by Sara Alexander–As cooler weather rolls in, students and professors can both agree that few activities are more appealing on a fall night than getting cozy and watching a spooky movie.
Morningside professors from various departments across campus were eager to share their favorite Halloween movies, both fun and scary, and even make some recommendations for students to watch.
Aaron Bunker, a Biology/Chemistry Department Professor, recommends all students watch the original Halloween. He loves it because “it has everything that the season and holiday represent: fall, costumes, trick or treating, and the original boogey man. Plus, the music is so iconic.”
Bunker also appreciates how the movie doesn’t show “a lot of gore, and the ‘monster’ is also only really partially seen. A lot is left to the imagination, which is very powerful.” Bunker also recommends The Grudge and The Ring.
Leslie Werden, Department of English/Modern Languages Chair and Professor shares that her favorite Horror film is The Shining, based on the novel by Stephen King. She recalls going to see the movie at around age 12 with her parents.
She explains, “The story is of a struggling writer, Jack, who takes a job as the custodian of a hotel, The Overlook, that shuts down for the winter. He brings his wife and son, thinking it will be a great opportunity for him to focus and get some writing done. The trouble is that his son Danny has a gift of sight (the ‘shining’) that brings him visions of the murderous/deathly past of the hotel. Jack eventually allows the ghosts of the hotel to drive him nuts and he tries to kill Danny and his wife.” Werden also comments that some of the music is “creepy, seriously creepy.”
Another Biology/Chemistry Department Professor, Brian McFarland, is a self-proclaimed “big Halloween fan.” He recommends all students watch his favorite horror movie, Scream. It’s his favorite because “at the time, it was a fresh take on the slasher genre that was popular in the 1980’s, which had grown really stale and dated.
Scream offered a new outlook, which included parody of several common slasher movie tropes. It was a great blend of horror and dark comedy.” He is also fond of the Scream sequels.
Some Professors, on the other hand, aren’t as fond of the horror movie genre. Spanish Professor, Gail Ament, says, “I have zero tolerance for being scared, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a horror movie!”
Professor of Marketing, Marilyn Eastman, is also not a fan of scary movies. She said, “I have to leave the room when anything scary comes on.” Instead, she prefers a more fun classic: “My very favorite Halloween movie is Peanut’s ‘Great Pumpkin’ show. The best part is when Linus waits all night for the Great Pumpkin in the pumpkin patch and he doesn’t come. He is so disappointed, but his friends make him feel better. The music is also great.”
Overall, Morningside professors have some great recommendations of scary movies for students to watch. Just be sure to do do your homework first… there’s nothing scarier than a failing grade.
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