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Since this is Halloween week I thought I'd write up a theme edition of my Watchlist column, discussing rental movie ideas related to the mood of the holiday. Now, typical Halloween recommendation lists will pull out your emeritus picks: Dracula, Wolfman, Mummy, and Frankenstein movies from early Hollywood, classic '60s/'70s frighteners: Psycho, Night of the Living Dead, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and The Shining; 80s slashers: Friday the 13th, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, and modern picks: Scream, Let the Right One In, Pan's Labyrinth, Shaun of the Dead, and The Cabin in the Woods. Those are all good picks, and ones that most people think of. Since I like to help shed light on lesser known titles, I thought I'd list my own moody movie list that is derived mostly from my movie viewing as a teenager in the 1980s. Now, some of the horror here may just be that they're torturous to watch, but I like to think of some of them as so bad they're good. Maybe they'll just jog the memory of fellow movie fans in my age group. Here are some offbeat movie ideas for Halloween:

The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Who: Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Munchkins, Witches, a Wizard, and some terrifying simian/avian hybrids.
What: The classic musical adventure based on L. Frank Baum's novels stars Judy Garland as Dorothy, the girl who gets knocked out during a tornado and dreams of a land filled with very strange characters.
Availability: DVD and online on demand
Why: This isn't a movie you typically find on "horror" lists, but indeed it was the first movie I remember that terrified me. First of all it's weird enough to wake up in a place like the land of Oz - if you were lucid enough to believe you weren't dreaming you'd probably start to panic on the assumption that you're suffering some stroke-induced brain damage with no decent healthcare provider in sight. And the Wicked Witch of the West presents herself as a very ugly, scary, and intimidating foe early on. But what terrified me was the moment in the latter half of the movie when the road trip buddies plan to enter the witch's castle at night. It taps into that fear I think all humans have - of entering the dark cave - and you had a bunch of chanting guards ("Oh-wee-oh-ohhh-oh") adding to the atmosphere that creates a sense that capture is inevitable. And then, those flying, screeching monkies. I don't know how anyone believes this is a movie that kids should see. But given the unsettling moments of it and the varied costumes, it's perfect for a Halloween movie.

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