Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

Halloween may have passed but horror is not chained to one mere time of the year.
It’s always with us, infiltrating our daily routines, often in small ways and in ways we can’t ever expect. However, Halloween does seem to have an affinity for horror and it appears to be more in force around that last October week, with people reminiscing of trick-or-treat sessions long past or movies to watch around that time.

Well, that’s what we’re here for today. Below are my top ten horror films and thus, the ones I would watch around Halloween.
Being the odd sort person that I am, I have self-imposed rules for this list. I’m explaining this now so that no one writes in the comments asking why particular films didn’t make the list.

First, though this mostly applies to the honourable mentions, only one film per series is accepted. Otherwise, if this was a top twenty or higher, it would probably be flooded with entries from the Nightmare On Elm Street series or Romero films involving zombies.
Second, for this particular list, the villain must be one of the following:
- supernatural in origin. No serial killers or mass murderers or people that just snapped, mainly because I’ve always felt it’s more of a thriller when the antagonist is human. Even with high body counts and true scares, stuff like the Scream series may be horror but it's borderline thriller because the Ghostface killers are all human, with human motivations. Same with Leatherface and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise (one day I'll very possibly do a horror list involving human villains)
- if not supernatural, aliens or science will be accepted. It may have more of a sci-fi slant but wouldn’t you be scared if you had a Facehugger all up in your... well, face? Likewise, humans turned monsters through science also works due to the loss of humanity and in fact, makes for a great study on whether or not a human can maintain their sense of self when undergoing transformations and such. Body horror can also count if there is no real supernatural/alien force, because it often does involve horrifying imagery and things that couldn’t really be achieved in a thriller.
- a human CAN be the main antagonist, however, as long as the film has some kind of supernatural force driving them or involved somehow (for example, if you altered It so that Pennywise was more a corrupting force for Henry Bowers but never had a personification and made Henry the main villain, it would be accepted. Though I should point out It was never ruled out anyway)
Finally, the film can mix with other genres but it must be mostly horror or at least not let its horror atmosphere be severely undermined.

Now, for the honourable mentions and films I highly recommend even if they missed the top 10: 28 Days Later, Asylum (1972), The House That Dripped Blood, The Beast Must Die!, Ginger Snaps, The Vault Of Horror, Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, Hellraiser, Dawn Of The Dead (1978), A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Demons (1985), Suspiria, Fright Night (1985), Alien and Evil Dead 2.

OK, with all that out of the way, I just have one thing left to say: besides entry number 1, these aren’t in any particular order.
So, let’s begin with number 10

10: In The Mouth Of Madness- Sam Neill plays John Trent, an insurance investigator who has been assigned to locate missing horror author Sutter Cane and bring his latest manuscript to his publishing company. His search takes him to the very places we try to avoid.
The third in a thematic trilogy directed by John Carpenter, this film could be a contender for one of the most mind-screwiest films there is.
It's a little hard to talk about this film without spoiling it or the atmosphere but the film works great at exploring the darkness that resides in the mind and of the darkest horrors ever thought up, these taking the forms of Cthulhu-esque abominations. I really love Sam Neill's performance in this and it is my favourite role of his, perhaps closely followed by his work in Memoirs Of An Invisible Man.

9: Tales From The Crypt (1972)- a British anthology film, from Amicus Productions, based upon the comic of the same name. The framing device is a mysterious man describing to five strangers the manner in which they die, with each segment then letting us see the events around it.
Curiously, only two of the five segments are based on actual issues of the Tales From The Crypt, with the others being lifted from other horror titles. That aside, it's the best horror anthology I've ever seen, in part due to some of the make-up and props being damn near scary (segments two and three having the best examples, particularly on Peter Cushing towards the end of the third), for some of the twist endings being really chilling (though the fourth contains a glaring plot hole or two) and because, as mentioned above, it has Peter Cushing, a horror icon. This might be his most sympathetic role, which in turn comes from the fact that his wife had passed away around the same time and he was never the same without her. The saddest part is reading what he did on the night she died and it's clear he was a very devoted and loving husband.
A great precursor for things to come, even if the movie is only related to the wonderful TV show by name.

