Your favourite 'horror' movies?

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Hi,

Just wanted to check out whether here are people in the forum who are open-minded to an occasional thrill by watching (good?) horror movies?

Let me give you a short list of movies I would put in my hall of fame and which, of course, is to be extendend:

1. The Birds (Hitchcock). A thriller of its very own....no music throughout the whole film, playing uniquely with the fears of the viewer, having an open end.

2. The Fog (Carpenter). Very, very simple story, but very entertaining and, ehm, how do you say, somewhat 'creepy'.

3. The Dead Trilogy (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn and Day of The Dead) by George A. Romero. Pure anarchism....apocalyptic scenario....tasteless splatter...however, socially critical aspects in every part of the trilogy. Unfortunately, Dawn and Day are banned in Germany.

4. Alien. A masterpiece by Ridley Scott. Great effects, wonderful atmosphere, great actors and a sophisticated plot.

5. American Werewolf in London (John Landis). Ironic dialogues, cheeky scenes, receiving an Oscar for make-up effects...best entertainment in a classic werewolf setting and post-modern background.

6. 28 Days Later. (by 'Trainspotting' director Danny Boyle) Just saw this British!!! production in a cinema some weeks ago. Reminding of and using many elements from Romero's Dead trilogy, the director did an artwork...a devastated London without any people....using amateur cameras for certain scenes to remain a 'documentary' character...gave me goosebumps while reducing splatter scenes. Best 'horror' thriller of the year, I think.

7. From Dusk Till Dawn (Robert Rodriguez). Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Cheech Marin, George Clooney acting great within a totally lunatic story...giving [hidden] hommage to many underground classics. Great!

8. Jaws (Spielberg). Pure thrill! Great film...I don't have to add that the composition of the cast (Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss) was a lucky choice!!

Think that were the ones which got into my mind first.

Any comments on my film selection, constructive criticizing, or anything to add? Please feel free to list your favourite horror movies, give a short comment on them why they please you so much...or even why you might think that horror movies are a waste of time or even 'immoral'?

Thanks,
best regards
Rainer
aka
51Days

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Psycho- Scared the hell out of me the first time that I saw it. Can watch it over and over again to perceive Hitchcock's genius.

The Wicker Man- Not considered specifically a horror film, but to me had a tremendous amount of psychological horror.

The Exorcist-Looking back, was pretty silly, but was very frightening to me when it first came out.

The Silence of the Lambs- The ultimate intelligent horror flick!

I am into psychological horror, and have no interest in the blood, guts and slasher movies!

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There are very few things in the world I am terrified of. And ghosts/horror is one of them. I must have seen only 3 or 4 horror movies in my life - and that also through closed eyes.

I remember that when we were in college, there was a screening of "Nighmare on Elm Street" by the student film society (mind you in India it was a treat to watch such movies) - and I was dragged kicking and screaming for that movie. After watching that movie, I did not sleep in my room for a week - always dragged my matress to my mate's room to sleep.

Recently, I was again forced to watch a Bollywood horror movie "Bhoot" (Ghost) which has become a major hit in India by friends. I could not sleep soundly for almost 3 days !!

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Psycho. I had to walk into the lobby the first time I saw it; it scared the living daylights out of me. WHEW! ci

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c.i.- At the time, I used to walk to the movies. I came home in the dark, by myself, after seeing "Psycho"...............every rustle, every movement, made me startle!

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I just saw 28 Days Later and thought it was fantastic...scary as hell, and apparently political...Boyle's spooky vision of the UK if the do not join the EEC. That plus living through the SARS debacle in Toronto, good stuff. Not only that, my friend's band, Godspeed you Black Emperor, had a track in the movie (not on the soundtrack) in two pivotal scenes. First time I ever heard a friend's band on a movie, and in Digital Dolby!

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Well...
Very useful results (to me) so far!

@CAVFANCIER:
Well, I must confess that I didn't interpret '28 Days Later' in that way, but more Great Britain as an island, and therefore justifying a happy end because they succeeded in 'isolating' the epidemic spreading of the disease letting the people turn in people possessed by hate amd acting zombie-like. Your approach is logical and political, ...well, have to think about it.

@CI: Psycho is a scary masterpiece. Hitchcock was a genius in putting thrill on other people, ....don't have to add anything...

@GAUTAM: Well, 'Nightmare on Elm Street' is a hard and quite 'stupid' movie (sorry to all Wes Craven fans). Considering the background under which you were watching the movie, I must confess, I can understand what you were feeling while whatching it. I avoid watching such kind of movies with my girlfriend who is very sensible and, another thing I have to confess, I'm only watching such movies when I think I want to be entertained well....a certain tendency to 'horror' scenes should be provided...really understand your attitude.

