My friend--let's just call her Partytape--called my attention to a New York Times article on the vampire movie, Twilight, that generated a bunch of online commentary--more than a thousand responses--on the best horror movies, ever. Take a look and see what you think. Meanwhile, here's my working list....
Halloween. I cut my horror movie teeth on the Halloween movies, so, they make me really nostalgic...not for adolescence, mind you, but the beginning of a certain kind of movie-lover's experience.
The Ring. I caught this one while killing time in a hotel...and it truly scared me. How often does that happen? I like the Japanese version, Ringu, too.
Night of the Living Dead. Also saw it as a teenager--it might have been my first horror movie. I saw it in the gym of the junior high school on a Friday night. And I think I eyed the sliding glass doors we had on two floors of our house (what were my parents thinking? they were a field day for zombies!) with suspicion forever after.
The Birds. You just can't look at a group of birds sitting on a telephone wire, or on a jungle gym, the same way after you've seen this one.
Jaws. Does this count? I can't really decide. It definitely horrified me when it came out--enough so that I was scared of the ocean for...o.k. I'm still scared of the ocean. I'll get in it, but not without a vigilant and constant watch for fins. Oh, and while we're talking sharks, let's not forget Open Water. Shiver.
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9 comments:
Hi! I love a good person-could-get-body-part-chopped-off horror movie as much as the next girl, but I personally love psychological thrillers that have potential for gore even more. Jagged Edge is one of my all-time favorites.
I also liked, in recent history, The Blair Witch Project. It got a lot of hype, but it really did scare the crap out of me.
Psycho, one of everybody's favorites.
A personal favorite (two, actually): Both versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Alien.
Rosemary's Baby.
I agree with Ellen on The Blair Witch Project, as a more recent example.
"The Exorcist." I spent too much time in Catholic school not to want to run for the holy water when I hear the music. I can't even watch this movie anymore because ti scares me too much.
Now in the category of horror movies I WILL watch, I think I'll have to go with you're "Night of the Living Dead." Classics are a classic for a reason!
Funny you should ask that about Jaws. Everyone remembers it was scary, but it's that odd creature, a horror film written by an environmentalist.
I remember seeing it again on the big screen several years ago and thinking that in the context of many intervening years it had become more a Spielberg film than a horror movie. It has so many of his signatures in it--the great scene where Roy Scheider and his son sit mimicking each other, or a dozen other deft bits of human interplay that Spielberg is really good with. His family nuances shine.
Back when it came out, of course, nobody knew what a Spielberg film was, so Jaws was just a masterful horror movie. Time frames art in funny ways.
Wasn't Jaws also the original summer blockbuster?
I agree with you on The Birds, it would top the list because it spooked me so badly as a small child. However, after starting to view Scream some years ago (I made it 3/4 through the first scene)- I realized that this genre of movie is just too powerfully unsettling for me. As a parent, the range of stuff that freaks me out on a regular basis is enough, I think, to more tahn satisfy this need.
Mike in Austin
Ha, Mike. I guess my kid is young enough that I haven't quite entered the daily horror movie phase...yet. I've never actually seen the Scream movies. I guess they were the Halloweens of a new generation. The Birds...I can picture exactly where I was on Julliard Drive, walking back from my friend Cathy's house, when I noticed a bunch of crows hanging out on a telephone wire and freaked...I think I held my breath all the way home.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh! The Birds! The park down the street from my house was always FILLED with those damn Maryland crows and it freaked me out. (The only thing worse was when it was filled with Ciacadas...a whole different type of horror.)
That said, I have a brother who loves nothing more than to scare and be scared. Thus, I have seen my share of horror movies through gaps in the fingers covering my face...NO FAVORITES! However, the scariest are: The Omen and The Invasion of the Body Snatchers and of course, The Birds.
For sheer kitch though you must check out The Blob and my all time favorite Vincent Price movie...The Tingler.
-Julie
oh god, i remember the cicadas, too. i'm not sure what was worse--the flying live version, or the nasty crunchy shells they left behind. bleh. i love invasion of the body snatchers...even the remake was pretty good. i don't think i've ever seen the blog...and the tingler i haven't even HEARD of, so i definitely need to check it out. thanks for the recs!
lol. okay, i meant the BLOB, not the BLOG.
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