Absolute best Halloween horror films, remakes, sequels or 'Saw' not allowed

10/31/08 - Horror movies are a much maligned movie genre. Too often the only horror movies that come out are remakes of Japanese horror flicks and sequels. The "Saw" series, whose premise was tired after two movies, is already on the fifth installment.Michael Bay's production company recently bought the rights to both the "Friday the 13th" series and the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series with the intent to reboot both. A new "Friday the 13th" is scheduled to come out in February (which would bring the series to 12 films) and I assume a new Freddy Kruger movie (the ninth) can't be far behind.

Even cult horror films like the "Evil Dead" franchise are being dug up for sequels and remakes. Rumors of a remake have fizzled, but director Sam Raimi has said he wanted to make "Evil Dead 4" as soon as he is finished with his "Spiderman" series.

The Japanese remakes tend to be inferior to the originals and often just seem to make even less sense than the standard slasher flick. A video that kills you and a haunted cell phone? They can't be serious.

I think I'd rather watch Jason lumber around in his hockey mask and kill his 1,000th teenager.

For this Halloween, instead of going to see "Saw IV" or another terrible Japanese remake, watch some of these horror movies instead:

"Evil Dead II" is a perfect low budget horror movie. It's essentially a remake of the first one, but with better acting, a bigger budget and much more gore. While it isn't as psychologically disturbing as some movies, or as gruesome as the recent crop of torture porn movies like "Hostel"and "Saw," it provides enough scares and at the same time provides a few laughs. Bottom line: it's just all around entertaining.

"The Thing" stars Kurt Russell as a helicopter pilot who is trapped, along with a few other survivors, at an abandoned Antarctic research station. Eventually it's discovered that the previous inhabitants of the research center were killed by an alien life form that takes over humans. The desolate Antarctic setting and the paranoia of not knowing who has been taken over by the alien make are what make the movie so frightening.

Plus, "The Thing" costars Wilford Brimley- before he became more known for his mispronunciation of diabetes in his Liberty Mutual commercials than his actual movie career.

Last year's double feature "Grindhouse" was two great horror movies in one: "Death Proof" and "Planet Terror."

"Death Proof" stars Kurt Russell again, this time as a psychopathic stuntman who targets beautiful women so he can kill them with his supercharged 1970 Chevy Nova. Admittedly, "Death Proof" is less of a horror movie and more of an action or thriller. There are few legitimate scares, but the movie is an intense thrill ride, particularly during the car chase at the end.

"Planet Terror," starring Rose McGowan as Cherry Darling, is more of a traditional horror movie. Darling is a former go-go dancer who wants a better life that makes use of her many "useless" talents. Then, zombies attack. While the zombies pop up and provide the scares, Darling provides plenty of fun in the way of witty one-liners and quipping "useless talent number." before stating a number and killing someone by utilizing one of her talents.

She basically ends up like a female version of Bruce Campbell's Ash from the "Evil Dead" series. They both spend their movies killing zombies while spitting out clever one-liners. They both even replaced limbs with weapons: Ash's chainsaw hand and Darling's grenade launcher leg.

In addition to these films, original versions of recent remakes usually make for good viewing. Ignoring their recent incarnations and giving a chance to the original versions of movies like "The Hitcher," "Black Christmas," "The Wicker Man," and even "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is likely the best bet for someone looking for quality horror films.

Of course, there is a movie that came out last year called "Hatchet," which may be perfect for everyone who's sick of horror remakes and sequels.

I haven't seen it yet, but it looks promising from its tagline alone: "It's not a remake, it's not a sequel, and it's not based on a Japanese one. Old school American horror.