Favourite Horror Movies

[Marq]

I've never made shy the fact that I love lists, and with this being the Halloween season, there's no better time to post a list of ones favourite horror films. This might have been done before, but nothing beats a nice new thread... list as many as you like. I've started with 15, but I'll gradually be adding more.

A note: I considered making subsections for this lists with categories like psychological horror, comedic horror, slasher films, etc, but I figured I'd just throw them all into one giant list (however, I have decided to eliminate the areas of “real-horror” [ala Irreversible or Straw Dogs] and “pure suspense” [ala Sleeping with the Enemy or something].
I have by no means seen enough horror films to accurately proclaim this is a penultimate list, but here's my own humble little list with unique links to follow and oh-so insightful one sentence reviews:


Marq's Favourite Horror Films
(will be constantly edited and added to)

01. Psycho (1960, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
A perfect horror movie that gets everything right from characters to style and impact.

02. Mulholland Dr. (2001, dir. David Lynch)
Haunting imagery, unbearable tension and masterful directing all create a truly horrifying mystery.

03. The Shining (1980, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
The best pure horror film (in the sense most identify the genre) ever made.

04. The Evil Dead (1981, dir. Sam Raimi)
The only part of the series I like, and it’s the most fun horror movie out there with its gore and “stingers”. Probably my most-watched horror movie.

05. Jacob’s Ladder (1990, dir. Adrian Lyne)
Every frame in the film is perfectly composed and the story so layered and frightening in its build, with the dream and death theme never having been better explored.

06. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, dir. Tobe Hooper)
The grittiness from the filmmakers and pure fear from the actors create completely original scares.

07. Don’t Look Now (1973, dir. Nicolas Roeg)
Very comparable to (though it came before) Mulholland Dr. and Jacob’s Ladder in its brilliant combination of gorgeous yet haunting style with complex and frightening storytelling.

08. Dawn of the Dead (1978, dir. George A. Romero)
Not only the greatest zombie film ever, but some of the wildest gore, music and

09. Rosemary’s Baby (1968, dir. Roman Polanski)
A masterpiece in subtlety and effective horror and a perfect film in every regard.

10. Halloween (1978, dir. John Carpenter)
The originator (along with Psycho) of what most people associate a horror film to be is great for scares and fun.

11. The Exorcist (1973, dir. William Friedkin)
Be it the original cut of the re-released version, few films capture realistic scares like this film, where cinematic style, storytelling and its overall theme all deliver the terror.

12. The Blair Witch Project (1999, dir. Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick)
Few modern films attain the intensity and engrain the fear of the unknown that this (now criminally under-appreciated) film does through its unnerving atmosphere and filming method.

13. Dead Ringers (1988, dir. David Cronenberg)
.Cronenberg's masterpiece. Like "Crash" it's a culmination of all his themes - anatomy, merging humans and technology, all to perfect a tone with a mood of great dread and instability creating brutally honest horror.

14. Night of the Living Dead (1968, dir. George A. Romero)
Like the sequel Dawn of the Dead, the message is just as powerful as the zombies are both fun and surreal, but the no-budget qualities keep its uneasy effect constant.

15. Videodrome (1983, dir. David Cronenberg)
Another great mind-fuck from my favourite Canadian director, with the terrors of the media and technological determinism reinforced through great horror imagery.

16. Carrie (1976, dir. Brian De Palma)
De Palma at his best; horror in all its 70s glory.

17. Spider (2003, dir. David Cronenberg)
Probably on the fringes of “horror”, but every Cronenberg film qualifies, with this being a masterwork in studying the mind and horrors within it. But aren't all his films?

18. Suspiria (1977, dir. Dario Argento)
The second film about evil witches, after Rosemary’s Baby (neither of which really shows what one predicts witches to be like), to make my list, it’s an exercise in pure style and mood to brilliant lurid effect.

