Here is my thread about horror movies from last year.
a lot of my favorites have been mentioned already.
One thing I did was to get every version of a story together and watch them on a single night to compare them. Here are the best versions (or at least the most interesting) of classic horror stories:
Victor Frankenstein AKA Terror of Frankenstein – sounds like a Hammer film, but it’s an independently made version of the story that’s surprisingly faithful to the book, made years before the big-budget Kennet Branaugh version.
Count Dracula – Directed by Jess (Jesus) Franco, which is enough to put most people off it. Stars Christopher Lee as the Count, which would, again, make you think it’s a Hammer film, but it’s not. And, admittedly, the ending is pretty bad (as is a scene where everyone acts afraid of a roomful of animals that are obviously stuffed and nonthreatening), but the beginning of this simply blew me away. It’s the most faithful to Stoker’s book of any version at the start, by far. Lee plays Dracula straight, and lopoks like the original illustrations, right down to the white moustache.
Dr. Jeckyll and Mister Hyde – there are plenty of versions of this story, but Rouben Mamoulian’s version, starring an oddly-cast Fredric March (he used to do light comedies before this) is dazzling. If you think Alfrede Hitchcock invented exotic camera moves and camera tricks, watch this film. The opening section, all shot from Dr. Jeckyll’s point of view in a long, unbroken, moving shot (including lookking straight *into[./i] a mirror) is impressive as heck. Hyde drops out of a shot to assault a woman, and reveals a statue of Cupid and Psyche behind him. A policeman shoots at someone, and moves aside to reveal a mounted human skeleton behind him. Cute touches like these keep the story moving the way Stevenson’s prose did. Too film versions of this story have bogged down in their own pretentiousness, but not this one.
Seconded, I saw this movie a couple of years ago based on a suggestion here and loved it. I should rent it again this year to show Iris.
There was also a British horror movie called Dog Soldiers that I thought was pretty good as well.
I watched Wolf Creek the other night. It was very good indeed.
It’s a typical story. Young people go on a long drive, meet a stranger on the road. It goes downhill for them from that moment on.
It’s an Australian movie and is quite hard hitting. The camera lingers on things quite a bit which adds to the power of the movie. A uncompromising shocker not the easily disturbed but for the sickos out there who like their movies realistic and shocking you can’t find much better.
I have to second Tremors, which has marvellous acting by Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, and Dog Soldiers, which has a nice offbeat vibe due to its being set in Scotland (despite the ending being visible a mile off).
Tremors 2 is also fun; but it’s only half as fun as Tremors, because Kevin Bacon isn’t in it.
The Bride of Frankenstein is a classic and everyone should see it. I also enjoyed the 1933 Invisible Man (Claude Rains), which had the same quirky sense of humor as Bride–hardly surprising since the same man directed both.
I loved Mister Frost with Jeff Goldblum. More of a psychological horror story with is-it-or-isn’t-it-supernatural overtones. Subtle, but some very creepy images, and Goldblum is both hot and disturbing as a cool and charming serial killer who might be more than he appears. It looks like it’s only available on VHS, sadly, so might be difficult to find.
Wow, thanks for all the wonderful suggestions!
Hmm, what to pick…
I think I’m going to start with May (a movie which I’ve never heard of, but looks deliciously creepy) and Dead Alive (a movie which I’ve been dying to see for quite some time).
::skips off to Blockbuster::
Bah, beat me to it. Fun movie.
And for a change of pace, The House on Haunted Hill . This is the only movie that scared me so badly as a kid that I had bad dreams about it. Twenty years later, I saw it again and was looking forward to being scared again. It’s a comedy, and a cheesy one at that.
I thought, for a current day horror flick, The Grudge was scarey and disturbing… then i watched it with a girlfriend and she yawwned through most of it and when she wasn’t doing that, she’d play catch with her cat :rolleyes:
DITTO vote for The Shining… get chills just thinking 'bout it!
ciao!
Of this list, I’ve seen:
Carnival of Souls – a little goofy and definitely low-budget, but it definitely has atmosphere, and a unique setting. I have a version with optional commentary from Mike Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which is fun.
