We here at Starburst are all about giving you the best content possible for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. While sadly there are no holidays specifically geared towards those first two genres, Halloween does allow us to get our fair share of fright and celebrate the macabre. Now since we give you the best content possible, we’re not going to bringing you a boring and typical list of the top 10 scariest video games; we’re just not that clichéd. 

Instead, we’re bringing you a slightly less boring and typical list of the top 10 scariest moments in video games (we never said we weren’t a little clichéd). It’s a list that’s going to be full of gore, blood, and psychological trauma—exactly what you love the most!

Oh, and consider this your official general spoiler warning.

10.

PARASITE EVE – A Night at the Opera

PARASITE EVE, based on the novel of the same name by Hideaki Sena, is an odd little game by Square Enix. It’s part survival horror, part RPG. Think RESIDENT EVIL 2 meets VAGRANT STORY. It follows NYPD rookie Aya Brea over six days in New York City as she attempts to destroy the deadly Eve. Also, everything is caused by mitochondria or something—look, it’s a very convoluted plot, okay?

That said, PARASITE EVE is an underappreciated game, and this FMV sequence is one of gaming’s most frightening moments. During an opera performance, the performers and audience members begin to spontaneously combust, causing the theatere to catch fire and create panic as people are charred alive, fall from the balconies, and screams pierce through the air. Meanwhile, the main performer keeps performing her solo.

9.

SILENT HILL 3 – Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall

Save for SHATTERED MEMORIES, SILENT HILL 3 is probably the most underrated title in the franchise. A shame, as it contains one of the creepiest moments in the entire series. A direct sequel to the original SILENT HILL, Heather Morris, daughter of the protagonist of the original, Harry Mason, takes a trip to the dreaded town in order to resolve a conflict with one of its residents. We suppose that’s fair, since she did murder Heather’s dad and everything. Along the way, Heather stops by the infamous hospital and walks into a very odd room.

There’s just something about mirrors that seem to make them great for horror. While it’s spooky to see a reflection of something that isn’t actually there, it gets taken to the next level when suddenly the tendrils from the mirror are brought over to Heather’s side and slowly engulf the room, all the while her reflection slowly changing to show her covered by them.

8.

RESIDENT EVIL 2 – The Licker

RESIDENT EVIL 2 is a great game, serving as an introduction to series staples Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield as they attempt to make it out of the now zombie infested Raccoon City. It’s inside the police department that they encounter a foe much more terrifying than those brain-hungry bastards.

You have no idea what exactly a Licker is when you first encounter it, because there’s nothing to indicate that you will. You’ll likely run into this thing within 10 minutes of playing the game. All you know is that it seems to be inside out, sports razor sharp fangs, wants to kill you with claws that would make Freddie Krueger green with envy and a tongue which puts even Gene Simmons to shame. For these reasons, it needs to die ASAP. The FMV sequence was great by 1998 standards, and it actually still holds up pretty well; we still grimace when we see that strand of saliva from its evil little mouth fall to the floor.

7.

LIMBO – The Not So Itsy Bitsy Spider

LIMBO is a gorgeous indie game, and its black and white style and minimal use of sound creates an eerie atmosphere from beginning to end. We won’t discuss the story, as that’s something you’ll have to experience for yourself, but we will discuss that spider. That awful, terrifying spider.

While you’ll encounter the spider throughout the first few chapters of the game as it seems to stalk you, it isn’t until this chase scene that things really get tense with the giant creature that’s sure to make arachnophobes need a new pair of trousers upon viewing. It slowly comes after you, creeping along with its long legs, as you attempt to escape it. Eventually, you’re able to kill at… after which, you have to pull off one of its legs in order to solve the next puzzle. Excuse us while we vomit.

6.

CONDEMNED – The Photogenic Mr. Tibbits

What separates CONDEMNED from most first person shooters is its crime scene investigation mechanic. Since the protagonist, Ethan Thomas, is a member of the FBI’s Serial Crime Unit, he has tools at his disposal to conduct forensic investigations on his journey to track down the game’s antagonist, Serial Killer X, while trying to clear his name for murders he didn’t commit in the process. Late in the game, Ethan needs to get crucial information from Samuel Tibbits, who’s unfortunately gone missing. And even more unfortunately, Ethan ends up finding his dead body in a locker.

After snapping a photo of the corpse to be analyzed, Ethan’s told that he needs a clearer picture because his original didn’t come through properly. It turns out that Mr. Tibbits is not ready for his close up, as he suddenly springs to life for a few short moments right when you zoom in the view on your camera, and briefly shows off his gross mutilated body before falling to the floor and dying for good. Ah, you just have to love a good old fashioned jump scare.

5.

F.E.A.R.: FIRST ENCOUNTER ASSAULT RECON – Hallway of Blood

F.E.A.R. is weird. The game puts you in the shoes of “Point Man,” a new member of the eponymous F.E.A.R. squad, a covert branch of the U.S. Army which deals with paranormal and supernatural threats. As you slowly unravel the story of the game, you encounter a strange little girl named Alma, who just seems to screw with your mind whenever you see her.

Case in point, you can’t even walk down a simple hallway without this creepy little kid making it difficult. Suddenly the door shuts, she appears out of nowhere and everything goes white before a river of blood flows overhead which she promptly walks across like some sort of J-horror Jesus, all while a baby is heard screaming in the background.

Like we said, F.E.A.R. is weird.

4.

ETERNAL DARKNESS: SANITY’S REQUIEM – A Literal Blood Bath

ETERNAL DARKNESS could really be on this list for a completely different reason, as its “sanity meter” mechanic was extremely innovative and scary; if your player’s sanity level decreased, soon the game would start to mess with you as the player, with effects ranging from creepy crawlies running up your screen to tricking you into believing your save file has been deleted.

But the scariest moment in ETERNAL DARKNESS, which follows Alexandra Rovias as she investigates the murder of her grandfather and winds up reading a book called The Tome of Eternal Darkness which lets her experience the lives of a large cast of characters throughout different time periods that have come in contact with the book, is a very simple scene.

While doing standard survival horror exploration of a new area you’ve unlocked, you stumble into a bathroom. Examining the bathtub immediately causes an image of Alexandra to appear dead in the blood filled tub, accompanied by a high pitched scream. Like with CONDEMN’s “Mr. Tibbits” scene, this shows how effective a jump scare can be when it’s done properly.

3.

DEAD SPACE 2 – Eye Scream, You Scream

There’s three things you do as protagonist Isaac Clarke during the majority of DEAD SPACE 2: slice the limbs off of horrifying mutated corpses known as Necromorphs, watch him hallucinate that his dead girlfriend Nicole is speaking to him, and try to uncover more information about the mysterious “Marker,” the cause for the Necromorph outbreak. As it turns out, Isaac holds important information about the “Marker” that’s locked away in his brain. Since the end is neigh, there’s no time for him to consult a psychologist and try to work through what he’s repressing, so he does the next best thing….

The machine he comes across is able to unlock the information stored away in his brain, and it does so by jamming a needle into his eye. Did we mention that you control the needle? Because you control the needle. The entire scene is anxiety inducing, but what really pushes it into squirm inducing territory is the awful sound it makes when it pierces through his eye. And if you fail to properly guide the needle into his pupil, well… you’ll see. Isaac sure won’t, though. (Okay, okay, no more eye puns! They’re completely cornea – iris my case).

