Brainbugs Top 50 Best Horror movies of all time - Baumer's top 50 starts on page 18

[chasmmi]

So Baumer has clearly cheated and decided Freddy vs Jason is its own standalone franchise  

[baumer]

You're going to have to explain that one @chasmmi ?

[chasmmi]

2 hours ago, baumer said:

You're going to have to explain that one @chasmmi ?

 

Well you said that you can only have two films per franchise. 

 

You just gave new nightmare and I assume original Freddy is turning up later. 

 

But I also expect you to have to Friday films pop up at sometimes. 

Now seeing as Freddy vs Jason is also an obvious top 20 horror film, that is the only way you can sneak it in.   

[baumer]

23) Sleepaway Camp (1983)

US

Box office:  Unknown

Person of interest:  Felicia Rose

Memorable quote:   You see, I've always wanted a little girl. But, of course, when my husband left... Oh, well, that's all water under the bridge, as I always say.

 

 

Angela Baker, a traumatized and very shy young girl, is sent to summer camp with her cousin. Shortly after her arrival, anyone with sinister or less than honorable intentions gets their comeuppance.

 

Sleepaway Camp, or Nightmare Vacation, as it now seems to be known as, is one of those 80's Friday the 13th rip-offs that is so much better than people gave it credit for.  It was made on a shoe-string budget and it shows at times.  But once you get past the production values, there's a lot to like about this one.  

 

Horror films seemed the easy way to make a quick buck in the 80's. There was an abundance of them that graced video. I don't think half of them actually made it to the big screen. You can add Sleepaway Camp to that list. This is a typical scary film. It has it's moments and it is scary in some parts. It has some nice humour especially when they play camp jokes on each other. But having said all that, this movie is as good as it is because the mother in this film, played by relatively unknown actress Desiree Gold, is creepier than Mrs. Bates. I'm not sure if the writer and directorf envisioned the character that she gave us or if this is just something she did on her own, but whatever the case may be, it brought a whole new dimension to the film.  But the two parts that I will never forget are images that are firmly planted in my brain.  And if you were making a top ten list of most shocking endings in film history, this might make the number one spot.  

The first was the death by curling iron. It is so horrific that it bothered me so much that I had to cover my eyes the second time I saw it. It is qutie graphic, not because of what they show, but because you know how nasty it is.

But the one thing that will stay with me and probably anyone else that has seen this film is the very end. That last shot is so horrific, so way out of left field that you never see it coming. It just hits you and then it ends. It has a power of its own.  I won't spoil it here because if you have not seen this film, I'd highly recommend checking it out.  

 

Director Robert Hiltzik didn't do anything outside of the Sleepaway Camp series and the sequels are nothing to write home about, but his limited film experience didn't hinder him for this movie.  He creates tension and has a good understanding of how the camera can be your best friend.  In fact, there are some great Carpenteresque Halloween shots in this film.  I'm sure this film isn't for everyone, but for me, it hit all the right notes.  

 

And one final mention must be to actress Felicia Rose, the main actress.  She plays young Angela and it's an incredibly brave performance, especially from a young actress in her first film.  She never really went on to prominence in the film industry but she has made a good living out of straight to HV movies and she now has 90 credits to her name.  

 

 

[baumer]

22) The Thing (1982)

US

Box office:  19.6 million

Person of interest:  Rob Bottin

Memorable quote:  I dunno what the hell's in there, but it's weird and pissed off, whatever it is.

 

 

During an exploration in Antarctica, a group of researchers come across a Norwegian facility near their research station. They soon come to realize Something horrible happened there. After discovering that the Norwegians had stumbled across something horrific; they leave, but something comes back with them.

 

No horror movie brings you quite the icy, venereal chill of John Carpenter's The Thing. It's an undisputed horror classic that has lived on since it's slightly anticlimactic, ill received release back in the 80's (The film had the unfortunate task of trying to find an audience when a tsunami named E.T. was in full swing.  Tough to show the evil side of aliens when the Titanic of the 80's was giving us cute and adorable ones). Nevertheless, it's a heart stopping odyssey of ambient antarctic unease, sickening, squirm inducing practical effects, and a veil of impending danger and paranoia that blankets both the characters and the viewer, like the thick drifts of snow that blanket the screen to gorgeous effect. The story by now is timeless: a team of antarctic researchers in a remote location come across a gigantic spacecraft buried in the tundra, and unearth a grotesque, frozen creature that upon being thawed, wreaks havoc on them and their facility. It's an imitator, this monster, and can hide in plain sight, within the flesh and blood of any one of their crew. This gives way to extreme distrust, mental unraveling and mutiny as it turns them against one another. For me there's nothing quite as iconic as the opening: Ennio Morricone's ominous, rhythmical score kicks in as we see two hysterical Norwegians in a helicopter, Chasing a dog across the frozen terrain. It's one of the most dazzling, evocative entrances to a fright flick ever filmed. Kurt Russell, in his whiskered, macho glory plays Macready, the head of the team. Russell is always solid, especially in genre stuff, and he's almost as distinct and iconic here as his Snake Plissken character. T.K. Carter, Donald Moffat, Keith David Wilford Brimley and more round out the rest of the team, and I won't mention standouts because they're all just fantastic and each play their part to a T. A huge highlight is the gruesome creature effects. When the it tries to imitate something and messes up, the result is a grossly misshapen slab of slimy nondescript gore, guaranteed to freak and gross you out in equal measures. I won't spoil anything with specifics, but the dog kennel and defibrillator scenes are time capsule worthy and should be shown in special effects makeup schools as a shining example. Carpenter pulls off the second absolutely flawless horror movie of his career with this one, not an easy feat, especially in this genre. All the parts fit together perfectly, resulting in as chilling sci fi horror for the ages.  And as mentioned in the title, the MVP here is make-up and creature effects man, Rob Bottin.  He's from the Rick Baker school of practical effects and this might be his absolute best work.  

