Horror Movies

[Bear 1817]

You don't need to apologize. Others might not even think of it the same way as myself. But I hate it when people reveal that there's something unexpected in a film. I consider it a huge spoiler. But as I said, others might not do it.

[Bear 1817]

The lack of interest to this is a bit disappointing, but we continue. Let's move back to the 80's. I'll come back with my list lately. It's gonna be a hard one, but not because it was a poor decade. It was a superb decade with a billion good horror films.

[Bear 1817]

Best horror films of the 80's:

 

1. The Thing

John Carpenter and Kurt Russel together used to be a sign of quality once upon a time. Everything they did turned out great, except for Escape from L.A., even though I've always had a weak spot for it. But The Thing is a super classic film with a great script, great actors, great direction and great special effects. Brilliant atmosphere.

 

2. Friday the 13th

It's not as good as Halloween, but this is among my favourite slasher films ever. Great kills and a brilliant atmosphere. Can you ask for much more from a slasher?

 

3. The Burning

Same as above basically. This one is just as good as Friday the 13th, if not better to be honest. Amazing film!

 

4. Gremlins

Scary? No, but cute, charming and very, very fun. You just gotta love how these small, cute creatures turn into those evil fuckers. This is an amazing film!

 

5. The Evil Dead

Gore, black humour, amazing cinematography and Bruce Campbell. This film is both atmospheric and hilarious at the same time. SOme of the camera work here is exceptional!

 

6. Evil Dead II

Gore, black humour, amazing cinematography and Bruce Campbell. This film is both atmospheric and hilarious at the same time. SOme of the camera work here is exceptional! This is an amazing sequel. One of the best there is.

 

7. Tenebre

This film showed Dario Argento's return to the giallo genre, and boy did he do it well. Stunning cinematography, gruesome murders, great acting and a BRILLIANT soundtrack by prog geniuses Goblin. The soundtrack may be the best thing about this film. So fucking impressive! If you're a fan of slashers, you should see this (and giallo in general), because the slasher genre owes so much to this genre. So very, very much.

 

8. A Nightmare on Elm Street

Freddy fucking Krueger. Do I need say more? A really imaginative horror film which plays around with the viewer a lot. Love it!

 

9. Opera

Woah! Another Dario Argento film. Of course. He was a genius. This is a fairly typical giallo and Argento film, but still amazing. Great soundtrack, mainly by Claudio Simonetti of Goblin and Brian Eno.

 

10. The Woman in Black

The reason this isn't higher up is because some of the acting is subpar. But the atmosphere is amazing, and that's what makes this film so good. It's alla bout the atmosphere!

 

 

And even though this isn't films, I just have to put these out here. The 80's WAS slashers, and I could easily have changed some of these films with other slasher films. And because of the 80's and slashers I need to put these songs here. Frightmare released two albums and they both are a tribute to slasher films, and horror and gore in general. The Burning, Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, The Slumber Party Massacre, The Prowler, My Bloody Valentine and Black Christmas are among the fils they pay tribute to. Amazing band, even though I do prefer Maniac Neil's main band, Blood Freak. Exploitation and horror is his life!

 

 

 

 

What happened to the films of yesterday
The 70's and 80's were the golden age
Horror films now are a fucking joke!
They make me choke!

Gone is the blood
Gone are the tits
Gone is everything that we miss
MTV shit is shoved down our goddamn throats!
The film makers of today give us no fucking hope!

Remakes are the fad
Desecrating horror classics
CG? what a fucking drag!
Save that shit for pixar flicks!

Dawn of the Dead and TCM are not immune to this lame ass trend
Whats next The Exorcist?
It's safe to say this is the end!

 

These dumb ass kids love this shit
They have no idea who Cropsy is
Wes Craven you bastard!
Look what you have done!
Last House on the Left to Scream?!
There no excuse
You should be hung!

PG-13 horror is packing the seats
This generation sucks!
These kids are fucking weak!

The hip hop influence
Infecting the culture
Busta Rhymes and Michael Myers?!
This shit is fucking torture!

 

Direct to video shit
Is almost as bad
Crappy photoshop covers
Make me fucking sad!

 

Lack of ideas
Regression through technology
Will Peter Jackson save us?
No we get that lame ass trilogy!

 

 

Fightmare - Bringing Back the Bloodshed

[Bear 1817]

As you guys know, I will be seeing Goblin this saturday. But it just got a lot better. Earlier the same day Goblin will contribute live soundtrack at a screening of Suspiria. How amazing is that? Almost too good to be true!

