Masters of Horror: Women in Horror Edition

It's the final Monday of February which means it's the last day (for my blog) of WiHM. Unfortunately I didn't get any women themed horror film reviews out to you but I did accomplish all four lists and my Scream Queens Part III. I hope it makes up for the lack of effort this past October as I did have full intent, lists in mind and all, but never was able to deliver. But I did enjoy doing it this month as I liked being a part of WiHM. As a result I likely wont do it again next year but I hopefully will in some way or another celebrate the cause, maybe I'll focus on actual film reviews (believe it or not this is a film review blog, even if I've only posted one in the course of two months). But that's a year away and who knows what will happen between here and there. Regardless I'm thankful for getting the chance to be an ambassador and will gladly do so again.

As with the October lists I decided to end the Women in Horror Month series with a Masters of Horror list. Maybe they aren't Masters of Horror per say, at least not in the sense as my other MOH lists. But they've executed their films to a mastered level of horror. These aren't just random films from five random women, these are some of the most prominent, influential and scary films in the genre. And they don't need a bulky horror resume to accomplish such, as in most of their cases their single one time attempt stands for itself. For this last Monday of the month here are my Top Five Female Horror Directors:

#5 Amy Holden Jones, The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

Amy Jones may not be a household name per-say, nor may her one time directed horror title, Slumber Party Massacre (unless it is a horror fanatics household, respectively) but she's almost the first woman to direct a horror film, being pre-dated thirty years by Ida Lupino who directed a film noir called The Hitch Hiker. Maybe an ironic surprise to most as Slumber Party Massacre doesn't really appear as the type to have a feminine touch to it, but doesn't that accredit to Jones more? Its a textbook, A to Z, slasher that is generally reserved as a fun watch. Jones was able to execute a simplistic gruesome slasher film without anyone questioning a difference due to her gender. Few individuals hold the opinion that women directed horror films are not as scary as male directed. I disagree, its a matter of the director's talent, not their sex, with Slumber Party Massacre being proof.

#4 Mary Harron, American Psycho (2000)

Here's what I like about Mary Harron, she was hired to direct American Psycho because the producers thought her gender would soften controversy about the explicit torture of women that is a common theme about the novel. Of course if anything is indifferent to gender it is the media as the film still caused out cry for its bizarre, bloody and highly graphic murders. Having read Bret Easton Ellis novel Harron was accurate in capturing the eighties yuppie and incessant madness that encases Patrick Bateman's life. The novel and film are both of satirical horror but I felt it was emphatic in the film as the novel's often dark material dampened some of the lighter moments. American Psycho became a cult film, it's humor and horror ever present to this day. The reasons for her hiring aside Harron was an ideal choice for the director, Easton's social critique and the lucid violence translated excellently to the film.

#3 Kathryn Bigelow, Near Dark (1987)

As of current Kathryn Bigelow is known for being the first woman director to win an Academy Award but before that us horror lovers knew her for directing one of the best vampire films ever, the late eighties midnight classic Near Dark. The film's release offered positive reviews but a poor box office reception which is often the secret ingredient to a cult horror film. The stylized western horror has one of my favorite killing scenes, when a sadistic Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen (perfectly cast) mass drain a quiet bar. The film is known for uncommonly blending the genre's of western and vampire horror, the latter which was popular during the time. The film still makes several 'best' lists and is well received by genre fans. Aspects of Bigelow's current directing are distinct in her only horror film, not basing quality off of genre. Near Dark is essential, its lasting cult status marking it as one of the best horror films ever.

#2 Mary Lambert, Pet Sematary (1989)

I've made it pretty eminent that I find Pet Sematary to be Stephen King's best adapted novel (and best novel, mind you). What I love is the black veiled subject matter, as I've attested that losing a child is likely the worst horror a person can experience. In that it's a more difficult novel to adapt, as the gruesome and heartrending events even made King hesitant in publishing. The dark story is of the few film adaptions that accounts for the bulk of the novel, as well as efficaciously capturing the unnerving halo that hangs over the Creed family. Mary Lambert's visual perspective is accurate, portraying the small Maine home to eerie perfection, and the changed temperament of Church gives us a more suspenseful build that was missing in the novel. Lambert has a few other horror films in her proficient directing career, including one of the Urban Legends films but Pet Sematary is her first, and still her most adequate in my opinion. Without her directing and vision I don't believe that Pet Sematary would be as good as it is.

