Horrorphile's 13 SCARIEST MOVIES EVER MADE
November 28th 2008 00:54
I’m not surprised because The Exorcist is a very well made movie that exudes a genuine atmosphere of terror and is executed with intelligence and panache. But - and I’ll go out on a limb here – I think The Exorcist is over-rated as being the scariest movie ever made.
John Carpenter's seminal shape of fear
So, in response to Chris’s list, and at his suggestion that I extend my existing list of five all-time scariest movies (compiled and posted back on September 11 - scary date! - 2006), I’ve decided to re-boot my original list, but with a fresh perspective. This is also an indirect response to the lists that Movie Mall has been posting over at Movie Catcher i.e. 10 Lamest Alien Invasions in Movie History, 7 Most Useful Movie Corpses, et al.
Nightmare incarnate: Suspiria
Fear of the dark and enclosed spaces? Oh yes indeedy
Here they are in terrorder:
1. Alien
(US, 1979, Ridley Scott)
2. Halloween
(US, 1978, John Carpenter)
3. Suspiria
(Italy, 1977, Dario Argento)
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. Wolf Creek
(Australia, 2005, Greg Mclean)
9. The Blair Witch Project
(US, 1999, Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez)
10. The Omen
(US, 1976, Richard Donner)
11. The Thing
(US, 1982, John Carpenter)
12. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
(US, 1974, Tobe Hooper)
13. Phantasm
(US, 1979, Don Coscarelli)
(US, 1979, Ridley Scott)
2. Halloween
(US, 1978, John Carpenter)
3. Suspiria
(Italy, 1977, Dario Argento)
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. Wolf Creek
(Australia, 2005, Greg Mclean)
9. The Blair Witch Project
(US, 1999, Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez)
10. The Omen
(US, 1976, Richard Donner)
11. The Thing
(US, 1982, John Carpenter)
12. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
(US, 1974, Tobe Hooper)
13. Phantasm
(US, 1979, Don Coscarelli)
Ils aka Them aka Fucking Scary Movie
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Comment by Damo
I found The Exorcist brilliantly filmed and precisely paced.
I found the same with The Omen. Even when the horror wore off it still remained an excellent story in itself.
I would have included Event Horizon myself.
But it just stuck in my mind.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Movie Mall
Movie Catcher
The Invisible Sky
As I'm new here I never saw the original list you did, but glad you've re-published.
I'm definitely a big fan of those late-'70s and early '80s horors too, especially from Carpenter.
Can't say I've seen Suspiria though.
Saw The Descent just recently and was really impressed. Done by the same guy behind the earlier Dog Soldiers I think.
I would just put Exorcist in there too and maybe Poltergiest and Evil Dead, though haven't seen the last two in a while, may have aged.
Jeepers Creepers wasn't a bad recent horror.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
The first list were five movies that had a profound impact on me when I first saw them.
John Carpenter is the only director who gets two movies into my list.
Have you seen any Dario Argento?
Dog Soliders was a great werewolf flick.
I didn't include The Exorcist for reasons explained, but knew it would cause "upset".
Funny you mention Poltergeist and The Evil Dead, cos they were #14 and #15 on my list.
Yeah, Jeepers Creepers was a good flick, I agree.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Business News
The Others (2001)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Ravenous (1999)
The Cell (2000)
The Hitcher (1986)
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
The Others had some good moments, the best was the ghosts peering at the door.
The Sixth Sense never did much for me ... But then I'm not a fan of any of the three leads.
Ravenous I didn't find scary at all, but I liked the premise.
The Cell had great potential and a stunning production design and special effects, but was let down by a flabby story and Lopez and Vaughn delivered flat, unconvincing performances.
The Hitcher I considered, as it is a favourite movie of mine. It just didn't make the final 13. Great atmosphere and some very unnerving scenes. Rutger Hauer was brilliantly cast.
Thanks for the suggestions, so what did you think of my selection?
Comment by Chris Champion
Vyoos
Zoomies
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The Blog of Lists
Newly Old
Money Whither
Thanks for the plug. The Big List in fact now incorporates three polls after adding your own 1st Annual Horrorphile Hall of Infamy poll.
Now I'll add your personal list too. You are the fourth (out of 30) so far to choose Alien as the scariest all-time, taking it to equal second place with Psycho. The Exorcist has 12 first preferences.
Thanks again for the mention. Now I'm off to add your list to my list
Chris
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Haven't seen Suspiria, Ils or Phantasm but loved all the others. While I found Alien scary not my number one. When I was younger I would have to say that the Stephen King stories scared the shite out of me. IT and Cujo got me as a kid big time. I still hate clowns!
Also Scream got me - was working at George St cinemas and we got the print 6mths prior to release for a special screening. I had to screen check this film at midnight in an 1100 seat cinema with one friend without knowing what it was about. I remember by the end of the Drew Barrymore part the two of us were sitting on an armrest hugging each other and looking into all the dark corners of the "supposedly" haunted cinema that no longer stands as one cinema. Freaky!!
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Whilst I havent seen all of the films on your list, the big trifecta of scary for me has been
The Exorcist,
Aliens and
(John Carpenters) The Thing.
They cured me, and I stopped watching horror after that, altogether.
Lilla ...
Comment by CraigH
Legal Herald
Australian Constituency
Sights of Dubai
Australian Tales
The World Today
The backpackers at the hotel I worked at used to love it as well.
Comment by The Rusty Can
Everything
The first time I saw The Exorcist was when it was re-released... er... late 90s/early naughties, and I found it quite disturbing.
