Darth Groovy Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Here are some short reviews of my top ten single most required Scary Movies to check out for Halloween! Discuss, argue, or post your own top ten lists! 1. Halloween Though this movie has spawned over two decades of countless mediocre slasher films, this one still works in all the best ways. What happens when an escaped mental patient dones a cheap mask, and terrorizes Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night? Nobody thinks twice about the mask, and nobody expects anything but cheap Halloween pranks. The sheer simplicity of this movie makes it one of the most frightening movies I ever saw as a child, and I still think it is scary to this day. Subsequent "sequals" have involved everything from witchcraft, Satanism, and assorted other psuedo-psychological nonsense which takes all the thrill out of it. However the original still works....it's still scary, and remains a classic to this day. Probably the scariest movie you could get your hands on for Halloween. Local video stores will usually be out of this title on Halloween night, so if you can try to buy it now. 2. An American Warewolf in London David Naughton and Griffin Dunne are attacked by a warewolf while vacationing in London. David survives the attack, only to find out from his now dead friend that he has until the first full moon to either take his own life, or he will turn into a Warewolf. John Landis makes this Horror movie full of old school gore, and strong tounge-in-cheek humor! This is one of the first movies that ever won any real recognition for special effects from 6-time Academy Award winner Rick Baker. The transformation of warewolf on screen broke new grounds, and made for a frightening and thrilling experience from start to finish. Quite possibley the best Warewolf movie ever made! 3. The Shining Jack Nicholson takes Shelly Duvall and they're son Danny to spend a winter watching the Overlook Hotel in the mountains of Colorado. Jack's purpose is to spend the isolation in hopes of writing a novel, but what he finds is in fact cabin fever that drives him insane and terrorizes his family instead. This film makes you constantly wonder if he's hallucinating, or if the Hotel itself, which happens to have a history of unfortunate events, is in fact haunted after all. There is just no rest with this movie....it's white knuckles and nail biting from start to finish. Unlike most haunted house style movies, that rely on dark closed spaces....the Hotel's gigantic ball rooms, and long white corridors make this movie a true Stanley Kubrick masterpiece! 4. The Changeling Most people over look this movie, but they should not. George C. Scott is a composer/music instructor who has just lost his family in an unfortunate car accident. While trying to re-build his life, he accepts a job at a local university and seeks resident in an old historic mansion. Scott not only has to battle the demons of his memories, but also has to tend to the strange noises and supernatural events that seem to stem from one orphan "Changeling" who's spirit inhabits the mansion. No special fx here.....just plain old fasioned spooky noises, and strange events make this movie one that will scare you for the long term effect! 5. Night Of The Living Dead George Romero's low budget zombie film is the one that started them all. You have to admit to this day that the onslaught of spin offs pail in comparison to this 1968 classic. Nevermind any explanations, the dead are walking the Earth, and feeding on human flesh. The object is survival. This movie was considered quite gory and scary for it's time, and was made just prior to the existence of movie ratings. What people fail to realize is that Romero's films often contail political messages burried in his horror movies. At the time, the casting of African American Duane Jones as the protagonist character, who seems to be the only person with a level head is surrounded by scared white people who consistantly doubt his abilities to survive. This movie is scary enough in Black and white, never mind all the color coded re-makes or re-masters. You can usually find this movie in the bargain bin at your local Best Buy! 6. Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn Seeing the first Evil Dead is not necessary. This is basically a re-make of Sam Raimi's low budget shlock fest otherwise known as The Evil Dead. Bruce Campbell and his girlfriend decide to take over an abandoned cabin in the wooks only to find that it contains the lost pages of The Necronomicron, an ancient book bound in flesh, inked in blood that contains spells which open portals in time, and allow demons to enter our world. The idea of Evil Dead is that anything goes. While the first film was supposed to be serious, this film is a horror film with some of the best tounge in cheek humor I have ever seen commited to film. The events and humor continue to climax at break neck speed and eventually leads to the plot of the ever so famous Army Of Darkness. This movie is gory as all sin, but still fun, and never looses it's warped sense of charm! 7. Psycho Alfred Hitchcock once said that "The most scariest thing is when you put ordinary people into extraordinary situations". Could anything be a better Expample than Psycho? I assume most of you have seen this, but I refuse to spoil this because everybody HAS to see this film at least once in your life time. Janet Leigh is an ordinary poor worker who decides not to deposit a rather larger sum of cash from her employer and in a panic heads for the hills. She seeks refuge in the Bates Motel. She is met by the Quirky Norman Bates who seems just a little over-powered by his mysterious mother who hides up in a window in a rather large creepy house not too far away from the Hotel. This is a thriller, but scary as hell, and scary in a long term effect. The kind of scary that makes you wonder just how much can make you go Psycho after all! 8. Carrie Sissy Spacek is Carrie. A troubled Teen who is ruled with an iron fist by her mother, a religious zealot who uses the bible as a crutch for being a poor single mother. When Carrie is taunted by her class mates in school, she discovers a power of telekinesis, and soon begins every youth's journey to rebeling against her parents, only Carrie takes it a step further, only to be countered against her disturbed mother who fights her all the way. Brian Depalma directed this classic, that has some slow moments, but