Sell us on your Top 10!

[Ash28M]

OK it's time to talk about are favourite horror films and why we love them.

List your top ten, and talk a little about what it is that makes each one worthy of being placed among the best the genre has to offer.

I'll start...


1. Carrie (1976)

From it's Oscar nominated Acting to it's symphony orchestra worthy Soundtrack, this film is just an amazing experience and talk about character development. I don't think I have had more sympathy for a character in any other film. You go though so many emotions while watching this film; Sadness, sympathy and anger on how they they treat Carrie too almost tear inducing joy on how Carrie felt at the prom, too creepiness and fear as Carrie enters her home as her mom awaits, Sure it has some wonky scenes i.e the fast forward scene and a couple of the John Travolta, Nancy Allen scenes but on the whole the film a masterpiece that puts you though the emotional ringer.

2. The Exorcist (1973)

May be the most perfect horror film ever made and a smack in the head compared to what main stream audiences where ready for back in "73. Deliberately paced, great acting and creepy as hell and just plain disturbing at times. Ask most people what the scariest film of all time is and more times then not this film will be at the tip of their tongue. Should definitely be on everyone's top ten list.


3. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

You can take two showers and then watch this in the most perfectly air conditioned room and you would still feel filthy, sweaty and creeped out. From it's documentary like feel to it's creepy sound effects. This one gets to the core of your worst fears and doesn't let go. It's sadistic unrelenting terror makes you think your doing something wrong just by watching it and that's great.

4. The Shining (1980)

The best ghost story put on film and another almost perfect move. Jack Nicholson give a performance for the ages though admittedly a bit over the top. Creepy imagery and probably the best cinematography I've scene for a film shot in 4:3. it also has great music and atmosphere. This film just has too many great scenes to list off and the addition of the maze was genius. Stephen King was so wrong about this one.

5. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

For a long time I just stopped watching horror films. I don't know if it's just because the 90's sucked bad or what. I saw a few trailers for this and It looked pretty cool, I checked out the web site and got even more interested. Well after I came out of the theatre after that midnight screening I was literally shaking with grittiness. I hadn't been this frightened by a film since I was a kid. I wanted ever night scene to end so I could have relief in the day time scenes. The acting was so believable and The ending was perfect. I actually locked my bedroom door that night because the Blair Witch was going to get me and I was 24 at the time!

6. The Evil Dead (1982)

This film is just insane. Could you pick a better scenario than being isolated in a cabin while the woods are alive possessed and out to inhabit your soul. The Atmosphere is thick and claustrophobic. Some of the effects towards the end needed some work but you don't care because the rest of the film is so well made that you have to buy into it. It's just a really original idea done masterfully.


7. Suspiria (1977)

The best example of capturing the feel of a nightmare and putting it on film. The Movie isn't about narrative or acting. It doesn't matter if it doesn't always make sense because dreams rarely make sense. It's an all out assault on the senses with it's vibrant colours, surreal atmosphere, pulse pounding music and amazingly violent death scenes that for some reason you could also describe as strangely beautiful. A quote I heard one time from John Carpenter summed this up very well. "The movie starts with a girl walking through an airport, it's raining there's creepy music playing in the background, Nothing much is happening but for some reason I'm scared as hell"

8. Black Christmas (1974)

Arguable the first and Best Slasher of all time. Not to mention the best Canadian Horror film ever made. There are at least 10 main characters in this film and they are all interesting. The acting is way above par for a slasher especially Olivia Hussey who screams towards the end of the film trying to get Phyll and Barb attention from downstairs always gives me goose bumps. A mysteriously deranged psychotic killer and masterfully done ambiguous ending makes this one a true classic.

9. Jaws (1975)

One of the best films ever made period. I was afraid to take a bath after I saw this for the first time. The three main characters are so perfectly developed not to mention the amazing chemistry between them, their Dialogue alone makes this a classic. Who cares if the shark doesn't always look real the suspense and tension was so masterfully done that Spielberg could have used a rubber ducky and we still would have bought into it.

