I'm not he world's biggest horror film fan but there are a few I like:
DON'T LOOK NOW--for the use of Venice and the incredible suspense
ALIEN--probably the most horrifying film I've ever seen
DEAD RINGERS--more psychoilogical horror than gross-out, but brilliant
THE INNOCENTS--based on Henry James, a spooky ghost movie (or is it?)
REPULSION--Polanski's masterpiece of madness and horror
Definitely
Don't Look Now & I'll think a bit more before suggesting some others.
Here are the responses to a similar thread on A2K:
http://able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2665
Not a horror film, but with a great creepy performance by the usual good-guy Richard Attenborough, 10 Rillington Place, from the early sixties, I think. Love those British films.
LarryBS
Yes, a pretty creepy little film, that one!
It pays to seek out unknown films and keep an open mind. The most satisfying film is the one you don't expect to be that great yet turns out to be wunnerful. Brings to mind a couple of other British crime films, The Krays, and Let Him Have It.
Hey, I finished all the leftover Halloween candy months ago (thank Gawd, 'cause I'm now on a diet) and y'all are still going! Chillers can be not just horror movies but crime flicks, mysteries, metaphysical themes, and anything that causes a shiver to ripple up one's spine. I understand that "Signs" which I missed on the big screen would qualify. "Kiss of Death" with Richard Widmark's debut performance in film in one of the most perverse characterizations in all of film would also qualify. I'm sure everyone remembers the famous scene on the staircase in that film.
Halloween may be over but those of us who live in old Victorian mansions at the end of spooky lanes and have a man-servant named Igor...well, we can't just stop talking about our favorite subject, can we?
How could I have forgotten Magic, mentioned above by someone else? So well done it really mesmerised me, watching it. It didn't really scare me but, when it was over, all I could think was, "Wow! Great!"
You'd like "Dead of Night" which has the original story of the ventriloquists's dummy coming to life, pre-dating both the Twilight Zone epidsode with William Shatner, I believe, and "Magic."
I choose "Alien" as the scariest of modern films, but for maximum terror I pick the original "The Cat and the Canary" (silent film). And no, I'm not that old, but not far from it.
I thought part of the genius of Magic lay in the fact that until the very end -- for me, at least -- there is no certainty at all that the dummy has come to life. In fact, it's not even a sure thing at the end, unless I misread it. It can be viewed as a fantasy horror film, if one wishes, or as a study in psychopathology. It is just as easy to believe that the ventriloquist is growing increasingly psychotic, that his dummy is becoming his alter-ego in a hysterical way. In this way, there's no 'magic' involved, just severe mental illness. It is this ambiguity which makes the film so hypnotic.
Am I misreading something here?
Here are five of my favorite thrillers, listed in no particular order:
1. King Kong (the original version) -- I saw this film the first time as a small child and had nightmares about it afterwards. I have seen it many times as an adult and those "chills" from childhood still come back.
2. Carrie -- need I write more?
3. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? -- Bette Davis, in a tour de force, with Joan Crawford as her sister. A bit on the campy side, but still riveting.
4. Fargo -- for me, the meticulous performance of William H. Macy created a tension that lasted throughout the film. Of course, the editing helped, too.
5. The Silence of the Lambs -- a stunning reading of the Hannibal Lecter character by Anthony Hopkins, with a supportive counterpoint by Jodie Foster, is a cerebral "cat-and-mouse" game that left me sickened and a bit out of breath.
You didn't misread "Magic," I don't believe, Merry Andy -- it had a lot in common with Bergman's "The Magician" where illusion and reality can seldom be seperated by the average person. The puppet being an alter ego was also evident in the original episode in the film I mentioned with the idea that telekinesis may have been involved. Hopkins had just the right touch and his central performance is the most memorable aspect of the film.
"King Kong" was probably the second to the first film which enjoyed many theatrical revivals, "The Wizard of Oz" (of course, until TV came along!) So I saw it at matinees many times (along with George Pal's "War of the Worlds" which was a popular re-release in the 50's). Kong's stop motion effects are still quite effective and made the sequel with the giant rubber snake almost laughable (I always refer to that one as "King Dong". CGI and a good director could manage a third remake and, as a matter of fact, it was an abandoned project for Peter Jackson who gave us "The Lord of the Rings" instead.
I wonder, was I that blasé as a kid? I remember seeing King Kong at a Saturday matinee in the 50s and not finding anything scary in it at all. Exciting, yes; scary, no. In fact, I've never considered it a "thriller" until just now.
I'd forgotten about the original Dutch The Vanishing, and the original In Cold Blood, with the now imprisoned Robert Blake. The Vanishing had some great moments in it.
And M, with Peter Lorre, one of the earliest suspense thrillers.
