Top 10 Favorite Horror Films

Though I enjoy all kinds of movies, my favorite genre would have to be Horror. Granted there are plenty of really awful horror films out there, there are some that I hold to be the 'creme de la crop.'

1) House of 1000 Corpses

This horrific cinema gem is musician Rob Zombie's directorial debut.  It has a similar feel to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre from the 70s, and many may recoginize Raine Wilson as one of the all too vulnerable victims (better know as Dwight Shrute from the Office).









2) Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)



Most people trademark the 70s as the golden years of slasher films.  Maybe one of the more gritty and certainly more popular slashers of this era is TCM.  This filmed not only defined the genre and spawned many sequels, but it also brought to life one of the greatest horror icons known simply as Leatherface (most likely due to the masks made out of human skin...yummm).  The video above shows the last 3 minutes of the movie where the chainsaw yielding maniac chases the sole surviving member down the road.


 3) Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon


This is a fantastic film if anyone hasn't seen it.  Comedy, horror, mockumentary; this film does it all.  The first half of the movie is in documentary style, as an independent film crew finds and conducts a series of interviews with an individual by the name of Leslie Vernon.  This slasher killer shares all the tricks of the trade, much like Wes Craven's Scream does for the rules of scary movies.  When the crew realizes he's not 'all talk' the doc cameras are turned off, and then starts the "real" half. Did I mention there's a nice handful of horror icon cameos?  Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), Zelda Rubinstein (little lady from poltergeist), and Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees) all make an appearance.

(Picture taken from www.cinegeek.com)



4) American Psycho

If you thought the Joker was demented, take a look at Batman in this movie adapted from Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same title.  Christian Bale does a pretty incredible job at being a Grade A psychopath.  I really wanted to embed a clip from this movie to let it speak for itself, but all the youtube videos had embedding disabled.  I'm sure many people have seen it anyway.  If not, just know this isn't one of those movies that scares you, but rather gives you a feeling of discomfort and disgust.  However, still intriguing and a great flick!

(photo taken from www.fusedfilm.com)










5) À l'intérieur (Inside)

I want to start by saying, not for the faint of heart.  Inside is a French movie about a pregnant woman's struggle against a crazed woman obsessed with stealing her unborn child, using any means necessary.  Besides this being too intense for words, what I like about this movie is the use of darkness and shadows to keep you on edge and well, in the dark.  On a side note, there are waaaay too many sharp objects in this movie.  A fantastic film, but I would definitely use discretion before watching this one.

(photo taken from www.bloody-disgusting.com)


















6) Black Swan

Stunning.  A word that seems to be over used, thus losing its impact, however I don't know a better term that applies to this film.  Black Swan was much anticipated, which only continued to build with first a limited release and then slowly finding its way to Tuscaloosa, weeks after its wide release.  The movie depicts what kind of impact the pressure and stress of competition and achieving perfection can have on dancers.  It steadily builds in intensity as Nina (Natalie Portman) begins to descend deep into insanity.  This is what I love about this movie.  It keeps the viewer as confused as Nina as to what is real, and what is hallucination.  Awesome, awesome flick.  Awesome.  It's Beautiful, intense, disgusting, and erotic.  To steal a quote from the movie, it's "...perfect."


(photo taken from www.jezebel.com)














7) Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1968)



I love Zombies.  And this is the movie that got me hooked.  Yes, it is super cheesy, unrealistic, and at times really slow.  But that's what makes this the perfect zombie treat.  I honestly think it is George Romero's best film (others include Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the dead).  Starting to see a trend yet?  Now he's got other good movies which aren't zombie related (such as the original Crazies, Creepshow, and Martin) but afterall, he's considered the Father of Zombies.


mmmmbbrraaaaiiinnssss.....


8) 28 Days Later




This is a fantastic modern adaptation of the classic Zombie.  They're not (un)dead, they're infected.  They don't slowly stumble about, they're running and enraged.  Director Danny Boyles (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Days) paints a chaotic, dystopian London, vacated by everyone (aside from a few hordes of infected).  Cillian Murphy is great in the lead role, and the soundtrack only adds to the chaos and intensity.  Definitely much better than its sequel.  




9) Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007)

I'm a big fan of the original John Carpenter's Halloween, but its hard not to like this retelling of the legendary Michael Myers.  The reason I like this one is it focusing more on young Michael.  It gives us a clearer picture of his screwed up childhood and what he went through that created the monster that never seems to quit.  I don't have to tell you that being a Rob Zombie film, it is much more brutal than the original and all its (terrible) sequels.  


(photo take from www.iconsoffright.com)




10) Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever is Eli Roth's first motion picture to direct, and in my opinion his best.  It is super cheesy, but also really hilarious.  Throw in 'Shawn' from Boy Meets World in the leading role, a couple gruesome scenes, and a cameo of Eli Roth himself, and you've got an excellent B-movie style horror flick.