The Eleven Best Horror Films
Submitted by lbangs on Wed, 09/18/2002 - 11:17
Tags:
- 1) Halloween (1978)
- 2) The Thing (1951)
- 3) Rosemary's Baby (1968)
- 4) Alien (1979)
- 5) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)
- 6) Psycho (1960)
- 7) Suspiria (1977)
- 8) Night of the Living Dead (1968)
- 9) Night of the Demon (1958)
- 10) The Exorcist (1973)
- 11) Tremors (1989)
L, have you seen The Haunting (1963)?
Yes, one Halloween years ago towards the end of an all-night horror film fest. Due to the late hour (probably around 5-7 AM), I honestly do not remember much about it besides the facts that I really enjoyed it quite a bit and loved the acting. So, I guess I need to watch it again soon!
I notice the film is not on your ratings list of 1963. Have you seen this?
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Yes, I've seen it and if I haven't noted it yet then it's a clerical error.
I think The Haunting is an easy contender for any "best of" horror films list. Check it out again some time.
I really like the Haunting. It is a very creepy movie.
If I was going to do a Horror list (BTW, love the new 11 best series) I would have to find a spot for Re-Animator. Not sure it is a horror movie as much a camp classic but I truly loved that movie.
Re-Animator. Ah, that puts a smile on my face. I saw this at age 16, which is of course probably a bit young for this film, and I've never quite forgotten it. How could I? Tons of fun. Very nearly inched on this list, and it still might some time. Very funny, but not really suspenseful, and that's what slid it off here.
I went years before realizing that my friend and I were not the only people to have seen this film! I hear the new double-DVD pack is something else...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I certainly will. Thanks!
Another horror film I watched way too late on a Halloween night and remember loving but little else - Vampyr (1931).
Perhaps I smell a double feature approaching!
Again, thanks!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I'm annoying because everytime someone posts a horror film list I feel compelled to disagree with like half of them. Now, however, is no exception. While I totally agree with Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist, Halloween and Jaws as excellent (although I've always thought of Jaws as drama or adventure), I can't stand Suspiria or Rosemary's Baby.
Suspiria (there's someone trying to get in the door, so I think instead of hurting them once they get in, I'll jump out a window without looking first and land in barbed wire for no good reason. But since the cinematography is so cool everyone will overlook the lame characters and indecipherable plot and villains with no conceivable motive.)
Rosemary's Baby (I am a dumb-ass. I think I'll hang around my apartment building even after I'm sure it's a satanic cult.) I don't know, maybe it was just pre-women's lib but I can't dig this movie because of the horribly lame protagonist.
I haven't seen Tremors or Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, however, so I think I'll check those out.
Suspiria is certainly a style over substance film, but then, horror is a genre that greatly relies on style. Most horror film plots fall apart pretty quickly under bright lights. Our fears don't usually make much sense, so most attempts to tap into them don't as well. Suspiria is a very bad dream, and its logic is that of dreams. It is the visuals and sounds that push this one over, and in today's 'plot is king' environment, that unfortunately alienates a lot of people from this gem.
So, I can understand not digging Suspiria, but Rosemary's Baby?
I don't really think you're putting yourself into the character's shoes. True, strange happenings are afoot, but at every step, there is something to make one doubt it. And do keep in mind that she is a newlywed in love with her husband. I'm not sure that trusting one you love despite some signs for suspicion necessarily makes you a dumbass. Additionally, the film is tapping into the very idea of pregnacy, a state where bizarre things happen to one's body, and yet everyone continues to assure you that all is normal. That's the key to unlocking this film. Rosemary is no dumbass; she is in love and a stranger to her world, hell, even her own body which has been taken over by this alien growing inside. I have no problem buying her character and not seeing her as an idiot. I mean, given that you live in the real world and not a horror film, wouldn't you worry a bit if you started to suspect satanic neighbors of luring you to become the mother of Satan's child? Really. Wouldn't you tend to think that perhaps you are just going a bit silly yourself? Rosemary lives in a 'real' world, not the world of Scream, and one must realize that to understand her.
A strident feminist? No, and certainly naive, but not a dumbass.
I'm not sure if you would dig Tremors, but you should certainly check out Caligari. It is short and worth it!
Don't ya love involved disagreements about horror films? ;)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Oh, and I'll add real quickly (just to be more annoying) how isolated Rosemary is. Polanski loves to examine how we humans can go crazy without the stabilizing influence of others (his Repulsion studies this as well). Over the course of a month, if the only four people you know assure you that everything is alright, you (well, many people, and not all dumb ones) are liable to wonder if they aren't right.
Anyway... I'll shut up now.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Hmmm... I don't think my mind will be changed, but your defense of Suspiria and Rosemary's Baby have intrigued me enough to give them another chance - say this October?
I love watching one horror movie every day in October, or missing a day or two and then watching 3 or 4 themed at a shot. So long as 31 are involved altogether. It's my favorite genre.
Still, however, I can't really get past that whole I think I'll jump in barbed wire bit. I like my characters with a bit (just a bit, mind you) more common sense.
Oo, great October concept! And it would make a great list: "The 31 horror movies I plan on watching this October" or "The 31 horror movies I watched this October and what I thought of them". Or what the heck, do both! :-)
I, for one, would live to watch 31 horror films in the month of October.
Or was it love?
If I had a nickel for every time I asked myself that question in college... ;)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I would agree with L that Suspiria has a lot more style than substance. But most Dario Argento films are that way. But he has such incredible style and he's still being creative in the genre long after many directors have petered out. I just love watching his films. They always creep me out.
And Rosemary's Baby is an excellent film. It almosts gives Polanski's always-assumed best film(Chinatown) a run for the money. I think the weak way that Rosemary handled the situation would not have been seen as that unrealistic in 1968.
Absolutely agreed on #1; 3; 4; 6 and 10. The only one that is IMO overrated is Night of the Living Dead. Suspiria is one I want to see and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one I still have unwatched on DVD.
Thanks, despite my deep love for Night of the Living Dead. Did you like any of Romero's sequels? The original Dawn of the Dead is also quite good.
I'd love to hear your reactions to Suspira...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
No, the only other Romero I have seen is Creepshow which I liked very much.
Argento...that reminds me...this Friday, his Bird with the Glass Feathers will be on TV.