It’s the first of October! And on the last day of this month, it’s Halloween! As a follow-up to my June 2021 “cinematic moments” series, “Ten Iconic Hollywood Film Scenes“, I’m beginning today a new installment that I call: “Ten Creepy! Scary! Shocking! LOL! Horror Film Moments.”

I’ll post these throughout the month, ending on Halloween, of course.

Ah! What exactly is a horror film? Well, here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

A horror film is one that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films additionally aim to evoke viewers’ nightmares, revulsions and terror of the unknown or the macabre. Initially inspired by literature from authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and Mary Shelley, horror has existed as a film genre for more than a century. Horror may also overlap with the fantasy, supernatural fiction, and thriller genres.

Not a bad working description. All I can say is that I’ve been fascinated by the genre since childhood, and growing up, there was nothing like being in a crowded movie theater with a bunch of people screaming in shock or breaking out in nervous laughter after a particularly disturbing scene had wreaked havoc on screen! I consumed all the “monster magazines” I could lay my hands on and regularly watched everything from Zackerly to Chiller Theatre [YouTube links] on WPIX (Channel 11) in New York City.

But nothing on WPIX could have prepared me for what I saw in 1973 at the age of 13 when “The Exorcist” premiered. Today, some folks might laugh at this particular scene, the first in our series of ten creepy, scary, shocking film moments, but nobody was laughing in the theater that day when I saw this unfold on the screen. It scared the bejesus out of me (no pun intended). Even looking back, I can say that few horror films capture the terror of this movie, which, in its psychological and visual exploration of the battle between good and evil, the sacred and the profane, still packs a powerful punch.