Predator (1987) Director: John McTiernan Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, Shane Black
Say what you will about '80s Arnie films but they perfectly encapsulate a time when action really meant action and the kill-count was never dialled down just to place 13 year-old bums on seats. Of all the Austrian Oak's 18-rated endeavours, Predator is without doubt the crowning achievement. Introducing one of the most iconic creatures in cinema, John McTiernan's tense tale is a glorious celebration of raw, untempered machismo. From the initial arm wrestle to the unveiling of the alien this is pure willy-waving from start to finish, not to mention one of the most quotable films of its decade.
Halloween (1978) Director: John Carpenter Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasance, Tony Moran, Charles Cyphers
John Carpenter's masterclass in stalk'n'slash may not be as original as we all think (it was prefigured by the late Bob Clark's Black Christmas), but it set the gold standard for exquisitely framed and soundtracked chills, and has yet to be surpassed. Despite its reputation, there's barely a drop of blood spilled onscreen, and the death scenes are relatively simple, but the real chill factor comes from Carpenter's masterful control of his widescreen compositions, his malevolent and oft-imitated soundtrack, and his creation, in the dead-eyed, semi-demonic Michael Myers, aka The Shape, of one of the great screen villains: cold, clinical, utterly unstoppable, the Boogeyman brought to life.
