Frightening flicks — Hollywood happy to oblige with Halloween jolts

Ah, Halloween! What better time of year than the month of October to be scared out of your wits in a darkened movie theater?

And Hollywood is definitely trying to scare us.

This month we'll see the release of the vampire thriller "30 Days of Night" (Oct. 19), based on the popular comic book mini-series, and yet another gruesome "Saw" movie, number "IV" (Oct. 26).

There are also a few other horror films still lingering in theaters, including Rob Zombie's remake of "Halloween," the paranoia sci-fi/thriller "The Invasion" (a remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers") and the video game-inspired "Resident Evil: Extinction."

The downside is, of course, that each is rated R, which is enough to make you say boo for an entirely different reason.

But there are at least a couple of PG-rated alternatives: "Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour," an independent release scheduled for Oct. 19, the same day Disney is re-releasing the 1993 animated musical "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" — in the Disney Digital 3D format in some theaters.

Meanwhile, the Organ Loft continues its annual tradition of showing of the 1925 silent classic "Phantom of the Opera" starring the Man of a Thousand Faces, Lon Chaney. Organist Blaine Gale will provide live musical accompaniment for film, which will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24-26, 29 and 30 (485-9265, www.organloftslc.com).

For those who would rather watch at home, there are a couple of notable new DVD releases to consider— John Carpenter's classic 1978 "Halloween" and the PG-13 horror hit "1408," based on a Stephen King short story.

Here are some other movie alternatives scheduled throughout October:

• THE PARK CITY FILM SERIES (www.parkcityfilmseries.com) is featuring a double-bill of the Russian-made horror-fantasies "Night Watch" and "Day Watch," based on novels by Sergei Lukyanenko (Oct. 26-28, 6 and 8 p.m., respectively, Jim Santy Auditorium of the Park City Library, 1255 Park Ave).

• THE SCERA, 745 S. State, Orem (www.scera.org, 801-225-2787), is showing something a little less threatening, a 1989 animated musical version of Roald Dahl's "The Big Friendly Giant," starting Oct. 22, on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays for two weeks, 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. matinees Saturdays).

• CINEMARK 24 AT JORDAN LANDING on Oct. 30 will be hosting one-night-only screenings of a double-bill, "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" (1988) and "Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers" (1989).