Best Horror Movies

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Come on then, what're your favourites?

DG, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

_Braindead_, AKA _Dead Alive_. The zombie flick directed by Peter Jackson. Ridiculously funny & over-the-top. (Not exactly a horror movie, I guess, but it isn't far from the _Evil Dead II_ school.)

After that, though, I really can't think of any others that have stuck with me. _Halloween_ was OK. The "classics" (Universal movies circa the 30s) are good in their own way. I haven't actually seen a Hammer flick yet, so my expectations are grossly out of whack. (And I'm talking about the Technicolor beauties w/ Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee, not the lesbian vamp flicks.)

Oh - _The Blair Witch Project_ is one movie that scared me crapless (though that had as much to do with the crowd response as to actually being scared myself - William Castle would've killed for that sort of crowd response). And _Suspiria_ (the only Argento flick I've seen) disturbed me quite a bit (especially the sequence involving the barbed wire).

David Raposa, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Suspiria, the Shining, the Dead Zone.

Otis Wheeler, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The only horror movie that frightened the crap out of me was "The Exorcist" which I saw when I was 12. Although a lot of people seem to find it hilarious nowadays, but it still disturbs me. Peter Jackson's movies are a gross out laugh. As is "Society", esp. the 'shunting' scene where a guy literally talks through his arse. Saw "The Texas chainsaw massacre" last year and couldnt see what the big deal was.

The daddy of Brit horror movies though has to be "The wicker man". Thats pretty bizarre with an incredible ending too. Anything with Vincent Price is awesome too esp. "Witchfinder General" and "Theatre of blood". I thought "Scream" was pretty good although it's more of a pastiche than an actual horror movie. Haven't seen any Dario Argento movies. Although I saw "The Church" (I think it may be an Argento flick although he may have only produced it) and thought it was crap.

Michael, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE.

And Re-Animator.

Tracer Hand, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What the hell's the big stink about _The Wicker Man_? I must've seen a different version - some naked vixen banging on a door, dancing to & fro, and a burning (yes) wicker man. I was stupified.

That, & _2001_ - I don't get it. Either of it.

David Raposa, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I didn't find it that incoherent but it is cut by 20 minutes, apparently. It was recently revealed that the missing footage from the master print was used as part of the filler in the support columns of the M4. The 102-minute version is rumoured to be available in the US, apparently.

Michael, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Maybe i did see, the full version, though. i dunno.

Michael, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I second David's pick... Brain Dead indeed is tops. The lawnmower!

Simon, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Anything Hammer or Hammer-like.

"Theatre Of Blood" (Vincent Price as a Shakespearian actor who takes ritual revenge on the critics who previously mauled him).

The one about a series of ghoulish murders on the London Underground. Title escapes me.

The one about the little antique shop run by Peter Cushing (who is delighted when customers try to rip him off). Title might be "From Beyond The Grave".

"American Werewolf In London"

"Masque Of The Red Death"

"Hellraiser"

David, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"ghoulish murders on the London Underground" = existence of a hideously diseased subterranean cannibal, last of a tribe whose ancestors were trapped by a cave-in during the building of Russell Square Tube Station in 1890s? = DEATH LINE (aka Raw Meat) 1971

The ghoul's spooky yell is "MIND THE DOORS!" (This is TRUE!!) And yet it is (a) quiet scary and (b) quite moving...

mark s, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

ALL horror movies are good! Even the bad ones, I mean the BAD bad ones not the cute kitschy ones - they all speak to me on such a deep level, I can't explain it. I have no taste at all when it comes to movies, no PRETENCE to taste, but anything that deals with horror themes seems to me to be WHAT MOVIES WERE INVENTED FOR.
That said, that movie with Michael J. Fox (y'know the thing I mean?) was somewhat of a mis-step on the part of my illustrious countryman Peter J. - too much cute "comedy" pandering - a crappy cover version of "(Don't Fear The) Reaper" - NO GOOD. I brung a young Goth lady on a date to that movie - just embarrassing - NO ACTION for Brother D. that night, FORGET IT! "Lord of the Rings" - seems inevitably conceptually doomed by the raw material, VERY unlikely to put our man BACK ON THE TOP OF THE HEAP WHERE HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS GONNA BELONG - tragic.

duane zarakov, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

hey mark - yeah "RAW MEAT"! that's Donald Pleasance at the apogee of his powers. Horror movies are good 'cause what the fuck else could Donald Pleasance do.

duane, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Bad Taste, Motel Hell, Caligula - it was sooo horrible, Tromeo & juliet was pretty good - maybe this should evolve to best schlock...

