Author Topic: Best Horror film ever  (Read 31946 times)

Swamp

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on: October 27, 2009, 03:35:53 PM
What is the best horror film ever?  I'm sure every one has an opinion.  For me, it is The Shining.  It is just all out spooky and disturbing.  I elaborate more about it on my blog.  But what is yours? And why?

If I was cool like Ocicat, I would have a series of polls figured out, but alas, I'm not that cool or organaized.  So maybe this can serve as a nomination thread, and we can put a poll up later.  However what I'm really interested in is the reasons behind your choice.
« Last Edit: October 27, 2009, 03:39:42 PM by Swamp »

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kibitzer

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Reply #1 on: October 27, 2009, 09:57:17 PM
Wow, I hope this thread takes off. I'm just gonna sit it out and watch, though, 'cause there's no way I have enough horror cred to comment. Sci-fi, maybe, but not horror.


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Reply #2 on: October 27, 2009, 10:11:04 PM
I don't watch much horror, but I'd have to agree with The Shining.
Loved that movie.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Swamp

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Reply #3 on: October 27, 2009, 10:26:38 PM
Wow, I hope this thread takes off. I'm just gonna sit it out and watch, though, 'cause there's no way I have enough horror cred to comment. Sci-fi, maybe, but not horror.

Nah, don't be intimidated by the title.  Just tell us of the scariest horror film you've ever seen and talk about it.  I've sure you've seen some and have an idea for what you like in horror.  It could be the Bride of Chucky for all that matters.  Come on, share.  It's October.  And when it comes to horror cred, I am far surpassed by most of the posters here.

And if you're more into sci-fi (me too), then what about movies like Alien, etc.  Those definately count.
« Last Edit: October 27, 2009, 10:37:52 PM by Swamp »

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Reply #4 on: October 27, 2009, 10:40:19 PM
I'd be hardpressed to think of a movie that's better than The Shining.

Movies that scared the Bejeezus out of me when I was younger though were Killer Clowns From Outer Space and Halloween.

Later on, both Scream and The Ring (the American version) terrified me. I was young and had only seen so much horror at the time :)


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Reply #5 on: October 27, 2009, 10:43:55 PM
I really liked the Descent. It was just my group in the theater, so it made it scarier. I screamed when I first saw the monster.



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Reply #6 on: October 28, 2009, 12:09:16 AM
The Shining was excellent, a few disappointments, as I had already ready the book several times when I saw it.  And I know it's not really a good movie, but the first horror movie I remember really scaring me or creeping me out was Vamp with Grace Jones.  I remember someone eating a cockroach in the movie, and they captured the crunch sound effect perfectly.  In fact I believed he actually ate it.  I can't find any info to find out.  There is a derth of information on this movie as it is.  I don't remember it being particularly funny but Wikipedia and IMDB both list it as both horror and Comedy.


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Reply #7 on: October 28, 2009, 02:20:28 AM
I think The Shining is the best movie in the horror genre.  I was too young to see it when it came out, but the commercial scared me.  It scared my sister so much my parents called the TV station to ask them not to show it so early in the evening. 

Hard to argue with The Exorcist, too. 

If you want scary, one of the few movies that had an impact on me was the original Salem's Lot miniseries.  It came out in 1979 and I was 10.  THE scene from the movie is when a kid wakes up to see his recently vamped brother floating in the fog outside his second story window.  The vampire taps on the window and says, "let me in.  It's OK." The vampire kid is deathly and has a big, fangy smile, but his voice is completely normal.  Judging from the blog posts I found googling it for the release date, it looks like just about everyone from my generation was terrified by this scene.  google it yourself and you'll find several images of the scene I'm talking about.  This was probably the first really scary thing I had seen.  Probably because it was on TV, and if it had been in a movie, I wouldn't have been able to see it.

It will be interesting to see if the scariness of the movie is affected by what age we were when we saw it. 



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Reply #8 on: October 28, 2009, 02:57:29 AM
Well OK then. There ain't much that scares me any more, though I routinely steer clear of purely hack-and-slay movies.

But scared me? We have to go way, way back to my early teens for that -- I was kind of a wimp:

* An episode of Space: 1999 called "Dragon's Domain" scared the bejeezus outta me. They came across some graveyard of ships and found some monster that filled a doorway, drew people into its maw, then spit them out all toasted and steaming.

* The Poseidon Adventure scared me a lot (we went to see it for my 12th birthday)

* Now get this: The Picture of Dorian Gray -- the final piece where the painting is revealed gave me nightmares. How's that? IIRC the film is black-and-white, except for where they reveal the painting.

I'd go along with @wakela about the image of that kid at the window in Salem's Lot, though for me it was the book that scared the hell out of me.

Come to think of it Alien did scare me badly, even though I knew what was going to happen. I'd read the Mad parody and it still shocked me. Must have been about 15 or so.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2009, 02:59:51 AM by kibitzer »



deflective

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Reply #9 on: October 28, 2009, 03:31:17 AM
most of us are probably too old to give the ring a fair shake but it should be a contender.

i find that films which aren't actually horror have a much stronger effect on me than genre movies.  recently blindness had me so pissed off that i was shaking a little.  i was surprised to find out that a movie could still do that to me.

it's tough to say which movie affected me the most personally but hellraiser has to be near the top.  the first time i saw it i was just flicking around on tv and landed on what looked like a rather dull show about people moving furniture.  next thing i know a bloody skeleton was growing out of the floor and a woman gets turned on by it.

so began a twisted, sticky path that lead to pseudopod.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2009, 03:32:49 AM by deflective »



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Reply #10 on: October 28, 2009, 03:34:41 AM
most of us are probably too old to give the ring a fair shake but it should be a contender.

