It’s the most wonderful time of the year. When the children
are screaming and people are bleeding and living in fear…. it’s the most
wonderful time. Candy and costumes. Parties. The great existential event of
death and what may or may not come after. Faith and terror. And movies. Don’t
forget the movies. Here are a few of my favorite.
Number 10
BLACK CHRISTMAS
The original. The 1974 classic where a small group of
college co-eds are terrorized in their sorority house as they prepare
to leave for Christmas break.
Many horror aficionados consider this one of the first
slasher films and it went on to inspire John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN and Fred
Walton’s WHEN A STRANGER CALLS. With all the trappings of an exploitation film
BLACK CHRISTMAS starts innocently and builds to absolute terror as the sick and
violent predator stalks the co-eds with creepy phone calls and then murders them one by one.
As the sorority house and surrounding college neighborhood empties for the holidays there is a sense of loneliness and fear that
wraps the women trapped in the story. The actual murders are telling in their
own way. One victim is suffocated in the attic while she can still see the safe
world just outside the window. Safety is just out of her reach. Then there is
the use of a Christmas ornament to kill Margot Kidder. This movie broke so many
rules it has to go down as a treasure.
Number 9
SUSPIRIA
This absolutely gorgeous film might be Dario Argento’s most
famous work. A young woman travels to Germany to attend a prestigious ballet
academy. Soon, brutal murders rock the ancient school. The students are visited
by visions and insanity, as it is revealed the school is run by powerful witches.
SUSPIRIA contains a genre-defining death scene so full of
color, sound and gore it is hard to watch and hard to turn away. The sanity
bending soundtrack, featuring Italian progressive rockers Goblin, is haunting
in itself. SUSPIRIA is hard to forget.
Number 8
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is a dirty piece of American filmmaking,
deserving of a place in movie history. Over the top disturbing and violent,
though all the violence is actually inferred and not splattered on the screen,
Chainsaw Massacre follows a group of kids on a journey across Texas. After
their car breaks down and they search for help they encounter Leatherface, a
grotesque psychopath wearing the skin of his victims, and his extremely
disturbing and very hungry family.
This was the first time I had seen cannibalism portrayed in film and it flipped me out. Crazy, violent, and raw, the film’s low budget and low effects made the movie seem like a documentary. As if we were a part of the brutality. It made me feel guilty and afraid and I loved it.
This was the first time I had seen cannibalism portrayed in film and it flipped me out. Crazy, violent, and raw, the film’s low budget and low effects made the movie seem like a documentary. As if we were a part of the brutality. It made me feel guilty and afraid and I loved it.
Number 7
HELLRAISER
Clive Barker dammit! HELLRAISER brought the spectacular Clive
Barker to American shores and I for one am eternally grateful. HELLRAISER
blends terror, sex, and fantastical nightmares to create a cinematic masterpiece.
HELLRAISER introduces us to the Cenobites, all formerly
human, though now cursed to torment humans who dive too deep into their home realm. Gnashing,
grinding teeth. Barbed wire. Leather suits and milk-pale faces, Cenobites were
created to make man suffer and they kill and torture in many horrific ways. The
sublime Pinhead is their fearless leader, crowned with sturdy nails all over
his skin. He kills with hooks and chains, ripping sinners apart. HELLRAISER is
a deep and bloody jaunt that will haunt you forever after.
Number 6
NIGHT of THE LIVING DEAD
George Romero changed the face of horror films forever with his
release of this classic piece of cinema. NIGHT of THE LIVING DEAD is considered
the stepping off point for modern zombie lore. These were not zombies brought back
to life by a religious zealot so their bidding might be done. These were zombies
that were rising and moving because of some great wrong worked by the human
race. These undead death machines were our punishment.
For $6,000 George Romero told the story of a brother and
sister visiting their father’s grave when the dead begin to rise. They join
with another group of survivors and try to stay alive inside an old farmhouse.
The film shines a not-so-subtle spotlight on the Viet Nam War and race relations
within the U.S. It’s our story told through the dead.
