The Vault of Horror's Top 10 of 2010

The previous 12 months were interesting ones for the horror genre. I won't say outstanding, but I also won't say terrible. There certainly was a bunch of entertaining and engaging films released last year, but not as many as in some previous years. I can't say I'm totally thrilled with this top 10 list, but I can at least honestly say that the top 7 were films I genuinely found to be terrific. The rest may very well have been bumped if I had had the pleasure of seeing movies like The Crazies and Daybreakers, for example.

But alas, I was invited by the incomparable Scott Weinberg of Cinematical and FEARNet (by way of the delightful Britt Hayes of Brutal as Hell and CHUD) to take part in a vast Ultimate Horror Top 10 of 2010, and so here is the list I came up with, when pressed. My list, along with those of many others across the horror blogosphere, have been tabulated to create a soon-to-be-published master list of the best horror flicks of 2010. I'm thrilled to be a part of it, and here's the list I sent in!

10. Afterlife
The inclusion of this one is definitely proof that I needed to see more new horror films in 2010. Ah well, what can I say, life got pretty busy. Still, there are worse ways to kill a couple of hours.

9. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Sorry, people, I actually enjoyed it, OK? Sue me. No, not as good as the original, but I thought it was a decent little horror movie, and the "Dream, Dream, Dream" drugstore scene is pretty classic.

8. The Wolfman
A flawed film, but one I enjoyed nonetheless. I've long been waiting for a remake of this Universal classic, and I can't say I was disappointed.

7. [REC] 2
Alright, now we're getting into the really good ones. I am a huge fan of the original [REC], and though I found it far scarier than this, I will go on the record as saying this was the better film.

6. Piranha 3-D
Just a ton of fun, and when it comes to horror, that's really what I've been gravitating more and more toward in recent years. Great gore, and a balls-to-the-wall attitude you don't see too often anymore.

5. Shutter Island
Not really horror in the truest sense, but a very well-made psychological thriller from Martin Scorsese.

4. The Human Centipede
I enjoyed this far more than I ever imagined I would. I also was amazed that it really wasn't the gross-out flick I was expecting, but actually a very cerebral horror film. And Dieter Laser definitely plays the best villain of the year, not to mention having the coolest name ever.

3. Survival of the Dead
I championed this flick like nobody's business, and I stand by that. As a lifelong Romero fan, I found this to be the maestro's greatest zombie flick since Dawn of the Dead. And I fully realize I'm of the minority opinion.

2. I Spit on Your Grave
Another pleasant surprise, although nothing about this movie could really be described as pleasant. In the end, I found it much better than the original, even if it was surprisingly even more brutal.

1. Black Swan
Another psychological thriller, but one that has Oscar written all over it, especially in the case of the always-excellent (when she's not being directed by George Lucas) Natalie Portman. I just had the pleasure of seeing it, and can honestly say it was my favorite horror film of 2010. Expect a review of this amazing film a little later this week...

There you have it, Vault dwellers. So, what do you think of my choices? What would yours be? Let me know!

Announcing The Lucky 13: A Vault of Horror/Brutal as Hell Collabo...

It's a simple, yet daunting question that every horror fan has dealt with: What's your favorite horror movie? Doesn't get any more straightforward than that, right? Well, you see, that's how this whole thing got started: A simple, offhand exchange on Twitter between myself and Brutal as Hell head honcho Marc Patterson. But what it turned into is the wonderful thing I'm about to explain to you: The Lucky 13.

It's not as easy as it seems to just pick a single favorite horror movie (at least, it wasn't for us). At first, we thought it might be a fun idea to write about our respective favorite horror movies, but then we got a little more ambitious/non-committal. What if, instead of harshly limiting it to just one favorite, we divided the horror genre up into a series of popular subgenres, and then picked out favorites for each of those? And what if we invited other contributors to VOH and BAH to take part as well? What if the whole thing even got its very own spiffy banner (courtesy of Britt Hayes of BAH)?

Here's what will be happening. Starting next weekend, we'll be spotlighting a different subgenre each Saturday for 13 weeks, both here and at Brutal as Hell. Our respective gangs of know-it-alls will pick their favorites, and defend their choices. Grand debate and controversy will subsequently ensue. It's a cross-posting bonanza to last the summer through!

So join us here each week, my friends, you're sure to get a smile. Or something like that. Anyway, we'll be kicking things off next Saturday with our favorite grindhouse/exploitation films. Be there or be square!

An Awesome Top 50 All-Time Horror List! The Cyber-Horror Elite Go International!

So a few may recall the epic "Cyber Horror Elite" Top 50 Horror Movies of All Time post I did a little over a year ago. The one in which I polled a plethora of online horror blowhards and distilled their picks for the greatest fright flicks ever made. To this day, it remains the single most popular post in the history of the Vault, in terms of traffic and comments (89 and counting!)

Well, anyway, I just got an intriguing message the other day from my new friend Søren Henrik Jacobsen (thank you, cut and paste) from all the way over in Denmark. Seems Søren runs his very own Danish horror blog--not pertaining to scary movies with pastry, but rather in the Danish language (sorry dude, I'm an American, I can't help it). And it also seems that he has taken inspiration from the Cyber Horror Elite and done something very similar over in his native land.

