That’s right, its Halloween time again. Time for us to roll out the scary movies and whatnot, all in the name of putting ourselves into the right frame of mind as the little ghouls and goblins roam the streets searching for candy. And what better way to do that than to roll out a scary movie or two?
But I know what you’re thinking already. After reading that first paragraph, you think I’m going to fire off some list of scary movies that I feel you should watch. Well, I’m not for a couple of reasons. First, I’ve already done that before, even reprinted it here, and quite frankly, nothing new has come out that would inspire me to update that list or create a new one. Secondly, every movie site across the web has their top ten list of what to watch on Halloween, and trust me, if you’ve read 10, you’ve read them all, even if they mix it up a little like this one.
Instead, I’m going to get a little twisted this Halloween. Instead of naming off my favorite scary movies, I’m going a little deeper into them. I’m going to pull out my favorite quotes from scary movies. So sit back, grab the popcorn, and turn out the lights, because we’re about to get started.
“There are certain RULES that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie. For instance, number one: you can never have sex.BIG NO NO! BIG NO NO! Sex equals death, okay? Number two: you can never drink or do drugs.The sin factor! It’s a sin. It’s an extension of number one. And number three: never, ever, ever under any circumstances say, “I’ll be right back.” Because you won’t be back.“ – Randy (Jamie Kennedy) – Scream
I love this quote because it signifies a turning point in the movie. Not only is he railing off against the formula by which every horror film every made has followed, but he’s also subtly giving away the plot of the film. It was a clever placement in what at the time was a fairly clever film, but was later ruined by needless sequels. Thanks Hollywood!
“Ya know, my daddy used to say every man’s got a devil. And you can’t rest ’til you find him. What happened back there with you and your girlfriend – I cleared that building. Hell, nothin’ in this town happens without my say-so. So I’m sorry if I spoiled your wedding plans there, friend. But, if it’s any consolation to you, you have put a smile on my face. “ – Top Dollar (Michael Wincott) – The Crow
Not exactly a scary movie, but hell, it deals with the supernatural, and it takes place on not one, but two Halloweens, so cut me some slack. This quote always stuck with me from The Crow because it begs the question of whether or not Eric Draven is actually an avenging angel or Top Dollar’s personal devil. No matter how righteous his acts may have seemed, The Crow never quite answered who was pulling the ultimate strings did it?
“Especially important is the warning to avoid conversations with the demon. We may ask what is relevant but anything beyond that is dangerous. He is a liar. The demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse us. But he will also mix lies with the truth to attack us. The attack is psychological, Damien, and powerful. So don’t listen to him. Remember that – do not listen.” – Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) – The Exorcist
Rather than dig too deeply into a self explaining quote, let me riddle you this batmen; isn’t it ironic that Max Von Sydow would go from trying to exorcise a demon in The Exorcist to playing one in Needful Things? Then again, he did also try to take over the world by spiking beer, so I guess we all make our choices in life huh?
“OK, here’s your motivation. You’re lost, you’re angry in the woods, and no one is here to help you. There’s a witch and she keeps leaving shit outside your door. There’s no one here to help you! She left little trinkets, you took one of them, she ran after us. There’s no one here to help you! We walked for 15 hours today, we ended up in the same place! There’s no one here to help you, THAT’S your motivation! THAT’S YOUR MOTIVATION!” – Josh Leonard (Josh Leonard) – The Blair Witch Project
Say what you want about the sequel, but for what its worth, I thought this movie was actually brilliant. Sure, it wasn’t the best filming ever, but let’s face it; Blair Witch carved the way for a ton of other movies like Paranormal Activity, Quarantine, and Cloverfield to name a few. But think of this before you condemn this film; these actors improvised most of their lines and from what I could tell, actually felt truly scared while filming.
“Perhaps they need a good talking to, if you don’t mind my saying so. Perhaps a bit more. My girls, sir, they didn’t care for the Overlook at first. One of them actually stole a pack of matches, and tried to burn it down. But I “corrected” them sir. And when my wife tried to prevent me from doing my duty, I “corrected” her. ” – Delbert Grady (Philips Stone) – The Shining
Stephen King may have hated it, even so much as to try and remake it, but for what its worth, The Shining is one of my favorite film, especially at this time of the year. Kubrick had a certain way with presentation and moods, and none shown through quite as much as his adaptation of King’s story of isolation and cabin fever. Grady’s quote above finally drives the hammer home for Jack, pushing him over that final edge, but it was the subtlety with which it was delivered that made it equally important and frightening at the same time.
And if you’ve stuck it out with me to this point, then I have a bonus quote for you because quite frankly, I couldn’t let this movie be left out of any list, just quotes or not.
“As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no “I” in team, but there is an “I” in pie. And there’s an “I” in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team… I don’t know what he’s talking about.” – Shaun (Simon Pegg) – Shaun Of The Dead
Shaun of the Dead was perhaps the most brilliant horror movie, spoof or not, to be released in the last decade, and single-handedly reinvigorated the zombie craze. All hail Shaun…
References:
Scream – Memorable Quotes, IMDB.com
The Crow – Memorable Quotes, IMDB.com
The Exorcist – Memorable Quotes, IMDB.com
The Blair Witch Project – Memorable Quotes, IMDB.com
The Shining – Memorable Quotes, IMDB.com
Shaun of The Dead – Memorable Quotes, IMDB.com
