Oct. 26
4:18 PM
74 Favorite Horror Films—Mine, Not Tremblay’s
Who the hell is biting Paul Tremblay's style? That would be moi. In a very cool post yesterday Tremblay listed his 74 favorite horror films, inspiring me to do similar, but that led to a serious problem--do I list less than 74, thereby admitting I'm no match for his cataloging commitment, or do I make my list exceed 74, thereby proving myself the superior taxonomist but at the cost of appearing petty, competitive, and possessed of entirely too much idle time? Clearly, the only thing for it was to stay the course and compile 74 titles exactly, just as Tremblay had, and just like Tremblay's list, mine contains movies that were or are important to me but are of perhaps dubious quality.
My original intent was to sort them by era or perhaps content but as the hands of the clock made their orbit I realized the folly of investing another moment in such a task, and so they are arranged as they came to me, which provides its own glimpse into the workings of my mind. The dearth of slasher and ghost-oriented films didn't realize surprise me, but the absence of certain classics such as Murnau's work, Bava's, and others leaps out at me now that I'm posting it. No matter--these are the first 74 that came to me, and I would gladly re-watch any of them...though in some cases the presence of alcohol would be mandatory.
Re-Animator—People don’t like Gordon’s take on Lovecraft, and it’s true that the Gentleman from Providence would have hated this film—probably for all the reasons I love it.
Return of the Living Dead—Running zombies, black comedy, 80s punk, and Linnea Quigly playing a character named Trash. Plus, split dogs. One of the best zombie comedies of all time.
Night of the Living Dead—Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, this movie had a lot of resonance for me as a kid, and when I hit high school my friend Jimmy and I convinced our drama club to adapt it to the stage. Our version featured a soundtrack by the Pixies and Gwar.
Dawn of the Dead—Ken Foree’s already been to the mall…and it sucked. I liked the remake better than I expected, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the original’s depressive, brooding creepiness.
Ravenous—One of the few movies I’ve ever seen multiple times during its original theatrical run. Robert Carlyle and Guy Pearce running around in the woods with an amazing soundtrack. Criminally underrated.
The Company of Wolves—We covered it for FoHA, but in short Angela Carter + Angela Lansbury + Neil Jordan = Wolfey Tango Foxtrot goodness.
The Howling—Of all the practical effect casualties at the hands of CGI, none breaks my heart as much as the long-lost old school transformation sequence—practical effects may sometimes be lumpy, but nothing pushes me out of a movie like computer generated effects, whereas even crummy practical ones encourage me to suspend my disbelief. But yeah, this one—hippies, werewolves, win.
Witchfinder General/The Conqueror Worm—Vincent Price stows the camp to play infamous witch hunter Matthew Hopkins, and the result is a bit like discovering a beloved uncle engaged in crimes against man and God. The finale where price reads the end of the titular (for American audiences) poem over a freeze frame ranks among the best moments of the era’s horror.
Sauna—Wrote it up a while ago, great, restrained Finnish horror—one of my favorite films in recent memory.
Onibaba—A beautiful, beautiful film, with a sinister forest of reeds creating an atmospheric menace to rival Blackwood’s willows as…well, the less you know the better. Haunting.
Evil Dead 2—Sillier than the first but not so far gone as the third; I may have watched it too many times in high school to ever properly enjoy it again.
From Dusk Till Dawn—My mom took me to see this in the theatre when it came out, so for all its flaws I have a soft spot for it. She liked it, and it was all around a far less uncomfortable screening than the time she took me to see Species.
The Burrowers—Not one of the best films in recent memory, but nevertheless a lot of fun and somehow incredibly charming for being so mean-spirited—The Searchers crossed with Tremors with a hard edge.
The Seventh Curse—Bugfuck insanity from Hong Kong, kind of Indiana Jones by way of Evil Dead by way of who knows what the fuck—whenever things get rough for the heroes Chow Yun Fat shows up to fix things, which is useful.
Sleepy Hollow—Man, the script on this is so stinky it almost cancels out the aesthetic quality…but not quite. As with so many of Burton’s films, incredibly flawed, but I love the visuals and the cast enough that I’m willing to overlook the manifest weaknesses.
Audition—The first Miike film I ever saw, and one I rented blind on a customer’s rec when I was managing a video store. Halfway through I thought it was fairly light melodrama, and then the phone rang in her apartment…
Theatre of Blood—Although the first Phibes is better paced and maybe a better overall WTF experience, I have a serious soft spot for this thematic murder masterpiece—doesn’t hurt that Diana Rigg helps out, or that it’s based around Shakespeare, or that it contains one of the best sword fights in cinematic history.
