I saw Paranormal Activity 3 last weekend, and I loved/hated it. I hated how sweaty my hands got, but I loved how suspenseful it was. But some horror movies are not so good. These are horrors I will not be watching to get into the Halloween spirit, and you probably shouldn’t either. Read More »

In Insidious, two parents are forced to cope with strange and supernatural occurrences that follow one of their three children’s mysterious comatose state. The film starts out strong, and even superior to most modern horror films. Unfortunately, due to lack of risk-taking, unoriginality, and a bizarre turn in the second half, Insidious falls into the realm of C-grade horror films.  And here is the list of the week, brought to you by those three fatal flaws.

7 Modern Horror Films that Insidious Could Have Learned From (also known as “Top 7 Movies You Should Rent Over the Weekend Rather than Seeing Insidious”):

The Blair Witch Project: Insidious shows far too much of what we’re meant to be afraid of. The reason that the first half is much scarier than the second is because the audience is forced to guess what exactly the source of our fear is like. The Blair Witch Project was a pioneer in not showing too much, or enough even. The creators knew that our imagination is a lot scarier than what you can put on that screen. Read More »

If you’ve ever seen a scary movie, you know that they’re low budget productions with sh*tty actors and sh*ttier special effects.  I mean, did anyone see House of Wax? No? Yeah, me neither….

Uh, back to my point. Choosing P. Hilton as your leading lady is NOT the way to an Oscar nom, people.  And don’t even get me started on the Saw films (what are we on, Saw XLIV now? Give it up already!). Scary flicks are supposed to be, uh, SCARY, not laughable, and they fail every. single. time. And the trailer for Shutter Island looks to be heading down the same path…only…wait, what?

A horror film directed by Martin Scorcese and starring….LEO!?

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshall sent to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Shutter Island’s Ashecliff Hospital (for the criminally insane, obvi). While on assignment, he begins to suspect that he is in danger at the hands of the sick and twisted hospital staff.

A desolate island, an insane asylum, creepy balding old people…it sounds like something I’ve seen (and fell asleep during) a million times, covered with some big names.  Why is Scorcese directing something like this. Why does it star DiCaprio, who is arguably the most talented actor our generation has seen? Why does the movie poster look eerily similar to the Haunted Mansion at Disney World?

So many questions. Read More »

What's that noise? Where's Olivia Benson?!

Some days I wake up in my NYC apartment, put on my robe, and walk around with a bowl of oatmeal saying “man oh man, am I real adult or what?” I pay bills, I clip coupons, and I change my sheets on a biyearly basis. It’s kinda like I’m checking my mailbox twice a day to see if anyone has sent me an official “you’re a functioning grown-up” certificate. It’s kinda equivalent in my head to a law degree or an MBA — in the sense that all three are frame-able.

But some nights, I lay awake in my bed, heart racing, scared sh*tless that a serial killer is going to break-in to my apartment, steal my stuff, murder me, and then use double-ply toilet paper to purposefully clog the very fragile toilets. My fears get even worse when my roommates spend the weekend away and I’m stuck hypothetically protecting our apartment all by myself. I go through enough possible murder scenarios in my head before bed that I could win in a “worst ways to be killed in NYC” brainstorming competition against Law and Order SVU and Lifetime Movie Network.

And I make things worse by watching scary movies alone. I don’t know why I ever thought watching the Home Alone trilogy before bed was a good idea. After making that genius movie decision, I slept with a butter knife under my pillow and a complimentary restaurant box of matches in my hand. Read More »

I’ve never been one to turn down a pink cupcake or those giant Russel Stover hearts, but this year I have to admit I’m just not feeling Valentine’s Day. I have nothing against those of you who are counting down the days until you can stare longingly into that special someone’s eyes as you gush about how perfect they are and how lucky you are while you decorate sugar cookies and make-out.

Really, that sounds fun and all, but this year I just can’t stomach any more pink. That pepto bismol pink is everywhere I turn. Nausea, heartburn, indigestion? Check.

Believe me, I’m not bitter, I even enjoy romance and chick flicks from time to time, but for some reason I’m more excited about Friday the 13th than February 14th. I think it is fate that the two holidays have fallen in the same weekend because now when people ask what I am doing for the big holiday, I can say something like “drinking tequila and watching Saw IV.” (It’s not like they said which holiday!)

Some of you may be thinking that Friday the 13th isn’t a holiday, but you’re wrong! Friday the 13th is a day of horror movie marathons filled with snack foods and drinking games; it’s the day when some of the best scary movies of the year are released in theaters; and, of course, an excuse for a theme party. To kick off the big weekend of terror, I included my top 5 horror movies of all time. Read More »

Happy Halloween, CollegeCandies! We hope you started your morning off right: with a Pumpkin Spice Latte and a bowl of candy corn pumpkins. Mmmmm.

We know that most people count down to birthdays and Christmas, but Halloween is our favorite holiday of the year by far. I mean, there are costumes! And candy! And scary movies! And candy!

Oh wait…we said that one already.

Since we love this day so much, this week we asked our writers to weigh in on their favorite Halloween traditions. Some are old, some are new, but all are reasons to make this our #1 holiday.

Olua: Since my family never let me celebrate Halloween, I used to love watching all the cartoon specials they showed Halloween week. They also used to give us candy in class. Good times.

