By Danielle Capalbo
Halloween season is the ideal time for a bit of tricking, some treating and a whole lot of scaring. The options for spook-filled nights may seem endless with all the horror movies and creepy stories available.
However, most of these are more of a trick than a treat. Here are some choices sure to leave you afraid of the dark.
Films
The independent Japanese horror film “Three Extremes” is at once disturbing, clever and mad. This creative compilation of works from Fruit Chan, Takashi Miike and Chan-wook Park is unlike any other movie in its intensity, terror and camerawork.
“Three Extremes” is comprised of three short segments: “Dumplings,” “Cut” and “Box.” Chan is responsible for “Dumplings,” which is about a disturbed woman who prepares dumplings with the meat of unborn children, intended to revitalize and increase the fertility of women willing to pay for the meal.
“Cut” is Park’s most notable work, a piece from which the film “Saw” generously borrowed basic concepts and visuals.
“Box” belongs to Miike and portrays the haunting of a young woman by her sister, who she killed while battling depression when the two were young ballerinas.
The shorts are intelligent and terrifying. “Three Extremes” is the type of film that will make viewers want to leave a light on when they go to bed and is a must-see for those who want to to be disturbed and excited by cinema.
Ghost stories, paranormal occurrences and science fiction are all scary in their own right, but a movie about human insanity is frightful on a different level.
Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” may not be the flashiest, most flamboyant film, but its horror properties rest equal parts in the sheer lunacy of Jack Nicholson’s facial expressions and his believable mental breakdown one snowed-in weekend.
Trapped in an entirely vacant hotel with a son who talks with his fingers and a wife who can’t run properly, the film definitely keeps audiences on the edge of their seats.
Stories
Roald Dahl may be known for short stories and children’s books read by all ages. However, he also has a talent in selecting chilling ghost stories.
In the foreword to “Book of Ghost Stories,” Dahl explains just how rare it is for a scary story to actually be scary.
Not all of Dahl’s choices are terrifying. Some are dated, some predictable and some a bit funny.
Mostly, though, they are brilliantly-written and frightening.
Dahl’s professed favorite is Jonas Lie’s “Elias and the Draug.”
Cynthia Asquith’s “The Corner Shop” and Rosemary Timperley’s “Harry” also stand out.
Even the less-than-disquieting tales are enjoyable in one way or another. If there’s time for sitting around a fire or for holding a flashlight in a menacing way underneath one’s chin, these should be read aloud.
Urban legends can be stale and laughable. But one of two things is guaranteed: Either you will find someone who thinks they are all horrific and plausible, or you will stumble upon one that really is horrific and plausible.
Everyone is familiar with at least a few urban legends, like dogs being skinned in the shower or psychotic men waiting in the backseats of cars. There is an entire wealth of unrealized urban legends, though – some actually have happened to a friend’s neighbor’s cousin’s brother’s sister-in-law.
For terrorizing the masses, do some urban legend research. The Web site www.snopes.com has an interesting array of legends, and takes the time to prove or disprove them (although not all can be put into one of those two categories) and hypothesizes about their potential origins.
Other nearby treats during the Halloween season:
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” goes all out on Halloween night with its midnight performances. The interactive show based on the classic movie about love, aliens and transsexuality allows audiences to participate with props and lines. Starting at midnight and lasting until 2:30 a.m. (and sometimes later) at 10 Church St., Harvard Square, Cambridge, it costs $9.25. More information can be found by calling 617-864-4580. For those unable to attend the show, The Full Body Cast will perform the show at afterHOURS Nov. 7.
For a hoe-down of fun, check out West Fest 2005. With a pumpkin-carving contest, Halloween games, caramel apples and opportunities to pie an RA, the festivities in the West Village Quad last from 3 p.m. until sundown on Sunday.