Like Lilla, I haven't seen all the movies on your list, but Ju-on and Ringu scared the cr*p out of me.
Good post.
Rusty
Comment by Cass
Just my thoughts.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Business News
well agree with you putting Alien at number one, and it was great to see Wolf Creek got a mention (that was a terrifying film) . . . i thought the second Blair Witch was scarier than the first one, but i can appreciate how innovative the first one was
overall, you know me, i dont watch that much horror, and what i have seen is usually the remakes or the sequels
i hear The Descent is really REALLY scary, but i havent seen it yet . . . actually it may have even been your review that convinced me i want to see it . . . it didnt seem to get much promotion when it came out, i only heard of it recently
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
The Exorcist, Carpenter's the Thing, Alien (especially the scene where the alien-as-blip comes after Tom Skerrit in the air tunnels and we get that one glimpse of it when they meet face to face!!).
Recently The Descent, and that last 10 minutes of [REC].
I'd also say the very last scene of Blair Witch was just chilling, and as a kid The Crate segment of Creepshow scared the crap out of me too!
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I think I'll have to do a Gorehound's Top 13 too, just to balance the horror scales.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
The Thing's broody, pulsating score and the increasing paranoia over who's real and who's alien, makes the tension extremely palpable and the entire scenario very frightening, but people overlook that because the special effects are so full on.
Scares aren't just about going "Boo!", although some movies do that very well. Scary is more about a relentless atmosphere the permeates your entire experience of the movie and your immediate reality.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Yes, I remember now... that Goblin score was awesome.
The problem is that I've never seen these movies in the cinema, just on my small screen at home. "The Thing" would be incredible as a midnight special.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Whats that one with the little blonde kid? Poltergiest? That one had some scary moments. Im going to have to get my butt in gear and see some more on your list....
Have you seen Ginger Snaps? I love that movie. It has moments where the gut drops out, because its like a teen movie gone wrong.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Also, I love Ginger Snaps, one of my fave werewolf movies ... I reviewed that here
Glad to find someone else who actually finds The Exorcist a little over-rated.
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Ginger Snap URL incorrect apparently....But I loved that movie cos if I had a sister you can bet that would be us...And it just went in unexpected directions. Ive heard theres more to it, but I havnt seen them.
"Its like that feeling, RIGHT there....Only its for ripping shit up, you know?"
One of the best quotes ever. As good as Giles in Buffy ep 'New Man' - "I feel like snapping necks until everyones dead"
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I changed the way I wrote urls after about a year ... and Ginger Snaps was an earlier one ...
Try here
A couple more priceless lines:
Ginger: I get this ache... And I, I thought it was for sex, but it's to tear everything to fucking pieces.
and:
Brigitte: Are you sure it's just cramps?
Ginger: Just so you know... the words "just ... cramps" don't go together.
There was a sequel: Ginger Snaps: Unleashed and a prequel Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning. I plan to review both in coming weeks.
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Comment by Anonymous
ITS THE MOST STUPID LIST EVER
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Amy Wang
Films, Films And More FIlms
I ABSOLUTELY AGREE with Texas Chainsaw Massacre! CREEEEEPY to the extreme. And I saw that in broad daylight....
Another film i can think of that really affected me is a Japanese film directed by Takashi Mikke called 'Audition'. Not sure if you've seen it, but if you haven't GO GET IT!!! It's disturbing beyond belief
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Amy Wang
Films, Films And More FIlms
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I agree that the reason Audition is so powerful and disturbing is that it twists your expectations. What starts as a a kind of nervous light-hearted romance, then moves into a drama, and finally into pure, unbridled horror.
Comment by Edinburgh festival grinch
For films that are sure to turn your stomach look no further than Cannibal Holocaust.
A pretty top list though I have to say. The descent is a fantastic film. I love the way they slowly turn up the dial on the scares as the film goes on. Most horror films these days turn up the dial to 11 within the first few minutes are left with nowhere to go after that.
The opening scene to 'Scream' is a classic and would be on my list for that alone.
Many would laugh at this, but the original Terminator film is a very dark film that still haunts me to this day. You watch it again with an open mind and see if I`m wrong.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
see my list for Goriest Movies Ever Made ...
Never been a fan of Scream. Too self-conscious and trying to be clever for its own good. I'm not really into horror movies that are aiming to be self-referential.
I'll totally agree with you on The Terminator. One of my favourite sf movies, also one of my favourite movies. I'll be reviewing it soon, but probably at my other movie blog Cult Projections
Comment by Tanner72
Like u should have the howling that movie still scary the shit out of me that scene when she
in the office and a whole lot other scene in that movie. Two should be THE FOG carpenter
movie that still gets me that music and when they are chasing my girl up the light tower wit
the hook and a great ending when he cuts his head off all them standin there in the fog in
the church. O and one more is to me is the old but new i think it was 1978 with donald
sutherland The invasion of the body snatchers when i think of that movie i still dont want to
go to sleep lol when tho body would just turn into crumbin paper after u fell asleep and
another scary ending when she thinks he is just pretending and then he does that
horrorable scream chillz. I think that scariest movies should be something that never leaves
ur mind once u see it and it make the hair on the back of ur head stand up like when u put it
in ur mind and then try and go to sleep lmao
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
thanks for commenting, but please don't use such large point size if you comment again, it's tantamount to flaming, and i don't have much tolerance for it ...
cheers
Comment by MMB
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Tanner72
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by sb
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
nice comments, cheers!
