Last year in the early days of my blog I brought you my top 10 favorite horror films of all-time. Well with today being Halloween and because of the response you all had on the last one, I've decide to bring you another top 10 of my favorite horror films of all-time. So without further ado...
10 (20). Hellraiser
This film launched one of the more unique horror villains and horror franchises. A prologue recounts the death of a sleazy sexual experimenter named Frank (played by Sean Chapman). Attracted by the legend that the box held the secret to ultimate pleasure, Frank unlocks the device and falls victim to a group of otherworldly demons known as the Cenobites. The bulk of the film takes place years later, when Frank's brother Larry (played by Andrew Robinson) and his family move into the same old house. Their presence awakens Frank, who has been transformed into a blood-hungry, undead creature. To feed his habit, Frank seeks help from his brother's wife, Julia (Clare Higgins), who had once his lover. Given to evil behavior and extreme sexuality, she begins seducing strangers who become Frank's victims, allowing him to become increasingly powerful. Hellraiser has a rating of 63% on rottentomatoes.com.
9 (19). Carrie (1976)
This film is gruesome and it really drives home the narrative of don't be mean to others especially when one has a mother that's messed up. Carrie White (played by Sissy Spacek), a shy, diffident teenager is the butt of practical jokes at her small-town high school. Her blind panic at her first menstruation, a result of ignorance and religious guilt drummed into her by her fanatical mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie), only causes her classmates' vicious cruelty to escalate, despite the attentions of her overly solicitous gym teacher (Betty Buckley). Finally, when the venomous Chris Hargenson (Nancy Allen) engineers a reprehensible prank at the school prom, Carrie lashes out in a horrifying display of her heretofore minor telekinetic powers. Carrie (1976) was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
8 (18). Friday the 13th (1980)
This film is unique in its own way in the sense that it doesn't show the villain until the last 20 minutes of the film. Entrepreneur Steve Christie (played by Peter Brouwer) re-opens Camp Crystal Lake after many years during which it has been cursed by murders and bad luck. The young and nubile counselors all begin to die extremely bloody deaths at the hands of an unseen killer during a rainstorm which isolates the camp. A woman is chopped in the face with an axe, another has her throat sliced in amazingly gruesome fashion, a male counselor (played by Harry Crosby) is pinned to a door with arrows. The cook (played by Betsy Palmer) whose son, Jason (played Ari Lehman), drowned 25 years earlier while neglected by romancing counselors and reveals who has been attacking the young teenagers. Friday the 13th (1980) has a rating of 59% on rottentomatoes.com.
7 (17). Alien
This film is revolutionary in two different genres and it made the careers of both Ridley Scott and Sigourney Weaver. On the way home from a mission for the Company, the Nostromo's crew is woken up from hibernation by the ship's Mother computer to answer a distress signal from a nearby planet. Capt. Dallas's (played by Tom Skerritt) rescue team discovers a bizarre pod field, but things get even stranger when a face-hugging creature bursts out of a pod and attaches itself to Kane (played by John Hurt). Over the objections of Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver), science officer Ash (played by Ian Holm) lets Kane back on the ship. The acid-blooded incubus detaches itself from an apparently recovered Kane, but an alien erupts from Kane's stomach and escapes. The alien starts stalking the humans, pitting Dallas and his crew (and cat) against a malevolent killing machine that also has a protector in the nefarious Company. Alien was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and it has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
6 (16). The Twilight Zone
This may not be as great as the television show, but it really does it justice. Based upon the famed television series, this anthology film tells four separate stories of the supernatural, each overseen by a different director. The best known segment is the last, which focuses on a terrified flyer who glimpses a horrific creature on the wing of his plane. The Twilight Zone has a rating of 65% on rottentomatoes.com.
5 (15). Scream
This movie revamped the genre and introduce a whole new way to change a culture. The sleepy little town of Woodsboro just woke up screaming. There's a killer in their midst who's seen a few too many scary movies. Suddenly, nobody is safe, as the psychopath stalks victims, taunts them with trivia questions, then rips them to bloody shreds. It could be anybody... Sidney (played by Neve Campbell), the quiet high school beauty with an ugly past... Billy (played by Skeet Ulrich), her faithful boyfriend with a frustrated sex life... Tatum (played by Rose McGowan), her cute best friend with a answer for everything... Casey (played by Drew Barrymore), the lovely blonde who knows her thrillers... Geeky Randy, the scary movie fanatic... Stuart, the wild partier... Gale (played by Courtney Cox), the overeager TV reporter... even Dewey (played by David Arquette), the syrupy-sweet police officer. The only hope is to stay one step ahead of this crazed slasher--know your trivia. The clues are there; are you good enought to see them? Scream has a rating of 78% on rottentomatoes.com.
