After an extended hiatus, the Film Junkies are back! They've challenged Rob to name his picks for the top horror films of all time. Meanwhile, Jeremy and Hoey are waiting in the winds with their critiques, ready to tear up Rob's list like a horror movie slasher that simply cannot be killed. That's okay, because Hoey and the Fish will have to come up with their own individual lists for a subject to be announced.
FROM ROB: Okay, here it is at long last: the 10 Best Horror Movies of All Time. God, this was painful. A lot of debating and reviewing, a lot of
testing and analysis. This genre has been dominated by so many mediocre films that I thought this would be easy. Hah! No such luck. A lot of great ones out there. Alright already. Here I go:
1. Halloween (1978)
This was the easiest choice because, frankly, it is THE prototype for the modern horror movie. It's the original slasher flick, and it was copied again and again for good reason. It's brilliantly filmed by a young John Carpenter. His use of shadows, darkness and blurry images is perfect, and his score is the second-best original music for a horror film ever composed (see "Jaws" for the best).
It starts with a superb opening scene, as the camera, assuming the point of view of an unseen malevolent intruder, lurks around an innocent looking suburban home, enters, puts on a mask, picks up a kitchen knife and slashes a teenager girl to shreds. Executed (no pun intended) perfectly, the twist comes as we see the killer exit the house and is unmasked -- by his parents. The killer is a demented 6-year-old child.
We don't know why he has become a killer, and it doesn't really matter. The story is enthralling enough, thanks to an excellent Donald Pleasance, who plays young Michael Myers' psychiatrist. He says the child is just plain evil, and we believe him. The bloodshed and violence is minimal -- just four characters are actually killed on screen -- and, shot on an independent film budget, "Halloween" wasn't bogged down with special effects or fake blood and gore. The movie is propelled by atmosphere and tension. And Jamie Lee Curtis, as the ultimate babysitter survivor, gives a fantastic, raw, scream-queen performance. And that ending -- wow, it just gets me every time. That's what makes a great horror film.
2. Jaws (1975)
Again, an easy choice. Not as consistently scary as "Halloween," but surely one of the greatest films ever made. Steven Spielberg quite simply created the modern blockbuster with this movie, a thriller so captivating and action-packed that you sometimes forget it's a horror movie. I still get shudders swimming in murky water over my head, because I always feel like something might grab me and pull me under, just like the girl at the beginning of the movie.
One of the best things about this movie, and what is often overlooked, is that Speilberg doesn't show the actual shark until the final act. Everything before that is done with shadows, creative camera work, murky images, and John Williams' score, which is the best film music ever. It's a minimalist style that almost always
works and for some reason is rarely used -- what isn't seen is much more scary than what is (this will come up again in later list entries). And when the shark is finally revealed, it's still scary. Remember the barrels? How are barrels scary? Because Speilberg uses them to illustrate what is hiding beneath the surface.
The script is excellent, despite the numerous rewriters and author credits, and the acting is top-notch -- Robert Shaw was robbed of a best supporting actor nod for sure. This film is a young filmmaker at the top of his craft, taking risks wherever he could. And man, did it pay off.
3. Alien (1979)
Ridley Scott's brilliant sci-fi horror flick is the prototype for its genre. Take a minute and think back to when you first saw this movie. Today, we take for granted the horrid twist during the middle of the movie, but everyone at the time was thoroughly horrified when the alien comes bursting out of John Hurt's chest (the actors, according to urban legend, didn't know what was going to happen, either). The audience thinks the alien is dead at that point because we all assume it's the face-hugger. But it's not. Then we think the alien is just this little eel-like creature. Wrong again. Surprise after surprise is mounted. Who knew that Ian Holm's character was an amoral android in disguise? Who really expected Tom Skerrit's Capt. Dallas, the hero-savior character, to perish two-thirds of the way through the film and Sigourney Weaver to be the survivor? And the creature -- it's simply the best monster creation in the history of film, and again, it really isn't shown much at all in the movie, which only heightens the suspense. The plot is nothing more than a haunted-house-in-space concept, but Scott's direction, the sets, the surprises and the acting make it a classic.
