Halloween Flicks

Trick or Treating not your thing? Watch one of these excellent Scary Movies recommended by the workers at Video Americain in Takoma Park. All of these movies are available for rental at Video Americain.

These summaries are based on summaries found in the International Movie Database (IMDB).

The Sixth Sense (1999)
Directed by M. Night Shayamalan
Tagline: Not every Gift is a Blessing
Summary: A boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.
Length: 107 min
Rating: PG-13
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The Others (2001)
Directed by Alejandro Amenábar
Tagline: Sooner or Later they will find you
Summary: boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.
Length: 101 min
Rating: PG-13
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The Ring (2002)
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Tagline: Before you die, you see the ring
Summary: A young journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it
Length: 115 min
Rating: PG-13
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The Haunting (1963)
Directed by Robert Wise
Tagline: You may not believe in Ghosts but you cannot deny terror
Summary: Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of violent death and insanity.
Length: 107 min
Rating: PG-13

Signs
Directed by M. Night Shayamalan
Tagline: Not every Gift is a Blessing
Summary: boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.
Length: 112 min
Rating: G
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Swimfan
Directed by John Polson
Tagline: Obsession. Betrayal. Revenge. Some girls have all the fun
Summary: A high school senior with a promising swimming career has a one-night stand with sinister consequences
Length: 85 min
Rating: PG-13
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Teaching Mrs. Tingle
Directed by Kevin Williamson
Tagline: Before School Gets Out, Mrs. Tingle's Class is going to need a substitute teacher
Summary: The story of one girl (Katie Holmes) who is willing to do anything to become Valedictorian; even if it means murdering the one person who stands in her way, Mrs. Tingle.
Length: 96 min
Rating: PG-13

What Lies Beneath (2000)
Directed by M. Night Shayamalan
Tagline: He was the Perfect Husband until One mistake followed him home
Summary: The wife of a professor investigates the murder of a beautiful college student who has been appearing to her.
Length: 130 min
Rating: PG-13
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Anaconda (1997)
Directed by Luis Llosa
Tagline: You can't scream if you can't breathe…
Summary: A "National Geographic" film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who takes them along on his quest to capture the world's largest - and deadliest - snake
Length: 89 min
Rating: PG-13
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28 Days Later (2002)
Directed by Danny Boyle
Tagline: The Days are Numbered
Summary: After a virus wipes out most of the planet, a handful of survivors try to save the human race from extinction
Length: 113
Rating: R
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The Wicker Man (1973)
Directed by Robin Hardy
Tagline: Flesh to touch...Flesh to burn! Don't keep the Wicker Man waiting!
Summary: Sgt. Howie travels to Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. He discovers that the locals are weird and unhelpful, and becomes determined to get to the bottom of the disappearance.
Length: 102 min
Rating: R

Deep Red (1994)
Directed by Craig R Baxley
Tagline: High-Tech, High-Octane Sci-Fi Thriller
Summary: After a young girl is accidentally infected with an alien substance known as "Deep Red", the astonishing results attract the attention of the illustrious scientist Dr. Newmeyer. Disillusioned security expert Joe Keyes must team up with his estranged wife to protect the girl and her mother from the obsessed scientist who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
Length: 86 min
Rating: R
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The Exorcist (1973)
Directed by William Friedkin
Tagline: Something beyond comprehension is happening to a little girl on this street, in this house. A man has been called for as a last resort to try and save her. That man is The Exorcist.
Summary: A 12 year old girl is possessed by the devil and her only hope is an exorcism.
Length: 122 min
Rating: R
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Friday the 13th (1980)
Directed by Sean S. Cunningham
Tagline: You'll wish it were only a nightmare...
Summary: A young boy named Jason drowns in a camp lake. Eleven years later, counselors at the camp are systematically slaughtered. Could it be Jason back from his watery grave?
Length: 95 min
Rating: R
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It (1990, TV series)
Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
Summary: Seven youths have to defeat a demonic creature named Pennywise which dresses in a clown suit and terrorizes a 1960's town in Maine.
Length: 192 min
Rating: Unrated
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The Shining (1980)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Tagline: A Masterpiece of Modern Horror
Summary: A young boy and his parents become caretakers of a isolated and haunted hotel over the winter.
Length: 119 min
Rating: R
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Ringu (1998)
Directed by Hideo Nakata
Summary: A scarier version of The Ring; A mysterious video kills whomever views it, unless that viewer can solve its mystery.
Length: 96 min
Rating: Unrated
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Silence of the lambs (1991)
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Tagline: Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Brilliant. Cunning. Psychotic. In his mind lies the clue to a ruthless killer. - Clarice Starling, FBI. Brilliant. Vulnerable. Alone. She must trust him to stop the killer.
Summary: Clarice Starling, a young FBI agent, is assigned to help find a missing woman, and save her from a psychopathic killer with the help of another killer.
Length: 118 min
Rating: R
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Sisters(1973)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Tagline: What the Devil hath joined together let no man cut asunder.
Summary: A young woman apparently murders her date, and her nosy reporter neighbor sees the whole thing. Soon it is revealed that Danielle was a Siamese twin, and her nasty twin sister may have something to do with the murder.
Length: 92 min
Rating:R