Geoff, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Army of Darkness! Not scary at all, but still...

I'll second American Werewolf (in London, NOT Paris)

The Freddie Mercury episode of Behind the Music

Kim, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

To all _Dead Alive_ fans - _Braindead_ is the NZ version of the movie, with EXTRA FOOTAGE cut from the US version. (MORE lawnmower!) Please note that the bastards involved with the DVD release of the movie did NOT include the extra footage. Bastards.

I still hold out hope for Mr. PJ - any person that can make _Meet the Feebles_ AND _Heavenly Creatures_ has to do a lot to lose my trust.

_Caligula_ is a horror flick? I thought it was just one long orgy. Unless they get it on with the horse / governor - that's a scary thought.

Would Jowordsky (sic?) count in this topic - _Sante Sangre_, _El Topo_ - ? I've heard many a good thing about his work (including endorsements by Clive Barker), but haven't actually seen these flicks. And what about other foreign horror films (outside Argento)? From what I know of Jess Franco, he could qualify for discussion in both the horror & schlock categories.

Like, say, Herschell Gordon Lewis' _Blood Feast_ - cheeeesy. Ketchup flick about an Egyptian freak hacking up people for some ceremony. Grooovy, maaaan.

David Raposa, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Haunting (Robert Wise version)
The Uninvited
The Changeling
The Innocents

Must think of more...there was a time many years ago when I watched every horror movie in my local Blockbuster video...quite the experience.

Melissa W, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

For me, 'Horror' has to have a certain bit of aesthete to it. Take "The Devil Rides Out" (one of the rare films where Christopher Lee actually plays the good guy); yes, of course, the special effects are ludicruous when seen nowadays, the acting can be overwrought, but that's besides the point. The film finds a mood, presents some great imagery (who can forget that creepy circle with the four people in it), etc. That's what Horror's about.

Some personal all-time favorites, randomly presented:

Horror of Dracula (classic Lee 'n' Cushing). Rosemary's Baby. Nosferatu (particularly, Herzog's version with Klaus Kinski; the rat sequence is truly surreal). Theatre of Blood (Vincent Price; maybe more a black comedy than a 'Horror' film, but great fun). The Abominable Dr. Phibes (also Vincent Price, similar kind of plot). Alien (I always considered it more a Horror movie than a Sci-Fi movie). Race with the Devil (always loved this one; low-budget horror/car chase movie--think "Rosemary's Baby" meets "Duel"). The Dead Zone. Brotherhood of Satan (featuring the dynamic duo of L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin; one of the coolest endings I've ever seen). The Shining (the scenes with those two girls...gawd!). Masque of the Red Death w/ Vincent Price. From Beyond the Grave (as previously mentioned; great anthology...one might also mention along similar lines "Asylum", "Tales that Witness Madness", " Torture Garden", etc.; varying degrees of quality). The classic Universal stuff: Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein, Wolf Man. The Mummy (the Hammer version; again, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing). Devil Times Five (I remember finding this one disturbing as a teen, though haven't seen it in ages; maybe it's goofy when you see it as an adult). The Exorcist (didn't like the new version with the extra scenes, though). Great stuff. The Omen 1 (and maybe Omen 2).

Joe, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oh, yeah, one other one. "Don't be Afraid of the Dark". Anyone remember that? Now *that* was a horror movie. Scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. Haven't seen it since, though. Didn't it have Uncle Charlie from "My Three Sons"?

Joe, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Only horror movie that scared the bejeezus outta me (still does), and therefore "best", though I DON'T LIKE IT ONE BIT, is/was JAWS. As kid, I'd freak out in swimming pools that Jaws was behind me and gonna get me, even though swimming pool so small that Jaws wouldn't even FIT. In fact, even in bed I couldn't dangle my arm over the side lest Jaws would crash through the floorboards and bite it off. That was traumatic, horrible!!

Re: modern (80s onwards) "conventional" horror movies, thought Candyman was excellent. Esp. due to ambivalent ending where you don't know whether Candyman even existed vs. being figment of lead woman's imagination. Sequel was crap for reason most horror sequels are crap: bad guy becomes star and main character. Bad guys always best when have element of unknown, when you don't know what they look like, only hints of such, and when you don't know their motivation or have cause to sympathise, when they're... !*!PURE*EVIL!*!

