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The Top Ten Horror Films of the Last 25 Years!

Oct 20 '00 Write an essay on this topic.

Since Halloween is approaching, I wanted to make a list of the Top Ten Horror Movies of the Last 25 Years. I added the "last 25 years" stipulation because I didn't want to compare the black and white classics to modern day scream-fests. Obviously, it is far easier for a movie made in the last couple of decades to be scarier than something made in, say, the 1950s. While some of those beloved milestones of horror are important, I am excluding them so that I can just choose movies from my generation of film-watching. I was born in 1971 and probably didn't start watching horror movies until I was four years old (I am only half-joking), hence the 25-year range. By the way, The Exorcist was made in 1973, so it is not eligible under my own rules.

For the most part, these movies must be scary, but I am also giving points for originality, memorable moments and cinematic techniques.

The top ten (in descending order of rank) are:

10) An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Director John Landis combined horror and comedy beautifully to create a distinctly memorable horror movie. Not only does the film contain some advanced werewolf transformation techniques, but it also has several bizarre dream sequences that sometimes play out as if they are really happening. This creates a few big shocks for the audience. Another interesting bit revolves around Griffin Dune's character, who walks around looking like road kill, but speaks in a kind, soft-spoken manner. He is a walking abomination that will exist as long as the werewolf that killed him still lives.

9) I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

I know what kind of grief I will get for picking this, but, truth be told, this film has a lot of clever scare tactics that it effectively uses to make you jump out of your seat. Having a man who may or may not be dead hunting down teenagers with a giant hook is straight out of everyone's favorite old campfire tale, yet it is done very well here. Great acting (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Ryan Phillipe and Anne Heche) in every role certainly gives this film life, even as its main characters begin to lose their own.

8) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

I re-watched this movie a little while back, and it did not stand the test of time near as much as I would have hoped. Still, it burned itself indelibly into the minds of a generation of movie-goers back in the 1980s and the idea (from horror master Wes Craven) was clever, nonetheless. A burned-to-death child molester with razor-fingered gloves haunts the dreams of the children of the people who lynch mobbed him to death is a brilliant idea. Too bad it was watered down in later films with too many inappropriate one-liners and over-the-top scenarios.

7) The Evil Dead (1982)

This movie scared the Hell out of me when I was younger, and, though I enjoyed it more than once, I have yet to watch it again as an adult for fear that it will suddenly seem like a really bad movie. Sam Raimi's film is relentless and full of energy as a small group of people in a remote cabin in the woods keeps dwindling down. Evil spirits have been let loose, and they are all-too-willing to inhabit their victims and turn them into cruel, inhuman zombies. In addition to having some hair-raising moments, this film has some diabolically hilarious spurts of dialog.

6) Scream (1996)

Scream is a great horror movie for a number of reasons. At any given time, the killer can by anybody or anywhere (great use of the cell phone idea!) and the sight of a shrouded figure with a ghostly white face is quite menacing, to say the least. However, this film has tremendous acting and writing, to boot. Not only does Kevin Williamson's script parody the horror movie genre, but it also celebrates it. Wes Craven does his best directing, perfectly balancing funny and scary moments so that you never know what is going to happen next.

5) Poltergeist (1982)

Tobe Hooper directed this intensely scary movie about a family that dwells in a house that was placed over an ancient Indian burial ground. Perhaps that sounds hokey now, but in 1982 it seemed fine. Of course, this film is so scary that the background plot doesn't really matter. Images of moving clown dolls, evil trees, spectral faces made of light, Craig T. Nelson rubbing maggots (and skin) off of his face -- this movie is full of heart-chilling moments that stick around in your mind long after you have watched it.

4) Halloween (1978)

The boogeyman comes to life in the form of Michael Myers -- a silent, relentless killer who stalks his victims without remorse. This film makes no attempt to explain the actions of its villain, which, in my opinion, makes him seem all the more monstrous and evil. As he creeps around in the darkness, illuminating patches of shadows with his featureless white face, it is hard not to be terrified. This is certainly one of John Carpenter's best films. He inspired an entire generation of slasher films, which, regrettably, failed to bring the same amount of suspense to horror junkies.

3) The Sixth Sense (1999)

True, this isn't a heart-attack inducing movie, but what makes it so remarkable is that it is storytelling at its finest. This movie makes the top five on Haley Joel Osment's performance alone. He REALLY sees dead people. His performance is so real that you are sucked into the film with him. You feel his fear. The ghost scenes are creepy, but the film succeeds mostly because it is absolutely unforgettable. This film deserved its Oscar nominations, which is a rare thing for any movie in the horror/thriller genre to have.

2) The Thing (1982)

I realize the placement of this horror/sci-fi classic is high, but I put it here because it has one of the best ideas I have ever encountered in a horror movie. While the Alien movies featured more intimidating creatures, The Thing works vastly on a psychological level. A group of men in the Arctic Circle must decide which of them are aliens and which are humans. However, the alien mimics its host perfectly, so it is impossible to tell by simple observation and conversation. This movie is fueled by great special effects, acting (Kurt Russell is at his best here) and direction. It's entertaining, suspenseful, shocking and gory...all rolled into one.

1) The Shining (1980)

Admittedly, I am not a big Stanley Kubrick fan, but he did something extremely right when he directed The Shining. When a family serves as caretakers for a huge haunted hotel during a long, harsh winter, well, it is only a matter of time before you have the father (Jack Nicholson who is dead-on perfect as a lunatic) chasing the others with an ax. The real horror of this film can be found in its myriad of hallways that all host a different threat: chopped up twins, a moldy old lady, a sinister bartender...this film contains images that have stuck with me for decades. This is the only horror film that still scares the Hell out of me EVERY TIME I WATCH IT! In fact, I only dare watch it when I really truly want to be scared because I will be in for a long, sleepless night afterwards.

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