Top Five Hollywood Horror Flicks
For the most part, Hollywood doesn't make good horror movies. Horror, more often than not, is about things that make you psychologically uncomfortable. Things that make you uncomfortable aren't marketable, so studios usually like to leave that stuff out. What you usually get from the bigger productions are bad cliches, cheesy effects, and nothing memorable.
On occasion, though, a studio will allow a talented film maker to cut loose, and make a truly horrifying, mainstream film. It doesn't happen often, so this list was actually quite easy for me to put together.
Here are my choices.
5. An American Werewolf in London
John Landis, known mostly for his comedic efforts, made this one spectacular entry in the horror genre. Not that the movie is dead serious. When Landis shopped the script around to various studios, most said it was too funny to be a horror movie, and too scary to be a comedy. The mix works perfectly, while never getting in the way of the human tragedy that makes werewolves such a great movie monster.
The centerpiece of this movie is the transformation scene, with revolutionary effects by Rick Baker that still hold up. We live every painful second of the transformation with poor David, and witness every horrible detail of it. Despite the advances in makeup and creature effects at the time, Landis wisely never shows a clear shot of the actual werewolf, giving us only glimpses and allowing us to fill in the rest with our imaginations. The scary parts are scary, the funny parts are funny, and there's great drama woven in throughout. The best horror movies are the ones in which terrible things happen to people who don't deserve it, and this film is no exception.
4. Sleepy Hollow
Right off, I will admit that I didn't find Tim Burton's retelling of the classic Washington Irving tale scary. Much in the way I don't find old Hammer Horror movies scary. And that's why I love this movie, because, much like those Hammer classics, this movie's not about scares. It's about atmosphere and art direction, and Sleepy Hollow aces it on both counts.
The film looks great. That kind of goes without saying when Tim Burton's involved, but this movie in particular looks distinct. It's not like his other films. There's a realistic feeling to the sets. If you've ever been to some of the older parts of the country, like Terrytown (where the real Sleepy Hollow is located), you've seen some of those old houses. You know what the woods look like at night in the fall. Everything is gray and brown and ominous, and Burton captured that perfectly. The cast is top notch- Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Michael Gambon and Christopher Walken in a great dialogue driven part. And Danny Elfman's score is creepy and dramatic.
And the effects are great. It's one of the bloodiest horror movies to come out of a studio in many years. It's just a shame Tim Burton never did anything this good again.
3. The Exorcist
I'm probably getting some people angry by not putting this one on the top of the list. I love this movie, I really do. It's just not my all time favorite. But that's in no way a slight on the quality of the picture.
The Exorcist is an extremely well made film. It has what every great horror movie should have- atmosphere. Everything feels off somehow. Nothing feels like it's in its right place. From the opening, you feel uncomfortable, and you're never allowed to actually relax. It makes a little girl say and do awful things. It spits in the face of religion (literally, in one famous scene). And it doesn't have a happy ending. This movie never once lets you relax, not even at the end.
All the performances are great, the music is iconic, it's been parodied countless times (most memorably in an old SNL skit with Richard Pryor), and it often tops many lists of great movies. Just not this one. Even though I think it's a great movie.
2. Poltergeist
The last movie to actually scare me. And I was about 12 when I saw it. I'm such a wuss!
It's sort of an odd movie because it's hard to tell who really made it. There are scenes that are distinctively Spielberg, and scenes that you can tell were shot by Tobe Hooper. Either way, it looks spectacular. What I love about this movie is how much it misleads you at the beginning. Everything is so happy and nice. It's a typical Spielberg family set up, in the nice neighborhood with quirky neighbors. Weird things start happening. And then the tree tries to eat the little boy.
From that point on, Poltergeist is a haunting (pun totally intended) film. The ghosts are believable, the moments they're on screen and right after are creepy. The effects are great, and the climax is incredible. You'll never want to sleep near a closet again!