19. Candyman (1992, dir. Bernard Rose)
The use of the urban legend (and an actual urban setting) helps to create one of the best horror films of the 90s that genuinely scares you throughout.

20. Repulsion (1965, dir. Roman Polanski)
More psychological horror, and perfectly executed in its story of paranoia and eventual madness all told through gorgeous black and white photography and very little dialogue. Extra points for the sexual repression theme.

21. Lost Highway (1997, dir. David Lynch)
I consider Blue Velvet a better film, but less in the horror genre. This film uses the usual Lynchian tactics of frightening imagery and dream-like storytelling, making everything all the more strange and uneasy - so complicated and so scary.

22. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986, dir. John McNaughton)
Brutal in its realistic portrayal/ study of a serial killer. It doesn't hold back AT ALL which makes it truly scary and I doubt there will ever be another effective film to deal with the subject as this one does.

23. Alien (1979, dir. Ridley Scott)
My favourite Scott film with some of the best sets I've ever seen and a fantastic mood with a perfect "big-bad".

24. May (2003, dir. Lucky McKee)
The best "straight-up" or "traditional" horror movie for the 2000's. Yet still highly original in it's examination of a disturbing woman's decent into madness.

25. Se7en (1995, dir. David Fincher)
Probably the most borderline of the titles on my list (along with Jaws perhaps) in that it is just as much a crime thriller as a horror picture, yet I feel it delivers on its scares and certainly has the great look and atmosphere of any great horror movie.

26. Jaws (1975, dir. Steven Spielberg)
I don't like much of Spielberg's work, but this film perfectly builds the tension and places the horror (/action) movie out in open-air and bright sunlight for a nice change that works perfectly, with the help some of the best characters and dialogue. ...too bad it started the blockbuster mentality that dominates popular ciname today

27. Ginger Snaps (2001, dir. John Fawcett)
Very refreshing modern monster-horror done in great style and an especially fun and frightening script. The first sequel is also worth seeing.

28. Last House on the Left (1972, dir. Wes Craven)
While hard to consider a "favourite", I certainly admire this the most out of Craven's films. A great combination of over-the-top and below-the-belt.

29. Peeping Tom (1960, dir. Michael Powell)
Great film focussing on voyeurism gone waaaay too far. Beautiful colour imagery is a perfect companion to 1960s other great horror film (see choice # 01.)

30. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992, dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
They don't get much more stylish and exciting than this. Actually, I suppose they do, but that this is based on the greatest horror story and legend of them all only adds to its effectiveness.

[larphillips]

THE EXORCIST

Then:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Shining
Psycho
Jaws
Dawn Of The Dead
Hellraiser
Silence Of The Lambs
The Omen
Susperia

[Surf Monkey]

Wow. Tough one. I can't really rank them one to ten right now but here are ten of my all time favorites in no particular order:

Psycho
Lost Highway
Dawn of the Dead
Alien
Jaws
Night of the Living Dead
The Evil Dead
Frenzy
Frankenstein
The Exorcist

[UserNameUndecided]

I've never thought of Mulholland Dr being any sort of horror, but I do like it!

My small simple list would probably be:

Dawn of the Dead (has one of the greatest film scores ever for one thing)
Suspiria (great mood movie. more fantastic music from Goblin)
Tod Browning's Freaks (not really scary. just classic.)
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2 (both great films in their different ways. I like Army of Darkness but not as much as these two, and I can't really even put it in this category)
Halloween (just a great slasher film)
Night of the Living Dead (not quite as fun or re-watchable as Dawn IMO but it's still a great horror film)
Cannibal Holocaust (kind of silly, but it has one of my favorite horror scores and it is quite entertaining)

Maybe some more later.

[lostwire]

In no particular order (well, aside from alphabetical):

The Abominable Dr. Phibes
The Birds
The Blob
Blood Feast
The Bride of Frankenstein
Color Me Blood Red
Dr. Phibes Rises Again
Dracula
Eraserhead
Evil Dead
Frankenstein
Friday the 13th
The Hills Have Eyes
Halloween
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
House of Wax
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1978
Last House on the Left
The Mummy - 1932
Night of the Living Dead
Phantasm
Psycho
The Shining
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Two Thousand Maniacs!
White Zombie

[Inconceivable!]