Comment by sb
1. The Exorcist: Yes, of course, this excruciatingly nauseating & painful-to-watch movie undeniably bags the credit of being the stupidest stuff of all time with it’s all vulgar on screen portrayal & funny graphics, let alone the funniest sound effects & morbid rank bad acting. What that puking lollipop girl smeared with some blood stain was doing all the time. Actually the scariest thing about this sh**ingly funny movie is that a whole generation bragged it to be one of the scariest movies of all time, let alone that comment in many other blogs by many spin-head gore-champs that it has clearly stood the taste of time as the scariest one. Yes, of course it has... but as the dumbest, funniest & most nauseating movie of all time.Any doubt? Just slough off from the world of bigotry & ask the rest of the world who made films like Suspiria, Ringu, Ju-on, Monihar & so many else.I think this people, themselves need to be exorcised first. I think the scariest movie ever made for them is Casper...lol. Anyway, will anybody please come up and rename The Exorcist as Baby's Shit Out.
2. Halloween: What that funny guy, Mr. Myers, was doing all the time masquerading & busy in meaningless weird activities that led to a stashed slasher for the dunderhead gore champs. An all time stuff of third class fun. Definitely, it needs a great polishing work by some another Carpenter.
3. Storm of the Century: Brainstorming of the century that why some people consider this never ending painful & pointless movie as the scariest. Better f**k up & see The Perfect Storm -a much better & much much more serious stuff. Anyway, sacrificing a child… see Sophie’s Choice & go, get what real life horror is.
4. House of 1000 Corpses: The name must have hinted to the fleapit that had arranged the premier show and some thousand spin-head gore champs who had devoured that shit in that show. Anyway, the name could easily have been 1000 corpses & one Zombie. Give me back my money & time. Anyway, the idea is not also an original, clearly stolen from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
5. The Evil Dead: The director dead, the actors dead, the spot boys dead, the cameraman dead, the light man dead and finally we, the ill fated audience dead. Dead & dead drunk with this soporific, pornographic monstrous movie. Omg, omg! It should have been a Rob Moron movie.
6. Night of the Living Dead: Another all dead and all cock-a-hoop nonsense…a meaningless death orgy. Gosh! Is there nobody worth his salt, who can perish these movies for ever from the history of films & get my crush on him?
7. Carrie: Sissy, even Jim Carrey is scarier than that lunatic, outrageous, socially outcast poor girl. I feel pity for her. This is a mournful movie at its best, depicting how insane the society is to an individual with slightest weirdness that bars the social order. This is a good mediocre film, but describing it as a horror movie is by itself a horror story.
8. Poltergeist: It’s hard to believe that the same man, who gave us the gloom portrayal of Nazi Zeitgeist in Schindler’s List, also gave us this freak. This is absolutely a crow film…a crow film…and a crow film. The least u say the better.
9. The Thing: I Just saw this thing wondering why this thing, The Thing, should not be renamed as ‘A Huge Mound of Shit’. When that guy retires and rids us from his carpentry work. This freaky stuff can only attract E.T.s with nuts. Here I go better and read Who Goes There?
10. Candyman: A good Rosy stuff for the porcelain boys & candy perfume girls. Anyway, the idea behind the purported legend of chanting his name is totally copied from the Persian legend Aladdin. Being a film of zero originality, it shud be perished for one single reason…tampering with a beautiful story The Forbidden by Clive Barker.
11.Village of the Damned: A Blog shud be tagged as Blog of the Damned if such a silly stuff finds its place there. Dudes, make one point clear to me. Did all those little human looking creatures brush their eyes with toothpaste by mistake…otherwise how their eyeballs were shining so brightly…really a point to ponder? This might be wrong. Then certainly did they have lights fitted in those cavities…lol. At least they don’t need to use torch lights during load shedding. Can I have one of them & save some money?
12. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Massacre of history of film making, reel after reel relentlessly with its sub-standard bizarre graphic violence & meaningless carnage. If it’s truly based on the notorious Ed Gein, then I’d definitely see either Psycho or Silence of the Lambs… far more superior in all respects.
13. Friday the13th. It may rank the thirteenth, the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth…anywhere but shud never be missed out in any list of twenty worst scary movies of all time, a cliché of sex equaling carnage.
14. A Nightmare on Elm Street: Shit, A Nightmare on Elm…Shit! Being a shitting prototype of the worse Halloween, it seriously puts a question mark on the reputation of Michael Myers being the funniest character of all time… until the emergence of Fred Krueger. It’s a classic example of how a mediocre film maker can transform a superb social subtext for the adolescents into a nonsensical typo of slasher sub genre.
15.The Descent: Again stuff for the gore champs, with portrayal of grotesque humanoids in funny make-up, even make-up of Mountain of Cannibal God was far more superior. The only good thing about the film is that it proves that not only the Americans, but the British may also fall in the same manner, though fewer times.
BTW: I really wonder how on earth these aforesaid movies can sit in the same league with The Shining, Salem’s Lot, Silence of Lambs, Ringu etc…gosh! Anyway, friends how about ranking Cast Away as the sixth best scariest one that really cast a spell on us, a psychological fear of loosing the beloved ones, a fear of getting doomed all of a sudden...a superlative treatment definitely.
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by rossco
it got me thinking about what films scared me
when ah was ah child in came up with five.
