Best Horror Movies

Started by Jake_82, November 24, 2003, 09:03:28 PM

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Pubrick

Quote from: modage on November 01, 2006, 08:14:56 AM
well, thats it.  another Halloween season come and gone.  i watched 35 horror films: 11 were reviewed here in Best Horror and 21 new ones in the Horror thread, (a few were re-watched and will be reviewed next year).  it wasnt a marathon 30 reviews like last year but it was actually the same number from 2 years ago. 

1. 28 Days Later
2. Candyman
3. Demon Knight
4. The Fly
5. Friday The 13th
6. Hostel
7. The Howling
8. The Mummy
9. Psycho
10. The Wolf Man
11. Young Frankenstein


thanks to anyone for participating especially RK for reviewing 20 films of his own!  it's been fun, see you next year where i'm confident i'll find a few 10's.  :)

i for one can't wait for the month of Foreignary to arrive, where we celebrate the best the "foreign" genre has to offer. after that my favourite time of year is Sci-tember, where, ironically (some say bizarrely) for the first half of the month we watch old Dean Martin celebrity roasts from the 70s, and the second half we devote to selected episodes of C. P. O. Sharkey.

that's when xixax really comes alive.
under the paving stones.

RegularKarate

Quote from: Pubrick on November 01, 2006, 09:45:18 AM
i for one can't wait for the month of Foreignary to arrive, where we celebrate the best the "foreign" genre has to offer. after that my favourite time of year is Sci-tember, where, ironically (some say bizarrely) for the first half of the month we watch old Dean Martin celebrity roasts from the 70s, and the second half we devote to selected episodes of C. P. O. Sharkey.

that's when xixax really comes alive.

HA!

I was seriously going to propose something like this... especially the Sci-tember (which I would have called "Sci-Fril" and celebrate during Spring)... really, we need a reason to watch and review bad sci-fi movies too...

You, know, let's just reserve a month for Nerds (Nerdgust?) where we just watch all the nerd genres.

modage

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

grand theft sparrow

Quote from: RegularKarate on November 01, 2006, 01:21:53 PM
You, know, let's just reserve a month for Nerds (Nerdgust?) where we just watch all the nerd genres.

Nerduary has a nicer ring to it.

Or we could just call it Smarch.

w/o horse

I watched Slither - Candyman - Phantasm last Saturday.

What an unexpected delight Candyman was.  Highly enjoyable and very adult oriented.  Very different from my expectations.  It's on my list of horror films I'd watch again or would name if someone asked me "What are good horror films."

Phantasm:  This one was a real trip and a half.  Doesn't explain itself but flying-brain-sucking-spheres don't really require exposition.  Classy pacing and jarring edits, I'd watch it again.

And Slither was different and better than I thought it'd be but sort of hollow and inhuman.

What put us in the mood is that my girlfriend went to that Fangora Horror Weekend that just passed.  She got me a Reservoir Dogs screenplay signed by Michael Madsen (who she said was drunk and drinking), this was quite nice of her.  She said Max Brooks is like his dad (cool and funny).  She doesn't like Eli Roth but apparently he's a real nice guy who's humble and affable and Frank Darabont liked her purse.
Raven haired Linda and her school mate Linnea are studying after school, when their desires take over and they kiss and strip off their clothes. They take turns fingering and licking one another's trimmed pussies on the desks, then fuck each other to intense orgasms with colorful vibrators.

RegularKarate


modage

#261


The Haunting (1963)
"It was an evil house from the beginning.  A house that was born bad."

WHATS IT ABOUT? Academy Award winning director Robert Wise adapts this psychological twist on a classic haunted house tale. 

IS IT SCARY? No. But it is a stirring portrait of a descent into madness!



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? Great vertigo inducing camera angles and the ability to deliver lines like "Maybe only some loose floorboards...maybe the key to another world." with a straight face.

SCARIEST MOMENT: The 'ghost' in the attic.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because it turned what could have been a straightforward ghost story into one of the first true psychological horror films.

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

modage

#262


Fright Night (1985)
"The kids today don't have the patience for vampires. They want to see some mad slasher running around and chopping off heads.''

WHATS IT ABOUT? Before The Lost Boys and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there was Tom Holland's modern "boy who cried wolf" tale which was one of the first films to take vampires out of their gothic castles and put them right next door making them scary again for a new generation of kids.

IS IT SCARY? Not really, (unless you're frightened by Chris Sarandon's incredibly dated wardrobe.)



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? The makeup and the character of Evil Ed who is insanely unhinged through the entire film!

SCARIEST MOMENT: The Rear Window moment.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because its got the perfect mix of scares/fun, hip/homage that seems uniquely 80's.