Psycho
The Birds
Halloween
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
Army Of Darkness
Alien
The Thing From Another World (1951)
The Thing (1982)
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956)
Sleepy Hollow

[larphillips]

Marq,
BTW, that is so damn cool that you linked my stupid little EXORICST Yahoo Group in your post.
Thanks!!!

[SephirothClone]

Originally Posted by Marq

02. Mulholland Dr. (2001, dir. David Lynch)
Haunting imagery, unbearable tension and masterful directing all create a truly horrifying mystery.

Isnt that more of a thriller/suspense flick? I really couldnt find any horror or anything scary about it. To me it was mainly a suspensful mystery like "Rear Window" and "Se7en".

[Marq]

Originally Posted by SephirothClone

Isnt that more of a thriller/suspense flick? I really couldnt find any horror or anything scary about it. To me it was mainly a suspensful mystery like "Rear Window" and "Se7en".

It is pretty borderline, but I really thought there was some truly horrific imagery and stressful situations to merit inclusion.
As I metioned in the post, I wasn't planning to create sub-lists of the lists for films that are more psychological in their horror (hence the inclusion of Jacob's Ladder and Don't Look Now as well; and later on in the list I'll get to more along those lines like Lost Highway and The Silence of the Lambs. Se7en is really borderline, but I'm thinking I'll eventually list it too.
As great as Rear Window is I won't be listing it as I think it is purely suspense/ mystery with very little element of horror, I will however be considering The Birds and Frenzy from Hitchcock.

lar, no prob. I don't have too many Exorcist sites bookmarked, so I recalled your ever-present link in your sig.

[Surf Monkey]

Originally Posted by SephirothClone

Isnt that more of a thriller/suspense flick? I really couldnt find any horror or anything scary about it. To me it was mainly a suspensful mystery like "Rear Window" and "Se7en".

I consider most of Lynch's films to be horror flicks. They come right out of the dream world to freak your shite.

[downhuman]

Here you go, in no particular order:

A Nightmare on Elm Street--redefined the slasher genre.
Re-Animator--easily my newest favorite having just discovered it this year.
John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness--still the scariest movie about ol' Satan Clause
John Carpenter's The Thing--tied in running for best science fiction horror film of all time with my next choice...
Alien--unbelievably imaginative sci-fi horror. Set the standard pretty high and pretty much ruined the genre for everybody except Mr. Carpenter.
Poltergeist--still pretty scary, even today. Great SFX.
The Exorcist--gave me nightmares for a year.
The Evil Dead--low budget movie-making at it's best. If only every director started out this way.
The Blair Witch Project--love it or hate it, it showed that there was still some new ideas left for the horror genre. Inimitable in every way.
Halloween--If this doesn't make it into you DVD player at least once in October of every year, you're really fucking up.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre--right up there with The Evil Dead in terms of making effective horror with almost no money. If only that remake would go away.

I could name more but my dinner's ready.

[Oscar Antonio M]

Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn
Jaws
Lost Highway
The Silence of the Lambs
The Exorcist
The Birds
Alien

[MooglePorn]

It's funny because I don't own it, but I actually fucking LOVE In the Mouth of Madness... that's a damn nice horror movie.

Other than that, the standards... Halloween, Psycho, and a honorable mention to the not quite horror An American Werewolf in London...

[EnriqueH]

1) Jaws---Perfection. The trio of Scheider, Shaw and Dreyfus was awesome. The film is loaded with style, characterization, plot nuances and quoteable dialogue.

