I'm still not sure about this list, but I'm tired of thinking about it, so here's mine:
1.
The Shining. I still don't like to watch this movie by myself. Its amazing that a movie with such a low body count managed to do such a great job with conveying mood and building palpable tension.
2.
Evil Dead II. The non-stop fukkery and mayhem in this movie is just
.
3.
Quarantine. I haven't seen any of the [Rec] movies, but if they're even remotely as good or better than this, then I probably would have to rearrange my list. This is the first horror movie that made me actually consider leaving the theatre. My nerves were shot by the end of it. And those last 10 minutes are
4.
Nightmare on Elm Street. The kills scenes were so
, especially considering the time of release. No one was doing stuff like that. And just the premise of something coming to get you in your dreams is still
because we all have to fall asleep.
5.
The Thing. The tension is
because the movie makes sure you get to know the crew first, which a lot of horror movies now fail to grasp. So when the shyt starts to hit the fan, you really are invested and shook by the horrific nature of their deaths. It also did a excellent job of building tension.
6.
The Exorcist. This film did a great job of establishing characters. Also the insidious progression of events really made Regan's possession more believable than it should have been. Some of the scenes in this movie are just so
7.
Poltergeist. Again, characters are very important to me, especially in horror. This one did a great job of establishing who the family members were before the shyt went down, so I really cared about what was happening to them. It also did a great job of playing on childhood fears, and the tension building was good too.
8.
The Descent. The movie is ace for many reasons: 1. it has excellent characters; 2. a wonderful hidden story that doesn't really come unfold completely until near the end; 3. the ambiguity of the ending. Were there really monsters down there with them? Or was this the work of one maniac suffering from the side-effect of hallucination of being trapped in a cave?
The movie never answers that question and I love that.
9.
Blair Witch Project. I know this probably won't make most people's list, but I've only watched this movie once, and I'm pretty sure its because of how spooked I was after seeing it. I saw this movie when it first came out
before there was any real investigation in to whether it was real or not. The actors and director were nobodies, and they didn't do interviews and there were no credits at the end of the movie. There was only a website. Film had me
about whether it was real. Very well played.
10.
Dawn of the Dead (2004 Remake). I know Zombieheads may give me flack for this, but I'm sorry, this is one of the best zombie movies I've ever seen. I'm not shytting on Romero, because we wouldn't be anywhere without him, but Snyder's vision of running zombies that can actually pursue you like Flo Jo just changed the game completely. I know it pissed people off to see zombies running, but it scared the hell outta me. That first opening scene when Ana was trying to drive off and her newly turned zombie husband runs after her full speed was just
Nobody saw that coming. Besides that it was well written, acted, and the ending, was just perfect.
Honorable mentions:
1.
Silence of the Lambs. Excellent characters, great tension. Seriously disturbing because its a bit too plausible, especially these days.
2.
Psycho. For putting me off to showers for almost a year.
3. The Ring. For one of the most creative scary scenes I've ever seen.
4.
Alien. Great characters, great plot/script, shocking surprise, especially for its time, and excellent tension building.
5.
IT. I know its probably cheesy as hell to most, but this freakin' clown scared the beejesus out of me.