still delivers one of the best climatic moments ever commited to film. And despite the lack of supernatural elements, Carrie is still just plain creepy, and always will be! 9. John Carpenter's The Thing I cannot stress the effects of "cabin fever". And anyone who lives up north and has ever got "snowed in" knows just what the hell I am talking about. And who would know "cabin fever" better than a research team in glaciers of Antartica? Hellicopter pilot Kurt Russell, and his team come a team of nearby Norwiegen scientists that have unearthed a large UFO burried in a glacier. What they find is alot of dead Norwegians, and a mysterious snow dog. All hell breaks loose as people start to dissapear in Russell's camp. What they discover, is that the Norwegians have discovered an extra terrestrial entity that can replicate any living cell completely, and transform into the being it kills. So now you got a group of isolated people, stuck in a snow storm in Antartica and trapped with a being that can replicate basically any one of them. Now you have paranoia, and cold hard fear. What could be scarrier? This movie is extremely gory....and the kind of gore that makes you want to turn your head and walk away...but it is the kind of movie that leaves you disturbed long after it is over. 10. Bram Stoker's Dracula And what would be Halloween without Dracula? Every kid at some point has put on a pair of plastic fangs, or gone as Dracula on Halloween, but who has ever read the book? Probably not even Francis Ford Copolla. Although this movie is plauged with flaws....Gary Oldman's performance as Vlad Dracula is very underated. A lousy performance by Keanu Reeves and Winnona Ryder almost ruin this film, but it is saved by Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, and a story that has lasted generations since 1897. This movie is still the best of Dracula movies, and the reason so, is due to Dracula himself. Rather than seeing Bella Lagosi in cape doing that wierd thing with his eyebrows, we see Oldman first as a wire haired mysterious recluse with two things on his mind, Buying up propertie in Carfax Abbey, and Winnona Ryder(ugh!) However, Ryder bears a striking resemblence to Dracula's long departed wife, and we see something that doesn't show up in too many horror movies....compasion. While Dracula is cleary a horrible creature, cursed by God, he still hurts, and we hurt with him. The trendy gothic camera work makes this film look dated, but it is still the best version of Dracula to date. It could have landed some oscars with just a little more effort, and maybe a better cast, but it is still worth a watch, and still fun on Halloween! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toms Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 They aren't really a horror film, but I'd swap Dracula for either Lost Boys or After Dark... but then I don't think Dracula is really a horror film either. Am I the only person who never got what everyone liked about "Halloween"? I like most other JC films, but that one leaves me cold. 11. Scream Bit too postmodern for Groovy's taste I think, but its actually surprisingly gory in places, and the references to all the other horror films make it required halloween viewing. The opening with Drew Barrymore is probably the best bit of the film though. 12 Nightmare on Elm St All time classic film that is still great now. The sequels were mostly rubbish, so people tend to assume the original was, but its Wes Craven at his best. A few jumps here and there still work, and the central concept of being unable to sleep is a great one. Plus, if all else fails, you get to do a bit of "before they were famous" spotting with Johnny Depp. 13 The Grudge I know a lot of people didn't like this one, but personally its the scariest film I've ever seen. Guess its all down to personal feelings when it comes to fear. It doesn't do anything particularly new or original, but it does the "jump scares" very well. 14 The Fog Another classic John Carpenter film, with more Jamie Lee Curtis. But imho much better and scarier than Halloween. 15 Blair Witch Project Another one a lot of people didn't like... but i think it was a love it or hate it kind of film. Its kind of become cool to hate it now. Its probably not a film you would want to watch more than once, but as an exercise in "unsettling frights" rather than "jump frights" its excellent and original. 16 The Ring/Ring 0 Watch the original japanese ones. Though the films themselves aren't especially scary, Sadako has to be one of the freakiest "bad guys" in any film ever. Plus its the one that truely started the trend of japanese horror. Ring 2 isn't so hot, and i hear that the US remakes aren't so great either. 17 Audition I hate this film. Not exactly a horror, but i don't know what you would call it otherwise. But its just far too freaky for me. So, if you want a film that will freak you out then go for this... or probably anything else by Takeshi Miike. 18 Catwoman Scariest movie ever.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Jeez, no Exorcist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 The Blob. Or of course one of those freaky Star Trek episodes. Aliens might also do well. Jaja. I know. I'm not that deep into horror movies. But entertainment is important. Ne? Hey, and look. My p.c. just increased by one. On it's own. How cabalistic. *shudders* :D *runs* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toms Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 no Texas Chainsaw Masacre either, but those films didn't move me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 I disagree with the Ring movies and the Grudge, they're boring and leave me wanting to drink myself into a coma in attempts to escape my own mental suffering. I'll add "IT" to the list in replacement of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormHammer Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 I mostly agree with your list Groovy, except I never found Psycho or Carrie remotely scary. So I'd probably swap out Psycho for Dog Soldiers (another werewolf flick, which was very well done imho - not necessarily scary but a good actioner), and The Haunting (the original not the horrid remake) in place of Carrie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Woah, can't believe I forgot about Dog Soldiers. Awesome movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Kazaam. Can't forget Kazaam.