The best
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: (1974) Directed by Tobe Hooper, with Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface; other cast includes Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger and Paul A. Partain. The story behind the Texas Chainsaw Massacre is cut and dry. A group of teenagers are out on a bright summer day, and when one thing leads to another, they find themselves in trouble with a family of grave robbing cannibals. This film for me has the right amount of everything, and the tension is something that you could cut with a knife. The tension is what makes this film great, and best of all, scary.
Alien: (1979) Directed by Ridley Scott, with Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley; other cast includes John Hurt, Tom Skerritt and Ian Holm. The ship Nostromo intercepts an S.O.S from a nearby planet while making a return trip to earth. Being obligated to help, they go to the source of the S.O.S and explore the alien surface. Trouble surfaces when a crew member is infected with a large parasite. This film is a great combination of both sci-fi and horror. This is a total monster movie set in space, with the H.R. Giger-based Alien icon, making for some awesomely terrifying images and moments.
Halloween: (1978) Directed by John Carpenter, with Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode; other cast including Donald Pleasence, Annie Brackett and Tony Moran. A young child murders his sister on Halloween and is institutionalized. Years later, he escapes from the institution, and he begins a new killing spree on the night of Halloween. From the beginning credits to the end, this film is just scary, and is considered a classic for that very reason. The theme music is something that can be recognized by most, and tension soaks some of the scariest scenes. This is a film where the unknown and the unseen can scare you to the core.
And the rest:
The Shining (1980)
Poltergeist (1982)
The Exorcist (1973)
A Nightmare on Elm St. (1984)
Pet Sematary (1989) Friday the 13th (1980)
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Where has all the horror gone? By Charles Glover, Staff Writer
There is nothing like sitting in a dark room, enjoying a scary movie, but something is missing from this picture when it comes to present-day horror films. An honest-to-goodness film fright can be, unfortunately, hard to find today. What is mostly seen in today's horror films consists of three elements in excess: Sex, blood and violence are not strangers to the horror genre, but only in moderation do these elements actually add to the film. An excellent example of excess in current horror films would be the film "Hostel", a 2006 release that centers around three individuals wanting to take in all the pleasures of a European vacation, but of course, that goes very wrong. The film can be summarized in two halves, with the first half being what can only be considered porno, and the second half being a grotesque snuff film. Unfortunately, this is the way that horror films are going, and the graces of actual fright are leaving the genre. The frights in the days of old are gone, and one reason for this could very well be the idea of getting to a contemporary audience that has been desensitized by exposure to ever-increasing levels of violence Ð not only in theaters but in the nightly news beamed into family rooms nationwide. Films such as "Friday the 13th" (1980), "Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) and "Halloween" (1978) were, for their time, rather violent. By today's standards however, these films are tame compared with what is seen in the genre today. These films may have gotten the ball rolling when it comes to the graphic nature of today's horror pictures. But these films that are about two to three decades old are, even with the long period of time that has passed, still rather scary. The change from scary to just plain grotesque may be explained with a simple look at our society's exposure to the grotesque in everyday life. Horrific events happen around us all the time, and with today's 24-hour news stations and the Internet, these events can be brought directly to our homes (with brief commercial interruptions). Now, one medium always will affect another, and this is very true with film. Horror movies actually have real competition in the gruesome nature of other media, and in turn, films have gone the way of other media. Alas, there is a need to be scared when going to a horror movie, and it doesn't happen as much as it used to. With movies being one form of escapism, it doesn't seem necessary to show a decapitation, when it can easily be found online, or on the evening news. Nothing like that needs to be shown in a darkened theater, and it can even be more of a scare when left to the imagination. Sitting in the dark watching a "scary movie," one should think about what they are watching, and ask themselves this question: Is this scary? Some may be surprised by the answer they get.
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The Amityville Horror: (1979) Directed by Stuart Rosenberg, with James Brolin as George Lutz; other cast includes Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger and Val Avery. Newlyweds move into a house with a nasty history of death and murder. After awhile in the house, things start to go south very quickly. This film may sound like a winner, but it doesn't have the goods for a nice scare. It strings the viewer along with creepy things throughout the film, but it never really comes to a point where the viewer can say that this film is scary. Unfortunately, this film will leave the viewer disappointed.
House of 1,000 Corpses: (2003) Directed by Rob Zombie, with Sid Haig as Captain Spaulding; other cast includes Sheri Moon, Bill Moseley and Erin Daniels. Young adults are out taking a tour of the American back roads, and come upon a local theme park and legend. Hearing about the legend, the group wants to see the location that is spoken of in the legend, which is where the trouble starts. There is no sustained imaging to give the audience a feeling of fright. Scenes are cut up by images and small video moments that kill any real build up of suspense.
Freddy vs. Jason (2003) I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Saw (2004)
Army of Darkness (1992)
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