The result is one damn fine list, which may very well be better than the one I put together. Check out his top 10:

1. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974), Tobe Hooper
2. ALIEN (1979), Ridley Scott
3. DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978), George A. Romero
4. THE SHINING (1980), Stanley Kubrick
5. PSYCHO (1960), Alfred Hitchcock.
6. THE EXORCIST (1973), William Friedkin
7. PROFONDO ROSSO (1975), Dario Argento
8. SUSPIRIA (1977), Dario Argento
9. EVIL DEAD II (1987), Sam Raimi
10. THE THING (1982), John Carpenter

For the whole list, check out Søren's blog, Skræk og Rædsel. Yes, it's in Danish, but it doesn't really matter for this particular post. The list also has stuff like The Beyond, Zombi 2 and Black Sunday, so I'm thinking the whole European slant helped a little bit. Feel free to read it, and leave comments--Søren speaks English.

Anyway, just wanted to share this little bit of international Vault of Horror goodness! The Cyber Horror Elite has gone global!

* * * * * * * * * *

And while I'm in a plugging mood, a couple other things.

Firstly, Chuck Conry of Zombies DON'T Run has gone to the trouble of creating The Web Ring of Horror, a new website that's basically an online forum/community for horror bloggers. It's very cool, and if you haven't registered yet, I encourage you to do so. Also, feel free to add this nifty banner to your page if you do:


And finally, more awards to boast about. It seems that Uranium Willy of the erudite corner of the horror blogosphere known as Necrotic Cinema has bestowed upon me the elusive and mysterious Fibonacci Award:

The Fibonacci is a very special blog award to be given out only to those bloggers and blogs whose work have inspired others. The blog should be one that would cause others to want to passionately create something new and in the process inspire someone else to create a new post and soon marvelous posts are being spawned at a ratio calculable only by some esoteric mathematical formula. If you have received this award your site has been deemed exceptional in the areas of technical skill, graphic layout and worthy content as well as having a certain of accessibility by the general public.

And on top of that, the lovely Miss Aleata Illusion of GoreGoreDancer's Movie Reviews has seen fit to present me with BOTH the One Lovely Blog and the Kreativ Blogger Award, for which I'm both humbled and elated. Got to love awards week here in the online horror universe!

Hump-Day Harangue: Forget Entertainment Weekly, Here's a REAL List

I'm going to keep this one short and simple. In case you've been living on Venus, Entertainment Weekly has dropped yet another horror movie list/nail-bomb on us, and the online horror community has once again risen in self-righteous indignation. I won't go into the details of how frustrating their list of the the Top 20 Horror Films of the Past 20 Years is. That's been done all over the web, and a lot better than I could--particularly by Brad "How Do You Pronounce This Guy's Name" McHargue over at I Love Horror, who wrote up a complete rebuttal to EW's wrong-headed amalgam.

Instead, what I will do, in the interest of over-inflating my own ego, is point you in the direction of a list you can be proud of, which puts EW's to shame. Some nine months ago, I polled the "Cyber-Horror Elite" and we came up with a list of the Top 25 Horror Films of the Modern Era (ie. since 1990), which for all intents and purposes is the same concept as EW went with. Except this one won't make you want to drive a railroad spike into your temple. So go here and, enjoy:

*The Top 25 Horror Films of the Modern Era*

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I also have a few random tidbits I'd like to touch on today...

• Day of the Woman's BJ-C and myself have another fine list to be enjoyed over at Bloody-Disgusting, so check that out when you have a chance. This time, we look at the Top 16 Oscar-Worthy Horror Performances.

• Speaking of DotW, some congratulations are in order today. A couple months ago, I decided to take a chance and submit the Vault's sister blog to Rue Morgue magazine for inclusion in their Roadkill column (in which they spotlight websites of note). And wouldn't you know it--the online Mistress of the Macabre got her blog mentioned in issue #92, now on sale! Way to go, BJ-C :-)

• Consider this another reminder to keep those submissions coming in for the VoH's Cursed Mountain giveaway. I'm looking for a paragraph on the first horror film to hook you and make you a fan, and why. The winner gets their words published on the blog, as well as a copy of the brand new horror video game for the Wii. The deadline is next Thursday, August 20.
  

• Keep your greasy eyeballs locked on this page, because at some point later tonight, I plan on hitting you with something quite special. Namely, a first-hand account of real-life ghost-hunting from an old friend of mine who works as a paranormal investigator. Are you ready to believe him?

• Again, for the benefit of all you Venusians out there, AMC has optioned Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comic book series as a TV series to be directed by Frank Darabont. This is incredible news, which has been in the works for quite some time. It's been covered by far more high-profile sites than my own, but I do plan on giving my own unique take on the blockbuster news later in the week. The world, I'm sure, has been clamoring for that.

• As a heads-up, Mrs. B-Sol and myself shall be heading to NYC this Friday night to check out the controversial new flick Grace in its lone East Coast engagement. We shall be rendezvousing with Freddy in Space's Johnny Boots and the future Mrs. Johnny Boots, so expect fun and hilarity to ensue. Also expect a review of Grace next week!

