Horror

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'll take a stab at it, but honestly I need to watch a lot more of the genre:

1. John Carpenter's The Thing (I respect the original, but this version is superior, IMO)
2. Psycho (More of a suspense thriller, but it still counts)
3. The Shining ( The Stanely Kubrick version, obviously)
4. An American Werewolf in London (The only horror comedy on my list, because it works as both)
5. The Omen (This one gets more overlooked these days, but I think it's one of the best in the genre)
6. The Exorcist (More intriguing than scary, but a great film, either way)
7. Dawn of the Dead (The original, obviously)
8. The Children of the Corn (the only other Stephen King movie that I like)
9. The Conjuring (It may be recent, but it was a damn well-made horror film)
10. Alien (The best science-fiction horror movie that I have ever seen)

Honorable mentions:

Halloween- It was the main influence for the teen slasher genre, and still the best in the genre, IMO; That said, it does come off as a bit too cliche, these days

Poltergeist- Mostly for nostalgia, but I consider it to be the perfect horror movie for kids; as an adult, its simply just entertaining

Keep in mind that I still have yet to see a lot of the classics, so my list is just based on my personal taste from the relatively limited amount of horror flicks that I have seen.

[Avaitor]

When you say those are the only Stephen King adaptations you like, does that mean you haven't seen Carrie yet, or are you not a fan?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Whoops, I forgot about Carrie. I do like the movie, actually (the original; I haven't seen the remake), but I don't really consider it a horror film in the same way that I don't consider Don't Look Now to be a horror film. It's really only the last 10-15 minutes of those movies that make that transition into being horror movies, but the vast majority of those films are more about characterization and suspense.

[talonmalon333]

6. The Exorcist (More intriguing than scary, but a great film, either way)

Put me in the camp that finds The Exorcist to be terrifying.

Good list. I haven't yet seen Children of the Corn or The Conjuring, but I like every other movie you mentioned.

I also think it should be noted that my lists don't accurately show which movies I can rewatch the most. For example, every October I make an attempt to rewatch American Werewolf in London, Dawn of the Dead, Nosferatu the Vampyre, and Halloween (with the sad exception of this year, where I didn't get around to all of them). However, I haven't been able to go back to The Exorcist in years, despite liking it more than the majority of my list. I guess sometimes, the most rewatchable movie isn't necessarily my favorite.

Anyway, here's some of my honorable mentions.

Night of the Living Dead (just barely missed my list, as I indicated earlier)
The Haunting
Frankenstein
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (a perfect example to what I was saying above, because I don't know if I can bring myself to rewatch this one)
Alien

[Spark Of Spirit]

As far as Stephen King movies, I really enjoyed 1408 and The Mist would have been better had the ending not been stupid.

Though for Frankenstein, I just can't enjoy any of the movies. The monster in the book is far more frightening than any movie version because it is nothing like any of the depictions and quite disturbing to think about. That and Frankenstein himself is actually sympathetic.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

As far as Stephen King movies, I really enjoyed 1408 and The Mist would have been better had the ending not been stupid.

I hated 1408, personally. I don't mind that it wasn't scary, but as something that seemed to be taking itself seriously, a lot of the horror elements came off as too goofy to me, and the characters just didn't interest me that much. To be fair, though, that's kind of how I feel about most Stephen King stories, so it's not really a fault of this movie as much as it is me not caring for the types of stories from this author (though to be fair, I haven't read any of his books, so I can only really apply that to adaptations of his work).

[Spark Of Spirit]

The original ending of The Mist was ambiguous, the movie version is just stupid.

But yeah, I'm not a big Stephen King fan myself. I only really like a handful of stories (The Shining, Salem's Lot, and The Stand, mainly) and find that most of his stories are him trying too hard to be scary. Then there's stuff like Christine.



Though I don't actually read a lot of horror. Mostly just the classics and stuff like the above.

[talonmalon333]

As far as Stephen King movies, I really enjoyed 1408 and The Mist would have been better had the ending not been stupid.

Though for Frankenstein, I just can't enjoy any of the movies. The monster in the book is far more frightening than any movie version because it is nothing like any of the depictions and quite disturbing to think about. That and Frankenstein himself is actually sympathetic.

The novel was excellent. But I do still very much enjoy the movies, most notably Bride of Frankenstein which I find to be the best of the old Universal horror films.

[Spark Of Spirit]

As far as Stephen King movies, I really enjoyed 1408 and The Mist would have been better had the ending not been stupid.

Though for Frankenstein, I just can't enjoy any of the movies. The monster in the book is far more frightening than any movie version because it is nothing like any of the depictions and quite disturbing to think about. That and Frankenstein himself is actually sympathetic.

The novel was excellent. But I do still very much enjoy the movies, most notably Bride of Frankenstein which I find to be the best of the old Universal horror films.

The movies are fine for what they are, but the novel is just so different which makes it hard for me to see them in the same light.

