Top 25 Greatest Horror Movies
No. 13: Frankenstein (1931)
Mary Shelley’s novel was probably the first recognizable “Sci-Fi” story, and its warning, leave creation to God, should be a lesson to all of us. Humans tend to mess everything up. And never has the intent of Shelley’s novel been more evident than in Boris Karloff’s performance in Frankenstein, his signature role. Karloff manages to play the monster with sympathy, understanding and yet, finally, despair. Admittedly dated now, James Whale’s creation, like Shelley’s, manages to thrill, chill and charm even the hardiest horror fans. A great night of movie watching on a cold night would include Karloff’s Frankenstein, Lon Chaney Jr.’s The Wolf Man and Lugosi’s Dracula.
No. 12: Jaws
A giant rubber shark, Stephen Spielberg and Alfred Hitchcock… what do these have in common? Without them there would be no Jaws. Like all of Hitchcock’s films, Jaws seems almost like a “B” movie. The direction is minimalist, the sets simple and the cinematography good, but little more. What Hitchcock did in film after film, Spielberg wanted to do in Jaws – simply scare the pants off of people. Guess what? He succeeded. That big rubber shark with dead eyes and some moving parts scared the nation. People stayed out of the water for fear of sharks (and gave Saturday Night Live a great skit idea, too). The classic moment with Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss comparing scars is one of the great male bonding moments in film history. In a great interview I watched, writer Peter Benchley had real regret over the shark killings resulting from Jaws.
No. 11: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Don’t go to sleep. You may not wake up, or at least not human. An entirely alien concept, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (at least the first incarnation) represents one of most original Sci-Fi ideas in film and one of the most frightening. Helpless horror is what makes the film such creepy fun. Everyone around you is different - strangely inhuman, yet similar, with memories intact. You ask yourself "am I going crazy or is everyone else?" Is it something in the water, food or atmosphere? Maybe it’s that giant pod in the back yard, hmmmm. Watch Body Snatchers with a friend, but check first to make sure.
No. 10: Diabolique (1955)
A creepy school with a sadistic headmaster and a brutalized wife and mistress combine to make Diabolique scary good horror. I’ve only seen the film once, but once was enough. The wife and mistress drown the evil bastard headmaster in a bathtub, but after dumping him in the filthy pool, the body disappears and the tension begins. Suspense is king in Diabolique… waiting for the body to turn up, or something far more horrible. I will say no more. Diabolique will speak for itself.
- Alien
- Carrie
- Diabolique
- Dracula
- Frankenstein
- Fright Night
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers
- Jaws
- King Kong
- News
- Night of the Living Dead
- Nosferatu
- Poltergeist
- Psycho
- Rosemary's Baby
- Scream
- Shaun of the Dead
- The Descent
- The Exorcist
- The Final Destination
- The Fly
- The Incredible Shrinking Man
- The Omen
- The Wolf Man
- Top 25 Movies
- Zombieland
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Comments
16 August 2007
1 hour 16 min
One of my favorite "horror" series is I Know What You Did Last Summer. I wouldn't consider them a "great" franchise, but I I can't help but watch them. Also, Black Sheep deserves a honorable mention. lol
26 September 2009
16 weeks 1 day
Interesting list Craig. I am not a huge horror fan so I have only seen like 5 movies on the list.
I am curious have you seen a small film titled High Tension? I saw it a few years ago and I thought it was really good. Its in Russian but its definitely worth a watch.
Also another film I would recommend is Let the Right One In. I believe its also in a foreign language but I forget which language. It came out last year and it was really good.
If you have seen them let me know what you think.
27 November 2008
6 days 7 hours
From all the research I did preparing the list I did run into both of those films, but they tend to be more for the conniseur of horror. I'm not so much a fan of the High Tension type of film for the obvious reasons. I don't like "man's inhumanity to man" type films for their concentration on the evil that man do. I believe man is basically a good creature with always a few bad apples so I avoided High Tension (there are so many other films to see.
I do want to see Let the right one in though...sounds like one I will really enjoy. Thanks for bring both to my attention.
16 June 2009
38 weeks 51 min
Some people say that "Paranormal Activity" is even scarier than The Exorcist... Have you seen it Craig? Is it all it is hyped up to be? It's still not showing in my country but I can't wait.
I also wish you had mentioned "Dawn of the Dead" which is THE greatest zombie movie in my opinion, but "Night of the living dead" is pretty close.
26 September 2009
16 weeks 1 day
I got to see this movie yesterday and I don't know what all the buzz is about. I liked it but I thought it was just above average. There were few good creepy moments but only one that really scared me. And there is a major flaw in the movie which I will not ruin for you but after you see it you will know what I am talking about. I also was very distracted by the main girl who to me looks just like Jenna Fisher AKA Pam from The Office
16 August 2007
1 hour 16 min
Hey Lost,
I watched your Top 100 movies video...really nice...you have much more violent tastes than I do, but I enjoyed your list.
26 September 2009
16 weeks 1 day
Luke
Thanks for checking out my top 100 video. I had a very hard time draining my list of over 150 films to 100 best. I could never put them in numerical order.
26 September 2009
16 weeks 1 day
Went to see Zombieland today and liked it a lot. When I saw the trailer a few months ago I had no intention of watching it because I love Shaun of the Dead so much and I figured why bother.....but I ended up liking it a lot. I still think that Shaun of the Dead is the better of the two films.
I thought that both Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg were fantastic. I also loved all of the rules that they had to survive.
I usually go to movies at night time but today I went in the day time so I had the entire theater to myself. There were a few scenes that really scared me.....even more than Paranormal Activity.
16 August 2007
1 hour 16 min
I love Zombieland and much as I like Shaun of the Dead, I didn't like it as much as Hot Fuzz. I like Zombieland as much as Hot Fuzz so it has to be better than Shaun of the Dead.
27 November 2008
6 days 7 hours
So far the reports about Paranormal are awesome and I'm waiting for the exact moment to see it. I'm not sure, but the anticipation is great. I'll let you know when I do, promise.