Now, the 10 best "horror" (as you'll see, I cheated-which is a horrible thing to do) movies I've ever seen:
(in no particular order)
Evil Dead. I know a lot of folks are fonder of the follow-up flicks, but I've always found this one to be finer. If only for the incredibly OTT acting.
Halloween.
"And kids, always remember: When in doubt, blame the druids. Good night, and god bless."
Shaun of the Dead. Brilliant daddy cool. Hot Fuzz has some good lines (the swan's escaped), but this is superior.
Rosemary's Baby.
Hey, this movie broke up Frank Sinatra's marriage. How much more disturbing can you get?
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 version). I've seen the first three versions of this oft-refilmed tale, and they all have something going for them, even if it's only one or two sexy bodies (1993 version).
But Philip Kaufman's had the best script (by W.D. Richter), and was the only one to really mess with my head...
Young Frankenstein
Jaws. This is one of those movies that any time it's on, I have to stop and watch. Even one or two of the worst sequels ever made couldn't tarnish it.
But have you ever wondered what it would look like as re-enacted by bunnies and trimmed to 30 seconds? Of course you have. Now, through the wonders of technology, you can know!
BTW, one day I hope to go scuba diving with the Jaws John Williams theme in my aqua-walkman...
Oh, and this movie did change Hollywood and not necessarily for the better. That's horrible, too.
Aliens. On the other hand, this is one of the best sequels ever made, actually better (IMO) than the one that preceded it. A great screenplay by James Cameron.
The Shining. Those horrible twins. Blood cascading out of an elevator. And
Psycho. If not for the fatal flaw of that deadly dull "This is why Norman did everything" scene at the end, this movie would be perfect. As it is, it's pretty good, with some great lines and a greater performance by Tony Perkins.
The sequels fall somewhere in-between Aliens and Jaws 3-D. If you can get past the fact that it never should have been made, Psycho II is perfectly enjoyable.
As director, Perkins made a good stab at it (ho ho, hee hee, ha ha) with III, but was tripped up by studio interference.
The less said about the made-for-cable IV, the better.
4 comments:
Altered States is the creepiest show ever. All the blood, gore, vampires and weres can't competed with the obsessive visuals and depressing search to get beyond consciousness from Altered States.
The Shining (or rather anything SK) and Rosemary's Baby are some of my top pics as well. How about Graveyard Shift?
It's been years since I've seen Altered States and I'm not sure I fully understood it at the time-I was pretty young.
I might look at it again, problem is the angry writer in me can't forget what I read about it in Shaun Considine's biography of Paddy Chayefsky. Ken Russell really beat up on him.
Do you really mean *anything* SK? Carrie II, Sleepwalkers, Lawnmower Man, Creepshow 2...
I've never seen Graveyard Shift.
Actually I think Steven King's books are way superior to most of the movies, so I made the comment in light of that. In all reality, the movies aren't all that great... but they're still creepy.
No argument there. King is a great writer.
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