Continuing our horror theme for October, both in the Film Friday column and in our government, it's time to ask what your favorite horror movies are? What movie scared the heck out of you, made you sleep with the lights on, and stab that thing in your closet. . . just in case?
23 comments:
All time favorite has to be "Alien". I'm also a big fan of "The Sixth Sense" and "Phantasm".
Mega, All excellent movies and all very different movies! Good call. I would list Alien and Sixth Sense in my top 10, and Phantasm in my top 20.
Another good one: The Shining.
I wouldn't call it favorite, but the scariest which I don't hanker to see again is "The Exorcist".
The Exorcist was a great flick. Well made story, well shot, with really great implications. I'm not sure it translates to modern audiences who are more used to gore than thought, but it's definitely one of the best on the all time list.
Had a Catholic education until 5th grade--so I think Exorcist--viewed at about 19 yrs. old "got" me good!
Must say, Mega, Alien 1 and 2 were awesome. Loved "directors cut" of Alien 1 ~~ fabulous~~~ but definitely took the "scare" away for me permanently!
"Night of the Living Dead" but especially the version w/ the mall zombies (that came out in about 1980) kept me up all night!!!
CrisD, Night of the Living Dead is another classic -- not so much scary as social commentary, but still a really good horror movie. Plus, the idea is itself kind of terrifying.
I really liked the original “Omen,” that one gave me the chills. Of coarse, “The Exorcist.” A modern movie that I thought was good for the creeps was, “The Ring.”
"Alien" is definitely #1 for scary. I also like "Creepshow", "Dead Calm" and "28 Days Later".
CrisD: The mall from "Dawn of the Dead" is just outside Pittsburgh. We affectionately call it "The Zombie Mall".
Awww shucks, it would appear that I just missed the fourth annual Zombie Walk by mere days.
The Haunting (1963) still creeps me out to this day. The black and white imagery, the shadows, the mansion that breathed! Still makes me shiver.
I also have to say The Exorcist but I've never seen it yet in its entirety. I've watched most of it with my eyes closed. It was also the first and only book my parents wouldn't let me read. Naturally I read it and to this day I wish I hadn't.
lol, Pittsburgh Enigma!
Link was awesome. You guys rock!
Stan, The Omen -- excellent movie! That's another of my favorites!
The Ring was good too. It's part of that Japanese invasion that drifted away from gore and get into more contemplative horror -- I like that whole subgenre. . . The Ring, The Grudge. Good stuff.
Pitts, That hilarious! 28 Days Later was really good -- reinvigorated the zombie genre, sadly the sequel wasn't.
I liked Dead Calm. It was a much better movie before they revealed what was going on, but it was still a good movie.
Writer X, I saw the remake before I saw the original, which seems to have diminished the original. A lot of people rave about the original, but it didn't strike a chord with me.
Speaking of books, it's really rare that a movie lives up to the book. The Exorcist might be one of the few where I think the movie lived up to the book.
Andrew: The Bela Lugosi version of Dracula. In part because I first saw it when I was eight or nine years old. My older sister had taken me to see it. I spent most of the movie hiding under the seat. But it got me to come back time and again whenever it's shown on TV. It's so atmospheric that the terrible primitive special effects don't bother me at all. On the other hand, Bram Stoker's Dracula was far more accurate, much truer both to the book and the legend, and I found it about as scary as Mary Poppins. Keanu Reeves! What the hell were they thinking?
I go back further in time for my favorites and the ones that scared me the most. They may not technically qualify as horror movies to everyone,although I don't know what else to call them. Suspense? On top are a French movie "Diabolique" with Simone Signoret as well as Psycho with Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. One that really made be jump is "Wait Until Dark" with Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin and another one that scared me was "Midnight Lace" with Doris Day and Rex Harrison.
As I mentioned in the other thread, I'm not a big horror fan but I do have a few favorites:
-The Shining (still creepy after all these years)
-Alien
-Aliens (though most would consider this a sci-fi/action film)
-Alien 3 (extended version only... a conceptually-flawed, visually-stunning masterpiece in my opinion)
-The Omen (composer Jerry Goldsmith won his only Oscar for this film... I have yet to see the sequels)
The Sixth Sense, Psycho, and The Exorcist (I haven't seen the sequels) are great but I wouldn't call them "favorites." :-)
Jed, Diabolique was a great film.
Scott, I like the long version of Alien 2 a lot. I didn't care for Alien 3.
Iknow it's a "love it or hate it" movie, but "The Blair Witch Project" scared me to death. Two shots did it: the scene where they come across the dozens of stick figures in the trees, and the first sight of the old abandoned house. And the final shot too, of course.
There's a movie that I saw when I was a child that no one I've ever spoken to has heard of. It was called "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" and I think it was a made-for-TV movie. It's about a young couple who move into an old house, and the tiny creatures who live in the basement. Ring any bells?
Mike, I've never heard of it -- the Dark movie. Have you seen it since you were young?
No I haven't Andrew. I was probably about 7 or 8 at the time it was on television, and a couple of years ago I spent quite a few hours trying to find out its title. Unfortunately, it's not on DVD and there aren't any plans in that direction.
I think I'd like to see it again, but maybe it's better this way. I'd hate to lose the memory of the fright if it turned out to be completely cheesy.
Dario Argento's Deep Red and Suspiria. David Cronenberg's The Fly. Evil Dead 2, Re-Animator, Near Dark. I'm sure I've got more, but that's enough for now.
Gordon, I like the Evil Dead series, particularly Army of Darkness -- fun movie!
Mike, It's probably wise not to disturb those memories.
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