October Blogging Challenge #5: My Favourite Movies

Being that I studied Film and Television at University, you would think that I could reel off my top five films with ease. However I actually find it really difficult to pin down specific films that I love, because there are just so many. To help myself out I thought I would narrow it down a little, and seeing as it's October, it is the perfect opportunity for me to talk about some of my favourite Horror films (in no particular order).

The original Halloween was the film that really got me interested in watching horror's. It's an absolute classic Slasher movie featuring Jamie Lee Curtis. This movie isn't actually scary, although I'm sure it was when it was first released... The most unsettling part of this film is by far the music in it, I'm sure you've heard it even if you haven't seen the film, but it makes my skin crawl. This film was also remade by Rob Zombie, and to be honest I am a fan of the remake, I think it brings a new and interesting light to the story of Michael Myers. If you like slasher films then both are a must watch.

This is an altogether different kind of Slasher film, and it's certainly not your average clichéd teen horror movie. I don't want to give too much away about the storyline, because I really think you should go into it with a completely fresh mind. All I will say is the story is based around body modification, and there are some pretty interesting procedures involved. I first watched American Mary at a horror film festival, and I'm glad I did. Anyone who is even remotely interested in horror films needs to cast their peepers over this one!

The Evil Dead is a classic 1980's video nasty movie, and was pretty scary. It features some interesting visual effects including some stop motion gore which makes for interesting viewing. However I must say that the recent remake of this film was ridiculously creepy. I wouldn't say scary, more gorey and unsettling than scary. Either way teenagers trapped in a cabin in the woods and being hunted by evil demons and spirits is a classic recipe for a good horror.

Saw is a prominent franchise of our generation and I'm sure that all of you reading this have seen at least part of one of the films. I remember staying over at my uncles once and he showed me the first Saw film, and from then I was hooked. I think it's the perfect balance of mystery and gore that kept me hypnotised. I'll agree that the franchise got a little too drawn out, and certainly could have ended at the third or even fourth film, but that didn't stop me from watching every single one. I don't know about you, but I'm still absolutely terrified of that dummy...

If any of you know me, or have ever spoken to me about horror films, then you may have heard me 'bang on' about this next one. I saw Grave Encounters at the first horror film festival that I ever attended whilst at University, and I swear to God, I didn't sleep right for almost a month after watching it. Ten minutes in, you are sitting there thinking, 'this is just another rubbish ghost film and it's not going to go anywhere'. Then something changes, and the atmosphere shifts... This film has bucket loads of atmosphere. My boyfriend at the time came to see this with me and we squeezed each other's hands so hard that they were white when we left. All in all I've probably seen this film 6 or 7 times now, and I still have to hide behind a cushion every time I do watch it. If you like being scared then this is easily the best film for the job.

So there you have it, a list of horror films that I love. These are by no means the only horror films that are my favourites, as I said before I just have too many favourites to mention...