• And finally, I'd like to announce that The Vault of Horror has been given the prestigious (and vaguely explained) Honest Scrap Award by the excellent blog Planet of Terror. Not sure what it means exactly, but hey, it's an award--I'll take it! In accordance with the rules of the award, I shall now announce 10 deserving blogs to which I am, in turn, bestowing said award:

1. Planet of Terror
2. Freddy in Space
3. McBeardo's Midnight Movies
4. In It for the Kills
5. Zombos' Closet of Horror
6. I Love Horror
7. John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Film/TV
8. Zeitgeist
9. Chuck Norris Ate My Baby
10. Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire

Also in accordance with the rules, 10 honest things about myself:

1. I wrote my Master's thesis on the deposition scene of Shakespeare's Richard II.
2. I was born on Friday the 13th.
3. I can say the Hail Mary in both Latin and Italian.
4. My earliest memory is of my dad taking me to see Star Wars in 1977.
5. I spent a night in Manchester, England drinking champagne cocktails with Ric Flair.
6. I had a lifelong crush on Jennifer Connelly which began with Labyrinth and ended when she became a Hollywood stick figure after A Beautiful Mind.
7. My favorite horror film is George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead.
8. I will only get on escalators on the left side.
9. My uncle was an extra fleeing from the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters.
10. I am afraid of manta rays.
    

There ya go. Winners are asked to do the same (if they feel like it), and to include the blog that bestowed the award in their own list.

The "Cyber-Horror Elite" Present: THE HORROR CANON

Just when you thought the web was safe from horror snobbery, here I am back once again with another pontification from on high. Many of you, no doubt, remember how I gathered together a veritable "Justice League" of horror bloggers and writers on several occasions in the past and polled them on very relevant issues. The results included our "Top 50 Horror Films of All Time" and the first-ever Cyber Horror Awards, amongst other things.

This time around, I set out to do something unique, which I don't believe has ever been done before. As an English Lit. major, I was very familiar with the concept of a "canon"--specifically, an agreed-upon collection of "great works" that should be read by every student/scholar. And so, I decided, why not take this concept and apply it to horror movies?

My plan was to create a list of absolutely indispensable horror films that every fan needs to have seen in order to consider themselves a proper horror geek. This is not to be confused with "The Greatest of All Time". For example, Plan 9 from Outer Space would not be on my list of the greatest of all time, but I might very well consider it "must-see" viewing for any wannabe horror fanatic!

Think of it this way: If someone came to you and said, "I want to get into this whole horror thing, what movies do I need to see? " Which movies would you give them to watch? In another scenario, let's say aliens came down and asked you, "What's this horror movie business all about?", what movies would you give them to take up in their ship?

Each participant provided me with their essential ten, and I tallied up all the votes using my byzantine points system, resulting in the rock-solid list of 35 which you will find below. And so I give you, THE HORROR MOVIE CANON:

1. Halloween (1978) dir: John Carpenter
2. The Exorcist (1973) dir: William Friedkin
3. Night of the Living Dead (1968) dir: George Romero
4. Frankenstein (1931) dir: James Whale
5. Dracula (1931) dir: Tod Browning
6. Psycho (1960) dir: Alfred Hitchcock
7. Alien (1979) dir: Ridley Scott
8. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) dir: Tobe Hooper
9. Nosferatu (1922) dir: F.W. Murnau
10. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) dir: James Whale
11. Dawn of the Dead (1978) dir: George Romero
12. The Shining (1980) dir: Stanley Kubrick
13. The Thing (1982) dir: John Carpenter
14. Evil Dead II (1987) dir: Sam Raimi
15. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) dir: Wes Craven
16. Let the Right One In (2008) dir: Tomas Alfredson
17. The Wolf Man (1941) dir: George Waggner
18. Cannibal Holocaust (1980) dir: Ruggero Deodato
19. Suspiria (1977) dir: Dario Argento
20. Gojira (1954) dir: Ishiro Honda
21. The Ring (2002) dir: Gore Verbinski
22. Orphan (2009) dir: Jaume Collet-Serra
23. Jaws (1975) dir: Steven Speilberg
24. The Evil Dead (1981) dir: Sam Raimi
25. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) dir: Robert Weine
26. Hellraiser (1987) dir: Clive Barker
27. House on Haunted Hill (1959) dir: William Castle
28. Saw (2004) dir: James Wan
29. The Haunting (1963) dir: Robert Wise
30. Zombi 2 (1979) dir: Lucio Fulci
31. The Phantom of the Opera (1925) dir: Rupert Julian
32. The Omen (1976) dir: Richard Donner
33. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) dir: Don Siegel
34. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) dir: Ji-woon Kim
35. The War of the Worlds (1953) dir: Byron Haskin

As was to be expected, there is a bit of overlap here between this and the "Top 50 of All Time" list. Specifically, the top two films are the same--guess there's just something about those two that seem to make just about everyone agree as to their greatness. However, I'm struck by the amount of contemporary films on this list of 35, much more than the Top 50. There are a total of five films (1/7th of the list) from the current decade, with the most recent of them being Orphan, still in theaters! That's promising for the future of the biz, if you ask me--maybe the Elite were in a little better mood than last year, who knows.