1. The Shining
I love this movie. I absolutely love it. I love every moment, every frame of this amazing piece of work. Could you expect anything less from the astoundingly talented Stanley Kubrick? No, this isn't his best film, but even his worst were better than most other directors.
Kubrick wisely removed the more over-the-top, cliched elements from Stephen King's original novel, creating a domestic tragedy. The horror comes from the character's actions, not from supernatural elements. One could even argue that there are no ghosts in the movie at all, that everything is psychological. That's just a little more scary to me, to think that something could drive this man so crazy he would stop at nothing to murder his own family.
Nothing in the making of this movie happened by chance. Kubrick was widely known for his insane attention to every single minor detail. There are entire essays written on the internet that have dissected this film, attempting to uncover any hidden meaning Kubrick placed in there. Did Jack physically abuse Danny? Was it all about Native Americans? Did Kubrick mentally abuse Shelly Duvall to mirror Jack's abuse of Wendy? In the end, no one will ever really know. It's very possible that Jack reading an issue of Playgirl at the beginning wasn't part of some elaborate metaphor, but simply a joke Kubrick threw in for a personal laugh.
Why do I love this movie so much? It's fucking scary. Being in a hotel alone like that would be creepy anyway, but imagine looking down the hallway and seeing a man in a bear costume kneeling in front of another man on the bed. No explanation, it's just there. It's not shock scares that drive this movie. It's not gore, either. Only one person dies. It's complete atmosphere. The big, empty spaces of the Overlook Hotel, the strange sightings, the sudden appearance of guests from sometime else in history, and the fact that only Jack Nicholson's character seems to be the only one who can see them. The music is strange and unsettling. And the ending is ambiguous. Was Jack there the whole time? Was he taken over by an evil spirit? Was he the reincarnation of an evil spirit? Who can really be sure.
You want a happier ending? Go watch the horrible TV remake Stephen King produced in the 90s. Then feel stupid for passing up this amazing piece of genius.
For the most part, Hollywood doesn't make good horror movies. Horror, more often than not, is about things that make you psychologically uncomfortable. Things that make you uncomfortable aren't marketable, so studios usually like to leave that stuff out. What you usually get from the bigger productions are bad cliches, cheesy effects, and nothing memorable.
On occasion, though, a studio will allow a talented film maker to cut loose, and make a truly horrifying, mainstream film. It doesn't happen often, so this list was actually quite easy for me to put together.
Here are my choices.
5. An American Werewolf in London
John Landis, known mostly for his comedic efforts, made this one spectacular entry in the horror genre. Not that the movie is dead serious. When Landis shopped the script around to various studios, most said it was too funny to be a horror movie, and too scary to be a comedy. The mix works perfectly, while never getting in the way of the human tragedy that makes werewolves such a great movie monster.
The centerpiece of this movie is the transformation scene, with revolutionary effects by Rick Baker that still hold up. We live every painful second of the transformation with poor David, and witness every horrible detail of it. Despite the advances in makeup and creature effects at the time, Landis wisely never shows a clear shot of the actual werewolf, giving us only glimpses and allowing us to fill in the rest with our imaginations. The scary parts are scary, the funny parts are funny, and there's great drama woven in throughout. The best horror movies are the ones in which terrible things happen to people who don't deserve it, and this film is no exception.
4. Sleepy Hollow
Right off, I will admit that I didn't find Tim Burton's retelling of the classic Washington Irving tale scary. Much in the way I don't find old Hammer Horror movies scary. And that's why I love this movie, because, much like those Hammer classics, this movie's not about scares. It's about atmosphere and art direction, and Sleepy Hollow aces it on both counts.
The film looks great. That kind of goes without saying when Tim Burton's involved, but this movie in particular looks distinct. It's not like his other films. There's a realistic feeling to the sets. If you've ever been to some of the older parts of the country, like Terrytown (where the real Sleepy Hollow is located), you've seen some of those old houses. You know what the woods look like at night in the fall. Everything is gray and brown and ominous, and Burton captured that perfectly. The cast is top notch- Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Michael Gambon and Christopher Walken in a great dialogue driven part. And Danny Elfman's score is creepy and dramatic.
