For no reason other than because I can, here are my top 5 best scary movies.
5. Jaws – This movie single handily put a crimp in many beach front resorts when it came out, it scared people THAT much! It’s no secret that Spielberg wanted the shark to appear much earlier than when it first did, but due to mechanical problems they had to settle for far less shots than they wanted. And it worked to their advantage because we’re all much more afraid of what we CAN’T see because our imaginations – as crazy as they can be – do a more than adequate job of filling in what our eyes don’t see. The scariest aspect of the movie is that there is no reason for the shark to go after people. He’s not seeking vengeance for anything, he’s just… well, just being a shark. And it’s that randomness – that he could strike anyone – so scary.
4. Alien – It’s a good thing no one can you hear you scream in space, because once this one gets going its non-stop chills. The dark and shadowy corridors of the ship, the remoteness and lack of (potential) outside help and the unknown aspect of what the characters were up against all work in tandem to make this a truly horrifying movie. And like our #1 movie, it does it without a lot of gore or blood (aside from the one, obvious scene of course).
3. Poltergeist – A truly scary movie from the mind of Stephen Spielberg (shit, this makes it TWO movies he had his mitts on!). I think what makes this one so spooky is the way it takes the fears we surely all had as children – shadows in our bedrooms, strange noises outside the window, etc., – and gives them (scary) faces. That shadow? It’s just a big stuffed clown. THAT WANTS TO KILL YOU! The weird ‘scritching’ noise outside your window? It’s just a tree branch scraping the glass. THAT BELONGS TO A TREE THAT WANTS TO KILL YOU! It doesn’t hurt that the family is a typical, suburban family – the kind of family you might belong to, or at least live next door to.
2. The Night of the Living Dead – the original by George Romero. It’s nowhere near as shocking today as it was back when it was originally released, but it still holds up quite well. The zombies are like a force of nature; they can be slowed down but never truly stopped. Sure, you can kill (re-kill?) one with a shot to the head or burning it up, but one or two more just show up to take its place. I’m not going to get into the political/sociological message(s) here, but they ARE easily found and pretty spot on, especially for the 60s (less so now, but sadly still evident). The ending is quite a downer, too. Something that not too many movies ever have the balls to do. Do yourself a favor and track down a good print of this movie. There are tons of public domain pieces of shit out there, so look carefully.
1. Halloween – The original by John Carpenter. Despite coming out after (the original) Black Christmas, many people – myself included – consider this to be the granddaddy of all ‘slasher’ pics. It defined the entire genre for years to come with all of it’s trappings; the first person POV of the killer, the (now cliche) group of girls – the party girls and the virgin – jump scares, creative kills, false deaths of the killer and the ‘surprise’ ending. There’s not a lot of blood in the movie and none of the gore that has come to represent horror in today’s market. And truth be told, you doesn’t miss it. Carpenter’s simplistic yet incredibly creepy musical score add the final, perfect touch to this horror masterpiece.
(a few that didn’t make this Top 5 list, but are certainly worthy of spots 6-10, if I went that far, would be (in no order): The Exorcist, The Omen, The Blair Witch Project, Open Water and Psycho)