 

 

 

[baumer]

21) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

US

Box office:  107 million

Person of interest:  Jessica Biel

Memorable quote:  The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of 5 youths. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected, nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day.

 

 

After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a deformed chainsaw-wielding killer and his family of equally psychopathic killers.

 

This will be a lengthy recount of why I feel this is one of the best horror films ever made.  If you want to skip it all, the brass tacks of it all is that everything about this film emulates the original.  It's not as good as the original, nothing ever will be, but every interview, every email correspondence I've had with Brad Fuller, everything I've ever read, indicates that the Platinum Dunes guys took this seriously.  They respected the original and they stayed true to it.  There.  You can skip the all the rest now.  

 

 

This is the 2nd horror movie that I watched all of the way through, the first was the original Halloween. I was 12 years old when I first watched this, and it scared the hell out of me, but I loved it. After watching both Halloween and this, I really started getting into horror. This is the best horror remake out there, hands down.  @cheesypoofs

 

This is my original review from 2003.

 

Films like this scare me. Not so much in terms of the horror aspect of it, although this is a good entry in that genre, but more in the sense that there have been a myriad of horror remakes lately and some of the icons of the genre like Dawn of the Dead, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre are being remade. This leads to the question, if they can remake films like these, then what is to stop them from doing remakes of Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street? I have already heard that The Hills Have Eyes is in the works and I think I heard something about the Toolbox Murders on the way. Interesting that this will give today's youth a chance to see these films but not so good news for those of us that are purists at heart and like to see the classics left alone.

Having said all of that, I have to say that Marcus Nipsel's neo Texas Chainsaw Massacre is just brilliant. It pays homage to, and never strays far from what made the original so revered, but it obviously makes a mark for itself with its original style. All of the elements of the original are here as well.

Jessica Biel and Eric Balfour are the two young lovers in the movie traveling with friends to a Lynnrd Skynnrd concert. They are in the back roads of Texas and come across a destitute and indigent looking young girl wandering aimlessly along the road. They pick her up and after telling the kids that they are all going to die, she pulls a gun out of her dress and blows her brains out. This all happens in the first ten minutes of the film and it sets the tone and the pace for what is to come.

The kids are a little cocky and give off that aura of invincibility and sanctimony. When they have to call the police at the local variety store, they are impolite and short with the employees. Their world, until this day, was a closed circle and nothing could really get to them. But today that is all about to change. Today, things will be done to them that seemed inhuman only a few short hours ago.

The true strength of this film is that all of the evil characters are true abominations. They are cruel, unabashed incarnations of Mephastopheles. There is nothing redeeming about any of them. To some, this might take away credibility from the screenplay, but to me, it enhances. Leatherface and his family exist to be evil. They exist to provide terror to those unfortunate enough to get caught in their nasty web. These kids are victims of circumstance.

There will be inevitable comparisons between this and the original, and that is fair, but although the two movies share a name and a background, both stand on their own as separate works of art. Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the ten best horror films ever made. It is an exercise in the macabre and it tests your mettle. While Marcus Nipsel's is a brilliant film, it does stand on it's own and it has managed to carve a niche in todays modern horror landscape. This movie is tense and it is a psychological exercise in sanity. While the original was a benchmark in psychological warfare, this one tries to go one step further. If you can remember some surreal moments like the meat hook scene, this one tries to take it a step further. I truly believe that this film can stand on its own, and while it is certainly not better than the original, it is a very fine entry into the genre and deserves to have the name Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

 

 

I also listed the remake as one of the 50 most important movies ever made....here's the entry and the link:

 

Box Office:  107 million WW on a 9 million dollar budget

Quick synopsis on it's importance:  Platinum Dunes remade a lot of classic horror films after the massive success of this one.

Imdb summary:  Driving through the backwoods of Texas, five youths pick up a traumatized hitchhiker, who shoots herself in their van. Shaken by the suicide, the group seeks help from the locals, but their situation becomes even more surreal when they knock on the door of a remote homestead. It's quickly apparent the residents are a family of inbred psychopaths, and the unlucky youths suddenly find themselves running for their lives. In hot pursuit is a disfigured, chainsaw-wielding cannibal known as Leatherface.

