# What's your favorite horror movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809 "2007-11-01T01:06:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/1 "2007-11-01T01:06:17Z")
In honor of Halloween, and because I want to scare myself silly with some movies before I go to bed. Help me select some frightening films. I tend to like “creepy” horror movies better- my overactive imagination works overtime and I totally freak myself out. Think _The Others_, _The Grudge_, etc. I also like cheesy horror/sci-fi a la old Peter Jackson- _Brain Dead/Dead Alive_ is one of my favorite movies ever. And I dig old B&W B movies. I think Vincent Price in any movie is a winner. That voice! So, what’s your favorite scary movie? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/2 "2007-11-01T01:11:32Z")
If you like Peter Jackson’s “cheesy horror,” I bet you’ll like [Re-Animator](http://imdb.com/title/tt0089885/). And any Vincent Price fan should check out [The Abominable Dr. Phibes](http://imdb.com/title/tt0066740/) and its sequel, [Dr. Phibes Rises Again](http://imdb.com/title/tt0068503/). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/3 "2007-11-01T01:15:48Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] And any Vincent Price fan should check out [The Abominable Dr. Phibes](http://imdb.com/title/tt0066740/) and its sequel, [Dr. Phibes Rises Again](http://imdb.com/title/tt0068503/). [/QUOTE] Only recently available on DVD, along with the greatest masterpiece in his filmography, _Witchfinder General._ My personal faves include _Candyman, Audition,_ and\* Bride of Frankenstein.\* ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/4 "2007-11-01T01:18:30Z")
Hmmm. If I had to pick my Top 13 (boogie-boogie-boogie!), I guess they might be (in chronological order): _A Page of Madness Vampyr King Kong The Black Cat Bride of Frankenstein Eyes without a Face Weekend The Wicker Man God Told Me To Dawn of the Dead The Thing The Dead Zone Se7en_ ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/5 "2007-11-01T01:22:47Z")
The original Dawn of the Dead, of course. Accept no alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/6 "2007-11-01T01:24:47Z")
_ **Cal Tiki:The Immortal Monster** _ The scene where the scuba diver gets skeletonized was burned into my brain when I was 8 years old. [Black Hole review of “Cal Tiki”](http://blackholereviews.blogspot.com/2006/10/not-on-dvd-caltiki-immortal-monster.html#links) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/7 "2007-11-01T01:25:27Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] Hmmm. If I had to pick my Top 13 (boogie-boogie-boogie!), I guess they might be (in chronological order): _A Page of Madness Vampyr King Kong The Black Cat Bride of Frankenstein Eyes without a Face Weekend The Wicker Man God Told Me To Dawn of the Dead The Thing The Dead Zone Se7en_ [/QUOTE] All great ones. I loooooooove _God Told Me To_; you don’t see it mentioned very often. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/8 "2007-11-01T01:25:38Z")
The original Night of the Living Dead. It never loses its impact. ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/9 "2007-11-01T01:29:20Z")
Yeah, I do love _Night of the Living Dead_. Probably on my list to watch tonight. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/10 "2007-11-01T01:44:22Z")
Check out _Frailty_. The violence and gore are mostly hinted at. But it’s very scary. ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/11 "2007-11-01T01:55:50Z")
Which _Frailty_ is that? IMDB lists one recent one and one from the 20s. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/12 "2007-11-01T02:01:00Z")
[QUOTE=RedRosesForMe] Which _Frailty_ is that? IMDB lists one recent one and one from the 20s. [/QUOTE] I’m assuming he means the recent one, directed by (and starring) Bill Paxton. It’s insanely good. I’d list it as one of my favorite horror movies, no doubt. Also, “The Devil’s Advocate” with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves. I love Al Pacino in anything, and this movie is brilliant. It’s very “Rosemary’s Baby” meets “The Firm” but as dorky as that description sounds, it works. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/13 "2007-11-01T02:09:22Z")
Bela Lugosi’s [Dracula.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021814/) “I never drink…wine.” and the overture to _Die Meistersinger von Nurenburg._ Unless you will let me count [Love at First Bite.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079489/) “It’s ok, Vlad. (being a vampire) I could never get my shit together before noon, anyway.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/14 "2007-11-01T02:42:09Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] The original Dawn of the Dead, of course. Accept no alternatives. [/QUOTE] Likewise the original _Wicker Man._ (Not that there ever **was** a remake . . .) ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/15 "2007-11-01T02:47:58Z")
Oh, I remembered another of my favorite cheesy horror movies. Wild Zero, a Japanese rock n roll zombie flick. Hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![Malvert\_P.Redd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Malvert\_P.Redd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malvert_P.Redd)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/16 "2007-11-01T04:35:10Z")
