All-time top twenty horror movies

[djross]

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[Suture Self]

Although such arguments have never caused me to think poorly of the idea of the horror film as such, it was still a surprise to discover that this top twenty list has a higher cutoff point for inclusion than the top twenty science fiction list.

Why were you surprised? In speculating why this might be the case, my first impression is that horror, as a genre, is so much more fruitful and agile within the confines of an art form like moviemaking. Science fiction typically requires a kind of aesthetic infrastructure that is often costly and unwieldy. There are obviously examples of independent, low-budget sci-fi that are easy objections to what I'm saying, but as a whole, I think I'm right. Making a horror movie is just plain cheaper and easier from a production standpoint.

Also, couple things:

- This thread has reminded me that I really need to see Even Dwarfs Started Small.
- Is Epidemic really as good as you're saying it is? I'm suspicious.

[djross]

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[djross]

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[avgcrtckr]

film, average criticker rating:
Woman in the Dunes (1964) 85
Diabolique (1955) 81
Psycho (1960) 81
The Cremator (1969) 80
Onibaba (1964) 80
Faust (1926) 79
Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal (1999) 79
Alien (1979) 78
A Page of Madness (1926) 78
The Phantom Carriage (1921) 78
The Shining (1980) 78
Aliens (1986) 77
Let the Right One In (2008) 77
Repulsion (1965) 77
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) 76
The Innocents (1961) 76
Kwaidan (1964) 76
The Tenant (1976) 76
The Thing (1982) 76
The Vanishing (1988) 76

[Pickpocket]

T10:
Psycho (1960)
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
The Thing (1982)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Evil Dead II (1987)
The Fly (1986)
The Guest (2014)
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Lost Highway (1997)
Ravenous (1999)
Repulsion (1965)
The Shining (1980)
Straw Dogs (1971)
T9:
Army of Darkness (1993)
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Diabolique (1955)
The Exorcist (1973)
Final Destination (2000)
Fright Night (1985)
Halloween (1978)
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
I Saw the Devil (2010)
Jaws (1975)
Let the Right One In (2008)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Planet Terror (2007)
Scary Movie (2000)
Scream (1996)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
They Live (1988)
The Third Part Of The Night (1971)
Tremors (1990)
Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2010)
The Vanishing (1988)
You're Next (2013)
[Rec] (2007)

[lisa-]

my list wouldn't look very interesting but with respect to "indie" horror i will point out a very interesting ultra-low-budget docu-horror thingy by pere portabella called CUADECUC, VAMPIR.

http://www.criticker.com/film/Cuadecuc_vampir/

[paulofilmo]

I'm really not sure what a horror movie is any more. With suspense/thriller it's especially blurred.

Tier 10
Onibaba (1964)
Vampyr (1932)
A Page of Madness (1926)
Aliens (1986)
La femme qui se poudre (1972)
Tier 9
Black Mirror (2011)
The Innocents (1961)
Possession (1981)
Blind Beast (1969)
Evil Dead II (1987)
Freaks (1932)
Kill List (2011)

me going loose-goose with the genres like some kind of deranged lunatic-man thrashing in the mire of an ill-classified void
The Silence (1963)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Kanal (1957)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
The Machinist (2004) (T8)
Safe (1995) (T8)


For the record: this feels unsatisfying, and there's dance pieces, shorts, performance art that I've found more horrifying whilst being somewhat cinematic. Or. Fuck. Just watch Cries and Whispers, or Ordet, or read No Exit while listening to Pierre Schaeffer or Merzbow or {insert fetish}.


*paul throws his arms in the air only to be swallowed by a grue*

[Suture Self]

my list wouldn't look very interesting but with respect to "indie" horror i will point out a very interesting ultra-low-budget docu-horror thingy by pere portabella called CUADECUC, VAMPIR.

http://www.criticker.com/film/Cuadecuc_vampir/

this looks cool, i'll have to check it out. thanks

[lisa-]

my list wouldn't look very interesting but with respect to "indie" horror i will point out a very interesting ultra-low-budget docu-horror thingy by pere portabella called CUADECUC, VAMPIR.

http://www.criticker.com/film/Cuadecuc_vampir/

this looks cool, i'll have to check it out. thanks

careful, because at times it looks as though pere portabella equipped himself only with the tools of your everyday film student, and one might even accuse that his sole intention was to make a movie as self-important and cheaply made as possible.