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 (1985)
Poltergeist part2 (1986)
The Blob (1988)
Candyman (1992)
The Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Curious indeed, so the first Nightmare on Elm Street and the first Poltergeist didn't scare you??? Or did you see the sequels first ...
I enjoyed The Blob remake when it came out, although it was a little cheesy, wouldn't mind having a squizz at it again ... I didn't really dig Candyman. As for Night of the Living Dead, well, great flick.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by rossco
have you any insight on the remake of part 1 ?
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
no insights into the remake apart from the fact that it's produced by michael "supertrash" bay
Comment by quinn
The Descent was awesomely disturbing (IMO) but im trying to remember the name of a flick: one where a detective is haunted by a demon(s) and in the end it turns out it's because he had killed his own mother. also, Henry, portait of is.....well just watch it!
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Can't say I know the movie you're walking about ... Have you tried googling the plot line?
Henry is well-made, but I didn't find it particularly scary. It's disturbing though.
Comment by rossco
what did u think of the hellraiser films ?
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by sb
Thanks to enrich the lexicon by adding a new word failry. Actually it took me some time to google out the meaning of failry...'failry opinionated rambler and raver'. Anyway, free online dictionary answers me in my quest to enrich them by submitting any meaning if known to me. In reply, I told them that it was not actually I, myself exactly, who'd invented this truly nice word, but some Mr. Scary Bryn...hope they'll appear soon before u and curtsy down for this awesome invention. Anyway, I, for myself, cooked up a meaning... failry means madly... now it really fits me -'madly opinionated rambler and rover...err...raver' a quite spooky stuff that fits this dunderhead rambling champ jolly well. Thank u for all these adjectives. After all it's so kind of u that u did not mention me as a parochial patriarch cum blogger who shares blog but shows zero tolerance to adverse opinion of others. However, in reply to ur thirsty quest I am honoured to mention that I’ve already mentioned my five best favorite horror classics. The rest five are in my humble opinion:
6. The Rambler.
7. The Raver.
8. The Failry Opinionated Rambler and Raver.
9. Paranormal Activity.
10. Abnormal Blogger.
Anyway, in my truly humble opinion, the scariest movie ever made is yet to come up…that is ‘ Bryn the Bigot.’
Comment by sb
Comment by sb
Bryn the Bigot
Sb the Idiot
One horror zealot
The other exactly not
Both run riot
In search of a carrot
That grows always rot
In a black garden pot
That floats in a moat
Where sailing in a boat
See these two goat (s)
Corpses chewing fagot
teeming with maggot...
Rhyme by rote
This short little note (on scariest movie ever made)
The Others initially bloat (in baited breath)
Peering afloat
And hiding behind the moat
Dangle the carrot
And fly dead parrot
Then order whiskey Scot
To the two tiny tot (s)
They drink a toast
For both them boast
To know the most
Of a scary ghost
That leers through this post
And finally they’re lost
But free of cost
U got this plot
Of Bryn the Bigot...err...
Sb the Goat
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
have you stopped taking your medicine? or perhaps you need to increase the dosage? you're coming across like some kind of jealous sociopath.
what's with calling me a bigot?? i simply asked you to compile a list of genuinely scary movies, not movies that pissed you off ...
i haven't seen the movies "the raver", "the rambler", "the failry opinionated rambler and raver", or "abnormal blogger" ... but i have seen paranormal activity ... i think I'll have to add it to this list of mine. cheers for the reminder!
oh, and for the record the word i made a typo on - and which seems to have struck a raw nerve with you - was "fairly", just in case you couldn't see the wood for the trees.
Mr. Scary Bryn
Comment by sb
Why fuming in rage
Know globe is not a cage
So opinions r like a maze
So don’t upstage
The ethos of blog-page
Anyway Bryn the Sage…must u again pronounce the word failry- ur cult invention. I think everybody, not me only- the zealous sociopath, would love to hear it again from u while stopping by woods in a snowy evening failing to see trees in the woods…err…wood for the trees…for these are all ice. The jungle is eerie. With the specter of dense misty fog looming large and the ghoulish silhouettes of dead trees trotting all around with their wings fluttering ominously in the sirocco, the whole ambience takes a horrific look like Valley of Deaths. Nor worse is the audiovisual contrast of deadly white mosaic of frost leering and gibbering menacingly under the feet. Life is not groovy here but the ice under the feet and a lot of energy is being spent to drag even a single step over the knee-deep spongy ice. The sibilant sound of wind totally deafens me.Nocturnal predators are out on their prowl, also the hooting poltergeists. Anytime I may meet a ghoul feasting on a grisly corpse, but I will not for a certain.
Hope now u got it, as I mentioned only a single true horror movie in the second list, i.e. Paranormal Activity. A true horror movie is not only an assimilation of grotesque images on the screen, nor it is a bizarre graphic violence of a slasher sub genre. A true horror movie is one which shows u not what u see but what u not. So, it’s not any Carpentry work…it’s something like making The Seventh Seal or Monihar that demands the geniuses of Bergman and Ray, anyway, it’s my personal opinion.
Btw, for the record I must say I am definitely not a sociopath, but zealous little bit. U all really see me not, as I can’t see woods in the tree. I really don’t know how u people pass through me.
Anyway, definitely failry means madly, never ever it is fairly-ur cult invention my nice living friend Bryn the Sage. Thanks to play chess with me like Max von Sydow .
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by sb
Comment by sb
Anyway, Bryn I will be honored to dance with u in the pale moonlight...also love to hear from u again, of course, 'Failry, Failry, r u that Henry?'
