Horror movies are not for everybody. Not only do a lot of
people dislike being scared or being exposed to grim truths, but as a whole the
genre asks the audience to buy into a lot; supernatural elements involving
ghosts and demons and witches, guys with machetes or knives who never die,
gruesome creatures, and the accepting of leaps in logic outside of reality.
Horror fans accept all this and more, and from the outside looking in, the most
objective of viewers should judge a movie not on its large leaps, but on the
basics; story, character, acting, technical merits.
This blogger has always been neutral on the Horror genre; neither
an avid fan nor a disbeliever, but that doesn’t mean some good and great films
can’t be found and enjoyed. Outside of the standard items by which we judge a
Horror movie, the genre demands that a few more get thrown in; scariness,
rewatchability, and how iconic it is.
This list is a combination of objectivity and of this
Blogger’s favorites over the years, and that opens the creaky door for WITCHBOARD
(1986). A story about a woman who gets obsessed with a spirit (or two)
connected to a Ouija Board, this film scared the pants off this Blogger when
the ultimate evil baddie, called Malfeitor, shows up out of the shadows in the form
of a creepy old guy with a white beard, followed by a bowel-moving evil laugh. Mostly
forgotten and basically obscure, WITCHBOARD is a night-terror for this Blogger
and an easy entry into his Top 10.
M. Night Shyamalan’s THE SIXTH SENSE (1999) gets a little
too much attention for its big-wow twist at the end which turns the entire
viewing experience upside-down. It’s great, but it often overshadows how good
of an old-fashioned ghost story it really is. Heavily influenced by the great
Alfred Hitchcock, M. Night creates plenty of scares, and most of all, a mystery…which
keeps the audience engaged at all times.
It may not be the scariest film ever made (although it has
its moments), but Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA
(1992) has a lot of strong points as a film. It is visually stunning, beautifully
scored, has an iconic look in Gary Oldman’s Count Dracula…and as a
Dracula/vampire story it draws heavily and faithfully from the book, and also
pulls material from nearly aspect of the vampire legend. Above all, it serves
as a love story…which also makes it one of the most unique entries in the
genre.
Often considered to be the granddaddy of all Horror, John
Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN (1978) is standard viewing for all fans of the genre
every October. Carpenter’s iconic villain with the hockey mask, Michael Myers,
stands as one of the most memorable baddies of all time. The film’s score is
perhaps the greatest in the genre, and it was the movie that re-invented a sub-genre;
the slasher flick. It takes place in a real-world with a real-life situation,
and that’s what makes it all the more frightening; this could happen in your
neighborhood this month.
Isolation is a scary thing. But what’s even more scary is being
isolated with a killer beast hunting you. And what’s even more scary is being
isolated with that killer beast in a place where there is nowhere to run or
hide…and that’s makes Ridley Scott’s ALIEN (1979) a perfect horror flick. A
nice mash-up of sci-fi and Horror, ALIEN brought about some of the most
memorable scares and gut-bursting scenes in history.
Prior to 1984, there was Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy,
and the Wolfman…and then the late and great Wes Craven introduced Freddy
Krueger to the world in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. A killer who only exists in
people’s dreams, Craven capitalized on the isolation factor, while inserting
some real scares (Freddy’s creepy stretching arms and the body bag moving on
its own scared the shite out of this Blogger) and a character which stands the
test of time.
If HALLOWEEN is the granddaddy of Horror, then Alfred
Hitchcock’s PSYCHO (1960) is the great-granddaddy. Based on the best-selling
book, Hitchcock solidified his legend as the master of suspense with some
chilling scenes involving a staircase and a shower (simple things masterfully
turned frightening), and is the earliest example of the slasher-genre. Coupled
with a mystery and some shocking twists and turns, PSYCHO is a scare-fest and
an exquisitely crafted movie.
Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of THE SHINING (1980) often
gets criticized for not being faithful to Stephen King’s book of the same name and
for having an ending which Horror fans and cinema buffs debate to this day.
These criticisms don’t mean much, because Kubrick creates an atmosphere which
creeps those shivers down the spine at all times. From a creepy little kid, ghostly
twin-girls, spectral bartenders, a gut-twisting score…and a performance by a
young Jack Nicholson, who exerts pure evil with just one glance, THE SHINING is
a finely crafted film which still has a presence in pop-culture.
Pop-culture may have been forever altered by Steven
Spielberg’s JAWS (1975) as well, but that’s not the only reason this film,
about a killer shark which terrorizes a resort town, makes the list. JAWS is
often overlooked as a Horror movie because it takes place during the bright
summer and doesn’t involve slashers or any supernatural elements. But the
scares are genuine. Earlier this year this Blogger celebrated the film’s 40th
anniversary by seeing the film on the big-screen, and the crowd, which
contained many newcomers, jumped out of their seats in all the places Spielberg
intended 40 years ago. JAWS hasn’t aged a day.
Having grown up in a religious family which truly believed
that the Devil existed and could arrive at any moment, this Blogger was not
allowed to watch William Friedkin’s THE EXORCIST (1974) as a child, and that
was probably a good thing. THE EXORCIST, which tells the tale of a young girl
possessed by the Devil and does battle with two priests, taps into that primal
fear deep inside…that feeling and knowledge that pure evil does exist. The film
takes that feeling and gives it a body, a face, and a voice…making for a frightening
experience as good tries to do battle with the ultimate evil in the universe.
Faith is shaken, beliefs are tested, and pants are pissed in as the scares come
in doses. Friedkin somehow creates a film in which even during the quieter
times, there is always a feeling of something being off, of something being wrong.
It is un-nerving, disturbing, and gets everything right in Horror, and in film.
THE EXORCIST is the top of terror.
REEL SPEAK’S TOP 10 HORROR MOVIES
1. THE EXORCIST
2. JAWS
3. THE SHINING
4. PSYCHO
5. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
6. ALIEN
7. HALLOWEEN
8. BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA
9. THE SIXTH SENSE
10. WITCHBOARD
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