Ringu maybe.  Not the shitty American remake!  That's just crazy talk!

Best horror movie?  Crossroads (starring Britney Spears).  Either that or Spice World. It's a horror that either of those films got made.

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Reply #11 on: October 28, 2009, 03:42:44 AM
say what you will, the ring was a good horror flick.  it can be tough to admit that something popular is actually good but it happens.

the special effects used in the ring were iconic and spawned a whole set of copycats and spoofs.  ringu didn't have that.



wakela

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Reply #12 on: October 28, 2009, 04:10:00 AM
Why do you think ringu is better than ring? 

For me seeing the glimpse of the decaying, bloated, drowned people with their smeared faces was much more chilling than actors looking frightened.  Thought the little boy was pretty good too. 

What about Juon vs. The Grudge? I only saw the latter.  I'm not a big Sarah Michelle Geller fan, but I thought it had some great images.  I saw it in Japan and then we stayed at my parents-in-law's creepy, Japanese-style house.  "We're going to bed.  Wakela, can you lockup and turn the lights off?"

gulp



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Reply #13 on: October 28, 2009, 04:22:21 AM
I may just have to add Zombieland as best horror movie ever made.  Not for scariness, just for sheer F**king awesomeness.
  I just finished watching it.  OMFG I haven't laughed this much at a movie in a long time.  Ring definitely had some creepiness going for it.  I like the mindf*ck horror a lot of times over gore.  Not that there's anything wrong with gore.  Like watching Jason X at a dollar theater.  Almost everyone was yelling at the screen etc.  Don't open that door you stupid bitch!  Horrible movie, no real story telling, just sheer murderous mayhem. 

Biggest disappointment for what was supposed to be a horribly scary movie:  Blair Witch Project.

Excorcist had some scariness to it.  Maybe my problem with so many horror movies not being scary is I have read the books for the ones with the biggest scare potential and the movie falls so so short of the book and what my twisted warped mind can imagine from the Author's description.  The original Amitiville Horror was also kind of creepy, as was the original Omen.  So many remakes miss what was good about the original, giving us gore instead of implying it and letting our minds fill in the blanks.  It's like Lego now, it's all about a kit to make this specific vehicle or that sort of thing.  Bring back the big ole bucket o' Lego and let kids actually use their imagination.


kibitzer

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Reply #14 on: October 28, 2009, 05:32:28 AM
For mine, both Ringu and The Ring were great. Ringu has that crazy Japanese WTF is going on?? whereas The Ring kept the feel of Ringu but made it more comprehensible for Westerners. I loved them both.

I don't think Juon was a patch on Ringu; The Grudge was a competent re-make, no more.

EDIT: Actually lowky, now you mention it, I was creeped out by Blair Witch. That one did give me a thrill of horror.


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Reply #15 on: October 28, 2009, 09:49:18 AM
Y'know, I watch a lot of horror movies on general principle and I enjoy them, but I rarely find them sticking with me.  They're here and gone and I rarely think of them again. 

If I had to pick a movie that genuinely creeped me right the heck out, I'd have to go with "They."  Something about that final scene, with her pounding on the 'wall,' just sticks right in my head and won't go away.  I've seen a lot of the old classics of the genre, and none of them have unnerved me in quite the same way.

In terms of movies that actually horrified me but that I deeply enjoyed, I'd toss out "Lord of War" and "A History of Violence."  The feeling I get from them is more of an intellectual sadness and a cold despair rather than fear, but they were hard going down.  (I'm particularly fond of the ending of "Lord of War," which is predictable and preachy and still just perfectly on the money.  The opening credits are more familiar, but also enjoyably sadistic. 

However, my favorite horror movie will always be "Tremors."  I think they hit the perfect blend of enjoyable characters, jump-scares, building suspense, humor, and moments of real fear.  The sequels should be set on fire, mind you, but the first movie is just grand, in my opinion.



lowky

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Reply #16 on: October 28, 2009, 02:24:24 PM


EDIT: Actually lowky, now you mention it, I was creeped out by Blair Witch. That one did give me a thrill of horror.

Maybe the reason Blair witch did nothing for me, was I saw it at home not in the theater and the night before the star of the movie was on letterman/leno/whatever lame ass late night show that then got picked up by E's Talk Soup. 


Swamp

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Reply #17 on: October 28, 2009, 03:06:55 PM
It scared my sister so much my parents called the TV station to ask them not to show it so early in the evening. 

Yeah, we had to turn the channel before my little sister saw it because she would just shake and cry.

The original Amitiville Horror was also kind of creepy, as was the original Omen.

The original Omen.  Holy Crap!   Yeah, that scared me.  At first, I couldn't get past the scene where the first babysitter hangs herself.  What a creepy show.

I don't know if I have actually seen the first Amitiville Horror.  I know I saw a couple of the sequels.

Another good horror flick for me was The Others.  I don't know if it scared me, but it was very well done with a great plot.

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lowky

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Reply #18 on: October 28, 2009, 03:10:03 PM
Ohh what about in poltergeist with the maggoty food


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Reply #19 on: October 28, 2009, 04:35:46 PM
Ohh what about in poltergeist with the maggoty food

Maggots, Michael! (I know it's a different movie, but still!)


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Reply #20 on: October 28, 2009, 04:39:12 PM


EDIT: Actually lowky, now you mention it, I was creeped out by Blair Witch. That one did give me a thrill of horror.

Maybe the reason Blair witch did nothing for me, was I saw it at home not in the theater and the night before the star of the movie was on letterman/leno/whatever lame ass late night show that then got picked up by E's Talk Soup. 

