Leif’s Halloween movie picks

The Uninvited (1944)
For the haunted house genre, this might be the first that doesn’t veer into B-movie territory. It’s not going to make you jump, squirm, or give you any Halloween costume ideas, but it has a memorable, eerie atmosphere. Two siblings purchase a house on the coast only to get swept up in its haunted and tragic past. Recommend for late-night viewing if you like classics. And some fun trivia: Stella by Starlight, a jazz standard, was written for this movie.

The Sentinel (1977)
This is not a 70s horror classic like the Exorcist or Halloween. It might not even be a good movie, but I think it is a fun movie for Brooklynites. A model moves into a brownstone at the entrance of the Brooklyn Promenade on Remsen Street. Little does she know that the building is a gateway to hell…. Some nice shots in this movie looking out to the Brooklyn waterfront. Also check out the oddly stacked cast.

The Changeling (1980)
This is a haunted house film starring George C. Scott. Enough said? 

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Like the Exorcist, no one comes out of this movie unchanged. It’s terrifying on many levels, but I recommend it for New Yorkers for having a memorable scene at the Bergen Street stop. For the eagle-eyed viewers, you will notice a brief scene shot on Conover Street between Sullivan and Wolcott Streets. 

Eny’s Men (2022)
This is an experimental horror film shot on 16mm. It creates an incredible mood and sense of place of an island off the Cornish coast. Alone on the island, a wildlife volunteer experiences haunting episodes linked to the history of the place. This movie is a great contrast to what we typically see for newer films. Rather than a crisp digital look, it’s very grainy and textured. To me, it feels like a film that was dug up out of the dirt or fished out of the Erie Basin. The filmmaker, Mark Jenkins, shot everything on film, edited by hand, and prioritized a low carbon footprint during production.