Peter Jackson: prefer Bad Taste to Brain Dead if only cuz it came first. Both very funny, more "splatter" than "horror" genre. In Bad Taste, hero shoots ONE bullet into tree and lots of aliens fall out shot = excellent funny idjit stuff!!

AP, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Race with the Devil (always loved this one; low-budget horror/car chase movie--think "Rosemary's Baby" meets "Duel")

Unusual ending on that one. They spend the whole film desperately trying to escape the Satanists. Then when you/they finally think they're clear...they're not..and that's it.

David, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Dead Alive by far is the best, as far as gore goes. I Spit on Your Grave; Evil Dead 1 and 2(Army of Darkness was more camp than horror); Cemetary Man; Candyman (one of the only movies to really scare me); Devil's Rain (very cheesy horror with Ernest Borgnine and John Travolta, worthy alone for the face melting scene); and Event Horizon, even though it wasn't actually a horror movie,it is still the most evil movie I have ever seen.

michele catalano, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Race..." was something of a cult favorite with me and my friends in high school. Kind of like Peckinpah doing a horror film, or something. We loved the "hey hey good buddy" and "Aw, hell, Frank"- type comraderie dialogue between Warren Oates and Peter Fonda; lines like "it's a wonder y'all didn't run up 'ginst the Jolly Green Giant! Ain't that right, Dave?"; and we absolutely adored the song in the country bar scene ("From now on I'm-a-livin' high, if I have to live on credit!"). We wanted to cover it in our band, but we couldn't figure out the other lyrics.

Joe, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oh... BALLS!

I always get to these threads too late, every film I could mention has already been mentioned.

I'm also lovin' the Jackson fella, most of the script of Bad Taste has entered me and my mates' pub/drunk vocabulary: "The barrsteds have landed"; "Some pricks tried to take us on"; "Mmm, aren't I luckyyy, I got a chunky bit?"; "Did you have to drink some chuck?". And. So. On.

And The Frighteners is very underrated. Michael J Fox's second best film. I love how a sodden New Zealand has to stand in for the US as Jackson insisted it be filmed in his home country. So we get incongruities like a white picket fence around the lawn of what is clearly a NZ suburban house and so on.

Other Horror flicks: The Haunting ('63 version, I need hardly add.); Argento's Suspiria, Opera, Inferno, Tenebre, Deep Red and I even have a soft spot for late [crap] Argento flick Creepers: Donald Pleasance and Jennifer Connelly? Argento's daughter getting decapitated? Yes please.

And The Blair Witch Project: a superb film, audacious and genre re- defining. For though it has the same shaky-cam, 'let's do the film right here' ethic of many other cinema verite / dogme 95 films of recent times, it isn't rendered near un-watchable by the suffocating air of smugness that stinks out the likes of Gummo or The Idiots. Okay, so the Blair Witch character's incessant "Where the fuck are we? Where the fuck are we?" whining quickly gets annoying, but the black and white photography is genuinely beautiful and haunting - even if it was 'accidental' - and the way the air of tension is cranked up, the way the sense of disorientation and panic is made real precisely *because* of it's 'home-made' quality. Furthermore, in an era where, increasingly, 'Horror' = cynical, ironic and self- conscious; a genre that hates itself; has become embarrassed by itself, so now plays everything for laughs, tipping knowing winks to it's audience, TBWP plays it straight. It's a refreshingly serious, old-fashioned, camp-fire ghost story, and one that explores the fear of the unknown; the fear of the dark - real fears that we actually have experience of, not the fear of being chased by an un-killable, semi-mythical maniac in a mask, which - if we're lucky - might provide us with a 'jump' or two, but, ultimately, leaves us smirking at the ridiculousness of it all, and happy. Unchallenged.

It ends with magic: the scene that really pulls TBWP clear of it's contempraries is the final one in The Old House in the Woods (classic!). After finding the - creepy - children's handprints on the landing wall, Mike hears Josh's cries coming from somewhere below them and races off to find him, leaving Heather still upstairs. Mike has the small camcorder - the one recording sound while Heather has the silent 16mm B&W camera. And it's through this camera only that we see the ensuing, final scene. As Mike disappears downstairs, we are left with Heathers jumpy, unsettling camera work, she follows after, crying out, but as Mike is recording the sound, her cries are weirdly distant and muffled, leaving the scene with an eerie quiet. As she gets closer and closer to the basement where Mike has disappeared her screams get louder and louder and louder until... bang. Darkness. The end. F'kin' A!

