10. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
Adapted from the novel of the same title by Oscar Wilde (one of my favorite books) this movie is about a handsome young man who longs to stay young... and sells his soul to do so. Instead of physically aging, a painting of him ages instead. Throughout his life of sin, Dorian locks the painting away refusing to see what he is doing to himself. This movie is very good and intrigues me to this day, although it doesn't creep me out as much as it did when I was a kid.
9. The Descent (2005)
I really liked this movie. It was different because it featured an almost all female cast and it really pulls you into the plot. Basically a group of women decide to get away for a weekend to explore some caves and cheer up their friend who is mourning a loss. They decide to explore an uncharted cave and run into some unexpected inhabitants. Awkward camera angles and clever lighting create a tense, suspenseful atmosphere. And even though I'm not claustrophobic in the slightest, I was extremely un-nerved during some portions of this film. If you don't mind gore/blood and you haven't seen this movie, you should. Its very different from a lot of scary movies out there. There are two different endings depending on which version of the film you watch.
8. Suspiria (1977)
I took a modern horror films class a few semesters ago and we watched this film. I remember being surprised because from the plot outline, the movie didn't seem that interesting. But when we watched it I was blown away. First of all the music is brilliant and visually it is a very beautiful film. You can tell its a foreign made film because of how artistic it is. As for the plot, an American ballet dancer goes to Germany to attend a dance school and when students start to vanish she becomes curious and gets herself into trouble. It is an early "slasher" film and it contains quite a bit of gore if you're curious about how gory it is there is a youtube video of one of the death scenes.
7. Arachnophobia (1990)
The main reason this is on here is because I AM TERRIFIED OF SPIDERS!!!! I have an absolute paralyzing fear of them and it was difficult to get a picture of the movie poster cause when I googled "arachnophobia" LOTS of creepy spider pictures popped up. I love Jeff Daniels (as he pops up in a few of my other top ten movie lists) I gotta give support to the fellow Chippewa and Michigan native (and on a side note we have the same dentist... for real). I have seen this movie tons of times and it still puts me on edge. Jeff Daniels is great as well as John Goodman as the exterminator. The plot is as follows, a South American spider hitches a ride to the US in the casket of a corpse, once it gets here it holds up in a barn and reproduces with an American spider and the killings begin. I always check my shoes and slippers now before I put them on my feet!
6. Pet Sematary (1989)
Yet again, another film I was exposed to as a child. I really like Stephen King books and actually I have never read this one. But I love this movie. One of the scariest scenes in this movie is the scene with the semi-truck when the family is flying a kite. So many things scare me about this movie... Church the cat, the little boy with the scalpel and the mom's creepy deformed sister. Just overall a good and creepy movie! :) If you don't know what this movie is about I'll give you the rundown: A family moves to a house that is by a busy road, unfortunately because the road is so busy a lot of pets get run over. Behind the local pet cemetery is a blocked off path that leads to an old Indian burial ground. The legend of the burial ground is that anything buried there comes back, but they don't come back right. The main character in this film challenges that legend when the family cat is killed and he buries it at the Indian burial ground. Other bad things continue to happen after that and I can't really say too much without giving it all away. It is definitely worth checking out.
5. The Evil Dead (1981)
A classic cult film, absolutely cheesy humor and ridiculous gore. But it's awesome. Made on a low budget this zombie horror film follows a group of college kids to a cabin for the weekend. They find an old book (the Necronomicon AKA the book of the dead) and a tape recording of its translation. When they listen to the tape, the evil is unleashed and starts to possess everyone. The main character, Ash, fights to save his friends and we follow him in his journey to do so.
4. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
"They're coming to get you, Barbara." I hope that one day I can make a movie that's even close to as brilliant as this one is! Another classic zombie film, the plot is simple: for some reason, all of the dead... won't stay dead! The film follows a group of strangers as they try to figure out what is going on and how they are going to survive. This is a classic movie that everyone should see at least once in their life. Although,I don't get why zombies are always cannibals. Can anyone explain this to me? If I were a zombie, I'd be like "Hmmm... I could really go for a steak right now." Being a zombie and all I might go chew on a live cow, but I would in no way crave human flesh. I just don't understand the rationale.