2.

RESIDENT EVIL 4 – Off With His Head

Towards the beginning of RESIDENT EVIL 4, which stars RE2’s Leon Kennedy as he encounters a strange cult on his search for the kidnapped daughter of the United States President in Spain, you encounter a wonderful villager named Dr. Salvador.

Dr. Salvador looks frightening enough and is obviously a TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACARE fanboy who wears a burlap sack over his face and revs up his chainsaw in an homage to the film (it’s entirely possible the poor guy is just a misunderstand, frustrated Leatherface cosplayer with a cheap costume due to the village economy). The first time you hear that chainsaw out of nowhere and get a glimpse of the good Doctor, it’s enough to send a chill down your spine. But the truly shocking and scary moment is what happens when Salvador manages to kill you; Leon’s head is sliced clean off as a fountain of blood spurts from his neck and pools around his body that limply falls to the ground, which is still just as shocking to witness now as it was back in 2005.

1.

SILENT HILL 2 – Mannequin Rape

You knew this was coming. You knew this was taking the top spot. SILENT HILL 2, which follows James Sunderland in his journey into the town after receiving a letter from his deceased wife telling him to meet her there, has plenty of disturbing moments with deep symbolism. But nothing in any game has ever been as disturbing or scary as this scene.

It’s the moment you first encounter the monster Pyramid Head, and he’s introduced by raping two other types of monsters from the game known as Mannequins. Hiding in a nearby closet, James (and you) watch in horror as Pyramid Head finishes up, dragging the body of one of the monster’s by you before it ends up dying. James then finds ammunition in the closet and shoots Pyramid Head until he leaves, and from that moment on, you know that SILENT HILL 2 will be an unforgettable experience.

And there you have it, folks. Our top 10 list of the scariest gaming moments. Sound off in the comment section below and let us know what you would have added to the list and why. Happy Halloween!

It’s getting down to the wire. The Doctor is in imminent peril. Before you have time to process it, the famous “Doctor Who Scream” rips through you, tempting you back for next week’s episode.

Without cliffhangers where would Doctor Who be? Over the last fifty years, this distinctive weekly sendoff has become just as beloved and well known as The Doctor himself. But, what makes them so memorable? More to the point, which have stood the test of time and space to become classics in their own right? Be sure to bring along your jelly babies and fezzes as we examine: The Top Ten Doctor Who Cliffhangers!

10

Cold Blood / Air Date: May 29, 2010

This episode is a personal favorite due to the simplicity of its concept and the subtle acting skills of Matt Smith. The Eleventh Doctor has foiled a failed Silurian coup, Rory has been erased from time, and Amy’s memories of her fiancée are gone forever! As our hero is left alone to ponder his thoughts, he takes out the broken shard he pulled from the “Crack in Time”. Murray Gold’s haunting music pulsates through as The Doctor realizes he is holding a destroyed fragment of the TARDIS’s front door sign. Where does it come from? What does it mean? Matt Smith’s look of absolute silent fear and horror still resonate in this defining moment from Series 5’s “Crack in Time” storyline.

9

Human Nature / Air Date: May 26, 2007

On the run from “The Family of Blood,” The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) temporarily alters his DNA to become something quite altogether unfamiliar to him… human. So human in fact that he has forgotten everything else and assumes the identity of teacher “John Smith”. Stuck in 1913, Martha Jones watches helplessly as he falls in love and leads an adventure like none other, a normal life.

All hell breaks loose later at a village dance when “The Family,” on a murderous rampage, demands The Doctor’s Time Lord essence. As collateral, they hold Martha and Joan, his girlfriend, at gun point. Faced with an impossible choice, John Smith watches helplessly as Son of Mine issues a chilling demand:

“Which one of us do you want us to kill? Your friend or your lover? Your choice!”

8

The War Games: Part Ten / Air Date: June, 1969

This is the first episode that really broke all the rules, and gave us the first glimpse into the “Who” of our favourite Doctor. The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) is put on trial by his own people, the Time Lords, for his interference with the laws of time. He is alone for the first time since the series began as Jamie and Zoe, his long running companions, are forcibly returned to their own times.

Just when all seems lost, the Time Lords acknowledge his benevolent nature may have some use to the galaxy, but not before exiling him to Earth with a forced regeneration. We last see The Doctor, hurtling through the abyss of the Time Vortex, as a date with his third incarnation awaits. A seminal piece of Whovian lore to be sure!

7

The Empty Child / Air Date: May 21, 2005

By Spring 2005, fans already knew that the first season of the newly revived show was something to behold.  Under producer Russell T. Davies, we had seen Daleks, Slitheens, a Jagrafess, and the deadly Reapers. But, nothing would compare to a little gas mask wearing boy and the simple, yet terrifying phrase “Are you my mummy?”

By the episode’s conclusion, we find The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) up against the wall, literally. With Rose and Captain Jack by his side, he’s surrounded by a swarm of gas mask hospital patients all uttering “Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?” All it takes is one touch… one touch to become like them. When all is said and done, this two-parter rightfully deserves its place as some of the best Doctor Who ever. We wonder who wrote it? Some guy named Moffatt we think.

6

Terror of the Zygons: Part One / Air Date: August 30, 1975

While investigating a destroyed oil rig, The Fourth Doctor, Sarah, and Harry find themselves in a conspiracy of “Zygon” proportions. It’s a conspiracy so big that it may also just involve a certain monster from Loch Ness.

Harry, wounded by an assassin’s bullet, drifts in and out of consciousness at a hospital. Sarah Jane, consoling him, leaves to phone The Doctor in the waiting room. Without warning, a Zygon hand clutches her by the shoulder. The big reveal of these creatures and Sarah’s blood curdling scream make for one memorable evening to say the least.

In their one television appearance, the Zygons firmly embedded themselves in the hearts of many fans. While Doctor Who always had aliens, there had never been ones as unique and frightening looking as these. Here’s to their welcome re-appearance next month in the 50th anniversary special!

5

Planet of the Spiders: Part Six / Air Date: June 8, 1974

Now we are partial to regeneration stories, but we promise this will be the last one on the list. But, really how can you pass up John Pertwee’s effective and restrained acting, coupled with the brief introduction of a certain Mr. Tom Baker?

Via the TARDIS, The Doctor wearily returns to UNIT headquarters on Earth. Three weeks have passed since he received a lethal dose of radiation during his battle with the treacherous giant spiders of Metelbelis III. The Brigadier and Sarah Jane, having lost hope of him coming back, rush to his side. As his third life slips away, The Doctor utters the now immortal line of:

“A tear Sarah Jane? No don’t cry, while there’s life there’s…”

We suspect Sarah Jane wasn’t the only one with a tear in her eye that evening.

4

The Deadly Assassin: Part Three / Air Date: November, 1976

Time Lords are a fickle lot. One day they help you, another day you’re doomed to execution. The latter was what The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) faced on his return to his home planet of Gallifrey.

Framed for the President’s murder, the Doctor enters “The Matrix” to find The Master and prove his innocence.  It is here he finds himself hunted down in a hallucinatory world of Time Lord consciousnesses. To accurately describe in words what follows wouldn’t serve these surreal scenes justice. Just know that the final image of The Doctor being strangled underwater by The Master’s accomplice Chancellor Goth is notorious in BBC history.