DavidM, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm with David M re: Blair Witch. And Melissa has cruelly beaten me to the punch by naming both the original _Haunting_ and _The Uninvited_.

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Maniac (1980). A film so nihilistic and repulsive that Tom Savini took his name off the credits. utterly without any social value, the best horror film of all time. The scene where the guy's head get blown off in extreme close-up filmed from behind him.
The Offspring - either the necrophilia scene or the bit where dismembered bits of somebody's torso are hanging off a washing line

tarden, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Here's another vote for Suspiria, although who knows what the hell was going on half the time?

tarden, Saturday, 23 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I find the uncanny makes a greater impression than horror. If the fear is hidden inside something credible, something I relate to, that I'm unable to rationalise away, then it lingers on in daylight. The best example I have would be Magic (about the ventiloquist), I've never been clear whether or not anything supernatural happens.

K-reg, Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I also remember being greatly scared by Watcher in the Woods when I was very young.

But without doubt one of the only films I could see now that would STILL give me nightmares would be Don't Look Now starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. *feels a chill*

Melissa W, Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I find the uncanny makes a greater impression than horror

"The Fly" is a good example of that, particularly the original. The horrible dawning of the truth on the main character when he realises that he may have been reconstituted part-fly...and even before that when his early experiment with a plate sees the object reconstituted perfectly *except the writing on the base is back-to-front* (creepy).

David, Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Everyone needs that defining horror movie that they saw aged thirteen which still scares the shit out of them, even if they can now happily digest worse fayre. The Fly is that movie for me. There is something about the bit where his jaw falls off - plus Geena Davis being inpregnated. Why is it though that whenever people are impregnated by aliens et al, the gestation period is always massively speeded up (and yes - this is unfortunately a partial reference to terrible BBC1 superhero sitcom My Hero).

I like my horror films spooooky, and preferably foreign. Eyes Without A Face is just an impressionistic nightmare - could be remade now with perfect special effects and completely lose its impact. As happened with The Haunting. Enjoyed The Ring (Japanese video virus horror) earlier this year as well, merely because it played the game under slightly different rules.

Will always have a soft spot as well for the original Nightmare On Elm Street - which is genuinely scary and is the pinacle of the teenage girl slasher movie/power over menstruation analogy. These days I just get merely impressed by good horror films rather than scared - and of course that happens rarely. Last time I got a proper headfuck was probably watching Jacob's Ladder pissed.

Pete, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I was just about to mention "Jacob's Ladder"! That's probably my all- time favorite movie!

For some reason, I can only deal with horror movies which aren't slasher flicks. I find the entire "Friday The 13th"/"Halloween"/"Nightmare On Elm Street" axis to be completely unwatchable in the sense that I will have screaming nightmares if I watch them. In fact, the only one of those that I've seen in its entirety is "Nightmare On Elm Street 2", which I recognized as being somewhat, um, stupid, yet kept me awake for months afterwards because I was SO DISTURBED by the idea of someone entering my dreams and killing me/making me kill my friends. One gnawingly creepy scene from that movie was the party scene, where Freddy shed the main character like an old skin and ran rampant on his best friend and the kids by the pool... *shudder*

Of course, to be completely perverse, I love vampire movies (unless they happen to be "From Dusk 'Til Dawn", aka "The DUMBEST MOVIE EVER TO AVOID THE MST3K TREATMENT").

Dan Perry, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

If you like "Blair Witch", you ought to rent something called "The Last Broadcast" which is suspiciously similar and, IMO, better. A lot of "Blair Witch" fans will swear up and down that TLB sucks in comparison, but TLB has irony and cultural commentary *plus* it scared me more and didn't give me vertigo.

I'm a sucker for Catholic horror - anything with priests and Satan in it, preferably with a lot of Latin thrown in.

Kerry Keane, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Which reminds me of one of the greatest horror movie scenes - In The Omen when the priest gets impaled.

michele, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The reason I did not like The Last Broadcast was the irony and cultural commentary. Pretty much everything that has gone wrong with horror movies of late can be tied to these two tentpoles.

Re slasher movies - good to see above that they are effective. The idea behind Nightmare On Elm Street is persuasively simple and hence terrifying if done right (the original, and for more imagination but less fear number 3: Dream Warriors). However should be noted that slasher films are squarely aimed at teenage girls, us boys don't really get a look in.

