1FF's Top 100 Horror Films

[Craig]

So long as it's not as half arsed as the western list I'll be happy.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

So long as it's not as half arsed as the western list I'll be happy.

Fuck yeah. Car crash listing.

 

[Craig]

I hear the pillock who did that one is gonna leave the forum in shame for good after the horror list is done.

 

[Cas]

Tonight it begins.

 

[Cas]

Right then. I'll start revealing the first few titles shortly. There's been quite a few draws and a fair few films nominated, so I'll be reserving in-depth summaries for the top 25 films.

 

[Cas]

One Pointers
The Strangers
Cabin in the Woods
The Spiral Staircase

 

[Cas]

Two Pointers
It Follows
Tetsuo: Iron Man
Paranormal Activity
Phantasm
Resident Evil
Let Me In

 

[Cas]

Here's the three pointers. Probably the last of the night.

Three Pointers
Shaun of the Dead
Witchfinder General
Black Christmas
The Orphan
Cemetary Man
Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

Right then. I'll start revealing the first few titles shortly. There's been quite a few draws and a fair few films nominated, so I'll be reserving in-depth summaries for the top 25 films.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

I can't believe I missed off Witchfinder General.

 

[KevinMcallister]

Shaun of the dead ffs

 

[Craig]

Mine.

One Pointers
Cabin in the Woods

One of my favourites from recent years, there are a few I like better than it but I put this in over them as it fills my quota for self-deprecating comedy horror. A lot of folk seem to think it's up its own arse a bit, and maybe it is to a certain extent, but overall it's a funny, scary homage to the genre created by folk who obviously have an affinity for horror.

Three Pointers
Witchfinder General

Spoiler

Terrifying. Criticised on its release for being too gratuitous and chopped to bits by the censors it could be considered an early example of torture porn. I'm sure the makers were looking for that shock factor when they made it, but it is not simply a collection of gruesome scenes designed to disgust you, there is a very real and chilling true story behind it all that is more horrifying than anything Bram Stoker or Mary Shelley's imaginations could conjure. It follows the story of Matthew Hopkins and his assistant John Stearne, who during the English civil war conducted a reign of terror on East Anglia's residents under the pretence that they were appointed by parliament as official witch hunters. The main protagonist is a young parliamentarian soldier whose bride to be falls foul of Hopkins and although eventually Hopkins (perfectly played by Vincent Price) receives his comeuppance there is no happy ending, as his tormented victims are driven insane by his torture. Highly recommended if you haven't seen it, be sure to seek out the uncut version though.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

I voted for Shaun of the Dead but I refuse to do Cas' job for him by writing about it.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

One Pointers
The Spiral Staircase

Spoiler: tldr

Me #20... 1946 noir styled giallo/slasher progenitor by Robert Siodmak... a salmagundi of ingredients that seems specifically designed to appeal to me. A rare period set noir, American location but with a whiff of the old world about it. More or less the entire iconography of the giallo begins here (Argento ripped off one shot in particular in Deep Red) - subjective killer cams, eye ball shots, black gloves, lumpen Freud... but it's gothic too - an overplump mansion, flickering gaslight, deep shadow, deep focus, a batty, bedridden matriarch. Atmosphere to spare.

Two Pointers
Tetsuo: Iron Man

Spoiler: tldr

Me #19. Said my piece about this one on here already... corruption of the flesh, body-loathing, sexual dread, cyberpunk machine/techno fetishism and so on. Made for about 75p and in someone's spare bedroom, but a real work of vision and (fucking horrible) imagination, brilliant realised

Black Christmas

Spoiler: tldr

me #18. The North American body count slasher was invented by Halloween. Wrong. This came out 4 years earlier, w/ the familiar scenario of college lassies getting knocked off in their sorority house. Interestingly tho (well, interesting to me anyway) it feels much more Italian than North American (and certainly more so than Bay of Blood). It's about tone and style, and it's got that slightly unreal poetic bent. One scene of some kiddie carol singers intercut with a POV-cam murder going on upstairs could be taken straight out of any # of Morricone scored gialli. Hard to talk about without giving away the ending, but I think the cleverest thing the American lot did was outdo the impressively naked money grubbing instincts of their Italian forebears by turning their killers into iconic comic book type heroes, perfect fodder for endless franchises and McDonalds Happy Meal toys, and this completely eschews that. A crucial and unjustly overlooked missing link.