4 (14).Halloween (1978)
Although it borrows from older horror films it still gives you that creepy sense of feeling throughout the entire movie. On Halloween night in 1963, a six-year-old Michael Myers (played by Will Sandin) murders his older sister by stabbing her with a kitchen knife. Fifteen years later , Michael escapes from a psychiatric hospital, returns home, and stalks teenager Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. Michael's psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (played by Donald Pleasence) suspects Michael's intentions, and follows him to Haddonfield to try to prevent him from killing. Halloween has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
3 (13). The Cabin in the Woods
This film takes a whole look at the genre and it has a real fun time in not being the predictable story you think it will be. Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen. If you think you know this story, think again. The Cabin in the Woods has a rating of 91% on rottentomatoes.com.
2 (12). The Conjuring
This is one of the scariest films that I have seen in a longtime and it could go down as one of the greatest horror films of all-time. Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga) are world renowned paranormal investigators, who were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most horrifying case of their lives. The Conjuring has a rating of 86% on rottentomatoes.com.
1 (11). Jaws
This film doesn't follow the general horror norms (and it's main villain is a shark), but it can still scare the living daylights out of first time viewers and it is fantastic and it is one of the greatest films of all-time. One early summer night on fictional Atlantic resort Amity Island, Chrissie (played by Susan Backlinie) decides to take a moonlight skinny dip while her friends party on the beach. Yanked suddenly below the ocean surface, she never returns. When pieces of her wash ashore, Police Chief Brody (played by Roy Scheider) suspects the worst, but Mayor Vaughn (played by Murray Hamilton), mindful of the lucrative tourist trade and the approaching July 4th holiday, refuses to put the island on a business-killing shark alert. After the shark dines on a few more victims, the Mayor orders the local fishermen to catch the culprit. Satisfied with the shark they find, the greedy Mayor reopens the beaches, despite the warning from visiting marine biologist Matt Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss) that the attacks were probably caused by a far more formidable Great White. One more fatality later, Brody and Hooper join forces with flinty old salt Quint (played by Robert Shaw), the only local fisherman willing to take on a Great White--especially since the price is right. The three ride off on Quint's boat "The Orca," soon coming face to teeth with the enemy. Jaws was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Film editing, Best Picture, Best Original Score and Best Sound while winning three (Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Sound) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
10 (20). Hellraiser
This film launched one of the more unique horror villains and horror franchises. A prologue recounts the death of a sleazy sexual experimenter named Frank (played by Sean Chapman). Attracted by the legend that the box held the secret to ultimate pleasure, Frank unlocks the device and falls victim to a group of otherworldly demons known as the Cenobites. The bulk of the film takes place years later, when Frank's brother Larry (played by Andrew Robinson) and his family move into the same old house. Their presence awakens Frank, who has been transformed into a blood-hungry, undead creature. To feed his habit, Frank seeks help from his brother's wife, Julia (Clare Higgins), who had once his lover. Given to evil behavior and extreme sexuality, she begins seducing strangers who become Frank's victims, allowing him to become increasingly powerful. Hellraiser has a rating of 63% on rottentomatoes.com.
9 (19). Carrie (1976)
This film is gruesome and it really drives home the narrative of don't be mean to others especially when one has a mother that's messed up. Carrie White (played by Sissy Spacek), a shy, diffident teenager is the butt of practical jokes at her small-town high school. Her blind panic at her first menstruation, a result of ignorance and religious guilt drummed into her by her fanatical mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie), only causes her classmates' vicious cruelty to escalate, despite the attentions of her overly solicitous gym teacher (Betty Buckley). Finally, when the venomous Chris Hargenson (Nancy Allen) engineers a reprehensible prank at the school prom, Carrie lashes out in a horrifying display of her heretofore minor telekinetic powers. Carrie (1976) was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
8 (18). Friday the 13th (1980)
This film is unique in its own way in the sense that it doesn't show the villain until the last 20 minutes of the film. Entrepreneur Steve Christie (played by Peter Brouwer) re-opens Camp Crystal Lake after many years during which it has been cursed by murders and bad luck. The young and nubile counselors all begin to die extremely bloody deaths at the hands of an unseen killer during a rainstorm which isolates the camp. A woman is chopped in the face with an axe, another has her throat sliced in amazingly gruesome fashion, a male counselor (played by Harry Crosby) is pinned to a door with arrows. The cook (played by Betsy Palmer) whose son, Jason (played Ari Lehman), drowned 25 years earlier while neglected by romancing counselors and reveals who has been attacking the young teenagers. Friday the 13th (1980) has a rating of 59% on rottentomatoes.com.