However, the fact remains that no film in the top 15 of this list was made in the past 20 years, so let's not break out the confetti just yet. I'm impressed with the showing of Dracula, which scored a lot higher here than it did in the top 50--I think people recognize it as somewhat inferior overall to Frankenstein, yet nevertheless an extremely important film for any horror fan to see. I'm also impressed by the amount of foreign films on the list--a total of eight, or just under one quarter of the entire rundown. Its nice to see our participants taking into account such cult films as Cannibal Holocaust (you sickos!) and A Tale of Two Sisters, easily the most unexpected of the bunch. It's not only about the obvious choices, folks.

Decades breakdown:

• 1920s: 3
• 1930s: 3
• 1940s: 1
• 1950s: 4
• 1960s: 3
• 1970s: 9
• 1980s: 7
• 1990s: 0 (!)
• 2000s: 5

It's been a while since I've done one of these things, so the list of usual suspects has changed a bit. But here are those who participated in making the Horror Canon a reality:

Iloc Zoc of Zombos' Closet of Horror
Wes Cavins of Horror Film Magazine
Max Cheney of The Drunken Severed Head, 2008 Rondo Runner-Up for Best Blog
Ryne Barber of The Moon Is a Dead World
The Lightning Bug of The Lightning Bug's Lair
Jeff Allard of Dinner with Max Jenke and Shock Till You Drop
Justin of Send More Cops
Pierre Fournier of Frankensteinia, Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Famer
BC of Horror-Movie-a-Day and Bloody-Disgusting
Unkle Lancifer of Kindertrauma
John Kenneth Muir, horror critic (Booklist Editor's Choice)
Pax Romano of Billy Loves Stu
Ms. Harker of Musings Across a Continuum
Marc Patterson of Brutal as Hell
Christine Hadden of Fascination with Fear
Monster Scholar of Monster Land
Soap Magic of The Beyond and Bloody-Disgusting
Cortez the Killer of Planet of Terror
Judd Clarke of Igloo of the Uncanny
RayRay, Vault of Horror contributing writer
Frank Godbey of TFAV...1630...Pure Horror!
Matthew House of Paracinema and Chuck Norris Ate My Baby
Johnny Boots of Freddy in Space
Corey Lafferty of Evil on Two Legs
James Zahn of Fangoria.com
Karl Hungus of KarlHungus.com
BJ-C of Day of the Woman and Bloody-Disgusting
Nate Yapp of Classic-Horror.com and Cinema Blend
Scott Weinberg of HorrorSquad, FEARnet.com and Cinematical
And yours truly, of course.

There you have it. Digest. Discuss. Debate. Distribute.

The Return of the "Cyber-Horror Elite": Presenting the Top 20 Foreign Horror Films of All Time!

Once again, I, the most stat-crazy horror blogger on the web, have culled the collective wisdom of cyberspace's gurus of gore in order to give you, the readers, another list to nitpick! This time, I've chosen to take a closer look at another area which many felt was underrepresented in our original Top 50 Horror Films of All Time--namely, movies originating outside the United States.

It was quite telling that this time out, I received dramatically less participation than the previous two times. While I got over 30 submissions before, this time I only received top 10 lists from 14 participants. Now, it could be that ol' B-Sol is just wearing out his welcome, or it could very well be that this is a decidedly tougher area to consider, and many didn't feel confident enough in their knowledge of foreign horror to take part.

That said, I believe this to be a very solid list, compiled using the same points system as before, incorporating everyone's top 10 list into a final Top 20. For the third time in a row, I find myself surprised at the number-one vote-getter--this time more than ever before. Not because it isn't necessarily worthy, but rather because it is a movie that is so extremely recent. Judge for yourself:

1. Let the Right One In (2008) – Sweden
2. Suspiria (1977) – Italy
3. Cemetery Man (1994) – Italy
4. Nosferatu (1922) – Germany
5. Diaboliques (1955) – France
6. The Descent (2005) – United Kingdom
7. The Wicker Man (1973) – United Kingdom
8. Horror of Dracula (1958) – United Kingdom
9. 28 Days Later (2002) – United Kingdom
10. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) – Germany
11. Audition (1999) – Japan
12. The Host (2006) – South Korea
13. Zombi 2 (1979) – Italy
14. Dead Alive (1992) – New Zealand
15. Ringu (1998) – Japan
16. Inside (2007) – France
17. [REC] (2007) – Spain
18. Shaun of the Dead (2004) – United Kingdom
19. Wolf Creek (2005) – Australia
20. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) – United Kingdom

Some others that missed it by that much: Heavenly Creatures, The Vampire Lovers, Jigoku, The Orphanage, Don’t Look Now, Ju-On, Riget

Country-by-country breakdown:

United Kingdom: 6
Italy: 3
Germany: 2
Japan: 2
France: 2
South Korea: 1
New Zealand: 1
Spain: 1
Australia 1
Sweden: 1

(Worth noting that only 12 of the 20 are in a language other than English.)