4. The Shining (1980)
I don't care what Stephen King says about
this movie, or what Jeremy says about Jack Nicholson being miscast in the movie because he looks crazy right from the start of the film. This is a terrifying movie, period. For all the suspense and tension that fill Stanley Kubrick's films, this is really his only entry into the genre, and it's a great entry at that. His cold, deliberate style and slow camera movements set the tone. It doesn't faithfully follow the book, but so what? It's impossible not to be frightened by those long hallway shots, the
large empty rooms, and those maddening ghosts that appear from time to time. Nicholson is just flat-out scary, too. Yes, he appears to be loony from the beginning. But that simply helps to build the tension because we can sense something amiss with the lead character. And Nicholson, for once in his life, doesn't push it too far. He's perfect, and so is the movie.
5. The Exorcist (1973)
It may be blasphemy to suggest that "Exorcist" isn't frightening, but it isn't -- no killings, no shocking surprises, little bloodshed. That said, it
overcomes that incredible disadvantage by being psychologically horrific. Seeing a little girl possessed by a demon wreaks havoc on the audience because you have the most evil of spirits inhabiting the most innocent of creatures. It's a brilliant twist, and director William Friedkin works magic with that premise. The moral questions are also disturbing, and they begin an assault on both the characters' and audiences' faith. How could God allow this to happen to a little girl? It goes to the heart of the idea that bad things happen to good people, and that itself is terrifying. What a cast, too. Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, a young Linda Blair and Jason Miller give outstanding performances. Definitely worthy of its Oscar.
6. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Some people think the horror genre is below this film, but "Lambs" is definitely a horrof flick. This conclusion is simple because this is a scary movie about not one, but two terrifying serial killers. It's a horror film, despite being brilliantly acted, directed and written. The book provides director Jonathan Demme with great source material, but he elevates it by giving the story an emotional arc that is mystifying and intriguing. Is Hannibal in love with Agent Starling? Is this Beauty and the Beast? Why does he torment her by dragging out her poor, backwoods orphan upbringing? Why does she secretly respect and even admire Lecter? We become involved in these two characters, and we're given a psychologically gripping story line that is illustrated by the best performances of both Anthony Hopkins' and Jodie Foster's respective careers. And the movie has real suspense and scares, too. Lecter's escape is riveting, and the climax in Buffalo Bill's lair of terror is as powerful as any in this genre.
7. The Thing (1982)
This is one of my personal favorites, and another gem from horror master John Carpenter. It's similar in plot construction to "Alien" -- a small isolated group terrorized by an unseen evil -- but few have given this cult classic the credit it deserves. Like "Silence of the Lambs," Carpenter's film offers a blend of both psychological and real terrors. The men in a small U.S. outpost in Antarctica discover an alien that can take over any living creature and imitate it. So the question becomes, who is human and who is alien? The answers, even after the movie is over, are never quite clear. The audience is thrown twist after twist and never knows whom to trust, just like the characters of the film (including one of my favorite actors, Kurt Russell). The film also brings some true scares and gore to boot in several memorable scenes that use, thankfully, make-up, puppets and mechanical monsters (the filmmakers had considered using stop-motion effects but wisely abandoned the idea because it didn't look authentic). The movie carries an apocalyptic atmosphere, accentuated by a moody, pulsating score. Not just a cult classic, but a classic unto itself.
8. The Birds (1963)
Sorry, guys, but "Psycho" just didn't scare me at all. That's right, I said it. However, Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock got me good with this other classic. It's an absolutely remarkable achievement in filmmaking. Remember, this is 1963, and Hitchcock truly makes the bird attacks look believable. And about those birds -- what's with them? We never know, and that absence of motive or reason makes it all the more frightening. In addition to terrifying attack scenes, Hitchcock brings weighty questions to the audience through his actors; are the birds evil or is their violence just an inherent quality of nature? Are the people in this Northern California town being punished for displacing nature? Are the birds a Biblical metaphor? We never know. Hitchcock leaves us to ponder with a much-maligned climax (or lack of one, as the critics argue), and in the end, the mystery is as terrifying as the action.
