Tuesday, November 1, 2011

TOP TEN (or 12) Horror/Scary movies for this author

A brief break from Aliens franchise to get this list in. There's not much left on the two remaining Alien films anyway.
This list compiles these SPECIFIC selection criteria:
NO attention paid to CRITIC reception or general audience approval
Innovation (specifically, elements of surprise, storytelling, storyboarding, visual or tech effects)
Performance
Editing
Does it scare??? (qualification: was I thinking about any specific component, hours, days later? or did I jump because I was startled at any time?)
Does it stand the test of time? (twenty years later, can/will it still be appreciated for it's place within the previous selection criteria?)
I'm sure others have their own lists and may consider this list a pile of dog crap. I care not. According to MY above criteria, these round out my list. Honorable mentions are Texas Chainsaw, Friday the 13th 1 & 2, The Last House on the Left, The Believers, The Dawn of the Dead, A Clockwork Orange (not a traditional horror film, but certainly a scary proposition of the future)
10. 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle----I highly recommend it, and it's equally nerve-wracking sequel, 28 Weeks Later. Imagine zombies existed simply because we have been overexposed to the wretchedness and terrible things of humanity?! Then make it contagious (which in a sense, it is) then make it pursue you and eat you up (which it does), then make it challenge your sense of right and wrong (which it definitely does). Add the first zombies to really be very aware---and RUNNING---as well as the always watchable Cillian Murphy and you've got a winner.
9. The Shining, Stanley Kubrick----All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy....some of the cutaway shots to what Danny or Jack Nicholson's character see are pretty intense. Add telltale Kubrick camera pans, pacing, and Nicholson's masterful descent into madness and it's my number 9, easily.
8. THREE WAY TIE---Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock; The Exorcist, William Friedkin; Poltergeist, Tobe Hooper----cannot distinguish one over the other . They tie at number eight, respectively because Psycho wasn't scary, more creepy---thanks to Anthony Perkins, but soooo ahead of it's time in so many ways; Exorcist (nominated all over the place for Oscars that year including best picture) is just plain difficult to watch, especially as a believer in God and Jesus---but again ahead of the time; the camera work and tricks are as real as 21st century technology could offer and Ellen Burstyn is fantastic, and Poltergeist takes a similar formula as The Exorcist and puts a sweet little girl in danger from the "other side". A jab at TV/entertainment/media must be recognized, and Hooper (who also did Chainsaw Massacre and Salem's Lot) uses every punctuation of Spielberg's writing credits. Hooper/Spielberg's elements with the thunderstorm and all the leads make this one that shouldn't be missed.
7. A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven---The swallowing bed scene still gives me chills. Plus, there's Johnny Depp (though not for long), and Craven uses the idea of scary at a psychological level as well as physiological level. No one wants to go to sleep anymore--laying down in bed, asleep is when we are most vulnerable; Freddy comes out of nowhere, and you never know if you're awake, or about to be dead.
6. Scream, Wes Craven----a tongue in cheek jab at his own genre, Craven knocks this one out of the park. He details "the rules" of a horror film and lovingly creates a fabulous story around and bound to them. Drew Barrymore in the opening scene is fantastic. It's funny, freaky, and it's a true surprise to discover the killer.
5. Halloween, John Carpenter----The original, tackling the theme of A.) the scariest night of the year and B.) evil encapsulated in a single being, was given an enormous boost by performances of Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance (his character is named Loomis in homage to Psycho) Add the element of "where is he going to appear now?" and THE BEST and most recognized theme music (non-empirical data-driven statement) from the genre, make Michael Myers a force to be reckoned with.
4. Alien, Ridley Scott--see previous blog posts concerning this film. Scott is a master at the touchy-feely moments of Sigourney Weaver's character, and creating a dread and impending doom of her unearthly opponent.
3. The Thing, John Carpenter----hands down, my favorite on this list. being trapped in Antarctica with a symbiote? And Kurt Russell?!!! The only reason it isn't higher than number three is because some of the effects are outdated, and may have even been outdated back when I first saw it in '85.
2. Aliens, James Cameron---again, see previous blog post. Cameron scores big time, capitalizing on the excellent work laid before him by Ridley Scott's masterpiece, and ups the ante with more gore, more visual elements to make it a flawed, but high-ranking horror masterpiece.

AND MY NUMBER ONE GOES TO.....

1. The Sixth Sense, M. Knight Shyamalan----I will take crap for this selection, but please know I am prepared to defend this choice to the death. There is only ONE ghost story that may be considered superior, and that's Dickens' Christmas Carol. M. Knight Shamalan's debut was an overnight sensation for all of the reasons noted in my criteria. Innovation in story and design, impeccable acting, (Bruce Willis may actually be the "weakest" link, but only in the closing moments of the film) Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette (both nominated for Oscars here) are a son and mommy you absolutely fall in love with.
It's the last movie I "jumped" when seeing---when Cole Seer is going to the bathroom and "something" passes by him, my whole body convulsed, and my oh my, the ending. No matter at what point you discern what is happening, this labor of love must be given credit for it's originality and precision regarding it's own, new, set of rules to establish such fine storytelling. I kid you not, that I get chills both from the creepiness and the emotional interactions every time I watch it (Donnie Wahlberg's 150 seconds on screen are BONE CHILLING, Haley and Toni, Haley and Bruce when Bruce says he can't help him, Haley telling Bruce what he sees, Haley talking to ghosts, Haley trapped in the servant's quarter door) and I've seen the film at least 20 times. Bravo, to you, M. Night.
Nominated also for Best Picture, Direction, Editing, and Screenplay this film is so good it allows forgiveness of all Shyamalan's other cinematic indiscretions that have followed, though I still enjoy Unbreakable, The Village, and Lady in the Water. He has made my favorite scary movie of all time, and in ten or twenty years when my kids see it, I'm confident it will still have the same effect. On them, and me.

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