#1 Jen & Sylvia Soska, Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009) & American Mary (2012)

The film is a little ill applied to my intro paragraph as Dead Hooker In A Trunk is likely not the scariest film you've ever seen. It rather applies more to the film I haven't seen, American Mary, and won't be able to do so for another eight months. So I'm only going off speculation here but from almost every review I've read American Mary is a genre defining film. I won't say for sure as I haven't seen it so its Dead Hooker as a rep for these ladies. But even for not seeing their sophomore film how could I not include the Twisted Twins? These two came into the genre recently but their impact has been so loud and influential that there's not too many horror fans that don't know who they are. And let's not ignore their fantastic romp of a debut film that got them heard. Dead Hooker was an modern exploitation flick that was not only impressive in budget and style but also provided a heavy dosage of humor and gore. It takes years to gain the accreditation these beautiful women receive and they've done it in four. They are exactly what Women in Horror Month is, a celebration of the beautiful, dark, and brilliant contributions to horror.

Honorable Mentions: Shannon Lark, Lip Stick (2010) a woman's obsession with self gratification is taken to horrifying extremes. Ida Lupino, The Hitch Hiker (1953) two young men lives are at the short extent of a car trip when they pick up a psychotic hitch hiker. Angela Bettis, Roman (2006) a lonely unstable man yearns for love but expresses it in all the wrong ways .

If you're reading post your own.

Phenomena (1985)

Phenomena is about Jennifer, the precocious daughter of a famous actor, recently sent to a Swiss boarding school. Upon arriving Jennifer is introduced to a few things the first being torment by her classmates who are more or less jealous of her father and put off by her odd love of bugs, and the second that a killer has been lurking the school for months. The mysterious murder preys on the young female students and has remained anonymous entirely to the police. When Jennifer sleep walks one night and is witness to one of the murders she ends up at a Dr. John McGregor, an entomologist, house with his pet and friend monkey Inga. Instantly McGregor takes a liking to Jennifer as they both have a love of insects in common but McGregor also notices her unique ability to handle them. Suspecting that Jennifer is able to telepathically communicate with bugs is proven true when she summons them to her school. With her new gift Jennifer may be able to solve the murders but it doesn't exclude putting her life in danger.

Insanity at it's best we have a crazy plot but with a much more mature director, especially at the beginning. A visual forepart of Swiss alps scenery, and in particular a waterfall, make this the 'nature version' of the Argento deaths. Often I felt the 'I've seen this girl's head fall through a glass window before' but got over it as I got way that our killer was rather keen on impalement and decapitation. Jennifer's sleep walking visions are intensely effective and appear almost nightmarish for the viewer. Often the sub-plots hit dead ends throughout the story and some things that occur in the beginning didn't connect to the end. The film falls apart in the latter half, and I preferred the story buildup to the absurd climax, but I had fun there too. A monkey wielding a straight razor is not a bad day in my opinion.

Jennifer's personality becomes a little high strong as the film progresses but still holds a likeability that's usually not allotted to her type of character which appeals directly in her being different. This is one of Jennifer Connolly's first roles and it displays her as a mature actress at her age. Donald Pleasence is the entomologist who helps Jennifer and alone steals the film with his quiet but great performance. I really did like his character and I was sad when he died. Unlike a lot of his works the film isn't enriched with a tantalizing blue and reds, instead we are treated to a more green scope of nature with the choice of scenary. And of course the deaths are as up close and personal as ever. I labeled this as Argento's heavy metal rock film of the eighties, an odd yet somehow brilliant combination I did not believe could exist. The film blares loud chords of rock music and in it makes itself much younger, maybe to appeal to the slasher teen audience of the eighties.

