Top 10 Horror Movies

[Edward M]

In the Halloween spirit, list some of your favorite horror films. I believe any film that you find scary or shocking is a horror film if that helps you narrow them down.

1. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane- one of my favorite films and one of the few films that truly scares me. The film has such a great character in Baby Jane. With a chilling performance by Bette Davis, it makes you both hate and pity her. One of my top 10 films and, by far, the best horror film I've seen.
2. The Thing (1982)- another one of my favorite films. It is a very suspenseful film with the best effects I've seen in a film. You can take Avatar or Transformers. I think that the practical are just fantastic along with the story. The plot gives a great set up for lots of suspense and surprises. In my top 25.
3. Silence of the Lambs- another chilling film with an amazing performance by Anthony Hopkins and many very intense and terrifying scenes. Just a great film.
4. Alien- a film that really knows how to keep a monster in the shadows which provides a very suspenseful film in return. Another great film.
5. Evil Dead II- this falls more under guilty pleasures, but this one is just so strangely hilarious and fun to watch. It is one of the most enjoyable films I've ever seen. A film I could just watch for days on end.
6. Psycho- it has been a long time since I've seen Psycho, but I remember loving the chilling portrayal of Norman Bates and the great twist.
7. The Shining- You can't go wrong with a Stanley Kubrick film, and this is no exception. It has a great story and tons of symbolism. Jack Nicholson is great, but Duvall almost ruins this film.
8. Halloween (1978)- a very creepy film with a great killer. I do like that Michael is just an evil person. It fits the movie well. It has some very memorable scenes and a surprisingly intense climax.
9. Scream- a great spoof of horror films in general that can dive into them and dissect them while still keeping the similar formula. I feel this film might be higher on the list had I not seen Scary Movie before this, which ruins the plot.
10. Blair Witch Project- this film shows that horror films don't need high budgets or lots of gory kills or even to show the villain in order to terrify the audience. Another one of the few films to scare me.

Honorable Mentions:
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Cabin in the Woods

 

[furie]

To be fair, I'm finding it hard to fault that list :lol:

Baby Jane though, I loved, but it's not quite "horror" enough for me to include. My Number 1 would be "In the mouth of madness", though that would put three John Carpenter films up there, but who cares - it's awesome

And Number 10 certainly wouldn't be BWP. I loved the tent scene and I can "appreciate" what the film was doing and stuff, but I just spent the entire film hoping and praying those annoying twats would be really, brutally tortured before being killed. A quick and simple death was too good for them - so annoying.

So for 10... Bad Taste probably, because it's hilarious and so utterly over the top - brilliant stuff.

 

[gavin]

^Baby Jane was sold as a horror movie when it came out though. Personally, I'd label it as a thriller, but when it was released it was basically an attempt to ride on the back of Psycho the year before, again, arguably a thriller these days.

Anyway, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane is the all time most amazing film ever, so it doesn't matter. As far as terrifying, psychotic performances go, it doesn't get much better than Bette Davis as Jane Hudson.

Since it's pretty a much a year to the day, I'm going to take this excuse to post this fab picture from last Ghosterforce, in loving memory of when people made an effort:

 

[rtotheizzo17]

Not a big horror movie buff. but in no order:

The Shining
Alien
Evil Dead
The Thing (orig)
The Ring
Halloween
Dont Look Under the Bed
The Exorcist
28 Days Later
30 Days of Night

 

[Nemesis of oblivion]

Well in no order, plus I'm just listing the series, not the individual films:

Saw
Nightmare on Elm Street
Friday the 13th
Halloween (original)
The Shining
Cabin In The Woods
Nightmare Before Christmas (sorta counts)
You're Next
Woman In Black
The Mummy (original)

I don't really watch a lot of horror. Still want to see the Chucky series though.

 

[Jason Voorhees]

^The Chucky series sucked. Especially that Chucky's Seed. Horror movies aren't supposed to make me laugh.

Anyway, I really like Children of The Corn. I dunno why though. I just. I also like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and if it counts as a horror movie, shoot me, but Freddy Vs. Jason. I never got the love for The Shining. And you can't forget the classics, so therefore I will put down Frankenstein.

