Horrorphile's 13 SCARIEST MOVIES EVER MADE
October 29th 2009 01:22
Paranormal Activity was shot in one week in the director's home for $US15,000! It has currently grossed $US22 million!! Apparently the original ending was changed at the suggestion of Steven Speilberg. I wanna know what the original ending was, and what exactly was Speilberg's suggestion? I do like the released version ending, but I'm curious if it was a compromise in any way.
So I'm re-posting my list with the addition of Paranormal Activity. I've also shifted a few titles around after some further nightmare musing. It was very difficult having to shunt one of the other movies off the list, but I have to be strict on my rule of 13. So the end result being that Phantasm is forced off the list, as much as I love the movie, and I definitely rate it as a genuinely unnerving and nightmarish experience, but I just couldn't justify knocking off any of the others.
1. Alien
(US, 1979, Ridley Scott)
2. Halloween
(US, 1978, John Carpenter)
3. Paranormal Activity
(US, 2007, Oren Peli)
4. The Descent
(UK, 2005, Neil Marshall)
5. Ils
(France/Romania, 2006, David Moreau & Xavier Palud)
6. Ju-on: The Grudge
(Japan, 2003, Takashi Shimizu)
7. Ringu
(Japan, 1998, Hideo Nakata)
8. Suspiria
(Italy, 1977, Dario Argento)
9. Wolf Creek
(Australia, 2005, Greg Mclean)
10. The Blair Witch Project
(US, 1999, Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez)
11. The Omen
(US, 1976, Richard Donner)
12. The Thing
(US, 1982, John Carpenter)
13. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
(US, 1974, Tobe Hooper)
(US, 1979, Ridley Scott)
2. Halloween
(US, 1978, John Carpenter)
3. Paranormal Activity
(US, 2007, Oren Peli)
4. The Descent
(UK, 2005, Neil Marshall)
5. Ils
(France/Romania, 2006, David Moreau & Xavier Palud)
6. Ju-on: The Grudge
(Japan, 2003, Takashi Shimizu)
7. Ringu
(Japan, 1998, Hideo Nakata)
8. Suspiria
(Italy, 1977, Dario Argento)
9. Wolf Creek
(Australia, 2005, Greg Mclean)
10. The Blair Witch Project
(US, 1999, Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez)
11. The Omen
(US, 1976, Richard Donner)
12. The Thing
(US, 1982, John Carpenter)
13. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
(US, 1974, Tobe Hooper)
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Comment by rokko
Comment by Chris C.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Chris, yeah, I do really like the movie, but it's not one of the scariest movies for me. The novel is infinitely scarier. I enjoy Kurbrick's movie for different reasons, but not for it being a movie that frightens me. It is ominous fer sure, and atmospheric too.
As for PA, I'm expecting a lot more comments like yours. It's inevitable for a movie so hyped up. The same thing happened to The Blair Witch Project. It's a shame this kind of disappointment occurs because of people's high expectations. The best way to enjoy PA is to have seen it knowing almost nothing. I was lucky that way.
Comment by Michelle Sweeney
Competition Queen
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Mountain Fog
a very interesting list. I haven't seen Ils, Descent, Ju on, Ringu or Suspiria, so have some catching up to do!
But, definitely Alien is a winner for me, rarely have I gasped out loud in a cinema, that one got me. And Blair Witch, so cleverly shot, the ending seemed a trifle anticlimatic for me though, but it deserved an Oscar for clever marketing, via the net, genius.
I think you handled the ignorant comment, at the top, admirably well. Anyone who reads your work, and has a modicum of intellect, realises you speak from a huge knowledge base and have excellent critical insight.
Besides, I think anyone's 'best of list', besides being obviously a personal subjective choice, also depends on when you first see a film too, as often those first impacts stay forever, like Count Yorga (?) Vampire, I saw as a young lad with my mates and it scared the shit out of us! Mainly because it was the first vampire film I saw set in the present day. AND Rokko ignores your popular voters choose lists!
Lastly, WOW!!! Paranormal shot for $15,000- Incredible. That surely must be the top of bang for production buck, and he shot it in one week!!!! Just those facts alone make me want to see it. Geez, will the director ever be in demand from now on...