8: Pet Sematary- the Creed family move to a new house, right near a pet cemetery and a dangerous stretch of road. Louis (Dale Midkiff) learns of the dark power of the burial ground near the pet cemetery but severely underestimates its effects.
One of the most potent forms of horror is what is known as the “adult fear” (Hell, an image of this movie is the picture for the TV Tropes page!) The adult fear style horror is one where the horror is all the more terrifying because it COULD happen in real life and for bonus horror points, sometimes maybe it HAS (think of the child victims on Law And Order: Special Victims Unit to help get a better grasp on the term). Without going into too much detail about the book or film, I remember when I first saw the film, I actually went pale. The scene was played out so well and so horrifyingly that I was in shock for some time after that. All I will say to keep its secrets is this: that dangerous stretch of road? I mentioned it for a reason. Even if you know what's coming, your body still goes into shock.
It's works like this that reaffirm my belief in the mastery Stephen King has in his craft.

7: Silent Hill- Rose (Radha Mitchell) and her adopted daughter, Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) are travelling to Silent Hill, but get into a car crash as they approach. When Rose comes to, she discovers Sharon is missing and sets off after her, all the while meeting several creatures and sinister citizens of the town.
Much like Resident Evil, Silent Hill is based off a popular survival horror game franchise. Unlike the film of Resident Evil, Silent Hill remembers it's not an action movie where people are stoic badasses with enough weaponry to supply to a small country (yeah, I hated the first Resident Evil. If it didn't bare the RE name, I'd be more tolerant but RE is not a game where you go in guns-a-blazin').
Staying true to most of the game's legacy while carving out its own, the film never devolves into a typical cash-grab by using just the brand name and character names and then going off on its own tangent. It's also unique in that its largely female-populated, with the most notable male character being Rose's husband, Christopher, played by Sean Bean (which is a bonus because it means the film doesn't also try and shove a romantic subplot or gratuitous T&A down our throats)
I look forward to the sequel, titled Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (that last part doesn't particularly please me, though, unless they intend to take advantage of what 3D can do. And also, why Revelation? How many movies have to be called Revelation or use it as part of the title?)

6: From Dusk Till Dawn- Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his brother, Richie (Quentin Tarantino) are looking to lay low after a bank robbery and kidnap a family in an RV with the intent of reaching a safehouse in Mexico. Before reaching the safehouse, they all stop off at a strip bar, which is later revealed to be a den for vampires.
Now, this may be the most controversial entry on the list because of the whole “it's more action/comedy than horror, it's not balanced” but I did the proviso that if it couldn't be tipped more towards horror on the scale that the horror wasn't completely diminished by the other elements (or, to put it in a less confusing way, it it suddenly turned into an episode of Full House. Or became one big shoot'em up with action movie music and one-liners and suddenly Milla Jovovich appears. I really do hate the first Resident Evil movie, I really do).
While it does have its fair share of action and comedic elements, the vampires themselves look like the stuff of nightmares and hey, it does have some hallmarks of horror. Particularly, the idea that not everyone is going to make it out alive and that, like most horrible situations in the real world, you don't exactly expect to end up in something so terrible (though obviously vampire strippers aren't a common occurrence in our world). Also, I should point out that the prequel and sequel also have horror elements so it is consistent throughout.
The dialogue is sharp, the characters are engaging and you really do care about their fates and wonder if they're going to make it out OK. The effects and make-up on the vampires is superb as well, some of the better movie vampires. Also, a crotch-gun. I don't think I need to go into detail about how awesome that is.

5: Drag Me To Hell- after turning down a mortgage payment extension for a customer, bank loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is cursed to go through three days of torment before being sent to Hell.
Sam Raimi returns to horror and it's like he came back with a vengeance. Mixing the comedy and the horror is something Raimi has always done masterfully (like in Army Of Darkness, part of one of the best film trilogies I've ever seen) and like any great horror, it doesn't telegraph the parts intended to make you jump. But the ending... oh, the ending is the sweetest part of all. No spoilers but I had to replay that ending several times the first time I watched it, that's how much I loved it. It's one of the best endings I have ever seen in a horror movie and I hope to see more like it. I know Raimi is set to direct Oz, The Great And Powerful (and I WILL be seeing that once it hits cinemas) but I eagerly await his return to horror, should he ever choose to come back.