Why it's important:  Horror goes through more ups and downs that perhaps any genre.  In 1999, a new genre of horror was born and for the most part, the found footage, pg-13, non slasher, micro-budget horror movie was on every studios wish list.   But when Platinum Dunes made the gory, rated R slasher remake of the classic 1974 film, they bucked the trends and proved that if you make a good film, a good horror film no less, then people will come.  This is also the film that started the classic horror film remake craze with Platinum Dunes being responsible for many of then including Friday the 13th and Amityville Horror.

Why it's important to me:   Everything about this film is done right.  From it's ominous and terrifying trailer, to it's cast of good looking young adults, to a director that had an astute understanding of what made the Texas Chainsaw legacy so veritable, Michael Bay and Brad Fuller just did everything right.  This film is arguably the best horror remake of all time, at least in my eyes.  It is something that scared the hell out of me and entertained me at the same time.  I get excited for good horror and I believe it's the hardest genre to perfect.  When I left the theater, I knew I had witnessed something special.  I admire Platinum Dunes and Bay and Fuller for taking risks and remaking classics, knowing full well that if they are not done right, a lot of people will shit all over them.  But this one had the tone, the feel and the look of the original.  And it made me appreciate the fresh take on this one and the classic feel of the original.

 

 

And of course, one of the top ten trailers of all time, imo:

 

 

 

 

And the teaser:

 

 

[baumer]

And that brings us to the top 20.  I will get some more done later tonight.

 

There will be some surprises

There will be some groans

There will be one film that will make you go WTF

There will be some surprising ommissions

There will be some surprising placements

Number one through three, if guessed correctly, is worth a three month gold membership.

 

Here's a hint, the top three spots are all icons in the horror world.  No French films, no film noir.  They are all the biggest and best.  Just guess the order.    

[baumer]

57 minutes ago, chasmmi said:

 

Well you said that you can only have two films per franchise. 

 

You just gave new nightmare and I assume original Freddy is turning up later. 

 

But I also expect you to have to Friday films pop up at sometimes. 

Now seeing as Freddy vs Jason is also an obvious top 20 horror film, that is the only way you can sneak it in.   

 

Well, you're going to have to stand by and see if it makes it. 

[Lucas]

Disappeared for a bit but I just caught up, great list so far, many that I really enjoy myself.

[baumer]

I will give everyone until the top ten is revealed to make their guesses as to my number one movie (worth a one month gold membership...maximum of 5 people) and to guess my top three (worth 3 months gold).

[baumer]

Let's do one more today.  I'm sure many were expecting this to be higher on my list.....

[baumer]

20) Friday the 13th (1980)

US

Box office:  39 million (in North America and much more internationally that Mojo is not reporting.  According to a behind the scenes book I own, Friday the 13th made about the same internationally and continues to make money for Paramount to this day)

Person of interest:  Sean Cunningham

Memorable quote:  You're all DOOMED!

 

 

Friday the 13th was produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, who had previously worked with filmmaker Wes Craven on the film The Last House on the Left. Cunningham, inspired by John Carpenter's Halloween, wanted Friday the 13th to be shocking, visually stunning and "[make] you jump out of your seat". Wanting to distance himself from The Last House on the Left, Cunningham wanted Friday the 13th to be more of a "roller-coaster ride".

 

Friday the 13th began its life as nothing more than a title. Initially, A Long Night at Camp Blood was the working title during the writing process, but Cunningham believed in his "Friday the 13th" moniker, and quickly rushed out to place an advertisement in Variety. Worried that someone else owned the rights to the title and wanting to avoid potential lawsuits, Cunningham thought it would be best to find out immediately. He commissioned a New York advertising agency to develop his concept of the Friday the 13th logo, which consisted of big block letters bursting through a pane of glass. 

 

Friday the 13th was the film that the industry didn't see coming, Cunningham believed in from day one and it did more to change the horror landscape than any film up until this point, including Halloween.  Cunningham took out a second mortgage on his house and got in bed with some questionable money men to get the film made.  Of course the rest is history as Friday the 13th opened stronger than anyone anticipated and went on the have extraordinary legs for a micro-budgeted horror film.  Before this, Cunningham had some success with films like Last House on the Left but he was a struggling artist and if Friday the 13th didn't work, he was considering getting out of the business all together.

 

A funny bit of casting was when Kevin Bacon was offered the part of Jack, his agent said, "Kevin sees that he gets to fuck the girl and get paid for doing it.  Kevin likes both of these scenarios, so he will take the part."

