Zombies! Werewolves! Vampires! Fall brings more than sweaters and pumpkin spice lattes into our lives. It’s scary movie season! At Halloween, monsters—not just Frankenstein, Dracula and demons but also viruses, climate change and plots focused on man’s inhumanity to man—star in theaters and streamers. But why do we like to be scared into spilling our popcorn?
Some of it is “pure adrenaline rush,” said Assistant Professor of Psychology Fallon Goodman, the same thrill-seeking impulse that leads us to hang tight on roller coasters. But she also believes that scary movies let us face our fears from a safe distance.
“We’re challenging ourselves to see if we can tolerate this thing that scares us—but knowing that it’s not real and we can’t get hurt,” said Goodman, who swore off scary movies as a kid after older cousins made her watch the nightmare-inducing “Exorcist.”
“It’s almost like a game. We want the fun of the challenge and the thrill of the experience, without actually encountering a real threat,” she said.
What fright-fests keep the GW community up at night? GW Today asked faculty and staff to pick their favorite movies that scare them:
"Steven Spielberg’s ‘Minority Report’ imagines a world where there has been no crime because people are arrested before they commit their crimes. And the reason that is so scary is because on the one hand, the system is so easily manipulated to arrest people who even envision crime rather than committing it. And on the other hand, you find out in the end that the system that powers it is actually the brains of three children who are able to see into the future, and they are treated so brutally and inhumanely in order to provide this knowledge. Who and what becomes exploited by our desire to predict the future?"
Elisabeth Anker
Professor of American Studies and Political Science
"Although I cannot do horror movies of any kind, there is nothing better than cozying up and watching a Halloween movie in the fall. My favorite Halloween movie is ‘Hocus Pocus’ (the first one, not the second) because not only is it a classic, the trials and tribulations keep you on your toes without scaring the life out of you. And how could I forget about the amazing musical number? I tend to quote this movie year-round, but I find myself thinking about the Sanderson Sisters more often than not this time of year. The dynamic of these sisters reminds me so much of my best friends and I saying the craziest things. Don't worry, we don't cast spells or anything because who has time for that. Hocus Pocus” is such a classic. How could you not love it?"
Maura Burns
Associate Site Manager, Jumpstart at the George Washington University
Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service
"'The Blackening' is a comedy slasher that just came out this year about a group of Black college friends who decide to go to a cabin and then are chased by killers. Of course, a lot of jokes come up about Black people going to cabins. It was funny, but it was also scary for me, and really focused on what Black people are able to do in the world. In one of the opening scenes, a park ranger stops them and questions them about what they are doing there. There's horror inside this house, but then there's horror outside of the house. They start to talk about whether they should call the police. ‘No, we can't call the police because if they come, our lives could be at risk, and they're going to think we did this.’ And there’s this funny moment—funny, but not funny—where they say, ‘OK, let’s call the fire department. They won't shoot us.’ And the fire department comes, and they turn their hose on. And that which is hilarious is sad. The movie asks where the real terror is—inside the house with people chasing you to kill you or in the outside world where the same thing could happen?"
Jacob English
Director of the Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research
"As a sci-fi/comic book guy, I love stories about vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein monsters, space aliens, sharks, slashers, demons, ghosts and the apocalypse. But there’s one genre of horror I won’t watch because it still gives me nightmares: zombie flicks. I have started ‘Dawn of the Dead,’ ‘Day of the Dead,’ ‘Zombieland,’ ‘The Walking Dead’ and several other zombie movies and TV shows several times, but to this day, I’ve never made it to the end of one. There’s something about the idea that anyone—man or woman, boy or girl—can become a murderous, contagious enemy through no fault of their own. And to survive you must dismember them? Gives me chills just thinking about it. Let’s be clear: I don’t have a vampire, werewolf or space invasion survival plan. But I have talked a zombie horde survival plan through with my children … and no, I won’t tell you what it is. You might be bitten first!"