10. Alien (1979)

Some claim this is a sci-fi film with horror elements. When I'll argue that it's a horror film that just happens to take place in Space. Claustrophobic beyond belief, well developed characters, Great visuals and attention to detail that makes every part of the ship interesting to look at. The films builds up perfecting until the tension reaches it climax during the count down. When it's all said and done it's the best best sci-fi horror ever made IMO.

[KR~!]

If they were my favorites then why would I want to sell them?

[speanroc]

no need to sell the fact that these r my favorite , they r my favorite cause i say so.......

1-friday the 13th
2-friday the 13th part 2
3-last house on the left
4-island of death
5-scalps
6-chooper
7-i drink your blood
8-carnival of blood
9-evil dead
10-jaws

Yeah, I don't feel any reason to explain why these are my favorites. They're my favorites because I feel they are better than any other horror film out there.

01. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
02. Carrie (1976)
03. Last House on the Left (1972)
04. Don't Look Now (1973)
05. The Wicker Man (1972)
06. Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
07. The Stepford Wives (1975)
08. Deep Red (1975)
09. Videodrome (1982)
10. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

This list will probably change, but #1 and #2 will always remain the same.

[Ash28M]

Originally Posted by speanroc

no need to sell the fact that these r my favorite , they r my favorite cause i say so.......

1-friday the 13th
2-friday the 13th part 2
3-last house on the left
4-island of death
5-scalps
6-chooper
7-i drink your blood
8-carnival of blood
9-evil dead
10-jaws

That's too bad. That's an interesting list. it would be nice to hear how you became so fond if some of those.

[Spitfire]

01. Suspiria
02. Dawn of the Dead
03. Jeepers Creepers
04. The Thing
05. Tenebre
06. Night of the Living Dead
07. Friday the 13th: The Series.
08. Day of the Dead
09. Halloween
10. Wrong Turn

Suspiria is the movie that has always, till this day remained as my true Masterpiece of Horror; great suspense, beautifuly shot, colors, music, and heart-stopping kills. Argento's Horror Cinema Cannon.

Dawn of the Dead - Extended, to me, is the best zombie movie I've ever seen. Though Romero still hit gold with his other sequels and his first, of course.

The Thing is just a classic. Has the best replay of all of the movies listed and is a timeless classic. Carpenter has a lot of great films, but this one is my favorite from him.

Tenebre was the first giallo I ever saw. I was hooked on Argento ever since. I retraced all of his movies in all types of orders after that. The Goblins score along with Argento's stylish approach made this movie a top-level film for me. One of my all time favorites.

Jeepers Creepers was a movie that brought me back to Horror when it came out. It felt old-school, like the films of the 80's and was intensely creepy. The Creeper is one of the most original killers to be unveiled in a while.

Wrong Turn is another movie that I love. The setting is perfect; woods. The killers are awesome; cannibals that stalk and hunt you down. Great Pacing, loved it!

[_pi_]

It's almost impossible for me to do a list like this ... it just makes my head hurt! But I do enjoy looking over your lists, so keep 'em comin'!

[maskull]

1. Jaws

This movie scared the hell out of me as a kid and to this day makes me fear swimming in oceans. Great acting and it features one of the scariest story-telling moments in all movies. Ever. Not only my favourite horror film, one of my favourite movies of all time. Plus I have a fascination with sharks.

2. An American Werewolf In London

The opening scenes on the moors remains one of the scariest moments in horror history for me. Nice mix of humour and down right scares, not to mention a truly messed up dream sequence. Also werewolves are my favourite horror monster (next to sharks of course).

3. Black Christmas

The phone calls are creepy as hell, pretty much any scene with "Billy" in is a perfect scene of creepy terror. Throw in some nice humorous touches and great performances from the entire cast, especially Olivia Hussey, and you have a movie I can watch over and over without ever losing it's scares.

4. Friday The 13th (The complete series)

I love all of them. Just fun movies with inventive kills, lots of nudity, and an awesome camp in the middle of the woods setting. I've watched every movie in the series more times than I can count and will never stop watching them.

