Horror movies today just don’t cut it. Sure, every once in a while one comes through, but all in all, they are too focused on the special effects and goriness, rather than the good old fashioned story.

In my opinion, the scariest movie of all time is the original Halloween. Nothing compares. Period.

We own the DVD, and every year, my husband and I watch it to kick off the Fall/scary movie season. We are both big horror buffs, and it’s a tradition to have this movie on our playlist.

So why do I think this is the scariest movie ever? Because everything in it can actually happen. I’m not scared of zombies, or killer clowns (wait, just thought of It, yes I am), or mutated people from the mountains, because the likelihood of that happening is slim to none. Knock on wood…

But the likelihood of a mental patient escaping, wearing a scary mask, and stalking me, is too darn possible.

My favorite elements of this movie, are the little things. Early on in the film, Laurie walking out of her house, and you can almost feel the chill in the air, and you see the leaves blowing across the street, and you first hear that music, that chilling music, you are instantly in the moment and scared, and you haven’t even seen anything yet.

The fact that Michael Myers is often visible in the daylight, is another one of the greatest parts about the film. When Laurie looks out the window at school and his car is there, or when she sees him on the sidewalk slightly hidden behind the bush, or my favorite part, when he’s behind the clothesline in the backyard. These images haunt me on a daily basis, Halloween or not. I don’t know how many times I’ve looked out my window at night and thought I saw something. The Boogeyman? Maybe…

I also love how Michael never runs, he always walks. I watched a documentary about the movie and they referred to Michael as “the shape.” I find that fascinating. The one scene when Laurie is trying to get back into the house with the kids, and Michael is slowly walking across the street after her, is literally terrifying. Even if you’ve seen the movie a hundred times, and you know she gets inside, your heart still races and you still feel the need to cover your eyes and tell her to hurry up.

The head cock Michael does after he kills the guy in the kitchen is classic. I don’t think there’s anything scarier than a killer admiring his handiwork with just a movement of his head. A movement that can elicit chills down our spine.

That mask is unbelievable, as well. It’s the perfect combination of an emotionless and frightening image. It makes the man behind it seem not human at all, which is much scarier than any actual non-human killer.

For a movie with such a small budget, and written and directed by an unknown at the time, I think it’s horror movie gold. It will never be topped.

When I was in college, I was walking into school one night, it must have been Halloween weekend, and a lot of people were in costume for a party at school. I turned the corner to go into the elevator and a kid dressed as Michael Myers was coming up the stairs from the rec center. I took one look at him, screamed and actually tripped, falling to the floor. It was all too real. No other horror figure could elicit such a response out of me. If I want that true feeling of being scared, that adrenaline rushing feeling, I just watch Halloween.

Here’s a link to the music, in case you feel like getting into the Halloween season mood.

Whats’s your favorite scary movie? (Scream movie voice, lol)…