Good Horror Movies

A cause for celebration as Hollywood films return to the city

After more than seven months of making do with sub-par B-movies and cheap Thai horror flicks, movie buffs in the city rejoiced when the government decided to name a new film importer that would bring blockbusters such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon to local cinemas soon.

“It is very good news because while Hollywood films were gone, we also ran out of quality local films. We only have one form of entertainment; horror movies,” 24 year-old Juwita Ajeng Windakhrisma told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Juwita, who visits the cinema at least three times a month, said that she now could return to her usual cinema habits.

The Indonesian Union of Cinema Owners (GPBSI) announced over the weekend that the Indonesian government had reached an agreement with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the umbrella group for six major Hollywood studios that boycotted Indonesia over disputes regarding the import rights of Hollywood films.

According to the agreement, film importer Omega Film would be given the right to import and distribute blockbuster films, including the much-anticipated Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, which GPBSI said would hit theaters by the end of this month.

The good news is that the blockbusters would likely be screened by more cinema chains.

Marketing director of Blitz Megaplex Dian Sunardi Munaf said that although the cinema chain is not a member of GPBSI, it would also simultaneously screen the Harry Potter film on July 29 with the 21 Network.

Film buff Andika Ramadan said that the return of Hollywood films is likely to provide a breath of new life for local movie channels.

"I thought they would go bankrupt soon, because they both lost their hearing in recent months. This will save them," he said.

Members of the local film industry also welcomed the good news.

Actor and writer Mike Lucock said that the return of Hollywood films is a "very big deal."

"Local Theatres not only serve as a place for us to see movies. They are also places where we can bear witness to talents from all over the world,” said Lucock.

He added that for people in his line of work, Hollywood movies could serve as a priceless source of “inspiration, motivation and wisdom.

Best Scary Movies: 15 of The Best Horror Movies

Halloween is only a few weeks and what better way to prepare for this festival that need to look some of the best horror movies ever made. I reduced the list to 15 films and I know there are many more that are great and some that could be better than those listed but I personally like these. I wanted to choose films that were not only scary or tense but had good stories and were well made. Some horror movies just shock you on first viewing, but do not resonate with you long after. All of the ones listed are ones that I go back to time and again when I’m in the mood for horror movies and I think that most people will enjoy them all as well.

The Exorcist - The Exorcist was released in 1973 and was directed by William Friedkin. It became one of the highest grossing movies of all-time and easily one of the scariest. The film still holds up really well after all of these years and countless parodies of it haven’t totally blunted the impact it can have on viewers.It will always be a place on the list for me just based on my first viewing of him when I was seven or eight, and how I was afraid to be alone for a day or two after. I can still watch it now as an adult and enjoy the experience, even if she did freak out completely, as it did the first time. While possessed Regan is still one of the most evil on film.

Alien - One of the greatest science fiction movies? Yes. One of the greatest horror movies of all time too? You bet. Alien is a classic defined not only in these two genres, but all the movies in general. I doubt that there are many plots more terrifying than being stuck aboard a space ship with a killer alien and nowhere to flee. Ridley Scott does a wonderful job directing and setting up an atmosphere of absolute terror.

Dawn of the Dead - This 1978 film by George Romero is the second installment of the Living Dead series and is awesome from start to finish. The dead have been reanimated and cause society to essentially collapse, the group of humans that we follow barricade themselves inside of a shopping mall with the constant threat of zombies breaking inside to feast on them.It is certainly gory and sick, but so much fun to watch.

Halloween - Alright it's still a good movie, even if the plot was basically done a million times since, in some suites and other stupid movies. Michael Myers is a horrible both silent and relentless in his quest to kill. There is not much blood actually shown in the film, but the setting on Halloween night with a psychopathic killer and the scary music is one of the best horror movies.

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