Kathryn S.: Getting wasted in a vinyl dress. Spill all the beer you want on me, it’ll slide right off!

Erica – Kent State: Carving pumpkins. This year my roommates and I did it surrounded by Carlo Rossi, pumpkin shaped cookies and our kittens. Then we baked the seeds. Delicious!

Carly – Grinnell: I love handing out candy to kids at the door. I just think it’s so fun to look at their costumes. Oh, and watching scary movies. Yessss.

Kelly – UMass: Keg stands in a slutty costume Read More »

Scary movies are one of those things that draw a strong response of either love or hate. I for one can’t really stomach violence (read: cannot count how many times I’ve covered my face watching BRAVEHEART either in classes or with guy friends), but there’s still an element of these horrendously predictable flicks that draws me in.

For one, if you look at them realistically, about 97% of the victims, as well as the hero, deserve to die for one reason or another, if not their own naivete. Second, if you watch these things in your living room in broad daylight, well, they are more hilarious that horror-y.

And also, I can’t help but think fondly of the scary movie that took my scary movie V-card: Scream. That movie was a total 90′s classic, and here are ten reasons why you need to take a trip down memory lane with this awesomely bad throwback, even if you’re not a fan of the horror genre:

1) The Drew Barrymore sequence that starts it all. Because let’s be serious: what was a 90′s movie without Drew and that burgundy-nearing-black lipstick? More than ten years later, she’s still got it.

2) The Courtney Cox-David Arquette love connection occurs before your eyes. Goes to show that a horror flick isn’t a bad date idea, and maybe making one is even better. It obviously worked for them!

3) Matthew Lillard. He’s hilarious (“Liver alone… Get it? Liver? Alone?!”) and I sort of have an awkward crush on him. Don’t judge – a young, blonde Rose McGowan plays his girlfriend in the movie. Read More »

If you’re a fan of scary movies, you may be hard pressed to choose your favorite. But oh. my. lord; the worst scary movies of all time have turned into jokey, pop culture icons.

The trailers of these films look promising, and then the movies crash and burn. Big time. And they become the laughingstock of twelve year old kids everywhere who thought they were being daring by watching that movie that mommy and daddy told them not to.

But, wait. That movie was a joke.

In the spirit of Halloween, my friends and I were recently trying to list the best scary movies of all time, but in doing so, we ended up creating a list of the 5 worst. It seems like those were easier to come up with because usually there’s no argument; they are unanimously bad. These movies don’t send chills down your spine or make you jump when someone comes up behind you. These not-so-scary movies make you laugh. Hard.

In no particular order: Read More »

I know that a lot of people like horror movies. I know this because a lot of people tell me they like horror movies, and also because Saw V is just about to hit theaters (the 5th installment of a plot that basically consists of scary machines and blood). There’s something about watching other humans scream in agony that a lot of people can’t get enough of — but I am not one of those people. I’ve never been one of those people. Since I came out of the womb, I have been scared to freaking death of horror movies.

Here are the Top 5 Reasons Why.

5) When Things Pop Out In An Attempt To Scare, I Always Get Scared

I know that it’s like, part of the fun, or whatever, when the music suddenly swells and a creepy things pop up all creepy, or someone is grabbed ,or a face appears in a mirror, but that sh*t gives me a heart attack every time. I lose my breath and my heart flips out and then I get really violently angry. Like I want to punch the TV for doing that to me. I get scared and then I get pissed and then my whole day is ruined.

4) Weird Noises Always Happen Afterwards

Whether I’m back at my childhood home, in a dorm, or at my apartment, after watching (or accidentally watching) a horror movie, weird noises will keep me awake all night. It never ceases to amaze me that it happens every single time. The wood creaks, my closet door won’t shut all the way, something scurries across the floor…my bedroom isn’t haunted until I watch a scary movie. Then it’s haunted. Totally, Ghostbusterly, haunted. Read More »

I am a horror movie buff. I love them. It’s stupid, because sometimes I see one that actually freaks me out and then I can’t sleep without staring around the dark room wondering if I’m going to hear weird noises or see something standing in the corner. But hey, whatever. Some people like roller coasters, I like my scary movies. So, in the spirit of the season, I present the top five scary movies, in no particular order:

5. Halloween–Okay, the first two originals are great, mostly because they are a continuation of each other, but the first film in the series definitely trumps the second. Also, the remake from last year by Rob Zombie was phenomenal. He delved into the psyche of knife-wielding Michael Myers a good bit and made the story much more three-dimensional.

At the same time, John Carpenter was a genius. His direction of the first film was what made it such a great jump-inducing movie. He doesn’t build up to his scary moments with music, so if you haven’t seen the movie, you won’t know when some of those “gasp” moments are coming–and it makes it sooo awesome.

4. House on Haunted Hill–I include this one because even though you might not find the original all that scary, it still has Vincent Price in one fantastic role. The plot is good and there are some cheesy scares, but if you’re not that into truly terrifying movies, this is a good one. House on Haunted Hill is also a good girls’ night movie: you can get  your thrills without feeling too scared to drive home at three o’clock in the morning when the popcorn and pizza has run out. Definitely a classic that everyone should see at least once. Read More »