[Avaitor]

For my personal interests, Dracula>Frankenstein in any given instance, but I do find the Frankenstein story very fascinating.

[talonmalon333]

So ever since the summer, my brother and I had been going through the Friday the 13th franchise and just finished it about a week ago (we actually took a break from the franchise in October to see other horror films). These are still cheap exploitative, low class trash. But I still can't help but enjoy them. Haven't gone through the movies (and having seen some that I hadn't seen previously), I feel like giving my thoughts on them quickly.

The original is certainly not a great movie by any stretch, with the exception of Tom Savini's effects. But it's definitely a slasher classic. And the ending is something that has stuck with me ever since I first saw this movie 10 years ago. Part of me still prefers Jason as a concept (a driving plot point, as he is in this movie), rather than the primary killer. I also like when Jason's mother is about to imply that he had mental problems, but then catches herself and simply says "He wasn't a very good swimmer". It's nice getting some subtlety from a Friday the 13th film. That rarely happens.

Part 2 very closely follows the first movie, almost step for step. Only this is the introduction of Jason. I find it really interesting how one of the biggest horror icons wasn't even really in his first film (and what makes this even more interesting is that he didn't get his famous hockey mask until Part III, a look that's now synonymous with him and it's practically impossible imagining him without it). I think Part 2 is a worthy sequel (remember to put that in perspective though ).

As for Part III, when I first saw this movie, I couldn't help but think about the fact that it's not up to par with the first two movies. Some of the characters in this movie are ridiculous (yeah yeah I know all F13 characters are kind of bad, but many of the ones in this movie feel like they can just be cut) and it's a bit too indulgent on the 3D gimmick (gee, I wonder why they decided to make that eye pop out at the screen). So I wasn't particularly a fan of this movie at first. However, after I saw every movie this franchise has to offer, this one started to grow on me. Plus, it's nice seeing Jason finally don his mask. It's just not as good as Part 2.

Part IV: The Final Chapter is, in many ways, the "perfect Friday the 13th film" (once again, you really need to put that description into perspective). The deaths are great, particularly thanks to Tom Savini being back. He's also to thank for the phenomenal look of the unmasked Jason in this movie. I was so-so on the unmasked Jason in Part 2, and I disliked how he looked in Part III (he looked like some weird goblin with a goofy grin). But in this movie, Tom Savini really nailed it, perfectly taking the child Jason of Part 1 into adult form. Also, this movie has some likeable characters, mainly Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover.

Then you have Part V: A New Beginning. After they killed off Jason in IV, they tried to introduce a new killer to follow Jason's footsteps. But unfortunately, this movie is where the franchise begins to really wear down. This movie, in my opinion, is certainly the worst in the franchise and is the one I would truly call bad. The characters suck more than ever, and they don't even get an introduction. The movie isn't trying to hide the fact that they exist to die. Plus, the acting is bad. And by that, I mean bad, even for F13 standards. Plus, the ending is just predictable and so simple minded.

I assume they realized the franchise needed some changes. Because Part VI: Jason Lives marked a new direction for the series. They brought back Jason in this movie, finally as the unstoppable zombie. This is the movie with the tongue-in-cheek tone. Instead of trying to be really scary, this movie just portrays Jason as seriously badass. And it's hilarious. There's few things funnier than a woman trying to bribe Jason with money. And once those guys playing paintball in the woods showed up, I was praying that they would try to shoot Jason with paint balls. My prayers were answered. The characters in this movie are weak. But I could care less because Jason is the star here. He steals the show, and he even gets his own enjoyable theme song in the credits ("He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)").

Jason Lives definitely brought new life to the franchise and has rightfully become a fan favorite. So it really should've been the template for the future of the series. Just looking at later movies, storylines involving Jason battling a psychic, and Jason "taking Manhattan" just beg for some silliness. But sadly, they do not continue in this direction. Part VII: A New Blood tries to take the franchise back to being scary, but it's not strong enough to be taken seriously. The idea of Jason fighting a psychic girl, as I said earlier, could've really worked if they made it in the same vein as Jason Lives, but they play it totally straight, and it fails because of that. How are we supposed to be scared if the girl Jason is trying to kill can vastly overpower him? Part VII is a major missed opportunity, but on the bright side, Kane Hodder plays a really good, angry, and aggressive Jason. He plays the role for the rest of the series, but this is his best appearance. In this movie, you really get the feeling that he is someone who just has to kill, unlike Part VII where it just seems like a hobby of his. Speaking of... Oh God, here we go.

