20. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)
Dir - Philip Kaufman
"That woman's husband is not her husband"
One of the more well-respected remakes out there I actually prefer the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers to the also excellent and also on this list 1956 version. This mostly has to do with my leaning towards the horror end of things ten times out of ten and Philip Kaufman's take on it is certainly more horrific, (that dog will surely make you piss in your seat). Donald Sutherland, Brook Adams, and Jeff Goldblum and co face off against a hopeless kind of paranoia here, where everyone, (including a wonderfully creepy Leonard Nemoy of all people), is out to get them. Though not as much a commentary on 70s excess as the Cold War-era original was on the 50s Communist scare, this Invasion ultimately seals its superiority in my books with easily one of the strongest endings to any horror movie ever. I remember being not just thoroughly creeped out by it, but grinning from ear to ear at how utterly awesome that last moment truly was.
Dir - Karl Freund
Doesn't look a day over 3,000
For the third straight time in a row, Universal once again struck pay dirt. This time it was with 1932’s The Mummy. Re-hiring screenwriter/playwright John L. Balderston who had penned both the previous year’s Dracula and Frankenstein respectfully, (as well as cinematographer turned director Karl Freund who had shot Dracula), Universal and producer Carl Laemmle Jr. certainly had the right men for the job. Freund’s German Expressionist inspired direction is as excellent as any of the non-James Whale helmed Universals and Balderston’s script, (which is basically Dracula Part II), more than gets the job done. This is all not even taking into account the legendary Boris Karloff who is back to create his second most iconic movie monster in the Ancient Egyptian High Priest Imhotep. Finally given the chance to speak some dialogue, Karloff and his slow, trademark lisp are in stellar form which is further coupled by Jack Pierce’s top-notch make-up. I mind it not at all that our only glimpses of Karloff in full-on mummy bandages are just a few quick glances in the first few minutes, as the more “presentable” look of his unearthed features for the rest of the film are still utterly effective. Karloff’s soul-piercing eyes, (or “boo eyes” as my daughter would call them), are most creepy as well.
Dir - Herk Harvey
Dance of the macabre
A public domain gem that has been released on DVD probably half as many times as Night of the Living Dead, (and yes, that is a lot), my cousin turned me on to Carnival of Souls years ago and it has remained one of my very favorites ever since. Made independently with almost a non-existing budget, ($33,000 actually), and released in 1962, Carnival is a stark, ultra-spooky trip into the otherworldly realm between life and death. Leading lady Candace Hilligoss spends the entire movie walking around as if she cannot remember if she left the oven on, coldly set apart from what may or may not be happening in the real world. The Man, (director Herk Harvey himself, see above), is the creepiest and most memorable thing in the movie and there is a good chance that even if you have never seen the actual film, you have probably seen his ghoulish mug somewhere down the line.
Dir - Roman Polanski
All of dem witches alright
I first saw this movie as a teenager and foolishly expected something petrifying the likes of The Exorcist which at that point I was still very much afraid of. So initially I was therefore disappointed by Rosemary’s Baby in that it is a quite different beast. I am pretty much on the same page as everybody else with the movie at this point, which is to say that I love it. What could have easily been ruined in the hands of a shock-laden hack of a director, Roman Polanski handles the material perfectly. The evil plot unfolds gradually as Mia Farrow's Rosemary Woodhouse grows more and more terrified and alone. This makes the film’s best and most famous moments, (the impregnating “dream” sequence and of course that iconic and quotable ending), all the more chilling. The film's liberal length is quite appreciated as repeated viewings reveal more and more sinister clues. I plan on reading the book someday, but the film works more than beautifully enough as a piece of horror cinema and as an entry into Polanski’s consistently excellent filmography.
Dir - James Whale
It's still alive...as is she
One of the very best and surely rare examples of a sequel surpassing the original, The Bride of Frankenstein is another must-see classic from the glorious Universal monster cannon. Most of the cast and crew returns for round two, including of course the great James Whale directing and Boris Karloff as the monster. Plus the new additions of Elsa Lanchester, Una O-Connor, and especially Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Pretorius make the cast as pitch-perfect as can be. Though Karloff very much wanted Frankenstein’s creation to stay a mute, the monster’s childlike dialogue and delivery help make the iconic character all the more benevolent and effective. Of course most of the film’s greatness lies in the perfectly controlled, comedic tone that Whale gives it all. Just as the original Frankenstein set the standard for so many future clichés in horror cinema, Whale is very subtlety parodying them a mere four years later here. A Golden Age high water mark to be sure and damn near the greatest horror sequel ever made.
Dir - Sam Raimi
"Join us! Join us!"
