David Stratton’s Film Festival With Martin Scorsese’s Scariest Films

Buckle yourself in for jump scares, grab a pillow to hide behind during slasher scenes, and make sure to grab your popcorn at the candy counter; obviously for dramatic tossing purposes.

If there’s anything to know about the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, it’s that they love a good theme. This time around, they’ve decided on what I can only describe as a ‘Halloween pre-game’ by showcasing a retrospective of classic horror films, hand-picked by director Martin Scorsese.

Although Scorsese has never actually produced a horror film (a subjective opinion), he compiled the list of films based on what he considered the scariest of all time.

The esteemed director, known popularly for Taxi Driver (1976) and Shutter Island (2010) appears to be in favour of old-school black-and-white horror, with three top films all released in the 1980s making the list.

Scorsese’s list, originally compiled for The Daily Beast Website saw the 1963 British-made ghost hunter tale, The Haunting, hit first place.

The festival has been on every Thursday and Sunday between June 27 and August 25 2019, showing films that have all been digitally remastered.

While you may have already missed some chilling titles such as The Shining (1980) and The Innocents (1961), there’s still time to catch some other horror masterpieces such as The Exorcist (1973) and Isle of the Dead (1945).

Take a look at the festival’s full program just in case you want to recreate your own Scorsese scariest films festival at home.

What are some of your favourite horror films? Let us know in the comments down below!