I used to hate Horror films. I always thought that they were nothing but stupid films with bad acting, stupid lines and mountains of blood and gore instead of being scary. This was until this A2 media course helped to expand my views on horror films and help me to see some of the best and most innovative horror films ever made. Thanks to this course I have now fallen in love with horror films and it has become my fifth favourite film genre so it’s seems that now’s the time to show my gratitude to horror films by counting down what I believe to be the ten greatest Horror films that I’ve ever seen.
Please note that these are films that I HAVE SEEN and I haven’t seen every horror film in existence so films like ‘a nightmare on Elm Street’, ‘the exorcist’ and ‘Texas chainsaw massacre’ won’t be on this list since I haven’t seen them all the way through, but aside from that enjoy.
Number 10: Friday the 13th (2009)
Remakes are something that has become increasingly popular in the world of cinema and most of the time remakes aren’t nearly as good as the original film, and horror films are prime examples of these since nearly ever horror film has been remade at least once and most of them just plain suck (the remake of ‘Halloween’ was just meh, and don’t get me started on the ‘Psycho’ remake). But in some cases remakes (while not as good as the original) can be good in their own right, for instance: the remake of ‘the fly’ was pretty good and the 2002 version of ‘Carrie’ was alright but I think one of the better remakes has to be Friday the 13th.
Now Friday the 13th is a rather mediocre series since it relies of blood, gore and many horror clichés rather than focusing on tension and atmosphere, but the remake (while still being more focused on gore and clichés) has a much strong emphasis on atmosphere and it combines the story lines of the first 4 Friday the 13th movies into one and in this case it works since it tells a much more coherent story and the film flows much better because of it. Jason Voorhees is as great as ever as the hockey mask killer we all love and the kills are still awesome, plus there are quiet a few interesting characters in the film besides Jason which help to get you more involved in the story. While not that great of a horror film I think it deserves a place on this list since it one of the better remakes and is both scary and a lot of fun to watch… though the ending is terrible!
Number 9: Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960)
I bet it’s a shock to see this film so low on this list. And yes while I find Psycho to be a VERY overrated film since the second half of the film is nowhere near as good as the first and aside from Marion Crane and Norman bates, the other characters are boring and forgettable, I can’t help but acknowledge how much of an impact this film made on the horror genre and films in general. What I mean is that this film gave us the first human killer instead of a monster which gave the film a much more realistic value to it, which made it all the more scarier, the film doesn’t rely on blood but goes for tension and atmosphere and do I have to mention the shower scene? It practically speaks for itself. So while Psycho made be the most overrated film ever there’s no denying that it is a milestone in both the horror genre and films in genre.
Number 8: John Carpenters ‘The Thing’ (1982)
Going back to the idea of remakes John carpenters version of the 1951 sci-fi classic is one of the best remakes ever and is a very different take on the story. For one thing ‘the thing’ is more than one person in this movie, it follows the book more closely since it takes place in the Antarctic rather than the original film taking place the Arctic, and while the first film had more focus on tension and suspense this one goes straight for the gore but not only is this film gory, it’s a disgusting, putrid, cringe worthy, vile, repulsive, revolting, sickening, gross gore-fest of a movie… and I love it. The thing is a great horror movie and Sci-fi movie, the sense of isolation in a frozen research lab is done wonderfully and the alien effects when the thing takes shape are some the best special effects ever made, the animatronics and stop-motion effects are some the best I’ve ever seen and it really helps to complement the goriness of this film, Kurt Russell is great as always and overall it’s a great flick but be warned if you don’t like gore, don’t watch this film!
Number 7: Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Now many people may question why I put this film on the list since you can see it as ether a horror film or a musical. Personally I see this film as a horror film and a great one at that. Sweeney Todd is filled with blood and violence but it’s the main character Sweeney Todd who is the scariest thing about this film. Johnny Depp does a great job portraying this character as this ticking time bomb in the sense that he can flip out at any moment and when he goes it’s truly scary. The musical side of the film is truly remarkable since the songs are very powerful, but also help too tell the story and show the characters feelings and emotions. The film as a whole is just great, all the actors do a great job in there roles and I like how the majority of the film is through song which really gives the film it’s own unique style to it and the design of the world looks great, it’s very dark, moody and rather abstract, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from the great man himself Tim Burton.
Number 6: Scream (1996)
DO YOU LIKE SCARY MOVIES? I certainly do, and Scream is one the best slasher flicks ever made. What’s interesting about Scream is that it’s more of a parody of many famous slasher films (like ‘Halloween’ and ‘Texas chainsaw massacre) and there conventions since the characters will often highlight these conventions and how stupid they are and then do the exact same thing two minutes later. You would think that by doing this Scream would be more of a comedy rather than a horror film but in fact the film is really scary and Wes Craven does a great job of building suspense and the plot twist and the end is just great. Scream has been credited as the movie that green lighted the modern slasher flick (films like 'I know what you did last summer') but I see it as a tribute to all things horror in terms of scares and entertainment (the opening scene is the best example of this since it’s one the greatest scene ever put into a horror film). This is one horror film that you have to see even if you’re not into horror films I guarantee that you’ll have blast with this film.
