The student news site of Davis High School

The Dart

The student news site of Davis High School

The Dart

The student news site of Davis High School

The Dart

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What is the Best Halloween Movie?

What is the Best Halloween Movie?
One of the biggest traditions during the Halloween season is watching Halloweenmovies. These kinds of movies include classic Halloween movies and the many different genresof horror films. There are many Halloween movies that could be considered the best. To findwhich one of these movies you must consider a few different characteristics that make upHalloween movies.Classic Halloween movies are some of the most beloved for many people. Some moviesthat fit this category include films like Hocus Pocus, Gremlins, Beetlejuice, The Adams Family,Nightmare Before Christmas, and Casper. These movies aren’t considered horror but do havescenes that portray the spooky feelings that Halloween is all about. These films are adored bymany, especially those who don’t enjoy being scared.Horror films are a staple of Halloween because they capture the spooky feeling that goesalong with the Halloween season. There are many different sub-genres of horror films. Some ofthe most popular genres include slashers, thrillers, paranormal, found footage, and comedy films.Each of the genres has different ways of portraying terror to the viewers.A popular category of horror is thriller films. Thrillers are films that provide manymoments of suspense and surprise to viewers. Many films from the different kinds of horrorcategories can be considered thrillers as they include some of the elements that make up a thrillerfilm. It, The Ring, and Poltergeist are examples of thriller films.Slashers are among the most popular Halloween films. Halloween, A Nightmare on ElmStreet, Scream, Friday the 13th, and Saw are some of the most popular franchises of slashermovies. Slashers involve a murdering character who runs around killing tons of people. Thesefilms often feature lots of violence and chase scenes as characters are typically trying to escapefrom the villain.Paranormal films are another genre of horror films. Some of these films include TheConjuring, Insidious, and The Exorcist. This genre involves elements of non-human entitiesinteracting with the living. This includes supernatural beings like ghosts, demons, and monstersthat aren’t human. This gives the viewer a feeling of the unknown as they cannot connect withthe villains or enemies in the films.Found footage films are created using a unique way of storytelling. These movies take“footage” taken by someone that is then found and viewed by either a character in the film or theviewer themselves. Some found footage projects include The Blair Witch Project, ParanormalActivity, and Curse. These films scare the viewer by making the movies seem real or likesomething that they could find.To find the best Halloween movie one must consider options from all of these manycategories. Other factors of a good movie involve a good plot, good characters, and howrewatchable the film is. Originality and how iconic a film is could also be contributing factors toa good movie.

Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” is another pick for the best horror movie. This film is a
classic horror movie and is well-known by many. “The Shining” has been quoted and referencedthroughout lots of media throughout the years. This film has a great plot and good characters,particularly the Torrence family. “The Shining” has elements from many of the differentcategories of horror films including suspense, slasher, and paranormal.One pick for the best Halloween movie is Kenny Ortega’s, “Hocus Pocus”. This belovedfilm is a Halloween movie beloved by many. It is family-friendly which makes it liked by bothadults and kids. It also has a good story with good characters and writing. You could watch thismovie year after year and still get the feel-good feeling that this film procures.“The Exorcist” directed by William Friedkin is considered one of the greatest horrorfilms of all time. This film is also considered a classic horror film that was very advanced for itstime, involving many factors of a horror movie that were brand new to cinema. “The Exorcist”influenced many of the horror films made after this movie. The originality and influence of thisfilm make it one of the best horror movies to date.“The Blair Witch Project” directed by Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick is anothercontender for the best Halloween film. Upon release, this movie caused many viewers to believethat it was real due to its style of filming. It is also renowned as one of the scariest movies too. Itwas so well made that people believed the movie was actual found footage, which shows howgreat the film is.Michael Dougherty’s “Trick ‘r Treat” could also be considered one of the greatestHalloween films of all time. While this film is not as popular as some of the others mentioned itis still a solid contender. “Trick ‘r Treat” has elements from almost all of the film categoriesincluding slasher, thriller, paranormal, and even comedy genres. The plot is engaging withmultiple stories that all connect together to make for one great story.“The Conjuring” directed by Michael Chaves and James Wan is a staple Halloweenhorror film. This movie has an amazing plot with great characters based on Ed and LorraineWarren and their experiences as paranormal investigators. Being based on true stories andcharacters makes the movie even scarier for viewers. Terrifying paranormal experiences andspooky jump scares are littered throughout the project making for a terrifying horror film.“Halloween” by John Carpenter is arguably one of the best Halloween films ever made.This movie is almost synonymous with the holiday it is named after. Michael Myers, theantagonist of the film is possibly the most iconic Halloween villain of all time. This is a fan-favorite movie and also has references throughout pop culture.In the end, the best Halloween movie is ultimately up to personal preference. Whetheryou enjoy a scary, suspenseful, or feel-good Halloween movie contributes to this too. There areso many options for good Halloween movies to pick from, showing that Halloween movies aresome of the best films out there. Picking a winner from these iconic, fan-favorite films is a hardtask.

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About the Contributor
Josh Nielson
Josh Nielson, Journalist
osh Nielson-Junior at Davis High. This is my first year taking journalism. In my free time, Iplay basketball and hike with friends. I enjoy listening to many types of music and love to watchmovies. I can play the guitar, piano, and wake surf.