1.The Exorcist. William Friedkin (1973)
2.The Shining. Stanley Kubrick (1980)
OK, there are a few things that jump out at me here. First of all, no Psycho. That's just amazing, especially since I'd have guessed it as a possible number-one. This is especially bizarre since The Birds nearly made the top 10. There's also no Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula--in fact, there is only one film made before 1963 on the entire list.
Instead, you have Saw in the top 5, which, even as a supporter of that movie, I have to say is nothing short of effrontery. And as much as I also enjoy A Nightmare on Elm Street, putting it in the top 10 is a bit of stretch. And The Lost Boys? Really? Top 50 of all time?? Even letting picks like The Blair Witch Project and Hostel slide, how on earth do Final Destination and the remake of House on Haunted Hill make a list like this? And I'm sorry--as unpopular as this might make me--but there's no way Friday the 13th belongs here, either. That movie is a guilty pleasure more than anything else.
There are a couple of things to be commended here. Obviously, The Exorcist is a solid pick for number one, have to respect that. I also greatly respect The Wicker Man making the top 10, which has to be due to the British origin of the list. That same European sensibility surely also led to Suspiria getting enough votes to make it in.
I'm overwhelmed at the vast chasm that exists between the horror tastes of the general public at large, as opposed to self-admitted horror snobs like myself. If anything, being so close to the genre and loving it so much has probably clouded my judgement when it comes to what appeals to those for whom horror movies represent a much more casual interest. Certainly that difference accounts for the lack of representation here for horror movies from the 1950s and earlier. It also explains the presence of films that made it merely because they are fresh in the public's collective mind.
If you're a true horror hound reading this, then I'm sure you've had the experience of having a conversation with someone who's not so into horror movies, and having to humor them as they tell you what their favorites are. You try not to come off as a pompous ass when they extoll the virtues of One Missed Call, Urban Legend, or anything ever counted among the "8 Films to Die For". You shudder at the notion that they've never seen Werewolf of London, Dead Alive, or anything directed by Mario Bava. In short, you are a horror geek.
And don't get me wrong, I love you for it. That's why I've been toying with the idea of conducting a little poll of my own. There is no doubt that there is a contingent of hardcore horror aficionados represented online--spatterati, if I may coin a term. Those bold souls who profess their adoration for the horror genre to their readers each and every day. If they were asked to name their favorite horror films of all time, I wonder what the resulting list might look like.
I plan to do something about it. I plan to find out. That's why I'm going to be reaching out to the cream of the crop of the online horror community to find out what they think. And you guessed it, I plan to publish the results right here on The Vault of Horror.
It's not that I'm saying our opinion is superior to that of Joe Six-Pack. Well, actually, I am. I am a horror snob, after all.
3.Alien. Ridley Scott (1979)
4.The Silence of the Lambs. Jonathan Demme (1991)
5.Saw. James Wan (2004)
6.Halloween. John Carpenter (1978)
7.A Nightmare on Elm Street. Wes Craven (1984)
8.Ring (Ringu). Hideo Nakata (1998)
9.The Wicker Man. Robin Hardy (1973)
10.The Omen. Richard Donner (1976)
11.The Birds. Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
12.The Thing. John Carpenter (1982)
13.Lost Boys. Joel Schumacher (1987)
14.Dawn of the Dead. George A Romero (1978)
15.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Tobe Hooper (1974)
16.Jaws. Steven Spielberg (1975)
17.The Blair Witch Project. Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez (1999)
18.An American Werewolf in London. John Landis (1981)
19.Se7en. David Fincher (1995)
20.Poltergeist. Tobe Hooper (1982)
21.The Amityville Horror. Stuart Rosenberg (1979)
22.Candyman. Bernard Rose (1992)
23.Scream. Wes Craven (1996)
