by Joel G. Robertson

I originally posted this in the comments section as a suggestion list for my friend Dumbricht, who’s blogging about watching 31 movies leading up to Halloween. Check out his blog here. He asked for a few suggestions and while I’m sure he (and you) have heard of many of these films, and to be honest, many aren’t forgotten (oh man, I hope not!).

So, without further adieu, and in no particular order, here are my 13 horror movie recommendations for this 13th day of October:

1. Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn (1987 – more funny (and fun) than the first one, and I think it was better)

2. Black Christmas (1974 – the original, of course!)

3. John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982 – it must be a generational thing, but I enjoy this one way more than the original. For the scene with MacReady (Kurt Russell) poking those blood-filled petri dishes with a hot wire…man, you can cut the tension with a knife!)

4. John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978 – again, original please… don’t even get me started about Rob Zombie…)

5. The Exorcist (1973 – What else is there to say? Other than I’m just glad they haven’t remade it…yet)

6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974 – the origi… ah, forget it. You know.)

7. The Stepfather (1987 – man, I’m starting to get depressed by how many of my beloved horror movies are getting remade!)

8. Near Dark (1987 – great vampire movie. These are badass, mean-to-the-bone vampires, none of that Twilight emo crap here. : ) )

9. Night of the Creeps (1986 – Gory, campy 80s fun!)

10. The Monster Squad (1987 – It’s The Goonies with monsters. I know this is Heresy for me to say as a child of the 80s, but I think this is the superior film… by a long shot! It’s also, from the same director, Fred Dekker, that did Night of the Creeps)

11. Fright Night (1985 – fun 80s vampire flick with Roddy McDowall as pseudo-vampire killer, but very real horror host, Peter Vincent)

12. Night of the Living Dead (1968 – original…yep, but ah, a twist in the list…)

13. Night of the Living Dead (1990 – the remake directed by Tom Savini and starring The Candyman himself Tony Todd, this remake holds up really well. Even based on Romero’s original script!)

Yes, I know I have two remakes on my list while simultaneously expressing my disdain for remakes! Oh well…

It just seems right to stop at 13, but if you have any suggestions please leave a comment.

Until next time, remember, a flick is only forgotten if you’re not talking about it!