Satanic Rites of Dracula—As a rule I prefer Hammer’s period horror, but as far as the Dracula films go this one earns serious points by virtue of its insanity—Drac is back with a taste for London’s hotpants, there’s a gang of cultists who wear fuzzy vest, a plot involving the Bubonic Plague, and Joanna Lumley is Peter Cushing’s granddaughter. Often awful but somehow amazing.
The Devil Rides Out—Christopher Lee plays against type in this Richard Matheson adaptation of a novel by the gentleman occultist, Dennis Wheatley. Hammer at its best.
Wild Zero—Guitar Wolf is the great psycho of them all, as the cover for my bootleg vhs from back in the day proudly proclaims in hot pink capital letters. Japanese garage punk badasses Guitar Wolf play themselves repelling a horde of the undead—sheer genius, and more rock n’ roll than you can handle.
House of 1,000 Corpses—Although I think The Devil’s Rejects is a better film, it’s more grindhouse exploitation homage than horror. HO1KC, on the other hand, was bashed for basically being an hour and a half long cinematic haunted house crammed with way too many ideas and fiends for a single movie, which is precisely what I love about it.
In the Mouth of Madness—Sam Neill is in top ham form, banging his fist on tables and shouting “this is reality!” despite all evidence to the contrary. John Carpenter’s delirious blending of Stephen King sensibilities with those of HPL creates a big old mess that is great fun, and a work the admittedly spotty-of-late director hasn’t topped since.
The Thing—A brilliant film, with a great script, performances, effects, sets, and soundtrack. Quite possibly Carpenter’s best.
From Beyond—Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, and Ken Foree versus the sadomasochistic forces of goopy darkness. Another FoHA entry.
Let the Right One In—Swedish vampire opus, with nice layering between the literal and metaphorical undead.
Near Dark—American vampire opus, with great action set pieces to accompany the shitkicker aesthetic.
The Fearless Vampire Killers—Polanski vampire opus that I’ve come to have an incredibly vexed relationship with following my realization of what a piece of shit Polanski became not long after making it. Tate and Polanski sharing the screen before all of that crazy evilness consumed them gives the light film a darker tinge.
Eyes of Fire—Obscure low-budget period weirdness about a disgraced preacher taking his followers out into the American wilderness, where they are set upon by ancient powers. Kind of a Blackwood/Machen/Lovecraft feel to it, and while overly ambitious and muddled still worth a look.
Creepshow—The quintessential anthology horror film, a loving homage to all things EC and Creepy.
Eve’s Bayou—The real horror here is of the realistic dysfunctional family variety, with the supernatural elements effectively blending in with the drama.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2—Despite its Scooby-Doo set-up, the first one is a much better film, and is actually disturbing and restrained. The sequel features a cowboy hat wearing Dennis Hopper facing down a plate-headed Bill Mosley, hence its place on the list.
Zombie—A zombie fights a shark.
The Brood—Oliver Reed helps Cronenberg work through some issues he was having in this mean, violent, and effective early entry in the director’s body horror oeuvre.
The Beast Must Die—Calvin Lockhart versus a werewolf in an Agatha Christie homage. With Peter Cushing as Peter Cushing and a German Shepard as the werewolf.
Phantasm—The Tall Man, interdimensional dwarfs, and, of course, the killer silver spheres. The smart start of a fun, dumb franchise.
The Resurrected—Chris Sarandon as Charles Dexter Ward with a dopey detective plot tacked on. O’Bannon was apparently denied final cut, which makes one wonder what might have been, but a worthy if uneven film nonetheless.
Hellraiser—Frank scared the shit out of me as a kid. The sequel is perhaps more disturbing but less even.
Horror Express—Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing team up with Telly Savalas as the world’s least convincing Cossack to battle a strange enemy aboard the Trans-Siberian Express.
Bad Taste—My introduction to Peter Jackson was his very first film, seen at a tender age. Small wonder that A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and all the rest failed to impress—the bar was set incredibly high, Jackson’s blend of gross with goofy being much appreciated by Young Me.
The Shining—My grandma showed it to me one snowy afternoon in rural Pennsylvania. Made chopping wood with my dad later a little creepy. Thanks, Grandma.
The Exorcist—I often find religious horror to be too dull and predictable. Not this one. Classic for a reason.
Alien—The sound effects alone are so effective at creating an air of menace that one is creeped the hell out long before the Space Jockey even shows up.
The Wicker Man—Not the comically terrible remake, but the campy, weird-as-all-get-out original.