Our participants this time around included:

Wes Fierce of Horror Film Magazine
The Lightning Bug of The Lightning Bug's Lair
Sean T. Collins of Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat, Marvel.com and Maxim
CRwM of And Now the Screaming Starts
Justin of Send More Cops
Peter Hall of Horror's Not Dead
John Kenneth Muir, horror critic (Booklist Editor's Choice)
Pax Romano of Billy Loves Stu
Scott Weinberg of FEARnet, Cinematical, Horror.com and Rotten Tomatoes
Brian Matus of FangoriaOnline
Nate Yapp of Classic-Horror.com
Carnacki of The Mystery of the Haunted Vampire
Corey of Evil on Two Legs
And yours truly, of course.

Digest. Discuss. Debate. Distribute.

* Top 25 Horror Films of the Modern Era

The "Cyber-Horror Elite" Strike Again: Presenting the Top 25 Horror Films of the Modern Era!

Call me a glutton for punishment, but here we are again. About a month ago, I polled a number of prominent online horror bloggers and writers, asking each to send me his/her own personal list of the top 10 horror movies. My purpose was to determine the 50 best horror films as judged by a sampling of intelligent and well-written folks who are passionate about the genre--in response to HMV's polling of more general, casual fans.

The results raised a veritable sandstorm of discussion, debate, name-calling, and lots of other stuff. And like the consummate puppet master I am, I watched the proceedings with great interest. One of the legit complaints that was raised about the original list was that we had neglected flicks of recent years in favor of more time-honored "classics" of earlier eras. And while I felt there were definitely some explainable reasons for this, I also couldn't help but agree, since the vast majority of our picks went back 20 or more years.

So, I thought, why not attempt to remedy the situation by putting together another poll--this time focusing strictly on horror's "modern era"? For the purposes of the poll, I chose to define "modern era" as 1990 to the present. I was tempted to restrict it strictly to this century, but I decided that would steal the thunder of any "Best of the Decade" lists that are sure to pop up among my peers and I at this time next year.

As I did last time, I compiled the list using a points system. If a participant ranked a movie number one, it received 10 points, 9 points for number two, etc. Now, to diffuse some expected critiques, let me say this: Yes, there are some interesting anomalies. For example, The Mist, which was the only movie from the 21st century to make the all-time list, is here ranked below two other 21st century movies, neither of which made the all-time list. On the flipside, The Addiction made the all-time list, yet paradoxically did not make this list. My best explanation for this is that this time, our participants were slightly different, with a couple of folks dropping out, and a couple of new pundits taking part for the first time.

But enough of this palaver! Let's get on with the show:

1. The Descent (2005) dir: Neil Marshall
2. The Blair Witch Project (1999) dir: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez
3. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) dir: Jonathan Demme
4. The Ring (2002) dir: Gore Verbinski
5. Scream (1996) dir: Wes Craven
6. The Mist (2007) dir: Frank Darabont
7. 28 Days Later (2002) dir: Danny Boyle
8. Braindead (Dead Alive) (1992) dir: Peter Jackson
9. Inside (2007) dir: Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury
10. Shaun of the Dead (2004) dir: Edgar Wright
11. Saw (2004) dir: James Wan
12. [REC] (2007) dir: Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza
13. Audition (1999) dir: Takashi Miike
14. Ginger Snaps (2000) dir: John Fawcett
15. American Psycho (2000) dir: Mary Harron
16. Session 9 (2001) dir: Brad Anderson
17. Dawn of the Dead (2004) dir: Zack Snyder
18. Army of Darkness (1993) dir: Sam Raimi
19. Dog Soldiers (2002) dir: Neil Marshall
20. Cabin Fever (2002) dir: Eli Roth
21. Let the Right One In (2008) dir: Tomas Alfredson
22. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) dir: Francis Ford Coppola
23. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) dir: Stanley Kubrick
24. Halloween: 20 Years Later (1998) dir: Steve Miner
25. Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man) (1994) dir: Michele Soavi

Some other prominent vote-getters: Ringu, Hostel, Jacob's Ladder, The Orphanage, Candyman, Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door, The Sixth Sense, Jeepers Creepers

The inevitable stats:

• Earliest movie on the list: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
• Most recent movie on the list: Let the Right One In (the only 2008 entry)
• Only five of the 25 were made in the last five years (further supporting the theory that movies need time to ferment in the mind)
• Director listed the most times: Neil Marshall (2)

Eleven movies from outside the U.S.

• United Kingdom: The Descent, 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, Dog Soliders
• New Zealand: Braindead
• France: Inside
• Spain: [REC]
• Japan: Audition
• Canada: Ginger Snaps
• Sweden: Let the Right One In
• Italy: Cemetery Man
  

(Very interesting that while only eight of the top 50 of all-time were non-American, eleven of the top 25 of the modern era come from outside the U.S.)