Moral crusader Mary Whitehouse caused such uproar when it originally aired that it had to be altered for future broadcasts. A freeze frame was added and, edited or not, the imagery stays with you long after the television is switched off.

3

The Caves of Androzani: Part Three / Air Date: March, 1982

Not putting The Caves of Androzani in this list is akin to Who heresy. Peter Davison’s swan song is brimming with so many memorable moments that it’s impossible to list them all here. However, this particular cliffhanger in Robert Holmes’ brilliant script showcases how much The Fifth Doctor is willing to go through to save his beloved companion, Peri.

Trapped on a space freighter! Infected with deadly Spectrox Toxemia! The Doctor’s days are numbered! Throwing all logic to the wind, he highjacks the ship’s main control room in a kamikaze freefall back to the surface of Androzani Minor and Peri. The tension mounts as the crew members solder their way through the door. The Doctor, on the verge of collapsing, defiantly intones to the captain “…I’m not going to let you stop me now!”

2

The Daleks: The Dead Planet / Air Date: December 21, 1963

Already fresh out of the gate, Doctor Who was about to unleash its greatest enemy onto the world: The Daleks. The story begins when the original TARDIS crew, led by the First Doctor (William Hartnell), gets stranded in an eerily petrified jungle.

The Doctor, always suspicious, leads the way to a nearby futuristic city. It is here that Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) gets separated from the group, and is left alone to wander in a labyrinth of bleak hallways. As she rounds a corner, writer Terry Nation’s metal maniacs reveal themselves in a scene straight out of a horror movie. A Dalek “plunger” moves closer and closer as Barbara is pinned helplessly to the wall. With that millions tuned back the following week and a science fiction icon was born!

1

Survival: Part Three / Air Date: December 6, 1989

At the conclusion of its 26th season, Doctor Who had seen better days in terms of its support at the BBC. Like all good things, they must end.

After one last riveting adventure fighting The Master and riding on horses with Cat People, it was time for The Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) to gather up Ace and head back to the TARDIS. The producers, realizing this may be the end, had McCoy record this last voice over as the sun was seemingly setting on The Doctor’s adventures:

“There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea’s asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice and somewhere else the tea’s getting cold! Come on, Ace — we’ve got work to do!”

This cliffhanger went unresolved for much longer than fans would have liked. But, it ultimately proved that in Doctor Who the end is just the beginning!

Ten years with the same cast is a long time for any TV series, and with over 200 episodes to choose from, boiling down the stand out shows to a mere top ten is a bit of a tall order. It is a credit to the series’ constant sense of re-invention that there are so many remarkable episodes to choose from. But here goes it nonetheless! (*Feel free to add your own Top 10 in the Comments section if you disagree with ours!)

1 – Pilot

The first episode of Smallville stands out not simply because it’s the pilot, but because it lays out the premise and themes of the show effortlessly and engagingly. It sets up the crush with Lana Lang, explains the premise of the show and introduces Lex Luthor as a friend of Clark. It’s also the episode that gives us the iconic image of a young Clark Kent, tied to a scarecrow post with an S daubed in red paint upon his chest.

2 – Heat

If you ever want to sell someone on the series using a single episode, Heat is the story to use. The premise is simple; Clark has started developing his heat vision powers. However, being a teenage boy, they only seem to manifest when he becomes sexually aroused. This is unfortunate, because teenagers aren’t well known for their ability to control their emotions. Add a femme fatale to the mix and what we get is an amusing and rather brilliant episode.

3 – Rosetta

The second season storyline is often praised simply because it features former Superman actor Christopher Reeves as a wheel-chair bound genius professor. Reeves’ performance (despite his physical disability) is strong, but this is not the reason the episode is so strong; the revelations of the Kryptonian agenda (one of invasion and world domination) makes this story really stand-out, and throws a much needed curve ball into a show that had already begun to suffer from cliché.

4 – Commencement

The fourth season of Smallville is not seen as a very good one – the show’s direction is lost due to pointless supernatural elements being added. Commencement not only signifies the end of this dull season, it also redeems it by having a second meteor storm, buckets of action and most importantly of all, the arrival of Superman’s secret base, the Fortress of Solitude.

5 – Lexmas

Despite featuring two clichés that any long running series is guaranteed to have (a Christmas story and an extended dream sequence), this is the show’s take on It’s A Wonderful Life. Lex finds himself in a coma following a mugging, and is presented with a world in which he is a nicer, kinder person. It presents the arch-villain with a chance to mend his wicked ways and become a hero of sorts. Though we know what’s coming, the performances are perfect and it’s nice to see Michael Rosenbaum in a role where he doesn’t have to chew the scenery.

6 – Kara

This is the episode that introduces Laura Vandervoort as Supergirl. ‘Nuff Said.

7 – Arrow

Not the TV series of the same name, but certainly the reason why that series came to be. Arrow features the budget Batman, The Green Arrow, and introduces the vigilante as a major character. Lacking the permission to feature the real Batman, the show’s producers decided that The Green Arrow was a close enough fit.

8 – Justice

Up until this point, Smallville had been very sparing with adding additional superheroes to its universe. With Justice we finally get to see them all team up and fight crime. It marks a welcome change in the ethos of the show and ushers in a heroic age. Though we don’t see much of most of them after this, it lends a sense of depth to the series that up until this point, it had lacked.

9 – Absolute Justice

A deeply silly two-parter, this feels much less like a Smallville episode and something that could have been lifted out of a regular DC Comic book. Though it suffers from having the budget of a TV show (whilst trying to have a Hollywood movie feel), it’s a worthy addition to the top ten simply because it features the Justice Society of America, including Michael Shanks as Hawkman. Seeing the chap who plays Dr. Daniel Jackson in Stargate ham it up as a winged hero is a real treat.

10 – Homecoming

The 200th episode. Clark travels into his future and past, and discovers all sorts of rich and wacky things there. Not only is this a bit of a clip show, it’s also a homage to the rich heritage of Superman. We get a touch of Lois and Clark, a little poke at the 1980’s Superman movies and there’s even a reference to the awful Superboy series from the nineties. In many ways, it ends the series perfectly, even though it’s not actually the last episode of the tenth season.

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Super-Merch!

 

It’s that time of year again when ghosts and ghoulies make our spines shiver and shake, and creepy crawly things go bump in the night. Here’s a selection of horror films that’s certain to shake, rattle and roll the bones in the graveyard! Pleasant screams…

DEAD OF NIGHT (1945) 

Starring: Michael Redgrave, Ronald Culver, Mervyn Johns, Sally Ann Howe, Anthony Baird, Googie Withers and  Frederick Valk.
The grand daddy of all horror anthology films. Guests arrive at a cottage in the country and each one tells a tale of supernatural terror. Are they simply imaginative or is there more to it? Spooky and scary, each one gets better and better with the ‘Ventriloquist’s Dummy’ segment being the eeriest!