I am not a fan of horror because most of the movies are just really cheesy and stupid to be honest.

 

[Intricks]

Hmmmmm....god knows Ive watched a decent amount of these, yet I really cant stand to list most of them as they dont really do much on the scaring end. Oh well, Ive bothered this far:

V/H/S (series...?) - While they had some bits that werent exactly horrifying in the manner that their genre is trying to show, a good few of the shorts made me get the chills (which is more than I can say about what the horror genre has been subjected to) and left me feeling unnerved. Good horror isnt always about scares, and those that go off in a different tangient are ones I tend to enjoy more.

Pulse (American vers, still have to watch the japanese version) - Just a creepy flick. Enjoyable.

The Good Sister (or whatever the damn title is. Tis the korean (i think) flick about the twins and the **** mother in that house which ends up being fake or something?) - So much wonder has never been left unanswered by a movie before. Not sure if it is cause I watched it while I was younger and didnt pay too much attention to it. Watch it and enjoy it I s'pose

Thankskilling/Poultrygeist - These movies are outright turd. They are so horrible, that I dont even know HOW they made it to this. They were entirely cliche and whatnot, but it was just good fun to watch them. A mockery of what the genre has come to I guess.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon - I cant believe I have forgotten everything about this movie til now. Its such wonderous fun to watch and makes all those old-school slasher flicks a bit more believeable with how everything is explained. I actually suggest you to go out and watch it no matter the manner.

Erm.....thats about it. I really cant stand too mich of todays horror genre as its nothing beyond gore-porn, and the old school movies are a bit too cheesy for me to find any proper kind of terror from it. Its why I believe the horror genre should be less about trying to gross you out with gratuitous amounts of blood or with "jump scares", and more about unnerving the viewer to their core. If I can watch it before bed and fall asleep directly afterwards (or worse, during), then the movie has not done its job. I will add more later, but these are the ones that popped up in my mind.

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[Mike]

I am not a fan of horror because most of the movies are just really cheesy and stupid to be honest.

Is that why you're named after a character in one? :?

 

[furie]

Erm.....thats about it. I really cant stand too mich of todays horror genre as its nothing beyond gore-porn, and the old school movies are a bit too cheesy for me to find any proper kind of terror from it. Its why I believe the horror genre should be less about trying to gross you out with gratuitous amounts of blood or with "jump scares", and more about unnerving the viewer to their core. If I can watch it before bed and fall asleep directly afterwards (or worse, during), then the movie has not done its job. I will add more later, but these are the ones that popped up in my mind.

Hmmmm... The clue is in the genre name though - horror.

Horror is "An intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust".

I think that horror films do cover all three bases, but they don't need to cover all three in the same film. When you enter the realms of "disgust", there's always going to be a comedic element there too if it doesn't shock (sometimes it can shock AND be disgusting AND be funny - See Bad Taste :lol: ).

Unless you are producing a really high quality film, that really gets the viewer believing in the characters, situations, etc - then you won't succeed with disgust.

Erm, examples.

Misery has the hobbling scene, which is utterly disgusting. The film really draws you in and you feel you're there while it's happening. Characters, story, acting - everything makes it very real. So when the "disgusting" hobbling scene happens, it's repulsive - not comedic.

If you take the Child's Play films, it's about a maniac doll imbibed with the soul of a killer. It's ridiculous. You can't believe in the concept because it's too ludicrous. So when somebody gets tabbed and it's "disgusting", it's also funny, because the concept is.

A lot of horror films are aware of how ridiculous they are, so they play on the disgust element to entertain. They also use the humour as a way of breaking tension - it's something people like. People like to have the time to acknowledge the film has caught them up and to give them some release. It's part of the charm of "cheesy horror".
s.
It doesn't mean that films like Child's Play don't also have fear and shock. You know that the character is "about to get it", and there's tension while you wait, and shock when it finally happens.

There's definitely a real effort required to produce a genuinely frightening horror film. You need fantastic writing, brilliant direction, a believable concept and top notch acting. They're very few and far between because it's rare people make such an effort for what is considered a cheesy genre.

It's even worse for a cynic like me, because I have to also overcome the fact I don't have any belief in the supernatural. So I tend to prefer clever horror, or horror for pure entertainment - where you don't need to believe in the situations, but can just have fun watching the film.

