Author Topic: Best Horror Movie Ever Poll - Final Round  (Read 8893 times)

Swamp

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on: October 13, 2010, 03:23:55 AM
This is it!  The main event!  It has taken nearly a year to progress from speculation to nomination to the primary rounds, the playoffs and the quarter/semi finals.  And now we must choose The Best Horror Movie Ever.  We have:

The Shining (1980) - directed by Stanley Kubrick, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd, based on a book by Stephen King.  It has previously beaten Hellraiser, The Exorcist, and The Thing.

  VS.

Alien (1979) - directed by Ridley Scott, and starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt.  It has previously beaten 28 Days Later, Se7en, and Psycho.


Who will claim the top prize?
« Last Edit: October 13, 2010, 03:56:52 AM by Swamp »

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Scattercat

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Reply #1 on: October 13, 2010, 03:36:07 AM
Sorry.  I just don't like Stephen King terribly much.



Marguerite

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Reply #2 on: October 13, 2010, 02:39:28 PM
Gotta go with Alien.  It's got some of my favorite movie lines ever - "Somebody wake up Hicks" and was positively groundbreaking in it's day.

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Scattercat

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Reply #3 on: October 13, 2010, 05:05:45 PM
Gotta go with Alien.  It's got some of my favorite movie lines ever - "Somebody wake up Hicks" and was positively groundbreaking in it's day.

That's "Aliens."  "Alien" is the good *horror* movie.  "Aliens" was the good *action* movie.

Mod: fixed emphasis
« Last Edit: October 13, 2010, 08:19:08 PM by Swamp »



Maplesugar

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Reply #4 on: October 13, 2010, 09:48:38 PM
Oh this is a tough choice to make.  As far as movies go, I enjoyed Alien more, but The Shining scared the pants off me!

I have to go with The Shining, for successfully freaking me out!



Marguerite

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Reply #5 on: October 14, 2010, 03:36:42 PM
That's "Aliens."  "Alien" is the good *horror* movie.  "Aliens" was the good *action* movie.
Mod: fixed emphasis

*nod*  You're correct, and that's what I get for posting without enough tea in me...

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Sandikal

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Reply #6 on: October 16, 2010, 01:00:24 AM
What a hard choice.   On most days, I would have gone with "The Shining",  but then I got to thinking about what a terrible casting choice Shelley Duvall was. 



Ocicat

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Reply #7 on: October 18, 2010, 08:08:17 AM
Damn, this is turning out to be close!  Somehow this makes me want to do a mashup, maybe the setting of The Shining, but with Jack Nicholson replaced by a xenomorph.



Swamp

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Reply #8 on: October 20, 2010, 03:34:09 PM
Quote from the Best Horror Movie Ever:

"Final report of the commercial starship Nostromo, third officer reporting. The other members of the crew, Kane, Lambert, Parker, Brett, Ash and Captain Dallas, are dead. Cargo and ship destroyed. I should reach the frontier in about six weeks. With a little luck, the network will pick me up. This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off. ... Come on, cat." - Ripley, Alien


Yes, Alien takes top prize!  Woot!  Funny thing is I didn't even vote this round.  When it came down to it, I was really conflicted about which one I considered the best.  From the beginning, I have been waving a banner for The Shining, which I really do love, and consider a must-see horror movie.  The acting was great (even Shelley Duvall IMO); the mood created was intense and creepy; the over-all scope is grand, and the impressions left in the mind are indelible.  So why didn't I vote for it?

There is something to be said about the close quarters and isolation of space that makes the the terror of Alien quite striking.  From the facehugger and its resultant brood to the showdown with the Xenomorph, the elements come together for quite good horror.  But it's more than just a creature feature.  The mental distress is palpable; and the charachter interaction puts an extra edge on everything.  Honestly, seeing Ash spew milk blood everywhere and speak from a detached head was just as disturbing to me as the chest-busting scene. (sorry for any spoilers, but you really should have watched these movies already ;) )  Oh, yeah, the acting too, was excellent, even by minor characters.

So, yeah, I was undecided.  In my book, these would be a tie.  It turns out my vote would not have made a difference in the result anyway.  If I had voted for The Shining, I would have had to withdraw my vote to break the tie.  If I had voted for Alien, it would have won by two votes instead of one.

Overall, a great prize fight and a fantastic journey through the motion picture genre of horror.  Thanks everyone for sharing your opinion and knowlegde along the way.  I learned a lot and discovered some movies that I had not seen before.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2010, 03:36:28 PM by Swamp »

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Swamp

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Reply #9 on: October 20, 2010, 03:55:29 PM
Need some October viewing ideas?  Here is the final rankings of the entire contest:

#1 Alien

#2 The Shining

#3 - #4 (in no particular order)
Psycho (original)
The Thing

#5 - #8 (in no particular order)
The Exorcist
Silence of the Lambs
Se7en
The Sixth Sense

#9 - #16 (in no particular order)
Nosferatu
Hellraiser
The Omen (original)
Poltergeist
28 Days Later
Pan's Labrinth
The Others
The Birds

#17 - #20 (in no particular order)
VideoDrome
[REC]
Scream
Creepshow

#21 - #100 (in no particular order)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original)
Ginger Snaps
Amitiville Horror
The Lost Boys
Black Sabbath
The Mummy (original)
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Howling
The Innocents
Phantasm
The Orphanage
Jurassic Park
Friday the 13th (original)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)
Near Dark
The Descent
Pet Cemetary
Dead Ringers
Uzamaki
Audition
Hostel
War of the Worlds (2005)
Altered States
The Devil's Backbone
Jacob's Ladder
IT
Final Destination
Let's Scare Jessica to Death
Dawn of the Dead (original)
Mother Lode
Mothman Prophecies
The Fourth Kind
Frankenstein (original)
Cemetery Man
Rosemary's Baby
Session 9
Carrie
Witchfinder General
An American Werewolf in London
Dagon
Kwaidan
The Host
Children of the Corn
The Mist
Frailty
They
Night of the Living Dead (original)
Village of the Damned
The Haunting (original)
Jaws
Requiem for a Dream
The Grudge
Targets
Nightmare on Elm Street
Re-Animator
Ghost Story
Blair Witch Project
Black Sunday
The Fly
The Evil Dead
The Ring
Halloween
Cloverfield
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Martin
Identity
The Stepfrod Wives (original)
Cat People (original)
Salem's Lot
Don't Look Now
Suspiria
The Wicker man
Paranormal Activity
Saw
Parasite
Black Christmas (original)
Hell High
It's Alive
Onibaba
Freaks
« Last Edit: October 20, 2010, 04:10:17 PM by Swamp »

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