My Personal Scarefest!Oct 26 '00 Write an essay on this topic.Okay, I've taken a crack at Sci Fi movies. Now I'll take a crack at horror. With Halloween on its way, I thought it only appropriate to take a crack. And like I said in the Sci Fi list: Note: These films are not listed hierarchically. They are just a listing of what I consider to be the best in Horror cinema. They all have standout features and weaknesses that anyone can debate until they are blue in the face. This is my list and therefore subject to my own frailties, extravagances, and whims. 10. Evil Dead II (1987, Dir., Sam Raimi. Writer(s), Sam Raimi, Scott Spiegel) In every list there are always a few must haves. This is the first in this list. In his early career, Raimi worked quick and cheap but with great results. Of the three Dead movies, III is by far the best. It combines some good scares with the legendary Dead camp and farce. As if Ash didn't have enough troubles in the first Evil Dead, he gets more than he can handle in Evil Dead II. Raimi's direction is fast and innovative. His very active camera setups make this film seem more like a thrill ride than a movie. And as always, Bruce Campbell is priceless! 9. Ghost Story (1987, Dir., John Irvin. Writer(s), Lawrence D. Cohen) This very underrated treatment of Peter Straub's novel of the same name is as about as much of a classic ghost story as anything that's ever hit the screen. The cast includes some very serious Hollywood heavy hitters, including Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. If your looking for the traditional ghost-coming-back-to-get-revenge-on-those-responsible-for-her-death movie, then this is it to the hilt. 8. Reanimator (1985, Dir., Stuart Gordon. Writer(s), Stuart Gordon, William Gordon II, Dennis Paoli) Based on the H.P. Lovecraft story, Herbert West, Re-animator, this film is a true one of a kind. Gordon does a great job with Lovecraft's original material. He is able to add just enough of the camp so common in 80s horror film to the sometimes laborious Lovecraft storyline. Jeffery Combs, like the previously mentioned Bruce Campbell, is a cult classic and gives a great, twisted performance as Herbert West. Even without the famous disembodied head, Combs would be enough to make this film a must see. 7. Mr. Frost (1990, Dir., Philippe Setbon. Writer(s), Derry Hall, Brad Lynch, Philippe Setbon, Louise Vincent) I would certainly not be surprised if only a very few of you have ever heard of this film. For those of you who have, I'm sure you understand why this is on the list. This exploration of the nature of evil is easily and eerily carried off by a talented cast. Jeff Goldblum, as the titular Mr. Frost, may or may not be the devil himself, walking the earth to make mankind believe in him again. While not funny, the film has a playful tone that presents evil as alternative lifestyle choice. 6. Rosemary's Baby (1968, Dir., Roman Polanski. Writer(s), Roman Polanski) Polanski has a real skill with horror films. The psychological of The Tenant and the tongue and cheek homage of The Fearless Vampire Hunters are great examples of that, but Rosemary's Baby is the jewel in Polanski's horror crown. Sweet, naive Rosemary Woodhouse is expertly seduced by the people in her apartment building into a frightful liason with Satan, eventually giving birth to his child. I've never read the Ira Levin novel, but there are very few holes in this Polanski masterpiece. 5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, Dir., Tobe Hooper. Writer(s), Kim Henkel, Tobe Hooper) This was the first film that I ever watched and thought that I shouldn't be watching it. The violence and seemingly endless scenes of abuse, torture, and sadism still make me squirm over twenty years later. With cannibals based on real-life serial killer Ed Gein, Hooper opens up a truly horror filled world in this film. Movies usually are an escape from the pain and doldrums of everyday life. This film makes you want to escape it! 4. Halloween (1978, Dir., John Carpenter. Writer(s), John Carpenter, Debra Hill) The curious little town of Haddonfield is once again victimized by one its most famous residents, Michael Myers. Carpenter didn't bring us the first slasher movie, but he certainly brought the best. Jamie Lee Curtis gives an excellent performance as Heroine/Babysitter Lori Stroud. The late Donald Pleasance is eerily single-minded in his pursuit of Myers, who he thinks is the incarnation of evil itself. Halloween can best be described as often imitated but never duplicated. 3. The Exorcist (1973, Dir., William Friedkin. Writer(s), William Peter Blatty) I am by no means a religious person, but this movie scares the Hell out of me. This movie asks, "What if all that stuff from Sunday school was true? What if there is a Devil? What if this happened to you?" This is story of the unshakeable dedication of Father Merrin, the torment of Father Karras's doubt, and the liberation of a tormented Regan Mac Neil. Blatty who also wrote the novel provided Friedkin an excellent script and Friedkin did not disappoint. This film shocked the public with its explicit scenes and would have won an Oscar along the way had it not been for The Godfather juggernaut. 2. Night of the Living Dead (1968, Dir., George Romero. Writer(s), George Romero, John Russo) "They're coming to get you, Barbara!" Zombies rampage and eat human flesh. Romero's classic is not slick, well-paced, or even all that entertaining at points, but it is a definite stand out and testament to the ingenuity that horror film makers must often possess to get their vision onto the celluloid. With the radical changes in the sixties at their peak in 1968, the political overtones are hard to miss. 1. Nosferatu (1922, Dir., F.W. Murnau. Writer(s), Henrik Galeen) Why is this film great? Max Schreck, Max Schreck, Max Schreck! One of the greatest achievement in German Expressionist cinema Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens is a compelling retelling of Stoker's Dracula. The vampire in this film is more of a plague than either a man or a monster. He and his rats spread out through the city and contaminate everything they come in contact with. I would also like to mention Werner Herzog's 1979 version of this film. Only the truly tortured soul of Klaus Kinski could approach the lurking threat of the great Max Schreck. Herzog's version is a little more existential than Murnau's but none the less pleasing. These two are the ultimate in vampire films!  |
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