‘The Shining’  offers multiple high-tension moments to viewers

Halloween is here, and that means more thrillers and scary movies. Although a lot of movies Hollywood pushes out now are forgettable, with some exceptions, you can always return to the classics.  The Shining is one of them.

The Shining is a 1980 film directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is a mystery/psychological horror about a writer who is looking to get over his writer’s block and gets a job as a caretaker at a hotel. He takes his family along with him.

His son begins to have visions (the shining), and begins to spiral into insanity.  This movie is a very suspenseful one to watch.

While it does not scare you as jump scares often do, it keeps the tension very high. The movie hints at what will happen in a way that does not give away the events and makes you wonder. The movie never gives you a why or how to all the madness which is another element the viewer can try to piece together themselves.

The Shining is able to scare the viewer without using many of the stereotypical horror movie tactics. While this movie may have a jump scare here or there, it uses an overwhelming amount of tension-building, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats the entire time.

This movie also has an intriguing plotline that makes the viewer think for themselves as they try to put together the information given to form a full picture.

While watching the movie, you become fully immersed. There are no dull moments where your attention wanders or you become uninterested. You feel like you are in that hotel with the family slowly going insane with them. This movie does a very good job keeping a viewer’s full attention.

The Shining is a classic horror/thriller movie and has withstood the test of time.

From its amazing writing to its building of suspense and immersion, it is clear why it has entertained generations.

The Shining is one of the best horror/thrillers ever made.  Cameron Gibson

Spooky senses call for ‘The Sixth Sense’

It’s the time of the year where a spooky movie is essential to get into the Halloween spirit.

The question is: what is the ideal movie teens can watch and not have dark nightmares.

The first sense is to watch The Sixth Sense.

The Sixth Sense is a movie based on a child psychiatrist who is trying to save a young boy from the reality of his worst fears.

The beginning of the movie starts with a bang when a young man appears yelling at  psychologist Malcolm in his own house for not being able to save him from the “people” he sees. In the midst of chaos, the young man, Vincent, commits suicide.

The next fall, Malcolm has a new patient, an 11-year-old boy named Cole Sears. He is the most important patient in Malcolm’s eyes since he feels the need to redeem himself from his failure with Vincent.

Cole’s mom is desperate for Malcolm’s help because of Cole’s lack of social skills and his recurring marks of physical harm.  Desperate and hopeful to be saved, Cole tells Malcolm of his deepest darkest secret; he sees dead people.

The line “I see dead people” from the film became a popular catchphrase after its release, scoring a rank of  44 on AFI’s 100 Years/100 Movie Quotes.

This detail about Cole shapes the entire plot of the movie and keeps viewers intrigued to continue with Cole on his journey.

On Cole’s and Malcolm’s journey, the surprises are never-ending until the last minute of the movie.

The Sixth Sense includes actors Bruce Willis as Malcolm Crowe and Haley Joel Osment as Cole Sears. Osment’s career has taken off since The Sixth Sense, which earned him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

This movie is a known classic that is appropriate for kids of all ages because of the hidden message in the film: that people should always honor the mystical experiences of children and the sense that it is very important that people share their encounters with each other.

Cuddle up and grab a loved one to watch The Sixth Sense, and stay tuned for all the surprises.  – Isabelle Wilson

‘Speed’ brings edge-of-seat suspense

There’s a bomb on a bus that will explode if the speed of the bus drops below 50 mph. A hero is needed to save the passengers and stop the bomber.

Speed is a 1994 action-thriller film starring Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, and Sandra Bullock.

The film revolves around Los Angeles Police Department officer Jack Traven, played by Reeves, as he tries to stop terrorist Howard Payne (Hopper), from blowing up a bus with a bomb that will detonate if the speed of the bus drops below 50 mph.

The driver of the bus, Annie Porter, is played by Bullock.

To put it simply, this movie is absolutely amazing. I have seen it numerous times, and every time, it never gets old.

This movie will keep the viewer at the edge of the seat the entire time; the reason for this is because one will NEVER know what is going to happen next.

A viewer will feel nervous, even scared, for the bus passengers throughout the course of the movie.

The actors play their roles perfectly, and the addition of the minor characters like the bus passengers make the movie very realistic, mostly due to what sometimes happens in the real world.

These actors play their roles very well as if this is a real situation going on in real time.

The film’s production is impressive. The special effects in this movie, such as an explosion of another bus, are very realistic.

They use great camera techniques for certain scenes in the movie, and the sounds in the movie are not too loud and not too quiet.

Overall, this movie is an absolute must-watch. If you have the time, I’d highly recommend watching it.

You can find this movie on channels such as HBO or Showtime.  – Giovanni Rizzotti