2) The Exorcist---Flawlessly acted with disturbing images and dialogue throughout. For sheer psychological terror, this is unmatched. Jaws may top this list and figure prominently in my top 10 favorite films of all time, but The Exorcist is infinitely scarier. I had a hard time placing this second since it's scarier, but the fact is that I can watch Jaws over and over. The Exoricst, I have to be in the mood for. Not because it's boring or anything, but because the subject matter is a bit too intense and unpleasant for everyday viewing, (my Catholic upbringing may have something to do with this).

3) Psycho---Not among the ones I'll watch repeatedly, but as a serious film? It's brilliantly realized.

4) Freddy vs. Jason---I had been talking about this movie since I was in the 7th grade in 1988. It turned out to be every bit as fun, exciting and funny. As a diehard Jason fan, I was a little disappointed that Kane Hodder didn't play Jason, but the movie was still a hell of a time.

5) Silence of the Lambs---Obviously, this is a better film than Freddy vs. Jason, but FvJ had more sentimental and popcorn value for me because I waited SO LONG for it to come out. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal represents one of the best fictional characters ever created.

6) The Thing---Not pleasant, but chockful of very memorable dialogue from Kurt Russell. "Yeah, f*ck you too!"

7) Halloween---The original slasher film, unless you count Psycho. Love John Carpenter's theme for this film.

8) Interview with the Vampire---Initially, I didn't like this film very much. But it's grown on me. I especially enjoyed Tom Cruise as Lestat and Antonio Banderas as Armand. Visually stunning film.

9) The Omen---Again, not one I'd see repeatedly. In fact, I've only seen it once. It's not exactly a pleasant film, but the acting, visuals, suspense and creepiness was the stuff of the best of horror.

10) Dracula (starring Jack Palance)---As much as I like vampires, none of the Dracula films have blown me away, except this one. I loved the Gothic look of the film. It helps that I saw it before Palance became a bit of a caricature in pop culture. I thought he made a very good Dracula---charismatic, eccentric without going over-the-top, sympathetic.

EnriqueH

[John Yaya]

on my relatively short list:

Halloween: This film still gives me the creeps after all these years..with nary a drop of blood... Michael strangles most of his victims. The Boogy Man sits atop on my list!!

Alien: Chilling to the bone...I can't wait to see the Director's Cut in the theaters!!!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Leatherface..talk about a misunderstood soul gruesome, twisted and disturbing...I totally agree with Chainsaw & Dave.. two thumbs up!

The Exorcist: Pea soup anyone? equally disturbing as TCM and unforgettable!

Rosemary's Baby: Just plain creepy man!!!

Poltergeist, Romero's Dead Trilogy & John Carpenter's The Thing round out my list

[Anti-Hero]

Dont really feel like goin into detail and explaining the reasons for which I love the following so heres the short list..

Dawn of the Dead
American Werewolf in London
Phantasm
Freddy Vs. Jason
The Evil Dead
Halloween
Nightmare on Elm Street
The Thing from Another World
Friday the 13th
Dracula
The Wolf Man
Creature From the Black Lagoon
The Fog

and many more..

[kimfair]

I love horror films far too much to list why, but here are some of my faves (I'm trying to stay away from SOME of those already listed!)

Bride of Frankenstein
Frankemstein 1931
The Phantom of the Opera 1925
Creature From the Black Lagoon
Hunchback of Notre Dame 1939
Freaks 1933
Evil Dead trilogy
Rabid Grannies
The Howling
American Werewolf in London
Werewolf of London
Brain Damage
THe Brood
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Castle Freak
Dagaon
Dawn of the Dead (and the other 2 as well)
Dog Soldiers
Fiend Without A Face
THe Fly (original and CRonenberg)
Idle Hands
I madman
Near Dark
Nosferatu (1922 and the Kinski version)
Re-Animator
Return of the Living Dead
Squirm
THem!
THe Giant Mantis
The Wicker ManDr. Jeykll and Mr. Hydr 1932 Fredrick March version
Hellraiser
Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers
Shivers and many, many more!

