Favorite Horror Movies

[kj_jive]

Most horror movies don't even scare me, I just love watching them though.  They're so much more unpredictable than regular movies.  People can just die out of nowhere and the plots are usually pretty unique.  Horror movies with tons of blood rule too.  shit i gotta go

[Danny Top Hat]

Hey, I may go on a bit of a rant here, but for all the people who struggle to enjoy horror films (or find them scary, which ultimately is the point), this is my take on the whole idea.

Okay, I am, and have always been, a really big fan of horror.? I was raised on action films, but nothing effects me more than a good horror film.? There's nothing else like them - unlike all other forms of cinema (with the possible exception of porn), they evoke a physical reaction.? You get shivers, you get goosebumps, your breathing stutters, your palms sweat - all in all you get entirely engrossed in what you're watching, so much so that you get freaked out later when you're making a sandwitch at night.

This is, of course, only good horror films, and it only works in the right conditions.? I find that, if you watch a horror film with any more than three people (yourself included), many of the effects are taken away.? The house has to be empty, it must be night-time, the light must be turned off, and the volume turned up very loud (that's the most important bit).? If you get all that right, then you're on course.

Now, one of the big problems with the horror genre is that it's veerryyy difficult to find a film that is actually, y'know, good.? From the night I stumbled across 'The Shining' while flicking channels late at night, i've searched and searched to find more of the same, but it's very rare.? Good horror is pure horror, without any other genres creeping into the picture to distract you (no comedy, no teen angst, no ultra-violence, no deep and meaningful conversations - that's all a distraction to suit the lazy Western audience).? Every seemingly irrelevent scene should be preparing you for the next scary moment, keeping exactly the same mood throughout so you really have no idea when the next scare will be.? If a suspenseful scene is included to trick the audience, it should not be ended with a cat jumping out or a friend jumping out and saying "boo" - that undermines the whole film and pisses me off greatly.

The best place to look for a good horror these days is, as per usual, the marvellous Tartan Asia Extreme.? The Asian film industry is still pure, the directors are allowed to be auteurs without having to compensate for audience expectations.? The films have all the imagination of the old-school greats, but have fewer barriers in terms of technology and censorship.


So, anyway, my choices:

The Shining - Still my favourite horror film to date, and also my favourite Kubrick film.? Genuinly terrifying the first few times you watch it, although admittedly loses the impact after you've watched it as much as I have.

A Tale of Two Sisters - Possibly (and i'll need to see it again to be sure) scarier than The Shining.? From the very first scare, the mood stays exactly the same throughout the whole film, and that's definately the key to it's success.? Worked wonderfully in the cinema with surround sound, and definately requires the volume turned up.? It's a Korean film and, although it's probably not showing in any cinemas right now, I highly recommend people to give it a try when it comes out on DVD next month.

The Eye - very scary film, and nice and cheap as well on play.com (*sighs lovingly*).? One or two of the scenes are truely, truely scary - like, so scary you wanna cling onto the person next to you.? Made by the Pang brothers, who specialise in horror.  Unfortunately, the ending is a dull anticlimax and prevents this from being one of my very favourite films, but it's definately worth watching for the good bits.

Ring - Yes, the Japanese version also known as 'Ringu'.? Like The Shining, I stumbled into this while flicking channels late night, aagggeesss before the shit remake came out.? Once again, the secret behind it's success is maintaining the same feeling of dread constantly, without lightening the tone once.? To be honest, it's not quite as scary as 'A Tale of Two Sisters' or 'The Eye', but the mood is terriffic, the character Sadako is really memorable, and at times it really is very, very scary.? Tragically, like 'Scream' before it, the film has triggered an awful trend of new films coming out that are basically tacky rip-offs like "Phone" and "Into the Mirror".? Hideo Nakata's other film "Dark Waters", which Chris mentioned earlier, is a pretty similar concept, and I didn't think it was that great.

Audition - I'm not really sure whether this classes as horror or not.? I think it does, but it's also got a kinda shocker element to it.? Definately worth watching, but watch this one alone, and don't read any reviews of it beforehand.? Again, nice and cheap on play.com (says the walking, talking advertisement).

Other great films (including some old-schoolers) that I can't be bothered to review are:

Candyman (suprisingly good)
Rosemary's Baby
Halloween
Freddie's New Nightmare (my personal favourite)
Don't Look Now
Scream (the only good teen horror, although more entertaining than scary).

[Rockin' Rose]

Stephen King's "It"

[Dizzy]

Freddie's New Nightmare (my personal favourite)

That's Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and Freddy is the character.

[Danny Top Hat]

Sorry, i'd got tired by that point.

[Chris Misfit]

Yes, the Japanese version also known as 'Ringu'.  Like The Shining, I stumbled into this while flicking channels late night, aagggeesss before the shit remake came out.  Once again, the secret behind it's success is maintaining the same feeling of dread constantly, without lightening the tone once.

There's not an ounce of blood in the whole movie (That I remember). I think that's awesome. AWESOME TO THE MAX!

[Gunner80]

The Exorcist is my all time favorite horror film.  With Nightmare on Elm street IV- Dream Warriors a close second.