[Jigsaw9 6783]

^ Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiet I'm jelly as hell!! I bet it will be awesome but please report back to us after you witnessed it, if it was truly amazing.

 

Finally, here's my '80s horror list... I had to weed out a lot of stuff to make this only 10. xD Also, this isn't in any concrete order. It would be better to rank the first five as "number 1" and the last five as "number 2" slot.

 

1. Hellraiser

Best Cliver Barker adaptation I've seen so far (no wonder, he had a hand in it as well). Perfect, atmospheric, juicy, with some chilling and equally fun sequences. Gotta love the Cenobites! Actually, the sequel doesn't trail too far behind either.

 

2. The Beyond

Lucio Fulci represent!! I just love the gritty, spooky feeling of the whole movie. The makeup effects are amazing albeit a bit cruddy (that adds to the whole thing imo), and it's all just one big nightmare ride of a film.

 

3. Inferno

Almost as brilliant as its predecessor Suspiria, Dario Argento does it again! Stunning colors and lighting, lots of gruesome but somehow beautiful (and at times, absurd) scenes. The music doesn't really work all the time for me but it provides an interesting dimension nevertheless.

 

4. City of the Living Dead

Lucio Fulci represent!! I just love the gritty, spooky feeling of the whole movie. The makeup effects are amazing albeit a bit cruddy (that adds to the whole thing imo), and it's all just one big nightmare ride of a film. [2] heh.

 

5. Demons

Imagine Demons 2 being here as well. Overall a very fun experience with some disgusting demons killing off people trapped in a cinema (watching a movie about demons no less, lol) -- what more do you want? Oh right... cheese-tastic heavy metal to accompany it all. Contains one of the best ridiculous action scenes in horror.

 

6. Re-Animator

One of my favorite comical horror movies ever, I just cannot get tired of it. Major respect and props to Stuart Gordon (director) and Jeffrey Combs (playing the hilarious lead role) for twisting this Lovecraft tale into something exceptionally fun to watch. A ton of laughs and gorey/gross moments.

 

7. *insert an '80s John Carpenter horror here*

Seriously. Carpenter made some of his most excellent work in this decade, I simply cannot choose. I love The Fog because of its inducing fear with simplicity, The Thing with the chilling (heh) creatures and sense of isolation, Prince of Darkness spooking me out with all the apocalyptic religious Satanic stuff (and awesomely casting Donald Pleasence as usual), and finally They Live with its subtle hints of sci-fi paranoia.

 

8. Tetsuo: Iron Man

Okay, we could argue if this is really horror or not, but to me it represents the finest of what Japan has to offer in the 'body horror' subgenre, drowned in a thick sauce of that typical junkyard aesthetic of low-budget Japanese cyberpunk. Totally weird and insane black-n-white feature with some amazing visuals and unforgettable soundtrack (courtesy of Japanese industrial music god Chu Ishikawa).

 

9. Videodrome

Speaking of body horror...yeah, I couldn't leave Cronenberg out of this. I was a bit torn in choosing this or The Fly or Scanners, but this movie is somehow a bit closer to my heart. Maybe because of all the lovely imagery, body fusing with technology, minds warping, reality blurring and whatnot. Plus, it has a pretty~ hot Debbie Harry, so yeah.

 

10. The Hitcher

Oh boy, this looming menacing atmosphere, I just love it. Rutger Hauer is the star of the show here clearly, portraying the enigmatic and psycho drifter dude of the title. Whenever he appears on screen you just know shit will go down, but the pacing is so sadistic how they draw out some stuff for the tension, it's awesome.

 

+1 "cuz I just remembered this one" Angel Heart

Damn, this movie. Imagine if Jacob's Ladder had a baby with an X-Files episode and up the spook factor a few notches. Incredibly well-done mystical thriller/horror starring (a still decent-looking) Mickey Rourke and Robert de Niro, crossing over into nightmare territory with no turning back.

 

@Bear I love how there's almost literally no overlaps between our lists this time. I do love the Evil Dead movies of course, they almost made the list. The Argento movies you listed are cool too. I must confess tho, I haven't seen a single "Friday" movie, nor a "Nightmare" one (okay, maybe the 4th or 5th? loooong time ago, can't remember).

