DARKNESS AND LIGHT

HORROR FILMS ON A SLIDING SCALE FROM PITCH-BLACK TO SUPER-BRIGHT

DARKESTNIGHT

30 Days Of Night (2007)

This movie takes place in Barrow, Alaska, one of the Northernmost communities on the planet (a real town, now renamed Utqiagvik) – where a full night lasts 30 days, making it the go-to vacation spot for photophobic vampires who fancy a long, leisurely meal picking off the locals. It’s a long haul ’til dawn.

DARKNIGHT

Halloween (1978)

In John Carpenter’s Halloween, the major lighting source seems to be Jack o’lanterns. The few daytime scenes are overcast (though the sun seems to set awfully late for October), and most of the film takes place over the night of the 31st, with shadows all the better for Michael to loom out of in his pale mask.

LIGHTESTNIGHT

The Wolf Man (1941)

Most werewolf movies feature a median of light and dark — since the monster is only active under the light of a full moon, the stalking scenes have to take place on clear, high-visibility nights. Lon Chaney Jr’s Larry Talbot all but bathes in pools of moonlight so you can see every individual yak hair glued to his face.

NOONDAYSUN

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1973)

Tobe Hooper’s horror classic features a few night-time chases, but mostly takes place in broad daylight under the sizzling Texas sun — which means the house decorated with body parts must smell worse than a dead armadillo. That sickly yellow glare makes it harder to look away from the horrors.

BRIGHTESTDAY

The Hideous Sun Demon (1958)

In scrambling to come up with a new idea for a monster, this brisk little creature-feature invents the reverse werewolf. Bruce Banner-type atomic research scientist Robert Clarke is exposed to radiation. He turns into a lizard-faced mutant maniac in direct sunlight but reverts to human form after dark. KIM NEWMAN