Maybe. I was in college when the movie came out and one of my best friend's went to see it. At the time, there was still a lot of confusion as to whether it was real or not. By the time I saw it, a few weeks later IIRC, we all knew it was just a movie, but it still disturbed me a bit.

I might also toss in Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. As a kid that cartoons scared me silly (in the best way possible, of course :) )

Also, wow. There's a lot of classic horror movies I realize I've never seen thanks to this thread. How have I never seen the Omen?


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Reply #21 on: October 28, 2009, 09:11:26 PM
Maggots, Michael!)

Ah, Joel Schumacher, from before the name became synonymous with "suck"  ;)

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Reply #22 on: October 29, 2009, 01:47:07 AM
Maggots, Michael! (I know it's a different movie, but still!)

Jason Patric is the son of Jason Miller, who played Father Karras in The Exorcist.

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Reply #23 on: October 29, 2009, 04:10:30 AM
Also, wow. There's a lot of classic horror movies I realize I've never seen thanks to this thread. How have I never seen the Omen?

That's why I was going to stay out of this thread. (Heh heh yeah). When a lot of the "classics" were coming out -- e.g. Night of the Living Dead, Friday The 13th, Nightmare, Omen -- I seriously could not handle the horror because it was too real for me. (I'll toss out "religious overtones" and leave it at that). I mean NOW I could likely watch Friday The 13th without batting an eye, but THEN... it would have stayed with me forever and made me fall apart.


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Reply #24 on: October 29, 2009, 01:41:15 PM
I no particular order -

(Romero's original) Night of the Living Dead - Relentlessly scary, even now, even having watched this 50 some-odd times.
(Carpenter's) Halloween - The only really good slasher movie.
(Carpenter's) The Thing - Gross yes, but the scene with the blood test is tense times a million, and the end of the film where it's clear no one will escape alive is horrifying.
Parasite (in 3D) - this movie scared me to DEATH in the theater. The 3D helped,  Demi Moore's first appearance as an actress in a film iced the horror cake.
Witchfinder General - Gruesome and scary.
Prophecy - (the Giant Mutant Bear one not the Christopher Walken one)
It's Alive - scared me stupid, solely because of the novelty of the monster being a newborn.
Phantasm - I still hate funeral homes because of this movie.
Jaws - Scared my mother, who grew up pretty much on the beach, out of the ocean forever.

Honorable mention - Not horror or exploitation films as much as docudramas that explore the worst of humanity - These are truly difficulty to watch.

(T.F. Mou's) Men Behind the Sun - A film about the Japanese Biological Warfare Lab, Unit 731 in Ping Fan/Harbin China in the waning months of World War 2.
(T.F. Mou's) Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre - A film about the 1937 Rape of Nanking. I designed and wrote the DVD extras for the Unearthed Films DVD release.

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stePH

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Reply #25 on: October 29, 2009, 02:24:18 PM
What about Juon vs. The Grudge? I only saw the latter.  I'm not a big Sarah Michelle Geller fan, but I thought it had some great images.  I saw it in Japan and then we stayed at my parents-in-law's creepy, Japanese-style house.  "We're going to bed.  Wakela, can you lockup and turn the lights off?"

Haven't seen either; I don't usually go for horror films (and my wife hates them so she won't watch with me). 

But talking of Japanese horror, have you seen Audition?  Watch that one for a really fucked-up trip.

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jrderego

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Reply #26 on: October 29, 2009, 02:43:50 PM
What about Juon vs. The Grudge? I only saw the latter.  I'm not a big Sarah Michelle Geller fan, but I thought it had some great images.  I saw it in Japan and then we stayed at my parents-in-law's creepy, Japanese-style house.  "We're going to bed.  Wakela, can you lockup and turn the lights off?"

Haven't seen either; I don't usually go for horror films (and my wife hates them so she won't watch with me). 

But talking of Japanese horror, have you seen Audition?  Watch that one for a really fucked-up trip.

I liked Audition. I also liked Uzumaki, which was waaaaaay weirder than Audition.

Have you watched any of the Guinea Pig films? I've been tempted, but never got around to seeking them out.

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Reply #27 on: October 29, 2009, 06:34:09 PM
28 Days Later scared the crap out of me when I saw it in the theatre. Pity the sequel sucked so much (although the first 10 minutes of the sequel were pretty scary).

I liked Blair Witch Project but wasn't terribly frightened by it.



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Reply #28 on: October 29, 2009, 08:49:39 PM
I liked Audition. I also liked Uzumaki, which was waaaaaay weirder than Audition.

I'll have to see if Netflix has Uzumaki.

Have you watched any of the Guinea Pig films? I've been tempted, but never got around to seeking them out.
I have no idea what you're talking about.

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jrderego

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Reply #29 on: October 29, 2009, 09:43:14 PM
I liked Audition. I also liked Uzumaki, which was waaaaaay weirder than Audition.

I'll have to see if Netflix has Uzumaki.

Have you watched any of the Guinea Pig films? I've been tempted, but never got around to seeking them out.
I have no idea what you're talking about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_Pig_(film_series)

I asked about these films because you seem to be a font of Japanese cultural/pop cultural information :)

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Swamp

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Reply #30 on: October 29, 2009, 09:56:38 PM
I just remembered another horror movie that I remember being very good: Mother Lode starring Charlton Heston as a scary old miner.  Kim Basinger was also in this movie.  I think it was one of her first.  It was from 1982.

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Reply #31 on: October 29, 2009, 10:30:33 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_Pig_%28film_series%29

I asked about these films because you seem to be a font of Japanese cultural/pop cultural information :)

Not really ... I'm more like "Otaku-Lite"  :D


[edit, after viewing wikipedia page on Guinea Pig films]

Doesn't sound like anything I'd be interested in.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2009, 10:37:56 PM by stePH »

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lowky

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Reply #32 on: October 29, 2009, 10:51:12 PM
I liked Audition. I also liked Uzumaki, which was waaaaaay weirder than Audition.

