Best Horror Movies

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

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Gamblour.

Even though you didn't review it mod, I watched American Werewolf in London. Pretty cool movie. I wondered where I had gotten that image of Griffin Dunne from. The creature effects are amazing, I remember seeing clips behind the scenes on this video about the making of "Thriller" when I was a kid.

I also rewatched 28 Days Later, which I've gained a lot of respect for. It's a great goddamn nonzombie zombie movie.
WWPTAD?

modage

i reviewed American Werewolf last year.  it is one of my ABSOLUTE (top 10) favorites of all time.  hilarious, scary, great.  i like 28 days a lot too, though i havent seen it in a few years.  next year for sure.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Pubrick

Quote from: modagenext year for sure.
how many more horror movies can u review that u didn't cover this year? are u gonna start going through 03's lists ... :shock:
under the paving stones.

modage

not 30, thats for sure.  but probably atleast a handful.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

The Red Vine

I saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original) on Halloween night. Terrific movie. All over the poster it has "based on a true story" which isn't really true. Still, one of the best horror movies out there.
"No, really. Just do it. You have some kind of weird reasons that are okay.">

modage

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

polkablues

My house, my rules, my coffee

RegularKarate

You have a plan of attack, Mod?

I've been looking through my Netflix and have only found a handful that I haven't seen that aren't like "I'm Pretty Sure I'm Still Right About What You Did That Summer a Few Years Ago"

modage



Psycho (1960)
"We all go a little mad sometimes."

WHATS IT ABOUT? Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece about a boy and his mother is Hitch at his peak.  It's a film so masterfully made, it transcended its pulp roots to become one of the landmark films in the history of cinema and the first modern horror film. 

IS IT SCARY? Not anymore, only because the film is so iconic it's impossible not to know whats coming.  But the way Hitchcock stages the murder scenes is so good, nearly 50 years later, they still have the power to take you almost by surprise. 



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? Where to start?  Saul Bass opening titles, Perkins performance, the score (which is probably the most recognizable in cinema history), but above all the structure is incredible.  To spend 48 minutes with a character only to have her killed, spend the next 12 with the killer dispatching of her body, the next 20 following a detective who we can only assume will take us through the rest of the film only to see him killed, and the final half hour with a set of characters we've only met briefly, is beyond daring.  It's groundbreaking stuff that proves there were actually two Psycho's in this film and one was Hitchcock himself.  Audiences in 1960 must've lost their minds. 

SCARIEST MOMENT: The shower scene. (Duh).



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because while everyone has seen Psycho, no one has seen it enough.  And because everybody says Vertigo is Hitchcock's best film, but what they don't want to admit is that Psycho is their favorite.

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

modage



28 Days Later (2003)
"REPENT THE END IS EXTREMELY FUCKING NIGH"

WHATS IT ABOUT? London is infected with a virus called Rage that turns people into mindless killers in Danny Boyle's thoughtful update of the zombie movie. 

IS IT SCARY? Yes.  It is, I believe, the first appearance of "fast moving zombies" (though technically they are not zombies.) 



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? It's the first major film I can recall to be shot on DV and it uses that to it's complete advantage.  The grainy digital gives the film a raw urgency and realism that probably couldn't be acheived on film.  It's also the film that made Cillian Murphy a star, and when the film takes a Lord Of The Flies turn late in the game, it's easy to see why. 

SCARIEST MOMENT: The attack on Jim in the kitchen. 



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT?  Because it's a horror film that doesn't feel like a horror film because it plays like a story of survival where scares are just a byproduct of caring about the characters.  And while the film steals liberally from Romero's Zombie Trilogy, it does so without ever feeling like a throwback or an homage.  And perhaps most importantly it borrows Romero's social conscience and makes the film about something other than zombies.   

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

RegularKarate

I'd be cool with 28 Days Later getting 6 if Dawn hadn't only gotten four.  Still a little bitter about that.

Quote from: modage on October 01, 2006, 07:51:02 PM
And perhaps most importantly it takes away Romero's social conscience and makes the film about something other than zombies.   

Wait, this is confusing... do you mean it gets RID of Romero's social conscience?  If so, how is Dawn NOT about something other than zombies?
If you mean that it BORROWS from Ramiro, it's not saying much outside of what's already been covered in the rest of the Dead series (specifically Day).

modage

i mean steals from romero, including stealing his injection of social conscience.  i cleaned up the wording a bit.  though i really need to see Day again, i havent since high school, i just dont know if i'll have time this year.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

modage



Friday The 13th (1980)
"You see, Jason was my son and today is his birthday..."

WHATS IT ABOUT? The beginning to a franchise that would give us one of Horror's most enduring characters, despite the fact that of the 11 films he appears in, only 2 are really worth watching.

IS IT SCARY? Not unless you're in middle school and are watching this at a sleepover.



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? Tom Savini's makeup effects, Betsy Palmer as the unhinged Mrs. Voorhees and (along with Texas Chainsaw Massacre's flash bulb screech), Horror's most memorable sound effect. 

SCARIEST MOMENT: The "Carrie" moment at the end.  (Unfortunately, the film goes on for another 2 pointless minutes.)



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? You shouldn't really.  I'd recommend you grab ANY other film I've recommended in this thread instead.  But if you must, do it with friends.

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

RegularKarate

Quote from: modage on October 08, 2006, 11:16:37 AM
despite the fact that of the 11 films he appears in, only 2 are really worth watching.

I assume that you're saying Freddy Vs Jason is the other one,right?

If you watch Pt 3 in 3-D, it's actually even better than the first... even in flat-o-vision, it's got the best kills of the first ten movies.

This is another franchise that I'm almost done going all the way through... THis and Halloween.

modage

Quote from: RegularKarate on October 08, 2006, 03:58:52 PM
I assume that you're saying Freddy Vs Jason is the other one,right?
i went through the entire series of Friday the 13th a few years ago with my dad, right after we went through the entire Nightmare on Elm St series.  Nightmare is a much much better series even at it's worst moments.  the absolute worst thing about the Friday series is that the entire thing has been edited for home video and never restored.  so most of the kills that were there during theatrical release are severely cut making the movies completely pointless.  movies as stupid as these, the only reason for watching is essentially the kills, and to edit those down to a split second or so REALLY neuters the films.  there are websites detailing all of the edits, and they are NUMEROUS and also petitions to get the original versions on dvd.   :yabbse-undecided:

of the Friday series i liked Part 6 the best (Jason Lives!) because it was more of a monster movie and really stood out from any of the previous installments.  the director really has fun with it.  so 6 and Freddy vs. Jason i think were the best.  besides those 1 & 3 are ok.  the only reason i reviewed this is because the IFC Center recently had a free double feature of Nightmare on Elm St & Friday The 13th that i went to.  it was fun to see it in the theatre, but again, compared to Nightmare just a weak film.   
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.