It’s no doubt that Horror doesn’t get anywhere near enough credit, but when I look at some of the current films, I can see why some people misjudge the genre. So I put on my best zombie mask and sort through the mountains of crap filling the genre, and pick the 25 greatest films of all time in Horror.
Now as I said way back on October 1st, this is only part 1 to a 2 parter as here we have 25 through 14 and on Friday, Halloween, we have 13-1.
#25: Saw
Saw just barely makes it onto the list. Now I’m talking Saw 1 here, not 2 and up because after the first one it all went to hell. The first Saw film, while still annoyingly grotesque like so many Torture Porn films, had some great suspense and build up. My favorite trade mark to the horror genre. That, and our first main protagonist was fairly good. While not perfect, Saw is a good example of a modern horror film and how to blend suspense and freak out moments.
#24: Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
I never count this as a part of the Nightmare series, but rather a spin-off. Therefore, it qualifies outside of the main franchise and I can add it to the list. The original series ran it’s course and after a while became nothing of a poor joke. Wes Craven returned with the amazing New Nightmare. A film that set itself in a main stream reality and blended similar things from the original Nightmare movie, but kept it very dark and without any of the bad jokes that Freddy spat out in that series. Overall, an incredible film, but not good enough to break much more than 24th spot.
#23: The Mummy, Original.
Boris Karloff is a major icon of horror, and while I’ve never been big on Frankenstein, his classic portrayal of the Mummy is legendary. This film feels like one nightmarish haze enveloping you, it’s both haunting and hypnotic and I love it for this.
#22: The Howling
The Howling is one of the better “modern” werewolf films. It seems that nowadays the genre of Werewolf movies has been seriously lacking, but in these last couple of decades, the Howling has stood out and told both a well written and very creepy story with some awesome scenes of werewolf attacks.
#21: Poltergeist
When I first saw this film as a child, it terrified me and had a strong haunting power, but as I matured, it lost the effect. Still, it’s a great flick nonetheless and has some great moments. My favorite being the infamous “face falling off” scene.
#20: Jaws
Some wouldn’t consider Jaws a horror film. I however would and I find it an important aspect to horror, since it really strengthened the “out at sea” part of horror. Face it, if your stuck at sea, your up a creak without a paddle and have no chance. Especially if you’ve got a murderous giant shark after you. Though several knock offs and awful sequels, the first film has some amazing suspense and is great.
#19: Children of the Corn
Where I live, there is a haunted corn field. It’s in the town right next to mine, and is a 10 minute drive. It’s not really haunted, it’s all for show, but if you go there after watching Children of the Corn then the moments of people popping up have much more effect. Now as for the film in general, it didn’t really get freaky until near the end, and Isaac made a great villain. While not the strongest of Stephen King’s work, it’s a great flick and has some lasting effect.
#18: Rosemary’s Baby
While this film had some great build up and suspense, it falls back in the list mainly due to not having enough strength in the scare department. Compared to a movie that I practically consider it’s successor, The Omen, there was a lot more that should have been done with this film. Still, it was great nonetheless.
#17: The Fly (original)
Leave it to Vincent Price to make one of the wildest horror films of all time feel realistic and eerie. While the remake seems to be more popular, I for one loved the original and found it left a real haunting impression. It’s the classic “Science gone wrong” horror story but with some eerie moments and an ending that sent shivers down my spine.
#16: The Hills have Eyes (original)
Wes Craven continues to dominate with a great and classic film. While most people seem to only think of it’s remake, similar to the Fly, the original was a great film and was a great tale of revenge and in the end, ended up being far more twisted than most people had predicted it to be.
#15:
This is an incredible horror experience. But it loses some points on the scare scale since it takes forever for something really scary to happen. And in the end, the final moments is what really completes it and makes it so great. Though the film is strung with some great moments, the finale is the best aspect.
#14: Halloween 3: Season of the Witch
I was going to try and keep it to one film per franchise, but in all honesty, I don’t even feel Halloween 3 as a main part of the franchise. This was when they wanted the franchise to go off and tell different stories with each film. This was also the last good film in the Halloween franchise, as everything from 4 and up has been complete trash. But 3 was still great, despite some odd sci fi aspects to it.
So that’s part 1 to the epic top 25 horror flicks. I know some people will no doubt disagree, and that’s fine. Everyone has different tastes likes or favorites when it comes to movies. And with such a huge helping from the Horror genre, there is plenty to pick. This is more my opinion based off of the many, many, many horror films I have seen over the years. So if you disagree, no worries, I’d love to hear your favorites.
Now come back tomorrow for the extra special Spawn #185 review, so epic of a comic it gets its own post to itself. Now until I see you then, have a good night and lock those damn doors!
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