Pete, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Blair Witch had me up all night after I saw it. Also enjoyed(?) The Reflecting Skin. A very Lynch-ian movie.

bnw, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

A few of my favourites:

Alien - it is a horror and not sci-fi (does it really need any science to work?), it also has the best monster ever. Best of the series, certainly better than Aliens.
The Devil Rides Out - I love these campy old films, especially this one. "Don't look at the eyes, Rex!"
Hellraiser - GRATE because the 'baddies', the Cenobites, aren't evil at all, they just have an odd idea of fun. It's the humans that are the monsters.

DG, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one month passes...
Braindead Braindead Braindead. oh yeah I also liked Dead Alive. HAHAHA

Riley Guza, Tuesday, 31 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Evil Dead- "The ultimate experience in gruelling horror." Night of The Living Dead- A classic! The first true gore and flesh- eating zombie flick. Extremely influential. Hellraiser- Frightening, original and surreal. Dead Alive(Braindead)- Hilarious gore-fest. Halloween I & II- The best two slasher films I've seen. Psycho(1960)- Alfred Hitcock's classic tale of suspense. Any true horror fan should see it, if not own it. Nightmare On Elm Street(1)- Very scary! By far the best of the series. Why doesn't Wes make horror movies like this any more? The Shining- Great film! Great acting, visuals, scenery and, altogether, a very frightening movie. I don't blame Stephen King fanatics for hating this, it is a poor adaption of King's book. Rather than trying to copy the book, Stanley Kubrick chose to make this very much it's own film. A must see! I love horror movies! These are just a few of my favorites.-PS- Also see any of the classic horror films of the '30s and '40s

Keith Ward, Thursday, 9 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The most revolting horror movie would be Cannibal Holocaust. Blair Witch Project took a few ideas from that movie.

nathalie, Thursday, 9 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The night of the living dead trilogy. Phantasm trilogy. Dusk till Dawn.

Sterling Clover, Friday, 10 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

four months pass...
yay, zombie flix on uk tv at chrimbo

, Tuesday, 11 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

two months pass...
The only movie that ever scared me was the EXORCIST. You see, for most people, it was more than a movie. It was real. Because the devil is real. God is real. And to top it off, the story was actually based on an actual incident. You couldn't walk away from it, thinking it was just a script with a bunch of actors. You had to wonder, could this happen to me? Tonight?

Ray, Friday, 15 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

seven months pass...
Personally...scariest movie I ever saw was Ringu (or Ring, in English), which is the basis for the new movie coming out in a couple of weeks. Just to see Sada crawling out of that well...*shiver*

Otherwise, I loved Blair Witch, but there's also a very nice psychological horror movie called Session 9 that you should check out sometime

Bentmir, Friday, 4 October 2002 04:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Don't Look Now

The Omen (which was pitched very much as a psychological thriller - is Gregory Peck losing his mind? - rather than as a blood and thunder
exercise, something the sequels dropped)

Suspiria (though the underwater basement scene in Inferno is equally brilliant)

The Beyond (the only Lucio Fulci movie I like, mainly because it's cheesy and disturbing in roughly equal measure).

Hammer's best three films - The Devil Rides Out, Plague Of The Zombies, The Reptile - wonderful camp old nonsense.

Kwaidan - more of a ghost story than a horror film though.

Doesn't anyone here think The Wicker Man is overrated? The ending is outstanding but the rest is fairly mediocre? The much-lauded seduction scene (Britt Ekland's wall-banging and stunt arse antics and Edward Woodward's sweaty reaction to it) seems just risible now.

Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Saturday, 5 October 2002 20:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh, and I forgot...

Ring

An American Werewolf In London

Lair Of The White Worm was enjoyably camp stuff.

Does anyone remember The Godsend? Bad seed/cuckoo-in-the-nest type storyline where mysterious little girl adopted by family bumps off the other kids? I still remember the look on the girl's face after the death scenes - utterly malevolent.

Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Saturday, 5 October 2002 20:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh, and I forgot...

Ring

An American Werewolf In London

Lair Of The White Worm was enjoyably camp stuff.

Does anyone remember The Godsend? Bad seed/cuckoo-in-the-nest type storyline where mysterious little girl adopted by family bumps off the other kids? I still remember the look on the girl's face after the death scenes - utterly maleveolent.

Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Saturday, 5 October 2002 20:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Sorry for posting that last message twice.

