1FF's Top 100 Horror Films

[Cas]

Sexual deviant Frank (Sean Chapman) inadvertently opens a portal to hell when he tinkers with a box he bought while abroad. The act unleashes gruesome beings called Cenobites, who tear Frank's body apart. When Frank's brother (Andrew Robinson) and his wife, Julia (Clare Higgins), move into Frank's old house, they accidentally bring what is left of Frank back to life. Frank then convinces Julia, his one-time lover, to lure men back to the house so he can use their blood to reconstruct himself.

Released: 1987
Directed By: Clive Barker
Starring: Sean Chapman, Andrew Robinson and Claire Higgins
Rotten Tomatoes: 63%

 

[Cas]

When her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) sets out to investigate. Along with her ex-husband, Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada), Reiko finds the tape, watches it -- and promptly receives a phone call informing her that she'll die in a week. Determined to get to the bottom of the curse, Reiko and Ryuji discover the video's origin and attempt to solve an old murder that could break the spell.

Released: 1998
Directed By: Hideo Nakata
Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%

 

[Cas]

After floating in space for 57 years, Lt. Ripley's (Sigourney Weaver) shuttle is found by a deep space salvage team. Upon arriving at LV-426, the marines find only one survivor, a nine year old girl named Newt (Carrie Henn). But even these battle-hardened marines with all the latest weaponry are no match for the hundreds of aliens that have invaded the colony.

Released: 1986
Directed By: James Cameron
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%

Get away from her, YOU BITCH!

 

[Cas]

Still grieving over the accidental death of their daughter, Christine (Sharon Williams), John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura Baxter (Julie Christie) head to Venice, Italy, where John's been commissioned to restore a church. There Laura meets two sisters (Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania) who claim to be in touch with the spirit of the Baxters' daughter. Laura takes them seriously, but John scoffs until he himself catches a glimpse of what looks like Christine running through the streets of Venice.

Released: 1973
Directed By: Nicolas Roeg
Starring: Donald Sutherland
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

 

[Cas]

On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith's Grove. He returns to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims.

Released: 1978
Directed By: John Carpenter
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

 

[Cas]

Phoenix secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), on the lam after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to run away with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis (John Gavin), is overcome by exhaustion during a heavy rainstorm. Traveling on the back roads to avoid the police, she stops for the night at the ramshackle Bates Motel and meets the polite but highly strung proprietor Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a young man with an interest in taxidermy and a difficult relationship with his mother.

Released: 1960
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

 

[Cas]

Top 5 tomorrow. Yay. Woo.

 

[voltage]

Psycho is completely brilliant. Majestic application of psychological horror without the need of much. That’s what true psychological horror is. Spectacular movie, had to put it on one of the higher places of my list.

Hellraiser is my favorite horror movie. It’s terrifying and has a tense atmosphere merged with a not complex though good plot development, genuine horror.

 

[Smudge]

Lost a few of my big hitters there. Don't Look Now is fantastic. Incredible ending that just gives me chills.

Psycho I watched and never truly expected to enjoy it, just it's so old, and so many films since have copied, parodied or been inspired by it, I thought it would be horrible and dated. I was wrong, it's so absolutely brilliant. It hasn't dated at all, it's just absolute perfection.

 

[last request]

Might have to check Suspiria out.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

Psycho I watched and never truly expected to enjoy it, just it's so old, and so many films since have copied, parodied or been inspired by it, I thought it would be horrible and dated. I was wrong, it's so absolutely brilliant. It hasn't dated at all, it's just absolute perfection.

Funnily enough, I was the same. I had it on DVD for ages but put off watching it because I didn't think it'd be much good (or at least nothing 'new') but I gave it a go and loved it. It is probably the perfect horror in a way; creepy, atmospheric, excellent music to accompany it and some big shocks. Placed in my top 10.

Don't look now was also on mine. I loved that film.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

Top 5 tomorrow. Yay. Woo.

Can you post a list of everything that has come some far? I'm struggling to think of what is to come. The Exorcist? The Omen? I can't remember what has fallen.

 

[KevinMcallister]

Hellraiser stupidly low

 

[Cas]

In Wes Craven's classic slasher film, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a disfigured midnight mangler who preys on the teenagers in their dreams -- which, in turn, kills them in reality. After investigating the phenomenon, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) begins to suspect that a dark secret kept by her and her friends' parents may be the key to unraveling the mystery, but can Nancy and her boyfriend Glen (Johnny Depp) solve the puzzle before it's too late?

Released: 1984
Directed By: Wes Craven
Starring: Robert Englund and Heather Langenkamp...oh and Johnny Deep
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%

 

[Cas]

Released: 1979
Directed By: Ridley Scott
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, John Hurt and Tom Skerritt
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%

In deep space, the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel. The terror begins when the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship. An organism from inside an egg leaps out and attaches itself to one of the crew, causing him to fall into a coma

 

[KevinMcallister]

one of mine and I suspect quite a few others, I think I had It 3rd? superb film and series

the remake is a disgrace

 

[Cas]

A young wife comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her struggling actor husband Guy (John Cassavetes) move to a New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and odd neighbors Roman and Minnie Castavet (Sidney Blackmer, Ruth Gordon). When Rosemary becomes pregnant she becomes increasingly isolated, and the diabolical truth is revealed only after Rosemary gives birth.