 

[Craig]

I do love it when horror films merge with Christmas I have to admit, recently watched Krampus, which I thought was very well done, and one of my higher selections is set during the holidays.

I also selected one of the films you refer to there and I'm quite confident I wasn't the only one. Far be it from me to question your expertise on the slasher genre (I know how you love your gialli) but I do hope you're not a hater of the classic in question.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Naw, I like Halloween a lot, assuming that's what you're referring to.

 

[Son of Cod]

I was very close to choosing Witchfinder General, but ditched it for something that has similarities. Black Christmas sounds well up my street, never even heard of it before actually. Tetsuo: The Iron Man is bonkers. Horrible is definitely an accurate choice of adjective! Uncomfortably unsettling. Like the bastard love child of Cronenberg and Yoshihiro Nishimura.


Phantasm was one of mine. A young teenage boy sees a freakishly tall, sinister looking man carrying a coffin away after a funeral and follows him to his morgue. He sneaks in and attempts to confront said Tall Man. Cue magic flying silver balls, weird fortune teller woman and a portal to an army of dwarves building something in an alien red desert. All of which go unexplained until a few films down the line. Not genre defining, isn't beautifully filmed, acting isn't outstanding. However, I love the premise and the sheer amount of oddball elements thrown in there.

Spoiler

Cemetery Man/Dellamorte Dellamore was mine, too. It's difficult to explain the plot without spoiling it, but it's essentially a zombie/corpse love story smattered with absurdities and peculiar characters. Rupert Everret is great in the lead role and I'm convinced his sidekick, Gnaghi, was the blueprint for that one in Game of Thrones that can only say one word. Looks great, loads of laughs and good deaths. Love the ending.

I do love it when horror films merge with Christmas I have to admit, recently watched Krampus, which I thought was very well done, and one of my higher selections is set during the holidays.

I also selected one of the films you refer to there and I'm quite confident I wasn't the only one. Far be it from me to question your expertise on the slasher genre (I know how you love your gialli) but I do hope you're not a hater of the classic in question.

Hmmm, excluding Halloween, I also voted for one of the films Carel just mentioned...

 

[Cas]

Alright ya fannies. I'll write a bit about 'em.

Four Pointers

The Crow
Based on a comic book which I have never read, The Crow tells the story of Eric Draven (Bruce Lee's Son, Brandon Lee), a rock musician who is brought back from the dead by a crow to avenge the death of his murdered girlfriend. Lee died on the set of the film during shooting due to a faulty blank bullet.

Shutter Island
Shutter Island stars Leo DiCaprio as U.S marshal Edward 'Teddy' Daniels, who is investigating Ashcliffe Hospital, a hospital for the criminally insane located on Shutter Island. They are investigating the disappearance of patient Rachel Solando who was incarcerated for drowning her three children.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The original and perhaps greatest zombie film (imo), created by the father of the genre George Romero. The story follows Barbara (They're coming to get you, Barbara!) and Ben, two survivors who find themselves seeking refuge in an old farmhouse during a zombie outbreak. Completed on a modest budget of $114,000, Night of the Living Dead went on to make $12M domestically and $18M internationally. The film was later remade by special effects man Tom Savini in 1990.

In the Mouth of Madness
A popular 'Lovecraftian' feature by the lovely John Carpenter, In the Mouth of Madness sees Sam Neil play the same character in every movie; A creepy fucking bastard who I wouldn't trust with my pet goldfish. This summary is how I'd describe it: "An insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer's books have on his fans is more than inspirational."

It's a bit of a weird film.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

I would never have thought of The Crow or Shutter Island as horror films, like them both though.

 

[Stevencc]

The LATE John Carpenter!?

