Top Ten Must-See Halloween Movies

Horror is definitely my preferred genre when it comes to movies. I have been into horror movies ever since I was seven years old. I guess there is an inherent need in all of us to have the crap scared out of us. That's why horror movies are such a popular genre. Either that or I was just a twisted little kid.

In either case, with Halloween quickly approaching, here are my picks for the Top Ten Must-See movies for Halloween. Rent them or check your cable listings for these gems. Caution: these reviews contain spoilers. They are listed in no particular order:

Halloween. Of course, you have to see the movie named for the holiday, right? The Rob Zombie remake is pretty good, but I still prefer the original with scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis. Donald Pleasance, who was kind of slumming it when he made this movie, saw his career resurrected with this low-budget horror flick which turned into a franchise. He really made the movie, and try as he might, Malcolm McDowell just couldn't quite fill his shoes in the Zombie remake. Best scene: Jamie Lee screaming and racing from house to house trying to escape from Michael Myers.

Friday The 13^th. I still prefer the original to all of the lesser sequels. There had been slasher movies before this one hit the theaters, but this is the one that set the standard. It also established some of the unwritten rules of horror movies: If you leave your group of friends, you're dead; if you have sex, you're dead; if you say you'll be right back, you're dead. You get the idea. Jason Voorhees doesn't make an appearance in this movie until the very end, and he's not even the killer. His mother is. Best scene: Mrs. Voorhees losing her head toward the end of the movie.