THE QUEEN OF SPADES (1949) 

Starring: Anton Walbrook, Edith Evans and Yvonne Mitchell.
Based on a story by Alexander Pushkin, The Queen of Spades tells the story of an elderly countess who sells her soul to the devil for the secret of winning at the game of faro.  A young army captain, in financial trouble,  learns of her secret and forces it out of her, leading to her murder. The captain’s luck begins to change for the better, but there’s a supernatural price to pay for it. One of the greatest horror films ever made.

SPECTRE (1977) 

Starring: Robert Culp, Gig Young, Ann Bell, John Hurt, Gordon Jackson.
Co-written by Gene Roddenberry as a proposed series, this film is a great version of a supernatural ‘Holmes and Watson’ type duo dealing with matters of the occult. The effervescent Culp steals the show as the ultra cool sleuth and expert on the occult, as Young counter balances him with his grounded look on reality. A rich and beautiful woman hires them to find out what happened to her brother, who has undergone a strange change in personality after uncovering a Stonehenge type area known as the Fire Pit, reportedly a sacrificial site for the Demon Asmodious.

SATAN’S TRIANGLE (1975)

Starring: Doug McClure, Kim Novack, Jim Davis and Alejandro Ray.
An SOS from a schooner is answered by a Coast Guard helicopter in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. During the attempt to rescue the lone survivor, a woman, the rescue basket breaks and she falls into the ocean along with the pilot. They swim back to the boat as the co-pilot informs them he’s low on fuel and must head back to base. On board, he discovers four grisly murders that even includes a body floating in mid air! The woman explains that their deaths were caused by supernatural events, the pilot, however, has a rational explanation for each of them. But, in Satan’s Triangle, things are not what they seem to be. It’s a suspenseful, well thought out horror film not to be missed.

THE NORLISS TAPES (1973) 

Starring: Roy Thinness, Angie Dickenson, Hurd Hatfield.
Another pilot that never made it to series created by Dan Curtis ofThe Night Stalker/Dark Shadows fame and written by William F. Nolan. A publisher discovers the personal tapes of a missing author (the Norliss of the title) that lead to involvement with voodoo worshippers and the living dead. Filmed in Big Sur, California the foggy mist and eerie score add to the atmosphere of this scary film.

HORROR AT 37,00 FEET (1973)

Starring: William Shatner, Buddy Ebsen, Roy Thinness, Lynn Loring, Chuck Connors, Paul Winfield, France Nuyen, Russell Johnson, Will Hutchins,  H.M. Wynant and Tammy Grimes. With one look at the cast for this ’70s horror you know you’re in for a treat! An altar from an ancient abbey (secured in the cargo hold of a 747 headed to the States from the UK) begins to unleash demonic forces aboard the plane. You don’t see the supernatural creatures at first only hearing their eerie noises that builds tension in this creepy film. One could argue that this is Airport with demons, but it’s a very effective thriller, especially when some of the passengers want to give up a little girl to appease the demons as a sacrifice and when Tammy Grimes’ dog turns into a pupscicle, courtesy of the unearthly monsters, well that’s worth the price of admission alone!

WHO CAN KILL A CHILD? (aka ISLAND OF THE DAMNED) (1978)

Starring: Lewis Flander, Prunella Ransoms.
An English couple visit a local island off the coast of Spain, that the husband remembers from his childhood, only to discover that all the adults have disappeared and its only inhabitants are children that seem possessed. Soon, the couple are on the run for their lives as what adults are left are tortured and killed for sport – there’s a human piñata scene that is pretty grim. The director’s cut is worth seeking out as it contains an additional twenty minutes plus a sub-plot about the children, who were actually victims of Franco’s regime of terror.

JUST BEFORE DAWN (1981)

Starring: George Kennedy, Chris Lemmon, Deborah Benson, Greg Henry and Mike Kellin. Deliverance meets The Hills Have Eyes. Five campers decide to spend the night in a rural mountain area, despite the warnings of a forest ranger and a crazy mountain man that there ‘s a machete wielding maniac lose. Why don’t people listen? Still, it’s an effective horror/thriller with lots of memorable moments.  Creepy, atmospheric and certainly one of the best slasher films ever made.

MESSIAH OF EVIL (1973)

Starring: Micahel Greer, Marianna Hill, Anitra Ford, Royal Dano, Joy Bang, Charlie Dierkop, Elisha Cook, Jr. and Walter Hill (yes, DIRECTOR Walter Hill!). 
A woman decides to seek out her estranged father at a quiet, seaside town (actually Point Dune, California). However once there she discovers a series of horrors before the local townspeople are slowly turned into flesh eating vampire/zombies when the blood moon rises signalling the return of the evil Messiah.  A bizarre movie,  shot on a shoestring budget, this is one strange and surreal overlooked gem!

EL VAMPIRO (1957)

Starring: Abel Salazar,  German Robles, Arianda Welter.
In the ’50s and ’60s, Azteca Productions from Mexico produced some of the best, haunting, imaginative, atmospheric movies, sort of a cross between Universal’s monster films and Hammer with a dose of Roger Corman thrown in. A young girl travels with a doctor to a mansion where one of her aunt’s has mysteriously died while the other is beautiful and healthy. It turns out that there’s a vampire loose by the name of Count de Lavud that’s causing all the trouble and it’s up to the hero, Dr. Enrique to stop him before the beautiful, Marta is his next meal ticket! The cinematography is worth watching this film alone and the creepy music enhances every scene.

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Across fourteen years, nine series and fifty five episodes, Red Dwarf has cemented its place as one of Britain’s most loved sitcoms. From the first series’ humble beginnings, with its limited sets and wonderfully shoddy effects, it has developed into a far more intricate and clever comedy with marginally less shoddy effects. Red Dwarf infuses its basic premise, which sees a ragtag bunch of space bums trying to survive the tedium of forever rambling through space, with a quintessentially British type of comedy.

Trying to narrow down the numerous excellent episodes to just ten choice nuggets is extremely difficult. The first six series in particular, each distinct in terms of their sets, cast and production values, are all incredibly strong. Each contains several episodes which have helped to cement Dwarf’s place in British TV comedy history. Some episodes have incredible individual scenes, but perhaps aren’t as strong as others overall. On the other hand, some episodes are just so completely brilliant it would simply be a crime to leave them out. After much soul-searching and quiet contemplation, here’s my choice of the ten best Red Dwarf episodes. I hope it won’t leave you completely un-grippered.

Series 1: ‘Future Echoes’

As with any series, it takes a short while for the cast and crew to really bed in. The show’s creators, Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, delivered a solid opening episode but, while ‘The End’ has its moments, it was still burdened slightly with the need to act as a scene-setter. ‘Future Echoes’ was the difficult second episode, the one where Grant and Naylor really needed to show what they were all about. With a clever sci-fi concept and some choice dialogue (“You can’t just whack Death on the head!” “If he comes near me, I’m gonna rip his nipples off!”) it’s fair to say that ‘Future Echoes’ does just that.

The plot sees Red Dwarf (the ship, not the show) break the light barrier, a feat which results in the crew seeing glimpses of their own future occurring in the present. Rimmer appears to witness future Lister being blasted to smithereens in the control room, a vision which seems to please Arnie, but which leaves Lister understandably troubled. The plot device, which is based on part of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (apparently), is most definitely a novel one and it was a bold move to utilise it in only the series’ second outing. However, Grant and Naylor pulled it off brilliantly. The whole episode does a great job of developing our understanding of Lister and Rimmer’s characters and the complicated dynamic between them.