 

Paramount bought Friday the 13th's distribution rights for $1.5 million, after seeing a screening of the film. They spent approximately $500,000 in advertisements for the film, and then an additional $500,000 when the film began performing well at the box office.  Friday the 13th opened theatrically on 9 May 1980 across the United States, ultimately expanding its release to 1,100 theaters. It took in $5,816,321 in its opening weekend, before finishing domestically with $39,754,601. It was the 18th highest-grossing film that year, facing stiff horror film competition from such high-profile releases as The Shining, Dressed To Kill, The Fog and Prom Night. The worldwide gross was $59,754,601 (but rumoured to be more). Friday the 13th was released internationally, which was unusual for an independent film with, at the time, no well-recognized or bankable actors; aside from well-known television and movie actress Betsy Palmer. The film would take in approximately $20 million in international box office receipts. Not factoring in international sales, or the cross-over film with A Nightmare on Elm Street 's Freddy Krueger, the original Friday the 13th is the highest-grossing film of the film series.

To provide context with the box office gross of films in 2014, the cost of making and promoting Friday the 13th—which includes the $550,000 budget and the $1 million in advertisement—is approximately $4.5 million. With regard to the US box office gross, the film would have made $177.72 million in adjusted 2017 dollars.  

 

So why does Friday the 13th work?  Why did people fall in love with it and why is it now considered a classic?  You can never put your finger on just one reason, but from my perspective, Friday the 13th is the kind of film that lets you release a bit.  There's blood and violence and nudity and suspense.  And sometimes people just want or need this in their lives.  They need to let loose.  Friday the 13th provides that outlet.  

 

That, and more importantly, it's an extremely well made film and it had two incredible fortunes.  One is the Harry Manfredini created one of the most iconic scores in film history and this helped to heighten the terror on screen.  The chords in Friday the 13th are as recognizable as any other iconic horror film.  And the second coup de grace was the work done by Tom Savini.  He and his crew were paid $15,000 to all the molds, the blood effects and the gore that you see on screen.  There's no CGI and nothing is done half assed.  The chopping of Mrs. Voorhees head took a week to get right.  Not the scene itself, but the mould of Betsy Palmer's head.  And the other effect that was done to perfection was the Kevin Bacon death as he got a spear through the neck.  To accomplish this, Bacon had to kneel under the bead with his head popping out of the mattress.  Then a dummy of his body was created and placed under the covers.  Tom Savini and his crew were under the bed with him  One member of the crew had to push the spear into the fake body.  One member had to pump blood through a hose and Savini had to use a blower to make it push out strong enough.  They had one take to do this with and if it didn't work, it would of taken then another week to set it all up again.  If you watch the scene, you'll notice how at the very beginning of the kill, the blood doesn't come out fast enough.  The effect wasn't working so Savini's crew member literally blew on the hose as hard as he could and this caused to fake blood to burst out and create the iconic effect that you see on screen.  

 

I could go on and on about this film.  It's such a terrific horror entry and one that was most certainly a labour of love.

 

Here's the Bacon death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@Water Bottle  t does it's job and while I was surprised Jason wasn't the killer in this movie (I guess he becomes the killer in later movies despite being dead in this one lol) I did like that the slasher was a woman. For some reason, it's not something you really expect. Too many of the characters blended in together so it became a bit hard to care who lived or died. I wouldn't say the movie was scary but it was enjoyable. Which is a weird thing to say about a movie where people are getting murdered but hey horror is a weird genre for a reason.

 

 

Here's some highlights of the book called On Location in Burkittsville:

 

 

I just finished reading On Location in Blairstown...The Making of Friday the 13th.  I liked Friday the 13th immensely before, but now with a lot of info about how it was made, it just makes it that much better.  The reason, imo, that this one and the Final Chapter are so good is because Tom Savini worked on both of them.  

 

Here's some point form interesting tidbits about the movie:

 

Sean Cunningham was under immense pressure to get this film made and constantly fought with his Boston investors.  They had initially promised him $500,000 for the film and ultimately they did deliver but at times during production, they were late with payments and things like food was one of the things that had to be cut down.  They went from a hot table to sandwiches with ham and cheese.

 

Steve Miner and Sean Cunningham produced the film.

 

Tom Savini was paid $15,000 for the make up effects.  This had to cover his staff and all of his props.  He said he barely made any money on the film but when they asked him back for the Final Chapter, he asked for an exorbitant amount of money and got it.  

 

Friday the 13th was ripped to shreds by film critics and pretty much everyone in the film community, except the horror community.  When it became a massive hit, people were shocked.  

 

Sean Cunningham was so disillusioned with his investors (they invested on his last film and they made money off it and Cunningham didn't see any of the profits) that he demanded, and was granted, 25% of any Friday the 13th related profits for eternity.  Steve Miner also signed a deal that gave him a life long cut of the profits, much less than Cunninghams, but once the film became a smash, both men were millionaires over night. This means that Cunningham and Miner have a stake in all the revenues for everything F13th related.  Theatrical, HV, posters, action figures and everything else.  