 

[Cas]

The LATE John Carpenter!?

What do you mean mate

 

[Stevencc]

Why you no good, dirty, sneaky, son of a...

 

[KevinMcallister]

none of mine in yet, provng i'm a horror genius!

oh wait maybe 1

 

[Cas]

Five Pointers

Scream
Scream is a slasher film directed by the late Wes Craven. The film follows Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell. Phwoar), a high school student who becomes the target of a killer known as 'Ghostface'. Three sequels were released, with the latest being Scream 4 which released in 2011.

Ju-On
An evil curse and vengeful spirits seem to linger upon a house where the horrific murder of a woman and child took place and anyone who sets foot inside the house is marked for a terrifying haunting which will not rest. The film premiered at the Screamfest Film Festival in October 2002 and has spawned several sequels and an American remake titled The Grudge.

House of 1000 Corpses
Two teenage couples traveling across the backwoods of Texas searching for urban legends of murder end up as prisoners of a bizarre and sadistic backwater family of serial killers. This movie was the directorial debut of Rob Zombie.

Night of the Demon
Night of the Demon is a 1957 British horror film. American professor John Holden (Dana Andrews) arrives in London for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis). Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.

Rec
A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.

Rec is filmed as a 'found footage' film. It would go on to be remade for U.S audiences as the film Quarantine.

 

[KevinMcallister]

House of 1000 corpses the prequel to Devils Rejects

Rob Zombie

 

[Cas]

More tomorrow after 6pm.

 

[voltage]

I would never have thought of The Crow or Shutter Island as horror films, like them both though.

Shutter Island was mine and I really got with the doubt of putting it or not as a horror (and there's a lot of controversy about it in practically all the sites I visited). In the end decided to put it in since when I watched this movie I faced all the mystery about the island kind of reclining as psychological horror elements to stand the thriller and that personal 'feeling' about the movie I've got was the main reason for me on this choice. The same goes to some other of my choices. I hope not being very dissonant.

 

[Craig]

Night of the Demon
Night of the Demon is a 1957 British horror film. American professor John Holden (Dana Andrews) arrives in London for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis). Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.

Another of mine. Based on a story by one of my favourite horror writers. Genuinely creepy story of demon conjuring and witchcraft and I don't think the demon was a corny as a lot of folk do. Precursor to the likes of Ringu and It Follows with its pass on the curse to another type arc.

 

[Son of Cod]

Another of mine. Based on a story by one of my favourite horror writers. Genuinely creepy story of demon conjuring and witchcraft and I don't think the demon was a corny as a lot of folk do. Precursor to the likes of Ringu and It Follows with its pass on the curse to another type arc.

That's going on my to watch list.

House of 1000 Corpses was one of mine. Got panned by loads of critics and horror fans, mainly on the grounds that it was a merely a cheap nasty exploitation movie about a group of pyschotic redneck murderers. Thanks to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, pyschotic redneck murderers shit me up, though. The idea of getting lured into a house and being unable to escape the clutches of evil gives me the absolute heebie jeebies and House of 1000 Corpses tapped into that for me. Another of the main criticisms was that it was deemed to have too much production value to be classed as a b-movie, which many felt it was trying to be. I actually think that it looks creepy as fuck. It is ridiculously over the top and there's way too much going on at times, but was anyone really expecting Rob Zombie to make something subtle?

 

[Son of Cod]

Ju-On
An evil curse and vengeful spirits seem to linger upon a house where the horrific murder of a woman and child took place and anyone who sets foot inside the house is marked for a terrifying haunting which will not rest. The film premiered at the Screamfest Film Festival in October 2002 and has spawned several sequels and an American remake titled The Grudge.

Also one of mine. Although, I think I wrote Juon: The Curse and not The Grudge in my PM. Another one that took a fair bit of a slating, but another one that disturbed me. Just those creepy faces and wild eyes. And the crawling. And the crawling up the inside of your bed while you're in it. And the noises. Ughhh. Makes my skin crawl just thinking about it.

Btw, are all these 1-5 pointers outside the Top 100??