986)
19. The Gate
(1987)
18. The Fog
(1980)
17. The House on the
Edge of the Park (1980)
16. Deep Red
(1976)
Calagari (1919)
14. Re-Animator
(1985)
13. The Bride of
Frankenstein (1935)
12. House of
Frankenstein (1944)
11. White Zombie
(1932)
10. Cemetery Man /
Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)
Rainbow (1988)
8. I
Walked with a Zombie (1943)
(1975)
Hill (1959)
5. Freaks
(1932)
Left (1972)
3. Nosferatu
(1922)
(1980)
1. Demons
(1985)
Disclaimer: Please note — the list of top 100 Halloween
Movies includes 125
films. However “Top 100” has a more official-sounding ring. Also,
subheadings were added long after the titles were collected. The authors would like to
thank N&W.com, John Dewey of Dark House Cinema, Erika, Melanie, the Great Pumpkin and the
entire crowd at Teehan’s for helping save Halloween.
For more of Josh
and John’s list, see:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