Yearly breakdown:

• 1991: 1
• 1992: 2
  
• 1993: 1
• 1994: 1
  
• 1996: 1
• 1998: 1
• 1999: 3
• 2000: 2
• 2001: 1
• 2002: 4
• 2004: 3
• 2005: 1
• 2007: 3
• 2008: 1

Our participants this time around included:

Wes Fierce of Horror Film Magazine
Vince Liaguno of Slasher Speak, horror novelist
Max Cheney of The Drunken Severed Head, 2007 Rondo nominee for Best Website
Karswell of The Horrors of It All
Stacie Ponder of Final Girl and AMC's Horror Hacker
Ryne Barber of The Moon Is a Dead World
Brad Miska of Bloody-Disgusting
John W. Morehead of Theofantastique
The Lightning Bug of The Lightning Bug's Lair
Sean T. Collins of Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat, Marvel.com and Maxim
CRwM of And Now the Screaming Starts
The Horror Guy
Justin of Send More Cops
Gary D. Macabre of Blogue Macabre and The Many Faces of the Frankenstein Monster
Garg the Unzola of The Necro Files
BC of Horror-Movie-a-Day
Peter Hall of Horror's Not Dead
Unkle Lancifer and Aunt John of Kindertrauma
John Kenneth Muir, horror critic (Booklist Editor's Choice)
Pax Romano of Billy Loves Stu
Curt Purcell of The Groovy Age of Horror and Cinema Nocturna
Scott Weinberg of FEARnet, Cinematical, Horror.com and Rotten Tomatoes
Brian Matus of FangoriaOnline
Jo of Nightly Accounts
Nate Yapp of Classic-Horror.com
And yours truly, of course.

Digest. Discuss. Debate. Distribute.

"CBE" Update: The Ones That Didn't Make the Cut

Yes, I've taken to abbreviating "Cyber-Horror Elite"--partly to diffuse the tensions caused by that phrase, and partly because I just love acronyms.

In response to the lively and passionate debate that's arisen as a result of my last blogosphere-rippling post, I thought it might be a good idea to list all the other films which were in consideration, yet didn't make the final list of fifty. So here, for your edification, and to answer a lot of the "Hey, what about _______??!" comments, are all the other flicks that received votes from our venerable panel of blowhards:

The ones that almost squeaked through, but not quite:

• Dagon
• Peeping Tom
• Cat People (1942)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 & 1978--the original came out ahead, for those keeping score)
• The Ring
• Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde (1932)
• Sisters
• Horror of Dracula (highest-ranking Hammer)
• 2000 Maniacs
• Donnie Darko
• Hellraiser
• The Blood-Spattered Bride
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
• The Silence of the Lambs
• Don't Look Now
• Island of Lost Souls

Yet more also-rans:

• Tenebrae
• Gojira
• Alice, Sweet Alice
• The Devil's Nightmare
• The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Women
• The Cave of Demons
• The Cat and the Canary
• The Uninvited (1944)
• The Old Dark House
• Re-Animator
• Vampire Circus
• Creepshow
• The Curse of Frankenstein
• Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers
• Scream
• Vampyres
• Eyes Without a Face
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Deliverance
• Manhunter
• Dead Alive
• Night of the Werewolf
• The Abominable Dr. Phibes
• The Wicker Man (1973)
• Cloverfield
• Toby Dammit
• The Birds
• Ginger Snaps
• Bloodsucking Freaks
• Uzumaki
• Plague of the Zombies
• Halloween III: Season of the Witch
• Vampyr
• M
• Picnic at Hanging Rock
• Repulsion
• This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse
• The Howling
• Carnival of Souls
• Lost Highway
• Burnt Offerings
• Rabid
• Werewolf of London
• The Omen
• Freaks
• The Lost Boys
• The Descent

And finally, the lonely little films that got only one point, by virtue of being the bottom choice on a single list:

• Looking for Mr. Goodbar
• The Funhouse
• Vampire Lovers
• Ringu
• Shocker
• Sleepless
• Urotsukidoji
• Night of the Hunter
• I Walked with a Zombie

There you have it, list completists! You see, we're not as "populist" as we were originally accused of being. Old and crotchety, perhaps, but certainly not populist!

The "Cyber-Horror Elite" Have Spoken: Presenting the Top 50 Horror FIlms of All Time!

Before anyone jumps to any conclusions about my horror snobbery, let me just take the piss out of myself here and make it clear that this is nothing more than a fun little exercise, and "Cyber-Horror Elite" is a tongue-in-cheek term, at best. Nevertheless, it does represent the composite opinions of the some of the most high-profile writers/critics in the online horror community, so take it for what you will.

Just to get everyone up to speed, some days ago, HMV put out the results of their highly flawed survey of the top 50 horror movies of all time. After I replaced the lunch I had lost going over their atrocity, I set about putting into a motion a plan to retaliate with a list of my own. A list that I hoped would be representative of the opinions of those who actually love horror, and for whom the genre is a genuine passion.

Invitations went out to some 32 cyber-horror notables (the full list can be found below). Each contributor was asked to select his or her personal top 10. What I did next was assign points to each movie selected, based on where they were ranked on each individual's list (10 points for a number-one pick, 9 points for a number-two pick, etc.) The totals for each movie were then tallied, and a list of the top 50 scoring movies was put together. In several instances, there were two or more movies whose scores were tied; in these cases, I put it to a run-off vote. Any ties which still remained after that would be decided by me (I only made use of this prerogative once).