[lostwire]

Originally Posted by kimfair

I love horror films far too much to list why, but here are some of my faves (I'm trying to stay away from SOME of those already listed!)... Freaks 1933...

How could I have forgotten all about that classic?! Great flick! Has that ever been released on DVD? I'm looking over on Amazon & they list it as awaiting a release date.

[Dilmo]

My Top 5 Would Be:

1. Jaws
2. Alien
3. Halloween
4. Poltergeist
5. The Exorcist

[Tsargrad]

Event Horizon: May not come to mind initially when thinking of a horror film to watch, but this film is magnificent and is my favoured Horror Film (a genre I watch a fair bit of)

[Mister Zob]

Freaks (Tod Browning)
Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero)
The Shining (Stanley Kubrick)
Nosferatu (FW Murnau)
The Thing (John Carpenter)
Prince of Darkness (John Carpenter)
Halloween (John Carpenter)
The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi)
The Portrait of Dorian Gray (Albert Lewin)
The Haunting (Robert Wise)
Repulsion (Roman Polanski)
Alien (Ridley Scott)
Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale)
Braindead (Peter Jackson)
Videodrome (David Cronenberg)
Deep Red (Dario Argento)
Eyes Without a Face (Georges Franju)
Black Sabbath (Mario Bava)
Black Christmas (Bob Clark)
Dracula (Terence Fisher)

[lizardking]

Originally Posted by MooglePorn

It's funny because I don't own it, but I actually fucking LOVE In the Mouth of Madness... that's a damn nice horror movie.

Other than that, the standards... Halloween, Psycho, and a honorable mention to the not quite horror An American Werewolf in London...

Agreed, I don't own it yet, but In The Mouth Of Madness is one of my favorites.

[Riddick]

Way to go downhuman

Thats one of the best down and dirty analysis of a set of movies I've read in a while. . . especialy ,

Alien
Halloween
BlairWitch
The Thing (Carpenter)
The Exorcist

I agree 100%

[downhuman]

Originally Posted by Riddick

Way to go downhuman

Thats one of the best down and dirty analysis of a set of movies I've read in a while. . . especialy ,

Alien
Halloween
BlairWitch
The Thing (Carpenter)
The Exorcist

I agree 100%

Cheers, brother. Nothing beats great horror done right IMO. I still have a few I wanted to add but I'm a little pressed for time right now. Keep your eyes open for an additional list.

[incubus0]

Now we're talking! Let the Halloween spirit flow through you...

These are my favorites of the ones I would consider horror, not thriller like Jaws and The Silence of the Lambs, or action like Resident Evil, or even suspense like Signs, but pure horror flicks. In no particular order.

A Nightmare on Elm Street
The first time a saw this flick was at a Halloween party when I was around 13-14. Sitting on a couch with 3 chicks all holding onto me, good times, good times. By the end I had about 30 nail marks on my arms and legs. The idea of a guy that takes pleasure in (and draws power from) scaring you before he kills you, then give him the unlimited power of the dream world to come up with stuff, brilliant! The imagery, the subtlety, the film can still give me the creeps today.

Friday the 13th Part 2
Jason gets his feet wet. The campers, the 'breathing', the start of a franchise.

The Ring
If you can take the leap of disbelief about a videotape killing you, this is a really well done and creepy flick. It still gets to me every time I see it.

The Evil Dead
What a great flick. Not just the gore, but the way Raimi takes you on a little trip within a small cabin. The misdirection of who the hero is going to be was inspired. Then the demons running out of folks to mess with so they keep Ash alive and just torment him through the last part, share brilliance.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I still get freaked out when Grampa comes to dinner.

The Shining
Written by Stephen King, directed by Stanly Kubrick, how could you go wrong? A borderline horror, but the twins and the axe murder bring it home. The first time I saw this one was at age 9. My mom had taken my brother into the city to get something and the car broke down, so I was home alone and this came on TV. So there I was, 9 years old, by myself for the first time at night, pitch black house, and scared out of my mind. I loved every second of it.

