Friday Night Flicks!

When Friday night arrives there are two things I usually do: Watch E!’s The Soup at 10 pm, and AMC’s Fear Friday’s at 11. There’s nothing like a terrifying flick late at night to get your weekend started!

Though most Friday night flicks are scary movies, not all are in the horror genre and not all are featured on AMC. But one thing all Friday night flicks have in common is that they are dark and simply pleasing.  

Here are my 9 picks!

1. First on the list is 1984’s Night of the Comet. During New Years Eve after a comet wipes out 99.9% of humanity, two valley girls and a Mexican guy try to survive in a world infested by mutated humans.

The eighties were probably one of the best decades in the realm of horror cinema. I found this movie around the same time I found movies like Night of the Creeps and The Blob. One of the biggest reasons I like it is because of the Uzi welding young women featured it. You don’t see that every day!

2. Not a horror film, unless you’re horrified by the thought of your life being taken over by a live-action game, is The Game, a movie about a man whose life is taken over by an actual life-action game – a gift given to him by his younger brother. The Game is considered one of the best films ever written and acted. Its dark tone sets a mood perfect for watching it late at night in a dark room. Though it’s not scary, its atmosphere is said to give anyone chills.

3. Now we all know and have see John Carpenter’s masterpiece 80s classic about a man who comes to the realization that aliens live among us and have turned our world into a dystopian society. They live is actually based on a short story titled "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson. In that version, there are no sunglasses that give our main character the ability to see the aliens. In the short story, he just wakes up after being told to do so after hypnosis.

4. The Thing of 1982 sets around a group of scientists researching in The Antarctic who discovers an alien creature who can assume the appearance of any other living creature. The alien assumes the appearance of its captive by also consuming its captive.

The Thing is one of those perfect late night horror films because it has that certain atmosphere where you’re unsure of what’s going to happen next. You don’t who who’s going to die next, and you don’t know who’s an alien and who’s not.

5. The Return of the Living Dead. Huh? That’s sounds familiar. Wasn’t this movie on a past list? In fact it was! I guess I just can’t get enough of flesh-eating, or rather brains-eating, zombies terrorizing teens in a cemetery. True, I cannot, especially on Friday nights. I downloaded this movie (no, not illegally. I got it from Youtube. Geez!) specifically so I could watch zombie madness whenever I wanted.

6. Halloween is a classic slasher flick that’s not just good for watching on Halloween. Don’t get me wrong, I watch this movie about five times on Halloween day every year, but it’s also a great film to watch late at night in a pitch black room. You know the story – Lori is a goodie two shoes babysitter who has a bad night after all her friends are murdered by her supposed brother. Oh sorry. I think the brother thing came later in the series when the producers were trying to revamp the franchise, or rather create one.

7. For some reason there are a select group of people who seem to dislike the sequel to number six, Halloween II. It continues the story of Lori after she is taken to a hospital to be treated for the wounds she received in Halloween. Of course, Michael Myers follows her there and continues to terrorize her. Halloween II received a 6.3 rating on IMDb.com while the first Halloween received nearly an 8! Honestly, and I'm telling the truth here, I cannot figure out why some regard the sequel as less than deserving a near perfect rating also. If it’s because of the sex scenes, there were also sex scenes in the first Halloween. I don’t get it. I love this movie.

8. By now it’s quite obvious that I enjoy John Carpenter flicks. And Body Bags is another little known Carpenter film. Body Bags is actually a collection of three shorter films. The first about a woman working late at a gas station who is terrorized by a crazed man; the second (more of a comedy) about a guy who hates his balding scalp so much be embarks on a hair transplant that gives him deadly locks; and the third about a base ball player who loses his eye in a car accident and after gets surgery and has a new eye inserted into his socket which causes him to start seeing dead bodies.

John Carpenter actually stars in this one as the narrator or rather the guy who introduces all the tales. This movie can be seen as a comedy/horror which makes it perfect for a light hearted Friday night.

9. Not all the films on my list are rated particularly well (Body Bags, Night of the Comet, and Halloween II come to mind). This one is no exception. I like B rated horror and Children of the Corn nearly earns a C. Children of the Corn is based on Stephen King’s novella about a town where all the parents have been killed by their children who worship a violet, monstrous force living amongst the corn fields. As much as some people hate this film, it’s one of my favorites. Like Return of the Living Dead, I downloaded this one too, and it sits inside my computer allowing me to watch it whenever I want.

So, that’s my list! You have your own Friday night flicks you love, or Saturday or Sunday? Put them here in the comment section.