24.Carrie. Brian De Palma (1976)
25.Friday the 13th. Sean S Cunningham (1980)
26.Final Destination. James Wong (2000)
27.The Evil Dead. Sam Raimi (1981)
28.Hellraiser. Clive Barker (1987)
29.Hostel. Eli Roth (2005)
30.Salem's Lot. Mikael Salomon (2004)
31.The Descent. Neil Marshall (2005)
32.The Hills Have Eyes. Wes Craven (1977)
33.Wolf Creek. Greg McLean (2005)
34.Misery. Rob Reiner (1991)
35.Rosemary's Baby. Roman Polanski (1968)
36.Child's Play. Tom Holland (1989)
37.The Orphanage. Juan Antonio Bayona (2008)
38.The Entity. Sidney J Furie (1981)
39.Nosferatu. FW Murnau (1922)
40.Night of the Living Dead. George A. Romero (1968)
41.House on Haunted Hill. William Malone (2000)
42.The Haunting. Robert Wise (1963)
43.It. Tommy Lee Wallace (1990)
44.Audition. Takashi Miike (1999)
45.The Changeling. Peter Medak (1980)
46.The Mist. Frank Darabont (2008)
47.Suspiria. Dario Argento (1977)
48.The Vanishing. George Sluizer (1993)
49.Shutter. Masayuki Ochiai (2008)
50.Planet Terror. Robert Rodriguez (2007)
OK, there are a few things that jump out at me here. First of all, no Psycho. That's just amazing, especially since I'd have guessed it as a possible number-one. This is especially bizarre since The Birds nearly made the top 10. There's also no Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula--in fact, there is only one film made before 1963 on the entire list.Instead, you have Saw in the top 5, which, even as a supporter of that movie, I have to say is nothing short of effrontery. And as much as I also enjoy A Nightmare on Elm Street, putting it in the top 10 is a bit of stretch. And The Lost Boys? Really? Top 50 of all time?? Even letting picks like The Blair Witch Project and Hostel slide, how on earth do Final Destination and the remake of House on Haunted Hill make a list like this? And I'm sorry--as unpopular as this might make me--but there's no way Friday the 13th belongs here, either. That movie is a guilty pleasure more than anything else.
There are a couple of things to be commended here. Obviously, The Exorcist is a solid pick for number one, have to respect that. I also greatly respect The Wicker Man making the top 10, which has to be due to the British origin of the list. That same European sensibility surely also led to Suspiria getting enough votes to make it in.
I'm overwhelmed at the vast chasm that exists between the horror tastes of the general public at large, as opposed to self-admitted horror snobs like myself. If anything, being so close to the genre and loving it so much has probably clouded my judgement when it comes to what appeals to those for whom horror movies represent a much more casual interest. Certainly that difference accounts for the lack of representation here for horror movies from the 1950s and earlier. It also explains the presence of films that made it merely because they are fresh in the public's collective mind.
If you're a true horror hound reading this, then I'm sure you've had the experience of having a conversation with someone who's not so into horror movies, and having to humor them as they tell you what their favorites are. You try not to come off as a pompous ass when they extoll the virtues of One Missed Call, Urban Legend, or anything ever counted among the "8 Films to Die For". You shudder at the notion that they've never seen Werewolf of London, Dead Alive, or anything directed by Mario Bava. In short, you are a horror geek.And don't get me wrong, I love you for it. That's why I've been toying with the idea of conducting a little poll of my own. There is no doubt that there is a contingent of hardcore horror aficionados represented online--spatterati, if I may coin a term. Those bold souls who profess their adoration for the horror genre to their readers each and every day. If they were asked to name their favorite horror films of all time, I wonder what the resulting list might look like.
I plan to do something about it. I plan to find out. That's why I'm going to be reaching out to the cream of the crop of the online horror community to find out what they think. And you guessed it, I plan to publish the results right here on The Vault of Horror.
It's not that I'm saying our opinion is superior to that of Joe Six-Pack. Well, actually, I am. I am a horror snob, after all.