_Creepshow,_ hands down. Excellent, perfectly atmospheric music. A cast of talented B-actors that could have come from a year’s worth of _Murder, She Wrote_ episodes. Humor? Yes, humor in a horror film. It is welcome. And some of the best gore effects I’ve ever seen, courtesy of Tom Savini. Poppa Granthum is still the best looking undead/zombie/corpse thingee I’ve ever seen in a horror movie. The way his seven-year-old corpse still had the sinew attached at the jaw when he talks made it for me. “Where’s my cake, Bedelia?” “Two hundred dollars? For a broken meteor!!!” “We dug a hole for you, Richard…” “On the beach…” “Below the high tide line…” Something I didn’t notice until recently is that “The Crate” runs twice as long as every other story in the movie. “Just tell it to call you Billie, you bitch!” “Fuckin roaches.” ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/17 "2007-11-01T05:00:18Z")
Top 10 Mr. Sardonicus Blood Feast Rosemary’s Baby The Bad Seed Evil Dead 2 The Exorcist Nightmare on Elm Street Saw Carrie The Ring Honorable Mentions The Tingler Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer The Devil’s Rejects Hostel Frailty Audition Ichi the Killer The Grudge ---
**Author:** ![BadBadger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BadBadger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBadger)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/18 "2007-11-01T13:13:44Z")
Not necessarily my favourites, but honorable mentions go to: Nightmare on Elm Street The Fog The Thing (I’m thinking of Carpenters remake) Jaws has elements of horror. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/19 "2007-11-01T13:29:27Z")
Anyone who says that **Vampyr** is among their favorite horror films is either infinitely more sensituive than me, attuned to a different wavelength, or lying. I’ve watched it several times, and find it a chore. It’s got some great imagery (the point-of-view burial, the shadows that move by themselves and show what’s really going on, and which Coppola stole for his version of “Dracula”), but it’s tedious, impossible to follow, and makes little or no sense. The print quality is terrible, and it looks as if it was filmed in one language and released in another, with subtitles in a third. It claims to be based on Sheridan le Fanu’s “Carmilla”, but bears absoluttely no resemblance to that story at all. My favorites (although YMMV, depending on your definition of “horror”. I wouldn’t classify “King Kong” that way, for instance. Or “The Thing”) \*\*Psycho Dracula\*\* with Bela Lugosi. Despite all its flaws – and it has many ludicrous ones, like those damned armadillos – Bela Lugosi is overall the best Dracula. **Count Dracula** – The Jess Franco/Christopher Lee version. Yes, Jess Franco. But only the first 1/3 to 1/2 of it. I stumbled across this the first time without knowing what it was, and it blew me away. The first part is absolutely faithful to Bram Stoker, and beautifully played, without going overboard like Coppola did. But it gets dumb later on. **Terror of Frankenstein/Victor Frankenstein** – indy production (not the Hammer film) that is remarkably faithful to the book, and feels right. **House on Haunted Hill** – not really scary (unless you’re five), but a wonderfully cheesy 1950s William Castle haunted house romp. And it stars Vincent Price! **The Call of Cthulhu** – finally, a decent Lovecraft movie. The premise is that it chronicles the events decribed at the time it was published, so it’s a silent film. **Bride of Frankenstein** – Weird and fascinating riff on the Frankenstein legend. I love the Roger Corman 1960s Edgar Allen Poe flicks, even though they’re ludicrously overdone and not all that faithful (Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone, who starred in them, actually did some wonderful audio recordings of the same stories, which are still available on CD). **The Raven** is a reasl hoot, but not really horror. In the same vein, have a look at **Elvira’s Haunted Hills**. It’s not just a collection of innuendo-laden boob jokes. They do a wonderful job of spoofing the Corman Poe films, and pay a lot of attention to details. And i love the way the House of Usher sinks into the earth exactly like the Titanic sinking in Cameron’s film. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809/20 "2007-11-01T13:39:26Z")
Something about **The Grudge** really gets under my skin. I didn’t sleep right for a couple of weeks after I saw it, and it was only exacerbated when I rented **Ju-On**. We watched the original **Wicker Man** last Halloween and it was simply awesome. I also love the original **The Haunting**. **Nightmare on Elm Street** was, I think, the first horror movie I ever saw, so it’ll always be near the top of my list. I have a fondness for werewolf movies (second only to zombie movies), so I’ll have to throw in **An American Werewolf in London** , **The Howling** , and **Dog Soldiers**. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-horror-movie/424809.md?page=2)