*shudder* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Groovy Posted October 26, 2005 Author Share Posted October 26, 2005 Jeez, no Exorcist? Over rated. Over use of green pea soup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nalukai Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 If your choosing a George C. Scott movie, i suggest Ghost Story as well. and Toms what makes Halloween so scary in its day it was based roughly off a true story about a guy that escaped a mental hosptial, hacked up a bunhc of peeps on Hallows Eve... and disappeared. my top ten ,which is almost the same as grooves... 1.Halloween 2.The Amityville Horror ( the original not the crappy remake) 3.Hellraiser 4.Nightmare on Elm Street 5.Alien 6. Night of the Living Dead 7.The Shining 8.The Exorcist 9.Scream ( dont hate, you know the very first one was great and brought the element back from the grave so to speak) and last but certainly not least.... 10.Poltergeist honorable mentions to The Fog(original),Ghost Story and the Thing, just didnt have room for them in a top ten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wilson Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 Id say thats a fine list there, just needs IT and saw squessed in somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 ... Saw? Halloween list, not "Watch bad movies and get stoned with your pals" night-list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurgan Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 At this rate you guys will have no time to trick or treat! I'd toss in the original Dawn of the Dead in there (though you might want to have seasoned fans first with "Night" heh) and "The Crow" (the original, not any of the abyssmal sequels or remakes!). The original Alien is a good choice too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabretooth Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 The Ring should be there, the Exorcist, Dracula, Frankenstein, NotLD, DotD and... uh... yeah, Star Wars: Episode -1: The Adventures of Jar Jar Binks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wilson Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 ... Saw? Halloween list, not "Watch bad movies and get stoned with your pals" night-list. I thought Saw was a superb film, bloody scary in bits as well so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 The Ring sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 The Ring sucked. Aye, both the original and the remake were far from anywhere near decent. Even if they were decent, they'd be far from required Halloween viewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toms Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 Is IT the terrible tv miniseries with a guy in a clown suit? Or am i thinking of something else? Others: - If you like Dog Soldiers (which i thought was not bad) then I think The Descent is by the same director and is supposed to be it's "sister movie". Whatever that means. I haven't seen it, but I was thinking of picking up the DVD. - Land of the Dead is pretty cool, if not a classic. - Saw was ok but got boring. - Creep is a reasonably good horror film starring Franke Potente as a girl trapped in the london underground at night. Probably more scary if you have been sat all alone on an underground station in a drunken haze yourself though. - A Tale of Two Sisters is a cool korean horror flick, but probably not for those that didn't like the ring/grudge. - Wolf Creek is actually fairly harsh. It portrays things in a more gritty, realistic style than a lot of horror films. - Final Destination 2 isn't exactly a horror film, but its great fun predicting the elaborate deaths. You can skip part 1. - 28 Days Later is a nice variation on the Zombie theme. - The Sixth Sense and The Others are both suitably spooky and excellent for Halloween viewing. - I guess you could class Se7en, Jaws and Alien as scary movies, if not exactly horror. And after all of that you NEED to watch Shaun of the Dead... The Grudge freaked me out enough that i stopped watching scary movies for a few months, and the Ring is the only film ever to give me nightmares... so i guess its all personal taste.. *runs screaming* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_hill987 Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 You must watch Braindead, best Zombie movie ever (bar Shaun of the Dead), directed by Peter Jackson before he became famous for LotR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Groovy Posted October 27, 2005 Author Share Posted October 27, 2005 The Ring sucked. You betcha! Also, i've seen Blair Witch Project mentioned more than once in this thread. Don't make me get the hose people... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lassev Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 17 Audition I hate this film. Not exactly a horror, but i don't know what you would call it otherwise. But its just far too freaky for me. So, if you want a film that will freak you out then go for this... or probably anything else by Takeshi Miike. Damn that was a gross film. But you are right, it's not really horror. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurgan Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 That reminds me I need to watch "Shaun of the Dead." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toms Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 Can't believe we all forgot Ghostbusters!!! *smacks head* Haven't seen BrainDead in years but it does rock, i think they must have used gallons of rasberry sauce in that one. Also try out Bad Taste for Peter Jackson's early attempt at Zombie Comedy Horror. - Hellraiser anyone? (1 and 3 only to be on the safe side). the first film is low budget but excellent, the second is dull, the third is a bit generic but ok, then they go pants. But the Cenobites are up there with the creepiest Horror Movie bad guys. ps/ you DO need to watch Shaun of the Dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nalukai Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 I forgot to include these but didnt have any room either: the first 2 Friday the 13ths are great to watch in a darkened room with someone to cuddle and pounce on you when ya scare the piss out of them in the key music heightened areas where nothing actually happens. The acting is beyond teh sux... but the suspense is great. forget about the rest of the 50 they made after those 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.