Jesse J. Holland
Associate Director SMPA and Assistant Professor of Media and Public Affairs
"Who doesn't love a good thriller? The rush of adrenaline, the sense of suspense, the anticipation, the anxiety, the watching and waiting for the scare that you know is just around the corner—all good stuff! I must admit that I am the one covering my eyes and only peeking through my fingers at the really scary parts. That's all part of the fun, though. While I do enjoy a good, solid, classic thriller like ‘Halloween’ and ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street,’ my favorite scary movie genre is sci-fi/space horror. And for this, there is no better movie than Ridley Scott's original 1979 film, ‘Alien.’ The slow-burning, straightforward plot, the flawless sequencing, the dark and creepy score, and the brilliant casting of Sigourney Weaver as the protagonist Ripley, all come together beautifully and set the stage for a series of equally great sequels. So cue up the aliens and the extraterrestrials for me. I'll take the sci-fi jumpscare over flicks about zombies and monsters in the basement any day!"
Karen Johnson
Senior Academic Advisor, Pre-law
"I don't usually watch scary movies. I'm a chicken. I don't like being scared. As soon as the scary music starts, I am out the door. No monsters for me. But I liked ‘Get Out.’ It was one of the few scary ones that I thought was really interesting. I like the social commentary. I like the conversation it elicited in so many different spaces. I like that people across different communities all seemed to find something interesting about it. And I like the director, Jordan Peele. But scary movies are generally not my thing."
Caroline Laguerre-Brown
Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement
"I was sorely disappointed with the newly released sequel to ‘The Exorcist,’ which was, in my opinion, a lazy cash-grab that appealed to absolutely no one. It did not pay homage at all to the Christmas Day 1973 version of the original film, which was denounced soundly by the Catholic Church. I can understand why, after reading all of the accounts of folks leaving the theater vomiting and fainting. It is my favorite horror film, and my favorite film of all. Looks like I’ll need to schedule a visit to ‘The Exorcist’ steps in Georgetown this Christmas Day!"
Bobby Leyva
Academic Advisor CCAS
"'Nightmare Before Christmas.' Bone Daddy Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, is feeling a little ... empty after Halloween. Walking off his vapors he discovers ChristmasLand, and he's entranced. The lights! The warmth! And absolutely no one's dead! Hilarity ensues when he decides to take over ChristmasLand, kidnaps Santa Claus (and is astounded to discover he doesn't actually have claws) and gives out severed heads and snakes to the little ChristmasLand children. Beautiful, faithful Sally stands by her man and in the end Santa is rescued, Christmas is saved, Jack discovers the true meaning of Halloween, Santa sends snow to HalloweenTown, and Jack and Sally kiss. It's cozy, spooky, magical and has a killer soundtrack. A wonderful way to kick off the holiday season."
Toni Marsh
Director of Paralegal Services Program, College of Professional Studies
"'An Inconvenient Truth' is a movie that we should all be scared of. I’ve seen it a couple of times, and it’s always eye-opening. The impact and impression it makes on an audience is really impressive. It will definitely scare you. Climate disaster movies are a whole genre now. ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ is another climate movie that gave me nightmares. It’s about a geophysically impossible event—a tropical storm developing in the Arctic. But if you overlook that, it’s very scary. But I guess ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ is sort of the ‘Citizen Kane’ of climate disaster movies."
David Rain
Associate Professor of Geography and International Affairs and Geography Department Chair
"My favorite scary movie is ‘Outbreak.’ I re-watch it all the time. I made my kids watch with me when the schools closed in 2020, and my oldest kept saying, ‘Is this a good idea?’ I love the scene in the movie theater when you see the cough particles suspended in the air and spreading to all these people. I identify with the Renee Russo character, and my secret wish would be to have a similarly styled Hazmat suit, cinched at the waist and well-tailored."
Maria Elena Ruiz, M.D. ’97, B.A., ’93, B.S. ’93, M.D. ‘97
Associate Professor of Medicine, Director of the GW Travelers Clinic