Series 2: ‘Thanks for the Memory’

After a raucous celebration of Rimmer’s deathday, the crew wake up to find that ninety six hours have passed, the black box is missing and Cat and Lister both have broken feet. Naturally, Rimmer suspects aliens. After tracing the black box to a nearby moon, they find it in a shallow graved marked “To the memory of the memory of Lise Yates”. Yates turns out to be an ex-girlfriend of Lister’s. The black box then reveals that, after a drunken Rimmer confessed to Lister that he had only ever been with one woman, Lister decided to implant a memory of his relationship with Lise into Rimmer’s mind. Inevitably, the truth eventually comes out and Arnie is understandably upset that the love of his life never actually existed, for him at least. They decide to spare Rimmer this pain by erasing everyone’s memories of the entire event and burying the black box on a nearby moon.

It’s a great concept and this is probably the stand out offering from the second series. Chris Barrie puts in a typically strong performance in this episode and the sight of him trying to eat his own fist as he begins to remember what he told Lister is an absolute joy to behold. Tellingly, the episode also demonstrates that, far from simply hating each other’s guts, there is a degree of friendship between Rimmer and Lister. Lister genuinely feels sorry for Rimmer and tries to do something nice for him, an act which shows not only his compassion for Rimmer’s plight, but also early signs of a bond starting to form between the two of them.

Series 3: ‘Marooned’

‘Marooned’ is proof that sometimes in a sitcom, less is more. Its simple concept, which sees Rimmer and Lister stranded together on a remote planet in the tight confines of Starbug, allows it to deliver some of the best lines and finest moments of the whole series. The vast majority of the episode revolves around just the two leads, with both Craig Charles and Chris Barrie putting in some sterling work. Over the course of the episode we learn new things about them, such as the fact that Rimmer spent a former life as Alexander the Great’s chief eunuch and Lister lost his virginity aged twelve on a golf course.

‘Marooned’ also gives us an even greater insight into their two personalities and their evolving relationship. There’s a real sense of shared experience between them. The stories behind their respective cherished possessions, Rimmer’s camphor wood chest and Lister’s guitar, seem to be bringing them closer together. However, as the need for firewood gets more desperate and Lister seemingly sacrifices his beloved instrument, we see a rare thing indeed. Rimmer shows admiration for Lister and even honourably offers to burn his own priceless wooden soldiers. The final scene, where Lister sheepishly strolls back across Starbug, removes his guitar from a locker and Rimmer notices the guitar-shaped hole in his camphor wood chest, is pure comedy gold. “Kryten, get the hacksaw and follow me…..We’re going to do to Lister what Alexander the Great once did to me.”

Series 3: ‘Backwards’

While some Dwarf episodes, such as ‘Marooned’ and ‘Thanks for the Memory’, focus on the personalities of and relationships between the lead characters, others are just great concepts which Grant and Naylor have a lot of fun with. ‘Backwards’ very much falls into this category. Rimmer and Kryten crash land on a version of Earth where everything happens backwards and find success as a novelty cabaret act known as ‘The Sensational Reverse Brothers’, in which they do everything forwards.

Lister and Cat, the self-proclaimed ‘smart party’, then turn up to bring them home, initially mistaking backwards world for Eastern Europe. “Nod… Nol… it’s in Bulgaria, isn’t it?” The legendary barroom tidy is a moment of genius, but perhaps the finest moment of the episode is the opening gambit where Lister and Cat hold that all important conversation about Wilma Flintstone and quite rightly decide that, in all probability, she is the most desirable woman who ever lived.

Series 4: ‘White Hole’

‘White Hole’ focuses on another neat sci-fi concept which is used brilliantly by Grant and Naylor. The crew find themselves experiencing time fluctuations, which see events occurring out of sequence. After Kryten manages to radically heighten Holly’s IQ, the ship’s computer finds her runtime seriously depleted. She turns herself off and powers the craft down to conserve energy. As the Dwarf floats aimlessly through space and the boys are forced to go right back to basics, they begin to experience the mysterious time dilation.

As ever with their novel plot devices, Grant and Naylor utilise it superbly. The standout moment is when Kryten tries to explain to the rest of the crew about the concept of a white hole (the opposite of a black hole, spewing time back into the universe), only for a spasm in time to ensure they end up going around in circles. Other episode highlights include Dave ‘Cinzano-Bianco’ Lister playing pool with planets and the unwaveringly persistent Talkie Toaster. Meanwhile, Hattie Hayridge’s Holly has a rare major role to play in the episode and is perfect throughout. It was always going to be a tough gig to replace Norman Lovett, but Hayridge showed in this episode that she could hang with the best of them.

Series 4: ‘Dimension Jump’

The episode which first brought us the ingenious comedy creation that is Ace Rimmer (what a guy) really has to be on this list. Ace arrives from an alternative reality and is everything our Rimmer isn’t. He’s brave, heroic, good looking, intelligent and, most of all, successful. Inevitably, his arrival hits a raw nerve with Arnie, who already has a considerable chip on his shoulder over never getting the breaks and being let down by his parents. In his eyes, Ace is living proof of what he could have been. An early scene where Lister, Cat and Kryten try to sneak out to go fishing without him has already got Rimmer riled and he gets increasingly peeved at his alter ego’s presence and Lister’s instant friendship with him. One memorable highlight sees Rimmer scoffing at the two new bosom buddies and delivering the immortal line, “I recognize you two. Weren’t you two the double action centrefold in July’s edition of Big Boys in Boots?” Chris Barrie is once again superb in this episode and it’s good to see him getting the chance to act the hero for once after years of playing such a git.

Series 4: ‘Meltdown’

It’s always strange seeing the boys from the Dwarf away from their home turf, but it works an absolute treat in ‘Meltdown’. After Kryten finds a ‘matter transporter device’, the crew decide to visit the nearest planet with a breathable atmosphere. Unfortunately for them, this planet just happens to be a long forgotten Wax-World theme park, where the wax droids, left in isolation for so long, are now sentient and have become embroiled in a devastating war between good and evil. On one side are the very worst people in history, including Hitler, Mussolini, Al Capone and, of course, James Last. On the other is a ragtag band of soldiers such as Elvis, Gandhi, Saint Francis of Assisi and Einstein.

Determined to live out his war games fantasies, Rimmer decides to whip the remaining good guys into shape and lead them into battle. There are so many great moments in this episode, from Rimmer’s snarling dressing down of his own troops (“There’s only two types from Assisi; steers and queers. Which are you, boy?”) to Lister witnessing an extremely harrowing firing squad (“They’re tying him to the stake… It’s Winnie the Pooh.”) It’s an episode which really shows Rimmer’s ability to be a complete and total bastard and Chris Barrie has an absolute ball.

Series 5: ‘Back to Reality’

The series five finale sees the Dwarf boys being attacked by a ‘despair squid’, causing them to crash Starbug. They wake up back on Earth, where it turns out they have been playing a total immersion video game for four years. ‘Back To Reality’ is an episode which forces the group to question what exactly ‘reality’ means. Have they merely been playing characters in a virtual reality game the whole time? Are they the people they think they are? It’s a brave move by Grant and Naylor to relocate their characters for the majority of the episode and to effectively give them new identities too.

