By Evin Barickman and Claire Barickman, staff writers
Do you need a scary movie to watch this Halloween? Consider “The Sixth Sense” or “The Birds.” Each of these movies is rated PG-13, yet they are sure to give you a fright during this spooky season.
The Sixth Sense: “The Sixth Sense,” directed by M. Night Shyamalan and released in 1999, is a great movie to watch if you want to get a fright this Halloween. “The Sixth Sense” will keep you on the edge of your seat. Unlike most horror movies, “The Sixth Sense” strays away from the typical “campy” feel.
The film involves a young boy named Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) who is haunted by his ability to see ghosts. Determined to help Cole, Dr. Malcom Crowe (Bruce Willis) starts to work closely with the boy trying to uncover the reason behind his ability. They both start to realize that some things are best left unexplained.
“The Sixth Sense” centers around a mystery that unfolds throughout the film. The plot reveals details that will reveal a bigger picture to the audience. Shyamalan does a great job at setting the foundation for a big reveal.
I highly recommend you watch this movie if you are looking for a scare along with a mystery that will keep you captivated the whole way through.
The Birds: 1963’s “The Birds,” directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is an excellent choice to watch on Halloween. It may not be a typical horror movie, but it is still a suspense-filled film that develops into a nightmare scenario.
The film follows Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), a mischievous woman who meets a young man (Rod Taylor) at a pet shop in San Francisco. As an act of flirtation, she buys him a love bird and plans on delivering it to his home in a small town in Northern California. However, her plans turn for the worse as birds mysteriously begin attacking people. The events slowly worsen until she finds herself in an event of apocalyptic proportions.
“The Birds” is a masterclass in tension; it definitely is one of Hitchcock’s more suspenseful films, and that is saying something considering his filmography. It is also a rare horror film from him. Although overall a lesser film than “Psycho,” “The Birds” definitely stands on its own in his catalog of films as a semi-horror flick.
One issue modern viewers may have with the film is the effects. The birds may look a bit outdated compared to modern effects, but it doesn’t take away from the overall film. On top of that, the plot is unrealistic, but in the universe that Hitchcock created, it feels authentic and it is well suited for the theme that is being presented.
Overall, “The Birds” is a fantastic film that is incredibly suspenseful and I highly recommend you watch it this Halloween. It may be seen as cheesy for modern audiences, but it definitely has some charm and tension if you allow yourself to get invested in the characters.
The Panther Press 