FORWARD
Alas, I have decided to join the blogging world. This came to be for the sole reason of
posting my newest venture into nerddome, my “100 Favorite Horror Films”. The idea came from a list that Time Out London did last year. There are
hundreds of such lists already online and in books, magazines, etc. So what made this one special? Well, probably just that it was voted upon by
people in the industry whose opinions actually hold some weight, (Alice Cooper,
Roger Corman, Clive Barker, Guillermo Del Toro, and Simon Pegg, to name but a
few). This is not to say that the list
was not loaded with flaws and ergo, justifies my making one of my own
though. Whatever the case, the idea was
planted, an excuse for another list came to be, and I reached out to several
contemporaries of mine who speak the language of horror cinema rather fluently to
make their own lists along with mine and well, here we are.
Clearly a man who can kick it with Vincent Price knows a thing or three about a good horror movie.
Research began a few months ago and I can honestly say, a
most rewarding experience it has been.
I have watched more movies in these past months than I have in the last
several years. Being able to discover so
many gems I knew nothing about or had been meaning to see for ages, (as well as
re-watching numerous films I already knew I loved), has been a very fulfilling
process. The timing proved perfect as
well, not only because Halloween is rapidly approaching, but also because my son was born right at the same time I took on this project, providing ample
opportunity for viewing during the wee-hours of the morning as I had night-duty
to feed him on the weekends. So with
baby on my lap, he has already technically seen more horror movies than my older daughter. I shall try and catch her up in the near
future I suppose.
For the time being, I only have plans to use this blog for
this particular list. Yet usually me, my brother. or whoever else occasionally becomes
interested in making “Top 100” lists for all kinds of stupid shit, so I will probably
get around to posting such silliness at some point. Time will tell.
WHY HORROR?
I have no idea really.
I guess for the same reason some folks are into cars, others are into
football, others collect stamps, and others eat at White Castle. To each their own I imagine. I have been into all things horror and monsters
for as long as I can remember, drawing, watching, and collecting as much ghoulish
and ghastly shit as I could, (and from what my family tells me, apparently my
teachers in Elementary School were quite concerned about this, though I was
none the wiser at the time). My brother
and I were allowed to watch bloody action movies and whatnot since always, but
it was not until around Jr. High that I remember getting seriously into horror films. These were “classic” monster
movies really; the Universals, the Hammers, and various other adaptations of
Dracula, Frankenstein, werewolves, and ancient mummies hold the most nostalgic
memories for me. My cousins and a few
other people from time to time would turn me onto other “you gotta see this”
films once I was old enough and before too long, one simply takes these
things into their own hands and the search for greatness is on.
Seriously though, these movies are the shit.
Horror movies are just like anything else. Some of them are good, most of them
suck. I certainly came across many an
atrocity over the years and thus brings up an interesting irony. Though easily my favorite genre of cinema,
the horror film is more often than not also the most flawed. What else can be said about a genre whose
foundation lies in much relied upon clichés?
Death, mayhem, the supernatural, crazy people, murder, torture, “gotcha”
scares, twists, full moons, creaking doors, creepy children, Carrot Top,
etc. Certain things simply make things
“horror” movies. Which leads to my
next point…
WHAT IS A "HORROR MOVIE"?
Most of the films on this list are what I like to call “undeniable
horror movies”. The aforementioned
Universal and Hammer monster films, The
Exorcist, The Shinning, George
Romero’s Dead trilogy, stuff like
that. No one would deny these falling
into this beloved genre of film.
Speaking of The Exorcist, here is something to keep you from sleeping tonight. You are welcome.
Upon researching and preparing my own list, I found myself very frequently
breaking films down and even nit-picking if need be to see what I considered a
horror movie. There were a rather large
number on the Time Out list alone that I felt very much did not count for
various reasons. For example, “serial
killer” movies and “crazy people going crazy” movies were fighting an uphill
battle to begin with as far as finding their way into my list, and I had to
split-hairs at times to see what I would include.
There are many a fantastic film that have been dubbed “horror” at
some point, (Silence of the Lamb, Hour of the Wolf, Night of the Hunter, Peeping
Tom, The Tenant, Dead Ringers, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer to name a few), but I simply do not
agree with the labeling. I basically
tried to make as much room as possible for perhaps less technically great yet still utterly wonderful stuff like the low budget B movies of the 40s, 50s, and
60s, 70s European horror, or independent films from the 60s on up. Some of the stuff I included does blur the lines
between psychological thriller, to action movie, to comedy, but I guess I found enough of those
horror movie clichés present to merit their inclusion.
Sadly, the movies with all these sexy bitches in them are widely considered "comedies". Bah, what do they know?
Now, to make a long story not-as-long-as-it-could-be, I will
wrap this up by saying that to the four or so horror fans out there actually
reading this crap, you may be confused by the omission of some movies from this
list. Right off the bat, I am not that
big of a “slasher” movie fan, (Halloween
and Psycho notwithstanding), so no Friday the 13th or other “horny
teenagers get predictably killed” movies are here. It should go without saying, (I hope), that the
more recent “torture porn” sub-genre is nowhere to be found as well. I have seen two, (too many) of the Saw films, Martyrs, Frontier(s), Audition, Passion of the Christ, and yeah, no thank you. Watching people get brutally tortured for two
hours is a most unpleasant experience that I cannot logically recommend to
anyone, so stay away from these films I try and do.
Though Friday the 13th may suck, First Jason very much kicks ass for Satan.
There are also just a couple of movies everyone seems to like
that I just do not care for. No Nightmare On Elm Street, no Hellraiser, no Poltergeist, no King Kong,
no Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur collaborations, and do not even get me started on
Phantasm or High Tension. Yet this is all
what makes these lists so much fun anyway.
Having people bitch about what is on them, what is not on them, what is too
low, and what is too high. So without
further ado, bitch away, I implore ye…
OOPS, ONE LAST THING I PROMISE
I shall be posting the list in a series of blog entries, ten
films at a time. These movies are ranked by
greatness and I shall start with number 100, (“least” brilliant), eventually working
my way up to number 1, (“most” brilliant), as you scroll down. I have done it very much in the style of the
Time Out list, with a picture, stupid little caption, and some words written
about each entry.
Now as far as reading those entries on movies you have not seen yet, well, that is rather a tricky subject. Personally, I like to know as little as
possible about a film before I see it. Just
a “hey, you should watch this” from someone whose opinion I somewhat trust will
suffice. I do realize I am a bit of a
loner with this attitude though and most people like to know at least something
about what they are getting into. If such
is the case, these little “mini reviews” should do just fine. I have tried to make them as neutral as
possible as far as “spoilers” go, though some of them reveal more details than others. The choice
is yours as far as how to proceed. Hopefully
I got all of my facts right and they are at least mildly amusing at worst. At best, I hope they
make you want to instantly run out and see said particular entry. Either way, let us get on with it…
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