I'll have to see if Netflix has Uzumaki.

Have you watched any of the Guinea Pig films? I've been tempted, but never got around to seeking them out.
I have no idea what you're talking about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_Pig_(film_series)

I asked about these films because you seem to be a font of Japanese cultural/pop cultural information :)


I heard about them, but haven't seen them.  Not a big fan of TorturePorn as horror, though I did like Urotsukidoji when it came out in America, not sure if it would stand the test of time.  Maybe because it's too believable that it can happen IRL.  Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies all have that layer of disbelief available to them, but Human based horrors not so much.



jrderego

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Reply #33 on: October 29, 2009, 11:07:01 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_Pig_%28film_series%29

I asked about these films because you seem to be a font of Japanese cultural/pop cultural information :)

Not really ... I'm more like "Otaku-Lite"  :D


[edit, after viewing wikipedia page on Guinea Pig films]

Doesn't sound like anything I'd be interested in.

They definitely occupy a weird little slice of the manga/film universe. I have never been sufficiently interested in them to really seek them out either. I'd rather my Japanese horrors were of the giant and radioactive variety.

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jrderego

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Reply #34 on: October 29, 2009, 11:10:37 PM
I liked Audition. I also liked Uzumaki, which was waaaaaay weirder than Audition.

I'll have to see if Netflix has Uzumaki.

Have you watched any of the Guinea Pig films? I've been tempted, but never got around to seeking them out.
I have no idea what you're talking about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_Pig_(film_series)

I asked about these films because you seem to be a font of Japanese cultural/pop cultural information :)


I heard about them, but haven't seen them.  Not a big fan of TorturePorn as horror, though I did like Urotsukidoji when it came out in America, not sure if it would stand the test of time.  Maybe because it's too believable that it can happen IRL.  Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies all have that layer of disbelief available to them, but Human based horrors not so much.



I saw Uroskowhatever in college, that was my first exposure to hentai, or hentai light or whatever... While I was a huge fan and booster of Akira, I never liked the OVAs of the time. I still dislike almost all anime now, a consequence as the anime reviewer/editor job at horrorview.com. Aside from it being impossible to keep up with the three dozen various releases I'd get in the mail every week (or the hate mail that came from the distributors when I didn't keep up), I very easily picked out which of the three typical anime storylines was going to be used in any given series.

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Reply #35 on: October 29, 2009, 11:22:12 PM


I saw Uroskowhatever in college, that was my first exposure to hentai, or hentai light or whatever... While I was a huge fan and booster of Akira, I never liked the OVAs of the time. I still dislike almost all anime now, a consequence as the anime reviewer/editor job at horrorview.com. Aside from it being impossible to keep up with the three dozen various releases I'd get in the mail every week (or the hate mail that came from the distributors when I didn't keep up), I very easily picked out which of the three typical anime storylines was going to be used in any given series.

So you know the horror that is Project A-ko or more to the point the horror that is C-ko and her annoying voice/crying.


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Reply #36 on: October 30, 2009, 12:05:15 AM


I saw Uroskowhatever in college, that was my first exposure to hentai, or hentai light or whatever... While I was a huge fan and booster of Akira, I never liked the OVAs of the time. I still dislike almost all anime now, a consequence as the anime reviewer/editor job at horrorview.com. Aside from it being impossible to keep up with the three dozen various releases I'd get in the mail every week (or the hate mail that came from the distributors when I didn't keep up), I very easily picked out which of the three typical anime storylines was going to be used in any given series.

So you know the horror that is Project A-ko or more to the point the horror that is C-ko and her annoying voice/crying.

Project A-Ko was like Akira compared to Stellvia. Stellvia broke the camel's back for me.

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Reply #37 on: October 30, 2009, 01:21:19 AM
I heard about [the Guinea Pig films], but haven't seen them.  Not a big fan of TorturePorn as horror, though I did like Urotsukidoji when it came out in America, not sure if it would stand the test of time. 

I love Urotsukidouji; I have the "Perfect Collection" DVD set which contains the first two OVA series.  But I think only the first series "Legend of the Choujin" is really good; with "Legend of the Demon Womb" the series starts to decline; I haven't seen the third or fourth series but from what I hear it becomes a confused mess that doesn't even try to tell a coherent story.

[edit]
And the chronology is a bit messed up ... "Legend of the Demon Womb" takes place somewhere between parts 2 and 3 of "Legend of the Choujin".
« Last Edit: October 30, 2009, 03:30:30 AM by stePH »

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Reply #38 on: October 30, 2009, 02:02:36 AM
Wow what a fun thread. 

I have no single answer to this question, but I have probably seen "Se7en" more times than any other single film, so take that as you will.  I often answer "Jacob's Ladder" just because I like how it mixes up real and hallucinated threats -- the brilliant use of an unreliable POV character.  A lot of people short change it, I think, by using the Owl Creek Bridge ending as an excuse to neglect sorting out the intricacies of the very realistic alternate reading that much of the film carefully preserves -- the experimental drug causing hallucinations while government agents attempt to assassinate the vets as part of a cover up.  OTOH, my wife thought the pace was too slow, and I guess I can see that too.

I will agree also that "Alien" is an impressively terrifying film even after all these years.



