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listage: Top 10 HorrorNov 04 '04 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line a Top 10 list of Horror, as said by me It's after Halloween, but hey, more listage... went on a little horror binge over the weekend. Sometimes that's cool to do this time of the year. To be fair, these are the horror films I consider the best, which doesn't inherently imply that they're the *scariest* considering the films that usually scare me don't fall into the genre. So, my top 10 horror films... 10. THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933, Whale) My personal favorite of the 30s monster films, though this is less a monster film and more a character study than the others. 9. THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956, Siegel) Product of the McCarthy era of paranoia, works as a rather overt allegory. Bordering the line between the social sci-fi films of the same era (e.g. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOL STILL, THEM) and that of a B-horror film, this is one of the most memorable from that bunch. Eerie and thematically scary. 8. NOSFERATU, A SYMPHONY OF HORROR (1922, Murnau: Germany) Though, it all depends on which of the 1,000,000 versions of the film you see-- prints consisting of varying lengths, intertitle translations, and, most significantly, scores, do exist(saw one version that is set to a Jazz instrumental score, and almost slit my wrists). But, find a good version, and you're in for something special. 7. SESSION 9 (2001, Anderson) A clever reworking of common plot devices, played out against a backdrop of well developed characters and a general aura of uneasiness. A mini modern masterpiece. 6. THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919, Wiene: Germany) The quintessential film from the era of expressionistic horror in Germany. CALIGARI is a film that is scarier than most of the stuff we deal with today, all of which take influence, direct or indirect, and probably unknowingly, from this movement. The three Ss are present in prime form: sets, shadows, and the subconscious. 5. HALLOWEEN (1978, Carpenter) See? Pure talent with no money can work after all! Just as effective as ever. 4. ANGEL HEART(1987, Parker) A blend of Gothic horror and film noir (picture Dario Argento directing DETOUR). Parker's craft is visible in every frame of this purposefully messy piece of disturbing. Reminds me why Rourke was so cool back in the day, when I wasn't born yet... 3. THE THING (1982, Carpenter) Very few remakes ever improve upon the original-- this is the best of them all, at least proportionally. THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD is fun, sure, though very much dated and suffers from poor pacing. Carpenter's "remake," in all its gory glory, adds a human element absent from most films of the like. And, an ending I'd like to make love to. 2. PSYCHO (1960, Hitchcock) [One of] Hitchcock's masterpiece[s], essentially flawless and beloved to this day. Nothing I can say that hasn't already been said, other than that I'm sorry it's only #2 and that I can't form any semblance of good argument as to why this next film is listed above this one... 1. THE EVIL DEAD (1982, Raimi) Pure B-movie; no budget, no acting, all ambition. It's the sheer ingenuity in Raimi's visual style, his use of the camera and his eye for shot composition. This is a film for filmmakers. It's cheesy, goofy, silly, stupid, brilliant. a few more: I tried my best to fit Tournieur's CAT PEOPLE on there. A subversive study of suppressed sexuality. To classify that as a horror film might be some sort of strange injustice, though it more or less fits-- either way, it deserves mention here. THE WOLF MAN and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON are two of the best "creature features" from that era... a little something extra: for me, personally, it's those quieter movies that usually scare me (not to say horror films don't scare me-- THE SHINING, ROSEMARY'S BABY, and THE RING [not RINGU]). Usually, it is those more emotionally charged, psychological films, many of which I wouldn't consider horror, that get to me. Lynch's ERASERHEAD, which feels as if he discovered a way to take a camera into his nightmares, is frightening as it finds ways to tap into your own subconscious. His LOST HIGHWAY is scary on that same level. Sluizer's original version of THE VANISHING, as in before he crossed an ocean in order to assist Hollywood in raping it, is terrifying to me. Though, the movie that, for reasons beyond most people, is the scariest for me, is Hitchcock's VERTIGO. So quiet, so gentle, that it sneaks right passed me. I am completely vulnerable to it. So it goes. The end.  |
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by Stephen_Murray
by lindaohio