[Bear 1817]

That's a great list. A few there was close to be included on my list as well. Hellraiser, Tetsuo: Iron Man, The Fog and The Hitcher were all on my list, and I had a huge problem choosing which to leave out.

 

You should watch some Friday... and Nightmare... films. When you start watching a franchise you obviously watch 'em all, but Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part 2 and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter are all very good. I don't remember the others. Gotta watch 'em again.

 

As for A Nightmare on Elm Street: A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master and Wes Craven's New Nightmare are all really good. Don't remember the rest too well. There's probably a reason for that.

 

The original one for both of these series are aaaaamazing. Amazing!

 

 

I'll also report back after the Goblin shows. Gonna be so good!

[Bear 1817]

OK, so I saw Goblin a couple of days ago. I had a great time on the bus in to Oslo. Listening to music, drinking beer and enjoying life. Met a friend in Oslo and we went to see Suspiria on a big screen. That was amazing. It added a whole new dimension to the film. They were lucky enough to be able to find a good copy of a 35mm, so that was what we saw. Awesome! Sadly, Goblin did not play the soundtrack while the film was screening. BUt some guy from the place who sent the film had a talk with the band before the film and that was cool. Seemed like such humble and good guys.

 

Later that night Goblin played live and it might just have been the best concert I've seen. The band obviously had a good time and the soun was pitch perfect. Hands down! Best moment was when they started playing Tenebre. Insane!

 

In the talk before the film they said they were looking forward to play the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack live with the film screening in the US soon, and they were planning in inviting George A. Romero (the director of Dawn of the Dead) as they had never met him. SO they finally hoped to meet him.

 

And they mentioned a fun John Carpenter story. They met him a while back and Carpenter thanked Claudio a lot because he had stolen basically every sound he had made. Hah, made me laugh.

 

Ayway, great time!

[Jigsaw9 6783]

^ It was nice to read your experiences... I'm jealous of you seeing Suspiria on the big screen!!

 

Recently I finally had the opportunity to watch Child's Play (somehow only ever saw like 20 mins from part 2 or something) with a friend who recommended we watch it no less! (he's not that into horror, mind you) It was a nice, funny flick with some intentionally and unintentionally lulzy moments. I suspect we're gonna watch the rest in the future too, some fun moments to come maybe.

[Tokage 5930]

If anyone ever wants to see a hilariously BAD horror movie, please watch the '90s movie Creatures from the Abyss (AKA Plankton). Back when I still regularly ran a 'QUALITY' movie stream night I played it once and whew, there's so many amazing scenes in this fucking thing I can't even choose which one is my favourite.

 

Spookies is also a pretty good one, though that movie at least partially redeems itself by having like a gajillion different creature effects. 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Green Inferno trailer ayyyyyy

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7-NFJ-k_Fo

 

Getting a nice vibe. Hope it will be worth the wait.

[Tokage 5930]

Was that the fucking Epic Meal Time guy I saw for like 3 secs?

[Bear 1817]

I'm back. Shall we continue our horror decade countdown? Let's go for the 70's and the 60's. I'll be back with the list soon.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Yesss! I've already started compiling movies for the lists but unfortunately neither one will be 10, only around 5-7 each maybe. I'm not too well-versed in '70s or '60s horror.

[Bear 1817]

That's OK. Maybe you'll get some great tips from my lists then as I surely will have 10 for each? Great!

[Bear 1817]

I think the 70's was a brilliant year for horror, especially Italian horror. But the true slashers were born in form of Black Christma and Halloween, animal horror got HUGE with Jaws and Piranha and you got claustrophobic horror in a spaceship that scared you shitless for a year in form of Alien. The 70's were great and this was way harder than I had expected.

 

 

1. Halloween

What can I say about this film that has not been said yet? Nothing. Nothing at all. This is one of the best examples on how bloody brilliant a low-budget, b-film can actually be. While not being the first slasher film ever, this sure as fuck sat the examples and made the "rules" that would be used to death the next decade. One of the most important horror films ever, and one of my all time favourites. This is THE film to watch on halloween eve. All hail John Carpenter, both the director and musician. The soundtrack is half the fun here.

 

2. Profondo Rosso aka Deep Red

This is one of Dario Argento's best films, and a überclassic giallo film. The camera work in this film is absolutely gorgeous, the sets are artsy and are the soundtrack is almost too good, made by Goblin of course. While not my all time favourite giallo, it's up there with the best for sure.