And the effects are great. It's one of the bloodiest horror movies to come out of a studio in many years. It's just a shame Tim Burton never did anything this good again.
3. The Exorcist
I'm probably getting some people angry by not putting this one on the top of the list. I love this movie, I really do. It's just not my all time favorite. But that's in no way a slight on the quality of the picture.
The Exorcist is an extremely well made film. It has what every great horror movie should have- atmosphere. Everything feels off somehow. Nothing feels like it's in its right place. From the opening, you feel uncomfortable, and you're never allowed to actually relax. It makes a little girl say and do awful things. It spits in the face of religion (literally, in one famous scene). And it doesn't have a happy ending. This movie never once lets you relax, not even at the end.
All the performances are great, the music is iconic, it's been parodied countless times (most memorably in an old SNL skit with Richard Pryor), and it often tops many lists of great movies. Just not this one. Even though I think it's a great movie.
2. Poltergeist
The last movie to actually scare me. And I was about 12 when I saw it. I'm such a wuss!
It's sort of an odd movie because it's hard to tell who really made it. There are scenes that are distinctively Spielberg, and scenes that you can tell were shot by Tobe Hooper. Either way, it looks spectacular. What I love about this movie is how much it misleads you at the beginning. Everything is so happy and nice. It's a typical Spielberg family set up, in the nice neighborhood with quirky neighbors. Weird things start happening. And then the tree tries to eat the little boy.
From that point on, Poltergeist is a haunting (pun totally intended) film. The ghosts are believable, the moments they're on screen and right after are creepy. The effects are great, and the climax is incredible. You'll never want to sleep near a closet again!
1. The Shining
I love this movie. I absolutely love it. I love every moment, every frame of this amazing piece of work. Could you expect anything less from the astoundingly talented Stanley Kubrick? No, this isn't his best film, but even his worst were better than most other directors.
Kubrick wisely removed the more over-the-top, cliched elements from Stephen King's original novel, creating a domestic tragedy. The horror comes from the character's actions, not from supernatural elements. One could even argue that there are no ghosts in the movie at all, that everything is psychological. That's just a little more scary to me, to think that something could drive this man so crazy he would stop at nothing to murder his own family.
Nothing in the making of this movie happened by chance. Kubrick was widely known for his insane attention to every single minor detail. There are entire essays written on the internet that have dissected this film, attempting to uncover any hidden meaning Kubrick placed in there. Did Jack physically abuse Danny? Was it all about Native Americans? Did Kubrick mentally abuse Shelly Duvall to mirror Jack's abuse of Wendy? In the end, no one will ever really know. It's very possible that Jack reading an issue of Playgirl at the beginning wasn't part of some elaborate metaphor, but simply a joke Kubrick threw in for a personal laugh.
Why do I love this movie so much? It's fucking scary. Being in a hotel alone like that would be creepy anyway, but imagine looking down the hallway and seeing a man in a bear costume kneeling in front of another man on the bed. No explanation, it's just there. It's not shock scares that drive this movie. It's not gore, either. Only one person dies. It's complete atmosphere. The big, empty spaces of the Overlook Hotel, the strange sightings, the sudden appearance of guests from sometime else in history, and the fact that only Jack Nicholson's character seems to be the only one who can see them. The music is strange and unsettling. And the ending is ambiguous. Was Jack there the whole time? Was he taken over by an evil spirit? Was he the reincarnation of an evil spirit? Who can really be sure.
You want a happier ending? Go watch the horrible TV remake Stephen King produced in the 90s. Then feel stupid for passing up this amazing piece of genius.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
boom:
haha, i'm sure they'll still be on when you get home!
nerdmachine:
Obviously, so do I. I've even been to the real Sleepy Hollow, which is about a 45 minute drive from where I live. My friends and I snuck into the cemetery at night, which was really creepy and really cool. We were about 19, so it seemed like a good idea at the time.