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Why Ghost is the Scariest Movie I Have Ever Seen
What is the scariest movie you have ever seen? It’s a question horror fans are all too familiar with being asked. The question is often used to gauge a person’s tolerance level to horror or to find a new gem they haven’t heard of yet. When asked the question, a horror fan can use it as an opportunity to show off their fanboy love, their extensive knowledge of really messed up or obscure titles, crack a joke and say a non-horror movie (The Polar Express), or to take a moment of honesty and deconstruct what terrified them and why it stuck with them. So what is the one movie that kept me waking up at night screaming in cold sweats for a few years in my childhood? Ghost, starring Patrick Fucking Swayze.
Clearly I must be joking around when I tell people Ghost was the movie that terrified me as a child. And yes, I often have this conversation when answering the question. So let us get that part of the conversation out of the way:
“How could you be serious? Ghost?!?! The one where a Batman/poltergeist Partick Swayze and short-haired Demi Moore make clay pottery together?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“But isn’t that just some cheesy romantic film with a supernatural premise that had an eyebrow-less Whoopi Goldberg kissing Demi Moore?”
“Wow, you remember that film very well. Also, yes.”
“How can you be scared of that movie?”
“One word: nuns.”
I was seven years old when I first watched Ghost with my parents. At this time I was enrolled in a private Catholic school that was tied to the local church. Here, in my early formative years, I learned my ABC’s, 123’s, and more importantly that I was going to burn in hell. It is the Catholic way. See my first grade teacher, Sister Monique, was a hardcore fire and brimstone lady of the cloth. Every day she would remind little troublemakers like myself what hell is and that if we didn’t stop being little monsters that’s where we would be heading; and those were the days I didn’t get caught committing any shenanigans. So by the time my parents thought it would be a good idea to watch Swayze and Moore’s endearing love story on family movie night, I had the idea that I was going to hell engraved in the back of my seven year old brain. I just didn’t have the visuals to go along with the ideas. Ghost fixed that problem.
Now I haven’t seen the film since this impressionable time in my life until today, but if there is one thing burned in my mind, it’s when a bad guy dies in the movie. Don’t remember? Let me refresh your memory then. See, when a good guy dies they get a big bright light shown on them, choirs sing, and they turn into beautiful astro balls as they go to heaven. But if you’ve been bad, shadows with no body of origin comes out from the darkness making incredible demonic screams and moans. They come out, surround and attack the bad guys, then these shadows drag them kicking and screaming into the darkness. Into hell. Suddenly little seven-year-old me had a visualization of something I had accepted as a reality but hadn’t fully grasped yet.
It didn’t take long for the nightmares to begin of these shadow demons coming out of various dark corners and dragging me into hell. Often times I would visualize them coming out of a portal in the building next door and then appearing in my room. Hearing the screams and moans as they come and surround me. Waking up screaming but not making any noise was a common occurrence. Looking back it’s kind of incredible what a young imagination can do with a little bit of motivation. This went on for a while and eventually, the dreams became less occurring until one day they stopped. Somewhere in that time, I discovered a love for horror movies and no matter how many horror films I watch none have matched the terror I felt from watching Ghost. Perhaps it’s because in most horror films you witness the monsters being defeated, whereas in this case I was experiencing an existential crisis where I was the monster and finally getting my upcomings. Or perhaps I was just a kid with an overactive imagination.
After writing most of this article I decided to watch the film for the first time in almost fifteen years. I was rather surprised how good the film is. It is an all around decent film. The plot is your basic comic book story line. Man dies, doesn’t cross over, figures out it was a premeditated murder, get trained by homeless ghost on how to use new ghost powers, acquires loud mouth sidekick, defeats evil, and says final goodbyes. The funny thing for me was that the only thing that is really dated, beside the fashion, was the shadows. Looking at them now they are very dated looking special effects and look kind of cheesy. The sound design on the other hand is still really good and effective, which helps soften the dated nature of the shadows.
So why tell all of this? Am I trying to make a critique on religion’s reliance on fear tactics? Am I critiquing my parents’ choice on movie nights? Am I using the power of writing to confront childhood fears? Or am I just trying to be funny? Honestly, I don’t know. I just thought it might have been an interesting story about influence and horror. Now that I’ve been honest: What are some non-horror movies or characters that scared you as a child?
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Movies
‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt
Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.
In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.
This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.
Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.
“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”
The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”
The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.
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Movies
‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time
It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?
It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.
Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.
Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.
The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.
It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.
The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.
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News
Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween
Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.
The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.
This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.
This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.
“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”
But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.
This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.
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