9. Session 9 (2001)
I'm going to take some criticism for my last
two entries, but oh well. On the surface, this film by the impressive young director Brad Anderson seems formulaic -- it's a haunted house story set in an abandoned hospital for the mentally ill. But this movie ends up playing on the audience's expectations. Centered around a six-man crew of blue-collar guys cleaning up asbestos in the old Danvers Mental Hospital, Anderson works the atmosphere to the full tilt, getting as much tension and mood out of the setting as possible. As the movie progresses, strange things begin to happen and the tension and suspense sets in. Is it simply the stress of blue collar life? The pressure of cleaning up dangerous asbestos on a tight deadline? It's never quite clear, but friendships and trust begin to fray. The movie is built primarily on psychological terror; only two scenes employ any kind of action scares, even though it seems like more. It's a testament to Anderson's skill, as well as the acting of David Caruso, Peter Mullan and Josh Lucas, to name a few. Quite simply, "Session 9" is the best horror film made in more than a decade.
10. The Ring (2002)
Wow, this was tough. There were a lot of contenders for this last spot. I gave it to "The Ring" in the end because of the film's originality. Instead of a monster, the film is driven by a mysterious video tape that kills you seven days after watching it. The opening scene is rivaled by other great horror films such as "Halloween" and "Scream," setting the tone of the film right from the start. A mystery ensues as the lead actor, Naomi Watts, tries to solve the puzzle of this tape. Against formula, she watches the tape early in the movie, and the movie becomes a race against time. Much of the film is driven by director Gore Verbinski's ability to fill the movie with dread and a sense of impending evil without much action (similar to what David Fincher did in "Seven"). The real scares aren't unveiled until the final third of the film, and they work so well that they overcome plot
holes and developments that seem out of line, such as the horse going berserk on the boat. But the pseudo climax with the well scene and the true resolution of the movie -- a great and original twist that elevates the movie -- are done so well, that I was literally biting my knuckles. This is the second best horror film in more than a decade.
Okay, there it is. For the record, here are some tough omissions that deserve honorable mentions:
1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Just missed the list. Definitely scary and disturbing, thanks to Tobe Hooper's directorial style. But some unintentionally funny scenes, like Leatherface accidentally cutting his own leg at the end, just don't hold up. A classic nevertheless. I spit at the remake.
2. 28 Days Later
Yet another recent triumph for the horror genre. This new age take on the zombie flick is lights-out good, and Danny Boyle delivers perfection from behind the camera. Along with scares, the film delivers a smart and powerful twist. A very, very tough omission.
3. Poltergeist
Seriously, what happened to Tobe Hooper? This movie proved to be an exception to the rule that special effects just aren't scary. Brilliant story. It made me hate clowns, too.
4. Evil Dead
Sam Raimi is not only a B-movie cult hero, he's a shrewd and talented director (see "A Simple Plan"). This is where his genius all starts. Another low-budget masterpiece.
5. Last House on the Left
Wes Craven's first film is a disturbing, brutal low budget masterpiece. Not really scary, but the complete reversal of the film's plot is truly original.
6. Scream
Another brilliant and ballsy opening reminiscent of
"Halloween" -- Drew Barrymore is killed? How can that be? -- but the scares are watered down by the satire and laughs. Still an excellent overall movie from Wes Craven.
7. The Hitcher
Watch this again with an open eye and you'll see
there's more to Rutger Hauer's violent psycho. A misunderstood and underrated flick.
8. Pitch Black
Another modern film that has helped bring some
respect back to the genre. More action than scares, but absolutely perfect direction and a great concept drive this sci-fi horror sleeper.
9. The Fog
Another John Carpenter great, not quite on the level of
"Halloween" and "The Thing," but still a solid offering. Good camera work again, along with an interesting ghost story. Plus, Janet Leigh and daughter Jamie Lee Curtis in the same movie.
10. The Sixth Sense
Not all that scary, but what a powerful, well-made film. And the twist might be one of the five best ever. All in all, a masterful ghost story that actually has a point and a heart.
Bring on the comments, gents ...
FROM JEREMY: Let the scrutiny begin!!!
Half the reason Rob loves these lists is to tear us apart, so let's get it on! It's so on. Actually, Rob, I can't disagree with many of these selections. I'm proud of you, my son, for differentiating between true Horror Movies (your list) and Ghost Movies ("Sixth Sense") or pure satire ("Scream"). You certainly put some thought into this.