[Istagi]

I am not a fan of horror films, I find slasher films particularly silly. I laughed untill I cried all the way through Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th. Not sure why I just thought they were more funny than scary.

My favorite "horror" films

Alien
Poltergeist
Exorcist
Shining

That is about it.

Blair Witch was good but I do not think it will lend well to repeat viewings

[incubus0]

Originally Posted by Marq

15. Spider (2003, dir. David Cronenberg)
Probably on the fringes of “horror”, but every Cronenberg film qualifies, with this being his masterwork in studying the mind and horrors within it.

Have you seen The Brood yet? I picked it up last week at Best Buy with the 3 for $20 deal blind and watched it last night. Since I already liked much of Cronenberg's stuff I gave it a shot. It was a pretty good horror flick that I'd never even heard of before. Starts off a bit slow but draws you in. The DVD had horrible sound though, the voice levels were very dull and kinda hard to hear at times, but worth it, the video was good. The ending was beautiful, worth every second of the build up.

[Marq]

Originally Posted by incubus0

Have you seen The Brood yet?

As a big Cronenberg fan I have indeed seen it and really liked it. I'm really wanting that DVD, yet for some reason it's impossible to find in my neck of the (Canadian) woods... how ironic when it involves Canada's best filmmaker.
Anyways, glad you enjoyed it too. I'll be getting the DVD whenever I can find it. Not sure where it ranks on my horror list, but it's it'll be on there somewhere eventually.

[mlemmond]

Marq - great list but I can't believe you left of Cronenberg's "The Fly" off of it as well as Carpenter's "The Thing". When I get a little break in the action here at work I'll make my list and post it, but great list.

[Monster]

for me some of them would be:
in no order...


Friday the 13th
Halloween
hellraiser
childsplay
nightmare on elm street
Poltergeist
Exorcist
Shining
evil dead
sleepaway camp
candyman
critters
any steven king movie....
witch board

etc etc

[manigrasso]

A lot of my favorites have been mentiones by others, but there was one I wanted to include. It's not particularly scary by most people's standards. In fact, it's kinda funny. But I have a fond place in my heart for the 80s crapfest Night of the Creeps. I genuinely like it a lot, because it did what Scream tried to do, and did it first, and IMHO, better. a postmodern film that paid homage to the genre by trying to include every sub genre OF that genre.

Aliens
Things taking over your body
Psycho Killers
AND Zombies
With a nod to horror flicks of the 50s and today (today being the 80s, when the movie was made)

How do they do this? A rogue alien unleashes sluglike creatures on Earth that get in your body, turn you into a walking zombie, then find a new host. Oh, and one of its victims includes the body of a former psyhcho killer that killed a girl back in the 50s. That girl's boyfriend grew up to become a grizzled suicidal cop who wants some kind of retribution for not stopping her murder all those years ago.

It's funny. The effects for the time and money aren't too shoddy, and if you catch it on television, there's an alternate ending. me likey

Oh, and this isn't a horror movie either, per se, but in the spirit of Halloween, howzabout props, both mad AND phat, for Rankin-Bass' Mad Monster Party?

[Marq]

Originally Posted by mlemmond

Marq - great list but I can't believe you left of Cronenberg's "The Fly" off of it as well as Carpenter's "The Thing". When I get a little break in the action here at work I'll make my list and post it, but great list.

I love The Fly. Trust me. It should crack the Top 50 for sure... . I'll keep updating my list.

Shall I set up the guillotine for my never having seen Carpenter's The Thing? One day I'll see it... Though I HAVE seen the original film by Howard Hawks for what it's worth.

[mlemmond]

My list as promised is below there are alot of titles I left out (Sixth Sense, The Others, etc..) just beace I really don't consider the horror.