Number 5
THE EXORCIST
Based on William Peter Blatty's novel of the same name, the
film follows a single mother as she tries to save her possessed daughter,
Reagan. Questions of sanity and faith fly back and forth as the Catholic Church
agrees to intervene. Fragile characters and deep story lines help to lay a
tremendous foundation for this one-of-a-kind movie.
The film received ten Academy Award nominations, including
Best Picture, making it one of the few horror films to be nominated for Best
Picture. Disgusting special effects created such a stir
when released, some theaters refused to show the film.
Number 4
HALLOWEEN
This movie is a classic, from the film score to the expertly
and carefully used first-person point of view. The original was all about
ratcheting up the tension and prickling your nerves.
We learn about Michael Myers, a young boy who viciously
kills his sister on Halloween night and is soon after institutionalized. As an adult he escapes the
asylum and returns to his hometown to continue his killing spree.
With its subtle blend of supernatural and realism, HALLOWEEN scares on a different level than most other genre movies. Though we know Michael Meyers is human he appears monster-like. He lacks humanity, covered by his pale, expressionless mask. He’s not like us. Add in the simply prefect score, by none other than John Carpenter himself, and you will have nightmares for years.
With its subtle blend of supernatural and realism, HALLOWEEN scares on a different level than most other genre movies. Though we know Michael Meyers is human he appears monster-like. He lacks humanity, covered by his pale, expressionless mask. He’s not like us. Add in the simply prefect score, by none other than John Carpenter himself, and you will have nightmares for years.
Number 3
28 DAYS LATER
Is it a zombie movie? Is it a plague movie? Apocalypse? No
matter, 28 DAYS LATER is a gorgeous film filled with the dreadful loneliness of
a dying society. When bike courier Jim comes-to in an empty London hospital he
finds the world has begun to feed on itself. The opening sequence is stunning
and triggers the feeling that we are witnessing the end of the world.
Though the monsters in Danny Boyle’s 28 DAYS LATER are
fast-moving, strong and filled with rage, unlike the great George Romero’s slow and steady undead, the same
sentiments remain. It’s a critique of humanity’s most basic emotions and desires.
The haunting film score featuring Godspeed, Brian Eno and John
Murphy helps to frame this modern classic.
Number 2
PHANTASM
The Tall Man. The Tall Man. Agh. What more do I have to say?
One of the greatest “bad-guys” of all horror movies and so perfectly played by
Angus Scrimm, with his long hair and deviant eyebrows. He is not the bumbling,
ugly monster we see in FRIDAY THE 13th or NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET,
but a creepy, other-worldly creature who lives in a mausoleum, controls dwarf
minions and zombies and elegantly kills with his brilliant death sphere.
One of the the film's best moments is a dream sequence in
which the teenage protagonist, Mike opens his eyes, unable to move, and sees The
Tall Man hovering over his bed. I couldn’t sleep for weeks after seeing this
movie.
Number 1
ROSEMARY’S BABY
Big-eyed and gentle Mia Farrow plays Rosemary, a young, out-of-place
house-wife living in NYC with her ambitious, fame-seeking husband. When she discovers she is pregnant with their
first child she is, at first, joyous, but is soon overcome with fear as the
couple’s strange and pushy neighbors encroach further in their life.
Increasingly, she is isolated from the outside world and family and depends only on their new friends. Soon we see her husband has given his soul and their unborn child’s life to this group of Satan worshippers and their dark lord in return for success.
Increasingly, she is isolated from the outside world and family and depends only on their new friends. Soon we see her husband has given his soul and their unborn child’s life to this group of Satan worshippers and their dark lord in return for success.
There are so many levels of discomfort in this film. Life in
the big city, fraught with paranoia and pressure. Loneliness. The unfathomable
betrayal by a husband. The idea that something that doesn’t belong is growing
inside you. ROSEMARY’S BABY is a slow and steady attack on your sense of well-being.
No comments:
Post a Comment