What's Your Favorite Horror Movie?

11.24.04 | JohnRobertson

[John Robertson]

What's your favorite horror movie...and why? What fried your hair, and still makes it jump if you get a little too tired and you remember a sequence or two from something that scared the stuff out of you.

I've always dismissed horror movies as a waste of time, but the older I get, the more I realize they must serve some function--some cathartic function--because they are an enduring genre, and each generation likes to find its own favorite scary movies. Heard a commentator saying the other day, the reason the country is so preoccuppied with horror films right now is, it's a horror we can "handle," versus the real, terrorist kind of horror.

[libertylass]

OH YEAH!! WHEN I WAS YOUNG IT WAS "THE BAD SEED" AND "THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS." There was also one that would be very fakey if I was to watch it now, but it was called "The Invaders" I think. It was about a little boy who woke up to see a UFO landing in a field close to his home. The Aliens ran around taking his family I think and they only had three fingers. They tried to make a remake of this, but it was stupid. Sorry....had to add those.

[libertylass]

THE NIGHT STALKER? We lived it here in L.A. I remember that there was a pattern to his killings. Beige homes close to freeway on-ramps. I lived in a off-white duplex and EVERYONE locked their doors and windows during that time.

I remember one night in bed I heard someone walking outside my window and made my boyfriend check. Like I said, EVERYONE acted as if they were next in line to be killed 'cuz his attacks were all over the place. The movie followed the story very well. He made the mistake of his life when he tried running through L.A. to steal a car. They brought him down quick!! HA!!

[BenLurkin]

I actually liked "Aleins" better than "Alien". It reminded me of "Pork Chop Hill".

[raygun]

I believe you misunderstood me. That's a quote by that little cherubic but snotty kid who, if you weren't nice to him, would close his eyes, and when he opened them again you'd be gone. Where? He didn't even know. But you "went away." I'm not sure if that was Twilight Zone, or Outer Limits, but the kid is well recognized, and one we all love to hate. He's always played villian roles.

[Paperdoll]

The Red Dawn

[raygun]

The Bad Seed, based on the Lizzy Borden story. That was yummy.

[savedbygrace]

Anything with Kevin Costner.

Oh, wait. You said horror, not horrible.

[Squantos]

OK....as I stated I'm not too big on horror movies so I wouldn't have caught it had ya whacked me tween the eyes with it...... But this is a great thread....learning what I may want to see some day......ar at least have in my DVD libary for others who enjoy such. Dune was kinda Sci-Fi Horrific for me.....:o)

Stay safe !

[Junior]

Alien

[TheLion]

Alien

Groundbreaking, scary as hell, beautifully made, one of the greatest movies ever made period. Often copied, but never quite matched.

Have to agree. In it's time, there has never been anything as good or scarier.

[k omalley]

As an adult, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and Sixth Sense are three movies which gave me the the creeps.

When I was 10 yrs old I went to see The Blob. It kept me awake many a night. I kept checking my bedroom door to make sure it wasn't oozing under the door into my sanctum sanctorum.

[BenLurkin]

Well . . . there would never have been "Alien" had there not been

[nopardons]

Horror movies,like fairy tales and the earliest myths,serve many different purposes;not the least of which is the cathartic release of pent up tension and/or fear and hatred of the unknown an terrifying.As Bruno Bettlheim explained,re fairy tale monsters (be they monsters in form or monsters of evil in human form),they allow a child to transfer feelings (in the real world) to those in a fantasy and thus,exculpate them.

Human nature makes one thrill to the fear and revulsion...in safety,delivering a guilty pleasure. Unlike those feelings induced by reality,the reader/listener/viewer of horror tales,knows,KNOWS, that when it's all over,it's just been a fantasy.

There have been many books written on this subject and if you would like a book list,I'd be happy to give you one ....once I return home. :-)

Some of THE best horror movies I've seen are : "THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI","THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER"(a black & white British one made in the early '50s),"THE CAT PEOPLE" (the original one),"PYCHO",and "FREAKS".

[nopardons]

The Broadway play was better and yes,I saw and really enjoyed both.

[RepoGirl]

I'll throw my hat in the ring. I'm a BIG horror film fanatic. My top ten, because I can't narrow down to just one.

1) Nosferatu*
2) Alien
3) Halloween
4) Phantasm
5) Jaws
6) Night of the Living Dead*
7) Dawn of the Dead*
8) The Fog
9) Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things
10) Texas Chainsaw Massacre*

Note that all films with asterisk are the Originals. The only decent remake was for Dawn of the Dead and it was still no where near as great as the original.

[TheLion]

I never saw "Dark Star"....will have to look for it. I read you mentioned that you enjoyed "Aliens" more than "Alien"...I did myself. It was a great film but not as scary. It was more fascinating, since you already knew the enemy.

[RandallFlagg]

LOVE the CUDA!

[MichelleWSC]

Okay I'll play too :-)

1. The Exorcist (still scares the crap out of me)
2. Horror: any Dracula movie with Christopher Lee (classics)
3 "Phantasm" (bad acid flashback movie lol)
4. "Halloween" (original)
5. "Night of the Living Dead"
6. Best slasher: Friday the 13th (original)
7. Any of the "Faces of Death" movies (gross factor)
8. "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
9. "Helter Skelter" (saw it when I was a kid and being that
it was true made it scary)
10. Fun scary movie: "Thirteen Ghosts"

[BenLurkin]

Agreed, Alien WAS much scarier than Aliens. I think they were smart not to try to make the same movie as a sequel and went for a change.

"Dark Star" (1974) was a low budget dark comedy directed by John Carpenter. I do recommend it for any adult, but particularly for any fan of "Alien". Some some there was plagiarism -- some say the "parallels are 'imaginary'. Either way it is fun to consider.

[ChadGore]

Q: What's Your Favorite Horror Movie?

A: Primary Colors