Pre-1970’s

1. Psycho – a favorite to this day and one sadly enough I noticed I don’t own (this will be remedied soon) Anthony Perkins is creepy as hell and Alfred Hitchcock is at the top of his game with this one

2. The Birds – while I realize that there were more people making horror movies than Alfred Hitchcock back then in my opinion nobody was doing it better, I love the fact that they never bothered to explain why the attack was happening.

3. Invasion of the Body Snatchers – while not very scary now I can imagine that it was quite scary in it’s time, all in all it holds up as a great film (another I sadly don’t own)

4. Night of the Living Dead – one of 2 zombie movies to appear on this list mainly because zombie movies are about the only thing that gives me the hibbie gibbies anymore


1970’s

1. The Exorcist – an amazing film Linda Blair’s performance is incredibly underraated and like all really great horror films the music is amazing

2. Halloween – like the tagline says this is the one that started it all, and to this day remains one of my favorites

3. Alien – the first really good sci/fi horror movie that I ever saw, and it holds up beautifully

4. Jaws – this makes the list even though I don’t really consider it horror now it scared the crap out of me as a kid

5. The Amityville Horror – while not very scary anymore I really like this movie


1980’s

1. The Shining – I love this film, Kubrick created an amazing mood and the music is just eerie as hell

2. Hellraiser – Clive Barker is a genius and this is an awesome movie that introduced us to a horror icon in Pinhead “This is not for your eyes”

3. The Thing – remakes are usually not very good and you hope at best they equal the original this remake was better

4. The Fly – one of the few Cronenberg movies that I have seen, this is another remake that lives up to or surpasses the original

5. Friday the 13th – I snuck into the theater and saw this as a kid and I couldn’t sleep for almost a week, while not as good as Halloween it is a very good slasher film

6. The Hitcher – very cool movie and Rutger Hauer was awesome

7. The Blob – another remake that is as good as or better than the original, Chuck Russell did a very nice job with this movie

8. Fright Night 1 & 2 – two excellent vampire movies

9. Poltergeist – probably the ultimate haunted house movie


1990’s

1. Candyman – the 1990’s was not a very good time for good horror films an this was one of the best

2. Bram Stokers Dracula – not very scary but very beautiful

3. Event Horizon – a nice scifi/horror offering

4. Scream – while not very scary it was one of the best “horror” movies from the 1990’s and if it doesn’t it at least entertains

5. Subspecies – a classic that should be on dvd

6. I Know What You Did Last Summer - do you see what we had to work with in the 90's, honestly though it was a pretty good movie


2000-Present

1. The Ring – not as good as the hype surrounding it but a very good horror movie, for some reason nobody makes really good horror movies anymore

2. 28 Days Later… - the other zombie movie on this list and a very good one at that

3. Darkness Falls – this is the movie Blair Witch should have been, my only problem with it is it runs short

4. Dog Soldiers – this movie is not very scary but it is a lot of fun to watch

5. Thirteen Ghosts – not a bad remake and a pretty entertaining movie

6. Jeepers Creepers – very good madman movie with a twist

[Crow331]

My Top 5 "Horror" films



1. THE SHINING
2. THE FOG
3. HALLOWEEN
4. THE EXORCIST
5. GHOST STORY



I also would not call Mulholland Drive or Jacob's Ladder "Horror" films ... disturbing/suspenseful/thrillers ... not horror ... both great films though

[comedian]

I've never been too into the Horror Genre until recently. Here's my small list:

The Shinning
Night of the Living Dead
Alien
The Exorcist
Frankenstein (1931)
Christine

I've got Evil Dead 2, Day of the Dead, Dead Alive and Phantasm at home waiting for me to watch.

