What is the " Perfect Horror Film"

[Ash28M]

In another thread i mentioned that i felt the Exorcist is as close as we have ever come to seeing to perfect horror film and i saw it as the defining horror film of the last century. It's not my favourite horror film but that is just how much i respect it on a technical level.

What do you feel is the closest we have come to seeing "the perfect horror film" and remember I'm not asking what your favourite film is, just what you feel is technically the best.

[ekent]

either Night of the Living Dead or Evil Dead

[thrashard76]

Evil Dead or Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)

[Hellbilly]

Silence Of The Lambs ...

[b0nkers]

blair witch project.

made for little money, made millions. who cares if no1 liked it. Thats what its all about.

[Ash28M]

blair witch project.

made for little money, made millions. who cares if no1 liked it. Thats what its all about.

Some of us liked it.

http://horrordvds.com/vb3forum/showthread.php?t=15886

[mcchrist]

Haven't seen the "perfect horror film" yet, there are some better than others and some that rival the best films ever made, but none are perfect. The closest, in my mind, perhaps is Henry: POASK.

[hell ya!]

Dawn Of The Dead

[satanservant]

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is definitley the perfect horror film. No other movie compares in it's sheer terror alone. Any character could die at any time. There is no politically correct attitude to the film(even the guy in a wheelchair got it, if children were in it they would have gotten it too). The images last a lifetime and are still as brutal today as they were then. Nothing else comes close.

[KR~!]

http://www.xmission.com/~tyranist/horror/reviews/l/image/Leprechaun5.jpg

[Ash28M]

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is definitley the perfect horror film. No other movie compares in it's sheer terror alone. Any character could die at any time. There is no politically correct attitude to the film(even the guy in a wheelchair got it, if children were in it they would have gotten it too). The images last a lifetime and are still as brutal today as they were then. Nothing else comes close.

Can't argue with that it's definitely up there with a handful of greats.

[Dave]

There are lots, but I suppose every films has its faults. If I had to pick one, I'd say Return of the Living Dead 2.

[RyanPC]

I have to go with Dawn of the Dead on this one. Either that or Suspiria. I'm afraid if I say Carrie one more time, someone will slap me silly. ;)

[Grim]

I guess I'd go with Dawn of the Dead as well. The film perfectly combines a good plot, interesting characters, social commentary, graphic gore, and downright creepiness all in one film. The "comic book" look of the film also gives it a strange dreamlike look, especially with that ultra bright blood.

[onebyone]

Evil Dead, The Haunting, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre come to mind.

[Cujo108]

If I had to pick one, I'd say Return of the Living Dead 2.

I realize you like the film, but the perfect horror film?! Come on, the film is more of a comedy than horror, and its just so damn, I don't know, kiddie. That's the best word I can come up with to describe the feeling it gives me.

Anyways, naming the perfect horror film is damn tough. I guess I'd say The Blair Witch Project, as it is the perfect example of the terror of the unknown. Then again, Black Christmas with its scary as hell phone calls and equally brilliant use of the terror of the unknown or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and its sheer relentlessness and gritty atmosphere could take the title too.

[Coverdale]

Has anyone mentioned Halloween? Miles above its imitators.

[gloomy grrl]

The Changeling still gives me the willies... :eek1: ...there's nothing I don't love about this film!

[Sessler Mania]

I kind of agree with KR~! Lep in the Hood is probably the funniest horror film. For a serious horror film The Thing is about as close to perfect as I have seen.

[napalm68]

The Thing (the proper version (closest to the novella) by John Carpenter that is)

[Trucci]

Technically I would say Kubrick's Shining. His shots are so perfect.

[tyuun]

I'm going with Martin or maybe The Thing

[betterdan]

The Exorcist, TCM and Evil Dead in that order.

[indiephantom]

They've been said, and I agree with:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Shining
Carrie
Halloween

I will also add:

A Nightmare on Elm St.
Creepshow

[Dwhots]

Nosferatu, I Walk With a Zombie, Spiral Staircase, Black Sunday, Psycho, The Haunting, Night of the Living Dead, Suspiria, Halloween, Evil Dead, The Eye

[Latency]

Sleepy Hollow. Excellent acting, great score, amazing set designs, the perfect villan, and great camera work. Perfection :)

[Fumi]

Alien.