Try and find out what the changed ending was! My bet is this, it was a bummer dark and nasty ending, too negative that made Spielberg 'box-office takings' wince. What was its rating by the way?
cheers
fog
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
cheers mate!
If you can avoid watching any trailers for Paranormal Activity, it makes for a much more effective movie. The original ending was more suggestively violent, arguably a little creepier, but had less immediate impact. I actually like the changed ending (but I didn't know it had been changed).
I saw a trailer for it yesterday before Final Destination (the movie opens in Australia next month) and it is packed with more critics superlatives than you can throw a stick at. Talk about saturating the movie in hype. It's ugly. I hate that kind of thing. It ruined The Blair Witch Project for a lot of audiences ...
Comment by Mountain Fog
thanks for the heads up on PA, I'll try and avoid the promos. That's good news on the ending too! OH! And how was Final Destination? OOPS! Just saw your advert for your review! I'll check it out now.
cheers
fog
Comment by Anonymous
IF Paranormal Activity was real footage of craziness in a real haunted home; even with far less going on, I would have been impressed.
Otherwise there is nothing scary about it at all. The shining is far superior in building tension.
As for blair witch, the only thing it disturbed was my stomach. Although I was not one of the ones that got full on motion sickness from watching it, I came close.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Anonymous
The second one was The Exorcist. I was so scared of that one that I didn't sleep for three days after. The fact that the Exorcist is not even in the list makes the list look bad.
I never saw the third one which actually was The Omen. Still haven't seen The Omen today but it is to the Video Ezy do not have it and no network ever shows it.
I cannot even begin to fathom how Blair Witch made it on there.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Captain Spaulding
But that's just me you've obviously been around the horror genre longer than I have so I dunno...
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
I was thoroughly impressed with how full on Wolf Creek was, I loved Descent, Alien, Halloween and found Audition, Halloween and Alien to be more tense than outright scary. The Thing, however did a bloody number on me!
ones that havn't had a mention, that are on my scary list include:
Funny Games (original)
May
A Tale of two sisters
Cabin Fever
Imprint
Cape Fear (original)
also, Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me was also quite unnerving in it's own way
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Hey at the end of the long night one person's nightmare is another person's daytime soap. I can only offer my opinion. That I refer to my list as "definitive" certainly doesn't mean I'm saying my word is the last word, but rather it's my own definitive take on what I've found to be the scariest movies during the 30 years I've been watching horror movies.
However I have to disagree with you on a couple of points you made.
Alien is definitely a horror movie. Without a doubt. It utilises atmosphere, tension and viscera brilliantly. It's essentially a haunted house/monster movie in deep space. You can't get more nightmarish than that!
On the other hand, I'd sooner refer to the sequel Aliens as the suspenseful actioner.
As for Ils (Them). I saw it before The Strangers, and I found it incredibly effective, especially in the way it lured the viewer into a supernatural trap, then revealed itself to be disturbingly un-supernatural. I found the use of sound and image far more exhilarating, and the ending boldly uncompromising. Whereas I found The Strangers deeply derivative, uneven in tone and dramatically unsatisfying.
But hey, that's just me. Each to their own.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
my criteria for "scariest" didn't allow inclusion of most of the movies you mentioned, although I haven't actually seen the original Cape Fear, and that could very well warrant inclusion, as the Scorsese remake was superb.
I haven't seen Tale of Two Sisters either, but quite enjoyed the Hollywood remake The Uninvited in a guilty kind of way.
I found both versions of Funny Games disturbing and frustrating, but not really scary. Curiously I preferred Haneke's American version.
May I just picked up cheaply and plan to watch it again very soon. Strange and compelling, but again, not really scary.
Imprint was downright wince-inducing, but not scary for me.
I did't like Cabin Fever much at all.
Fire Walk with Me I need to see again. And would like to review too.
My criteria brings in my own love of nightmare logic, of the creeping unknown, darkness, the supernatural, of disturbing elements that confound the viewer, and the paramount importance of terror over horror.
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile