Get your freak on

With the Halloween season now upon us, the staff of the Villanovan sat down and picked out the films that made their skin crawl and caused many sleepless nights. Some of these movies are thrillers, a few visually cryptic, and others just too silly it’s scary. If you havn’t seen any of these movies, you should perhaps watch them before the shadow of Halloween-fever is long gone.

Douglas Drake, Entertainment Editor and Sandra Tillack, Advertising: “The Blair Witch Project” (1999) – Over advertised, yet probably the most original, thrifty, and a unique perspective to mainstream cinema to date. This adlibbed film is still scary despite the lack of fancy special effects and makeup.

Elissa Vallano, Assistant Entertainment Editor: “Halloween” (1978) – Michael Myers slashed his way into our hearts with his classic holiday favorite. No matter how many times you see it, or how horrible the sequels are, the original “Halloween” defines the slasher-film drama. That music still sends chills up anyone’s spine.

Genevieve Leon, Assistant Entertainment Editor and Joe Mordini, Editor in Chief: “The Exorcist” (1973) – Possessed children? Spinning heads? Flying objects? What else could you ask for from a horror flick! Warm up to hysterical screaming and projectile vomit this Halloween with “The Exorcist.”

Elizabeth Bacsik, Associate Editor: “The Ring” (2002) – This film starring Naomi Watts made us think twice about popping blank videos into our VCRs. Who cares if they don’t explain where the tape comes from?

Leslie Campbell, Editor in Chief: “Bats” (1999) – What’s worse than rodents? Flying rodents! It might have been laughable, but anything that carries rabies is scary.

Rebecca Parks, Managing Editor, Jill Ozovek, Associate Editor and Andrea Ford, News Editor: “The Shining” (1980) – “The Shining” made Jach Nicholson a terrifyingly popular household name. Never name your kid Johnny.

David Carlberg, News Editor: “Psycho” (1960) – This Hitchcock thriller caused a massive hygiene problem because of its bone-chiling shower scene.

Kathleen Noone, News Editor and Anne Wein, Sports Editor: “ET: The Extraterrestrial” (1982) – While Spielberg might have had the best of intentions, this movie wasn’t the feel-good movie of the season. It was the creepiest one.

Jill Brower, Assistant News Editor: “The Omen” (1976) – “The Omen” showed us that a child really can be the Antichrist and made us a lot more careful of which babysitting jobs we choose to accept.

Katherine Amenta, Features Editor: “The Sixth Sense” (1999) – We’re not sure which is scarier, Haley Joel Osment or all of the dead people. Either way, “The Sixth Sense” brought new life into an old ghost story.

Melissa Squarcia, Features Editor: “What Lies Beneath” (2000) – Harrison Ford’s evil turn as the murderous cheating husband made us look at Indiana Jones very differently.

Megan Angelo, Assistant Features Editor: “Silence of the Lambs” (1991) – Anthony Hopkins created one of the most legendary villains in Hollywood, and scared the living daylights out of all of us.

James Greene, Sports Editor: “Kazaam” (1996) – Shaquille O’Neal’s portrayal of a Genie was enough to scare off even die-hard Lakers fans.

Peter Graham, Photography and Stephanie Lovieno, Desk Chief: “Requiem for a Dream” (2000) – “Requiem for a Dream” depicts the tragic and disturbing lives of heroin addicts. It is by far the best anti-drug campaign anyone will be so unfortunate to see.