Phenomena/Creepers—Frankly, I think Argento’s style-over-substance approach is a little overrated, but he did some great work, and while this one isn’t as famous as Suspiria I think a lot works about it. Jennifer Connolly, Donald Pleasence, and a chimp with a straight razor.
Nightbreed—Barker’s flawed and heavy handed adaptation of his novel Cabal is, for all its faults, a keeper. Love me Midian’s matte-painting setting!
Tetsuo the Iron Man—Japanese technological nightmare of superhero proportions.
Dog Soldiers—The design of the werewolves alone would make this worth a watch, but when combined with the over-the-top action sequences it becomes a thing of testosterone-dripping beauty.
Dead Ringers—Jeremy Irons as twin brother gynecologists who are mentally unraveling. Based on a true story. If you can think of anything creepier, I don’t want to hear about it.
Cronos—Less assured than Del Toro’s later works, but charming and beautiful despite it’s occasional bumps and one of his best, I think.
Night of the Hunter—Robert Mitchum at the top of his game. Not even downtime with the kids can dilute his performance.
Don’t Look Now—Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie, and the weeping, leaking city of Venice. Restrained and gorgeous, the sort of horror film to recommend to people who don’t usually like horror films.
Pumpkinhead—Another case of aesthetics trumping script, acting, and pretty much everything else. Probably would be far less impressed if I watched it now, but back in the day Lance Henricksen with a shotgun was more than reason enough to watch…
Basket Case—Trashy, splashy exploitation from trashy, splashy exploitation master Frank Hennenlotter. His newest is apparently a sexual horror about a woman born with half a dozen clitorises. Stay classy, Frank.
Cemetery Man—Rupert Everett in the loose adaptation of Italian horror comic Dylan Dog. Surreal zombie strangeness with an ending that will either give you the giggles or make you attack your tv in rage.
Bubba Ho-tep—Far more poignant than one might expect a movie about JFK and Elvis battling a mummy to be.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula—Coppola seems to be unsure if he is making the most accurate adaptation of the novel or the most overwrought Hammer horror film yet, and the result is a sumptuous mess of epic proportions.
Videodrome—James Woods, Debbie Harrie, and the New Flesh. One of Cronenberg’s best.
Ginger Snaps—Although perhaps a touch over-long, this one is about as good as high school horror gets.
Day of the Beast—A Spanish dark comedy about a priest trying to kill the Anti-Christ. Surprisingly effective and often cruel.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare—Wannabe rockstar Jon Mikl Thor produced, wrote, and starred in this awful, stupid, and unintentionally hilarious tale of a band practicing in an isolated farmhouse when the forces of darkness attack.
Pitch Black—Say what you will, Vin Diesel talking all husky in the darkness as monsters gnash and dudes posture still works. With Keith David!
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter—Another bad movie that I unreservedly love, this one is often credited as being the bad movie straw that broke the Hammer Horror camel’s back…which totally sucks, since they were originally planning on making two or three more Kronos movies.
Wait Until Dark—Alan Arkin, Audrey Hepburn, spooky, scary.
Waxwork—More splatstick tomfoolery, with its love for the genre and occasional twists trumping the corniness.
Little Otik—Czech stop-motion animation maser Jan Svankmajer makes a horror movie. Sort of.
M—Peter Lorre whistling. Enough said.
Shadow of the Vampire—So, so good, and far less traumatizing than the director’s earlier film Begotten, which is a thing of horror in its own right.
Anti-Christ—Went in expecting some pretentious nonsense, and left shell-shocked and creeped the fuck out. Intense, problematic, and deeply disturbing.
Blood on Satan’s Claw—I’m a sucker for period horror, especially where witch-hunters are concerned, and saw this at an early enough age to be entranced. The original ending they had planned would have made it a certified classic, but the studio got scared and toned it down, leading to a forgettable climax rather than a brilliant one.
The Mist—An unexpectedly good monster-mash, with an ending that runs rings around the original novella’s climax.
Carrie—Don’t usually like DePalma but this one works, and along with Pet Semetery ranks as one of the better king adaptations.
The Serpent and the Rainbow—Don’t usually like Wes Craven, either, but his take on Wade Davis’ work freaked me out when I first saw it, and still has some punch.
Wisconsin Death Trip—Not strictly a horror film by any means, this documentary about strange and grim occurrences in the Black River Falls region of Wisconsin at the end of the 19th century is about as creepy as anything else on the list, perhaps more so because no attempt is ever made to link them beyond their time and place. I usually don't like reenactments in my docos but the ones here are both lovely and effective. Great soundtrack, and narration by Ian Holm!