 

Tom Savini had one chance to make Kevin Bacon's death work.  Bacon had to sit under the bed with his head propped up through a hole in the mattress, for six hours.  Savini and his team made a mould of his neck and chest.  they then had a tube filled with movie blood sticking up through the mould.  When it came time to film, Savini was responsible for stabbing the spear through Bacon's fake chest.  His assistant was responsible for pressing the button so that the blood would flow through the tube and out of the fake chest.  When ACTION was yelled, it all went well, until the blood had to come out.  It didn't work and if this shot wasn't done properly, it would take them another few days to do it all over again and they didn't have the money for this kind of thing.  The assistant just decided to blow into the tube and it worked.  The blood was supposed to come out in small squirts, but with the blowing in the tube, you got more of a geyser of blood that spewed all over Bacon's mouth.  The effect was amazing and it all worked out because of some quick thinking.

 

Betsy Palmer, who played Mrs. Voorhees, hated the script, calling it a piece of shit that no one would see.  She only did it because she needed a new Mercedes.  She was paid 10 grand for 10 days work and once filming was through, she thought the film would never even make it to the theatre.  When it became a big hit, she would make more money doing conventions and signings that she had in most of her career up to that point.

 

One of the actors was Harry Crosby, Bing Crosby's son.

 

When Kevin Bacon was sought out for the role of Jack, his agent was told that he would have the best part because he gets to have sex with the girl.  hen the agent told Cunningham Bacon would take the role, he said, "Kevin sees that he will get to have sex in the movie.  Kevin likes sex, so he will take the role."

 

To film the stinger at the end, where Jason pops out of the lake and grabs Alice, this was done in late October, when it was about 45 degrees outside.  The young actor who played Jason, was not wearing a wet suit and was submerged in freezing water for hours at a time.  It turned out to be the most difficult shot in the movie much to Cunningham's chagrin.

 

Adrienne King, who plays Alice, was paid $758.00 a week.

 

When Cunninghams friend and mentor, Wes Craven saw a rough cut of the film he said it was okay.  He said it needed some work.  This was before all the sound effects were finished and iconic Harry Manfredini score was not added yet.  When he saw the finished product, he was stunned and told Sean that he had a big hit on his hands. 

 

Friday the 13th benefited from critics like Gene Siskel giving it 0 stars and calling it misogynistic.  This just got people more interested in seeing it.  When people sat in the theatre and Jason jumps out of the water at the end, some movie goers actually fainted.  This kind of horror had never been seen before.  

 

Friday the 13th made 39 million for Paramount and another 40 million overseas, in its FIRST YEAR.  It continued to play at drive ins world wide for about a decade and the money kept coming in.

 

Of all the people who worked on the film, career wise, Only Tom Savini's career took off after f13th.  Bacon obviously had a huge career but not because of F13th.  But Savini's work was legendary and he was next approached by the new kids in town, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, to work on their new horror film called The Burning. 

[The Stingray]

I've been absolutely swamped at work so I haven't been able to comment.

But yeah, Jane Doe is wonderful.

Phantasm is an all-time favorite mine. Love its weirdness.

Hated Raw, tho.
 

[baumer]

Off to work.  I'll get to the top 15 later tonight.

[baumer]

Just now, The Stingray said:

I've been absolutely swamped at work so I haven't been able to comment.

But yeah, Jane Doe is wonderful.

Phantasm is an all-time favorite mine. Love its weirdness.

Hated Raw, tho.
 

 

Doesn't surprise me you loved Phantasm.  And yes, RAW isn't for everyone. 

[baumer]

The heavy hitters are coming up:

 

The next five:

 

The best haunted house movie ever made....and it's done by the guys who gave us Rambo.

The best horror movie of the last 5 years

Mephistopheles is such a mouthful in Manhattan 

Brian Cox tries to warn us not to bother her

Indrid cold....a true story so bizarre they had to tone the movie down to make it more realistic

[Fancyarcher]

So glad to see Psycho on this list. It's probably not the first film everyone thinks of when they think "scary horror film", but it is an effectively masterful film, and did essentially create the slasher genre. It's also one of my favorite films of all time. Love just about everything about it.

The Thing may be the creepiest horror film I've ever seen. I remember watching that film when I was eleven, and having nightmares as a result. The decision to not reveal the creature until the very end via Jaws-style, and instead have it possess the crew instead, was an ingenious move, and really effective as well. Also Rob Bottin's effects are some of the best in horror cinema history. 

Edited June 14, 2018 by Fancyarcher

[baumer]

19) The Changeling (1980)

Canada

Box office:  5.3 million

Person of interest:  George C. Scott

Memorable quote:   That house is not fit to live in. No one's been able to live in it. It doesn't want people.

 

 

John Russell, a composer and music professor, loses his wife and daughter in a tragic accident. Seeking solace, he moves into an old mansion unoccupied for twelve years. But a child-like presence seems to be sharing the house, and trying to share its secrets, with him. Through research into the house's past and a seance held within, Russell discovers the horrific secret of the house's past, a secret that the presence will no longer allow to be kept.

