Best Horror Movies

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

I agree that Suspiria was very atmospheric, the colors were scary, it set a very eerie mood... but the storyline, writing and acting didn't offer much past that.

I did receive a few jumps at how the directing pulled me around SPOILER especially when she meets the witch at the end, but past that I think 4 Skulls is a good score for this one.

[RegularKarate]

MORE of RK's RIPOFF MARATHON


Starring a pre-football-to-the-groin George C. Scott.

This movie scared me so much when I was a kid that I wouldn't watch it again for about 17 years.  

Granted, it disapoints after being in your memory as the scariest movie of all time and then watching it after gaining a film knowledge beyond Star Wars.  It's still creepy though.  

Totally full of haunted house cliches... doors opening by themselves, strange noises at night, and children's creepy whispering.  It still gets you in that creepy mood.  It makes you ready to be scared at any minute.  The way it just creeps around... the scares will take thier time... enough to make you hold your breath longer than you thought you would have to.

There's nothing phenominal about the dialogue or acting, but it's definitely worth watching if you get into horror flicks.  After all these years, I did find myself a little creeped out while watching it again.

Six skulls out of ten for good old times' sake.

[modage]

The Thing (1982)
"I don't know what the hell's in there.  But it's weird and pissed off whatever it is."

WHATS IT ABOUT? John Carpenter's remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic The Thing From Another World probably shares more in common with Alien by way of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

IS IT SCARY? Yes. It's also pretty gross, with some incredible makeup work by 22 year old(!) Rob Bottin.  So if you enjoyed Cronenberg's version of The Fly, you'll likely enjoy this too.            



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? It's just a great paranoid thriller where you're never really sure who is The Thing.  (X-Files fans will recognize it as the blueprint for the classic season one episode "Ice".)    

SCARIEST MOMENT: The blood testing scene.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because Kurt Russell + John Carpenter (pre-1987) = classic.  

[MacGuffin]

Okay, I first saw this film in grade school. A sub teacher played it for us (Yeah, I dunno how he got away with that either). And it freaked the hell out of me. I wasn't into horror films back then as I am now, so I was very vocal about the gore (eeewweee, ughhhh, etc.) so I remember the entire class turning their heads back, almost in unison, to look at me everytime I gasped. I've since faced my fears about horror films, obviously, and think it's one of Carpenter's best.

[Pwaybloe]

Like Mac, I wasn't into horror movies when I was a kid either.  I think it was the duty of my parents to keep me away from those movies, because they would regret it later after I got to see them.  "The Howling", "The Thing", and "Alien" I remember to be movies that absolutely terrified me.  I think HBO had just came to our cable system (remember Fraggle Rock?), so I had access to these kind of movies now.  I remember one scene in "The Thing"...

SPOILERS
...that scared the hell out of me.  They find one of the guys and put him on a gurney table to check his vitals.  They see that he has no pulse, so they pull out the defibrillator.  When the guy puts the pads on the other guy's chest, a mouth opens up and chomps his hands off.  It sounds comical now that I write that down, but I was afraid to hug my dad in fear of that monster mouth.
END SPOILERS

I think it's one of Carpenter's best as well, I just wouldn't recommend it to 6-year olds.

[modage]

The Lost Boys (1987)
"You're a creature of the night Michael, just like out of a comic book! My own brother, a goddamn, shit-sucking vampire.  Oh, you wait 'til mom finds out buddy."

WHATS IT ABOUT? Joel Schumacher, long before ruining Batman, brings the vampire out of the dark ages and into contemporary California in this classic 80's film.  

IS IT SCARY? Not terribly, but it does have it's moments.            



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? The way Schumacher shoots the early vampire scenes is creative and keeps them scary.  It's also funny and for the time it must've been the hippest thing on the planet.  (Unfortunately almost 20 years later the styles are beyond dated, but that doesn't put a damper on the proceedings in the slightest).  

SCARIEST MOMENT: The first staking.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because it's a great script, with a great cast in very imaginative film that helped to bring vampires out of gothic castles and into modern times.  And because it has one of the best closing lines in history.  

[modage]

Shaun of the Dead (2004)
"Take car. Go to mum's. Kill Phil. Grab Liz. Go to the Winchester.  Have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over. How's that for a slice of fried gold?"

WHATS IT ABOUT? First time filmmaker Edgar Wright along with co-writer and star Simon Pegg deliver an instant classic in this hilarious homage to zombie films.  

IS IT SCARY? While the comedy seems to have the upper hand on video, my experience in the theatre definitely had a few scares.            



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? Almost everything, but I'll single out the fact that a horror comedy is one of the most notoriously difficult genre's to get right and this film nails it perfectly.    

SCARIEST MOMENT: The attack on Ed.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because it made fans of George Romero, Quentin Tarantino, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson & Stephen King among others.  And because it was nearly the best film of 2004.  And if you disagree,  read this article.  

[Gloria]

Can I recommend Romero's movie Martin?  Have you even seen it, Mod?

[pete]

shaun of the dead didn't work for me simply because it was so annoying.  way too many scenes of actors screaming at each other during a time of peril, and I could see the comedy in a situation like that, but instead they were just annoying.

[Ghostboy]

I have a feeling Mod would really hate Martin.

[pete]

maybe he should just review Marty instead.  I mean, it's about ugly people.

[modage]

Can I recommend Romero's movie Martin?  Have you even seen it, Mod?

you can recommend it, and no i havent seen it yet.

I have a feeling Mod would really hate Martin.

my girlfriend watched it in a horror class last year and really hated it.  our tastes are usually pretty similar but i'll see it anyways just to be sure.

[modage]

The Ring (2002)
"Before you die, you see the ring."

WHATS IT ABOUT? An urban legend of a videotape that kills you 7 days after you watch it was the first Japanese horror film in the recent wave to be remade for American audiences and by far the best.

IS IT SCARY? Yes.  Arguably the scariest horror film in a decade.          



WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT? Though it is a remake, the original idea is incredibly original which is probably why it works in any country.  It's a good mystery, it's scary as hell and it's probably the best horror film in a decade.  All of this while overcoming two potentially crippling handicaps: it's a remake and it's rated PG-13.

SCARIEST MOMENT: The finale.



WHY SHOULD I WATCH IT? Because even though it is based on the Japanese film Ringu, the American version manages to improve upon the original in every way creating a modern horror masterpiece.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

The Ring's story never settled well with me, and I tackled it a lot in my head, but it was filmed very well.  It still makes me jump sometimes.

I agree with a high ranking on this one, but 9 out of 10 seems steep (I'm just a tough critic I guess).

I sort of refuse to see Ring Two, mostly because I really liked The Ring and don't want to tarnish how I feel about it.  Have you seen it or know if it's worth seeing?

[modage]

I sort of refuse to see Ring Two, mostly because I really liked The Ring and don't want to tarnish how I feel about it.  Have you seen it or know if it's worth seeing?

it is absolutely one of the WORST SEQUELS IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF FILM.