Top 5 horror films

MichaelWinicki

MichaelWinicki

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Since it's Halloween month give us your top-5 horror films.

Later on we'll delve into black & white horror films and those horror films that we enjoy but are not as well known...

1. Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". So many elements of the film that I enjoyed from the premise of the film, to the location, to the actors themselves. And I thought the ending was spectacular.

2. John Carpenter's "The Thing". I'm still stunned on few people went to see this in its initial release. Today it's considered a classic.

3. "Aliens". It's got a monster (or monsters) in it so it's a horror film in my book. The premise was incredible. The dialog was great. The pacing magnificent.

4. George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead". George's "Night of the Living Dead" started the genre, but this film is what really got the genre rolling. The makeup and special effects haven't held up well over the years, but the story is still rock-solid. No horror movie had more of an impact on me after coming out of the theater than this one– I was stunned after seeing it.

5. John Carpenter's "Halloween". Not a big body count, but the story is one that would hold up no matter what the year was. Donald Pleasance gave a magnificent performance.
 
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MichaelWinicki said:
Since it's Halloween month give us your top-5 horror films.

Later on we'll delve into black & white horror films and those horror films that we enjoy but are not as well known...

1. Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". So many elements of the film that I enjoyed from the premise of the film, to the location, to the actors themselves. And I thought the ending was spectacular.

2. John Carpenter's "The Thing". I'm still stunned on few people went to see this in its initial release. Today it's considered a classic.

3. "Aliens". It's got a monster (or monsters) in it so it's a horror film in my book. The premise was incredible. The dialog was great. The pacing magnificent.

4. George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead". George's "Night of the Living Dead" started the genre, but this film is what really got the genre rolling. The makeup and special effects haven't held up well over the years, but the story is still rock-solid. No horror movie had more of an impact on me after coming out of the theater than this one– I was stunned after seeing it.

5. John Carpenter's "Halloween". Not a big body count, but the story is one that would hold up no matter what the year was. Donald Pleasance gave a magnificent performance.
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Exorcist has to be in the top 5.
 
Trouty

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MichaelWinicki said:
Since it's Halloween month give us your top-5 horror films.

Later on we'll delve into black & white horror films and those horror films that we enjoy but are not as well known...

1. Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". So many elements of the film that I enjoyed from the premise of the film, to the location, to the actors themselves. And I thought the ending was spectacular.

2. John Carpenter's "The Thing". I'm still stunned on few people went to see this in its initial release. Today it's considered a classic.

3. "Aliens". It's got a monster (or monsters) in it so it's a horror film in my book. The premise was incredible. The dialog was great. The pacing magnificent.

4. George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead". George's "Night of the Living Dead" started the genre, but this film is what really got the genre rolling. The makeup and special effects haven't held up well over the years, but the story is still rock-solid. No horror movie had more of an impact on me after coming out of the theater than this one– I was stunned after seeing it.

5. John Carpenter's "Halloween". Not a big body count, but the story is one that would hold up no matter what the year was. Donald Pleasance gave a magnificent performance.
Click to expand...
The original Halloween is fanstastic. As is The Shining, Mike. Both clench a guttural response, and are very affective as art for what they accomplish.

Zombie movies, for me, however, aren't scary at all. But both Dawn of the Deads are excellent action movies. Aliens, for me, was more thriller/action, as well.

Fire in the Sky, if you want a good psychological thriller/horror (in the alien genre) is where it's at. Also, I loved Signs. At the time I watched it, it freaked me out. I went home and slept with an SKS and Springfield 9 on my chest LOL (I was 18)
 
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Trouty

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Dallas_Cowboys50 said:
1. Rob Zombie's Halloween
2. Rob Zombie's Halloween 2
3. House of 1,000 Corpses
4. The Devil's Rejects
5. 31


Yes, Im a Rob Zombie fan lol....Music & Movies both

oh and I didnt consider them because to me theyre more comedy than horror, but I always loved the Leprechaun movies growin up in the 90's....
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I liked The Hills Have Eyes more than all of those, save 1,000 Corpes
 
punchnjudy

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Hard for me to say which films are the best. As a Gen Xer, the horror movies I enjoyed the most were the films I saw as a small child. Poltergeist probably grabbed me the most (then again I was also in the 1st grade; probably my first horror experience). The Exorcist stayed with me. (Oddly, the episodes of Soap with the possessed baby stuck with me too but I was probably associating the two). Freddie, Jason, and Michael Myers were all in that second tier. I probably enjoyed Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street the most, but Friday the 13th seemed like a decent movie to my 3rd grade brain before it was redone 17 times.

After a certain age, my horror experiences weren't that strong. When you've seen faces melt and naked teen bodies dismembered a million ways before junior high, everything loses its shock value. Horror movies can still make me jump, but there's nothing like the soul drenching, empathy draining trauma you can experience as a little kid. If I watch those movies today, it's more for nostalgia--like a baby boomer thumbing through vintage baseball cards.
 
Montanalo

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For me and, I suspect of you, context is important - when and where did you see these movies.

My top 5 include:

The Exorcist, Alien, Carpenter's The Thing, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and, believe it or not, The Wizard of Oz - those flying monkeys freak me out to this day.
 
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