Sports

Five fantastic horror movies for a great night in

One of the best ways to spend a night with friends, no matter how old you are, is by watching horror movies. A night of popcorn, shouting, and laughter can be great entertainment, especially if you have a great home theater system.

Many great classics have been re-released in high definition on Blu-ray discs, but there are plenty available online too, so you can even make a list and let your friends pick that night. Many televisions now have Internet access, so you can watch movies directly on the television. Or you can connect a projector to your PC and make your own little theater in your living room.

These five movies are the perfect recipe for a great horror movie night. It is a selection of titles that have been made over the last fifty years, proving that great terror never goes out of style. These were not only great scary movies, but they were also great movies, they were nominated for awards, and in many cases, they won. While many may be in awe of horror movies, here are five movies everyone should watch at least once.

The first movie to put on your list should be the Alfred Hitchcock classic, Psycho. Made in 1960, it remains just as creepy and impactful today, with a brilliant performance by Anthony Perkins. Bates Motel is always worth a visit, unless of course you happen to be Janet Leigh. Don’t make the mistake of getting the remake that stars Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates and isn’t quite as scary. Psycho was nominated for 4 Oscars.

In 1973, The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty premiered on the big screen. She’s been scaring people all over the world ever since, and this tale of a possessed teenager played by Linda Blair, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her role, is sure to give you the chills. The Exorcist won 2 Oscars, for Best Sound and Screenplay, and received 8 other nominations.

Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg in 1975, was an instant classic. Yeah, it might not be up to par with today’s technology, and the shark might be a bit cheesy, but it still makes people scream and jump. It won 3 Academy Awards, including one for John Williams’ unforgettable original score.

Stephen King has been the master of horror writing for the better part of the last four decades and choosing one of the film adaptations of his books can always add to a night of frights. Kathy Bates won an Academy Award in 1990 for her role as Annie Wilkes in Misery, a chilling story about an obsessed fan who rescues a famous writer after a car accident.

With 6 Oscar nominations in 1999, The Sixth Sense is a modern masterpiece. While many of his other movies haven’t been great, M Night Shyamalan hits every note perfectly in this one. Haley Joel Osment gives one of the best children’s performances ever as the boy who sees dead people, and is brilliantly supported by Bruce Willis and Toni Collette.

If you haven’t seen these movies, do so now as they are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the horror genre. Of course, if you love horror, you’ll know that there are thousands of other movies, from Japanese classics to indie gory flicks.