Phenomena doesn't really care that it doesn't make sense or that it leaves near dead plots, it's just a usual Argento; great soundtrack, great visuals, and interesting deaths. There's of course the inevitable similarities between it and Suspiria, but really only in plot. The two girls are Americans who go to a boarding school run by strict women but other than that the two scenarios vary greatly. Suzy is naive and doesn't do that much to get out of her situation where Jennifer is constantly pushing and has an ability above the typical final girl unfortunate. After seeing this its not hard to conclude what scares the director, in common theme I feel that boarding schools with strict cruel headmasters (Suspiria, Phenomena), and faces with distorted features that expose buck baby teeth (Phenomena, Deep Red) give him quite a scare. Or at least what he attributes to be the most effective. Either or Phenomena is a fabulously absurd eighties horror film, for any fan of Argento or for those looking for a light on the camp and high on the strange film.

The Master of Horror - Dario Argento

Next year's lists will not be so crammed, I promise. I'll admit I tried to squeeze a few viewings in of films the night before, having not seen them but knowing they had a strong legacy in the genre. I'm sure some that I critiqued or rather ignored will grow on me and the list will inevitably change, hell Boyfriend's With Fangs needs a drastic update since last year. So do know that none of them are absolute or near such (maybe with the exception of Stephen Kings) and that all contain the fine print "So far".

Thus to prevent addressing it in ever paragraph of this list (as it inevitably would be) lets just mention the flaws of Argento's work; awful sound transfers, not the best acting, and plot instances that fail. Its safe to say character development and the logical plot are not his strong points. What are? Setting up atmosphere in set design (I've heard he's meticulous about such things), collaborating well with composers, directing his DP's to gorgeous cinematographic heights and creating a beauty in death, something I don't believe any other filmmaker has done quiet so well. To note I didn't get distinctly different in separating the giallo's from the true horrors as I would therefore not have a list and they are scary despite trying for a more crime fiction motif. Not solely a master of Italian horror but basically a master of horror in general Dario Argento's films established a cult following based of his work. Not all can be Argento fans (understandably) but those who are appreciate them for what they are, broken masterpieces. So for this year's Master of Horror I focused on my favorite country of horror by one of my favorite directors, My Top Five Favorite Dario Argento Films:

#5 Phenomena (1985)


This is Argento's heavy metal rock film of the 80's, a combination I couldn't dream up if I'd even believed it to work. However, it does in this outlandish piece of cinema. Usual Argento the film has excessive flaws in plot, where most lead dead or near death, and dialogue. Often I'm afraid that he's more interested in surprising us with a killer than establishing a substantial reason as to why this person is murdering everyone. Regardless Phenomena did capture my heart briefly at it's start, young Jennifer Connelly and Donald Pleasence are good in their roles which they play against a beautiful Swiss Alps scenery. The soundtrack is killer as it plays loud chords and blares inside the story, and unlike other films its never inaptly played (I'm looking at you Deep Red). Jennifer's creepy bug telepathy and the rest of the works I've praised place this as number five on my list.

#4 Opera (1987)

Another gore fest Argento with surrealism at play. Again he creates a beautiful sculptured film that transcends the expectation of art. A deeply unhinged but emotionally sympathetic lead makes this the closest thing Argento has had to a character study. Of course bad dubbing doesn't precede the film but no less tolerable than normal. This is by far the most brutal flick ever conceived from this MOH. Harsh and stunning at the same time.