Phantasm was excellent.

Would anyone say that something like The Stepford Wives (contemporary 70's conspiracy thriller) could be classified as a *horror* film?

Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Saturday, 5 October 2002 20:33 (twenty-three years ago)

i saw phantasm III was on in the miggle of the night abt three wks ago, but forgot to stay up

mark s (mark s), Saturday, 5 October 2002 20:44 (twenty-three years ago)

I watched Phantasm II and III (they were on on consecutive weekends recently), and they try hard but the 5% new stuff doesn't excite terribly. Worst of all, they try to make it make sense, which was always going to be a losing proposition. They're not bad, but no one's going to have them on their favourites list - and the first is a favourite of mine too. As is Ring. And I love almost any Hong Kong ghost film, especially if there is lots of kung fu involved. A Chinese Ghost Story is one of my favourite films.

Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 5 October 2002 21:13 (twenty-three years ago)

We saw "Scream" for the first time in its entirety last night; that movie is constructed really well with all of its metanonsense ("Jamie, look behind you!", Freddy Kruger janitor, "Sid, this is all a movie and you can't pick your genre", etc) and the final run of killings are great (poor Rose McGowan).

HI DERE, Tuesday, 17 July 2007 10:55 (eighteen years ago)

Scream is great. The way the first scene unspools is one of the all-time great moments in any horror movie.

"DEAD MAN'S SHOES"!!!!! ultra-gritty realism, absolutely harrowing, and fantastic acting.

Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 17 July 2007 11:24 (eighteen years ago)

I love the fact that the biggest-named actress in the movie dies right at the beginning!

HI DERE, Tuesday, 17 July 2007 13:40 (eighteen years ago)

Yes

Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 17 July 2007 13:47 (eighteen years ago)

also the Jif-E-Pop on the stove

Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 17 July 2007 13:48 (eighteen years ago)

The Haunting is the best ghost movie in existence. Book by Shirley Jackson is great too, although she's been lost to the mists of time and some of her stuff isn't even published anymore.

humansuit, Wednesday, 18 July 2007 01:34 (eighteen years ago)

The Wicker Man - the original, of course - and Audition.

Simon H., Wednesday, 18 July 2007 01:41 (eighteen years ago)

Night of the Demon
I Walked with a Zombie
Bride of Frankenstein

!

Andrzej B., Wednesday, 18 July 2007 23:02 (eighteen years ago)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Hard like armour, Thursday, 19 July 2007 00:21 (eighteen years ago)

SLITHER was great & k-funny but also creepy. However, in the creepy department, SHIVERS took the cake for me. Way scarier than a zombie movie, but with the same tension of 'OMG this will take over the world & no one will escape.

I wish SLITHER got mentioned more. It really hasn't gotten its due.

Abbott, Thursday, 19 July 2007 00:29 (eighteen years ago)

slither was a bit disappointing. it was funny and full of rubbery-splattery goodness, but it just didn't stay on my mind too long after i watched it. i did admire the effort to emulate that kind of horror-comedy they don't make enough of anynore.

latebloomer, Thursday, 19 July 2007 01:22 (eighteen years ago)

The Haunting is the best ghost movie in existence. Book by Shirley Jackson is great too, although she's been lost to the mists of time and some of her stuff isn't even published anymore.

-- humansuit, Wednesday, July 18, 2007 1:34 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

really? you can find the haunting and some of her other novels and short story collections in almost any major bookstore chain, last time i checked. "the lottery" is available online a lot of places for free as well.

latebloomer, Thursday, 19 July 2007 01:26 (eighteen years ago)

i do totally agree that the original Haunting movie is great.

latebloomer, Thursday, 19 July 2007 01:27 (eighteen years ago)

Thirded. I caught it on telly when I was a wee kid so it just might have made more impression back then. That horrific banging noise!

Dr Phibes Rises Again! Was there anything more impressive that killing someone by sand-blast ?

Ste, Thursday, 19 July 2007 08:25 (eighteen years ago)

I love the fact that the biggest-named actress in the movie dies right at the beginning!

Christ, Dan, why not tell us WHO THE FUCK DID IT AS WELL. :-)

nathalie, Thursday, 19 July 2007 08:46 (eighteen years ago)

It was the guy in the mask.

HI DERE, Thursday, 19 July 2007 14:38 (eighteen years ago)

two months pass...

TIS THE SEASON!

