Too much homework to enjoy a Halloween movie? Get a scare and your next paper topic at the same time with one of the films below.

Biology, Education, Neuroscience: Re-Animator (1985)

Brilliant med student Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) disagrees with his professor's assertion that the brain stem can only survive an additional 6-to-12 minutes after death. So, assisted by a syringe full of glowing green re-agent and his long-suffering roommate Dan (Bruce Abbott), the young doctor-in-training decides to conduct some independent research on Miskatonic University's stash of cadavers, with predictably disastrous results. Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator (1985) is an over-the-top gory romp touching upon all the great collegian fears: losing your girlfriend, losing your student loans, losing your head.

Key Scene: Truly an anti-hero for the academic set, Herbert West becomes the first movie character to murder someone for being a good-for-nothing plagiarist.

Paper Topics: Scientific realism in modern-day cinema. Medical ethics.




Business, Economics, Sociology: They Live (1988)

There are plenty of movies which deal with class struggle issues, but John Carpenter's They Live (1988) was the first flick to make capitalism seem so. alien. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper displays his chops as a thespian (and some brutal wrasslin' moves to boot) as Nada, a blue-collar worker who discovers a pair of sunglasses which show the world as it really is: run by aliens conveniently disguised as upstanding members of upper-class society. They Live had a sci-fi take on the "exploitation of the masses" theme well before The Matrix did, and with considerably more chills and flannel.

Key Scene: The first time Nada puts on his shades. Not much subtlety here: a dollar bill morphs into a white sheet of paper which reads, "THIS IS YOUR GOD" and the bikini babe billboard advertising exotic vacations is really telling onlookers to "MARRY AND REPRODUCE. But it's a nifty moment, anyway.

Paper Topics: The American culture of acquisition. The role of money in society.




English, History, Theater Arts: Theatre of Blood (1973)

Arguably the greatest horror actor who ever lived, Vincent Price shines in what might be his greatest role ever as Shakespearean ham Edward Lionheart in Douglas Hickox's Theatre of Blood (1973). Sick of being spurned by his critics, Lionheart starts to dispose of the rude reviewers in a variety of ghastly ways straight out of the pages of the bard himself. Fun as hell, campy in the way only '70s B-movies are, and an excellent way to brush up on your important quotes and death scenes right before the big Shakespeare midterm.

Key Scene: One of the critics has two adorable poodles. In Titus Andronicus, Queen Tamora's two sons are killed, baked into a pie and fed to her. See where I'm going with this?

Paper Topics: Shakespearean adaptations. The bard as popular entertainer.




Fine Arts, Italian Studies, Music: Suspiria (1977)

Director Dario Argento is completely out of his mind. Case in point: The Italian gore-maestro's Suspiria (1977) was originally written as a story about little girls at a ballet school run by evil witches. When the studio balked at using minors in such a gruesome movie, Argento simply went with fully grown actresses, without changing any of the childish dialogue. A surrealist classic, the score alone will keep you shivering well into the night.

Key Scene: Any time that crazy "la la la la la la la" whispering theme by progressive rock band Goblin starts up. It's like a siren warning you of impending madness-maggots falling from the ceiling, rooms full of barbed wire coils, wounds dripping with blood that's tinted a shade of red not found in nature. Yeeech.

Paper Topics: The Italian giallo ("yellow," as in sensationalism) genre. Music as a means of evoking terror in horror cinema.