7 (17). Alien
This film is revolutionary in two different genres and it made the careers of both Ridley Scott and Sigourney Weaver. On the way home from a mission for the Company, the Nostromo's crew is woken up from hibernation by the ship's Mother computer to answer a distress signal from a nearby planet. Capt. Dallas's (played by Tom Skerritt) rescue team discovers a bizarre pod field, but things get even stranger when a face-hugging creature bursts out of a pod and attaches itself to Kane (played by John Hurt). Over the objections of Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver), science officer Ash (played by Ian Holm) lets Kane back on the ship. The acid-blooded incubus detaches itself from an apparently recovered Kane, but an alien erupts from Kane's stomach and escapes. The alien starts stalking the humans, pitting Dallas and his crew (and cat) against a malevolent killing machine that also has a protector in the nefarious Company. Alien was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and it has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
6 (16). The Twilight Zone
This may not be as great as the television show, but it really does it justice. Based upon the famed television series, this anthology film tells four separate stories of the supernatural, each overseen by a different director. The best known segment is the last, which focuses on a terrified flyer who glimpses a horrific creature on the wing of his plane. The Twilight Zone has a rating of 65% on rottentomatoes.com.
5 (15). Scream
This movie revamped the genre and introduce a whole new way to change a culture. The sleepy little town of Woodsboro just woke up screaming. There's a killer in their midst who's seen a few too many scary movies. Suddenly, nobody is safe, as the psychopath stalks victims, taunts them with trivia questions, then rips them to bloody shreds. It could be anybody... Sidney (played by Neve Campbell), the quiet high school beauty with an ugly past... Billy (played by Skeet Ulrich), her faithful boyfriend with a frustrated sex life... Tatum (played by Rose McGowan), her cute best friend with a answer for everything... Casey (played by Drew Barrymore), the lovely blonde who knows her thrillers... Geeky Randy, the scary movie fanatic... Stuart, the wild partier... Gale (played by Courtney Cox), the overeager TV reporter... even Dewey (played by David Arquette), the syrupy-sweet police officer. The only hope is to stay one step ahead of this crazed slasher--know your trivia. The clues are there; are you good enought to see them? Scream has a rating of 78% on rottentomatoes.com.
4 (14).Halloween (1978)
Although it borrows from older horror films it still gives you that creepy sense of feeling throughout the entire movie. On Halloween night in 1963, a six-year-old Michael Myers (played by Will Sandin) murders his older sister by stabbing her with a kitchen knife. Fifteen years later , Michael escapes from a psychiatric hospital, returns home, and stalks teenager Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. Michael's psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (played by Donald Pleasence) suspects Michael's intentions, and follows him to Haddonfield to try to prevent him from killing. Halloween has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
3 (13). The Cabin in the Woods
This film takes a whole look at the genre and it has a real fun time in not being the predictable story you think it will be. Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen. If you think you know this story, think again. The Cabin in the Woods has a rating of 91% on rottentomatoes.com.
2 (12). The Conjuring
This is one of the scariest films that I have seen in a longtime and it could go down as one of the greatest horror films of all-time. Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga) are world renowned paranormal investigators, who were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most horrifying case of their lives. The Conjuring has a rating of 86% on rottentomatoes.com.
1 (11). Jaws
This film doesn't follow the general horror norms (and it's main villain is a shark), but it can still scare the living daylights out of first time viewers and it is fantastic and it is one of the greatest films of all-time. One early summer night on fictional Atlantic resort Amity Island, Chrissie (played by Susan Backlinie) decides to take a moonlight skinny dip while her friends party on the beach. Yanked suddenly below the ocean surface, she never returns. When pieces of her wash ashore, Police Chief Brody (played by Roy Scheider) suspects the worst, but Mayor Vaughn (played by Murray Hamilton), mindful of the lucrative tourist trade and the approaching July 4th holiday, refuses to put the island on a business-killing shark alert. After the shark dines on a few more victims, the Mayor orders the local fishermen to catch the culprit. Satisfied with the shark they find, the greedy Mayor reopens the beaches, despite the warning from visiting marine biologist Matt Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss) that the attacks were probably caused by a far more formidable Great White. One more fatality later, Brody and Hooper join forces with flinty old salt Quint (played by Robert Shaw), the only local fisherman willing to take on a Great White--especially since the price is right. The three ride off on Quint's boat "The Orca," soon coming face to teeth with the enemy. Jaws was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Film editing, Best Picture, Best Original Score and Best Sound while winning three (Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Sound) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of my list and what are some of you favorite horror films? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
Hellraiser 2: Hellbound is by far a superior film to the original Hellraiser.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree. It scared people without even showing the cenobites and it had Clive Barker directing unlike the any of the other films in the franchise. He also wrote the script unlike the rest of the films.
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