 

 The Changeling is everything a haunted house movie should be. This film creeps you out sometimes more than you can handle. The Changeling uses lighting, sound, subtlety and an intriguing and scary story to achieve the ultimate in horror, scares, chills, shivers and your hair standing straight on the back of your neck.

George C. Scott plays a man who has just recently lost his wife and young daughter to a freak accident on the highway in the dead of winter. He leases a rather large house supposedly for some solitude so he can work on his musical piece. But then strange things begin to happen. At first he passes them off as just an old house having a personality of its own. But then when the noise persists at the exact time of day and for the same amount of time, he gets suspicious. After doing a little research, he realizes that not only is the house haunted, but it may be trying to tell him something. And this is where the story becomes creepy. I haven't really felt a sense of unease in many movies. The Blair Witch was one of them, and The Changeling made me feel similar to that experience. What this film does to perfection is uses what it has to its advantage. There are lots of darkly lit rooms, strange noises that apparently come from the upstairs bedroom, and bouncing balls. The Changeling is a scary movie and it would have been without the ball, but when you put the ball into the scenario, you are frozen with fear. And for the first time in the film when the ball comes into frame, Scott looks petrified. Before this incident, he seemed bewildered, almost curious. He couldn't understand why all this was happening. But after the ball, he is frightened. Even if whatever it is that is haunting this house seems to be somewhat friendly towards him, he is still scared.

I found myself yelling at the screen, " Get OUT! " I wanted them to leave the house. That is how frightened I was for the characters in the film. And when a movie can do that to you, you have to admire it. I loved The Changeling. I love how it made me feel and I love how it altered my physical appearance ( hair standing straight on end ). If you want to see a scary film that will restore your faith in horror movie, see this one. This is a perfect example of how horror films were so amazing in the 70's and 80's. They are scary and pay attention to details. This film however knows the true roots of horror and it knows how to scare. My recommendation is to watch this with all the lights off on a stormy night. You will be afraid. You will be.

 

 

 

[baumer]

18) It Follows (2014)

US

Box office:  14.6 million

Person of interest: Maika Monroe

Memorable quote:   It could look like someone you know or it could be a stranger in a crowd. Whatever helps it get close to you.

 

 

A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.

 

My original review:

 

Bar none, this is the best horror film I've seen in 10 years. This is a film that will get inside you and it won't let go, however if you are looking for gore, look elsewhere. 

This review will contain some heavy spoilers.

Right from the opening scene, I was drawn in. There is an obvious 80's theme to this but we know it's modern times because one of the characters has what looks to be a data device. 

This review will be spoiler heavy so if you don't want to know the nuts and bolts, skip over it. 

The plot is a simple one. There is some kind of malevolent force that follows you around. The way you contract and eliminate this threat is by having sex. Somehow by having unprotected sex, you get it, and then, as the title says it follows you around. Only you can see this thing though. So every person who might look a little strange to you could be the force that is out to get you. And it creates paranoia because you don't know what's real and what isn't. This is an incredibly effective plot device in the film. As it is explained to J, after she gets it from her new boyfriend, this force can be anyone. It walks slow so you can buy yourself time by outrunning it or driving away but like the Terminator, it will not stop ever until you are dead. 

The first 15 minutes has J having sex with her boyfriend, it's a nice experience that they share, and then as she is leaning over the backseat rambling on about whatever it is you ramble on about after sex, her boyfriend comes up behind her and puts a cloth with chloroform on it, around her mouth. She wakes up tied to a chair and he tells her what it is that's coming after her. He apologizes to her and explains that all she has to do is have sex with someone else and she's rid of it. But, if the thing that follows her manages to kill the person she passed it on to, then it will start after her again. So no one is safe, ever. 

The cast are not really well known but J, as played by Maika Monroe, has been in some films but she's just not a name. That's going to change after this film. Not only is she strikingly beautiful, she absolutely nails the character. She's unabashedly terrified all throughout the film and when she's scared, you are scared for her. The rest of the cast is very good as well and there's a nice love triangle as one of her long time friends has loved her probably since they were kids, but he's not quite her type and this creates a lot of tension. He's willing to sleep with her and take the malevolent from her, that's how much he feels for her. 

The look of the film is second to none as this was filmed entirely in Michigan and much of it in Detroit, where you see the poverty, the run down buildings, the old houses, the beat up 30 year old cars. The look of the film is basically a secondary character. It adds to the palette and creates tension. There's something more sinister about seeing an old 70's TV with rabbit ears and all the off, vomit inducing colours from the 80's carpet and wallpaper and such. 

And then there's the soundtrack. I think the composer paid homage to about 8-10 horror themes. While not ripping them off, you can easily hear, Manfredini, Bernstein, Carpenter, Hermann and even some very obvious nods to something like Knowing where the soundtrack was overbearing but effective. I am simply in love with the music that was used here.

When you combine all of this together, you get one of the best horror films I've ever seen. Horror has had some good entries in the last decade imo but nothing can top this. It's frightening, tense, creates a lot of panic and leaves you guessing in almost every scene. Writer and director David Robert Mitchell has created one of the most terrifying and original horror films. I won't rank it right now because it's still so fresh but I am simply in love with this film. I honestly wanted to go right back into the theater to see it again.