 

3. Alien

This film took the word claustrophobic and changed it. The atmoshere, the monster, the acting, the special effects. It's all there. This is still one of the most sacry films ever made. Did I mention it's brilliant? No? Well, it is. Fantastic!

 

4. Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht

Contrary to belief, this is not a remake of Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens. It does lend a lot from that film, especially the look of Count Dracula, but it is just another film based of the novel, and one of the best there is. Not as good as Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, but it's up there with the others. Dark and grim. A must see for anyone interested in vampires.

 

5. Zombi 2

Lucio Fulci, the master of gore made this in the late 70's and it was shocking. Gory, bloody and grim as fuck. This one was pretty far out at the time, and while not at shocking now, still bloody fucking awesome. My favourite Lucio Fulci film by far!

 

6. Suspiria

More Dario Argento, and more Goblin. The colours are rich, the direction are brilliant and the atmosphere is amazing. Oh, and the soundtrack, man. God damn! Witch! Witch! Witch! Witch! Shieeeeeeet! Atmosphere! I was lucky enough to get to watch this on the big screen a few weeks ago and it added such a dimension to the film.

 

7. The Exorcist

How good is this film? Almost too good. To me this film is all about atmosphere, and the atmosphere is bloody amazing in this one and it is filled with memorable lines and scenes. Top notch!

 

8. Jaws

I bet a lot kids had problems jumping into the water for a long time after watching this. That kinda says it all, doesn't it? I remember I was scared shitless after watching this as a kid. The shark looks fantastic, the direction is amazing and it's still a bit frightening to be honest. Fucking sharks, man.

 

9. Tombs of the Blind Dead

The most underrated and overlooked film on the list. This Sanish film is beyond awesome, and it deserves so much more. The use of noises in the soundtrack, the look of the Blind Dead and the atmosphere is top notch. Check it out, as well as its sequels which are all good. Oh, and the Finnish doom/death metal band Hooded Menace bases a lot of their songs on these films. Fantastic band!

 

10. Hausu

Surreal horror with some of the coolest special effects you'll ever see on screen. They were made to look unrealistic, as if a child had made them, and they still look unique and original even to this day. Some of the special effects they didn't even know the look of until the film was completed, and many of them did not end up as expected. It was a huge experiment, and a great one too. This film is a must see if you're into weird horror flicks.

 

 

As usual I took a look at my IMDB so I mut have forgotten some films that I haven't given a score yet. But it'll look something like this for sure.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

^ Ahhh I've been meaning to watch Hausu for quite a while now, but never really in the mood for it when the opportunity arises (or I just forget). xD Tombs of the Blind Dead sounds cool too, gonna check that one out later as well.

 

It turns out it wasn't all that hard to compile a list for myself, tho I "padded it out" with some not-quite-horror titles.

 

1. Suspiria

The one and only. Dario Argento at his horrortastic atmospheric best imo. Fantastic music and visuals, always something interesting and spectacular to witness. Excellent, can't get enough of it!

 

2. Alien

A true sci-fi/horror classic, really hits a nerve every time I watch it. Needless to say, owing much to H.R. Giger's fantastic designs.

 

3. Eraserhead

Not really horror but surreal and dreary as fuck still. Some of the sickest and weirdest stuff in here (I'll only say "dinner" and "baby"), it's really a far-out trip to be experienced if one is accustomed to such oddities.

 

4. The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Again, not 'pure horror' - still it has a mad scientist, a creature, some killing and whatnot. Oh, and of course we can't forget the wonderfully quirky musical numbers and awesome cast (iconic performances from Tim Curry, Patricia Quinn and Richard O'Brien)!

 

5. Halloween

Well, what is there to say? A solid slasher classic. Haven't seen much of the sequels but I suspect I didn't miss much.

 

6. Zombie

...or Zombi 2 or whatever. Fulci's gross-out zombie flick, tonnes of atmosphere, messy makeup, it's all excellent really. Can't forget the underwater zombie scene either, so nice!

 

7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

One of the better '70s horror movies. It's pretty nice, nothing more to say.

 

8. Rabid

I was hesitating whether include this or Shivers (both very similar Cronenberg films) for the 8th spot, but went for this because it looks and feels just a bit more professional and finished. Pretty good 'zombie virus/infection' type movie, sort of.

 

9. Demon Seed

I just put this here because I remember it being somewhat good. Not much other recollection of it. Super-computer attacking humans (and uhmm... doing some other stuff too xD), it was decent.