Luckily, over the course of five series we have gained such an in-depth understanding of the characters that the central concept of ‘Back to Reality’, that the four crew members were actually the polar opposite of their supposed personalities, works to great effect. The Cat is buck-toothed Duane Dibley, Lister is the powerful, fascist Sebastien Doyle, Rimmer is his down and out brother and Kryten is traffic cop Jake Bullet. As they all struggle to come to terms with their real identities, it is revealed that the crew are in fact still back on Starbug, taking part in a group hallucination brought on by the despair squid. The squid’s toxic ink is attempting to force them to kill themselves through self-loathing.

The episode highlight is perhaps the budget defying high speed chase, which sees the crew racing around in circles back on Starbug as they are meant to be speeding away from police while being shot at from helicopters. Then there is Timothy Spall’s magnificent cameo as the Brummie technician who welcomes the boys back to reality and can’t help but mock poor old Arnie. “Are you telling me you’ve been playing the prat version of Rimmer for all that time?”

Series 6: ‘Gunmen of the Apocalypse’

‘Gunmen’ is a legendary and ambitious episode which won the show a prestigious international Emmy award. The plot sees the boys enter a computer simulation of the Wild West where Kryten is doing battle with a deadly computer virus manifesting itself as the four horsemen of the apocalypse. It’s always a gamble to relocate the show’s action to somewhere so radically different, but luckily the end result is one of the funniest and most memorable Dwarf outings of all. There are some absolutely classic lines throughout the episode, including Arnie’s wearying putdown of Cat, “look, we’ve all got something to contribute to this discussion and I think what you should contribute from now on is silence.” It also features arguably the best example of Kryten pulling Rimmer up on his knowledge of various regulatory statutes. “39436175880932/B?…All nations attending the conference are only allocated one car parking space. Is that entirely relevant, sir? I mean, here we are in mortal danger and you’re worried about the Chinese delegates bringing two cars.”

The increased budget for this series was put to great use and the scenes shot in the Wild West town are really effective. All four crew members have a moment to shine and the lead actors have great fun playing the roles of rough and ready cowboys. Seeing Rimmer moseying into a tough old Saloon, swaggering up to the bar and ordering a dry white wine and a Perrier will never get old.

Series 6: ‘Out of Time’

Another barnstorming series finale here and one which, perhaps more than any other, combines moments of great humour with genuinely affecting drama. The brilliant cliff-hanger ending was a superb way to cap the series off and would leave fans on tenterhooks for four years while they waited for the seventh series to emerge. The episode’s plot sees the boys low on morale and desperately trying to re-find Red Dwarf. Things take a turn for the surreal when they enter a strange fog and begin to experience ‘unreality pockets’, which cause many confusing scenarios to occur. These include the apparent revelation that Lister is in fact an android. Robert Llewllyn is on fine form here and his realisation that they have in fact been duped and Lister is human after all is a real highlight. “Somebody else tell him, I’ve got gussets to scrub.”

The fog is protecting a derelict spaceship which possesses a working time drive. The boys are at first excited, but then realise they can only travel backwards and forwards in time to the exact same spot in deep space that they currently inhabit, which doesn’t seem to be of any use…..as yet. They then get a distress call from what appears to be their future selves and, after sealing the others in a room for their own safety, Kryten welcomes these future Dwarfers onboard. It’s not a pretty sight. It’s a worryingly believable take on what might happen to the crew should their wildest dreams be answered. Rimmer and Cat get fat, Kryten wears a toupee and Lister is just a brain in a jar.

The future crew members are a grisly bunch who are selfish and amoral. They brag about travelling through time and space, hobnobbing with some of histories worst tyrants (“Herman Goering was a ‘bit dodgy’?”) After refusing to help them and throwing them off the ship, the regular boys are then attacked by their far more advanced future selves. The end is seemingly nigh and, after a rare moment of bravery from Rimmer who unexpectedly suggests they stand and fight (“better dead than smeg”), the future Starbug attacks. The onslaught seemingly kills the crew except for old Arnie. The final few moments are incredibly tense and gripping to watch. Could this be the end of the boys from the Dwarf? Can Rimmer finally be a hero and figure out a way to save the day? The episode ends with Starbug exploding and an ominous ‘to be continued’ flashing up on screen. It’s a great way to end a series and it makes it a much greater shame that series seven could never live up to expectations.

Close but no cigar: ‘Queeg’, ‘Timeslides’, ‘Polymorph’ and ‘Holoship’.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’ve put together a list of 10 of the best heart-warming/heart-breaking relationships in sci-fi and fantasy.

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Buffy and Angel – Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel

 

These two have a lot to answer for. Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s subplot about a forbidden human/vampire relationship has spawned a ton of imitators in the shape of Twilight, The Vampire Diaries and True Blood. But what Joss Whedon got that none of the others did was that a soppy, defenceless teenager in love with a vampire isn’t interesting – a super-powered vampire-killing teenager in love with a vampire is. 

Love is a many splendored thing: When Angel is magically rendered human they spend one blissful day together in a sun-drenched bed. But it wasn’t to last.

Love bites: Things were all going swimmingly for the couple, until their first night of passion left Angel a soulless killing machine – who Buffy had to send to hell to save the world.

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Clark and Lois – Superman

 

These two have been a romantic institution since the 1930s and are one of fiction’s most enduring couples: The super-powered alien and his ambitious, driven human partner who took on a role beyond that of a mere love interest. They have been stars of comics, films and TV series’, most recently Smallville, which improved immeasurably as soon as Clark dumped Lana and realised that Lois had been the girl for him all along.

Love is a many splendored thing: The moment Lois finds out that Clark is Superman has been told and told again, but retains its power every time.

Love bites: DC have now split up the golden couple and stripped Lois of her knowledge of Clark Kent’s alter-ego – but surely it can’t be long before we get yet another scene of Lois realising the truth.

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Han and Leia – Star Wars Original Trilogy

 

The rough hero and the stubborn princess has been a staple in fiction ever since fairytales started, but the old dynamic was given a new spin back when George Lucas paired up a rebel-leader princess with a petty smuggler. The two of them spent three whole films bickering deliciously – even after they’d got it together.

Love is a many splendored thing: Leia stresses that Han is definitely not a nice man, then kisses him anyway.

Love bites: Snogging your own brother to make a man jealous is taking it a little too far.

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Adama and Roslin  – Battlestar Galactica

 

The task of guiding the surviving 12 Colonies to safety fell to an Admiral who was ready to retire and a President who should never have been in power, and whose values and priorities clashed hopelessly. But we all saw the spark there. Audiences rooted more for these two than they ever did for Apollo and Starbuck and when they finally got it on, who wasn’t thrilled for them?

Love is a many splendored thing: Roslin surrenders her Presidency and decides instead to spend her days lying in giggling post-coital bliss in Adama’s bed. Finally, the mismatched couple’s priorities line up.

Love bites: Well, that cancer was always going to come back to bite them in the arse, wasn’t it? Sob.

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The Doctor and Rose – Doctor Who

 

Purists may object to any suggestion of romance in the TARDIS, but when the ever-flirtatious Billie Piper generated some serious chemistry with Christopher Eccleston and later David Tennant, an unspoken love between the two time-travellers became inevitable, even though they never acted on it. But hey, at least now you know what to give the girl who has everything: a clone of yourself.

