The 100 Best Horror Films Of All Time

[Halitosis Romantic]

The Witchfinder General.

 

Good call, totally forgot about that one. I'd say that it's definitely Price's best performance - he really understates it, and is easily one of the most monstrous characters in any horror film.

[Halitosis Romantic]

Looks a decent enough list from where I'm sitting apart from as, Mr. Sev said, "Hellraiser" is insanely low and, in my opinion, so is "Cannibal Holocaust".

 

ADDED: I'd move "Threads" up a bit too. Scared the shit out of me back in the day.

 

Semi-agree with you, Surf - I can't stand Hellraiser, despite the Cenobite and the general idea of it being great, but I think Holocaust is one of the 10 best horror movies ever.

[bAzTNM#1]

Not Surf. .. I wish I was though..

 

The killer doll idea of Child's play is hardly original, with one of the first times it was used being in a Twilight Zone episode. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Doll_%...wilight_Zone%29 It was also used in Puppetmaster and the various sequels as well as Black Devil Doll from Hell.

Woah now, Child's Play pre-dates Puppetmaster by a year.

"Magic" with Anthony Hopkins predated it all (1978) and it was pretty nifty too.

[Halitosis Romantic]

Not Surf.

 

The killer doll idea of Child's play is hardly original, with one of the first times it was used being in a Twilight Zone episode. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Doll_%...wilight_Zone%29 It was also used in Puppetmaster and the various sequels as well as Black Devil Doll from Hell.

Woah now, Child's Play pre-dates Puppetmaster by a year.

"Magic" with Anthony Hopkins predated it all (1978) and it was pretty nifty too.

 

Durr, my error. But why would anyone claim not to be Surf?

[CorpRobinson]

Well i think Personally Prince of Darkness should be on that list somewhere, and all this talk of horror movies has made me dig these out of my collection and watch them tonight :

 

Night of the Comet

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Halloween III (My favourite out of the series)

Shocker

[Mr. Seven]

Shocker is mean, nasty fun.

 

This thread jumped about ten pages since last I saw it. I guess all I have to add is that anyone who doesn't think The Blair Witch Project is a masterpiece of the genre needs to re-assess why they like or love horror. It's extremely powerful and absolutely overcomes its gimmick unlike so many clones. Like Hellraiser, which, frankly, I'm a little upset isn't getting any love over these 14 pages, it's as much about what you don't see as what you do. The final shot really is devastating. I recall seeing it in the cinema with my brother and sister. My brother had seen it in the States months prior and my sister - ten years older than me (I was 15 at the time I think) - was left a hysterical wreck by the end of the film to the point that she begged my brother to stay in the same room as her that night. I wasn't immediately affected, but once my brother announced he was going to bed at about 2am, I freaked. The thought of being alone was so terrifying to me, so utterly unacceptable, all because of how the film manipulated my brain.

 

I really can't think of another horror film that crept up on me to such a degree after the fact. The best ones stay with you and play with your mind hours, days, weeks, months and years after. Still now, 13 years on, when I go to sleep in a pitch black quiet room, I beg my subconscious not to conjure up the words 'Blair Witch'. And, of course, it often happens and suddenly I need to browse the web for a bit to block it out. That's a fuckin' horror movie.

[Devon Malcolm]

Well i think Personally Prince of Darkness should be on that list somewhere

 

You won't find a bigger fan of Prince Of Darkness than me. It's one of John Carpenter's best films and one of the most underrated horror films that I can think of. Carpenter has this knack of just making films where the atmosphere just fills with dread, but none more so than in this. It is truly fantastic.

[CorpRobinson]

Shocker, is a guilty pleasure of mine not loved by most but i like it full of good horror

 

Blair Witch is and will stay as good as it was back in the day today, i watched it recently with another good flick The Last Broadcast which i think is easily up there with Blair witch but didnt get as much credit as it deserved but i watched it at the cinema when it first came and and felt like wow, what just happened then, then had to run back through some woods to get to where we live in the sticks or walk an extra hour in the pitch black well i hadnt ran that fast ev,er in my entire life, Blair witch will always however many times i watch keep the fear in it definately dont know what to say about the sequel though

[Chris B]

Loki - Quatermass and the Pit was a film i couldnt ever understand my mum used to say it was a brilliant film when she was ironing i used to sit there as a kid and watch her watching movies like this and Twins of Evil, Horror Express.

 

I saw Quatermass and the Pit for the first time recently - there's a Classic Horror Campaign doing the rounds, and they show double bills. It was effectively a movie adaptation of a TV series, so the movie moves so quickly from event to event that nothing gets a chance to settle and make an impact. I've not seen the TV series, but I can imagine it working quite well in comparison.

[Devon Malcolm]

Loki - Quatermass and the Pit was a film i couldnt ever understand my mum used to say it was a brilliant film when she was ironing i used to sit there as a kid and watch her watching movies like this and Twins of Evil, Horror Express.

 

I saw Quatermass and the Pit for the first time recently - there's a Classic Horror Campaign doing the rounds, and they show double bills. It was effectively a movie adaptation of a TV series, so the movie moves so quickly from event to event that nothing gets a chance to settle and make an impact.