Dead Alive (1993)
Directed by Peter Jackson
Tagline: Some things wont stay down…even after they die
Summary: Definitely not for the squeamish. Called the goriest fright film of all time. A young man's mother gets him into trouble when she catches a bizarre zombie virus and starts turning innocent passersby into walking corpses. Highlights include a ghoulish, bloodthirsty baby, zombie mutilation, progressive putrefaction, and an off-the-wall undead mating scene.
Length: 97 minutes
Rating: Unrated

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Directed by George A Romero
Tagline: They keep coming back in a bloodthirsty lust for HUMAN FLESH!
Summary: A group of people hide from bloodthirsty zombies in a farmhouse.
Length: 96 min
Rating: Not Rated
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Psycho (1960)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Tagline: We All Get Crazy Sometimes
Summary: young female embezzeler arrives at the Bates Motel which has terrible secrets of its own.
Length: 109 min
Rating: R
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/trailers

Nosferatu (1922)
Directed by F.W. Murnau
Summary: A True Horror Classic. Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife. Silent classic based on the story "Dracula."
Length: 94 min
Rating: Unrated

Halloween (1978)
Directed by John Carpenter
Tagline: The Night HE Came Home!
Summary: A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood escapes on a mindless rampage while his doctor chases him through the streets.
Length: 91 min
Rating: R
http://videodetective.com/home.asp?SpeedTestResults=9600&PublishedID=5631&AltID=&CustomerID=14817&WM=False&Ads=True&Play=True

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Directed by Wes Craven
Tagline: The lucky ones died first...
Summary: A family going to California accidentally goes through an Air Testing range closed to the public. They crash and are stranded in a desert and soon find themselves being stalked by a group of people, which have not emerged into modern times.
Length: 89 min
Rating: R

Lost Boys (1987)
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Tagline: Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire.
Summary: After moving to a new town, two brothers are convinced that the area is frequented by vampires.
Length: 97 min
Rating: R
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0093437/trailers

Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Directed by Wes Craven
Tagline: Nancy Doesn't Wake Up Screaming She Won't Wake Up At All...
Summary: In the dreams of his victims, a specteral child murderer stalks the children of the members of the lynch mob that killed him
Length: 91 min
Rating: R
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Misery (1990)
Directed by Rob Reiner
Tagline: Paul Sheldon used to write for a living. Now, he's writing to stay alive.
Summary: A famous novelist is "rescued" from a car crash by an obsessed fan.
Length: 107 min
Rating: R
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Monkey Shines (1988)
Directed by
Tagline: See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil...
Summary: An experiment is performed on monkeys to increase their intelligence, but unfortunately the results are not exactly what was expected.
Length: 113 min
Rating: R
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Children of Corn (1984)
Directed by Fritz Kiersch
Tagline: An adult nightmare
Summary: A young couple wander into a mid-western town where all the adults are apparently dead and the children participate in a cult that worships a malevolent force in the corn fields. Based on a Stephen King novella.
Length: 93 min
Rating: R
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Zombie Holocaust (1980)
Directed by Martino Girolami
Tagline: He's a depraved, homicidal killer...and he makes house calls!
Summary: A mad scientist lives on an island inhabited by cannibals. He experiments with corpses which he reanimates to zombies. The members of an expedition landing on that island are soon hunted by cannibals and zombies.
Length: 81 min
Rating: R

Changeling (1980)
Directed by Peter Medak
Summary: A man whose family is killed in a road accident retires to a lonely mansion and begins to experience supernatural occurrences linked to the house's mysterious past and its previous owners.
Length: 115 min
Rating: R
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Last house on the left (1972)
Directed by Wes Craven
Tagline: To avoid fainting, keep repeating "It's only a movie...It's only a movie..."
Summary: After committing sadistic murder, a group of escaped convicts meet the last people they'd want to run in with.
Length: 91 min
Rating: R

Poltergeist (1982)
Directed by Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg
Tagline: They're here.
Summary: A family's home is haunted by a host of ghosts.
Length: 114 min
Rating: R
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Carrie (1976)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Tagline: If You've Got A Taste For Terror... Take Carrie To The Prom.
Summary: A mousy and abused girl with telekinetic powers gets pushed too far on one special night.
Length: 98 min
Rating: R
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Rosemary's baby (1968)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Tagline: Pray for Rosemary's Baby
Summary: Rosemary and her new husband, Guy, move into a new apartment in New York, befriending an elderly couple who live near by. But when another girl in the block commits suicide, Rosemary starts getting more attention than she desires, from all the wrong people. And now with her (late) friend's warnings about witches in mind, she has a new problem - the protection of her forthcoming child. But it may not be the child that needs protection.
Length: 136 min
Rating: R
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Bad Seed (1956)
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Tagline: For little Rhoda, murder is child's play
Summary: Christine Penmark seems to have it all: a lovely home, a loving husband and the most "perfect" daughter in the world. But since childhood, Christine has suffered from the most terrible recurring nightmare. And her "perfect" daughter's accomplishments include lying, theft and possibly much, much worse. Only Christine knows the truth about her daughter and only Christine's father knows the truth about her nightmare.
Length: 129 min
Rating: Unrated

American Werewolf in London (1981)
Directed by John Landis
Tagline: A masterpiece of terror
Summary: Two American tourists in England are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
Length: 97 min
Rating: R
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