Halloween movie marathon

The big night is still a week away, so there's plenty of time to get in the Halloween spirit. (Ghost...Spirit...Man, I'm funny.)

Anyway, The Jeff asked me for some scary movie recommendations last week and I started making a list. Looking back over said list, I realized many of the films I was recommending weren't what you would call mainstream horror flicks.

Though they aren't exactly the low budget, low key romps the genre is famous for, these may very well have flown under your radar. I highly suggest you watch 'em all.

Bubba Ho-Tep: Bruce Campbell plays Elvis, in a retirement home, fighting a 10,000 year old mummy. If you consider yourself a camp fan, I really don't need to say anymore.

Undead: Oh man, was this a fun zombie flick. Imagine a hillbilly in the Australian outback fighting zombies created by aliens in a style often reminiscent of The Matrix. Oh, and there's zombie trout. Do I have your attention yet?

Ginger Snaps: Who says Canada hasn't given the world anything? No, hokey does not count. What does count, though, is this wonderful coming-of-age story about hormones and horror with the transformation into a werewolf serving as a surprisingly thoughtful, completely brilliant vehicle.

The Descent: Easily one of my favorite horror movies of the past ten years. The Descent is paced brilliantly and provides plenty of real scares. Yes, monsters and blood eventually show up, and boy is it gritty, but The Descent does a fine job of scaring you (as well as making you claustrophobic) without the need of an ax-wielding maniac.

The Mist: From the guy who gave us The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, two of the best Stephen King translations, comes a surprising new project revolving around one of King's less known short stories. This is actually a pretty B.A. monster movie with lots of heart, even if it does fall a bit shy of greatness by the time the credits roll.

Event Horizon: Back when I was a kid, I used to walk to the local theater and watch a double feature no matter what was showing. This led to me seeing Titanic 12 times...Yeah. Anyway, this also led to Event Horizon scaring the crap out of me. Going in, I had no idea what the movie was about (a salvage crew locates a missing spaceship that slipped into a black hole leading to hell and managed to bring a bit of hell back with it). Lots of disturbing, scary stuff here.

High Tension: Now THIS is what camp is all about. Very little build up, plot holes galore and buckets of blood. Not pretending to be anything it's not, High Tension begins with a knock at the door and then people start dying. Period. Happily, High Tension lives up to its name and becomes one of my favorite horror films of all time.

The Host: More heart than horror, The Host is a Korean flick wherein a family is drawn together then torn apart by the horrific appearance of a large, unidentified monster. While the creature isn't a huge part of the film, that doesn't mean a few scares aren't in store. More than a monster movie, The Host is a genuinely good film in general.