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Thursday 8 November 2012

My top 100 horror movies part VI.

The penultimate part. Lets get this done.

34.An American werewolf in London ( 1981 ).

Another horror/comedy (I can almost hear the groans) but again, this one does something different. A werewolf that moves around on all fours, more beast than man. Rick Bakers amazing FX, in my opinion the greatest werewolf change in the history of cinema. The attack in London where the werewolf literally bites someones head off. Amazing!!!


33.Black Christmas ( 1974 ).

Bob Clark's proto-slasher is one creepy movie. A group of female students must face a serial killer who first of all makes perverted prank calls to their sorority house. They then find out that the killer is actually in their house, and the battle for survival begins. The POV shot at the beginning of the movie is an obvious influence on Halloween, and the relatively bloodless movie uses suspense to great effect. The tagline "IF THIS MOVIE DOESN'T MAKE YOUR SKIN CRAWL, IT'S ON TOO TIGHT" has never been more honest!!

32.Martin ( 1976 ).

The first Romero film to feature special effects from the great Tom Savini, this movies ambiguity is what stands out the most and the great performance by Romero regular John Amplas. Martin believes he is a vampire, and when we first meet him he is about to sedate a woman and drink her blood. A woman Martin is friends with believes him to be mentally ill, not undead at all. None of the murders in this film go smoothly, and Amplas portrays the shy Martin with great aplomb.

31.The Descent ( 2005 ).

A British horror movie, and still one of the most atmospheric movies I have ever witnessed. Six women investigate an unmapped cave system and become trapped by creatures who want to feed on them. Full of suspense, gore and terror, this is definitely a movie to get your heart racing.


30.Night of the Living Dead ( 1990 ) .

What can I say other than I enjoy Tom Savini's version so much more than the original Romero version. At least the screenplay was still written by Romero. I just feel this move is better in every way. The characters are more well realized. The character of Barbara doesn't fall into a state of catatonia and actually does something in this movie other than seem incredibly distant. Then there are the zombies. Amazing zombies. This is Night of the living dead amplified in every way!


29.Shivers ( 1975 ) .

A scientist creates a parasite that is a cross between an aphrodisiac and venereal disease. Once the parasite finds a host, it creates uncontrollable sexual urges in it's host. This movie has hints of the infection sub genre of horror about it and features some truly disturbing scenes like the bathtub scene where a woman becomes the unwilling host for a parasite. Remember folks, this is Cronenberg, so it's definitely no easy ride and also isn't full of graphic sex as my synopsis would suggest. This movie is horror of the purest kind.


28.Pieces ( 1982 ) .

Still the bloodiest slasher movie I have ever seen. A boy is doing a jigsaw puzzle of a nude woman and when his mother catches him, she beats him and threatens to burn his possessions. He then murders her with an axe. So begins this awesome (but in some places chronologically incorrect) movie. Go give it a go!!

27.Tombs of the Blind Dead ( 1971 ) .

Another Spanish horror movie following Pieces, this one tells the story of Templar knights (although in the movie, they are referred to as Knights from the east) who return from the dead after being persecuted for witchcraft. An amazingly creepy movie, and the fact the zombies hunt by sound creeps up the tension to almost unbearable levels.


26.The Fog ( 1980 ) .

The scariest ghost movie I have ever seen. I remember playing tricks on my friends after watching this, knocking on my wall and making them jump so bad they would begin to cry. Leprous pirates take revenge on the town that failed to help them many years ago. John Carpenter's score help increase the tension again, and the ghosts look amazing!


25.The Hitcher ( 1986 ) .

Rutger Hauer is probably one of the creepiest Hitchhikers I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. He is so cold, so obviously crazy yet he plays it so straight. Jim gives a man a ride,  a soft spoken man whose temperament suddenly changes when he informs Jim that the car they just passed is stranded because the Hitchhiker Jim picked up murdered and mutilated the occupants of the car. So much suspense in this movie you'll be tearing out your hair!!


24.Nightbreed ( 1990 ) .

Clive Barker hits home again with Nightbreed. A story of beasts  and man and who is really the true monster. This film impresses on so many levels. Hopefully, the Cabal cut (an extended version of how Clive originally wanted the film to be before it was butchered by the production company) will see a release very soon. Nevertheless, the version which is out now is still a masterclass in fantastical horror.

Darkest regards......Dani.

5 comments:

  1. I watched American Werewolf when I was pretty young and I messed myself on numerous occasions. I saw it recently and it is really tame. But like you say, great effects and really funny. I love The Hitcher too. It is so bleak. Seen the Cabal Cut of Nightbreed and it's okay if a bit long. But it is a work in progress so improvements are still being made.

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  2. Lucky you!! I really hope they don't take too long to release it though,I remember seeing photos of FX that were taken out of the movie.

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  3. I accidentally deleted this comment , so here it is again.

    Kev D. has left a new comment on your post "My top 100 horror movies part VI .": It's actually a little sad that the "Blind Dead" series got so much worse after the first film... The first one is so great, plus it has such a wonderful bummer evening. Posted by Kev D. to Doctor carnage's world of horror. at 8 November 2012 07:28

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  4. Full stop comma space comma space. Illegible! Piss poor taste in movies too.

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