Part VII: Jason takes Manhattan is one of the most mind-boggling movies I have ever seen. First of all, the title just leads to so much disappointment. You want to see Jason actually taking Manhattan, but ultimately he only spends like 30-45 minutes in Manhattan. And of that time, only 2-5 minutes take place in the lively part of the city and leave any impression (I was looking forward to seeing that kid try to beat up Jason, but it ended up being such a letdown). Instead the movie mainly takes place on a boat, which is a good setting, but come on, what about Manhattan? What about the freaking title of the movie? Plus, the bits of the movie that revolve around child Jason are just frustrating abysmal and are easily the absolute worst parts of the whole series. They make no sense are fly in the face of what we know about Jason (like how Jason suddenly looks like a normal kid in this movie). Plus, the look of unmasked Jason is awful, and his weakness of water makes no sense when you consider that, in this movie, he swam all the way to New York. Shit don't make sense, bro. But on the upside, the movie has some funny moments, both intentional and unintentional (I love the part where Jason starts blatantly teleporting all over that music room of the boat, they aren't even trying to hide this fact anymore). Still, those moments don't save this movie. The characters all suck, too.

Then you have Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. Technically speaking, I'd say this is the most poorly made film of the franchise. The vibe of it is so incredibly cheap. I think that might be because the budget is much bigger and many things have improved, while most other things haven't and so they stand out more. But man, I'd be lying if I said this movie wasn't so bad it's good. It's really the absolute bottom of the barrel, but it succeeds at bringing more entertainment than VII and VIII. The self-aware opening of the hot chick getting undressed to lore out Jason, and lead him out to a fire squad to be shot down, is great. And I love how over the top it is. You have an entire army just open fire blowing him away, and then sending bombs on top of him, it's so overdone that I couldn't stop laughing when I first say it (it's now one of my favorite moments of the series). Some of the characters are fun as well (especially Vicki the badass waitress who fights on practically an equal level to Jason, don't make sense but it's funny). There's just so much stupidity in this movie (and not the terrible kind like child Jason from Part VIII) to be fun, so that at least keeps it from being the worst in the series.

Finally, we reach Jason X. And in my mind, this movie absolutely "gets it". After I saw Part VI: Jason Lives, I was just let down by the sequels. However, Jason X was my long awaited successor to Part VI. It goes back to the tongue-in-cheek nature of that movie and just has fun with itself. And at that, the movie succeeds The dialogue is funny, and the situations the characters get into are really funny (the part where Jason is sent to a simulation of Crystal Lake is great, where those girls chanted "We love premarital sex!", the writers clearly knew what they were doing with that part). I also love the fact that there's an android in a Friday movie. She fights Jason and whoops him, but this doesn't fail (unlike when that girl beat Jason using her psychic powers in Part VII) because this movie is meant to be funny. Also, the moment where that giant simulated monster appeared, I nearly died of laughter. I actually had to take a moment to register that I saw it. There are now monsters in Friday the 13th (I might call it the funniest moment in the series). When I saw this movie, I was surprised to realize that, after all the failures of the recent few movies, that I was getting a satisfying movie to end the Friday the 13th franchise. And it was nice. Jason X isn't as good as Part VI, but it ended the series on a good note.

Now to rank the films...
IV > I > II > VI > III > X > IX > VII > VIII > V

[No-Personality]

For my personal interests, Dracula>Frankenstein in any given instance, but I do find the Frankenstein story very fascinating.

If only that opinion were shared by more people but it's not. My main reservation is against James Whale in general. His movies are quite terrible. I think I gave Bride of Frankenstein a 3/5 passing grade earlier this year when I watched it but there are moments when I really wanted to shut it off. I don't remember the original Frankenstein well but... I saw The Invisible Man. And that is a bad movie. I gave it 2.5/5 to reflect the fact that you can tell the bad decisions were made intentionally and are not meant to irritate you. Or maybe they are.

By the way, all... my list in my Top 100 thread is undergoing some huge changes at the present time. At least 4 movies which weren't there before are there now, which means of course that 4 of my original choices have been booted. And dozens of numbers are different- some choices moved forward, others moved back.

I very much want to reboot that project.

[Lord Il]

Steven Spielberg's early directorial work from 1971: Duel

A business man on his way to an important meeting finds himself with his life in danger after innocently passing a slow, creepy looking semi tanker truck..

Yeah, the plot is ridiculously thin, but I like this movie. Not sure if I'd call this an actual horror flick, but it definitely has good suspense and is loaded with tension. It's also neat to see where Spielberg came from before becoming the household name in entertainment of today. I want to find a copy of this on DVD.

If anyone is interested in checking it out, it's as easy as browsing YouTube for the full movie.

[gunswordfist]

I'll take a stab at it, but honestly I need to watch a lot more of the genre:

1. John Carpenter's The Thing (I respect the original, but this version is superior, IMO)
10. Alien (The best science-fiction horror movie that I have ever seen)

Honorable mentions:

Halloween- It was the main influence for the teen slasher genre, and still the best in the genre, IMO; That said, it does come off as a bit too cliche, these days

[gunswordfist]

I just heard about it's PS1 sequel. But that was a long time ago and I'm not even sure what genre it is.