#3 The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)





Oddly The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is less known or rather less acclaimed than his other films. I'm a little confused to this; yes there's an absence of blood but this is one of the best Argento films ever, and it happens to be the first he directed. It follows the basic giallo plot of a writer who witnesses an attempted murder outside an art gallery and begins to investigate for himself. In a way I felt that Deep Red was almost a remake of this, between the similar plots and Sam eerily wearing the same black button up shirt and khaki pants as Marc Daily. The film, though mostly giallo, has a very haunting atmosphere, curtosy of an enchanting score by Ennio Morricone. It takes a real horror turn when Sam's girlfriend is locked in her apartment and the killer is trying to break in. A little excessive reaction but ultimately effective in capturing the terror of that moment, which is to attribute to good acting, especially by lead Tony Musante. No amateur directing shown on his half, Argento's first try was impressively good and a tense suspenseful watch, with a bit of humor.

#2 Deep Red (1975)

If Phenomena hadn't of fallen apart towards the end it had a better chance at ranking higher than Deep Red. But overall Deep Red is the more composed film and the quintessential of his giallo's. A complex range of characters speaking between Italian and English this was the film that scared me since seeing Suspiria. A breach of safety in my seat when I jumped from that laughing doll, a provoked chill from the break in and the death at Amanda Righetti's house, and essentially a great build of tension for the Italian thriller. Deep Red is a quite important viewing in the world of giallo films, not only Argento's most significant but arguably one of the most significant of the genre. And even better a killer with motivation! Deep Red is topped with good performances and an astounding soundtrack (though not the best, in my opinion) which makes it a must see.

#1 Suspiria

This was likely obvious as my header is of the film's eloquent cover but it's not as if there's any other choice. As gathered I liked/loved the other four films on this list nothing comes close to the bravura of Suspiria; a bleeding array of colors via the director of photography and a deafening soundtrack by the Goblins escalate the film to horror movie greatness. The lost in translation aspect appears here as Jessica Harper's Suzy is attending a ballet school in a foregin country. The plot doesn't succumb to the typical monsters as we tend to expect (vampires, werewolves, etc) but does a more rare fear of witches. Suspiria is the work of an preeminent nightmare caught on film, the images, the blood, the lack of distinction to what's going on, the distorted set pieces...nothing is right within the film. Captured soundly by Argento, bad dubbing and odd dialect aside this I'd argue is Argento's most seamless film. Unlike the others which become tangled in themselves Suspiria stays generally focused (I didn't say absolute now did I), and delivers a horror induced ending. As said Suspiria does not go without faults but I don't care, my favorite Argento film is certainty not Oscar worthy, nor is my favorite horror movie. Two titles that Suspiria shares.

Honorable Mentions: Inferno (1980), the sort of sequel to Suspiria that takes a focus on the Mother of Darkness, with a beautiful underwater sequence guest directed by Mario Bava. Tenebre (1982), another giallo piece that follows the murder surrounding a novelist's new book; a blood spattered ending is undoubtedly to satisfy fans.

If you're reading post your own.

Deep Red (1975)

WARNING: May Contain Spoilers

After a performance jazz pianist Marc Daly is witness to the brutal murder of psychic Helga Ulmann, who read the mind of the precocious killer earlier in the day. Marc with little leads from the police begins his own investigation with the help of a feisty local journalist. Dissecting the clues though proves as a challenge as the killer is always a step ahead of Marc, and is now targeting him. Drawn into different leads, only to be left dead by the killers actions Marc begins to uncover that this killer isn't all that new to murder and has a very dark past. I must apologize ahead of time, though I'm not comparing it to Suspiria, the film comes up several times in this review, but do know that I do not measure this based on my love of Dario Argento's masterpiece, merely just using it as reference.

Deep Red, or Profondo Rosso,  is the first of Argento's stuff that has scared me since seeing Suspiria years ago. I admittedly jumped when that doll came running out of the closet in that absurd bit of laughter, it about scared the piss out of me. In true Italian Horror, or rather maybe just signature Argento, the deaths are gory and run a bright red color of blood. Always memorable my personal favorite was the bathroom scene murder, where it was actually absent of blood but made for a rather haunting death that doesn't leave you. The murder mystery proves to be as deceiving as can be, I only guessed it seconds before the reveal. As in all his films Deep Red is quite visually stunning to look at, with the dazing use of red and surrealistic lights of blues. In this however Argento uses a distinct lack of color, painting a portrait with neutral tones, which I may find more gorgeous to look at than the former. The music, though phonemically composed by the Goblins, is ill-fitting at times (i.e. Giordani's death, Marc scaling the balcony), but very tone setting in others (Amanda Righettani death, the uncovering of the drawing).