Number 5: The Woman in black (2012)
12A! This film only had a 12A rating! This shows that in order to make a good horror film you don’t blood, swearing, gore and sex, all you need is tension, atmosphere, a chilling story and being genuinely scary. However the woman in black isn’t good… it’s great, I mean this is one the greatest horror films of the last 10 years. Everything about this film is just great, the setting is great, the acting is great, the atmosphere and tension is great, the villain is great, the characters are great it’s just a great film. It’s also a very interesting type of horror film since a lot of the film is silent and has a very high emphasis on diegetic sound which makes the noises you hear seem all the more real. Being produced by the studio behind the 1960’s Dracula, Frankenstein, and the mummy there are various moments where elements of these films are present like how the woman in black moves in a fashion similar to Dracula, how the towns people are terrified of the house in the marshes similar to being scared Frankenstein, and the boy rising from the bog similar to the mummy rising from the ground etc. In the end the Woman in black is just a great, suspenseful and scary horror film and this film goes to show that you don’t need blood to make a horror film.
Number 4: Carrie (1976)
Stephen King is one the most famous horror authors in existence and his first novel was called Carrie. The story about a young girl with telekinetic powers who is abused by both her vindictive peers and religiously obsessed mother was a huge success, and the 1976 Brain de Palme version is even better. The film does a great job at taking the best bits from the book and taking away the bad bits in order to create a more unique and interesting story. I consider this film to be both a Drama and a Horror film since the majority of the film is a drama that focuses on Carrie’s struggles to fit in with her piers as well as rebelling against her mother who has been controlling her all her life, until the end when Carrie is elected Prom queen only to be Drenched in pigs blood and this emotional trauma causes her to go on a murderous rampage and this is where it becomes and horror film.
The film does a wonderful job of pulling us into Carrie White’s shoes so that we can understand and connect with her more through out the film which helps the audience to become both uplifted and scared by what Carrie does or goes through. Carrie white is one the greatest female characters ever and Sissy Spacek does a fantastic job portraying her since she is both sympathetic and sweet but also scary and maniacal and other characters like Carrie’s mother and Tommy Ross are great too. The Prom scene is one of the best Horror scenes ever, the film makes great use of the famous Psycho strings, Carrie’s main theme is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard and the ending is much scarier and more powerful than the ending in the book. In the end Carrie is one of the greatest horror films and film adaptations ever made, and I absolutely love this film to bits.
Number 3: Jaws (1975)
Horror films often have a tendency to make people scared of something that stands out about the film (for instance: ‘Scream’ made people scared of answering the phone late at night and ‘Texas chainsaw massacre’ made people scared to wander off into unknown territory) and Jaws made everyone scared to go into the Ocean. What makes Jaws so scary is that it’s arguably the most realistic Horror films ever made since the setting is in the ocean which is covers 71% of the earth’s surface and the location is completely closed off and isolated, the killer is a giant great white Shark which is real animal and would act the exact same way Jaws does in the film etc. There are some many other things about this film that are great since the character are interesting and fun to watch, and the film is great at building tension and keeping the audience in suspense since you rarely see the shark (yet you know it’s there) until the end of the film and there are even moments where the Shark appears out of nowhere and it really throws the audience and gives them an unexpected scare. Jaws has been credited as being one the greatest if not the greatest film of all time and I can certainly see why since everything about this film is outstanding and the opening scene where Jaws attacks the woman swimming is the perfect definition of horror and then finally there’s the music by John Williams… and all I can say is just WOW!!!
Number 2: Halloween (1978)
This is film is the ultimate definition of a Horror film. John Carpenters Halloween not only helped to introduced slasher films to mainstream audiences but it also helped to revolutionise horror films and make them into what they are to day. Halloween has everything you’d want in a Horror film, its got tension, atmosphere, realism, isolation, darkness, a psychopathic killer, the blank face mask and so much more. Halloween is one of the those films that no matter how many times you watch it or even if the lights are one and there are people with you, it will scare the crap out of you. Two things in particular stand out about this film, first is the music which is such a great soundtrack since it’s a very high pitch and creepy score that gradually gets louder and deeper in tone which makes it feel like the killer is closing in. Second is the killer himself and he is one of the greatest Horror villains ever, everything about Michael Myers is terrifying, his appearance and bland expression, the fact that he is human and doesn’t speak expect for incredibly deep, the way he blends into the shadow and move around like a ninja and so on. At the end of the day Halloween is the perfect horror film because it does some many things right on so many levels and it has one of the greatest cliff-hangers even seen in a movie.
Number 1: Alien (1979)
Honestly the title alone is enough reason for putting this at the top of this list. Alien is both a Sci-fi and horror masterpiece and both elements of these genres help to compliment each other beautifully in various ways. The feeling of being alone in space is done perfectly in this film and there is a real sense of desperation and paranoia in every scene as the audience awaits the alien’s next attack. The alien itself is both beautiful to look at but is also terrifying to see as it devours people one by one. The film as a whole it just a wonderful piece of cinema since there is so much to love about the film whether it being the alien, the face hugger, the characters, the location of the film and so on, Alien is just one of the timeless classic that never gets old. This is easily director Ridley Scott’s best film and actress Sigourney weaver delivers one of her best performances ever, the special effects are just outstanding and the alien design by H.R. Giger is something to marvel. The spaceship the film is set in is one the greatest sets in a movie history and the scene where the baby alien burst out of the guys chest is one the most iconic scene in cinema history. The film also loves to play with audiences expectations since the film will often build up to the alien about to attack someone but then it turns out to be a false alarm only to have the alien appear at random moments in the film which audience haven’t prepared for and it really gives the audience something to be scared about. I also think the idea behind alien is what complements both the horror and science fiction genre since we all want to know about aliens existence and travelling in space but we don’t know what these alien could be like and the films gives us the worst case scenario for what could be mankind’s greatest discovery because in space… NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM!!!!!
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