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Reply #39 on: October 30, 2009, 06:08:07 AM
Oh man I completely forgot about Jacob's Ladder!  That movie freaked the shit out of me on multiple occasions.  Se7en was great, but mostly played on the gore/fucked up shit factor, tho the ending was ridiculously good.  I would pick Jacob's Ladder over Se7en in respect to horror, and I don't know about Jacob's Ladder vs. The Shining... I want to say I enjoy The Shining more, but Jacob's Ladder probably scares me more, it's a more intense psychological horror IMO.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


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Reply #40 on: October 30, 2009, 12:17:12 PM
what about identity?  That ending where it turned out the serial killer personality, plus it turning out that each person in the hotel was a personality was unexpected too


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Reply #41 on: October 30, 2009, 12:44:04 PM
Se7en really disturbed me. Still does, when I think about it. I watched that one way too many times :)


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Reply #42 on: October 30, 2009, 03:23:21 PM
Also, listening to Al's outro in the last episode reminded me that the Mothman Prophecies really unnerved me. Absolutely chilling because of the way it messed with your mind. It was like an excellent X-Files episode, and I'd always hoped that I Want To Believe would be something more along the lines of that movie.


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Reply #43 on: October 30, 2009, 05:54:32 PM
Mothman prophecies was weird... Didn't scare me, kinda creeped me out, but... I dunno... It was ehhhhhh to me :P

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


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Reply #44 on: November 04, 2009, 05:12:07 AM
batoru rowaiaru (battle royale) isn't really horror but it has its moments.

it's a rare movie that elevates a b movie plot, this manages it with great style.  any fan of b movies should check it out even if subtitles usually isn't your thing.



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Reply #45 on: November 04, 2009, 05:31:11 AM
batoru rowaiaru (battle royale) isn't really horror but it has its moments.

I've wanted to see that one for a while -- my local video store doesn't seem to have it. It looks great.


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Reply #46 on: November 04, 2009, 08:10:14 PM
Oh, and just for grins...  Other movies I say are horror movies, but that weren't marketed as such:

Jurassic Park - No really.  Look how it's shot, and even plotted.

Requiem for a Dream - Ditto.

The Little Mermaid - Okay, now I'm kidding.



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Reply #47 on: November 04, 2009, 08:23:55 PM
Another mismarket for Speilberg was War of the World.  Say what you want, but I thought it was a pretty intense flic.  My wife said that it was the scariest movie she'd ever seen at the time.  Just the Tim Robbins character was creepy enough.

How about Cloverfield in the subway tunnels?  You knew it was coming, but...

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Reply #48 on: November 04, 2009, 09:23:56 PM
As a 14 year old, Jurrasic Park had me ready to fall off the edge of my seat. T-Rex scene and the Raptors in the kitchen. I totally thought those kids might get eaten. Twice.

War of the Worlds - I agree. And I watched some of it again - it was so close to being a GREAT film. I really wish Spielberg hadn't copped out in that final scene.

Requiem for a Dream was incredibly disturbing. Hrm. I need to watch Pi again, for that matter.

I LOVED Cloverfield but I don't know if I was ever really scared in it. Except for the (SPOILER) scene where the head explodes behind the sheet. That made me go "Oh SHIT!" in the theater  :)


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Reply #49 on: November 08, 2009, 01:29:51 PM
I saw The Shining young- probably while being baby sat. I don't remember seeing it. I remember the nightmares it gave me for YEARS. (The twins in the hallway, the blood.) When I was older I went looking for this movie this horrible movie that gave me such potent nightmares. I FINALLY found The Shining and watched it. Although disturbing and awesome, it couldn't live up to the absolute terror it had inspired in me as a child.

I have problems with most horror movies. They're either going for the gore or too darn long. I tend to enjoy horror/comedy (slither comes to mind, as does Fido) more then streight up horror. Mostly beacuse the tired plotlines of most horror movies make me bored, and the sheer gore dosn't work for me. Idle hands got me happy, as did the First Final destination. The clasics are Good, but their time is generally past and now they're almost always more giggle worthy then truly terrifing.

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Reply #50 on: November 08, 2009, 04:34:40 PM
I have problems with most horror movies. They're either going for the gore or too darn long.

Allow me to suggest Paranormal activity, then. 1) almost no gore at all. 2) 1 hour 40 minutes. :)



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Reply #51 on: November 08, 2009, 06:07:47 PM
I tend to enjoy horror/comedy (slither comes to mind, as does Fido) more then streight up horror.

Ooh, me too!  Haven't seen the two you mention, but I love:
Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness
House and House 2
A Chinese Ghost Story III
Dead Alive

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Reply #52 on: November 09, 2009, 07:49:35 PM
I tend to enjoy horror/comedy (slither comes to mind, as does Fido) more then streight up horror.

Ooh, me too!  Haven't seen the two you mention, but I love:
Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness
House and House 2
A Chinese Ghost Story III
Dead Alive


Ok have seen (and LOVED) evil dead and AoD. So- will watch the others simply based on the awesomeness of those two.

Talia- I'll give yours a go too. I'd like something new it's just generally  a nightmare trying to get the heebie jeebies out of a movie.

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Reply #53 on: November 09, 2009, 08:14:33 PM
I tend to enjoy horror/comedy (slither comes to mind, as does Fido) more then streight up horror.

Ooh, me too!  Haven't seen the two you mention, but I love:
Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness
House and House 2
A Chinese Ghost Story III
Dead Alive


Shaun of the Dead, maybe?


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Reply #54 on: November 10, 2009, 01:48:40 PM
Shaun of the Dead, maybe?
Loved that too. If it's comedic horror, odds are good I've seen and enjoyed it (must see zombie land). IT's finding truly scary horror movies that aren't campy, gross, boring, etc that's gotten hard. Apparently I'm too picky on "true" horror movies.

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Reply #55 on: November 10, 2009, 03:41:00 PM
Shaun of the Dead, maybe?