And so, without further ado, here is the list of Top 50 Horror Films of All Time, as chosen by some of the shining lights of the online horror community:

1. Halloween (1978) dir: John Carpenter
2. The Exorcist (1973) dir: William Friedkin
3. Psycho (1960) dir: Alfred Hitchcock
4. Night of the Living Dead (1968) dir: George Romero
5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) dir: Tobe Hooper
6. Frankenstein (1931) dir: James Whale
7. The Shining (1980) dir: Stanley Kubrick
8. The Thing (1982) dir: John Carpenter
9. Alien (1979) dir: Ridley Scott
10. Nosferatu (1922) dir: F.W. Murnau
11. Dawn of the Dead (1978) dir: George Romero
12. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) dir: James Whale
13. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) dir: Wes Craven
14. Jaws (1975) dir: Steven Spielberg
15. The Blair Witch Project (1999) dir: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez
16. The Haunting (1963) dir: Robert Wise
17. King Kong (1933) dir: Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack
18. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) dir: Roman Polanski
19. Dracula (1931) dir: Todd Browning
20. The Evil Dead (1981) dir: Sam Raimi
21. Poltergeist (1982) dir: Tobe Hooper
22. Black Sunday (La Maschera del Demonio) (1960) dir: Mario Bava
23. The Phantom of the Opera (1925) dir: Rupert Julian
24. An American Werewolf in London (1980) dir: John Landis
25. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) dir: Jack Arnold
26. Friday the 13th (1980) dir: Sean Cunningham
27. Evil Dead II (1988) dir: Sam Raimi
28. Alucarda (1978) dir: Juan Lopez Moctezuma
29. Carrie (1976) dir: Brian DePalma
30. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) dir: Francis Ford Coppola
31. The Fly (1986) dir: David Cronenberg
32. The Fog (1980) dir: John Carpenter
33. The Wolf Man (1941) dir: George Waggner
34. House on Haunted Hill (1959) dir: William Castle
35. Night of the Demon (1957) dir: Jacques Tourneur
36. Frankenstein (1910) dir: J. Searle Dawley
37. Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man) (1994) dir: Michele Soavi
38. Thriller (1983) dir: John Landis
39. The Addiction (1995) dir: Abel Ferrara
40. Aliens (1986) dir: James Cameron
41. Phantasm (1979) dir: Don Coscarelli
42. The Thing from Another World (1951) dir: Christian Nyby
43. Zombi 2 (1979) dir: Lucio Fulci
44. The Mist (2007) dir: Frank Darabont
45. Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) dir: Jack Clayton
46. The Living Dead Girl (1982) dir: Jean Rollin
47. The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962) dir: Joseph Green
48. The Return of the Living Dead (1985) dir: Dan O’Bannon
49. Suspiria (1976) dir: Dario Argento
50. Salem’s Lot (1979) dir: Tobe Hooper

Some items of note:

• No movie in the top 12 was made in the last 25 years.
• No movie in the top 14 was made in the last 10 years.
• Only one movie in the top 26 was made in the last 20 years.
• Four of the top 10, and 3 of the top 5, were made in the 1970s.
• Most recent film: The Mist (2007)
• Earliest film: Frankenstein (1910)
• Directors listed most times: John Carpenter & Tobe Hooper (3)
• Three silent films: Frankenstein, Nosferatu, The Phantom of the Opera
• One TV movie: Salem’s Lot
• Two non-feature length films: Frankenstein (16 min.), Thriller video (14 min.)

Decades breakdown

• 1980s: 15
• 1970s: 12
• 1960s: 6
• 1930s: 4
• 1950s: 4
• 1990s: 4
• 1920s: 2
• 1940s: 1
• 1910s: 1
• 2000s: 1

Eight movies from outside the U.S.

• United Kingdom: Night of the Demon
• Italy: Zombi 2, Dellamorte Dellamore, Suspiria, Black Sunday
• France: The Living Dead Girl
• Mexico: Alucarda
• Germany: Nosferatu

And in the interest of full disclosure, here's a complete list of the brave souls/pontificating pundits who were polled for the list...

Iloc Zoc of Zombos' Closet of Horror

Wes Fierce of Horror Film Magazine
Vince Liaguno of Slasher Speak, horror novelist
Max Cheney of The Drunken Severed Head, 2007 Rondo nominee for Best Website
Kim Paffenroth, author of Gospel of the Living Dead
Karswell of The Horrors of It All
Casey Criswell of Cinema Fromage and Bloody Good Horror
Stacie Ponder of Final Girl and AMC's Horror Hacker
The Vicar of VHS & The Duke of DVD from Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Movies
Ryne Barber of The Moon Is a Dead World
Brad Miska of Bloody-Disgusting
John W. Morehead of Theofantastique
Carnacki of The Mystery of the Haunted Vampire
The Lightning Bug of The Lightning Bug's Lair
Sean T. Collins of Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat, Marvel.com and Maxim
Jeff Allard of Dinner with Max Jenke and Shock Till You Drop
CRwM of And Now the Screaming Starts
Paul Bibeau of Goblinbooks, editor at Maxim, author of Sundays with Vlad
The Horror Guy
Justin of Send More Cops
Gary D. Macabre of Blogue Macabre and The Many Faces of the Frankenstein Monster
Garg the Unzola of The Necro Files
Pierre Fournier of Frankensteinia, Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Famer
BC of Horror-Movie-a-Day
Peter Hall of Horror's Not Dead
Chad Helder of Unspeakable Horror, writer of Vincent Price Presents
Unkle Lancifer of Kindertrauma
John Kenneth Muir, horror critic (Booklist Editor's Choice)
Pax Romano of Billy Loves Stu
Curt Purcell of The Groovy Age of Horror and Cinema Nocturna
Tenebrous Kate of Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire
And yours truly, of course.

