All good things must come to an end. I’m sure that I’ve alienated some of my readers with this list but that’s the price you pay for watching horror movies. I’m sure many of you will agree with some of these picks and many of you will heartily disagree with my awful taste. That’s okay. A final caveat: Don’t expect to see The Exorcist on this fucking list!
5. High Tension [2003] – if you only see one horror movie this year, make sure that it’s High Tension. Who knew that the French would end up really redefining the horror genre? The direction and editing make this movie a great experience. The title says it all. If you watch this movie and aren’t on the edge of your seat, then you must be dead. Director Alexandre Aja is a fan of the genre and really ensures that the film delivers. While I was a fan of the recent remake of The Hills Have Eyes, it has nothing on High Tension in terms of pure suspense or tension. I haven’t been this excited about a horror film in a very long time. I would recommend anyone with an interest in the macabre to check this out. And don’t piss and moan about the ending, it’s a fucking horror movie!
4. Near Dark [1987] – the vampire movie. Forget The Lost Boys. It was for kids. Near Dark may have been Kathryn Bigelow’s attempt at making a western but it was fantastic. Great atmosphere and a story interesting enough to make you want more.
3. The Thing [1982] – imagine living in Antarctica. The isolation would be enough to drive me crazy. Now, imagine that something alien is in your midst while being stuck in Antarctica. It’s enough to make you a little stir crazy. The music is creepy, the direction is creepy, the acting is suffocating. It’s fantastic. And did I mention it has Wilford Brimley.
2. Dawn of the Dead [1978] – George Romero’s masterpiece. Dawn of the Dead has everything. Zombies, a shopping mall, a motorcycle gang. The gore is excessive and the music is creepy as hell. It’s a long film and it gets better everytime you watch it. It almost makes me wish that the world was being taken over by zombies. When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth.
1. Halloween [1978] – John Carpenter’s masterpiece. One of the first horror movies I ever saw. My father and brother were watching it on TV in the early ’80’s and I happened to catch the opening sequence when young Michael kills his sister. I was terrified. The film still holds up 28 years later. The quintessential slasher flick that set the standard for countless knockoffs in the years to follow. If you haven’t seen Halloween, you’ve never seen a great horror film.
13 responses so far ↓
Fatally Yours // June 27, 2006 at 12:35 pm
Awwwwww…that was the end!!
Thoroughly enjoyable all the way through, though!
T Van // June 27, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Like I said, all good things must come to an end.
SikeChick // June 27, 2006 at 2:58 pm
You surprise me, T Van. It’s interesting that you would consider The Thing a horror movie, but not Alien. I would have put them both in the same category.
I am revealing myself to be somewhat of a shopaholic for High Tension is yet another movie I scooped up at Target on the cheap. It still sits in its original plastic on my movie shelves.
All in all a good list. I know some seem to think it’s just old hat to call Halloween the best horror movie, but the proof is in the pudding. That movie is just awesome!
Exquisite Dead Guy // June 28, 2006 at 10:00 am
No love for Return of the Living Dead, Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man), May, American Psycho or Frailty?
Call me crazy but Haute Tension didn’t do much for me…but neither did Wolf Creek or Hostel, so what do I know?
Some good stuff on there though. It seems sorta the in thing to bash Dawn ‘04, but I thought it was fucking superb.
SikeChick // June 28, 2006 at 10:34 am
Oooooh! Exquisite Dead Man, I love Frailty! I know a lot of horror-philes who didn’t think it was horror or were turned off by the religious undertone, but I thought it was brilliant. Reminded me a bit of Session 9 for some reason.
T Van // June 28, 2006 at 11:38 am
Exquisite Dead Guy,
“No love for Return of the Living Dead, Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man), May, American Psycho or Frailty?”
Actually I like all of those movies. I just don’t like them enough to crack the top 20. A top 50? Probably. Although I don’t really consider Frailty and American Psycho horror films. I see them more as psychological thrillers.
Sikechick,
Session 9 was a brilliant flick. I shall have to rent that again.
T Van // June 28, 2006 at 11:41 am
Exquisite Dead Guy,
Bashing Dawn of the Dead 2004 is just nonsense. I think that if it was an original film people would have been going crazy over it. I’m in the same boat as you – it was brilliant!
SikeChick // June 28, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Dawn of the Dead 2004: yet another owned, but unopened movie of mine. I must have more of a life than I thought (or I really need to break away from those Law & Order reruns.)
T Van // June 28, 2006 at 12:42 pm
You definitely need to break away from the Law & Order reruns.
Here’s a question for you: why buy movies you’ve never seen? What if you don’t like them?
SikeChick // June 28, 2006 at 12:59 pm
Here’s a question for you: why buy movies you’ve never seen? What if you don’t like them?
Can you say shopaholic? If I see something for cheap I will buy it rather than waiting for Netflix. I like immediate satisfaction.
Jeff // June 28, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Mark,
It broke my heart to see High Tension in the top five. I’m sure you’ve heard the show we did over this film, but I have to comment.
Aside from the very hot main characters, and the headless B.J. at the beginning of the movie, where does this film go?
The storyline leads you to believe one thing, and then kicks you in the nuts and goes in an M. Night Shamayalahanyamalan (or however you spell that shit), psycho-thriller twist. What the hell? Can this movie even fall under the horror genre?
Luckily, Aja pulled his head out of his ass and made one of the BEST horror remakes of all time.
T Van // June 28, 2006 at 7:44 pm
Jeff,
I couldn’t disagree more with you about High Tension. I really love it and think it’s one of the best horror films I’ve seen in a long time. The Hills Have Eyes was good but I think Aja works better as a psychological horror director.
I will give you this though, the Hills Have Eyes remake was superior to the original film.
Exquisite Dead Guy // June 28, 2006 at 9:11 pm
My two year-old nephew makes sculptures with his scrambled eggs that have more artistic merit than the original The Hills Have Eyes.