After getting some great feedback to my list of the top 10 SF films, I decided to do a similar list on horror. Please note that my tastes are obviously different than yours, and your agreement with this list (and your mileage) may vary. Also, do not pass go, do not collect $200.
10. (TIE) Wait Until Dark and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I honestly couldn’t make this, my “Sophie’s Choice” on what movie more deserved to be on the list. Comparing the psychological terror of Wait Until Dark to the visceral horror of Massacre is an odd thing to do, but both are worthy of merit and inclusion here.
9. Audition. If you’ve seen it I don’t need to say anything. You know what I’m talking about.
8. Rosemary’s Baby. “What’s wrong with his eyes?!” Roman Polanski knocked one out of the park with this one, his first major Hollywood film. It’s not aged as well as others on this list, but the performance by Mia Farrow still stands the test of time.
7. Night of the Living Dead. George Romero’s classic, original, low-budget black and white film works in spite of its flaws and created an entire genre that is still very much… err, alive and kicking.
6. The Shining. Believe it or not, I didn’t like The Shining the first time I saw it. I was young, I was stupid, I wasn’t (yet) an obsessive Kubrick fan. Rewatches, though, made me realize just how wrong I was, and just how good this film was (and is). The second-best directed movie on this list (Hitch directed the best one).
5. The Thing. John Carpenter has TWO movies on this list, not only because I think he is one of the most underrated filmmakers ever, but he has made two absolutely amazing films. Halloween, his breakthrough hit, was one, and his remake of The Thing was another.
4. Halloween. See #5, but special mention has to be made to the late great Donald Pleasance, who gave the performance of his life in this film.
3. Psycho. “No, Mother! Blood! Blood!” Ah, Psycho. How I love you so. The first “slasher” flick, the movie that scared people silly (my own mother STILL hasn’t and won’t see it), one of Hitchcock’s best… It’s a classic.
2. ALIEN. It was on my Top 10 SF films list, and it’s on this one too. Yes, I know, that’s kinda cheating, but I think it deserves a place of honor on both lists. It’s scary as hell, and brilliant.
1. The Exorcist. This is the ultimate, the one that just unsettles me every time I see it (and no I’m not Catholic). It’s the documentary style applied by William Friedkin that makes it work, and the performances, the makeup, the music… everything is perfectly honed to unsettle viewers. An easy choice for #1.
RUNNERS UP:
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. I need some garmonbozia.
Blue Velvet. “Hit me.”
Evil Dead 2. It’s more comedy than horror, but it’s awesome.
The Birds. Kaw! Kaw!
A Nightmare on Elm Street. “One, two, Freddy’s coming for you…”
Batman and Robin. Horrifying.
UPDATE: You may be asking where Jaws is on this list. Well, I can’t list it in my top 10 horror list because it defies that classification. It is, simply, the BEST MOVIE EVER MADE. Don’t debate me on this point… Because you’ll be wrong.