Best Horror Movie Ever Poll - Playoff 3 of 8

[Swamp]

Well, Jack Torrence hacked the crap out of Pinhead with his axe last week.  I hear the chattering Cenobite wants revenge, but it is too late.  The hotel is already filling up with blood.  The Shining will move on.

This week we have the twisted mind and appetite of Dr. Hannibal Lecter vs. the son of Satan.  It should be interesting.  (Is it wrong to be rooting for the Antichrist on this one?  I think I need to go talk to my bishop.)

[Sandikal]

This is a tough one.  Silence of the Lambs may be one of the scariest movies I've seen, but it's essentially a mystery/thriller.  The Omen was pretty hokey as a movie, but the book scared the crap out of me.  I think the idea of a little kid being the Antichrist and wreaking havoc all around is pretty damned scary. 

[Fenrix]

This is a tough one.  Silence of the Lambs may be one of the scariest movies I've seen, but it's essentially a mystery/thriller.  The Omen was pretty hokey as a movie, but the book scared the crap out of me.  I think the idea of a little kid being the Antichrist and wreaking havoc all around is pretty damned scary. 

Silence of the Lambs gives us a different portrayal of pure evil than The Omen. Is the devil scarier in the form of a child like Damien or a psychopath like Hannibal Lecter? It's not just a serial crime drama with a profiler.

The serial killers we get to meet are richly portrayed and deeply evil. We're asked to identify with one and elevate him to antihero status. A movie with the same source material as the Texas Chainsaw massacre belongs here. Just because it dresses up pretty doesn't mean it's not horror. And it damn sure satisfies the genre inclusiveness that Escape Artists practices.

[Effie Collins]

Ah... my love affair with the character Hannibal Lecter. Was there ever a more skillfully written character? I think not. Hannibal is a character I've relished for a loooong time.

Damien... meh. He's okay.

[Talia]

Ah... my love affair with the character Hannibal Lecter. Was there ever a more skillfully written character? I think not. Hannibal is a character I've relished for a loooong time.

Damien... meh. He's okay.

And anthony hopkins was just so amazingly creepy. Absolutely ace. Performances where someone so thorougly embraces and projects such a chilling character are relatively rare. Ledger's 'Joker' is another one.

[Effie Collins]

Ah... my love affair with the character Hannibal Lecter. Was there ever a more skillfully written character? I think not. Hannibal is a character I've relished for a loooong time.

Damien... meh. He's okay.

And anthony hopkins was just so amazingly creepy. Absolutely ace. Performances where someone so thorougly embraces and projects such a chilling character are relatively rare. Ledger's 'Joker' is another one.

You won't hear me disagree about either. Frigging brilliant performances. Hopkins won my heart with SotL. And Ledger as joker... le sigh. I'd so do things that aren't even legal. I would. But... that's another story. And totally not for this board .

[Swamp]

It's been a while since I have watched The Omen, but "hokey" doesn't come to mind.  I was quite young when I saw it the first time, and it scared me the crap out of me (again, haven't read the book).  Damien was so creepy.  The two scenes that got me the most were the kid trapped under the ice and the mom on the banister.  The babysitter near the beginning also freaked me out.  I have seen parts of the remake and wasn't too impressed, but it's probably because the first one was so familiar to me and that's where my memories lie.

I do have to give SOTL its due, though.  It is a different kind of horror.  I do consider it more of a mystery/thriller, but what a chilling figure we find in Hannibal Lecter.