 

Pretty sure we've seen different films. Quatermass And The Pit is a masterpiece of horror film (and sci fi film, for that matter) pacing. I can't imagine how it could be accused of moving too quickly and lacking impact.

[Rey_Piste]

Not Surf. .. I wish I was though..

 

The killer doll idea of Child's play is hardly original, with one of the first times it was used being in a Twilight Zone episode. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Doll_%...wilight_Zone%29 It was also used in Puppetmaster and the various sequels as well as Black Devil Doll from Hell.

Woah now, Child's Play pre-dates Puppetmaster by a year.

"Magic" with Anthony Hopkins predated it all (1978) and it was pretty nifty too.

As I mentioned though the Twilight Zone episode is from 63 and of course was even parodied in the Simpsons, in one of the Treehouse Of Horror episodes. It's hardly a niche or unknown episode.

[Chris B]

Loki - Quatermass and the Pit was a film i couldnt ever understand my mum used to say it was a brilliant film when she was ironing i used to sit there as a kid and watch her watching movies like this and Twins of Evil, Horror Express.

 

I saw Quatermass and the Pit for the first time recently - there's a Classic Horror Campaign doing the rounds, and they show double bills. It was effectively a movie adaptation of a TV series, so the movie moves so quickly from event to event that nothing gets a chance to settle and make an impact.

 

Pretty sure we've seen different films. Quatermass And The Pit is a masterpiece of horror film (and sci fi film, for that matter) pacing. I can't imagine how it could be accused of moving too quickly and lacking impact.

 

It's good, but I found it to be far from a masterpiece. It's Nigel Kneale trying his best to do John Wyndham - and I'm not a massive fan of Nigel Kneale at the best of times. The biggest problem that I found was that it's completely episodic. I came out of it feeling that each part was rushed to get to the next part, and never really felt like it developed properly. I get the feeling I'd prefer the TV serial.

[CTXRussomark]

Shocker is mean, nasty fun.

 

This thread jumped about ten pages since last I saw it. I guess all I have to add is that anyone who doesn't think The Blair Witch Project is a masterpiece of the genre needs to re-assess why they like or love horror. It's extremely powerful and absolutely overcomes its gimmick unlike so many clones. Like Hellraiser, which, frankly, I'm a little upset isn't getting any love over these 14 pages, it's as much about what you don't see as what you do. The final shot really is devastating. I recall seeing it in the cinema with my brother and sister. My brother had seen it in the States months prior and my sister - ten years older than me (I was 15 at the time I think) - was left a hysterical wreck by the end of the film to the point that she begged my brother to stay in the same room as her that night. I wasn't immediately affected, but once my brother announced he was going to bed at about 2am, I freaked. The thought of being alone was so terrifying to me, so utterly unacceptable, all because of how the film manipulated my brain.

 

I really can't think of another horror film that crept up on me to such a degree after the fact. The best ones stay with you and play with your mind hours, days, weeks, months and years after. Still now, 13 years on, when I go to sleep in a pitch black quiet room, I beg my subconscious not to conjure up the words 'Blair Witch'. And, of course, it often happens and suddenly I need to browse the web for a bit to block it out. That's a fuckin' horror movie.

Really??

 

A group of us went to see the movie when it first came out having only heard a few things about it and still believing it was 100% real (we were only 14/15 at the time to be fair) and we all came out of it completely unimpressed. Watching it again after finding out it wasn't real just made it all the more tedious. The way it's shot is absolutely fantastic, but the story behind it didn't do anything for me. Didn't even get an inkling of the psychological side that you're talking about.

[Mr. Seven]

Absolutely. It's the power of suggestion, letting your mind do the work and fill in the blanks. Again, it's why I draw the parallels to Hellraiser. Pinhead, despite being the poster boy, is barely in the damn thing. His presence is so brief yet entirely compelling that you let your brain go places with him. There's an entire thesis to be written about the danger of wanting more from your horror icons and thus allowing them to be completely demystified (one, in retrospect, that I wish I did instead of the thesis that I did do) and Blair Witch supports that. The titular character is never even so much as glimpsed! It's genius. That final shot brings everything home and places the greatest boogeyman of all time front and centre; your own imagination.

 

I get why some people didn't like the film and found it to be nothing more than a dressed-up student film, but for me, it's one of the finest examples of the genre and a loving tribute to not having to be over the top and rely on jump scares. In fact, were I ever to make a horror film (and I can't see it happening, sadly), I'd insist on no jump scares and soundtrack ramping. My favourite jump scare ever though is in The Eye. Two of them, in fact, and both made me leap out of my chair.

[Rey_Piste]

I saw Blair Witch at a midnight showing in the then brand new multiplex near me. The screen was packed with people because of the hype surrounding the film with the whole "it's real" hype machine in full swing. I would say the majority were on the edge of their seats for a good two thirds of the film, with screams coming from every little jump scare. Once the film started to ramp up the end, it generally seemed to start losing the audience myself included, most people came out of that film disappointed and a second viewing on video just didn't grab me anywhere near as much as the first time I saw it. Now of course found footage films are de rigeur for Hollywood horror, but I think Blair Witch was so welll received at the time because of the massive marketing machine behind the film.