I do not like Sam Raimi, sorry. Darkman is great and Evil Dead 2 is fun, but also really, really silly. All the rest of his major films which include Spider-Man 2, Army of Shit, and Drag Me to Garbage pretty much suck in my eyes. That being said, I saw the first Evil Dead way back in Jr. High without knowing or caring who the fuck Sam Raimi was and I have continued to thoroughly enjoy it ever since. It uses the simplest of premises, (bunch of students rent a cabin for the weekend, demons are raised, hell breaks loose), and most of the humor here revolves around horror clichés and conventions that Raimi is clearly toying with such as “gotcha” scares, characters doing illogical and moronic things, bad acting, occasionally wearing the film’s budget on its sleeve, etc. As opposed to the later films in the Evil Dead series which suffered, (at least in my opinion), by going full into slapstick comedy, the original Evil Dead very much remains a creepy-ass horror movie all the way through. Making the camera itself the eyes of the demons is brilliant and this has the best unholy moaning and cackling in any film. Each character’s transformation and demise is utterly memorable and gory as shit. I can continue to heap as much praise on this one as I can complain about his others, but I will give Raimi his due; this movie fucking rules.
Dir - Todd Browning
All hail Béla Lugosi!
Well, eleven Universal monster movies in and there had to be one that trumped them all. I may not have the very most popular opinion here, but the movie that kick-started the whole shebang is my absolute favorite of the bunch, 1931’s Todd Browning directed Dracula. A tremendously huge reason for this is simply that Béla Lugosi’s Dracula is probably the greatest performance in horror movie history. Along with Christopher Lee’s interpretation, (which is actually more evil and akin to the novel), Lugosi is my favorite undead Count. More than any other actor in any role in the genre, Lugosi absolutely owns the part. On top of that, the Alice Cooper honored Dwight Fry also delivers the performance of his career as the Count’s bug-eating, flipped-his-wig servant Renfield. Then of course there is the first act in Transylvania and the Count’s castle which is arguably the finest cinematic horror ever put on screen. Karl Freund’s cinematography and the gloriously Gothic set designs are as influential as anything James Whale would produce in Frankenstein the same year. Dracula was Universal’s first monster movie hit, making it the granddaddy of the greatest run of horror films from any studio in history. What more praise do you want?
Dir - Robin Hardy
NOT not the bees
I surprisingly did not catch this one until fairly recently and more surprising still was that I went thirty years without finding out a goddamn thing about it. I thoroughly enjoyed myself the whole way through Robin Hardy's outstanding The Wicker Man, wondering with much anticipation what exactly these crazy, naked, dancing pagan hippies were up to. By the time the credits rolled and my questions had been answered, I quickly came to the realization that I had just witnessed one of the greatest things I had ever seen. One cannot really discuss the film’s greatness without going into the ending, but lets just say that the inhabitants of Summerisle make for some of the most uniquely sinister villains in movie history. Christopher Lee was always a man with impeccable taste and he even waved his fee for making the film as he was such a fan of the material. Perhaps Nic Cage should have gone a similar route and maybe used his paycheck for the remake to put towards burning all of the prints of it. Eh, woulda-coulda-shouda.
12. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)
Dir - Daniel Myrick/Eduardo Sánchez
Go stand in the corner
I was eighteen when The Blair Witch Project came out and proudly got caught up in the hype surrounding it, eagerly telling everyone I knew that they absolutely HAD to see it. I have more-or-less been a fan of the “found footage” genre ever since and though I know it is the hip thing nowadays, many an excellent horror movie have utilized the groundwork set up here. Of course nothing like Blair Witch existed before, (though the wretched Cannibal Holocaust technically was the first “found footage” film nearly twenty years earlier). It was seen as such a breath of fresh air for a horror film to come out that boldly and in this case very effectively changed the game. Simply throw a bunch of unknown actors into the woods with a camera and then proceed to scare the living shit out of them at night. The actors had no idea what they were in for when making this movie and it shows, as their utterly petrified reactions sell it through and through. Those “what the fuck is that?” tent scenes are skin-curdling, but it is really the pants-shittingly terrifying and low-key climax that puts this film near the top of the heap as damn near the scariest of all time.
Dir - David Lynch
"The stories that I wanna tell you about..."
Only two David Lynch movies made it on to this list for the simple reason of saving room for other movies David Lynch did not direct. Eraserhead’s inclusion should be somewhat confusing enough, but I also went with Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me because if anybody else made a movie with an evil red room, a demon named Bob, and David Bowie disappearing while a midget talks about cream corn backwards, then that person would be high and that movie would certainly be a horror one. This prequel to the Twin Peaks TV series, (which derailed and got cancelled after the reveal of Laura Palmer’s killer midway through the second season), was panned by both critics and Lynch fans alike when it hit theaters in 1992. I for one cannot for the life of me understand why though. It has SOOOO much of what makes David Lynch films great, (i.e. really high, really moody, and really fucking awesome stuff), and the aforementioned Bowie scene is still my favorite moment from any David Lynch film. I unfortunately saw this before ever laying eyes on anything in the TV series and as this explains whole initial mystery that made that show so intriguing in the first place, needless to say the show was rather spoiled for me. I can hardly complain though as this is still one of the many examples of Lynch at his very best.
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