6th Sense(1999) by M. Night Shyamalan
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 I don’t want to ruin the great twists of this movie, but this movie
illustrates the point I often make about how the dead either don’t know
they are dead, or are stuck in the lower planes because of an
attachment to a horrible event in their life. The deceased in this
movie use a psychic boy to resolve issues that keep them stuck in the
lower planes. In essence, he’s doing a physical version of a soul
rescue. You might think this won’t happen to you, but as you find out
in the end, even the most intelligent and grounded people are not
always in tune with their reality
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The Changeling(1980) by Peter Medak
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 This
is an older movie but I like it for its atmosphere as well as George C.
Scott, who I enjoy as an actor. His wife and daughter are killed in the
opening scene due to a freak car accident. As part of his healing, he
rents a mansion to work on his music composition. Although he thinks
he’s found the perfect place of solitude and quiet it is neither! The
house has someone in the astral plane intent on using him to uncover a
sordid past of murder and conspiracy!
There is an excellent scene where the medium goes into "trance" versus
the typical charade where she induces it asap. Trance is always needed
for higher stuff!
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Dracula
(1992) by Francis Ford Coppola
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 This
is the epitome of how I describe kindred spirits/soul partners/soul
mates (regardless of negative spiritual overtones implied in this
film). This movie depicts two souls that have a very strong history
together. While one of these souls (Dracula) has forsaken God over the
loss of his beloved, his love for her never dies. In fact, physical
life springs eternal for him for this very reason… because this
passionate love for “her” is the only energy he needs to break physical
laws and boundaries. Love does move mountains… and in certain
circumstances, it breaches the bridge of death itself. Sometimes that
happens in the name of God, as it did for Christ, or sometimes it
happens in the name love itself for another soul.
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The Exorcist(1973) by William Friedkin
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 This
is the best horror movie in my opinion. It is the only horror movie
that I am still unable to fully watch by myself. It is a timeless piece
on possession and probably the number one reason readers write to me
about this fear! I have never heard of possession occurring for a
projector but have heard of it occurring with youth. But before you run
out and buy some holy water, it is so rare that the odds are a billion
to one. You’re better off buying a lottery ticket. I did a tiny bit of
research on this movie a while back and it was reported that there were
several deaths (freak “accidents”) on the set. If a movie can capture
evil, this one has done it! This movie is not for the timid of heart!
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The Gift(2000) by Sam Raimi
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 A
struggling mother of two uses her powerful psychic gifts to support her
family. The psychic is played by one of my favorite actresses Cate
Blanchett who delivers a great performance, as always. A beautiful
young woman turns up missing and Cate’s services are reluctantly called
upon by the police. Her visions lead to the gruesome murder scene on
the property of man who has become her personal adversary. But are her
assertions that the murderer is the town’s rebel and wife beater (very
well played by Keanu Reeves) or are there darker forces at work? This
is a great movie with strong actors, twists and a nice look at the life
of a small town psychic.
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The Haunting(1999) by Jan de Bont
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 I
like this movie for the house! I’d risk a night of chain rattling just
so I could explore this phenomenal place. It’s got some cool visual
effects, interesting characters, and an unbeatable setting. A group of
insomniacs are invited to this house under the pretense that they are
being analyzed for their disorder, but the scientist conducting the
experiment is really using them for his research on fear. Everyone has
their own agenda, including the house which comes alive! While this
movie did not scare me (it got low public ratings for this), it was
visually very enjoyable.
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The Others(2001) by Alejandro Amenábar
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 Like
the 6th Sense, this movie holds some surprises for the viewer! Nicole
Kidman does an excellent job in this ghostly film. Her husband is gone
off to war, leaving her alone with her two children in a large mansion
set in a remote location. Some house staff mysteriously appear and
offers their services coincidentally days after the old house staff up
and walked out. The children start reporting strange visitors in the
house that only they can see! This edgy thriller makes use of the fog,
shadows, candlelight and other mood setters. A great ghost movie!
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Mothman Prophecies(2002) by Mark Pellington
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 I did a write-up of this movie
under my projection link. This is an interesting movie because it’s
supposedly based on actual occurrences. I saw this movie in the theater
and it scared the heck out of me! It’s got a great “creepy” factor
going with bizarre sound effects, and hiding more from the viewer than
showing to create decent suspense. It’s based on the rumors of a “moth”
like entity that would appear right before disasters. A reporter
(played by Richard Gere) loses his wife who oddly enough saw this
mothman entity right before her accident. After her death, he finds her
journals filled with drawings of this frightening being. Through no
conscious power of his own, he finds himself literally on the doorsteps
of a town that is reporting sightings of the mothman entity. He is then
pulled into his own investigation about this phenomenon and proceeds to
warn the town of what is most likely an impending disaster.
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Sleepy Hollow(1999) by Tim Burton
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 This
is a yummy Tim Burton piece on the classic tale of Sleepy Hollow. He
wisely uses Johnny Depp to play the part of the religiously jaded
detective to research the rumors of a headless horseman. This movie is
eye candy if you’re into gothic scenes, which I am. This movie is
speckled with great actors and a must see if you’re a Tim Burton fan!
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What Lies Beneath(2000) by Robert Zemeckis
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 Michelle
Pfeiffer plays an emotionally fragile mother who starts seeing a
ghostly figure that looks remarkably like her! She is the wife of a
brilliant scientist and has given up her career for him and has just
sent her only daughter to college. With plenty of time now on her hands
she digs herself into neighborly spying and ghostly investigations.
This movie touches a bit on possession and has a nice twist to it. What
lies beneath doesn’t stay hidden for long as it’s got revenge on its
mind. A good ghost story!
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The Ring(2002) by Gore Verbinski
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 "Be afraid. Be very afraid..." I'm always tickled to see a good thriller come out that works the angle of mystery versus relying on gory thrasher scenes, and this film is one of them. This movie is about a videotape, when watched, results in a horrible death seven days later. After local teenagers view the movie and all die within this week, a reporter feels she's onto a good story. She tracks down the movie, watches it, and now her own life is unraveling with the sound of the same death clock ticking away her fate. This movie is about evil pure and simple. Not the kind of evil that grows through hate, but evil that is timeless and born that way. As a hint to its scariness, a friend of mine said someone made a dash from their seat in the theater and ended up "barfing all over the last seat and a few people." So I would venture to say viewer discretion advised! The only reason I didn't give this five stars is that I would have liked to have seen stronger acting from Naomi Watts (something rivaling Nicole Kidman in The Others).
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