I Fear These Movies

Horror is a lot like comedy. It can be broad enough to appeal to everyone and thus not really rattle any nerves. Or it can be very specific at the risk of losing people, but whooh boy the people you hit are going to feel it for a long time. I've got some of both on this list I am submitting to Ed Hardy at Shoot The Projectionist as nominees for the 31 Flicks That Give You The Willies List. There are expected and not so expected entries and probably too much Carpenter, but it's no secret how I feel about the guy. I doubt that anyone else will have Miracle Mile on their list, but it makes for a more interesting list. Anyways, these are the movies that make me curl under the table and whimper like a little puppy that hasn't been petted for three weeks. I have written a bit for some movies that I felt needed that extra boost or at least a little justification. Ed is to announce the list this weekend, I think so stay tuned.

31. Hell Night (1981 DeSimone)
It's easy to pass this movie off as just another stupid horror movie, especially with the inclusion of a grown up Linda Blair, but don't. Good traditional scares await those who watch Hell Night.

30. Alien (1979 Scott)

29. Malevolence (2004 Mena)
I had almost given up on the horror genre when I came upon this little ditty. Malevolence is a movie that Carpenter might have made if he hadn't given up on what made him so good.

28. Prince Of Darkness (1987 Carpenter)

27. Suspiria (1977 Argento)

26. The Exorcist (1973 Friedkin)

25. Dawn Of The Dead (1978 Romero)

24. The Brood (1979 Cronenberg)
Hate so strong that it causes the body to mutate is a pretty freaky concept and a pretty scary one too. And I haven't even mentioned the kids in the snowsuits.

23. The Shining (1980 Kubrick)

22. Evil Dead (1981 Raimi)

21. Jeepers Creepers (2001 Salva)
A good lesson in minding your own business, because if you don't you might discover something that's worse than anything you could have imagined.

20. Last House On The Left (1972 Craven)

19. Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers (1978 Kaufman)

18. Se7en (1995 Fincher)

17. Nosferatu (1922 Murnau)
This goes against what I've said in the past, but nearly 100 years later Max Schreck still scares me as Graf Orlok.

16. Assault On Precinct 13 (1976 Carpenter)
A gang descending on an abandoned precinct is one thing. Doing it in such a way that they are nearly untraceable to someone driving by is terrifying to me.

15. Westworld (1973 Crichton)
I have always been fascinated with a spectacle gone wrong. At once amazing, and then the next absolutely terrifying.

14. Poltergeist (1982 Hooper)

13. Scream (1996 Craven)

12. Silence Of The Lambs (1991 Demme)

11. An American Werewolf In London (1981 Landis)
Yes, this is me being a hypocrite because I have said that werewolves don't scare me. But this is the "thinking mans werewolf movie" because it explores the horrors of becoming a werewolf and dealing with the baggage associated with that.

10. The Miracle Mile (1988 De Jarnatt)
Thinking about the final scene of this movie with Anthony Edwards sinking in the La brea Tar Pits while he watches Los Angeles disappear in a nuclear cloud always gives me the chills.

9. Ju-On (2000 Shimizu)
I still don't completely understand this movie but I dare not watch it again to try to figure it out.

8. Jacob’s Ladder (1990 Lyne)

7. 28 Days Later (2002 Boyle)

6. It’s Alive (1974 Cohen)
This movie takes unconditional love to the next level. Watching a parent try to make it work with a devil baby is very unsettling.

5. Halloween (1978 Carpenter)

4. Don't Look Now (1973 Roeg)

3. Salem's Lot (1979 Hooper)
This movie will not make Ed Hardy's list because he's not allowing TV movies, but it would be wrong of me not to include what I think is one of the scariest movies ever made.

2. Phantasm (1979 Coscarelli)
This movie is evil in its purest form and that form goes by the name of Tall Man.

1. The Thing (Carpenter 1982)