BA_Harrison's Favourite Horror Movies of all time
This is a list of my favourite 100 horror films of all time (a work in progress with films in no particular order). Some I simply consider extremely entertaining; some are great works of art; some are just bloody scary; some I just like for reasons I can't easily explain.
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- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.The classic film that gave us Leatherface, the scariest MF to ever rev a chainsaw. Possibly my favourite horror ever.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRoy ScheiderRobert ShawRichard DreyfussWhen a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.The first film to scare the absolute crap out of me.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsGregory PeckLee RemickHarvey StephensMysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?Biblical horror at its finest. An all-star cast, shocking death scenes, and that brilliant score. Superb.
- DirectorDan O'BannonStarsClu GulagerJames KarenDon CalfaWhen two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.A perfect combo of horror and comedy, featuring one of the greatest ever zombies in Tarman, a naked Linnea Quigley, and a great soundtrack.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.The shower scene is an absolute classic moment of suspense and shock. Hitchcock's finest? Perhaps. His most famous? Definitely.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsDennis HopperCaroline WilliamsJim SiedowA radio host is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas marshal hunts them.Tobe Hooper's ghoulish horror comedy is gory, funny and scary. Oft misunderstood, but I love it as much as the original.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsJason PatricCorey HaimDianne WiestAfter moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.My favourite vampire film and one of the most fun horrors of the 80s. The pop rock soundtrack is a real treat.
- DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsBelén RuedaFernando CayoRoger PríncepA woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.A superb ghost story. Not my favourite sub-genre, but this is sooooo scary!
- DirectorTom HollandStarsChris SarandonWilliam RagsdaleAmanda Bearse"Fright Night" sees a teenager believing that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire. He turns to an actor in a television hosted horror movie show for help to deal with the undead.My second favourite vampire flick from the 80s, just behind The Lost Boys. This also has a great soundtrack.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.Carpenter's film is practically flawless, a brilliant exercise in suspense and shocks with an incredible score.
- DirectorSean ByrneStarsXavier SamuelRobin McLeavyJohn BrumptonWhen Brent turns down his classmate Lola's invitation to the prom, she concocts a wildly violent plan for revenge.Nasty little film with a small but talented cast. Robin McLeavy is particularly good as demented schoolgirl Lola, who doesn't like rejection.
- DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsFay WrayRobert ArmstrongBruce CabotA film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.Horror. Maybe not, but this is so good that I couldn't leave it off my list. Still the best version of the story.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.Sam Raimi's masterclass on making a horror with a small budget. None of the sequels have come close to the original's brilliance.
- DirectorBernard RoseStarsVirginia MadsenXander BerkeleyTony ToddThe Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.Along with Hellraiser, my favourite adaptation of a Clive Barker story.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.A great cast (Sissy Spacek, Nancy Allen, Piper Laurie, John Travolta) and DePalma's excellent visual style make this a solid gold classic. Also has one of the great final jump scares of all time.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsThomas JaneMarcia Gay HardenLaurie HoldenA freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.Some criticise the CGI, but it's the storytelling that makes this so great, Darabont handling the narrative brilliantly and adding one hell of an ending. Be prepared to feel depressed.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsHal HolbrookLeslie NielsenAdrienne Barbeau"Creepshow" is a 1982 movie that tells five grisly tales from a children's comic book: a murdered father rising from his grave, a bizarre meteor, a vengeful husband, a mysterious crate's occupant, and a plague of cockroaches.The film that turned me into a horror nut. This scared me to pieces when I first saw it, but I was hooked from that day onwards.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJennifer ConnellyDonald PleasenceDaria NicolodiA young girl who has an amazing ability to communicate with insects is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders.Argento's most insane horror film, which makes it my favourite. Plus, it's got Jennifer Connelly in it.
- DirectorTom SixStarsLaurence R. HarveyAshlynn YennieMaddi BlackInspired by the fictional Dr. Heiter, disturbed loner Martin dreams of creating a 12-person centipede and sets out to realize his sick fantasy.Somehow, director Tom Six manages to make the original look like a kiddies film in comparison to this twisted flick. Awesome!
- DirectorRuggero DeodatoStarsRobert KermanFrancesca CiardiPerry PirkanenDuring a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest, a professor stumbles across lost film shot by a missing documentary crew.THE quintessential Italian cannibal film.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeremy IronsGeneviève BujoldHeidi von PalleskeTwin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.Cronenberg's twisted and very sad tale of twins who can't bear to be apart.
- DirectorRobin HardyStarsEdward WoodwardChristopher LeeDiane CilentoA puritan police sergeant arrives in a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl, who the pagan locals claim never existed.Wow. So much atmosphere, such a great cast, and that unforgettable ending. A superb piece of British horror.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.I'm not a fan of either Nicholson or Duvall, but this film is undeniably scary. Great direction from Kubrick.
- DirectorAlexandre AjaStarsElisabeth ShueJerry O'ConnellRichard DreyfussAfter a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of the prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area's new razor-toothed residents.A love it or hate it film. I love it—expliotative gory trash with topless women.
- DirectorJohn GulagerStarsDanielle PanabakerVing RhamesDavid HasselhoffAfter the events at Lake Victoria, the pre-historic school of blood-thirsty piranhas make their way into a newly opened waterpark.More of the same, only gorier and with bigger breasts.