Best Horror Films: Part 1 - Best of All Time (In My Opinion)

So I've mentioned here before that there are 2 things I'm snobby about - film and architecture.

For those who haven't read those posts, this is because I figure if you have enough money to do either, do them right - don't just be throwing up poorly-crafted crap, in our faces, needlessly assaulting our senses to make a buck, right?  😂

I have also mentioned before that I was once an aspiring screenwriter, so in order for me to consider a movie "good," it has to have virtually no flaws:  No untied loose ends, no guessing the plot, who's gonna die first (or at all), or whodunit in the first 10 minutes, along with great acting, great dialogue, great camera angles, great sound, great editing, great lighting - all of it, with no flaws.  

Leaving questions at the end is okay, because it sets up for a sequel, but none of that "imagine your own ending" nonsense (which mostly makes me think they were too lazy to think of a good ending or ran out of time).

So Mark and I are also horror/psychological thriller movie fans - more paranormal ghostie stuff or psychological thriller than slasher - and it's spooky season!

Why do we like these films?

Like roller coasters or Halloween itself, it's safe fear that you can laugh at yourself about later, with the jump scares. Plus, most of them could never happen in reality.

With that said, I'm going to do 3 posts with 3 lists:

Part 1:  Best horror films of all time.

Part 2: Best in the last decade. 

Part 3: Best released in the past year thus far. 

Of note:  

I have mostly left off slasher film franchises like Halloween or the Nightmare on Elm Street films, because I'm not a big slasher-film/gore fan, with the exception of one. (Well, technically 2 on the list could be somewhat slasher-ish, but with more story and less gross gore.)

This is because they're usually more silly than scary, suspending our disbelief a little too far with a certain degree of implausibility, more gore than story.

Also, much to my husband's dismay (and despite his obsession), no zombie films - although South Korea's "Train to Busan" is worth an honorable mention. 

And of course, old Bela Legosi and Boris Karloff, 30s-style stuff isn't on the list, because although considered somewhat scary at the time, there was still a silly-scary element to them that kept you from taking them too seriously?

Also, a pet peeve - when a new filmmaker borrows a story, a plot, a scene or even an effect from an earlier film and tries to pass it off as their own; thus, any film that's done that, will not be on this list.  

With that said, Easter Eggs are okay - little nods, paying homage to prior films, silently crediting them, is okay - but ripping off a story line, a plot, a scene or an effect completely, without crediting the original, trying to pass it off as your own with new/younger viewers,  is not okay. 

Lastly, I chose the following films based on my opinion, despite whether or not critics and audiences agree (though they mostly do),  because I thought they did something unique or innovative that we hadn't seen before (at that time).

Lastly, they will be listed by name of film, filmmaker, and stars (if any).

So without further ado, I give you ... 

BEST HORROR/PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS OF ALL TIME (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER):

Alien and Aliens - Ridley Scott and James Cameron - starring Sigourney Weaver. 

(I pretend the third movie in this trilogy, plus the later "resurrection" one don't exist. 😂)  

Of course, long-time readers knew these two movies would be on the list, as they are among my favorite of all time in general,  for many reasons, much of which I've written about before, so I won't belabor the details again here.

The Thing (1982) - John Carpenter -  starring Kurt Russell.  

The story of workers at remote research station in Antarctica, who are visited by a shape-shifting alien, which can take the form of the organism it consumes, any organism, either in full form or combining several life forms into one giant amalgam beast of twisted horror.

 We've come a long way since, special effects wise, but still good - something about that human head,  sprouting spider legs, scuttering across the floor (stkk stkk stkk), gives me the willies still today - aaaak!

The Shining (1980) - Stanley Kubrick adaptation of a Stephen King novel  - starring, Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall.  

Nobody does creepy, psychologically disturbing like Stanley Kubrick, and nobody does evil psycho like Jack Nicholson.

Also, Shelley Duvall's fear seemed real (because it was - Stanley Kubrick was supposedly verbally abusive of her and she already had mental health issues).  

There's just an overall "haunted" feel, a cold ambience feel that's very effective, with music vs. no music at appropriate times.  

In the 80s, it was popular to run the soundtrack throughout the film, during action or climactic scenes, but Kubrick played around with this, only giving spooky music at the right times; other times, leaving you with nothing but the sound of Danny's big wheel rolling down the hallway, faster and faster until you just knew something would show up around that corner.