Haven't seen it, though it's been recommended to me by a couple of people.

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Reply #56 on: November 10, 2009, 05:49:05 PM
Shaun of the Dead, maybe?

Haven't seen it, though it's been recommended to me by a couple of people.

It's pretty awesome. Witty banter, funny actors, some truly quotable moments. Plus -guys with british accents. Not that I think that'll do it for you but gosh darnit it did it for me ;)

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Reply #57 on: November 10, 2009, 08:24:50 PM
For comedy horror, let me also add to the list:

Dead and Breakfast
Murder Party
My Name is Bruce (for over-the-top campiness)

But for the best horror I'd lean towards either Se7en or Alien or Aliens. Se7en does a real nice job of viewing the coarse underbelly of humanity, supplemented by stellar writing and acting. The effects hold up well to aging. The first two Alien films also have excellent writing and acting, with the effects aging less gracefully. For Anime horror, I'd pick either AKIRA or Perfect Blue. Both are well written and well drawn experiences.

I am predisposed against The Shining, since I had been expecting something closer to the novel. I love Kubrick's work, and I can appreciate the movie on its own merits, but I can't think of it as an adaptation of a Stephen King novel. It is well acted and well directed, but some of the scariest sequences in the novel were castrated. The hedge animals that only moved when your back was turned to them was a special flavor of mindbending terror. I was very pleased to see a stellar treatment of this concept in an episode of the recent Doctor Who series titled "Blink". There's some great horror episodes for both the new Doctor Who series and Torchwood that many of the PseudoPod fans would appreciate.

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Reply #58 on: November 10, 2009, 08:32:08 PM
I am predisposed against The Shining, since I had been expecting something closer to the novel. I love Kubrick's work, and I can appreciate the movie on its own merits, but I can't think of it as an adaptation of a Stephen King novel.

Yeah, I can see that.  I have not read the novel, so the movie is my only reference.

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Reply #59 on: November 10, 2009, 08:58:53 PM
So, based on the previews for The Fourth Kind, I went to see it last weekend with my wife (WIMOMNH*), and was prepared to come back to this thread and add it to the list of scariest movies ever.  It was a good movie and it did have some creepy elements to it.  Unfortunately, the parts that would be the scariest and horrific were spoiled by the previews IMO.  I also think the sherriff character was either terribly written or acted, or both.  However if you were a strong believer in alien abductions (or became one as a result of the movie), you could leave the theater pretty freaked out.  I wasn't too affected.  Until yesterday...

My wife (WIMOMNH) comes in and says that I won't believe what our youngest son (WIMOMNH) just told her.  He was telling her that some monsters, with long black claws, came into his room at night and took him away.  He wasn't upset or anything, and he's been pretending to take out bad guys a lot lately.  But still, after watching The Fourth Kind, I can't stop but think "Holy Crap! What if..."  Now if he starts telling me about an owl in his window, I might have to start really freaking out.

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Reply #60 on: November 10, 2009, 09:51:30 PM
Okay, I've decided that this does deserve its own series of polls based on the movies cited in this thread.  I plan on starting the poll in a couple weeks, pretty much copying Ocicat's format.  Now is your last chance to put forth any remaining nominations.  I will try to include all serious nominations.  Sorry StePH, Spice World won't be on there. ;)

Also, do you think I should separate the comedic horror into its own poll or scatter them in with the rest?

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Reply #61 on: November 10, 2009, 10:07:13 PM

Also, do you think I should separate the comedic horror into its own poll or scatter them in with the rest?


I think it would be unfair to have to pick between Sean of the Dead and The Exorcist. Putting the comedic horror in with the rest would introduce significant bias in any poll. Would Spice World make it to the comedic horror poll?

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Reply #62 on: November 10, 2009, 11:45:03 PM
if you're gonna get serious about it then you should probably check out a couple online lists.

a few movies i don't remember seeing here (but may have missed) that should be included: freaks, the decent, the thing, scream (debatably belongs with the comedies), the host, ginger snaps, frailty.

i've also heard good stuff about a new swedish film, let the right one in, but it's an independent release so you pretty much have to download it if you want to see it.



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Reply #63 on: November 10, 2009, 11:53:25 PM
Oh, okay then (leaving out tv movies like SALEM'S LOT, THE STONE TAPE, DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, THE WOMAN IN BLACK, etc.)

THE INNOCENTS
THE HAUNTING
VIDEODROME
TARGETS
SUSPIRIA
DEAD RINGERS
THE FLY
THE THING
DAWN OF THE DEAD (orginal)
NIGHT OF THE LVING DEAD (original)
THE EXORCIST
DON'T LOOK NOW
PHANTASM
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (original and '78))
BLACK SABBATH
BLACK SUNDAY
HALLOWEEN (original)
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (original)
PSYCHO
ROSEMARY'S BABY
BLACK CHRISTMAS (original)
NOSFERATU (original)
JAWS
THE SHINING
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
EVIL DEAD
ALIEN
NEAR DARK
REANIMATOR
LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH
CAT PEOPLE (original)
THE DESCENT
THE RING
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
CREEPSHOW
KWAIDAN
ONIBABA
SESSION 9
DAGON

(and probably about 10 others I've forgotten)

With some minor exceptions, I imagine these are all equal to each other - not equally as GOOD, but they encompass a pretty wide range of what horror is capable of.  I wouldn't personally count ALIENS, as it's a war movie where the enemy are aliens (ALIEN, on the other hand, is pure monster movie) .  But then, action-horror in general is not my bag (if you can defeat the threat just because you get your hands on a bigger gun, well, that ain't horror to me.  Might be horrifying, but...)