It's also unapologetically rated R. There's lots of nudity, it's terrifying and if you were to bring kids to this, I think it would seriously have a chance to mess with their minds. IMO, horror was truly born in the 70's. I'm aware of Hitchcock's contribution to the genre, but the horror that I love was from the 70/80's. This is almost a love letter to the films of those decades. But in some ways, it does it better. It Follows might end up being the best film of the year.

As for the ending that some complain about. It's the perfect way to end the film. There is no other way to end it. This thing cannot be stopped. It just can't. So to have it look like a somewhat happy ending was cool.....until you see that no matter what they do, they will never get rid of it. The ending was terrific.

Every time I finish the review I just feel like going back and adding more. I can't say enough about it. This is about as original as it gets and that is a rare thing in today's cinema.
 

 

@Deep Wang  

Jesus.

 

I walked out of this movie at 3:15 in the morning.  What is the first thing I see?  The janitor walking towards me from the other end of the hallway.

 

I swear to God I almost shit myself.

 

I'm still creeped the fuck out.

 

@The Stingray   

All in all, It Follows is beautiful, haunting and unsettling, a modern horror classic in my opinion, and arguably the best teen slasher since Scream.

 

[baumer]

17) Angel Heart (1987)

US

Box office:  17 million

Person of interest:  Robert DeNiro

Memorable quote:  The flesh is weak, only the soul is immortal.

 

 

Harry Angel has a new case, to find a man called Johnny Favourite. Except things aren't quite that simple and Johnny doesn't want to be found. Let's just say that amongst the period detail and beautiful scenery, it all gets really really nasty.

 

And now we come to not just one of the best horror movies of all time, one of the finest films ever made.  

 

I have often said that horror is the most difficult genre to master. I believe this to be true because although it seems any moron with a camera can stalk a would be victim and try to psyche the audience out by shaking a few trees, then flagitiously embellish the film with blood instead of atmosphere, true fear is difficult to capture on film. I think we have all seen films that lay it on pretty thick but ultimately fail. I truly believe you can hire someone to make a dummy and stuff it with blood and even some rudimentary designs of intestines and hearts and various other functioning organs that have the ability to make the squeamish cover their eyes. But if you remember some of the greats, some of the icons of the trade, you will see that a good horror film is more about minacious shadows, the vicissitudes of lights, the ominous and foreboding music and finally the brilliant salaciousness of the story. 

Spoilers Ahead... if you have not seen this film, do not read from here on out.

The basic premise of Angel Heart is a detective story at heart. This is a 40's style film noir complete with rain soaked streets, seedy detectives and lots of questionable characters. We meet Harry Angel ( Roarke) as he is taking a phone call from a stranger. This stranger is from the law firm Winesap and MacIntosh. They would like to meet with him as they have a client that is familiar with his work. The client's name is Monsieur Louis Cypher.

"Is your client foreign? Is he a foreign gentleman?"

Harry then travels to a church ( strange enough place to meet a client who wants to hire a detective) where he enters the room and is first greeted by Winesap (who looks a lot like Stephen Tobolwolski), and then he sees his client. But what we see first is long, perfectly manicured finger nails, a strange cane, a ring that has either the star of David in the middle of it or a strange cult like pointed symbol, you decide. Also, the client's hair is put up in a bun and the man dressed impeccably. The man does not rise to shake Harry's hand. But he smiles with a diabolical, factitious grin that seems warm and inviting but reeks with deceit.

Harry then gets the facts of the case and is told that he will be searching for a crooner that owed Louis some money but disappeared during the war. So in essence, all Louis wants from Harry is to find out if this crooner is alive or dead. Cypher offers him a lot of money to find the guy and so Harry accepts.

"You must want this guy pretty bad," Harry says with a chuckle.

"I don't like messy accounts," Cypher replies dead-seriously.

And then just before the meeting concludes, Louis says to Harry,

"I've got a funny feeling we've met before." Harry has no recollection of ever meeting the man, and he would remember seeing how Cypher sticks out like a sore thumb.

From here Harry goes on a labyrinthine journey to find out what happened to this crooner. It takes him from Coney Island to New Orleans. And along the way, dead bodies begin to show up. First he interviews a doctor that had something to do with the case. He shows up dead in the next scene. Next we see an old guitar player named Toot Sweet and then he shows up dead, "strangled with a part of the body meant for pissing with." Now Harry is a suspect in two murders and it just keeps getting worse.

Every 20 minutes Louis Cypher shows up to check on his progress. And every time he does, more strange religion seems to get introduced to the plot. This French gentleman is obviously a fanatical, devout, religious iconoclast. He is not just seeking this missing person for personal accounts, it seems more like a reckoning. And the further Harry gets into the mystery, the more liable he is to be implicated in things that he had nothing to do with. To make matters worse, Cypher tells him that he has old fashioned and bucolic ideas about justice, "You know, an eye for an eye, that sort of thing." Finally Harry, in desperation, asks him in one of their sittings, "Who the @^&* are you Cypher?" Cypher's reply, "Watch your language, this is a church."