4: The Thing (1982)- an alien lifeform wreaks havoc on an outpost in the Antarctic and the team of scientists become suspicious of each other, as the lifeform can take on other forms and blend in amongst them.
The Thing is a very good argument as to why old school effects are still awesome and, in some ways, better than CGI. Every time you see it, you're still not sure as to what you're seeing and you're not even sure what its original form is (well, unless you've now seen the prequel, which kind of deflates the mystery but that film's actually not too bad). The overall theme of paranoia and mistrust is played out well and they have a right to be on guard.
I should also point out that this is the first of the thematic trilogy I mentioned in the entry for In The Mouth Of Madness (the second is Prince Of Darkness, which is a very good film), the trilogy known as the Apocalypse Trilogy. There's no order to them since they are only connected by the theme of impending doom. However, I still cite this as the best of the three and the best John Carpenter film.

3: Videodrome- Max Renn (James Woods) is the president of a small TV station and he is searching for something sensationalistic to garner a stronger audience and he stumbles upon Videodrome, a program that appears to be the television equivalent of a snuff film. He becomes obsessed with it and becomes determined to find its origins.
If The Thing is a very good argument to the special effects of old vs. the new way of doing things, Videodrome would be the equivalent of a tag-team partner. Honestly, some of the things that were achieved in this movie are still mind-blowing today. The theme of new technology having sinister usage and the detriment it inflicts upon the masses is only on the surface. Look deeper into the film and you'll be surprised at what you may find.
This may not fit into most conventional horror, due to lacking a supernatural inclination, but the body horror element comes into play here.

2: The Fly (1986)- Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) is on the verge of a magnificent breakthrough in science: a teleportation system. His only problem is getting it to work with organic matter. But after meeting Veronica (Geena Davis), he finds the inspiration he needs to crack his problem. But after using himself as a test subject, without noticing a housefly slip into his teleportation pod, he begins to undergo several changes.
Completing the “trilogy” of movies whose practical effects dominate the movies reliant on CGI (and also being the second David Cronenberg film on this list), The Fly is also remarkable in the fact that, like The Thing, it is usually considered to be one of the best remakes in film history, though if you want to nitpick, both are based on short stories and could be considered a second adaptation.
Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis have excellent chemistry and their characters are extremely well developed (Jeff and Geena were actually married for a time too, so clearly there were multiple levels to their relationship). To me, the key thing that makes this movie excel is the way Cronenberg takes his time not just developing the relationship and the characters but the eventual “evolution” of Seth Brundle into his new form. It's not “Oh no, I'm a monster now, blaaargh!” and then it turns into a creature feature (it may have worked for the first adaptation, I don't know, I haven't seen it) but rather a careful character study as Seth adapts to the changes he's undergoing.
Also, the finale, devastating yet awesome at the same time. I don't know how it's possible but it is.

1: The Shining (1980)- Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) and his family have become the winter caretakers for the Overlook Hotel. Jack soon becomes a victim of the goings-on of the hotel, which seems to have designs on him.
I don't think I have to say much more about the plot, it's a very well known film, perhaps the most well known on this list. It's also in my top ten films of all time (which I may blog about one day). While there are several changes from the Stephen King novel (mainly focusing less on the subjects of Jack's alcoholism and its effects on his homelife and the strained relationship with his son), what it does still do is create an atmosphere of terror and confusion. Jack Nicholson is so convincing as Jack Torrence you wonder if he didn't retain some of that personality when they weren't shooting. And some of the line deliveries, even when he's calm (or seemingly calm) are downright chilling. Like this:
“Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I'm not gonna hurt ya. You didn't let me finish my sentence. I said, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just going to bash your brains in.”
Not to spoil things for the youngsters who have to experience this wonder, but the endings between book and film also vary. Both do work in their respective mediums, however, and I approve of the change made here.
This would later be redone as a mini-series that would be much more faithful to the book and it's actually pretty good. But for evocative sets, music, images and characterisation, I turn to this film.

So, that was my list. I'm fairly certain a lot of you disagree with the way I've conducted my list but that's part of what makes movie discussion so wonderful: that we stand up and speak out about our favourites and share our experiences. So long as we all remember to agree to disagree.

So, what are your favourite horror movies?