In honor of Halloween fast approaching, here is my list of my ten favorite horror movies. Again, this is in no order other then alphabetical.
Dawn of the Dead – The original Romero 1978 classic. (I did like the re-make but still prefer the O.G. version) In my mind this is the ultimate Zombie film. Besides the horror aspect Romero, was able to use this film as a social commentary about commercialism and modern man. Just a great film by a great film maker. Some prefer Night of the Living Dead, but for my money this is his best work.
Dead Alive – Before Peter Jackson was boring us with his Lord of the Rings trilogy, he made a really good zombie movie. Dead Alive offers a fresh and original idea in the zombie genre. It is funny, it is gory and there is a love story as well. It also gives us one of the greatest and bloodiest endings in modern cinema history.
Evil Dead – Made for absolutely no money, Sam Rami and Bruce Campbell made a classic. It is funny, and gruesome. It works on so many levels. It was innovative and it succeeded because of its originality. Rami uses every trick in his book to come up with more and more ways to shock you. He was twenty one years old when he made this movie. Which is an amazing accomplishment. If you look up cult classic in the dictionary there will be a synopsis of this movie.
The Exorcist – I know it seems somewhat tame by today’s standards but when it was released it scarred the living shit out of the audience. This is what every horror movie sets out to do, it scares Joe Popcorn. When Max von Sydow enters that bedroom to start that exorcism, you are literally on the edge of your seat. A true classic for the ages.
Halloween – John Carpenter gave us our first real horror bad guy in Michael Myers. He pre-dated Freddie and Jason. Halloween was a masterpiece for so many reasons. First off it scarred the shit out of you, which is what a horror movie is supposed to do. It gave you a story and it kept you on the edge of your seat. The true sign of greatness is imitation and this move has been imitated ever since.
Jaws – The movie that created the summer blockbuster. Jaws was a suspenseful and amazing accomplishment. When Chief Brody is throwing chum into the water and we first see that shark you literally jump out of your seat. Say what you want about Spielberg’s later career but this movie showed what a true craftsman he was. Amazing performances from everyone in the cast, created the ultimate thriller. It is still effective today as it was when it first came out.
Psycho – You can pick any number of Hitchcock films. But, no matter what anyone says this is the movie that he is remembered for. Trust me, there is good reason for that. When you kill off the star of the movie in the first act, it takes stones. As a viewer you felt that there was no way Janet Leigh was going to get whacked that early in the movie. Well she did and that set the whole movie in motion. A generation was afraid to go into the shower alone after this film.
Re-Animator – Now, as horror movies go this one is not the scariest. However the camp appeal alone puts it on my list. I can watch this one tonight and still laugh at the over acting and great lines from Jeffrey Combs. I firmly believe that if you don’t like this film then there is something seriously wrong with you.
The Shining – I must say I respect the hell out of this movie. When I saw it as a young adolescent it scarred the living shit out of me. Here, Kubrick takes King’s book and makes a masterpiece of a film. There is so much going on in this movie to freak you out you never feel completely safe until the very last shot of the movie where you see Nicholson’s frozen corpse.
Twenty Eight Days Later – It is rare, very rare for any movie to keep me on the edge of my seat nowadays. This movie accomplished that feat. From the very first shot you are hooked in and it never lets off the gas. Again here is an old genre, zombies and it finds an original take on it. It starts off one way, makes a left turn and takes the viewer on quite a ride. Just a great, fucking movie.
1 Comments:
I’d say Romero’s Dawn of the Dead is number one because it is the only horror movie that does as much as it does. It is at times disgusting, riveting, hilarious and satirical, and it has one moment that absolutely breaks my heart. Seriously, there’s a moment of the film that makes me want to cry.
Rosemary’s Baby ties for second in my book. I could watch that movie daily.
Recently, Cemetery Man has been released on DVD. I have seen this film a few times and cannot recommend it highly enough. It is a great zombie film with lots of sex and violence and gags that owe as much of a debt to Romero as they do to Sam Rami. And Rupert Everett is really good, certainly better than he'll ever be again.
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