Today's exercise is arbitrary movie list rebuttal is brought to you via jedikaos.net.
The fine folks in the LiveJournal Horror Movies group have produced their list of the Bestest Horror Movies of All Time. Here's their top 20:
1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (USA, 1974)
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street (USA, 1984)
3. Halloween (USA, 1978)
4. Night of the Living Dead (USA, 1968)
5. Dawn of the Dead (USA, 1978)
6. The Evil Dead (USA, 1981)
7. Hellraiser (UK, 1987)
8. The Exorcist (USA, 1973)
9. Braindead (AKA Dead Alive) (New Zealand, 1990)
10. Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn (USA, 1987)
11. Suspiria (Italy/West Germany, 1977)
12. The Thing (USA, 1982)
13. Return of the Living Dead (USA, 1985)
14. The Ring (USA/Japan, 2002)
15. The Shining (UK, 1980)
16. 28 Days Later (UK/USA/France, 2002)
17. Friday the 13th (USA, 1980)
18. Army of Darkness (USA, 1993)
19. Poltergeist (USA, 1982)
20. Alien (UK, 1979)
We all know it's fairly pointless to take apart a ranking based on someone's personal tastes (in this case, several someones - the list is the result of a poll), but since that's one of the things that makes blogging so darn fun, that's exactly what I'm going to do.
The LiveJournal list seems to suffer from the same complex as the various Top N lists on the Internet Movie Database. Namely, that people have short memories. Recent films fare much better than those released pre-1980 because most of us recall the high profile horror releases of the last few years over those that have been around for decades.
Case in point: 28 Days Later. An enjoyable enough movie, but no one will ever convince me it's a better horror flick than Alien. Also included on the LiveJournal list, 2003's Cabin Fever (#22) and House of 1000 Corpses (#26) - both of which ranked higher than Psycho - and 2002's Ghost Ship (#47), which doesn't even deserve inclusion as one of the best horror movies of that year, much less of all time.
And the only possible way the American version of The Ring ranks ahead of Ringu is if you haven't seen the latter.
So here's my list. My only real criterion for the ranking was that the film had to scare the bejeezus out of me (post-grade school, that is...Land of the Lost scared the hell out me when I was 7). The higher the ranking, the longer I spent watching it through shuttered fingers. As with my other movie lists, these results are prone to change within the next few hours. I also have a weakness for zombie films. Don't like it? Make your own.
1. Alien - "Dallas, it's right in front of you!" This movie is one of the reasons I opposed the Voyager mission.
2. The Thing (1982) - And this is the other.
3. The Exorcist - Most so-called "horror" movies become less frightening the older you get. I've found the opposite to be true of The Exorcist.
4. Psycho - Still the best of the umpteen movies inspired by the life of Ed Gein.
5. The Haunting (1963) - "Back in my day, we didn't need all that CGI statuary and Catherine Zeta-Joes. We had black and white movies, and Russ Tamblyn, and creaky doors and we LIKED it."
6. Jaws - Not only would I not swim in the ocean after this movie came out, I wouldn't take a bath - because everyone knows the deadliest shark is the water pipe shark.
7. Night of the Living Dead - Made you think twice about making fun of that retarded guy in the cemetary, didn't it?
8. Nosferatu - Bela Lugosi was cool and all, but Max Schreck is der hizzle für rizzle.
9. The Omen - I always wondered what would happen is Damien Thorn duked it out with Regan MacNeil. I imagine there'd be a lot of work for the maid.
10. Suspiria - No horror list is complete without a little Argento.
11. The Shining - I don't care how much Stephen King whines about it, Kubrick's version is great horror. Hell, Shelley Duvall scared the crap out of me in Popeye.
12. Re-Animator - Get the unrated version and try to imagine what H.P. Lovecraft would've thought. I believe he actually might've enjoyed it.
13. Day of the Dead - I may be in the minority, but Day worked better for me as a horror movie than Dawn of the Dead. Better intestine footage, I guess.
14. Godzilla - People tend to forget the first Godzilla was a horror movie. There's none of the camp found in later releases here, as the big G turns Tokyo into a charnel house.
15. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - Best. Ending. Ever.
16. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The second best Ed Gein homage.
17. An American Werewolf in London - "Queen Elizabeth is a man!" Token werewolf entry (The Howling is a close second, but Dog Soldiers is coming up on the outside).
18. Bride of Frankenstein - Teaching women everywhere the dangers of rejecting potential suitors.
19. Evil Dead 2 - In a perfect world, this would've been the Sam Raimi movie that grossed $400 million.
20. Zombie - The original title, Zombi 2: Eviscerating Boogaloo bombed with test audiences.
Probably in my Top 30: The Fly, Horror of Dracula, Hideo Nakata's Ringu and Dark Water, Cannibal Apocalypse, Halloween, Return of the Living Dead
Anyone else?
I have to say - I like your list a lot better than the other one.
I would add Vincent Price House of Wax - mostly because wax museums just freak me out
Halloween has to top the list....Chainsaw was creepy and funny at the sametime (who can forget Grandpa!), but Halloween was downright numbing. Freddy - - fine, but the Johnnny Depp "Fountain of Blood" is enough to lose a few places on this list.
Hellraiser over The Exocist? nope.
BTW, Poltergeist? geez. Let's throw 'The Hitcher' or 'Joy Ride' on before that one.
Cronenberg is underrepresented, especially Dead Ringers. I also enjoy Rabid, starring Marilyn Chambers, with music by Ivan Reitman!
When I was a kid, The Amityville Horror creeped the crap out of me. Does this make this great horror? probably not. Sure scared my ass though.
What does one call Deliverance or Southern Comfort? These are just as much horror films as Alien, except that it's rustic locals jumping out of the woodwork instead of Giger-designed rubber suits.
