Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Top 50 Horror Movies of All Time

A new list, which I participated in making:

http://thevaultofhorror.blogspot.com/2008/11/cyber-horror-elite-have-spoken.html

1. Halloween (1978) dir: John Carpenter
2. The Exorcist (1973) dir: William Friedkin
3. Psycho (1960) dir: Alfred Hitchcock
4. Night of the Living Dead (1968) dir: George Romero
5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) dir: Tobe Hooper
6. Frankenstein (1931) dir: James Whale
7. The Shining (1980) dir: Stanley Kubrick
8. The Thing (1982) dir: John Carpenter
9. Alien (1979) dir: Ridley Scott
10. Nosferatu (1922) dir: F.W. Murnau
11. Dawn of the Dead (1978) dir: George Romero
12. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) dir: James Whale
13. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) dir: Wes Craven
14. Jaws (1975) dir: Steven Spielberg
15. The Blair Witch Project (1999) dir: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez
16. The Haunting (1963) dir: Robert Wise
17. King Kong (1933) dir: Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack
18. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) dir: Roman Polanski
19. Dracula (1931) dir: Todd Browning
20. The Evil Dead (1981) dir: Sam Raimi
21. Poltergeist (1982) dir: Tobe Hooper
22. Black Sunday (La Maschera del Demonio) (1960) dir: Mario Bava
23. The Phantom of the Opera (1925) dir: Rupert Julian
24. An American Werewolf in London (1980) dir: John Landis
25. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) dir: Jack Arnold
26. Friday the 13th (1980) dir: Sean Cunningham
27. Evil Dead II (1988) dir: Sam Raimi
28. Alucarda (1978) dir: Juan Lopez Moctezuma
29. Carrie (1976) dir: Brian DePalma
30. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) dir: Francis Ford Coppola
31. The Fly (1986) dir: David Cronenberg
32. The Fog (1980) dir: John Carpenter
33. The Wolf Man (1941) dir: George Waggner
34. House on Haunted Hill (1959) dir: William Castle
35. Night of the Demon (1957) dir: Jacques Tourneur
36. Frankenstein (1910) dir: J. Searle Dawley
37. Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man) (1994) dir: Michele Soavi
38. Thriller (1983) dir: John Landis
39. The Addiction (1995) dir: Abel Ferrara
40. Aliens (1986) dir: James Cameron
41. Phantasm (1979) dir: Don Coscarelli
42. The Thing from Another World (1951) dir: Christian Nyby
43. Zombi 2 (1979) dir: Lucio Fulci
44. The Mist (2007) dir: Frank Darabont
45. Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) dir: Jack Clayton
46. The Living Dead Girl (1982) dir: Jean Rollin
47. The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962) dir: Joseph Green
48. The Return of the Living Dead (1985) dir: Dan O’Bannon
49. Suspiria (1976) dir: Dario Argento
50. Salem’s Lot (1979) dir: Tobe Hooper

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

You have really good films on your list, but I'm disappointed that "Audrey Rose" and "Burnt Offerings" were not on it. Anthony Hopkins and Karen Black are not to be denied their places in history.

10:47 PM  
Blogger Jodi Lee (Morrighan) said...

'Salem's Lot? Really?

I agree with Rusty on "Audrey Rose". That dvd is watched at least once a week, here. My oldest is fascinated with Hopkins as someone scary, other than Lecter.

3:06 AM  
Blogger Scott said...

Interesting that only 5 movies on the list are less than 20 years old. Particularly since most internet lists like this tend to skew towards more recent films. The only recent movie to make the the top half, Blair Witch, was a gimmick movie.

10:07 AM  
Blogger Michael Bridgman said...

Well, I guess it takes time for films to build their reputation and cultural resonance to be classics. I mean, there have been some pretty good horror movies in the past 20 years, but which ones will leave enough of a mark to be memorable for future generations is anyone's guess. It's difficult to write history when you're still living in the middle of it.

7:20 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I saw the original list that spawned this more educated response, and I must say I was horrified. I'm glad I wasn't the only one damn near outraged to find that Psycho wasn't even on the list and there was nothing from Universal, but Saw makes the top 5 and Jaws is outranked by Lost Boys. A much wiser list. I'd still argue for the inclusion of Don't Look Now, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Audition, Witchfinder General, etc. I think it'd be damn near impossible to pull off a fully comprehensive list because people scare in differemt ways, but the list is damn fine, Alucarda even made it, which is fantastic. If we had to pick a King TV movie, I'd be more inclined to choose It over Salem's Lot, but that's my bias showing seeing as I have a longstanding blood feud with David Soul. The prick...job well done though.

5:37 AM  
Blogger mwidunn said...

Any list that does not place "The Exorcist" 1st already has a mark against it in my view. Who could forget the "Exorcist" skit on "Saturday Night Live" with comedian Richard Pryor: "Yo' momma eats kitty litter!" // "Whajoo you say 'bout my momma?" Hilarious. Not even the classic "Halloween" generated such satirical love. "Exorcist" goes 1st.

Yes, "Dawn of the Dead." A zombie Hare Krishna: Now, that’s imagination! (But, "Day of the Dead" was pretty good, too, and deserved placement somewhere.)

"Blair Witch": No frigging way. No FRIGGING way. Brilliant marketing, yes; but, the movie (which is what it’s all about) was a complete waste of time.

Alright: “Psycho,” “Dracula,” “Frankenstein,” “King Kong,” etc. & so forth. All deserve placement due to their seminal nature. But, does anyone really get a chill from watching them anymore? I don’t.

“Bram Stoker’s Dracula”? Uh, . . . no . . . especially, not when the camp classic “Blacula” is available.

No problem with “American Werewolf in London.” Can’t fathom why “The Howling” is not on this list.

Okay, “Rosemary’s Baby” (little bit of a yawner in my book.) Still, no “Omen”: C’mon, you’re kidding, right?

Both “Aliens” and “Phantasm” should be higher.

"Return of the Living Dead"!!! THANK you! It’s about time this film was acknowledged. Where does everybody think the idea of a bunch of zombies running around yelling, "Brains!," came from? Also, it gave us the back-story for the creation of the undead: a secret Government program that went awry. There is no way—none—that this horror film comes in at #48. Definitely, in the first 25 (preferably, higher). “Do you wanna party? It’s party time!” Classic.

"Suspiria"? Acceptable. It’s an atmospheric horror film . . . and, a little slow-moving in my opinion. Not sure there was much pay-off at the end. But, okay.

I found “Salem’s Lot” enjoyably scary given that it was a T.V. mini-series.

So, what’s missing? How about (in no particular order):

Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things
The Night of the Creeps
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark!
The Lost Boys
Night of the Comet
Scanners
Prince of Darkness
Halloween II (almost on par with the 1st)
Behind the Green Door

"Audrey Rose": part horror; part psychological drama. I've always found it too tedious to finish watching.

"Burnt Offerings": I saw that years ago. Does it still resonate? For me, not too much . . . though, I can see how others might find it disturbing.

10:48 PM  

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