Released: 1968
Directed By: Roman Polanski
Starring: Mia Farrow
Rotten Tomatoes: 99%

 

[Craig]

There's an Alien remake?

 

[Cas]

American diplomat Robert (Gregory Peck) adopts Damien (Harvey Stephens) when his wife, Katherine (Lee Remick), delivers a stillborn child. After Damien's first nanny hangs herself, Father Brennan (Patrick Troughton) warns Robert that Damien will kill Katherine's unborn child. Shortly thereafter, Brennan dies and Katherine miscarries when Damien pushes her off a balcony. As more people around Damien die, Robert investigates Damien's background and realizes his adopted son may be the Antichrist.

Released: 1976
Directed By: Richard Donner
Starring: Gregory Peck
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%

 

[Cas]

One of the most profitable horror movies ever made, this tale of an exorcism is based loosely on actual events. When young Regan (Linda Blair) starts acting odd -- levitating, speaking in tongues -- her worried mother (Ellen Burstyn) seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. A local priest (Jason Miller), however, thinks the girl may be seized by the devil. The priest makes a request to perform an exorcism, and the church sends in an expert (Max von Sydow) to help with the difficult job.

Released: 1973
Directed By: William Friedkin
Starring: Max Von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%

 

[KevinMcallister]

There's an Alien remake?

Cas was too quick, I meant it for Nightmare on Elm Street

 

[KevinMcallister]

can't argue with The Exorcist as number 1

I can't believe I forgot it either

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

can't argue with The Exorcist as number 1

I can't believe I forgot it either

It was the first name on the team sheet for me. Didn't make #1 but was the first film I thought of.

 

[Gilly?]

Can't argue with The Exorcist, greatest horror of all time.

 

[Leewilson]

Bit disappointed The Omen didn't win. I think it holds up better today than The Exorcist does. It's fantastic at keeping that feeling of dread and darkness throughout the entire film.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

Thanks for running this Cas

 

[KevinMcallister]

You spelled ruining wrong mate

 

[voltage]

I was so scared about Freddy Krueger when I was a kid. A movie that literally gave me nightmares.

Rosemary’s Baby and its entire conspiracy aura hidden in simplicity made it one of the greatest horror movies out there. Like it very much.

The Omen is great. Watched the remake first and actually liked it and found some good points as Julia Stiles is more convincing on despising her own son and in contrast the kid is more pitiful in the key moments but when I watched the original it instantly turned into my favorites since is way more complete and a good anti-Christ story couldn’t be missed by horror fans.

And no comments for The Exorcist. Simply remarkable for the genre.

Great list it was! I'll have to make a watchlist based on some movies I've never seen or have seen long ago and must rewatch based on it.

 

[Smudge]

Ive never actually seen the Omen all the way through. I remember having to share a room with my older brother when we were on holiday in Cornwall once when I was a kid and it was on TV and he insisted on watching it. I was trying to sleep but couldnt take my eyes off it...until the infamous bike scene and then I just curled up in a ball with my fingers in my ears! Just never got round to seeing it since! I guess I need to.

All the rest of the top 5 made my list, all brilliant films for different reasons.Rosemary's Baby and the Exorcist are both quite slow in their build up, and never feel the need to resort to a cheap scare just to keep you watching, they both do enough of that with their atmosphere alone. I took a mate who hates horrors to come and see the Directors Cut of the Exorcist in the cinema on Halloween a couple of years ago. After about 40 minutes, she asked was I sure it was a horror film as nothing had happened yet. I pointed out to her that great horror films make you get to know and care about the characters before all the shit hits the fan! I never actually liked it the first time I saw it. Just because my nan raised all us kids on watching horror films quite young, but the Exorcist was the only one we were never allowed to watch. Then the TV bane was lifted when I was in high school, and I remember it being a huge event and pretty much everybody at school stayed up to watch it. And we were waiting for something a bit a more extreme. I think its the kind of film that isnt scary for kids, its pure psychological and gets in your head.

Alien is another one I saw at the pics for a Halloween re-release special, and I think one of the greatest compliments I can say is that it's so well made, it could have made recently (only really the old fashioned computer screens tell you how old it is) Its just so slick and well made, great characters, and with only the fleeting glimpses of the alien, it's one of the best 'monster' horrors probably ever.

And I just love Nightmare on Elm Street. Doesnt take itself seriously, Freddy manages to be that rare kind of villain who cracks jokes, and you're still scared shitless of him! Given it was a film that didnt have the greatest budget at the time as well, some of the effects still look quite good today. The girl who is murdered in the bed for example, you actually see her flying around being cut by thin air, its still a pretty gruesome scene.

Great list, and a great top 5 especially!

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

I think its the kind of film that isnt scary for kids, its pure psychological and gets in your head.

I think this is very true. I watched The Exorcist in my early teens and couldn't work out what all the fuss was about. I watched it 10 years later and it shit me up.

Excellent film.