KitCat, Thursday, 20 September 2007 20:07 (eighteen years ago)

We just kicked it off this week with Night of the Living Dead (own that one) and a double feature of Friday 13th (decent) and F13th part II (disappointing). I've compiled a list based on this thread and good ol' IMDB of potential rentals:
* The Innocents
* The Changeling (might have already seen this one?)
* Dead Zone
* Race with the Devil
* The Frighteners
* Phantasm
* Shivers
* American Werewolf in London (have definitely seen this)
* Jacob's Ladder (this too)

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

KitCat, Thursday, 20 September 2007 20:12 (eighteen years ago)

So, we watched The Innocents last night, and it was pretty scary for a non-gory B/W film from 1960.

KitCat, Friday, 21 September 2007 14:00 (eighteen years ago)

gore isn't usually scary, just "shocking."

The Witchfinder General (w/ V Price) just came out on DVD, and it's quite scary though it is somewhat gory yet NOT a true horror film!

Dr Morbius, Friday, 21 September 2007 14:04 (eighteen years ago)

The Vault of Horror DVD has some goofy moments of censorship, but it's almost more fun for them. Tales from the Crypt still my favorite anthology horror.

Eric H., Friday, 21 September 2007 14:07 (eighteen years ago)

four months pass...

After all these years, I cannot get Julian Beck's final performance in Poltergeist II (unfortunately an otherwise crappy movie) out of my head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Hz-nZjulQ

Haunting in the truest sense of the word.

Joe, Sunday, 10 February 2008 23:46 (seventeen years ago)

six months pass...

Sleepaway Camp
Silent NIght, Deadly NIght (come on, KILLER SANTA!)

not the best ones e ver, but please don't go into obscurity.

Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 10 August 2008 20:21 (seventeen years ago)

Silent NIght, Deadly NIght

Is that the one with GARBAGE DAY?

chap, Sunday, 10 August 2008 20:23 (seventeen years ago)

nope, that was the sequel.

I hear they're remaking this as well. seriously, how the hell can Hollywood expect to improve on movies that were charming for their camp (intentional and unintentional)?

Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 10 August 2008 20:25 (seventeen years ago)

Troll 2

-- latebloomer da nutty tarkovsky (latebloomer), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 11:20 (1 year ago) Link

latebloomer, Sunday, 10 August 2008 21:11 (seventeen years ago)

Just watched Nightmares this weekend. Completely silly and completely awesome. The graphics in the Emilio Estevez story are great unheralded stoner segment and Lance Henriksen vs. a truck is way better than Maximum Overdrive.

kingkongvsgodzilla, Monday, 11 August 2008 17:35 (seventeen years ago)

*ahem*

The graphics in the Emilio Estevez story make it a great unheralded stoner segment

(have not been stoned in years...honest)

kingkongvsgodzilla, Monday, 11 August 2008 17:40 (seventeen years ago)

polite lol @ Picket Fences sonning Gilmore Girls in Saw IV (and V, I'm guessing)

David R., Monday, 11 August 2008 17:51 (seventeen years ago)

Surprised no one's brought up Kyoshi Kurosawa's Cure.
Not really gore heavy but it's the scariest movie i've ever seen. Not scary in the sense of springloaded cats, but in the way that you start to worry that the movie is brainwashing you into murdering.

Fetchboy, Monday, 11 August 2008 18:03 (seventeen years ago)

one year passes...

Just ordered Raw Meat (Death Line) and Dead & Buried. I'm stoked. Another Halloween season is upon us.

A couple of weeks ago we bought Phantasm, but I fell asleep 10 minutes in. I kept waking up and not understanding what the hell I was seeing, but even more so than when I usually do that. All I remember is YELLOW BLOOD! I want to try to revisit it, but the Missus (who stayed up through the whole thing) hasn't been interested. Maybe I'll try to put it on again tonight.

Good stand-up, Americans (kingkongvsgodzilla), Thursday, 1 October 2009 17:14 (sixteen years ago)

I kept waking up and not understanding what the hell I was seeing

This sensation will not change even if you manage to see it from start to finish--it's one of Phantasm's great attributes.

WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Thursday, 1 October 2009 17:19 (sixteen years ago)

Love Halloween season.

boring movies are the most boring (Eric H.), Thursday, 1 October 2009 18:01 (sixteen years ago)

It's the best! I mean, it's always fun to watch Dawn of the Dead, or Evil Dead 2, or Halloween, but there's something so satisfying about watching them on or around Halloween.