I think people often have too high expectations for horror films. In reality, there are very few genuinely scary ones out there.

I'd recommend The Haunting (the original black and white one) and The Others if you want films that really grab you and put you in the position of the protagonists.

For "gore" which is serious, Hellraiser and Hellbound have aged badly, but are superb; The Thing takes the crown though, superb film.

For things to do your nut in, try Videodrome or Freaks. Something where you'll maybe shudder because the worlds are so alien, yet so recognisable.

An American Werewolf in London carefully treads the line between fear, shock, disgust and comedy (probably the best example of a film that does). Also check out the original "dead trilogy" (Night of the living, dawn of the and day of the) - they also manage to capture the balance between horror and comedy.

 

[Intricks]

I know I am one that may have high expectations for horror, but it tends to get annoying to see nothing short of variations (almost identical) of movies that have come out though. After Saw came out, there has been a large influx of more and more gory death scenes that completely detract from what is happening. It would almost be like watching the Lost World where the fat, little bald one gets eaten by the T-Rex, except the T-Rex decides to chew on him for another 15 seconds. It detracts from the sudden scare that has just happened, and ruins the overall effect. It even ruins the movie as a whole to me, as I can expect every death scene to be like the previous one (Saw series): over the top in an attempt to make me squirm in my seat.

I do agree that horror is made up of those main 3 aspects; however, taking away one or two of them to focus solely on another does not equal a well made horror movie. I do believe they need all 3 to be done properly, with a proper score as well to actually help the viewers subconsciously make an association that they can then toy with as they please (something video games do quite well at times).

Simply put, Horror does not always necessitate an obscene amount of gore to make it good (which is how most of the newer movies in this genre are coming to be), bit rather something that draws the viewer in and plays with their emotions and perception of what is haopening around them. That is how I feel towards the genre, and while I fear it is still taking the gore-porn (easy) route, there are others out there that are trying to do things properly (VHS series and a few independent movies that I will list when I can remember them) and help make this genre lose the mainly cheesy tag.

 

[furie]

Horror has always had the films that rely purely on the gore, and always will. It's nothing new in the slightest, it goes way back to the origins of the genre. The only difference is what we class as acceptable "disgust" these days.

As with every genre, there are good examples and bad examples - the thing you need to do is find the good ones. Failing that, at least the ones which appeal to YOU

Avoiding any series is always a good start. I cant think of a single horror series which has gone beyond the second film and is still returning a decent experience.

I completely disagree that you need all three "parts" to make a good horror. The Haunting is full or terror, but it never shocks or is disgusting - but is one of the best films ever. The Others relies mostly of fear and tension - there are a few shocks, but mostly it's just terrifying. Bad Taste is pure disgust, from start to finish, but it's superb horror film and a classic of the [gore] genre.

To say Dawn of the Dead isn't horror because it never shocks or scares is nonsense. It the epitome of Zombie flicks, and an absolute and irrefutable horror. It's also completely and utterly awesome

 

[Intricks]

See, Zombie flicks do scare, just not in a typical sense. It shows us something to fear if it were to ever happen, so it plays on the unknown as well as giving us something to worry about. Not all scares need to be a "jumper", but could be something that just makes you chilled to the core.

I will need to check out the 3 movies you are talkin bout, as Im genuinely curious about them now.

Behind the Mask is a wonderful movie that inherently makes fun on the genre in a wonderfully deceitful manner.

Funny Games is one that is just outright disturbing on a very humane level. Not so scary as just plain **** up on how any one human being can do what happens in the movie and be so...emotionless...about it. This is one that if you havent watched, that I do suggest you look into furie. It may not be you exact cup of tea, but I think it may be one you would enjoy forwhat it offers.

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[LiveForTheLaunch]

Not in any order:

Paranormal Activity 1
The Shining
Blair Witch Project
The Exorcist
1408 (not site if it's really a horror though)
The Conjuring
Sixth Sense
Sleepaway Camp 2 and 3 simply for cheese and creativity
Misery

I know a lot of these probably classify as psychological thrillers and not necessarily horror but I prefer those over just constant gore because gore doesn't bother me.