Oh, what a man! And also what an invention!
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by sb
So, goodbye, ‘cos – Failry, Failry, u r quite a burly.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by sb
Comment by sb
Comment by sb
How about The Relic? Definitely u would say it a good failry ...err...flick, if The Others have said it a nonsense and vice versa.Then come on, let's visit a dilapidated camp in Failry (oops! why this failry stupid ghost is not letting me keep my head straight)...err... Far North and see a tribal woman strangling her only daughter to death with her own tresses and then peel the skin off from the victim's face and paste it on her own wrinkled aging face to delude and lure the man she loves, who she feels has been whisked away from her by the victim of this gruesome murder.
Anyway, man why r u so curious of my real self? If that really appears before u, u may get asphyxiated, for the man speaking here died seven years back during a hill trekking at Tibbetan Himalaya. Now, is it failry explained to u that how u people pass through me?
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by sb
Anyway, how about Rob the Zombie -an American thriller cum horror where thousand ghosts rob a zombie of his camera, boom et cetera et cetera in a haunted fleapit to rid themselves locked in it of The Thing he lusts for hatching through it. No, no, don't say it The Devil's Rejects.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by sb
May I please remind u of ur remark in reply to my very first comment? That was 'sb, nice comment, cheers!' And u had not spent those words for a single comment prior to that. So, how could u flog me like a frog in ur last comment trying to bar me from clogging this failry nice blog! Doesn't it prove urself and ur comment as incoherent and inconsistent by itself and how could u also bog a person down by patenting him a hack? I simply asked u to comment on an American horror cum thriller, but u simply took it in an weird way and held forth so blatantly on a fine new generation director and Grammy nominated singer. What's the relation between the movie and the person who was the founder zombie of 'white zombie'...really weird! Also it is quite noteworthy that how easily u tag persons as rambler, as raver, as failry opinionated rambler and raver, as hack etc. Criticize not the person, but his Carpentry work, if u feel it so.That was always my humble point over which u stumble so frequently. Anyway, you shoulddddddd have spelled clarity as calrity 'cos it is as clear as failry. And I see u have also changed the name of this blog as FUNPHILE,in every sense, which I feel u did not have a right to, even though u r the (ec)centric of this bolg...err...blog.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
i'll be the first to admit i can rant and rave, but it's my blog, and my prerog ... just as it is my prerogative to take exception to whatever i fancy, and i've taken exception to your diatribes simply because they appear to be aimed at getting a rise out of me, and i can't be bothered humouring you anymore.
call me unfarily egocentric, i don't care
Comment by sb
As u have previously requested I hereby paste the list of ten best scariest movies in my humble opinion.So, just keep ur pecker up.
My List
1)2)3)4)5)6)7)8)9)10) abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz... .......
Hope, this has some clarity for u, u just need to work it out. Anyway, never mind my dear friend,
we r true friends-bye.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
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Horrorphile
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Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I agree with you on the Rob Zombie front, but I actually really like Wolf Creek. I also agree with you on Hostel. Can't stand it, but enjoyed Hostel: Part II, it had a Euro atmosphere. Didn't know there was a sequel to House of a 1000 Corpses ... am I interested? Not really.
Comment by sb
I'm a tiny tiny beetle
who through his riddle
trying to needle
the ego of a cattle
who does nibble
some grass in this stable
a diet not so staple
for The Others in this fable
so plzzzz don't chuckle
to baffle the cattle
better u snuggle
me the Muggle
Comment by sb
Alien is definitely a terrific sci-fi movie...not a cattle's choice at all.
Comment by ZombiFreak
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Actually I did find The Evil Dead pretty darn scary when I first saw it back in 1984 ... I've seen it so many times since that I guess that initial fright factor has worn thin ... I haven't seen The Reaping, nor Pulse. Saw didn't scare me at all. The Beyond is definitely creepy and surreal, but it didn't genuinely frighten me, more a kind of unnerving ...
Cheers for the comments though ... And being a Kiwi (New Zealander), but based in Sydney, Australia, for the past 12 years, it was never going to be about limiting myself to "American" movies ... no way. Though I do love a lot of American movies, is there a difference between "American" and American?
Comment by ZombiFreak
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I really like Zack Snyder's take on Dawn of the Dead, I really enjoyed Quarantine (remake of [rec]), and enjoyed Aja Alexandre's remake of The Hills Have Eyes.
But as a rule, yeah, I can't stand remakes, nor sequels for that matter ...
Have you seen the director's cut of The Exorcist?
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Horrorphile
Again, De Palma's Scarface is so utterly different from the 1932 original it's silly to compare (except with name). The same with Cronenberg's The Fly, Carpenter's The Thing ...
A Nightmare on Elm Street remake is a worry ... I just can't see Krueger possessing the same genuine menace
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Comment by sb
It took me quite a bit of time and look and hark back to list the scariest movies ever made in my humble opinion. No, this time I am absolutely serious.
1. Monihara (a 1963 B&W Bengali flick of the trilogy’ Teen Kanya’ by the Master Satyajit Ray): If u ask me why it is and what it is, my answer is ‘because it is there.’
2. The Ring:
3. Se7en
4. The Shining
5. The Tingler (1959)
6. Wait until dark
7. Paranormal Activity
8. Psycho
9. The Haunting (1963)
10. Les Yeux Sans Visage
11. Ils
12. Suspiria
13. Alien
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
When you say The Ring, do you mean the Hollywood remake or do you actually mean Ringu (the Japanese original) ... No Ju-on: The Grudge??