I left off some personal faves (THE FOG, THE BLIND DEAD, CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER - Corman version, CARNIVAL OF SOULS - original), a spate of monster movies (like CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, THE TINGLER), and the Universals (FRANKENSTEIN def.), Val Lewtons (THE BODY SNATCHER - Karloff's best ever role!) and Hammers (CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF) because they wouldn't have a chance anyway.

Also didn't include quasi-horror like THE WICKER MAN or THE SEVENTH VICTIM, or horror comedies (like RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, DEAD-ALIVE or THE ABOMINBABLE DR. PHIBES) or recent faves (SAUNA, FEARS OF THE DARK, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - thanks for the remind, Deflective!).

I'm kind of the opposite of Ms. Mac - I trend backwards and find most modern horror films unsatisfying (which is not to say that there haven't been some good ones recently) and the older stuff to have more meat, atmosphere, depth, creativity and honest emotion.  Modern horror films are suffering a dilemma both long term (cultural trending from superstition to science), economic (movies cost more, and formulas assure money, so formula is what you get) and, most obviously, creative.  The fact that director's/screenwriters frequently fail the audience (rote plot, uninvolving characters, standard scares) is matched by an audience that almost as frequently fails good movies (the death of "willing suspension of disbelief" as a fruitful stance, as that gives up too much control to the filmmakers, and hyper-criticality of audiences that demand "authenticity" but easily accept pandering).

My prediction as per a poll is that the monster movies and psychological horrors fall off first, then the subtle ghost movies and slasher movies, leaving in the end the masterfully WTF pieces, whatever their subgenre, and the childhood faves.  If pressed, I know what the top 5 would be for me, but they encompass the five corners of horror and each would likely be unsatisfying to someone - horror is just too darn big top have a greatest!

PS - if this is considered last minute dumping, please just ignore the whole thing.

« Last Edit: November 11, 2009, 12:01:25 AM by Sgarre1 »



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Reply #64 on: November 11, 2009, 04:19:30 AM
Let me add [REC] to the list.  it's actually one of the best done creepiest zombie movies I have seen in a long time.  There is a sequel either out or in the works.  It's a Spanish film, but I was able to find a dubbed (by Brits) version.  It's done with a lot of shaky cam, so if you don't like shaky cam stay away.  Many of the zombie scenes are shot as if by a news team, hence the shaky cam.  It's really good, I can't recommend it enough.


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Reply #65 on: November 11, 2009, 04:41:18 AM
[REC] was goooooood.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


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Reply #66 on: November 11, 2009, 07:32:04 AM
goddam. I would love to play but I'm SOOOOOO outta my league.


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Reply #67 on: November 12, 2009, 02:44:42 PM
Oh, there is no league, just fun and games.

And I apologize again for an overwhelming response, but I've been ardently watching horror films since 1975 when I started my childhood habit of sitting down with the new TV Guide and circling every movie labeled "Horror", "Fantasy", "Sci-Fi" and "Mystery" (oh, and "Thriller" and "Suspense", forgot about those) and then plotting as to how I was going to be able to convince my parents to let me watch all these things (because back then, if you didn't see it when it was on, you might never get the chance again!).

Luckily, my parents were very good about this (I have a fond memory of my Dad staying up until 1 AM to watch DESTROY ALL MONSTERS with me, and then they showed the reels out of order, putting the climax in the middle of the broadcast, so he had no idea what was going on!  Luckily, I had audio taped a previous broadcast onto my little shoebox tape recorder and listened to it over and over again - Akira Ifukube's music in all the Toho monster films is phenomenal - and so I could tell him what was happening and why).

Unlike the book polls, people can probably bang out watching a 90 minute Netflix rental they've never seen before fairly easily, so maybe with a slightly longer voting window, the results might be very interesting.  And while it's unrealistic to expect everybody to like everything, none of the films I listed could honestly be considered a waste of anyone's time.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2009, 02:46:59 PM by Sgarre1 »



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Reply #68 on: November 12, 2009, 02:57:31 PM
And while it's unrealistic to expect everybody to like everything, none of the films I listed could honestly be considered a waste of anyone's time.

I have to say Evil Dead was a waste of my time.  Evil Dead 2 was the movie its predecessor should have been.

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Reply #69 on: November 12, 2009, 03:37:30 PM
Oh well, YMMV, obviously...

While the EVIL DEAD films become slicker and, in a technical sense, "better" as they go on, they also more openly embrace Raimi's comedic sense.  DEAD BY DAWN is wonderful, but it's arguably a horror comedy, standing right on the line where TALES FROM THE CRYPT-style macabre cynicism tips over into outright comedy.  ARMY OF DARKNESS is total fantasy/action-comedy (love the Harryhausen tribute).

So the original, to me, is still a pure horror film (not without it's funny moments) but it's pulpy, comic book approach to horror (see also CREEPSHOW) is not something a lot of people want out of a horror movie (the claymation stop-motion decay effects always seem to be the last straw), especially nowadays (and, of course, they flub that tone with the tree sequence - as admitted by Raimi.  Hideous violence is okay, sexual violence not so much).  But the stalking, Raimi demon-cam and pell-mell/ramshackle approach to horror, and the stripped down setting and plot were such an influence that people were remaking EVIL DEAD under other names (much as they were remaking HALLOWEEN after that was such a big hit) for years afterwards.

Also, I love the ominous build-ups (the drive down the trail, the porch swing pounding, the professor's tape, the card counting) before the chaotic craziness in EVIL DEAD - Raimi was one of the last people to remember that suspense is an integral part of horror.

