Film  

Camera, Lights, Horror, Shriek!

By Akachi Ikechukwu-Nnamani

23 August 2021   |   10:22 am

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Share on Telegram

Now horror films are not for the faint-hearted but as they say, curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back. People love a good film but when they find out that the horror they are about to watch is based on real-life, then they know they are about to set the fire to the…

The Conjuring 3 | Image: NEW LINE CINEMAWARNER BROS.

Now horror films are not for the faint-hearted but as they say, curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back. People love a good film but when they find out that the horror they are about to watch is based on real-life, then they know they are about to set the fire to the rain.

Let’s dig in, shall we?!

THE CONJURING (1,2,3)
We have all heard about the stories of haunted houses and what they do to the families that live in them. We have also heard about exorcists that are contacted to cast the demonic presences away. We’ve also known how the particular nights we were told those stories were and we know it is something we don’t want to happen to us. But what happens to those who were at the centre of it all?

The conjuring is a collection of the accounts of exorcists, Ed and Lorraine Warren. One interesting revelation is, the records played in the films are the records of the actual tormented people. Also, if your courage won’t fail you, the Warrens’ Occult Museum (now closed) can be seen in Lorraine’s house in Connecticut.

CHILD’S PLAY
“Close your eyes and count to seven. When you wake, you’ll be in Heaven.” Do you remember the scary doll, Chucky? This is one classic franchise that made a lot of parents get rid of dolls and even go as far as banning them from their homes. This film is about a serial killer who escapes death by performing a ritual and transferring his soul into a “Good Guys” doll. Even scarier is when you realise that the actual doll, Robert the Doll, gifted to Robert Eugene Otto by his family’s maid in 1906, wrecked even worse havoc. It is said that she practised black magic and put a curse on the doll before handing it over.

‘Here’s Johnny’: the scene in which Jack Nicholson’s madman hews through a bathroom door in search of wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) has been imitated countless times throughout pop culture (Warner Bros)

THE SHINING
No, “The Shining” is not real but based on a book. This classic centres on Nicholson, an aspiring writer and alcoholic who accepts to be a caretaker of a hotel. During the holidays, he moves into the hotel with his family, and his young son, Danny, who has the gift of “The Shining”, is able to see into the horrific past of the hotel. Strange things began to happen in the hotel. Nicholson’s sanity deteriorates, and his wife, Duvall, leaves with their son for their safety. Released in 1980, 38 years later (in 2018), it was considered the greatest and most influential horror film and the following year (2019), a sequel, “Dr Sleep”, was released.
What other ones do you (not want to) remember?