[PorkChopXpress]

My Favorite Horror: (in no particular order)

• Halloween
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• The Thing (Carpenter)
• The Hills Have Eyes
• Psycho (really goes without saying, but Hitchcock)
• Audition
• May
• Jaws
• The Exorcist
• Evil Dead
• The Ring
• Ringu
• Suspiria
• Rosemary's Baby
• Night of The Living Dead
• Jacob's Ladder
• The Re-Animator
• The Devil's Backbone
• An American Werewolf in London
• The Fly
• Basket Case

And a couple others that fall in that other category:

• Freaks
• Frailty
• Dead Alive
• Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn
• Irreversible
• Apartment Zero
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space
• Angel Heart

[Morticia]

That's a great list, Marq! And here's mine, in no particular order. There are some new ones here, and I'll try to give my short n sweet reasoning.

• Mulholland Dr. -- yep, has enough frightening imagery to qualify for me.
• Rosemary's Baby -- classy and well done. A very creepy Ruth Gordon!
• Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? -- sad, sad tale but freaky nontheless
• Peeping Tom -- Especially disturbing, seeing who plays the title character's dad.
• House of Usher -- great Roger Corman / Poe / Vincent Price creepout fest
• Hellraiser -- I'm not too into glitch, but this one IMO is well-done.
• Dead Ringers -- Jeremy Irons in a really freaky part. Go, Cronenberg!
• Diabolique -- Well done story, maybe more of a mystery? I found it scary nontheless
• Psycho - can't forget to mention one of the Master's more "horrific" films.
• The Exorcist -- the use of music and real-life situations makes this and Rosemary's Baby a great double feature.
• The Fly -- Cronenberg. When the local film critic says, "leave your hyena at the door", he means it!
• From Hell -- Very stylishly shot, great utilization (along with MDr.) of bass to emphasize menace.
• The Haunting -- Classic haunted house story, with lots to say and not much to show.
• Homicidal -- William Castle's blatant ripoff of Psycho -- but I love it so!!
• Masque of the Red Death -- I love the colors in this one, very surreal.
• Prince of Darkness -- saw this when I was in college. Two things to scare me: the Devil and quantum physics!!
• Ringu (and The Ring) -- two versions of the same film, I can appreciate both of them. Ringu really did freak me out, and I preferred that ending. The Ring added some questionable elements, but I found it satisfying nontheless.
• Storm of the Century -- I was very impressed at how well Stephen King could write for direct to TV, since I had become disillusioned with his books at the time.
• To the Devil...a Daughter -- actually had more potential than what made it on the screen, but it did hold my attention for several days afterwards.
• Wicker Man -- A very good "naturalistic" horror movie, as in a lack of overt supernatural elements.

I'm intentionally limiting this to DVDs I own -- what I wouldn't give to have Freaks on board!! -- and movies I've seen several times. Interesting (to me) that I have 3 "Psycho" movies -- "Psycho", "Peeping Tom", and "Homicidal".

I recall being impressed with "Nightmare on Elm Street" at first but I haven't been able to revisit it to see what I think now.

[R1NLP]

Ok, I'm gonna do this and go to BED.

My first memories of being in a movie theatre were seeing Alien and Poltergeist when I was very young. I've been hooked ever since.

Here are some of my faves.

The Shining - My all time favorite Horror movie. The Hotel, the twins, the freaky BEAR going down on a guy at the end! Go Stanley!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - People still ask me which part of Texas this happened in.

Alien - I like all the movies in the series (even III and IV) but Ridley Scott captured the sense of desolation and claustrophobia perfectly.

Poltergeist - That damn clown wouldn't let me sleep for an entire SUMMER.

Halloween - I think the score stands out in my memory more than anything. Great movie. (and I might be the only person who also loves Season of the Witch)

The Ring - It's not a classic, but I can't remember the last time I felt this uneasy watching a movie at home.

The Serpent and the Rainbow - Good lord. This movie scared the crap out of me when I first saw it. That voodoo ain't no joke.

I have more, but I'm sooooo tired I can barely type properly anymore.

[C Roberts]

The Shining - My all time favorite Horror movie. The Hotel, the twins, the freaky BEAR going down on a guy at the end! Go Stanley!

Bear?

[Marq]

Originally Posted by C Roberts

Bear?

I assume he means the guy in the bear suit. A wicked scene.