[Jim]

The Asian film industry is still pure, the directors are allowed to be auteurs without having to compensate for audience expectations.?

Do you actually believe that auteurs exist?

Or did you just mean it in a 'total creative freedom' sort of way?

[Danny Top Hat]

Total creative freedom.

Why, how else could you look at it?

[Jim]

Well there's a theory called the Auteur Theory.

What it basically means is that an individual can effect a film and make it 'theirs' by their creative input.

An auteur could be a director, actor, writer...Although it is incredibly hard for the latter to be considered such.

In simple terms it means that you could watch a film, and then know it was directed by, say, Shyamalan because of how it is...What comes across...and so forth.

I'm torn over whether I think that it is possible to be an auteur...

...When so many different people on such different levels have an input in any given film, how could you then attribute it to one person...

...Famous considered Auteurs are Hitchcock and Spielberg.

Obvious examples are how Hitchcock frequently has blonde women in trouble throughout a lot of his films (I'm doing this on a very basic level, yeah?), or how Spielberg constantly makes films which involves children that either don't have any parents, have divorced parents, or a bad relationship with their parents. Spielberg's parents got divorced, yeah? 

But, bleh, yeah.

I'm writing an essay/presentation on the Auteur Theory at the moment, my chosen auteur being John Carpenter...

...Which fits nicely into this thread. 

Although, I may yet change, and opt for somebody who may more obscure and/or challenging.

I think it's an interesting thing to read about, and there's bucketloads of stuff about it on the net.

[Danny Top Hat]

Hmm, well I suppose it'd be impossible for a director to have absolute creative freedom, because the actors interpret the script in certain ways (for example, it was Eihi Shiina's decision to make her character giggle in the closing scenes of 'Audition' - not Takashi Miike's).  However, I feel that, as long as the director has total control of the script and the shooting of the film - or is attempting to show his vision of the film - that's good enough to make him an auteur.

[Jim]

Hmm, well I suppose it'd be impossible for a director to have absolute creative freedom

Actually, I don't think that it is necesarily impossible...

If you are given Total Creative Freedom (usually any director with their name above the titles does), and final cut then you pretty much have absoloute creative freedom....

But you make a good point...

Similar to why I think that being an auteur is verging on impossible...

[Foxy]

All the Halloween Movies, Friday the 13th movies. I like scary movies.

[Drew]

Several of these would probably be classified more as Suspense/Thriller type movies. But I like....

The Ring
Scream
The Blair Witch Project
The Sixth Sense
The Others
Jaws

[kj_jive]

Several of these would probably be classified more as Suspense/Thriller type movies. But I like....

The Ring
Scream
The Blair Witch Project
The Sixth Sense
The Others
Jaws

I thought The Others was really cool.  It was pretty creepy and i liked the plot a lot.  The twist at the end was awesome but takes a bit of the appeal away once you know what it is.

[ppbebe]

Yes, the Japanese version also known as 'Ringu'.? Like The Shining, I stumbled into this while flicking channels late night, aagggeesss before the shit remake came out.? Once again, the secret behind it's success is maintaining the same feeling of dread constantly, without lightening the tone once.

There's not an ounce of blood in the whole movie (That I remember). I think that's awesome. AWESOME TO THE MAX!

Awesome Indeed.? I saw the Original one and read the book afterward. I jumped up when Sadako came out of the telly.
Poor Sadako.

However the real Horror is ?..is?....... who are you? SLC? His twin or what?
Ever heard of doppelganger/double-goer?
Poor SLC.?

[Jaded]

The Ring (not the jamanese version) and The Shining, oooh and i like the recenter version of Psycho cos it features Flea from the RED HOT Chili PepperS 

[Jim]

Yeah, at I saw the other at the cinema, and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would have. Not very scary, but a good film.

The Ring (not the jamanese version) and The Shining, oooh and i like the recenter version of Psycho cos it features Flea from the RED HOT Chili PepperS 

You're shitting me?

The Psycho remake? I disagree with you so much that I've just asked jarmo to ban you, I'll tell you what his reply is. It's awful.

Maybe you haven't seen the original though? If that's the case, then I'll settle it so you're only banned for a little while.

And you prefered the ring remake to the original....Jamenese version....

I bet you loved the Texas Chainsaw remake...

...And y'know, Alfie's comming out soon, should be right up your street. 

[Buddy J.B.]

Horror movies blow ass crack anymore, they're so phony and fake. I can't stand those Halloween movies, the guy has been around for 30 years and the dumb fuckers still can't kill him. Look how many times they used guns , and they never thought of shooting the fucker in the head. And all those guys like Michael Myers, Jason, Leatherface, Freddy ever do is kill hot girls, what are they gay? If you're going to watch a horror movie, rent something like The Wolfman, Dracula, or Frankenstien, now those are real stories written with talent.

[Queen of Everything]

House on Haunted Hill

The Ring one

Secret Window (Thriller)

Road Kill (Good old fashioned fun!)

Slash!  (YES YOU HEARD RIGHT - A Horror movie called SLASH!  Its about this rock n roll band that go out to a farm and get killed.. its weird but AWESOME)