 

10. The Brood

Typical Cronenberg body horror, takes a while to get started (if I remember correctly) but has some fun moments and effects.

[Bear 1817]

Jesus, I forgot about The Chainsaw Texas Massacre. It deserves a spot on my list, but so does Black Christmas, Piranha, Dawn of the Dead, The Wicker Man, The Omen and so on. It's too hard to leave out films like these, because they all deserves a spot.

 

As for Halloween, there should never have been made any sequels as they do ruin some of the mysticisim of Myers and stuf, but since they are already made you should have a go at a few of them. Halloween II ain't too bad, and Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a great film, but should never have been released under the Halloween moniker as it doesn't have Michael Myers, Laurie Strode or Samuel Loomis. Halloween was supossed to be a anthology series with new storyies for each films, but the fans wanted more Myers, so they got more Myers. But as a stand-alone film, this film is quite good. Had it been successful, the fourth would have been a ghost story.

 

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later is also pretty good, and it's a direct sequel to the original film in the series. Worth seeing for sure. But Halloween III: Season of the Witch is the second best.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

I see. That original episodic concept for the Halloween movies sounds much more interesting than what they initially did imo. Also, now that you mentioned it, I remember I did see H20 - actually that was my first movie of said franchise! Didn't leave an impression tho and it was a looong time ago (I guess it was kinda decent-ish maybe?). I like Rob Zombie's remakes tho, contrary to popular opinion. xD (especially enjoyed what he did in the 2nd one)

[Bear 1817]

Yeah. The first one is the only must-see one. It's often like that with these slashers, even though many of them have plenty of good sequels. But they never top the originals. Can't think of anyone that did. Kinda weird.

 

 

Also, are me and Jigsaw the only ones so much into horror we think this is funny? C'mon guys, join the fun. Doesn't matter if you only like one, five or even zero. Just come talk. Do you see anything interesting in our lists? Talk! Come the fuck on!

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Yeahhh c'mon pplz!

 

Ohh and about the slasher sequel thingie, I've just been watching the Child's Play series with a friend of mine recently, and they've been pretty consistently entertaining so far... tho part 3 is kinda boring/crap. However, Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky are so over-the-top ridiculous and bad (and all dat cheesy dialogue/one-liners lol) that it's real amusing to watch.  Yet to see Curse of Chucky.

[Bear 1817]

I think I've only seen the first one, but that one's very good.

 

I'm a huge fan of slashers and all that, but I don't think I can think of a single seuel that is on par with the original one. I can think of many goof sequels though. A shitload in fact.

[nullmoon 784]

My uncle subjected me to Chucky when I was like 2 or something? HE SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME!

Nowadays I love horror movies and watch pretty much all the new releases with my girlfriend. It's a shame that most modern horror films are so devoid of any kind of atmosphere or tension. They're so samey in that they're predictable and lazy The only decent ones I can think of from the past few years are The Woman In Black, the Evil Dead remake, You're Next (more for the idea than the scares) and the first Paranormal Activity film.

A few other points-

-The Conjuring was overhyped and quite tame in my opinion; it was a huge disappointment as the trailer was so scary.

-I don't get the love for The Cabin In The Woods. That film was a joke.

-Every exorcism film from the last few years has been utter dookie.

[nullmoon 784]

Sorry, I thought I'd join in as I've found your thoughts really interesting. When I find time I'd love to go through all the old classics

[Bear 1817]

Woah, look, Jigsyboy, a new face! How nice! I can't say I agree with your opinion on either The Conjuring or The Cabin in the Woods, though. But as I love watching and talking about horror films it's good to see someone "new" here. The more, the better.

 

What was it that you didn't like about The Cabin in the Woods? I know a lot of people who found it disappointing, but they all had the wrong impression of the film before they watched it and expected something else than what they got. It's a very fresh film. The films' weakest point to me was its poor CGI. It was just really bad. But I enjoyed it a lot ayway. Fun as fuck.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

I personally found The Conjuring okay but didn't leave that big of an impression on me. It was a bit better than the usual modern "haunted house" type fare, which isn't saying much tho. xD Also, I just cannot tolerate Cabin in the Woods - I know it's supposed to be "clever" and stuff but the whole movie looked and felt... I dunno, kinda dumb, plastic and lifeless. Couldn't enjoy it at all.