3. Scream (1996)
I'm sorry but I love this movie and never get sick of it. I like movies that make fun of themselves and that's what this one does. The teenagers in this movie are all film buffs and constantly talk about the correct way to survive a horror film. Reflecting on the movie itself, they talk about what their lives would be like as a film, and their survival depends on whether or not they follow their own scary movie rules. In this movie, a group of high school teenagers find themselves in a town with a serial killer, and for one girl in particular it stirs up memories of the murder of her mother several years before. The girl, along with her friends, the deputy sheriff and a controversial news reporter try to survive and solve the mystery of the murders.
UPDATE: Just a few short months after posting this I had the privilege to work as an extra on the set of Scream 4 and THE Wes Craven told me I did a good job!! A moment I will never forget :)
2. 28 Days Later (2002)
This movie is brilliant! It grabs you and pulls you in within the first several minutes. The plot is as follows: A group of animal right activists free several animal test subjects including a few chimpanzees that were used in a rage study. The monkeys were strapped to a chair and forced to watch videos of war and violence. From this the animals became "infected with rage" and apparently this is a very contagious thing. If any bodily fluids from an infected mix with the bodily fluids of another living thing it becomes infected as well. The disease spreads after the animal is freed and the movie jumps ahead to 28 days after the epidemic began. A man wakes up in a hospital after being in a coma and finds the entire hospital and city deserted. In my opinion one of the creepiest parts of the movie is when the man is walking through the abandoned city streets searching for any sign of life and there is nothing but silence. The guy quickly realizes that any "person" he finds is a zombie-like enraged creature, he finds a few un-infected people and the movie follows them on their search for answers and survival. Good movie, I highly recommend it. You know, sometimes I feel like I'm infected with rage.
1. The Shining (1980)
This is my all time favorite horror film! I can somewhat identify with this movie, not with the whole wanting to kill my family thing, but with the being isolated to the point of going insane thing. But I'm better now so its OK! Basically this movie is about a family that moves into an isolated hotel in the mountains for the winter. And during the winter months no one can enter and no one can leave the hotel grounds because the snowfall is so high. The film follows the family as they deal with the secrets of the hotel and the tensions that arise between them as the feelings of isolation start to take over.
Anyone who knows anything about this film knows that it is in fact a horror film (hence the reason it is on this list) and not a "family-friendly" movie. I wanted to include this youtube video I found because I think its awesome. Through the magic of editing and a new VO (voice-over) this movie trailer was made to make The Shining seem like a great movie for the whole family to enjoy. :)
So there it is... my top ten favorite horror films. More top ten lists to come :)
1, 2, 4, & 5 are also on my top 10. :D And a few of these need to find their way to my never-ending Netflix queue.
ReplyDeleteoh, the never-ending netflix queue... i know it well :) haha
ReplyDeleteWow, Becky, another brilliant list. It's amazing how similar our tastes are. I've never seen THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, or embarrassing as it is to admit, SUSPIRIA. The rest of your picks I agree with completely. I was very happy to see SCREAM rank so high, since most people don't appreciate that movie anymore. I think that the sequels and knock-offs turned a lot of folks off, although I'm also a big SCREAM 2 fan. SCREAM 3, not so much.
ReplyDelete28 DAYS LATER is a nearly perfect movie. Danny Boyle somehow managed to do everything just right. It's amazing how much emotion and social commentary they packed into what could have been just another zombie movie. And I loved that they shot on MiniDV.
I also agree 100% that THE SHINING is the scariest movie ever made. I think about it every time I'm alone in a hotel hallway. That youtube video you found is hilarious.
Keep these lists coming. It's also worth noting that I think our own Annie has seen at least five of these movies. That's more than I would have guessed from your horror list.