@PHOENIX..: Well, the Exorcist is great and scary, however, did you see the new version? They didn't change a lot except the sound and some weak video sequences which were added...don't know 'The Wicker Man' (have to look for the German title, sorry... Sad

) but I share your interest in movies working on a psychological basis. 'The Silence of The Lambs' was, in my eyes, a solid psycho thriller trying to add some 'horrific' elements, but not really a 'horror' movie. Although there was suspense...just a matter of how things are felt and viewed...

Thanks to all for your comments so far. Please go on...!

Best regards,
Rainer

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Sci-fi horror has always been the most effective for me as it has some scientific premise making it seem more real. These are mostly monster films after the grandaddy of them all, the first "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein," still two benchmarks for the genre. "Alien" and "Aliens" are two of my favorites but I'd have to agree with the Academy voters for once and put "Silence of the Lambs" near the top of the list. The original "Dracula" and Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (the musical scores is dynamite) are two more favorites. "Jaws" is in my top ten also.

Sorry, but "The Fog" left me more damp than anything else.

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BTW, Welcome to A2K and the Film Forum, 51 Days.

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aliens, which i am watching right now, and john carpenter's the thing. both use anticipation so well to produce the terror in the characters.

and anyone would freak out at the very end of the remake of the body snathers, where just when one thinks that the protagonist is safe, then donald sutherland points his finger and screeches.

and of course nasferatu, geeze even loking at the monster's fingernails makes one shudder.

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intensity and the book was even better (dean r koontz)
green mile and dolores claybourne again the books even better (stephen king)
pacific heights about the worst tenant in the world--melanie griffin and i think michael keaten
wait until dark about a blind woman being terrorized by drug dealers looking for a doll with drugs in it
marathon man dustin hoffman i fast forward thru the dental torture scene now. once is enough to see that. but the rest of the movie is pretty intense.
burried alive with tim matthesin. wierd and improbable story but a good movie anyway.

there are some of my favorites

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Alien would have to top my list also. Many SF movies are spoiled for me by having bad science in the movie. One of the things that made Alien so good (for me at least) is that I couldn't find any mistakes in the science.

I also like the Phantasm movies. They are so incredibly awful they're fun to watch.

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For pure visual and sonic overload, I must admit having really liked Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses. I thought it completely did the schlock horror genre justice.

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Hi all,
and thanks to 'Lightwizard' for welcoming me to the forum.

Interesting to see that there is - with only one or two exceptions - a certain tendency towards 'defining' psycho thrillers with horror movies, which of course is partially comprehensible. However, I learn from the recent posts that there is a somewhat conservative attitude towards horror movies.

@Cavfancier: 'House of 1000 Corpses'??? Never heard of....is it a splatter movie? Would be interested in learning about it...sometimes I like to be entertained by watching such films. I should try to find out the German title of this movie.

@ ALL THE OTHERS
'Marathon Man' is a great thriller, but less a horror movie.

'Body Snatchers' (German title: 'Die Koerperfresser kommen' --> the body eaters are coming) by Don Siegel is a masterpiece....Sutherland's acting is marvellous. A quite shocking movie...I have to agree!!!

Do you remember the black and white movie 'The Haunting'?? Was really intense and creepy. It was said the film would be based on a real case--- :wink: whoever may believe that.... Smile

Regards,
please go on if there's anything to add about real horror movies....
Rainer Petersen
aka
51Days

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51days, http://www.houseof1000corpses.com/ offical site for the movie. Lots to see there, including the trailer.

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hi cavfancier,

got some infos on 'House of 1000 Corpses', thanks for the link - it's informative.

unfortunately, 'House of...' is obviously not to ever be released nor has it been officially shown in Germany...they would surely ban it! That's how it's like over here....always people in the government who worry about one's healthy state-of-mind and who have been used to making other citizens' decisions. BTW, the film seems to be a very gory one, isn't it?

Best Regards,
Rainer

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I would say there is a gore factor there, but not completely over the top, and of course, horribly distasteful characters. The film almost didn't get released in the USA either, but popular demand prevailed.

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The original Robert Wise directed "The Hauting" is likely the finest of the horror ghost or poltergeist themed movies. There are scenes in that film that are just blood curdling yet one doesn't seen any real ghosts or monsters. It's all spiritual and metaphysical. When I first saw it, I was frightened out of my skin.

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Try "Suspiria" for nightmarish, surreal filmmaking. I'd have a few drinks before I watched it, however.

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Did anyone see the Canadian movie 'Pin'? More of a psychological thriller than horror, not terribly good in the classic sense, but creepy enough to be worth watching.

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Your favourite 'horror' movies?

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