A coworker of mine watches a horror movie every night starting October 1st, leading up to Halloween.

VegemiteGrrrl, Thursday, 1 October 2009 18:05 (sixteen years ago)

Your coworker is my new hero.

Brad C., Thursday, 1 October 2009 18:06 (sixteen years ago)

I kept waking up and not understanding what the hell I was seeing

This sensation will not change even if you manage to see it from start to finish--it's one of Phantasm's great attributes.

OTM.

Also, make sure you watch all the sequels.

Broman Polanski (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 1 October 2009 18:08 (sixteen years ago)

I wish I could do that this year. But i have too many '00s films to catch up on before year's end.

boring movies are the most boring (Eric H.), Thursday, 1 October 2009 18:25 (sixteen years ago)

Has anyone seen this? I'm hearing good things and it comes out on Netflix this week.

http://mimg.ugo.com/200709/2784/trick_r_treat_poster.jpg

Darin, Thursday, 1 October 2009 18:26 (sixteen years ago)

xp! It's out on October 6, and as you can see, it is ON MY LIST.

My picks so far this year are:

The Thaw
Trick 'R Treat
End of the Line
Night of the Lepus*
From Beyond**

I usually go straight cheese, but there seems to have been some decent new releases, so I am trying to be somewhat current.

*In honor of the conversation on the Least Favorite Movie thread.
**It's playing at this year's Music Box Massacre, but I'm not going so I'm renting it.

she is writing about love (Jenny), Thursday, 1 October 2009 18:31 (sixteen years ago)

xpost - Yeah, that has a mysteriously high 8.1 imdb rating but I'm a little dubious.

I'm intrigued by this, if only for the vintage poster art (that ubiquitous slick monochrome chiaroscuro gets tiresome):
http://www.moviesonline.ca/AdvHTML_Upload/house-devil-posgter.jpg

xcixxorx, Thursday, 1 October 2009 18:36 (sixteen years ago)

wow! yeah, that is a great poster.

VegemiteGrrrl, Thursday, 1 October 2009 18:40 (sixteen years ago)

oh hold on, I know this one. It played at Tribeca; directed by the dude who did Cabin Fever 2, right? Haven't heard a ton about it, but heard he's going for a real late 70's/early 80's feel. hope it's good.

VegemiteGrrrl, Thursday, 1 October 2009 18:42 (sixteen years ago)

IIRC, Bloody Disgusting gave it a good review.

she is writing about love (Jenny), Thursday, 1 October 2009 19:28 (sixteen years ago)

one year passes...

Creepshow, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Hal Holbrook, Stephen King, Ted Danson... ahh...

once a remy bean always a (remy bean), Saturday, 16 October 2010 21:01 (fifteen years ago)

That's one of those movies you can find in a DVD bin for $4 or so. Glad I got it

popular music is destroying our youth (CaptainLorax), Saturday, 16 October 2010 21:28 (fifteen years ago)

six years pass...

Finally got around to seeing It Follows, and I was floored by how beautiful and original and poetic it was. I've never seen a movie pull off the "indeterminate time period" thing so well, either. Almost everything about it was masterful.

Evan R, Monday, 2 January 2017 17:59 (eight years ago)

one year passes...

whoa this looks good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wWKNij_1M

Evan R, Tuesday, 30 January 2018 16:54 (seven years ago)

http://www.spookyisles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-Abominable-Dr-Phibes.jpg

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/Abominablephibes1.jpg

i saw this recently, it was incredible. it has that pop art Batman 60's TV show look to it like the other kinetic-stylistic comedy-horror films of the era. the murders are pretty ghastly and the romantic-goth vibes are very nice.

also: did Arcade Fire rip off Dr. Phibes's band the Clockwork Wizards?

https://hardtickettohomevideo.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/phibes-clockwork-wizards.jpg

AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 30 January 2018 17:01 (seven years ago)

Phibes is great and the sequel is no slouch either.

Bimlo Horsewagon became Wheelbarrow Horseflesh (aldo), Tuesday, 30 January 2018 18:05 (seven years ago)

one month passes...

Finally got around to seeing It Follows, and I was floored by how beautiful and original and poetic it was. I've never seen a movie pull off the "indeterminate time period" thing so well, either. Almost everything about it was masterful.

― Evan R, Monday, January 2, 2017 10:59 AM (one year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^same. Great flick.

A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 13 March 2018 21:19 (seven years ago)


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