Love is a many splendored thing: Separated from her Doctor for years on an alternate Earth, Rose claws her way back to him just in time to help save his universe from destruction. Unfortunately, their joyous reunion was cut short by a rogue Dalek.

Love bites: The two say a tearful goodbye at Bad Wolf Bay. Twice.

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Zoe and Wash – Firefly/Serenity

 

Most classic romances tend to be ones where the couple spend pages, hours and even years dancing around each other, falling in love bit by bit. It’s rare that a couple arrive on our screens already happily married – and stay that way. But that’s how the good ship Serenity’s tough first officer and eccentric pilot were, right ‘til the end. You might have been rooting for Mal and Inara, or hoping that Simon would finally notice Kaylee, but Zoe and Wash were the ordinary, devoted couple you loved.

Love is a many splendored thing: Zoe has no trouble choosing between her captain and her husband when the two of them are captured.

Love bites: In one of the cruellest moments in Joss Whedon’s writing career, it turns out that Wash isn’t a leaf on the wind.

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Arthur and Guinevere – Merlin

Here’s a couple that have been around for even longer – and in even more incarnations – than Clark and Lois. You might argue that the real key relationship in Merlin is the bromance between Merlin and Arthur, but the relationship between Gwen and Arthur has been a slow burn, leading to some of the most effecting and grown-up storylines in the series’ history as they try to salvage their relationship in the face of huge betrayal.

Love is a many splendored thing: Gwen finally takes her place as Queen Guinevere at the end of series four.

Love bites: Just when you think the series is going to go for a kiddiefied cop-out, Arthur walks in on Gwen and Lancelot in a passionate embrace. That’s got to sting.

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Fry and Leela – Futurama

Hopeless slacker Fry and ass-kicking cyclops Leela are one of the most unlikely pairings on this list. Their slow-building relationship is surely proof that if you like someone enough, and pester them often, and find opportunities to occasionally reveal your sweeter, sincere nature, then you will eventually win them over. It just might take quite a few series’ and a cancellation hiatus.

Love is a many splendored thing: Facing death, Leela finally kisses Fry.

Love bites: Leela finally falls in love with Fry only to discover that his new, mature personality is the result of a bad case of worms.

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Willow and Tara – Buffy the Vampire Slayer

US network TV has never had a good track record for realistic, subtle gay relationships. Generally speaking, they’re either used for titillation or they just don’t exist. But when Willow fell for fellow wicca Tara there was no sensationalism about it, no clichéd coming-out drama – it was merely portrayed as an organic development in their friendship. As a result, it remains one of the best gay relationships on American TV.

Love is a many splendored thing: When Tara’s turned insane by Glory, Willow stands by her lover and looks after her – until she gets her hands on Glory and kicks her ass, restoring Tara’s mind in the process.

Love bites: “Your shirt” Tara gasps, as blood from the bullet that kills her splatters all over Willow.

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Luke Cage and Jessica Jones – Marvel comics

These two are now Power Man and Power Woman, fighting alongside the Avengers and struggling to find childcare for their daughter. But they first got together back when Luke Cage was a Hero for Hire and Jessica was a damaged, hard-drinking private investigator with her own comic. Those early days of Jess and Luke’s messed-up relationship were the best, when a deep friendship and understanding gradually blossomed into something entirely unexpected.

Love is a many splendored thing: Jessica reveals that she wants their unplanned baby “very, very, very much” and Luke’s smile says it all.

Love bites: Jessica betrays her husband to keep her child safe when she signs up for the Superhuman Registration Act.

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And now it’s over to you – let us know your favourite genre romances in the Comments below or on Twitter @Starburst_Mag

These days you can’t throw a rock without it hitting a couple of characters celebrating their guy love. Female friendship always seems to get short shrift, but male friendship can be the stuff of legends. From Han and Chewie to Sam and Frodo, it’s always been a particularly prevalent trope in sci-fi and fantasy. So let’s look at the top five bromances to bring a tear to the eye in the world of sci-fi/fantasy TV.

Beware – here be spoilers…

Kirk and Spock

The granddaddy of TV bromances. Their mutual love and respect has survived cancellation, big-screen transfers, death, return and even reboot, and it all started on TV, way back in 1966 when Gene Roddenberry first thought to counter his gung-ho captain with a supremely logical first officer. McCoy turned this bromance into something of a (platonic) ménage a tois, but it was Kirk and Spock the audience really connected with, and their relationship continued being developed across the films, with Kirk’s reaction to Spock’s death providing one of the series’ few real emotional punches.

Subsequent Star Trek series’ attempted to capture the magic of Kirk and Spock, but only the Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio relationship of Geordie and Data came close in The Next Generation, and let’s be honest, Geordie wouldn’t have wailed anywhere near as iconically if Data had been killed by Khan.

Adama and Tigh

Continuing on the space-bromance theme, the rebooted Battlestar Galactica’s Adama and Tigh are clearly the second-best captain/first officer pairing on TV. The righteous and fiercely capable William Adama was lumbered with the gruff and largely useless Saul “I frakked up” Tigh as his second-in-command. For a long time, we were never quite sure why Adama didn’t just fire Tigh. But as the series went on we saw the real depth of brotherly love between the pair. Adama saved Tigh from alcoholism, and Tigh, in turn, is the most loyal officer an admiral could hope for.

In series four, Adama’s reaction to Tigh being revealed as a Cylon is just heartbreaking, but the two of them overcome it and when they stand side-by-side facing death at the end of The Oath, stopping the rebels from blowing up Roslin, we know that nothing, not even one of them being an amnesiac toaster, could possibly come between these two. That’s true guy love.

George and Mitchell

Being Human, we’re told, is about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost sharing a house. But we all know that it was really about a vampire and a werewolf saving each other with the power of friendship. Annie was just their beard.

When the series begins, George needs Mitchell more than Mitchell needs George. Mitchell is the chilled-out, charismatic one that brings some much-needed calm to the neurotic newly-lycanthropic George. He helps him come to terms with being a monster. But when Mitchell’s job is done and George is emotionally healed, it’s Mitchell who falls spectacularly off the deep end, giving into his vampire cravings and slaughtering train-loads of people, hiding his secret shame from George. But George, of course, knows. He’s always known, deep down. And in the end, through bucket-loads of tears, he saves his best friend the only way he can – with the business-end of a stake.

Sam and Dean

Supernatural’s Winchester’s are the only literally bromantic pair on this list, given that they are actually brothers (not that that stops slash fans’ minds from wandering…) The two of them have been through more hell together than anyone else on this list, and no-one cries in a manly fashion at the death of their hetero life partner quite as well as Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki (they should be good at it by now – they’ve had plenty of practice).

Sam and Dean are just as affecting when they’re joshing around with each other as when they are emoting furiously, and they have the sort of chemistry that keeps a largely unwatched (but excellent) show going for seven series. The addition of Castiel has changed their relationship slightly (you can’t help but feel Dean’s cheating on his brother with his new angel friend) and their best bromantic moments were in series 1-3, but you still root for these boys like no other pairing on TV right now.

