Grab the Popcorn! — The Halloween Files 4 (B1–B2)

THE HALLOWEEN FILES · LESSON 4 OF 4

Grab the Popcorn!

Tonight's programme: what makes a film scary, eight films to choose from, and your own Halloween film.

Odd One Out

GROUPS

In your group, choose the odd one out in each set and say why. There's more than one right answer. Find the most surprising reason you can.

1

a vampire · a witch · a zombie · a ghost

2

popcorn · a blanket · a friend · the lights off

3

a creaking door · a scream · total silence · a heartbeat

4

the cinema · your sofa · a laptop in bed · a phone on the bus

What Makes a Film Scary?

ON YOUR OWN, THEN WHOLE GROUP

The bomb under the table

Alfred Hitchcock, the "Master of Suspense", had a famous example. Two people chat at a table. Suddenly, a bomb explodes. We jump, but only for a few seconds. Now show us the bomb under the table first, with a clock ticking. The same boring chat becomes unbearable. That feeling of waiting for something

terrible is suspense.

Boo!

A jump scare is a quiet moment followed by a sudden shock. One early example is in Cat People (1942). A woman walks home alone at night, sure that something is following her. Then a bus bursts into the scene with a loud hiss.

CONTINUED

Film-makers still call this trick "the Lewton bus", after the film's producer, Val Lewton.

Turn up the sound

When John Carpenter first showed Halloween without music, a film executive said it wasn't scary. So Carpenter wrote a simple, creepy piano tune himself. That soundtrack is now a horror classic.

What you don't see

While filming Jaws (1975), the mechanical shark kept breaking down. So Steven Spielberg showed it much less than he planned, and two low notes of music did the work instead. Our imagination is often scarier than anything on screen. The villain we never quite see can be the most frightening of all.

How Do They Scare Us?

GROUPS

In your group, discuss the questions. Then tell the class the best example your group found.

1. Which is worse for you: slow suspense or a sudden jump scare? Why?

2. Think of a scary film, series, game or story you know. Which trick does it use?

3. Can music make an ordinary scene frightening? Think of an example.

4. Why is a monster we can't see often scarier than one we can?

5. You're the director: how would you make a dark kitchen at midnight scary?

Become the Expert

PAIRS

In pairs, you are now the expert on one film. Prepare a one-minute talk for the class:

USEFUL PHRASES

• Without giving too much away, …

• If you like …, you'll love this.

• It's perfect for … / It's not for you if …

• On a scale of 1 to 5, it's a …

YOUR ONE-MINUTE TALK

• what it's about (no spoilers, no endings!)

• one surprising fact

• its scare level, and who should watch it

• would you watch it? Why or why not?

Film Cards: 1–4

PAIRS

In pairs, find your film. Prepare your one-minute talk (see the four points on the last slide).

1. Nosferatu (1922)

2. Halloween (1978)

Director: F. W. Murnau · Germany

A young estate agent travels to a lonely castle to sell a house to the strange Count Orlok.

Did you know? This silent film was an unofficial copy of Dracula. A court ordered every copy destroyed, but a few survived. There are two remakes (1979, 2024).

For: fans of old black-and-white classics

Director: John Carpenter · USA

Fifteen years after a terrible crime, a masked man escapes and returns to his small hometown on Halloween night.

Did you know? It cost only about $300,000 and led to more than ten sequels and remakes.

For: adults who love suspense

3. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

4. Hocus Pocus (1993)

Director: Henry Selick · USA

Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, is bored of scaring people, until he finds a door to Christmas Town.

Did you know? Many people think Tim Burton directed it. He created the story and produced it. It's stop-motion animation.

For: everyone (and it's a musical)

Director: Kenny Ortega · USA

In Salem, Massachusetts, a teenage boy accidentally brings three 300-year-old witches back to life on Halloween night.

Did you know? It came out in July and few people saw it. Years of TV showings made it a cult classic, and a sequel arrived in 2022.

For: families, and anyone who wants to laugh

Film Cards: 5–8

PAIRS

In pairs, find your film. Prepare your one-minute talk (see the four points two slides back).

5. Ring / Ringu (1998)

6. The Others (2001)

Director: Hideo Nakata · Japan (in Japanese)

A journalist hears a rumour about a strange videotape: anyone who watches it will die seven days later.

Did you know? Hollywood made a remake, The Ring, in 2002.