I've never seen the original Haunting, nor The Tingler (William Castle flick, right? with electric zaps fitted to the auditorium seats) ... and have not heard of Monihara, but I'll definitely look into it.
I'm very glad to see Ils, Suspiria and Alien make your list, although too far down for my liking ...
Comment by sb
Well, I agree with u regarding ur opinion on the three movies of ur list that I included too.Frankly speaking, many of my pals also totally disagree with their ranking in my list and those r my personal favorites to boot. But, this is my personal opinion and I feel any of the movies barring Monihara can change it’s rank by replacing another one ‘cos they r all great movies in my view and it’s really hard to decide which one is better and which one is not… among them. Well, I keep my fingers crossed u see, what I want to say if The Ring scores 99 then Alien scores 98.999 in my view, though I give it a big 100 as a sci-fi movie. Yes, who can forget the spell of this Movie legit else Anon, our curious case of Benjamin Button in this blog- born 8 now ages 2, where engineer Brett stalks Jones, the crew’s cat, into the large air shaft room of Nostromo, the oozing of tension drip by drip like the water-grains dripping from the sky-high air shaft… the clangs of the shackle… and the audience were at the end of their tether like poor Brett, who subsequently was ambushed by that god-damn living menace. Yes, this is my pay-off scene, not either the much talked about scene of the creature bursting out of Kane’s chest, or the thing stalking Dallas in the air-shaft. There r countless scenes of this standard actually in that Ridley Scot’s epoch making epic. There r other movies of the likes of The Tenant, The Birds,The Fly, Jaws, Session 9, Shivers, Tourist Trap,A Clock work Orange, Irreversible, The Fog- yes, this is not a Carpentry work, Audition and definitely Ju on: The Grudge which come very very close, but these thirteen r the Greatests and my personal love…lol. Well regarding Ringu and The Ring I can tell u that yes, I talked about The Ring of Gore Verbinski and not Ringu though the idea of the pay-off scene was Nakata’s, my hats off to him again for this. Verbinski actually fails Nakata in cinematography and acoustics both. The Stygian gloom, which I talked about much in my first post, loomed large in the shades of blue in Verbinisky’s version and was totally absent in Ringu, maybe due to the technology used. So the ambiance was much much more scary and claustrophobic in The Ring. Also, of course, for the record, Samara Morgan is a zillion times scarier than Sadako ‘cos of her innocent looking face, how cud u throw her in the well mommy, so must she have become a demon from the hell…truly. Well, about Ju on: The Grudge, the movie is quite well made, but not my cup of tea ‘cos I don’t like horror to be much exposed, rather subtle, where it fails. At last, to speak a word or two about Monihara (The Lost Jewels), based on a novella by Rabindranath Tagore, translated on screen in 1961( yes, not in 1963…pardon) by one of the greatest auteurs of film of last century, u may find it on video.google.com, however without English subtitles. No matter, language no bar, the horror inculcated through this Everest of scary movies crosses any boundary. One suggestion, if u don’t mind. Don’t dare see this with ur girlfriend or wife, if she has an obsession for jewelries.
Monimalika, the psychotic woman obsessed of jewelries, is the scariest.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by sb
What u feel about Mulholland Drive...also other David Lynch directions like Lost Highway
and Eraserhead?
BTW: Bryn, U gotta type 'Monihara' in google search -The Lost Jewels would not give the correct result.
Comment by sb
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
love that movie, reviewed it here
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by sb
A very happy new year…to you also Anon.
Anyway, I passed the last few hours of my 'End of Days', of course of 2009, watching ‘THE EXORCIST’ uncut version on my personal screen. Well, I admit that it’d been a great amazement to me for a long period of time that why people continue to tag this movie as the scariest one, though few of them could even spell it properly, like some ElephantBoy, who’d spelt it THE EXICST in some other blog. But, watching this now, I modified my previously made loose opinion and put here the latest excerpts…
• Every time I poo my pant seeing that little lollypop girl peeing hers…not in great fear, but in utter disgust and this time there was no difference. It only bolstered my previous opinion that why this stupid movie should be renamed as 'BABY'S SHIT OUT'. It really tingles my horse's ass.
Note: Poo = Shit. Yes, I, too, can invent some awesome words.
• Every time I watch that infamous spider walk scene, it reminds me of the famous moonwalk by The King of Rock, which is wayyyy scarier and not to mention that this time there was no major difference other than my hallucinating Linda Blair cat walking on a ramp…far spookier. Yes, this movie may also be renamed THE EXICST as already suggested by ElephantBoy…thanks elephant…err… boy. Yes, THE EXICST is not a spelling mistake, THE EXICST means THE SHOWSTOPPER, who stops the show, shows the door and everyone hurries to the EXIT.
• Every time I watch that bloated girl floating in thin air, violating any sane laws of gravitation, buoyancy et cetera et cetera, I immediately discard all the previous remames and give THE FLOATING ELEPHANT SHITTING ON YOU a big thumbs up…really pipes.
• Every time I watch that little girl coated Satan laughing ha, ha…during the tiffin recess allowed in the infinitely long never ending excruciatingly boring exorcism scene when Father Merrin even suggests Father Karras of taking some rest out of sheer boredom, I also laugh ha, ha and give it the rename HA HA ALPACA.
Well, I strongly recommend you to see this movie 'cos it reminds us how stupid we are sometimes. The only bad thing about the movie is that it shows why the girls are superior to us…as a mother to her little child..
