Halloween (1978 & 2007)

So, I really don't have much to say about these movies. They have the same plot so we'll knock that out first. There's this psychopath kid named Michael. He killed his other sister, showed no remorse, killed a nurse, and got locked up in an asylum forever. Then one day he escapes. He goes back to his hometown, and starts killing kids again until he finds his little sister and kills her too. I don't remember how they end. I frankly don't care. These movies were terrible, but the original was by far better. Let's start there.

1978 - This movie probably terrified anyone that believed in the "boogie man" and was babysat regularly. other than that, I can't see how it would make anyone, anywhere, piss their pants. At all. t's a pretty pathetic attempt if I'm quite honest. Mike almost always kills people after they've had sex. Guess we know where Jason got the idea from. Anyway, you always see it coming so, no surprise factor.

2007 - DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, WATCH THIS MOVIE! Not only is it not a scary movie, but it's "written", directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. For future reference, never watch a Rob Zombie movie. Other than GD and F bombs there is no dialogue. And I think Rob thinks he's a porn director, because if you take away the sex scenes you're left with about 20 minutes of "plot." Stay away. Just stay away.

I give both of these movies the same rating.

The Haunting In Connecticut (2009)

Watching your son die of cancer is enough of a horror story. Try doing it in a haunted house. A house that appears to be out to get your son. Of course, since your son is undergoing experimental radiation treatment, no one believes anything he says and just blames his treatment. Cause the kid doesn't have a tough enough life. Moral of this movie is pretty obvious.

Parents, if your kid is claiming to see evil things in the basement, look into it.

Now that that is out if the way let's get down to the good stuff. This movie. Where do I begin? I hands down love this movie. As I've said before, I really like haunted house movies and this one is at the top of my list. Ok, let's get into it. Matt's mom is tired of driving so far to take Matt to and from his treatments so she and her husband decide to rent a house for a little while closer to his doctor. It's a nice gesture from the parents. What parent wouldn't want to make things easier for their ailing child? The only issue is they move into a house that used to be a mortuary. Where the doctor's assistant was a medium. A doctor who decided that since he had a medium present he would perform seances in the house.

Basically he did some creepy magic to keep the spirits trapped in the house so that his seances were incredible for the people attending. Unfortunately, this backfired for him and during one seance a fire breaks out and kills everyone except the medium. He tries to run but the spirits trap him and burn him alive. It's quite a tragic tale. So thats why the house is haunted. But all of that isn't revealed until near the end of the movie, and for the most part you don't see what's coming until it does.

So, the movie itself is great. But is it the scariest movie ever?

No.

It's fantastic and it has plenty of moments that'll make you jump, but it can't be the scariest. However, if you're looking for something that'll scare your girlfriend, or will scare you one night when you're home alone. This is a very good option.

The Shining (1980)

Maybe it's because it's 30 years old. Maybe it's because the acting in it, aside from Jack Nicholson, is terrible. Whatever the reason may be, this movie is not scary, and from what I've heard the book is a thousand times better. Maybe it just needs to be remade. Perhaps Disney will buy the rights to this movie too and make it again. Who knows?

Don't get me wrong, I love a good haunted house/hotel story. They're usually some of my favorites. The Haunting In Connecticut, The Amittyville Horror? These are some of my favorite horror movies ever, but I just can't see The Shining being in the same group as them. Once you get passed the terrible acting and the old cinematography, you'll see that there is a good storyline here. I mean, it's your typical haunted house movie.

House is haunted. (Hotel in this case)
Family moves in.
Someone is driven crazy by the evil lurking in the building. (usually the dad)
Person finally snaps and wields an axe and tries to kill the rest of the family.
They either succeed or they don't, either way, the crazy person almost always dies. (Haunted houses always get their way.)

So that's basically it. I can't say I enjoyed this movie. It was too old, too long, and just had some really bad actors in it. I cannot in good conscience give this movie a rating. I don't know where it falls. it's a good movie, but it's not horrifying. Therefore, all I can give it is...