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

modage



Dead Of Night (1945)
"You wouldn't do that to me, Hugo.... I wouldn't let you. Wouldn't I? WOULDN'T I???''

WHATS IT ABOUT? This British horror anthology is an undiscovered gem that features a number of short stories told by a group of strangers gathered in a country farmhouse. 

IS IT SCARY? Yes.  Though more than 60 years old, the ventriloquist segment in particular is still creepy as hell.



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? The ratio of good stories to bad (the reason so many anthologies fail) and the way the tales end up coming together in such a surprising and satisfying way.

SCARIEST MOMENT: The finale.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because it's probably the best horror anthology ever made.

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

modage



Re-Animator (1985)
"What would the note say? 'Cat Dead.  Details Later.''''

WHATS IT ABOUT? Classic HP Lovecraft update of the Frankenstein tale is one of the 80's best horror films.

IS IT SCARY? No.  But it does feature some hilariously disgusting sequences to make up for it.



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? Jeffrey Combs is a riot as Dr. Herbert West, the script gives him some memorable dialogue to deliver, and the makeup is fantastic during all of the films many fantastically gory sequences.

SCARIEST MOMENT: The first re-animation.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because its funny, its disgusting, its everything you want at Halloween.

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

modage



Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
"Believe me, you don't want Hannibal Lecter inside your head."

WHATS IT ABOUT? The now classic thriller that won 5 Academy Awards and featured one of the most memorable performances ever put on film.

IS IT SCARY? Yes.  And after 18 years of sequels and parodies that is an incredible feat.



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? Everything.  The way Jonathan Demme shoots a conversation with both characters looking straight into the camera, the script, the score, and the incredible performances from Foster, Hopkins and cast.

SCARIEST MOMENT: The night vision climax.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because if you don't believe that it's still the best thriller in nearly 2 decades, watching it again will make you believe.

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Stefen

I LOVE the screen cap concept. It makes me want to not just watch these movies, but watch ANY movies. Keep it up guys.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

modage



Horror Of Dracula (1958)
"It only remains for me now to await the daylight hours.  Then with God's help I will forever end this man's reign of terror."

WHATS IT ABOUT? Rather than a straight retelling, Hammer Studios first Dracula film reimagines the Bram Stoker tale.  Here, its revealed about 10 minutes in that Jonathan Harker has come to find Dracula and stop him. 

IS IT SCARY? No, but the glorious Technicolor blood garnered the film an X rating when it was originally released!



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? If you've never seen a Hammer Film before, there are a few things that set them apart from any other film being produced at the time.  They had incredible actors (Grand Moff Tarkin! Saruman the White! Alfred the Butler!), fantastically rich sets and most importantly a bold style that didn't shy away from sex or violence.  Which made it a perfect fit for Dracula: fangs, blood, sensuality.  All the things that hadn't been seen before onscreen (and it was still only 1958!)

SCARIEST MOMENT: Dracula's first red-eyed, blood soaked appearance.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because seeing Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing face off in the final minutes of the film is an absolute cinematic thrill.

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

bonanzataz

in reference to fright night...
Quote from: modage on October 07, 2007, 08:13:10 PM
WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because its got the perfect mix of scares/fun, hip/homage that seems uniquely 80's.

ugh, bullshit. this movie was fucking boring, save for a couple of good make-up effects towards the end, but by then who really gives a shit. it does not deserve to have been shot in widescreen.

immediately after this, i watched john carpenter's vampires up until the halfway mark to wash the taste of this piece of shit out of my mouth. THAT's how you use widescreen in a horror film. i only wish vampires was good the whole way through. starts to sour about 40 minutes in, but i wouldn't call it bad. any movie with james woods beating the shit out of a priest and laura palmer screaming her little head off is ok by me.
The corpses all hang headless and limp bodies with no surprises and the blood drains down like devil's rain we'll bathe tonight I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls Demon I am and face I peel to see your skin turned inside out, 'cause gotta have you on my wall gotta have you on my wall, 'cause I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls collect the heads of little girls and put 'em on my wall hack the heads off little girls and put 'em on my wall I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls

modage



The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)
"I've harmed nobody, just robbed a few graves!"

WHATS IT ABOUT? In the late 50's Hammer Studios began buying the rights to Universal's classic horror films beginning with this loose remake of Frankenstein in their first of what would eventually be 6 Frankenstein films over the next few decades. 

IS IT SCARY? No, though Hammer would amp up the sex and gore with their next film: Horror Of Dracula.



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? The first screen pairing of Lee and Cushing, the re-invention of the Monster makeup, and the macabre sense of humor.  It was also the first time the story had been done in color and actually more faithful to the Mary Shelley novel than the Universal version.

SCARIEST MOMENT: When the Monster rips off his bandages.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because it was Hammer Studio's first horror film and still one of their best. 

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.