Merlin and Arthur

It’s a well known fact that slash fans will ship just about any pairing, even ones that makes no sense (Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy – eh?) But in the case of Merlin’s leads, you can see their point. The growing fondness between this master and servant team has been absolutely lovely (in an awkward, very British, no-hugging kind of way). Nowhere else in TV has one character finally describing another as his “friend” been such an emotional pay-off.

Merlin gleefully teases the slash fans at times (series four even saw a trouserless tussle between the two of them) but the relationship between them is surprisingly affective. The pride and joy on Colin Morgan’s face as he yells “long live the king!” at Arthur’s coronation says more than any number of American talking-about-feelings scenes could. Increasingly, at its heart Merlin is more about male friendship than it is about Arthurian myth, which may just be why it’s actually picked up viewers year-on-year, bucking the trend that nearly all programmes suffer.

Trick or Treat, Starburst ghosts and ghoulies! Its that time of the year to have the shivers and scares sent through your spines!

As everyone loves a good horror film, here are ten obscure movies that will guarantee you laughs and nightmares. So, call your friends and loved ones, grab your beverages and pig snacks, turn out the lights and enjoy!

1. ICE CREAM MAN- Producer Ron Howard’s little brother, Clint who played Balok in the Star Trek episode, the Corbomite Maneuver, puts away the Tranya and turns in a great performance as Gregory; a demented, murdering ice cream man that turns naughty dogs and children into the flavor-of-the-day. Combined with the supporting cast of Olivia Hussey, Sandahl Bergman, David Naughton, David Warner, Jan Michael Vincent and Lee Majors II this is not one to be missed! One great moment is where the fat kid, Tuna (A kid with a pillow underneath his shirt, no less!) sees the ice cream man doing the bizarre, dance of the ice cream fairy late at night on his front lawn. When discovered by the little cherub, the irate Gregory screams at him; I’m gonna kill your mom and dad! When are you going to learn, you can’t run away from the ice cream man! Priceless!

2. THE PIT- This one has it all; subhuman, underground creatures, a demonic, talking teddy bear, ghosts and a 12 year old serial killer. Jamie Benjamin discovers a group of underground carnivorous, prehistoric creatures in a fissure in the woods he calls, tra-la-logs (Because he can’t read the word; troglodytes. Here’s a lesson for you kids; pay attention in class and study your math. It’s the key to the universe.). No one believes him, especially his parents who chalk it up to an overactive imagination. His hormones are kicking in and his interest in the female anatomy skyrockets. It doesn’t help that he has a sexy live-in, au pair to take care of him while his parents are gone too. To make matters worse, he’s bullied in school by all the kids. The only one who listens to him is his possessed teddy bear that gives him all the answers and not necessarily the rights ones. Of course, Jamie’s new found friends are hungry and what’s a 12 year old boy to do when he’s out of money and can’t buy meat from the butcher anymore? Feed the tra-la-logs mean people! Look for the scene where he tosses in a blind, wheelchair bound old lady who refers to him as a hippie and takes delight in riding her chair to victory after doing his dirty deed. The Halloween party scene is a stand out and shows how creepy Jamie really is.

3. ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE- A group of tourists on a yacht get lost in a storm and wash up on an uncharted island where a multinational medical research team has disappeared while conducting experiments on fungi. Soon, tensions mount with no hope of rescue and the group starts to turn against one another as supplies and water begin to dwindle with only the mushrooms on the island as a source of food. But, warned against eating them and surviving; what should they do? Atmospheric and surreal, this is one of Toho’s best horror movies ever made.

4. GOKE: BODY SNATCHER FROM HELL- One of the strangest Japanese horror films. An in-flight Air Japan plane is contacted by air traffic control saying that there is a bomb on board. To make matters worse, there’s also a hitman amongst them who just completed his latest assassination who’s on the run.  A UFO suddenly appears in the sky and disables one of the plane’s engines forcing it to crash on a remote island resembling a rock quarry. Here, blob-like alien parasites from the UFO who want to destroy the Earth infect some of the survivors through their brains turning them into vampires as those who are unaffected try to escape. Weird!

5. VIY- Made in Russian in 1967 and a remake version is slated for 2012, this film is a tour-de-force in the special effects category that still holds up 50 years later. A witchcraft vs. faith tale that has a novice monk who gets lost in the woods summoned to watch over a deceased witch woman in a locked barn for three nights as black magic nightmarish creatures crawl out of the woodwork and try to destroy his soul before the giant demon; the Viy comes for him. Slow in the beginning, but it’s worth the wait for the last half of the film.

6. BURIAL GROUND- this movie must be seen to be believed! When an archeologist invites three couples and a child (In actuality, adult actor Peter Bark as Michael. See the move and you’ll know why!) to his remote mansion to celebrate the discovery of an ancient stone with strange hieroglyphics on them. Unfortunately, he raises the dead and is killed as the rest of the group defends themselves against the vengeful creatures of the night. There is no shortage of blood and guts to satisfy the gorehounds in this film, but the truly bizarre moments belong to Michael and the underlying, creepy Oedipal complex with his mother.

7. CALTIKI-THE IMMORTAL MONSTER- Riccardo Freda started out directing this film, but left and Mario Bava took over. It has all the Bava trademarks that include moody lighting, graphic horror, tense moments and forced perspective in-camera effects. The movie’s an exciting hybrid of a Quatermass film and X-the Unknown. Archeologists in Mexico discover a blob-like creature that last appeared in conjunction with a comet that wiped out the entire Mayan civilization. The creature is destroyed by fire, but a greedy scientist gets part of his hand engulfed by a portion of blob. Severing a part of the monster, they’re able to save the man’s life, but at a cost to his sanity. A truly disturbing scene as doctors pull back the substance and only a skeletal portion of the man’s hand remains. This scene was actually cut from many American TV prints it was so graphic for its time. The blob begins to grow as the comet returns destroying everything in its path. Will mankind face extinction again?

8. CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN- A woman inherits a mansion, but is warned not to go into the woods at night for fear of the witch curse of La Llorona (The Crying Woman) who lures people to their deaths. Atmospheric and unnerving moments abound through this movie as it’s pure Gothic horror at its best that include rotting corpses, ghostly images and a malformed family member kept chained up in the attic!

9. CURSE OF THE DOLL PEOPLE(aka DEVIL DOLL MEN)- more Mexi-Monster madness! Four archeologists are cursed by a voodoo man for stealing a sacrificial idol and soon are being systemically killed one-by-one by murderous doll people with sharp, long needles they use to puncture the base of the brain. Those killed are turned into doll people themselves and set out to murder the rest of the group and their families. What really sets this film apart from the others is that the dolls are actually midgets wearing human masks from their past victims and their creepy movements when they walk. Guaranteed to give you nightmares!

10. INVISIBLE INVADERS- The film that inspired George A. Romero to make Night of the Living Dead. Directed by Eddie Cahn who gave us It! The Terror From Beyond Space! which along with Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires inspired Alien, the story begins as invisible aliens who have been on the moon for 20,000 years(!!!!) give the Earth people an ultimatum to surrender or be destroyed. An elderly scientist, his daughter, a wimpy scientist and no nonsense, man-of-action, John Agar are our only hope as the aliens inhabit the bodies of the recently deceased. Mostly shot on location at the famous Bronson Caves, this film has an eerie quality of mixing science fiction and horror together that works.