BTW: If the final scene had been like this.
All the mad Exorcists fled alive in utter disgust and sheer boredom and now Chris is also fed up. Condition of the child deteriorates more and more and Chris, in her last desperate attempt, pops out her hands from the screen seeking some help from us. Now we, the ill fated audience, have a situation here. Suddenly one of Chris's old friends, Rachel, who is among the audience and fell faint previously by the frivolous jerks of the movie, wakes up hurriedly... then rushes to the screen... holds Chris's hands ... gets pasted onto it jumping... then gives Chris a cursed videotape and prays to her with her knees clinched to the carpet to put that forthwith without a fail in Regan's room along with a giant TV set... then gets kicked on her butt plumb by Friedkin & thrown outta the screen and sits by my side quietly and decently, then looks askance at me on the sly and blushes with her familiar idiotic bridal coyness. Then one night (of course in the movie ), when Regan, all alone in her room, is bawling weirdly those satanic verses against Friedkin, blaming him to possess her actually himself by offering such a stupid role, suddenly the blue screen flashes on by itself and weird images start careening ominously and a well gradually appears through the fog haze. Satan coated Regan…err... Regan coated Satan stops howling and stares at the screen in baited breath. The head of a little girl with long black tresses pop up from the well, then she comes tiptoeing toward the screen. Regan's…oh, shit… Satan's hair rise in fear. The little girl crawls outta the set… stands erect with her giant cowled figure… glowers straight at the Satan through her long black tresses…then pees her robe in disgust, dislodges her wig and shows her balding scalp to the Satan where it's writ large HELP ME MOTHERFUCKER. The whole thing freaks the bejesus…err…the Satan outta Regan and frees her in the process. Regan hugs Samara. Meanwhile, Satan tries to paste himself onto the TV screen and hide therein. They pull him outta the screen by his legs and maul him heavily... no, not for either possessing Regan or making Samara bored to the point of getting bald, but for being the protagonist of this monstrous movie. He scrambles into the screen and they again pull him out and maul. He again scrambles… they again pull & maul... and the sequence repeats indefinitely until and unless the whole audience doze off and the poor chap Mr. Satan gets his face distorted weirdly in the process (note: this sequence should be as long as the boring exorcism scene of the original one). Now there is no problem, Samara and Regan are now great friends…their favorite sport is freaking mad exorcists, stupid horror zealots and spin-head gore champs outta any fleapit that arranges a show of this movie... even at free of cost.
FOOL CAST AND CREW:
The Satan : William... zzz..., yes he is the only true Satan of this boring movie
Chris : Ellen Burstyn
Regan : Linda Blair
Rachel : Naomi Watts
Samara : Daveigh Chase
Myself : Myself...my true self...iiiikkkk!
Friedkin : Himself
Yes, I awarded him a double role.
Spot boy : ElephantBoy
Light man : Anon
Sorry Bryn… for my getting back to the world of riddles again. But, don’t get angry on me, rather Blame It on Rio…err… Anon. Anyway, I promise you mate; this is the last…no more chaos, no more riddles. But, I request you to insist that OVARIAN CYST( yep, a person without a name sounds like OUTLANDER... so, 'a CYST for a name' ) not to speak a word on THE EXORCIST, it’s definitely THE EXICST.
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Although I'm not an advocate for Hollywood remakes as a rule, I am curious about the NOES remake, and yes, the guy playing Freddy is a great actor (have you seen him in Little Children and Watchmen?)
TCM remake, I agree was a decent remake, despite being lambasted by critics. I even enjoyed the prequel too.
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Cheers for the comments.
Comment by Hewhomustnot
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
The Thing is in my top five horror movies of all time (up with Alien, Halloween, Day of the Dead and Phantasm). Is Wild Zero an Asian flick? I think I've heard of it.
I reviewed both The Eye and the remake.
As for supernatural suggestions ... You have to check out The Broken, which deals with doppelgangers, probably my favourite horror from the past decade. Also Left Bank, superb pagan hijinx from Belgium.
Curious to know what you think of Ils. The prologue suggests the supernatural ....
Comment by Hewhomustnot
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
yeah, I saw Dead & Buried at the cinemas many moons ago. Dan O'Bannon, RIP.
Comment by Anonymous
They even messed up Ringu and Ju-on. Go hollywood!
The only one I have found remotely scary was Blair Witch. They don't create the feeling of being scared anymore. It's all shock value.
The whole story itself should be a horror. It shouldn't just be filled with horror elements.
It's ALL about the feeling. The whole movie has to bring you into it. Which is something that the north american mainstream film industry has no clue about.
I'm tired of seeing lists with exorcist, the shining, alien (WTF), haloween, NoE, Jason, etc. These are not horrors. They are thriller suspense. Total Shock value, and NO horror value.
Comment by pk
That movie messed me up pretty bad..
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by stewart5683
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Comment by Chawnie
I wanted to add a few of my own personal favorites- movies that were scary, stylish, and awesome!
The Changeling(1980)The psychic scribbling madly, and speaking in a child's voice made me pee my pants...
A Stir Of Echos(1999)Flat-out scary. The scene where Kevin Bacon is watching t.v and turns around and she's right beside him...Gawd!!!
30 Days Of Night(2007)Absolutly beautiful. Black, white and red...the atmosphere was genius, as well as the performance by Danny Huston as Marlow.