By now the film has us both intrigued with it's eccentric and neurotic characters, and confused in some ways by the abstruse manner in which the story is unfolding. This apparent confusion is by design, because this film takes pride in laying the foundation out for us but not the glue. We have to use our heads to figure things out and that is rare in many films, especially the horror genre. That may sound contradictory to what we are all lead to believe about most horror, but it is true. Horror, true horror has gone the way of the do-do bird. It is all but extinct. Angel Heart however, is more of a heterodoxy than one might think. It takes all that is good with the genre and makes it even better. Every scene in this film seems to quietly show us another piece to the puzzle. Every twist and turn seems to unravel the story like the layers of an onion. Without giving away the plot and the secrets to the film, here are a few scenes to digest and think about.

Take for instance the not so subliminal use fans in the film. Every time Louis Cypher is in the room, fans are first shown. This is relevant in some scenes because of the heat, but what about on a cold blustery day in the Bronx?

Also examine some of the intriguing lines that slither out of DeNiro's mouth. Lines like, "They say there is just enough religion in the world to make man hate one another, but not enough to make them love." Or: "Would you like an egg Mr. Angel?" After Harry says no, Cypher replies, "you know, they say the egg represents the soul." He then bites into the egg and chews it with perfect equanimity. You can never tell if Cypher is mad or satisfied. All we know is this man is here to find a missing person. Some of the time he cracks a smile but what he is really smiling about is just somewhere underneath the surface.

There are also a few times when Harry catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror but he sees two images of himself, the mirror is cracked or split or mangled in some way. And he always looks pensive and confused when he looks into the mirror as though he sees something.... but then forgets it.

We are also privy to scenes that are ripe with contradictions. Bullets are stored in a Bible, a nun is cleaning blood off the wall, a priest wants to drive in a Rolls Royce, a heart is cut out, almost like a butcher did it and took pride in his work and a few other images that confuse yet enlighten you at the same time. Angel Heart is the true working of a paradox in progress.

The climax of Angel Heart is one that will have you shell shocked. I wasn't prepared for it when I saw this film as a 17 year-old and even now when I am pushing 30 and have seen the film over 100 times, I am still in awe when I watch Harry and Louis banter about as Louis tells him of his ultimate fate.

"Alas. How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise Johnny."

"My name's not Johnny."

"I know who I am. Cypher I know who I am!"

When all is about to be revealed, Louis tells Johnny to take a good look in the mirror because no matter how cleverly you sneak up on a mirror, you reflection always looks you straight in the eye. And when he does, all that we didn't know but may have suspected, is now revealed to us.

Angel Heart is not the type of horror film that will scare you every five minutes with ghosts that bounce balls down stairs or with pumpkin candles that flicker coyly enough to see a shadow float across the ceiling. But what it will do is turn your insides upside down with the promise that something pernicious and final is about to take place. Angel Heart is opulent with undertones of doom and sumptuous with forbidden overtones. Just as Blair Witch attacked us with what could be there, Angel Heart admonishes us to stay away from things that should not be there. Harry Angel has entered into an inchoate project and it is one that he will wish he never sought out in the first place.

This is one of the best films I have ever seen, and along with Halloween and Jaws, not only does this film rank highly on the horror charts, it cross polinates into the top films ever made. I am not sure where I would put this film because to compare a film like JFK and Raiders of the Lost Ark with an atmospheric, spine tingling film like this is like comparing a top of the line BMW to a top of the line Jaguar. Where do you start and how do you stipulate which is better. All I know is that this film made me fear what it warns us about. And it made me interested to read the Bible again. That has to count for something. After all, the Bible is filled with stories of fire, brimstone, people turning to stone and burning bushes and deceit and betrayal. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

10 out of 10-- This is the epitome of horror and if you have not seen this film, I urge you to find it and watch it this weekend. Mickey Roarke and Robert Deniro are priceless and keep in mind, this is brought to you by the same team that gave us films like T-2, First Blood and Basic Instinct. This was a different kind of film for Kassar and Vajna and I am thankful they decided to take a chance on a dark film like this. Add Alan Parker to this brilliant behind the scenes team and you have all the ingredients for one hell of a ride.  

 

To sum it up, I fucking love this movie!

 

@Jake Gittes  And yeah, this is pretty much a total gem from beginning to end. I'm not a big fan of the glowing eyes thing, especially considering the rest of the film works perfectly at suggesting, rather than directly showing, the supernatural presence. Otherwise I unabashedly enjoy everything about it. A fantastic combination of horror and film noir, pulpy, sweaty and sleazy as fuck, yet chilling and effective on a human level. Rourke is at his ruggedly charismatic best and De Niro projects so much menace just sitting there and talking it's amazing.