There you have it. Digest. Discuss. Debate. Distribute.

New Poll Reveals Difference Between Casual and Hardcore Horror Fans

Media retail giant HMV held a poll last month on their website that really got me thinking. As they do every year around Halloween, the UK-based company asked visitors to vote for their favorite horror film of all time. They then compiled the top 50 vote-getters, and published the list on their site on October 30. Here's what they came up with:

1.The Exorcist. William Friedkin (1973)

2.The Shining. Stanley Kubrick (1980) 

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.

The List the AFI Missed

I, like many blood and guts enthusiasts, was sorely disappointed and a bit irked to find that the entire horror genre had been ignored by the American Film Institute, which has put together its "10 Top 10". AFI selected ten major genres and listed its top 10 films in each category. Included genres were animation (a genre??), romantic comedies, westerns, sports, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, gangster, courtroom drama and epic.

Clearly, a disservice is being done to one of the movies' oldest and most beloved niches. I mean really, what comes to mind first when you think film genres, horror or courtroom drama? Come on now. So taking some inspiration from fellow LoTT D member Final Girl, I've taken it upon myself to put together "the list that should have been." That's right: The Vault of Horror has taken the liberty of creating AFI's Top 10 Horror Films list, since they couldn't be bothered to do it themselves.

#1 The Shining (1980)
Surprisingly, this movie does have its detractors (King purists!), so let me explain my choice. Simply put, AFI judges its films as films. And here you have what might be the highest quality horror picture ever made. One of the all-time greatest directors, riveting acting, amazing cinematography and score, and most importantly, scary as all get-out.



#2 Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The most enduring piece of cinema to come out of the entire Universal monster movie cycle, rich in symbolism, rife with dark humor and thematically bold. It's also quite beautiful to look at.



#3 Dawn of the Dead (1978)
My personal favorite horror movie, an epic of gore and social commenary that pushed the envelope for the entire genre. Marred only by its drama-class-level acting.



#4 Psycho (1960)
Hitchcock's grim yet stylish chiller invented both the slasher sub-genre and the modern thriller in one swift stroke. Could do without the clunky exposition in the final scene, though.



#5 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
An unrelenting nightmare of terror, and the crowned jewel of '70s exploitation horror. A classic that demonstrates how effective you can be on a low budget and a small scale.



#6 The Exorcist (1973)
Along with The Shining, one of the only horror movies that could've conceivably won the Academy Award. Though perhaps more terrifying to Catholics than others, this grand-daddy of all Satan flicks still packs a hell of a punch.



#7 Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Perhaps more influential than any other horror film ever made, this milestone motion picture is the literal dividing line between old-school and modern eras.



#8 Frankenstein (1931)
Though overshadowed by its sequel, there's something deeply effective about James Whale's original, and Boris Karloff's brilliant wordless performance. It may not be as shocking today, but that will never take away from just what a damn good movie it is.



#9 The Thing (1982)
There's a devout cult following built around John Carpenter's mind-blowing sci-fi/horror remake, and with good reason. With all the love it gets, this one's still underrated.



#10 The Evil Dead (1981)
Despite an ultra low budget, this revered gem endures thanks to the sheer gusto of its performances and its willingness to plumb the depths of grisly gore without flinching.



There you have it, folks! Whether you agree or disagree with the choices, I hope you'll at least agree that this needed to be done. AFI, take a hike. We horror fans take care of our own.

Time Magazine Weighs in on the Greatest Ever

In honor of Halloween, Time's veteran film critic Richard Corliss has broken down his top 25 horror movies over at Time.com. They're listed in reverse chronological order, with some very interesting choices. Of course you realize I'm going to have to put my two cents in. You can read the full article here, but these are Corliss' picks:

1. Shaun of the Dead
2. Red Dragon - Kudos to Corliss for giving props to one of the decade's most unfairly ignored thrillers.
3. Audition
4. Dead Alive - Nice to see a mainstream critic recognizing this cult gem.
5. Men Behind the Sun - Here I find major fault. If you ask me, including a docudrama based on actual Japanese war atrocities on this list borders on disgusting.
6. The Fly (1986)
7. Alien
8. Halloween (1978)
9. Carrie
10. Jaws - I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Jaws is not a horror movie.
11. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
12. The Exorcist
13. Night of the Living Dead - I would've chosen Dawn of the Dead, but Corliss insisted on including only one film per director.
14. Blood Feast
15. Black Sunday
16. Psycho
17. Peeping Tom
18. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
19. Diabolique (1955)
20. Bambi - Why do these critics always have to get cute? So Bambi's mom dying freaked you out as a kid. Get over it. It's Disney.
21. Freaks
22. Frankenstein
23. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
24. Nosferatu
25. Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat - Another ridiculous one. This is the infamous short that allegedly scared early moviegoers because they thought the train was going to burst through the screen. Horror movie? Gimme a break.

Surprised to see Hammer go unrepresented. American bias showing through, I guess. So what do you folks make of Time's choices? Feel free to chime in. Anyone interested in my own top picks need look no further than the right hand column...