A good scary movie is essential to any Halloween experience. A wrong decision made in the “horror” section of the video store can ruin a potentially frightening night of movie-watching. Remember the time you thought Leprechaun 4: Leprechaun in Space looked appealing? Mm-hm. Well, this installment of “Rental Picks” has your best interest in mind. Presented here are four genuinely terrifying films that will keep you up at night talking to your roommate for fear of turning out the light. There are no obvious puppet strings or laughable monsters to be found within these hair-raisers. Watch them alone at your own risk.

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Directed by Adrian Lyne
Starring: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Pena, Danny Aiello

>> Director Adrian Lyne explores the ideas of reality and fantasy in Jacob’s Ladder, the story of Vietnam vet Jacob Singer (Robbins), a postal worker who experiences nightmarish visions. Singer strives to learn the truth behind his hallucinations, aided by his girlfriend (Pena) and his kindly chiropractor (Aiello). However, the terrifying episodes become more frequent and more grotesque, and what Singer begins to understand could be too horrible to accept. Disturbing visuals abound here: a woman at a party suddenly becomes monstrous amidst the spinning disco lights and loud music; a bum in the subway station momentarily sports a reptilian tail; and the hospital sequences are truly harrowing. Good thing they’re only in Singer’s mind- or are they? Jacob’s Ladder is extremely dark and depressing and so suffered considerably from mainstream rejection, but it has developed a cult following who accept it as a chilling, thought-provoking film.

Great scene: The line about “nightmarish visions” isn’t a joke. There are some absolutely terrifying images here, including one that has been used by filmmakers in subsequent horror movies. It would be unfair to name it here; it’s better for you to experience the terror yourself. You’ll know it when you see it. Think of Francis Bacon paintings…

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990)
Directed by John McNaughton
Starring: Michael Rooker, Tom Towles, Tracy Arnold

>> More of a suspenseful thriller than a horror movie, Henry nevertheless terrifies us with its stark portrayal of human cruelty. Henry (Rooker) is undoubtedly a killer; the opening sequence of the movie shows a few of his victims, long dead, with the background dialogue revealing what went on during the fatal encounters. We soon discover that Henry is living with former prison mate Otis (Towles), a brutish loser who lusts over his own sister, Becky (Arnold), who has come to stay until she can straighten out her marriage. Henry and Becky soon form a strange bond, relating to each other through their tough childhood experiences. Henry, however, cannot stop killing, and soon recruits the all-too-willing Otis, who takes special pleasure in videotaping their murderous exploits and watching them over and over again. It soon becomes apparent that Henry must choose between his need for murder and his new relationship with the naive Becky. Is Henry capable of love? Does he ever really feel anything for Becky? All is revealed in the abrupt, shocking ending scene. For those who are looking for a realistic, all-too-human villain (and one that makes Hannibal Lecter look about as hostile as a Teletubby), check out this intense character study.

Great scene: After Otis declares that he feels like he could “kill somebody,” Henry drives him to a car tunnel, where they mercilessly shoot the first person that offers help with their faked engine problem. This moment of extreme violence forces the viewer to accept the facts: killers like Henry exist in this world, and we could be one of the random victims of a senseless killing spree.

The Omen (1976)
Directed by Richard Donner

>> Yes, you read right. That’s Richard Donner, director of Superman and The Goonies. Before these kiddie-oriented films, however, came The Omen, the story of the coming of the antichrist and one of the best horror films of the 70s. Gregory Peck and Lee Remick play the Thorns, an American couple living overseas. When Mrs. Thorn delivers a stillborn baby in Rome, Mr. Thorn secretly adopts an orphan to take its place. Little Damien (there’s your tip-off right there) grows up happy and loved, but on his fifth birthday sinister things begin to happen to those closest to him, beginning with his nanny, who hangs herself during the birthday party. Soon bodies are piling up left and right, and Thorn comes to realize that he just might be rearing the son of Satan. Aided by a clever photographer, he seeks out a reknowned exorcist who holds all the answers. Meanwhile, Damien makes life hell for his poor mother with a little help from a very creepy new nanny. If you enjoyed Rosemary’s Baby or The Exorcist, both horror classics in their own right, then this one is for you.

Great scene: Damien scoots around on his tricycle, a scene reminiscent of Kubrick’s The Shining, and bumps his unsuspecting mother over the edge of a balcony. The little devil watches with a blank stare as Mrs. Thorn begs for help before losing her grip.

Freaks (1932)
Directed by Tod Browning
Starring: Harry Earles, Olga Baclanova

>> In this bizarre morality story, the villains are the “normals” and the heroes are the real-life sideshow freaks, including “the living torso,” “Schlitzie the pinhead,” and yes, “Stammering Roscoe” (who knew stammering was such a stigma?). The freaks live a happy existence, getting along well with some of their normal colleagues like Phroso the Clown (I am not making this up), but the beautiful, conniving Cleopatra (Baclanova) conspires with her lover Hercules, planning to wed the midget Hans (Earles) then kill him and claim his small fortune. Hans, proud to have gained the affection of a normal woman, is quickly duped and abandons his dwarfish love Frieda. The freaks accept Cleopatra as “one of them,” but her disgust cannot remain hidden for long. When the freaks discover her true nature, they hunt down the scheming couple in a rainstorm and … the ending is too good to be revealed. This might not sound too scary, but horror often works best when the monsters are the most unconventional or unassuming. Moviegoers in the 1930s weren’t very receptive; most turned away in revulsion when faced with actual freaks playing the parts of the “good guys.” However, Freaks remains one of the true classics of horror, bizarre and ultimately terrifying seventy years later.

Great scene: The final chase scene is the closest thing to a horror cliche in Freaks, but it is masterfully done. The freaks drag and limp and pull themselves through the rain-soaked roads in pursuit of Cleopatra and Hercules. Although they are the protagonists of the film, the sight of them hunting the “normals” is extremely frightening.
Starring: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens

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