But, yeah, YMMV.  As I said, not all of these are for everybody.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2009, 03:39:53 PM by Sgarre1 »



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Reply #70 on: November 12, 2009, 09:20:57 PM
Oh yeah, for more recent stuff if we aren't excluding the foreign films, let me put in a good word for Guillermo del Toro's movies, "The Devil's Backbone" (which, it seems to me, should have been translated as "The Devil's Spine") and "The Orphanage".  I liked "Pan's Labyrinth" too, and although it definitely rides the dark-fantasy line -- I'm pretty sure it's too brutal for kids.  And if that thing with eyes in its palms isn't a scary monster, I don't know what is.



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Reply #71 on: November 12, 2009, 09:58:28 PM
Oh yeah, DEVIL'S BACKBONE and PAN'S LABYRINTH were aces (agree that the latter is probably Dark Fantasy, and that the creature is great, although man that's a sad ending!).

THE ORPHANAGE was pretty good, but the end dripped treacle.



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Reply #72 on: November 13, 2009, 03:59:16 AM
And while it's unrealistic to expect everybody to like everything, none of the films I listed could honestly be considered a waste of anyone's time.

I have to say Evil Dead was a waste of my time.  Evil Dead 2 was the movie its predecessor should have been.

My understand is Evil Dead was Raimi's Senior Thesis in University.  It was a horror movie, then he took the exact same script and reshot it as a comedy basically for Evil Dead 2.  He didn't have money for fancy special effects so he strapped the camera to the hood of the car and hence the birth of Demon Cam as Sgarre1 called it.  It was so popular that a slightly more stable modified version of it is still used in many films today. 


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Reply #73 on: November 13, 2009, 04:01:04 AM
I very much enjoyed pan's labyrinth, will look for the Devil's backbone.


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Reply #74 on: November 13, 2009, 06:37:01 PM
My understand is Evil Dead was Raimi's Senior Thesis in University.  It was a horror movie, then he took the exact same script and reshot it as a comedy basically for Evil Dead 2.  He didn't have money for fancy special effects so he strapped the camera to the hood of the car and hence the birth of Demon Cam as Sgarre1 called it.  It was so popular that a slightly more stable modified version of it is still used in many films today. 

Minor nit pick, but the car cam and the demon cam were two separate techniques if memory serves me correctly. Demon cam (the one along the ground and through the woods that knocks over the occasional tree) is a camera strapped to a two-by-four with a guy on each side running with the contraption.

Evil Dead 2 gives a brief summary of what happened in the first film and starts off right after the end of the first film. Much like the beginning of Army of Darkness gives a brief overview of what happened in the Evil Dead movies. Thematically Evil Dead 2 it is very similar to the first film.

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Reply #75 on: November 13, 2009, 08:14:56 PM
Heck, EVIL DEAD 2 starts off with a remake of THE EVIL DEAD in the re-cap (eliminating extraneous characters), then just re-retells the basic story with different characters, more humor, and the boom-socko ending.

There were all kinds of cameras attached to all kinds of things, IIRC - the long capper shot that ends EVIL DEAD was supposedly achieved by strapping the camera to a dirt bike, driving it through the cabin (as fake doors were pulled aside by heplers), and then running straight into Bruce Campbell! On the other hand, Sam Raimi likes a good tall tale as well...
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 08:42:39 PM by Sgarre1 »



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Reply #76 on: November 14, 2009, 12:58:00 AM
Hell High had an awesome shower scene.  Even though it was a body double.

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Reply #77 on: November 26, 2009, 10:36:38 AM
I think The Shining is the best movie in the horror genre. [snip]

Hard to argue with The Exorcist, too. 

If you want scary, one of the few movies that had an impact on me was the original Salem's Lot miniseries.  It came out in 1979 and I was 10.  THE scene from the movie is when a kid wakes up to see his recently vamped brother floating in the fog outside his second story window.  The vampire taps on the window and says, "let me in.  It's OK." The vampire kid is deathly and has a big, fangy smile, but his voice is completely normal.  Judging from the blog posts I found googling it for the release date, it looks like just about everyone from my generation was terrified by this scene.  google it yourself and you'll find several images of the scene I'm talking about.  This was probably the first really scary thing I had seen.  Probably because it was on TV, and if it had been in a movie, I wouldn't have been able to see it.
Excellent choices.
I thought The Shining was the best movie overall in that group (I think the twin girls are what creeped me out the most), but The Exorcist was the only movie (ever) that disturbed me after I left the theatre.
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It will be interesting to see if the scariness of the movie is affected by what age we were when we saw it.

 I thought I was still in high school when I saw The Exorcist, but I just did the math and it turns out I was 20 at the time. I believe I read the original novel shortly after, too.
The window scene was great, and one of the few images I can still recall clearly. That version was also the first time (since Nosferatu) that I recall seeing a vampire that was not somehow handsome, or at least passably human. The wiggly teeth were a nice touch.

The Lost Boys was a pretty good take on the vampire genre too. Just enough comic relief.
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Reply #78 on: November 27, 2009, 03:07:19 PM
The culling has begun.  As I promised, I have spawned a poll based on the comments and suggestions here.  Go vote for your favorites, but if you want, also go rent the movies you haven't seen first.  You'll have two weeks between each poll.

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Reply #79 on: November 27, 2009, 11:07:21 PM
if there's still room for another film i want to mention spoorloos, the dutch film that the vanishing was based on.  it's slowly paced but still interesting because of the mundane realness that horror films rarely achieve.
« Last Edit: November 27, 2009, 11:51:12 PM by deflective »



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Reply #80 on: November 27, 2009, 11:49:27 PM
Ohh, yeh, SPOORLOOS, that's one that would fall into my "10 others I'm forgetting"!  Great movie.  Shame about the sucky American remake!