10 Best Movies That Were Inspired By Halloween (1978) Ranked
10 Best Movies That Were Inspired By Halloween (1978), Ranked
John Carpenter’s seminal Halloween revolutionized the horror genre and continues to influence today. These are a few other horror movies it inspired.
You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]
John Carpenter created one of the sleekest and most efficient horror films of all time with Halloween. And because so many aspects of its production factor into its impact over the years, there has been a lot for filmmakers to draw inspiration from.
While films like Silent Night, Deadly Night took Halloween’s formula to uncomfortable levels, some took the inspiration and made something that could stand tall in its own right. From the music to the cinematography, many movies couldn’t exist in their current form without the release of Halloween.
10 Stage Fright (1987)
The plot of Stage Fright (also called Deliria) follows the cast and crew of a stage production in the midst of rehearsals. Unknown to them, an escaped resident of the local psychiatric facility is stalking the theatre. The escaped psychiatric patient angle is very much emulative of Carpenter’s classic.
This Italian slasher is gorier than Halloween but it has that film’s slow-burn narrative. Like many other films of its type, it also has a mask-wearing killer. However, this film has one of the more interesting disguises: a massive owl head. Along with the killer using a mask, the film heavily utilizes slow, POV stalking scenes, which will feel familiar to fans of Halloween.
9 The Funhouse (1981)
The plot of The Funhouse follows four teens who are trapped in a carnival ride for one terrifying evening. The source of the terror is a deformed killer by the name of Gunther who, like Michael Myers, is apparently unable to speak. The Funhouse is one of the 1980s most overlooked horror movies.
Tobe Hooper’s film is a prototypical slasher with a fun twist on location. While the killer is more humanoid than Michael Myers, it feels like a natural progression for the subgenre. The Funhouse followed the bigger-means-better method before it became played out, but was still a play on what Halloween established: take a group of friend characters and put them in a limited physical space (several houses in one neighborhood or one carnival attraction). Then, have them picked off, one by one.
8 Alone In The Dark (1982)
Alone in the Dark follows the newest psychiatrist of a local mental health facility, Dr. Dan Potter. His arrival upsets the patients, some of whom believe he has killed their former doctor. When four of them escape during a blackout, Dr. Potter and his family have to barricade their home in hopes of survival.
This underseen early-’80s slasher has some more prestige than other films influenced by Halloween. For one, the cast is formidable: Jack Palance (City Slickers), Martin Landau (Ed Wood), and Halloween’s own Dr. Loomis, Donald Pleasence. Standing as the most obvious reference to Carpenter’s film, Pleasence again plays a psychiatrist in Alone in the Dark. However, in this latter film, his character is ill-fated. This movie took Halloween’s lurking killer visual style and fleshed out the killers themselves, a twist on the void that is Michael Myers’ personality.
7 My Bloody Valentine (1981)
My Bloody Valentine follows several young miners who throw a party for Valentine’s Day. During the party, there are romantic tensions, games of pool, and discussions of the thought-deceased killer, Harry Warden. However, as some of the miners find out, Warden may not be as dead as they thought.
One of several major holiday-themed slashers that came out very close to Halloween’s financially successful release, My Bloody Valentine easily ranks among the best. Not many Halloween-inspired films are scary, but My Bloody Valentine manages to be so from beginning to end. The uncut version also serves as a (much bloodier) worthy rental for fans of Michael Myers and holiday horror.
6 Psycho II (1983)
Psycho II picks up over two decades after the conclusion of Alfred Hitchcock’s original Psycho. Norman Bates is now released and resumes his position at the Bates Motel in the hopes of a standard life. Soon, though, Mother comes calling again.
With a tightly-written script and some novel takes on where to push the franchise, Psycho II was more well-received than most probably expected. It has a much lower body count than most slashers, but still seems just as inspired by Halloween as was its predecessor, particularly in terms of its somewhat grimy visual aesthetic. It’s difficult to imagine a sequel to Psycho being released 23 years after the original without the enticing success of Halloween.
5 April Fools Day (1986)
The plot of this black comedy slasher follows a tight-knit group of college students as they go to their friend Muffy’s island estate for a fun weekend. Soon, though, Muffy informs them of a sinister twin: Buffy.
April Fools Day isn’t the scariest movie to take inspiration from Halloween and its holiday-themed horror story. However, it is certainly one of the most fun. It’s also powered by a terrific performance from Amy Steel (equally formidable in Friday the 13th Part II). April Fools Day stands as an example of how to take the formula not too seriously, yet be able to create an effective final product. Also like Halloween, April Fools Day does so with very little graphic gore.
4 Blood Simple (1984)
The plot of Blood Simple follows the owner of a bar (Dan Hedaya) who discovers his wife, Abby (Frances McDormand), is having an affair with his employee (John Getz, The Fly). Soon, he hires hitman Lorren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) to exact revenge.
Arguably the most prestigious film to take inspiration from Carpenter’s classic, the first film from Joel and Ethan Coen is one of the best directorial debuts of all time. The long takes (particularly the tracking shot used during Visser’s attack on Abby) are extremely emulative of Michael Myers’ POV stalking. Lastly, there are also some striking audio cues that seem to have been influenced by some of Halloween’s shocks.
3 Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1982)
Unrelated to the Michael Myers canon, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, follows a doctor and a grieving young woman seeking to uncover the mystery behind Silver Shamrock Novelties’ new line of masks.
Halloween III exists in a world where John Carpenter’s Halloween also exists. This was seen while Tom Atkins’ Dr. Challis was strapped to a chair and forced to watch the television in anticipation of a Silver Shamrock commercial. While doing so, a commercial for an upcoming airing of Halloween comes on. Its meta-commentary before meta hit the mainstream is just one of the reasons why Halloween III is underrated. It also serves to indicate that were it not for the success of Halloween and its name brand, this unique tale of deadly masks would never have been made.
2 Scream (1996)
Scream follows Sidney Prescott and the other students of Woodsboro High School as they reel from the deaths of two peers. Soon, the killer (or killers) is playing their sadistic, movie-reference-filled game with Prescott herself.
Halloween is just one of several classic movies referenced in Scream, but it probably does hold the title of being the most direct reference. The first Michael Myers movie is screened during the third act’s house party at Stu Macher’s house. Furthermore, its merits are directly cited by one of the film’s characters (Randy).
1 Friday The 13th (1980)
The plot of Friday the 13th centers on the staff of Camp Crystal Lake as they arrive to re-open the troubled site. First, a boy drowned, then the water was tampered with, and now the camp counselors are being killed off, one after the other.
Now that some legal trouble is on its way to getting cleared up, there’s no better time for Friday the 13th to get a revival. It is easily one of the movies that deserve a Halloween-style reboot. If there was ever a movie notorious for taking Halloween’s killer-POV style and twisting it into its own cinematic world, it’s Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-movies-inspired-by-halloween-1978/
Movies -10 Best Romantic Movies Based On Books
10 Big Brother Challenges That Would Fit Perfectly In Squid Game
10 Changes Boruto Makes To The Naruto Canon
American Horror Story Asylum The Angel Of Death Explained
Among Us Impostor Alignment Chart Is Pretty Accurate
15 Scariest Things In The Alien Franchise Ranked
90 Day Fiancé Yara Reveals She ‘Wanted To Go Home’ After Mylah Was Born