My biggest comment is more a question of movie philosophy: Do
today's teens and horror fans have any idea what a good horror movie is? The choice to have CGI-laden films has completely obliterated the genre. But I wonder sometimes if I think "Jaws" is as scary as it is because I grew up watching it terrified as a youngster. When teens watch those kinds of movies now, with puppets, mechanical sharks, etc., do they think that THAT looks fake? It's a tough question. But because of the attention to detail and craftsmanship during the real Golden Age of horror movies (late '70s to mid '80s), I hope there's real hope for the genre. The Sixth Sense was a ground-breaking movie (or was it really a return to actual craftsmanship, acting, and plot-reliant storytelling?), but as you say, it's not really a horror movie. I consider it a drama even more than a suspense movie.
But anyway, on to a detailed breakdown of your picks:
Halloween
It's an interesting choice, as it pretty much epitomizes the classic format. I agree, we often forget (as with "Jaws" and "Alien") that
each of these movies is a prototype that's been copied dozens of times. To me, the scariest thing about "Halloween" is that Doctor
Loomis (who you would expect to have a psychological reason for Michael's psychosis) is the only character who knows for sure that this man is purely evil. And his beliefs are confirmed with those five or six still shots of the town after he disappears. What an ending. No clumsy words from Pleasance (like I'm sure I would have written). He's just gone. No man alive could have survived five gunshots to the chest and falling out that window. We know it's not over.
Jaws
Spielberg must have driven cinematographer Bill Butler insane
(along with everyone else) with never having a working mechanical
shark. The result? Spielberg's best-shot movie (maybe "Schindler's
List" is up there too?). The cast sold the movie, not the shark. But I gotta say, it was pretty scary seeing Robert Shaw get bitten in half. It's fascinating watching this and seeing when music is played and not played. Ever notice it doesn't appear when the fake dorsal-fin scares the swimmers?
Alien
I still can't watch the dinner scene. As you mentioned, none of the actors knew what the thing was going to look like. Hence Veronica Cartwright's legendary reaction to the chest-bursting alien. Ridley Scott has an uncanny ability to reign in these gigantic visual set pieces and make them accessible.
The Shining
The first art-house horror movie. The fact that Stephen King bitched about this version just proves that he is a fucking hack and doesn't know shit about movies. Delbert Grady, is he really affecting physical space or not? Is it the house or is it Torrance? And that slow tracking to the picture at the end -- it's a scarier ending than "Halloween." Disturbing-scary is always more memorable and frightening than gory-scary. To clarify, Rob, Nicholson's performance along with Kubrick make this my #1 Horror Movie of All-Time. I'm just saying it could have been in the top 30 movies (period) all-time if it was more structurally sound and invested in the journey of his character. And I loved Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl.
The Exorcist
See my "disturbing-scary" comment above. I agree, Rob, it's not frightening. That's a very good point. But when the Devil himself toys with Father Karras' emotional history with his mother, blaming him for not being there when she died, it gives me chills every time when he/it embodies her. I think the scariest part of the movie is Regan's visit to the doctor. What a performance by Linda Blair. Too bad she made "Repossessed" with Leslie Nielsen after. Jason Miller was also an excellent writer, by the way. Died too soon. Rob, I finally saw the third installment, written and directed by William Peter Blatty (who wrote the book "The Exorcist"). It should have been "The Exorcist II," actually. The first half is very disturbing as well, but it peters out. Worth seeing, though.
Silence of the Lambs
Hmm. I don't know what kind of movie this is either. Is it more of a suspense movie? However, there aren't many movies scarier than this one.
The Thing
Thank you for putting this on here. Why has no one seen
this movie? It's excellent storytelling. What a beginning! And what a location. Does anyone know where they filmed it? Also, Rob, what do you think about the ending? Is Keith David infected? Is Kurt Russell? Is neither? The movie is paranoid, and it rubs of on the audience!
