Author Topic: Best Horror film ever  (Read 31940 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 :)


kristin

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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.


wakela

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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



lowky

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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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kibitzer

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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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