The Curse(1987)I saw this when I was young, and there was a scene where the woman was sewing her hand...it scared me stupid!
April Fool's Day(1986)Campy and funny, but towards the end, there are a few scenes- where she's tapping at the basement windows, that are really scary.
Event Horizon(1997) really scared me- and that was a complete surprise as nothing set in space or sci-fi ever does...
Anyways, those are some of my favorites.
Comment by Chawnie
Zelda from Pet Semetary
OMFG! just typing her name seems like I'm invoking a curse on myself.
There is a valid reason to sleep with the lights on tonight.
Comment by Bryn
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Comment by Chawnie
She wore a blue nightgown and was the most hideous creation on film(as a bit of trivia, the character was actually played by a guy because they could'nt find a woman who was thin and bony enough!) so sick.
I am so happy that I stumbled upon your site...you seem to be a guy who appreciates good film and the nuances that make something truely horrifying.
Just wondering what you though about the Pale Man in Pan's Labyrinth?
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Glad you find my site of a high standard, I do pride myself on being able to provide other horrorphiles, or those new to the genre, with insight, opinion, anecdote, and even a little vitriol. Have a dig around, I've reviewed hundreds of movies, and of course still hundreds to review (there's a search window on the upper left hand side of the blog).
Yeah, Pale Man rocked. Have you seen Hellboy II: The Golden Army? The Angel of Death is awesome too. Can't wait to see what he does with the creatures in The Hobbit!
Comment by Chawnie
Speaking of Hellboy, the charater of Karl Ruprecht Kroenen was really frightening...
The scene where they've taken him back to headquarters to figure out "what makes him tick"(pun intended), is great. When his real face is actually revealed, he looked a lot like Mason Verger in Hannibal.
Yes?
Comment by Bryn
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Comment by Chawnie
I loved it...except Julianne Moore, I don't know why, she just bugged the hell out of me.
Have you seen The Brood?
That was one of the first horror movies I saw(I think I was 6 or 7 and it ruined me for years!
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I would've preferred to have had Jodie stay in the role myself, yeah. Julianne can bug me, but I thought she did alright.
Yes, I have seen The Brood, and own it. I'm a huge Cronenberg fan!
If there are any titles you're curious as to whether I've seen, just enter the title into the search window ...
Also, when you're posting comments, try and refrain from clicking the "create comment" button more than once. Just click once and wait a moment or so ... Otherwise your comment gets posted twice or more.
cheers!
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Yeah, I liked some of Emily Rose, and really dug the poster, but it didn't quite do it for me. You'll like The Haunting in Connecticut.
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Please enlighten myself and the thousands of readers of this blog what "real scary movies" are then? I'm dying to know.
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Also imagine coming face to face with E.T sceaming in a field , surely that would scare anyone to death....
I was once coming home at night and a ball came bouncing down the path - I ran in the house screaming to my mum that E.T was in the garden, my mum accused me of been on drugs as i was 16 - I wasnt...next day it turned out to be an apple which had blown of the tree
All the other films are meant to scare you so that kind of stops them been scarey for me, except for Paranormal Activity i stll havent got over that.
Comment by Bryn
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Comment by Fogrider
I really enjoyed Jacob's Ladder for the creep factor. Wolf Creek is disturbing too. All in all I have to say your list is dead on.
Comment by Bryn
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Comment by ladynitre
One film though totally did me in - well its not a film - it was a British Tv production of the Susan Hill book The Woman in Black. It was the scariest thing I have EVER seen - and I didn't even watch it all as I actually started crying (seriously) in fright. It is a slow burn ghost story that has no real effects etc but my god it is the most frightening thing I have ever seen. I have read the book since and that stayed with me for months - such a feeling of dread and I often have nightmares about it.
For a true fan of horror its worth looking up - you can read the reviews of it on Amazon - its out of circulation now but VHS copies of it are available on amazon and ebay but at an arm and a leg as it is so in demand, but I think it is on youtube, but in bits and you need to see it in full to get the real effect.
Great site!
Comment by ladynitre
One other film have just remembered that really scared me was the Werner Herzog version of Nosferatu. I watched it when about fourteen and it creeped me out for years - in fact I couldn;'t sleep in the dark after it. Very surreal nightmarish film - not a horror as such in one way but it scared me.
Comment by Bryn
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Comment by ladynitre
I have to say I don't really like the more slasher end of the genre but you are spot on with wolf creek - I did watch it and i terrified me. Very creepy film. It stays with you afterwards.
After talking about The Woman In Black I have discovered they are making a film version of it with Daniel Radcliffe playing the solicitor who goes to the haunted house - Arthur Kipps.
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Ju-on rocks.
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Comment by Shimky
In the past Horror has not been a greatly watched genre for me because I found that almost all were highly disappointing. My favourites from my teens would be Alien, Halloween, The Thing, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Omen. Above-par films from more recent years I've seen include The Descent, The Blair Witch Project and Wrong Turn, if that can be classed as horror? Not really, I guess. Wolf Creek was pretty good, too, but not amazing. Anyway, you see that we've got similar tastes, quality-wise.
Anyway, as I've got older I've found that it's easier to scare me which is GREAT!
It will be interesting to watch, for the first time, classics such as Friday The 13th, Hellraiser and Phantasm, which never appealed to me before. I started with Ils (2006) last night and really liked it. However, the text at the end where they explain events ruined it for me a bit. It would have worked much better if they'd just got on the bus and fade-to-black.
Many thanks for the site. Great tips here from yourself and your readers!
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