Great premise, marvelously executed, believable characters, well paced; I'm still not sick of it after god knows haw many viewings.

[rhett]

There are only a handful of horror films that I would consider "perfect," but if I had to pick one it would be HALLOWEEN. The visuals are masterful and haunting, the score perfect and the cast is a multitude of cult favorites all in their prime. The opening shot is one of the best pseudo singluar shots in horror history. HALLOWEEN epitomizes the perfect horror film because it breaks the story down to its basics: good vs. evil. It presents the fundamental conflict of all horror in such simple storytelling. It is infused with subtext though, and that is what keeps me coming back to it. Babysitter as surrogate mother, the evil lurking behind picket fences and tire swings, the film brat nostalgia (literally through THE THING and implied with PSYCHO), and the institution as true monster. HALLOWEEN is a movie that has all the requisites of a perfect horror film. And contrary to what other people say, I think every subsequent sequel and slasher film in general just helps reinforce how much more superior HALLOWEEN is to the rest of the pack.

[sumo8675309]

the perfect horror movie would have atmosphere ,mood ,great gore effects and a real good story with decent actors.

im gonna go with in the mouth of madness for my pick

[etale]

The original HAUNTING.

[MapleBob]

I think most horror films can only be perfect the first time you see them. Some just get under your skin and stay with you for days after. To be a near perfect horror film, a film has to get past the rational mind. It has to present the veneer of logical narrative while using music and subliminal cues to shape the emotions into a big stick to stir up the subconscous mind.

Last time I saw the Exorcist when it was rereleased in 2000 it was still very scary and I realized while watching it that the narrative didn't make a whole lot of sense but they covered it up with creepy music and fake logic so they make you believe a troubled little girl has a demonic spirit living in her.

Other movies that I find near perfect are Alucarda, Possesion, Suspiria, House by the Cemetary, and probably more then I can remember right now. Oh yeah, Day of the Dead, House of 1000 Corpses, TCM, and others.

[etale]

Nosferatu, I Walk With a Zombie, Spiral Staircase, Black Sunday, Psycho, The Haunting, Night of the Living Dead, Suspiria, Halloween, Evil Dead, The Eye

Which version of the following?:

NOSFERATU
BLACK SUNDAY
PSYCHO
THE HAUNTING
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

I prefer the original of all of them (Though BLACK SUNDAY was not a remake), even if the script for the remake of NOTLD was better.

[DeathSquad]

Potergeist
Night Of The Living Dead
The Shinning

[Loomis]

I think most horror films can only be perfect the first time you see them. Some just get under your skin and stay with you for days after. To be a near perfect horror film, a film has to get past the rational mind. It has to present the veneer of logical narrative while using music and subliminal cues to shape the emotions into a big stick to stir up the subconscous mind.

I would agree with that. Many a horror film is great the first time you see it, but what seemed terrifying teh first time around may seem less so later. So yeah, those films that manage to tap into something that you can never feel comfortable watching.
Nightmare on Elm Street was diluted by the sequels (I have been watching the box recently) , but there is still something creepy about the idea of being attacked in your dreams.
Texas Chain Saw Massacre (the original) still creeps me out. That one scene stays with me - when Leatherface grabs the girl, pulls her behind the door and it slams shut. I didn't move for minutes.
I also find clowns scary, filmed or not.

But for me, the perfect ones are ones that you can watch over and over, and get to know and love the characters. Halloween, Evil Dead series, the Nightmare films, Re-Animator...just that sense of familiar.

Ok, I'll stop talking out my arse now...

[Dwhots]

Which version of the following?:

NOSFERATU
BLACK SUNDAY
PSYCHO
THE HAUNTING
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

I prefer the original of all of them (Though BLACK SUNDAY was not a remake), even if the script for the remake of NOTLD was better.

All the originals of course, although the imagery in the Nosferatu remake were simply amazing.

[etale]

All the originals of course, although the imagery in the Nosferatu remake were simply amazing.

So true!
I was awestruck with the imagery.
That's one remake that I enjoy.
One of the few.