Favorite Top 5 Classic Horror Films

[dan bailey]

Great movie. A lot less gory than you think you remember after having have watched it, which is an amazing accomplishment. Despite acknowledging that it is well made and a very good movie, not one of my absolute favorites.

Indeed. It's probably actually less gory than the average probablye-procedural TV show of the '90s or maybe even the '80s, much less today.

[dan bailey]

SHOCKED! While I'm IN LOVE with Carnival of Souls, I can understand someone not being too into it. But The Haunting not holding up?!

Clearly, the assault on Shellhead's sensibilities in years past by the brutality of the Quesada (Italian or Spanish or whatever for "Purveyor of Garbage") regime has damaged his sensibilities to the breaking point.

Intense therapy sessions are under way.

[Shellhead]

SHOCKED! While I'm IN LOVE with Carnival of Souls, I can understand someone not being too into it. But The Haunting not holding up?!

The Haunting delivers an impressive amount of scariness for a movie with a special effects budget of $0, but ultimately it's mostly just eerie whispers, loud banging on the walls, and a close-up shot of an odd section of wallpaper. The actors did a great job, and the original is still much better than the remake, but The Haunting just doesn't have the intensity of my favorite horror movies. Also, Eleanor tends to get annoying at times, which distracts from the atmosphere.

[MDG]

Carnival of Souls scared the $#!T out of me when I was 9 or 10 and saw it on TV. I think it's still one of the best examples of low-budget horror.

The only other movie I've seen by the director is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_gEVILWVUM

It's almost as scary.

[berk]

Carnival of Souls should have been on my list but I couldn't think which movie it should replace. I found it quite disturbing when I saw it on video in the early 90s or late 80s.

Never seen the original Haunting, but the more recent one with Catherine Zeta-Jones was soullless Hollywood dreck at its worst, complete with nonsensically "uplifting" speech at the end. No fault of Zeta-Jones's, mind - it's just that she's the only actor I remember from it. The Shirley Jackson book is good though.

[adam_warlock_2099]

Halloween -- Easily, one of the best horror movies, period. Micheal Myers in this film was the unstoppable killing machine, with no mercy and no remorse. The idea that unlike most slasher films, this killer wasn't insane, maniacal, or clumsily comedic (ugh Freddy), he just was.

Alien -- I think his is one of the greatest films of all time. There are so many ingredients that make this film work on so many levels that you literally fear everything from space travel to dark corners. HR Giger's creation is given life and it's downright damned frightening. Ash's comment concerning the alien put it in a different category than an science fiction/horror film before it.

I admire its purity. A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.

Ju-On (2000) I know pretty new to be a classic, but damn I swear this is the first movie in many, many years that seriously scared, and still scares me. There is something about the cinematic and Kayako's onryo (vengeful ghost) that creeps the hell out of me. I still will not watch that at night, and certainly not alone.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! God that creeps me out thinking about it.


The Omen -- I watched his as an adult probably 5 years ago or so. God that scene where they open the casket and what they find inside ... chills.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre -- Don't want to ever see it again. It's remake stunk like rancid cow patties, and proved that horrendous gore and terrible cinematics and acting can't make a good movie. But the simplicity and quiet horror of the original prove that no matter what you have to work with, if you know what you're doing you can scare the $hit out of people.

[adam_warlock_2099]

For my own viewing pleasure on Netflix, is the Carnival of Souls being talked about made in 1962 or 1998?

http://movies.netflix.com/WiSearch?o...search_submit=

[Romero]

1. The Howling (I also just recently saw Howling II or III-My Sister is a Werewolf- Hi-larious! The original is real good though)
2. Basket Case
3. Bay of Blood-Italian slasher film that "Friday the 13th" cribbed quite a bit from.
4. Suspiria- please don't remake it. Please!
5. Let the Right One In-the original swedish version. It's recently surged for me after seeing it a few more times on cable. A far better version than the American version, although still not as good as the book. I guess we could quibble over if it is "horror" or a "classic" but I dig it.

[dr chimp]

I'm not Ear, but I wouldn't be at all shocked to learn that said explanation rests strongly on 2 little words -- flying & monkeys.

(Calling dr chimp!)

man has no fear of peace loving flying cosmic monkeys but he does have a primordial deepseated and repressed fear of angry flying monkeys. many psychologists believe this stems back to the great cromagnon man vs neandathal vs flying monkey war of 10,500,000 bc.


i nominate witchfinder general - for about 89 mins its an enjoyable but slightly unremarkable film until the last 30 seconds where it just goes ballistic.

[dan bailey]

For my own viewing pleasure on Netflix, is the Carnival of Souls being talked about made in 1962 or 1998?

http://movies.netflix.com/WiSearch?o...search_submit=

The original, by all means. I own the remake on VHS but haven't watched it; it's supposed to be pretty dire.

[Greg Anderson]

The Haunting delivers an impressive amount of scariness for a movie with a special effects budget of $0, but ultimately it's mostly just eerie whispers, loud banging on the walls, and a close-up shot of an odd section of wallpaper.

That's why it's so good!!! With just those, it manages to be a scary and solidly made film.

And having the house be it's own character, seducing Eleanor. Beautiful beautifully crafted film, with amazing cinematography. I'm more into psychological horror myself, and seeing the unknown and of the mind than actually needing to see the terror. Overall, if the story is good and film is well made, I could care less if its gory or not. But I lean towards the more subtle types of horror.

[Cei-U!]

The Haunting delivers an impressive amount of scariness for a movie with a special effects budget of $0, but ultimately it's mostly just eerie whispers, loud banging on the walls, and a close-up shot of an odd section of wallpaper. The actors did a great job, and the original is still much better than the remake, but The Haunting just doesn't have the intensity of my favorite horror movies. Also, Eleanor tends to get annoying at times, which distracts from the atmosphere.

If you've only seen it on TV or videotape/DVD, you haven't really seen it. In a packed theater with a good sound system, it's scary as hell. And you're supposed to find Eleanor annoying.

Halloween -- Easily, one of the best horror movies, period. Micheal Myers in this film was the unstoppable killing machine, with no mercy and no remorse. The idea that unlike most slasher films, this killer wasn't insane, maniacal, or clumsily comedic (ugh Freddy), he just was.

He escaped from a mental hospital, where he'd been locked away for decades. How is he not insane?

Cei-U!
I summon the lethal loony!

[dan bailey]

He escaped from a mental hospital, where he'd been locked away for decades. How is he not insane?

Cei-U!
I summon the lethal loony!

My maternal grandfather's surname was M(e)yers, & he was from Haddonfield (NJ).

Just for the record.

Of course, he died a few years before I was born.

Or so they told me.

[CromagnonMan]

Ju-On (2000) I know pretty new to be a classic, but damn I swear this is the first movie in many, many years that seriously scared, and still scares me. There is something about the cinematic and Kayako's onryo (vengeful ghost) that creeps the hell out of me. I still will not watch that at night, and certainly not alone.

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!

[CromagnonMan]

[QUOTE=Romero;15097288]
2. Basket Case
QUOTE]

ive always wanted to see this. i never got round to it, mostly because i expected it to be abysmal. never heard anyone mention it was good before.