For: horror fans with strong nerves

Director: Alejandro Amenábar · Spain / USA (in English)

Jersey, 1945: a mother and her two children, who can't go into sunlight, live in a dark old house. Then three new servants arrive.

Did you know? Amenábar also wrote the music. The film is famous for its plot twist, so no spoilers!

For: teens and adults who like slow, quiet scares

7. Coraline (2009)

8. Train to Busan (2016)

Director: Henry Selick · USA

A girl moves to an old house and finds a small hidden door to a world where everything seems better.

Did you know? It's based on Neil Gaiman's 2002 book, and it's stop-motion too. Which other film on these cards did Selick direct?

For: older children and adults

Director: Yeon Sang-ho · South Korea (in Korean)

A busy father and his young daughter take the fast train from Seoul to Busan just as a zombie outbreak hits the country.

Did you know? It was first shown at midnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Over 10 million people saw it in Korean cinemas.

For: adults who like action and tension

Tell the Class

PAIRS

Pairs, present your film in one minute. Everyone else, write down:

WRITE DOWN

THEN VOTE

• the film you'd watch this weekend

• the film you'd never watch, not even for money

• With a show of hands: which film would the class choose for a film night?

Film Night Talk

GROUPS

In your group, discuss three or more questions. Find one thing you all agree on.

Some people love being scared. Others can't even watch a trailer.

1. Do you enjoy scary films, watch through your fingers, or avoid them completely?

2. What's the perfect film for a dark autumn evening with friends?

3. Which scary or spooky films does everyone know where you live?

4. Old black-and-white films or modern special effects: which frighten you more?

5. Should children watch scary films? From what age?

6. Cinema or sofa: where is a scary film better? Why?

Pitch Your Own Halloween Film

GROUPS

In your group, invent a Halloween film. Decide the six things below, then prepare a one-minute pitch for the class.

1. The title

2. Where and when it happens

3. The villain, or what is scary

4. Your best scare: suspense, a jump scare, a sound, or something we never see

5. The scare level (1–5) and who it's for

6. The story in one line (no ending: keep us guessing!)

USEFUL PHRASES

Imagine a … · It's a mix of … and … · The scariest moment is when … · You'll never look at a … the same way again.

Pitch and Vote

GROUPS

Each group pitches its film in one minute. Then vote in the chat: write a group number for each prize. You can't vote for your own group!

THE PRIZES

• The scariest film

• The funniest film

• The best film for families

• The film most likely to be a hit

Word harvest

suspense

jump scare

creepy

the worried, excited feeling of waiting for something bad to happen

soundtrack

a sudden shock in a film that makes you jump

strange and frightening in a quiet way

the music of a film

villain

silent film

remake

sequel

the bad character in a story

an old film with pictures but no spoken words

a new version of an older film

a film that continues the story of an earlier one

stop-motion

cult classic

plot twist

animation made by moving models a tiny bit for each photo

a film that a group of fans loves, often years after it came out

a big surprise in a story that changes everything

GROUPS

In your group, use four of these words to describe a film you love, or one you couldn't finish.

Homework

HOMEWORK

Each of you, write a short review (100–130 words) of a scary, spooky or Halloween film or series you know. It doesn't have to be on today's cards. Send it to your teacher, or bring it to the next class to share. (About 20–30 minutes.)

Include:

1. The title, the year (if you know it) and what it's about. No spoilers!

2. At least four words from today's Word harvest

3. What makes it scary (or not scary at all)

4. A scare level out of 5

5. A "For:" line saying who should watch it, like on the film cards

The Final Scene

Back to Set 3: a creaking door · a scream · total silence · a heartbeat. After today, which is the scariest sound, and why?

The Halloween Files: case closed. Tell the class one thing from the four lessons you'll tell someone this week.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · SKIP OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key

ODD ONE OUT possible answers; accept any good reason

Set 1: the witch (a living human, not a dead or undead creature) the ghost (no body) · the zombie (can't talk or think) · the vampire (has to drink blood; can't go out in daylight).

Set 2: the friend (the only living thing) the lights off (not something you bring) · popcorn (the only food).

Set 3: total silence (the only one that isn't a sound) the heartbeat (comes from inside you) · the scream (made by a person on purpose).

Set 4: the cinema (the only place you share with strangers / have to pay to enter) the phone on the bus (the only one outside, or the worst place for a scary film).