Favorite Top 5 Classic Horror Films

[benday-dot]

Though at least a pair of dyed-in-the-wool aficionados of vast viewing experience here -- destro & ... oh ... who was that guy? ... oh, yeah: me -- prefer the U.S. Ring to the original Ringu.

I tried to be scared by The Ring, wanted to be scared by The Ring... but it didn't happen.

I have a very hard time finding the horror movie that is genuinely frightening. Most feel far too manipulative and hint at the "man behind the mirror" (Berk mentioned Cabin in the Woods and it was a movie that utterly got this.). I don't think I'm very prone to frights of the supernatural sort and though I would very much like to have the sh*t scared out of me alas I too often sniff a fraud.

One movie I recall finding very good on a both a horror and high tension level was the excellent 1985 UK film The Descent, about spelunking women and their claustrophobic encounters with a rather unsentimental race of subterranean dwellers. Not a brilliant film, but still very well done I thought.

[dupersuper]

Monster Squad

[thwhtGuardian]

Monster Squad

That was another fun movie I experienced through the 31 days of Halloween, it was definitely keeping with the spirit of the Monster Mash movies Universal made. I really liked their updated Gillman.

[adam_warlock_2099]

a/k/a the Grudge? dont recall if ive seen this. Between this, Ringu and Dark Water, i kind of get confused. They all have ghostly dead girls with long black hair in them!

Sorry I missed your post earlier. It's just Ju-On, The Grudge is the American remake with Sarah Michelle Gellar in it.

[adam_warlock_2099]

Though at least a pair of dyed-in-the-wool aficionados of vast viewing experience here -- destro & ... oh ... who was that guy? ... oh, yeah: me -- prefer the U.S. Ring to the original Ringu.

As far as Ring and Ringu, I found them both equally entertaining. In Ju-On's case I found it overwhelmingly better than The Grudge. I find the supernatural and spirits/ghosts much more fearful in Japanese and Korean cultures than the American or I guess I should say maybe Christian or Native American influences into what most Americans think of when someone says ghosts.

[Polar Bear]

Just remembered another great one: The Funhouse. It's a traditional slasher flick, except the victims act intelligently, strategically. They don't split up. They get weapons. They travel back-to-back.

It doesn't matter. They all die anyway.

Scary as anything.

[prince hal]

Psycho (Fell off the bed when Vera Miles went into the fruit cellar.)

The Changeling (The George C. Scott one. A wet rubber ball bouncing down the stairs. The banging sound.)

Hard-pressed to think of any others that got to me so viscerally.

[An Ear In The Fireplace]

I almost mentioned The Changeling before. These days Vancouver is one of the biggest centres for movie making, but back in 1980 that was not the case, so when The Changeling was made here it was unusual. Although, Vancouver standing in for Seattle has not changed in all those years since.

1980 was also the first year for the Genie Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Oscars) and The Changeling took home many of the prizes--including Best Picture.

[Gumdrop Man]

All original versions....

The Birds
Night Of The Living Dead
The Blob
The Excorcist
Halloween

[Gumdrop Man]

Have to add Godzilla and Reptillicus. I'm sure I'll think of more.

[Gumdrop Man]

Like Willard.

[dan bailey]

Psycho (Fell off the bed when Vera Miles went into the fruit cellar.)

You were in bed with Vera Miles?

I'm ... speechless.

[berk]

I remember I used to have a childhood crush on Vera Miles from that Twilight Zone episode about the guy in the train or bus station who sees his doppelganger.


What do you horror fans think of 'House of 1000 Corpses'? I thought it was interesting, mainly because the director, Rob Zombie, was obviously so into the genre - which is one I'm not a great fan of myself, however. Never got around to catching the sequel.

[dan bailey]

Haven't seen it or anything else he's done, but from everything I've read, as a director Zombie is a decent musician.

[An Ear In The Fireplace]

Some other movies that didn't make it on my list, because I didn't think of them: Lair of the White Worm--a freaky, awesome, fun movie. And that makes me think of another movie by the same director but with a completely different vibe, Gothic--Natasha Richardson was my crush back in the late 80s and here she plays Mary Shelley. And then, of course, there's The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Rocky Horror revealed the fun of being freaky and perverse. On the flipside is Peeping Tom from 1960--a movie that generated considerable controversy when it was first released, harming Michael Powell's career in England.