Near Dark – I like this one a lot.
Black Christmas – made in Canada in 1974, this movie is a prototype for Halloween, which was released four years later. It stars Olivia Hussey and features John Saxon, Keir Dullea from 2001, Andrea Martin from *SCTV * and Margot Kidder as her drunken sorority sister. Its director is Bob Clark, who later had huge success with *Porky’s * and less success with Baby Geniuses. :eek: I’m a big fan of this movie. One of my favorite little things in it is a look at how calls used to be physically traced in the days before instant Caller ID. By the way, if you want an evening of Christmas-themed horror movies, watch this one first and then see Silent Night, Deadly Night. It is fully demented and hilarious, with an entirely different and more raucous tone. Black Christmas was also released under the title Silent Night, Evil Night, so you can mildly impress your friends with that bit of trivia.
Peeping Tom – I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. Beautifully shot, well directed and acted, it was extremely controversial in its day and virtually killed the careers of the director (Michael Powell) and star (Carl Boehm). It’s not all that shocking today, but it’s still very involving. A good psychological thriller.
I’m going to also recommend Psycho II, which is newly released on DVD and is a HOOT. I was shocked at how much I dug this movie. If you remotely recall the plot of Psycho you’re all set. Anthony Perkins’ performance is delightful and sympathetic; he’s obviously having a lot of fun.
Nightbreed
One of my favorite films. IMHO not so much a hoirror movie as a fable for adults. What if the magical land you always wanted to escape to as a child turned out to real? But, instead of fairies and unicorns, it was inhabited by monsters of every possible description? David Cronenberg (director of Rabid, The Brood, Videodrome, Dead Ringers) plays Dr Decker.
“To be smoke or a wolf, to know the night and live in it forever- that’s not so bad is it? . . . You hate us. But when you dream, you dream of flying and changing and living without death.”
Phantasm
The first film is IMHO just a good B-movie about monsters. The second film has monsters but also has moments of pure creepiness. The third and fourth films have some jump out of your seat moments, but are mostly just terrifying and creepy. Non Spoiler- In the fourth film, one of the protagonists is driving a hearse. An odd looking woman in antiquated clothes and black glasses suddenly appears in the passenger seat. The protagonist keeps waiting for her to transform into some hideous creature and attack him, or to remove the glasses in order to shock him with some horrible deformity or injury and mock him with cold laughter, or at least to utter some prophecy of doom in a sepulcheral voice. After about thirty seconds, she disappears without doing any of those things.
“You think when you die you go to Heaven? You come to us!”
NOTE-Even though the films were shot years apart, the same cast is used. This makes things a bit odd as some of the characters are not supposed to have aged,
Evil Dead
The characters behave like they have brains. Instead of the standard ‘I don’t care if the walls are bleeding. I don’t believe in ghosts and I ain’t going.’ or ‘This house is haunted. Let’s split up and investigate.’ the characters say things like ‘This house is haunted. I’m leaving right now.’.
That British film was about a group of animal-rights activists who are forced to abandon one of their own the the police. He later wants to see them again, and the fun ensues…
Anyone know the name?
Larva starring Vincent Ventresca is a watchable movie.
Everyone’s mentioned some good ones here.
Wolfen (if you can find it)
Pumpkinhead
I’ve posted this before, but because no one has mentioned it here yet, I’ll go ahead and recommend A Tale of Two Sisters. One of the best gothic/mystery/psychological horror films I’ve ever seen. Had me glued to the screen (I even found myself doing the old bite the knuckle curled up on the end of the couch thing.) Immediately after I finished watching it, I watched it again. Then I went to the internet to read discussions on this movie. There is a lot to talk about. Masterful storytelling and creation of a mood. Highest recommendation.
Also, I thought the original **Omen ** was a very effective film.
The middle one. It is a Korean movie.
If ya want a real horror-film edumacation, Caissa, read Stephen King’s Danse Macabre (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425104338/002-4165242-9348818?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance). There’s a whole chapter on the horror films he grew up on and what makes them so great.