Halloween has firmly established itself as a must-do event on many people’s
social calendars. Whether it’s for children going trick or treating or
adults attending parties – the need for
Halloween masks
and fancy dress has certainly grown exponentially over the last few years!
Halloween Masks From Smiffys
Here at Smiffys Fancy Dress Shop, we have a wide range of high-quality
fancy dress items and
Halloween masks that have been
designed to be scary, yet fun at the same time! With many of our items
inspired by some of the biggest horror films in history, you will not find
a more inclusive and vast range anywhere else. Please browse our online
catalogue for more.
Top 10 Films To Watch This Halloween
Away from the festivities of Halloween, many people like to enjoy watching
a
scary movie during the period. With many enjoying the
rollercoaster of emotions that horror films produce, this goes a long way
to explain why such things are popular! So, don’t be hiding behind your
Halloween masks – here are 10 films that you should be
watching during this scary time:
1.
Scream – Wes Craven’s classic slasher flick brought
this subgenre of horror back into the mainstream when it was released in
1996. For much of the next decade, mainstream horror films picked up the
lead of Scream by producing similar stories – but with never as much
quality. Costing $14m to make and grossing well over $170m, the film’s
commercial success paved the way for a number of sequels and thanks to
the easy-to-mimic costume mask
, was an instant hit with Halloween partygoers!
2.
The Night Of The Living Dead/Zombies – Fan of the TV
show The Walking Dead, or just Zombies in general? This is where it all
started. In 1968, George A. Romero directed this horror flick, combining
the zombie from Voodoo folklaw with a vampire; creating what he named ‘a
ghoul’. This monster that would kill a living person and bring them back to
life as one of them, has been a popular horror figure ever since. The film
did take some years to grow its influence, mind – one of the great tales of
its original release is that
it was shown at Saturday matinees
where families with children would attend to watch. The American film
industry brought in an age-related certification system not long later!
Here at Smiffys Fancy Dress Shop, we have a vast range of
Zombie fancy dress and accessories
, so please feel free to browse our range if you’re up for having a
ghoul of a time with zombie
Halloween masks and
fancy dress!
3.
Dracula/Vampires – Present within folklaw for hundreds
of years, tales of vampires – dead beings who drink blood and able to
infect living people with their affliction – are well known and are a
staple of the horror genre.
Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula
is responsible for bringing these tales into the public consciousness and
established the lore behind vampires that we’re so familiar with today. In
the modern age, their popularity has taken off the scale thanks to the
endless stream of feature films starring the creatures –
the original 1931 version of Dracula
is well worth a watch for the dedicated horror fan. For those who like
something a bit more modern, 1994’s
Interview With A Vampire
is rated as one the better adaptations of a vampire novel – in this case,
Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series.
4.
Saw – Released in 2004, the original Saw film quickly
established itself as a psychological horror classic. Introducing the
villainous Jigsaw, the series of films saw him lay ‘traps’ for people who
he saw as unworthy of life, in order to prove that they truly wanted to
live. Combining horror, with physical terror and even some
thought-provoking lessons, the original low-budget feature is well worth a
watch on Halloween.
5.
IT – When it comes to horror in print form, there isn’t
many who can outdo Stephen King. The author of classic tales such as The
Shining, The Green Mile, Carrie, Salem’s Lot, Christine and so much more,
has a new film adaptation out in 2017 – IT. The story follows a number of
children who encounter a being that takes the form of their deepest fears –
one of which is a creepy clown. It’s surprising that it’s taken until now
for a big screen adaption to be produced (the novel was released in 1986)
but by the reputation that it gave to clowns – you can sense that the story
is a great one (the novel is also as thick as a tree trunk, so that helps
to establish plots, characters and settings!)
Due to be released in September 2017
, it is a must see for any horror fan. Just don’t forget your
IT creepy
clown
Halloween masks!
6.
Friday The 13th – Responsible for bringing
the fear of ‘things go wrong on Friday The 13
th‘ this 1980
slasher film introduced the character of Jason, a rather disturbing figure
identifiable thanks to his hockey mask. If you’re looking to provide some
memorable scares this Halloween, then you can’t go far wrong with
a Jason costume!
7.
Nightmare on Elm Street – Everyone has bad dreams,
right? For a generation, those bad dreams were made all the worse by 1984’s
Nightmare on Elm Street (created by none other than Wes Craven). With the
instantly recognisable face and gloved hand of Freddie Kruger killing
people in their sleep,
Elm Street managed to create a bogeyman
that has transcended the films in which he starred in.
8.
Beetlejuice – Horror doesn’t have to be scary (well,
not much), it can be equally funny too. 1988’s Beetlejuice brilliantly toes
that line of comedy and horror. Beetlejuice is a ghost that is hired by two
recently-created ghosts to scare away the new owners of their old house.
With laughs quickly turning into visual terror, then to farce and song –
there’s nothing quite like Beetlejuice. And when it comes to films, I think
we can agree that being unique is what makes them great!
9.
Hocus Pocus – The films we’ve gone through so far are
very-much ones for the adults – so what about if you’re celebrating
Halloween as a family? The perfect film for such an occasion is 1993’s
Hocus Pocus. Concerning the comeback of a coven of witches who wish to
kidnap children in order to establish their immorality, it’s up to some
local children – a disbeliever of the witches myth, strong believers of the
myth and a boy turned into a cat by the witches 300 years previously, to
stop them. With laughs, songs and yes, a bit of horror from time-to-time
(though very child-friendly!) if you’re searching for something to quieten
down
your little witches
after an evening of trick-or-treating, Hocus Pocus would be the ideal
family film to watch together.
10.
Halloween – Of course, no ‘best Halloween films to
watch’ list would be complete without John Carpenter’s 1978 classic,
Halloween! Starring Jamie Lee Curtis in her first film role, the story sees
the escape of Michael Myers, who had murdered his sister on Halloween 15
years previously, on the hunt to wipe out his family. The film (followed by
multiple sequels and remakes) has become a classic and the
Halloween masks worn by Michael, a popular fancy dress
item to wear!
Looking For A Great Halloween Fancy Dress Costume?
Having been involved in the party industry for well over 3 decades now, we
find ourselves in a unique position to be able to offer our customers all
the advice and assistance that they need to help them to experience the
best party possible! If you can’t find the
Halloween masks
or fancy dress that you’re looking for, why not get in touch with us today
and we’ll endeavour to help you any way we can?
You can call us on
0151 709 9449/01244 346 251
or alternatively, you can send an e-mail to us at
sales@smiffysfancydressshop.co.uk