"Near Dark" (how the hell did you forget that one?)
I didn't forget it. As much as I enjoy it, I don't consider one of the greats. It certainly isn't very scary.
"The Blob" (80s) : This is one of the only three remakes in existence that surpass the original (Carpenter's "The Thing" and Cronenberg's "The Fly" being the others)
I'm too big a fan of the McQueen Blob. I enjoyed the remake, but I wouldn't put it in the Top 50.
I would add Vincent Price House of Wax - mostly because wax museums just freak me out
Which is as good a reason as any.
Cronenberg is underrepresented, especially Dead Ringers. I also enjoy Rabid, starring Marilyn Chambers, with music by Ivan Reitman!
I've never been a big Cronenberg fan. Not sure why. I've got The Fly in my top 30 (should've pointed out that was the remake) though.
When I was a kid, The Amityville Horror creeped the crap out of me. Does this make this great horror? probably not. Sure scared my ass though.
Which is why I made the "after grade school" comment.
What does one call Deliverance or Southern Comfort? These are just as much horror films as Alien, except that it's rustic locals jumping out of the woodwork instead of Giger-designed rubber suits.
Jesus, you're crabby today. I'd categorize Southern Comfort as more of a chase movie. As for Deliverance...hell if I know. I just never thought of it as particularly frightening.
Justin,
Great call on Near Dark. Solid flick, and I loved the 80's Blob too. Return of the Living Dead is one of my all time favorites. Although the originals, Day and Dawn do nothing for me (Night, however, when seen as a 7 year old at a drive-in, BRRRRRR). I also agree with both you and Pete on the high ranking of Carpenters The Thing. I am racking my brain for a new addition to this list but you guys seem to have covered it all.
I don't get how Army of Darkness makes the other site's top 20 list at all. That's far more comedy and camp than horror, but at least they put Evil Dead on there. Bizarrely they also omitted The Shining, but glad it made your list. Can't think of anything else to add, great list, and I must see this Near Dark. I also found Day of the Dead much more disturbing, mainly because there was that whole interlude in Dawn where they lived somehwat peacefully in the mall - while in Day you just felt more and more overwhelmed as the film went on. The comic relief of the 'reformed' zombie notwithstanding!
And Re-Animator definitely approached H.P. Lovecraft's twisted mind! Sick, sick, sick.
I experience more spine-chilling, mind-numbing horror at Farrelly brothers movies than I do at any conventional fright flick. I suppose I'm not their target audience.
excellent list Pete, including your top 30, although I will have to agree with the Dead Ringers call... that movie scared the shit out of me. must be a female thing... evil gynacologists strike fear into every girls heart ;)
Given the appreciation of John Carpenter's "The Thing" on this thread, here's an interesting rumor:
--*--
Carpenter ready for THE THING 2?
Report surfaces that he may have a screenplay ready to go
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dateline: Tuesday, February 17, 2004
By: PATRICK SAURIOL
By: News Editor
Source: Countingdown, SFX
According to a report on Counting Down, director John Carpenter has a script ready for THE THING 2. Carpenter reportedly told the magazine SFX the news, which was then forwarded by a reader to the website. The reason for Carpenter's interest in making a sequel to his 1982 film apparently stems from the success of THE THING video game released two years ago.
Corona's Coming Attractions first received reports from industry insiders in late August 2002 that Carpenter had been approached by Universal, the studio that owns the rights to THE THING, about the possibility of working on a sequel. At that time our spies told us that there was a hold-up resulting from contract negotiations between Carpenter and the studio. We never heard anything further about the rumor nor did Carpenter ever comment on it until today.
The Thing 2? Gee, I hope it's as good as Escape from L.A. was.
It would have to be called _And_Another_Thing_.
I'm sorry, but there's no way you can cap the head sprouting spider legs and toddling away. Quit while you're .... uh, stop now.
The Justin and Kelly movie was pretty frightening.
Well done Pete. Your comments on Alien and The Thing are spot on. Alien and Jaws are two movies that I absolutely can not turn off when ever they come on television. I don't have cable, so it is not that often.
I was surprised to see Horror of Dracula on your top 30 list. I thought the Bela Lugosi 1931 Dracula in black and white was quite spooky and much better.
That original movie The Haunting still creeps me out. I finally got Jules to watch it and it really freaked her out.
Just to throw this out there, how about scariest scene in a movie?
That frickin scene in Salem's Lot with the kid hanging outside the window scratching on it gave me the willies for years.
Also, has anyone else simply heard of a plot for a horror movie and been freaked out? My brothers told me about that movie It's Alive when I was a wee lad, and I couldn't go to sleep without the light on for two years. It might have also been the thing with my brother waiting in the dark creak closet all night to scare the crap out of me when I fianlly did fall asleep. I still have never seen that movie.
As you know, Pete, our tastes are pretty spot-on. If only I had found you before The Wife did...sigh.
Anyhow, my list is fairly identical to yours, but I'll add:
) "Curse of Frankenstein" and "Frankenstein Created Woman" : Peter Cushing plays THE definitive Herr Doktor
) "Near Dark" (how the hell did you forget that one?)
) "The Mummy" : the original Universal one was understated and, by today's standards, plodding...however, Karloff played the role to perfection
) "The Blob" (80s) : This is one of the only three remakes in existence that surpass the original (Carpenter's "The Thing" and Cronenberg's "The Fly" being the others)
) "The Brood" : Cronenberg. Killer midget kids. Oliver Reed. What more do you need?
) "I Spit on Your Grave" : So wrong, for so many reasons.
BTW, good call about "Day of the Dead." Far more bleak and horrific than "Dawn."