The Birds
I'm proud of you, Rob. A movie made before 1972
graced one of your lists! It's probably because it narrowly escaped a
black-and-white release that it appears here. Regardless, nice choice. What do you guys think about the theorist/nerds who claim that the movie is about Hitchcock's commentary on misogyny? The entire town blames Melanie Daniels for the attacks, and they're ready to sacrifice her for the sake of their town. Weird. That chimney moment is still really terrifying. I wonder what it would have been like if
Hitchcock got his wish and had that last shot be the Golden Gate Bridge covered with birds.
Session 9
I've accused Hoey of being biased toward recent films, and now, Rob will be the victim. This movie was based entirely on a set. Anderson found the hospital first and decided to make a movie about it. It feels a bit like cheating, and it shows on film. The movie doesn't have a weird elliptical feel to me at the end, it just feels
unfinished and half-assed. Nice tone, nice cinematography. No characters, no development, no memorable scenes.
The Ring
I don't know. Too many holes. It is scary, but since
"The Ring" is so dependent on the sequencing of the plot, it's not fair that the ending happened the way it does. There's not enough emphasis on tying the plot points together. Because of this, the last few moments are scary just because of the special effect. They're not tied to paying off the story. The ending felt tacked on. Even if the movie was more standard fare, I would have taken storytelling over one more (for my taste) cheap scare. In other words I would rather ended the movie 10 minutes earlier. The movie sets you up to be a mystery, but it's not. The "just pure evil" ending works in Halloween, because it never pretended to be anything else, but it doesn't here. Also, if I see one more "Disturbed Young White Boy As Oracle For The Supernatural" Movie I'm going to stab whoever's next to me. Naomi Watts is exceptional, though.
Some random stuff: "Pitch Black" is the prototype movie for the
CGI/puppetry debate I was touching upon earlier. That movie would have been SUPREMELY assisted by tangible enemy aliens. James Cameron did it, what the hell was the excuse here? Everyone says "Pitch Black" was a low-budget movie: are you telling me that animatronics and puppets would have cost more than a 70-percent CGI movie?! To this day, I really have only seen one completely computer-animated character that I believed was actually sharing space with the actors: Gollum in "The Two Towers." Let's hope the nerds at ILM are getting better.
I'm surprised that "The Hitcher" didn't your top ten. I know you love that movie. Really nice slow boil at the beginning. Disturbing as hell. That ending ... I can barely watch it. All in all, though, Rob, this is one hell of a list.
-- The Fish
HOEY: Gentlemen.
I'm not going to sit here and carp on Rob's choices. His list was incredibly well thought-out and though I don't agree with everything he said, I admire the effort put into it. I don't know about "Session 9" either. It's creepy as shit, that's certain, but it just falls apart at the end. But I do think "The Ring" is a great choice. It's not your typical modern Hollywood horror flick and I also think that the end is awesome. It'll be ruined by the inevitable sequel (apparently, in Japan, there are three or four versions of "Ringu" and even a TV series, I think), but on its own, it is terrifying. A truly great horror flick forces you to walk out of the theater still creeped out, it shouldn't dissipate when the lights go up. "The Ring" does this very well.
And yes, of course, "The Birds" is far superior to "Psycho." The sight of Norman Bates in a dress (the very first time you ever see it) is probably one of the top five most disturbing moments in film history, but in the end, all the terror in that film can be traced back to Norman's faulty mental wiring. Not so easy in "The Birds." They just attack people for no reason. This is far and away the most disturbing and scary movie Hitchcock ever made. It offers no easy solutions and has a great speculative ending.
And I'm not sure about discounting "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." I saw it within the last couple of years, for the very first time, and it scared the hell out of me. Even with Leatherface accidentally cutting himself. When that girl walks into that house -- oh my god. What kind of godforsaken place is that? And the fact that it's super low-budget (a quality that works for "Halloween," as well) makes it even weirder and creepier.
I haven't seen "The Thing" though I certainly intend to. I saw a commercial recently on TV for a video game. This group of soldiers (or something) is stranded at this abandoned facility in the Arctic somewhere and they start dying and there's some terrible creature there. I'm watching this commercial and I'm like, I bet any day now, I'm going to read in the trades about this video game being bought to be turned into a movie. The commercial ends and the title of the game comes up: "The Thing." It already was a movie.
Nice work, Rob.
-- Hoey