Also, Jack Nicholson's frozen psycho face haunts my dreams? 😂

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - BUT it must be seen in the theater for full effect  - Eduardo Sanchez, Daniel Myrick. 

The first of its kind, the "found-footage" horror genre, making it appear more realistic, made its indelible mark upon filmmaking.  You had to see it on the big screen for full effect. (In fact, I got a little nauseous with the shaking camera for extra spookiness).

This one does leave questions at the end, which normally bothers me, but in some cases, it sets up for sequels, but none of them compared; and by then, found-footage films were a common thing.

Thus, even after the sequels, I'm still left eternally wondering "Why TF was Mike just standing there, facing the wall, at the end?"

You know what I'm talking about?

At the end, Heather is the last member of the group standing, still carrying the camera, rushing in the house to see if any members of her group are alive and still in there, and when she makes it to the basement, there is Mike, standing there facing the stone wall, then we here a "whack" and the camera drops, and we hear a thud, assuming Heather has been killed and is dead.

Was he kept alive (and possessed) as bait?  Was he just hanging out? What the ??

I guess we'll never know, because I was hoping the sequel would tell us, and not only did it NOT tell us, but it was ... bad.

The Exorcist (1973) - William Friedkin - starring Linda Blair, Max Von Sydow. 

Although tame compared to today's movies, back in the day, people ran screaming from the theaters, and people born after don't seem to understand it was first of its kind.  An innocent child being possessed by demons was an entirely new (and controversial) concept on film.

The Silence of the Lambs - Jonathan Demme - starring Jodi Foster, Anthony Hopkins.

More psychological thriller than horror, but still some jump scares to be had, plus something about Anthony Hopkins' depiction of an  unpredictable-yet-controlled psychopath is almost scarier than Buffalo Bill, the serial killer that he was trying to help Agent Starling catch!  

And let's not forget, Best Picture Oscar in 1991, plus Oscar-winning performances by both Foster and Hopkins - rare for a horror/thriller flick. 

Psycho (1960) - Alfred Hitchcock - starring Anthony Hopkins, Janet Leigh. 

Speaking of psychological thriller/horror films, despite my distaste for slasher films, if you're going to do it, do it right, in Hitchcock's master-of-suspense style. 

 

The Haunting (1963) the original, not the 1999 remake - Robert Wise.

Again, mild by today's horror standards, but something about the camera lying on its side in the moonlight, as if you're seeing it while lying in bed yourself, filming the carved crown molding that eventually looks like eyes as it zooms in, in pareidolia (the psychological human tendency to make faces out of objects or when there are none), while the ghost of the fire-and-brimstone preacher vehemently preaches on, in the distance, is super scary in a realistic way - plus what happens just after (watch the film to find out). 

Here's a hint "Stop, you're squeezing my hand too tightly, it hurts!?

"That's not me!"

Aaaaak!

Scream (1996, the original) -  Wes Craven - starring Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette and more.

Now, I know I said earlier I'm not into slasher/gore stuff AND my dislike for rebooting old horror movie tropes we've already seen, but in this case, this movie was innovative, in that the killer(s) used that horror movie knowledge base that we all share - particularly the stupid decisions the characters usually make in them - to commit their crimes and tell us a new story - plus the dialog was occasionally funny!

Hereditary (2018) - Ari Aster - starring one of my favorite actresses, Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne.  

Holy Mother of God, this movie scared the sh*t outta me - and not in a fun, laugh-at-yourself kinda way - so much so that it hung on me for days after, I had nightmares as a adult.  

This is only horror movie that I will never watch again - IMO, the scariest movie ever made!

Nope, no thank you, never again, but you be my guest!

Hereditary Satanic curses that apparently leave no free will, people beheading themselves, beheaded children?

Nope, nope, and nope. 

Super disturbing - and yet still, I can recognize that it was a superbly well-made film.  

Masterful acting by Toni and Gabriel, ambience and lighting were their own character, little nuances going on in the background that if you blinked, you'd miss (Annie, the mom, climbing up the wall in the dark room while the lighting is focused on her children sleeping - naaak!)

Next Up:  Best horror flicks of the last decade - and be prepared, South Korea and The Netherlands are gaining on us and the UK for making great horror flicks!