As Halloween approaches this weekend, we wanted to find out what the students of Frederick Community College favorite scary movies are and who they thought was the scariest horror movie villain.
On a recent October afternoon, FCC students gave us their opinion for what gives them the chills. We polled 14 FCC students to find out what they felt were the best Halloween movies and who the scariest horror movie villains are.
Best movie to watch at Halloween
“The Exorcist,” 1973
“The Exorcist,” directed by William Friedkin, is another supernatural horror film that follows two Catholic priests as they try to perform an exorcism on a young girl under demonic possession.
Sophomore Claudia Treminio voted this as her favorite Halloween movie because “it’s a classic horror film that withstands the test of time.”
“Paranormal Activity,” 2007
“Paranormal Activity,” directed by Oren Peli, is a supernatural horror film following a young couple haunted by a demon in their new house, who then set up a camera and record what happens to them.
Jennafer Du Rell said she voted for this scary flick because “it’s more realistic and that made it more interesting to watch.”
“Evil Dead,” 2013
“Evil Dead,” directed by Fede Álvarez, is a supernatural horror film following five people on a vacation in a secluded cabin in the woods where they face demonic possession.
Freshman Maya Barnes said “Evil Dead” is her favorite because “it has every great horror movie element” and there are some fun easter eggs, such as the first letters of all of the characters’ names spelling out the word ‘DEMON.’
“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” 1966
Stepping away from the scary, supernatural horror films, the next Halloween movie on our list is “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” a TV movie directed by Bill Melendez. This movie follows the Peanuts gang as they celebrate Halloween.
Jaclyn Bryant, sophomore, voted for this as her favorite movie to watch on Halloween because “it’s a cute movie and Charlie Brown is iconic.”
“The Silence of the Lambs,” 1991
“The Silence of the Lambs,” directed by Jonathan Demme, follows a young FBI agent in training, Clarice Starling, who is hunting the serial killer Buffalo Bill. Along the way, she enlists the help of the imprisoned serial killer, Hannibal Lecter.
The two students who voted for this movie both commented on what Buffalo Bill does to his victims as the reason the film is so scary.
“Hocus Pocus,” 1993
The next movie on our list is another Halloween movie alternative for those who are not fans of the horror genre. “Hocus Pocus,” directed by Kenny Ortega, is a fantasy comedy film following three villainous witches, who are accidentally resurrected on Halloween night and try to ensure their continued existence after the night is over.
Sarah Carter, a sophomore, said, “Hocus Pocus” is her favorite movie to watch at Halloween because she doesn’t really watch scary movies so this is her go-to.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas,” 1993
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a stop-animation dark musical, directed by Henry Selick and written by Tim Burton. It follows the king of Halloween Town, Jack Skellington, who finds ‘Christmas Town’ and desires to bring the spirit of Christmas to his home.
Sophomore Justin Gamble voted this as his favorite Halloween movie because he enjoys the songs and the animation style that makes it fun to watch. Whereas, sophomore Brenna McAskill, who is a big fan of horror movies and watches them all year-round, voted this movie as her favorite because Halloween seems to be the “only time acceptable to watch that movie.”
“Scream,” 1996
The final and highest-voted movie on our list was “Scream,” directed by Wes Craven. This classic slasher movie follows high-school student Sidney Prescott who is targeted by the mysterious killer, Ghostface, and has to fight to survive as she watches her friends be killed off one by one.
Sophomore Gabriella Burleson enjoys the “Scream” movies for the ‘whodunit’ nature of the films as she would always try to figure out which of the characters was behind the Ghostface mask.
Scariest horror movie villain
Jason Vorhees, “Friday the 13th”
Jason Vorhees, whose hockey goalie mask is a widely recognized horror movie image, was voted one of the scariest horror movie villains by FCC students.
Bryant said Jason is the scariest because “a character like him is realistic and reflects the nature of some known serial killers.” She believes his character is more entertaining to watch to fans of true crime because he adds an element of reality.
The Lipstick-Face Demon, “Insidious”
This demonic antagonist of the “Insidious” movies strives to bring pain to the protagonists of the film and chaos to the world by possessing humans. His red face, bright yellow eyes, and sharp teeth made him one of the scariest movie monsters to FCC students.
The Tethered, “Us”
The Tethered is a cloned race of doppelgangers who torment and try to kill the ‘real’ versions of themselves.
McAskill voted these underground characters as the scariest because “they know your next move at all times.”
Freddy Krueger, “A Nightmare on Elm Street”
This creepy character is the spirit of a serial killer who haunts his victim’s dreams and kills them, resulting in their death in real life, too.
Treminio believes Freddy Krueger is the scariest horror movie villain because he attacks you in your sleep when you are defenseless and “he knows your biggest phobia” to use against you.
Norman Bates, “Psycho”
This serial killer who suffers from a split personality assumes his dead mother’s personality and kills women he feels attracted to.
Gamble, a big fan of classic horror movies believes “Psycho” is the scariest movie he has ever watched, voted for Norman Bates as the scariest movie villain because of his “disturbing” nature.
Michael Myers, “Halloween”
This serial killer, who was admitted into a psychiatric hospital at a young age for murdering his sister, returns to his hometown to murder the rest of his family and other teenagers in their lives.
Du Rell said Michael Myers is one of the scariest villains purely due to his large size.
Leatherface, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”
The next spot on our list goes to Leatherface, a cannibalistic mass murderer who preys on unsuspecting travelers who go too near his land.
Carter voted him as the scariest movie villain because of the reality behind the character who is “based on a real-life murderer.”
Du Rell described the character as gross due to the fact that he wears a mask made of his victim’s skin and the chainsaw he uses is “scary and too loud.”
Pennywise, “IT,” 2017
Voted the scariest horror movie villain by three of FCC’s students, ‘It’ is a mysterious shape-shifting supernatural being that torments and eats children who often takes the form of Pennywise the dancing clown to attract children to him.
Along with his creepy and unnatural appearance, Barnes said Pennywise is the scariest movie monster because “he plays off the deepest fears of the characters.”