5. Ginger Snaps 2

As much as I loved the original, the sequel has taken over my love. The addition of the creepy little girl Ghost and a horny werewolf, plus retaining the sick humour of the first made a perfect mix. Plus Emily Perkins' performance is just perfect. My only minor complaint is that there's not enough Katharine Isabelle in this one, but when she does show up she steals the scenes, plus she and Perkins have such a great onscreen chemistry with each other.
Oh yeah, I may have mentioned this but I love werewolf movies.

6. Alien

Atmosphere, chest bursting, claustrophobia, and truly terrifying monsters, not to mention a dream cast....need I say more???

7. The Eye

This one just creeped me out from start to finish. And what a Hellish finish it was!!! The best of the Asian horrors, which is really saying something.

8. Fright Night

Somehow mixes camp with true scares and intentional humour. Great performances from everyone and the best vampire flick. Plus it has the nostalgia thing going for me.

9. My Bloody Valentine

I've never seen the uncut version of this film and yet I just love it. Sure a lot of it has to do with nostalgia, but the killer looks awesome, the mine setting is great, and there's copious amounts of Moosehead beer on display. Hell I even love the name of the movie.

10. Ravenous (1999)

Best score for a movie ever!! Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle...both great actors with a perfect chemistry in this flick. The movie is fast paced, is gleefully (pitch)black humoured and has plenty of truly disturbing scenes. Sometimes it's hard to put into words why I love this movie so much, but I really, really do.

Mentions to: Open Water (may have scared me even more than Jaws especially on the big screen), May (Angela Bettis!!!), Dog Soldiers (Brit werewolves!), Ginger Snaps (Isabelle and Perkins plus a nice mix of horror and humour), Halloween (the score and a scary-ass killer), Near Dark (well thought out and performed vampire flick. Beautiful to look at as well)....

[JeffCostello]

These are my (very subjective) choices:

1. Dawn of the Dead - No need explaining.

2. Phenomena - My favourite Argento, I love the setting, the dream - like atmosphere and Jennifer Connelly.

3. Evil Dead 2 - Perfect mixture of fun & gore.

4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - This one had such an impact on me like no other horror movie had (and will have) - absolutely disturbing.

5. A Nightmare on Elm Street - Nostalgia.

6. Deep Red - THE perfect giallo.

7. Black Christmas - Groundbreaking.

8. Halloween - Almost (and only almost) as groundbreaking as BC

9. The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh - This one stands for about fifty other giallos (non Argento), just couldn't decide which one to pick.

10. Dellamorte Dellamore - My favourite "recent" horror film (and it's also already 12 years old).

I wont list my personal favorites, but I will list what I believe to be the top 10 best ever.

1. The Exorcist
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
3. Halloween
4. Night of the Living Dead
5. Dawn of the Dead
6. Suspiria
7. King Kong
8. Frankenstein
9. Dracula
10. The Phantom of the Opera

[maskull]

If i made a list of what I thought were the ten best horror movies of all time, it would be quite different from my faves list....

[KillerCannabis]

Without explanations (because I'm lazy):

1. The Thing
2. Re-Animator
3. Evil Dead II
4. Friday the 13th part 3
5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
6. Day Of The Dead
7. Phantasm
8. Halloween
9. American Psycho
10. The Bird With The Crystal Plumage

[walkingdude]

This is really a hard thing to do.I basically had to pick out about 30 of my favorites and eliminate them down to ten.

1. Dawn of the dead
2. Day of the Dead
3. Evil Dead
4. Return of the Living Dead
5. Sleepaway Camp
6. Beyond the Darkness
7. Hell of the Living Dead
8. Night of the Demons
9. Slaughter High
10. Rabid

I had to leave out some great movies and I think if I did this again at a later time the order might be different.

[MorallySound]

1. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
2. The Devil's Rejects (2005)
3. Martin (1977)
4. Maniac (1980)
5. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
6. Basket Case (1982)
7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
8. The Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
9. Poltergeist (1982)
10. American Psycho (2000)

This list is never the same, except for the top 5. The last 5 vary from time to time, and change up constantly. But this is how I feel about these movies right now.

[Ash28M]

Originally Posted by maskull

If i made a list of what I thought were the ten best horror movies of all time, it would be quite different from my faves list....

Actually come to think of it. I don't think mine would change much if it all.
Well Possibly the order.