I'm an Argento finantic as much as the next horror movie lover but I'm not shy toward admitting there's faults in his work. In watching a Dario Argento's film I've noticed that generally the same story occurs, or rather the same basics. The beginning usually opens up with a woman who we never really get to know dying a gruesome death only to be followed by more unattached deaths, all of course in full giallo style. Also in having a love for his films that does mean you substitute certain qualities over the others, i.e. I'm willing to forgive the poor sound editing in respect to the DP and camera movements. The construction of characters is more developed in this as opposed to his prior films, and oddly human with their faults and personalities. David Hemmings Marc, the pianist, is sensitive in his work as an artist, which is humorous in contrast to Daria Nicolodi's Gianna as the high strong reporter. And then the darker side of the film, Gabriele Lavia as Carlo, the talented composer suffering from alcoholism.

In reading reviews prior to viewing the film most acclaimed this as the best of his giallo's, which as far as I've seen might be true. Hoping that my next film to watch by him does not disappointment me as the dreaded Tenebre, which unfortunately might be attributed to me watching it after I watched Suspiria. When renting the film make sure you get the Italian version, not the American. For those who hate subtitles you'll be disappointed as putting it in English there still are bits in Italian for scenes that had to be re-edited in after being cut. But that's the film in full form and has several important if at the very least enjoyable moments. Nothing will ever be Suspiria, I'm sure most know this, but Deep Red is rather a good on its own terms and defiant of the genre giallo. I really enjoyed the film and found it scary, I'd recommend for Argento or Italian horror fans.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)

This is Wes Craven's way of saying 'There, I fixed it. Don't touch, just leave it alone.' New Nightmare is a very different departure from the rest of the series, it's set in Hollywood where the tenth anniversary of the original Nightmare on Elm Street movie is approaching. Wes Craven is far from escaping the fame of the first film though as now after six films a demon in the form of Freddy is haunting him, coercing him to write a new script. Craven approaches Heather Langenkamp to revise her role as Nancy, now a wife and mother Heather is apprehensive as she prefers her TV career to her horror legacy, especially in the case of her son. However when Heather's husband dies and she realizes that someone is targeting her son Dylan, Heather has to revert into the dream-scape yet again to stop Freddy.

The seventh installment has, as do they all, the goods and the bad. Goods are this one has some actual thought behind it, as Wes Craven has tried to do with several of his films, but not just make it horror but connect it to real life. This is the predecessor to Scream, the characters within the movie recognize the Elm Street movies as films and Robert England as Freddy. There's parallels to Hansel and Gredel as well as a study of the connection between children and the horror industry today, or rather to how it was in the 90's. In this Craven produces a new look for Freddy that does not quite go with his original story, but it makes sense seeing how Freddy is more of an entity in this than an actual character. It does make for a more horrifying face though, which in addition to a number of other things revamps Freddy as scary. Particularly there's a horror reminescent of the fear caused in the first film, not being killed in your dreams but rather being pulled in to your own bed. Is that...yes...Freddy is actually using his claws! Oh my God what a concept. As my past reviews have hopefully let on that I have found a particular annoyance with that, but this time no he signs his signature on everything.

Craven does the duo role of writing and directing, he plays around with the fact to fiction in the screenplay, especially with the characters. Heather Langenkamp, who suffered a terrifying stalker incident in real life is reliving the fear as Freddy calls her house phone, harassing her and her son. Langenkamp is really quite good at playing herself, which along with other types of acting, such as playing dumb, gets underestimated and overlooked as easy. Robert England's spin is that he's a bit of a whore for the attention of the pop culture fandom, and he paints! England has fun with the depiction of the character and of course teases the viewer by having creepy moments, where you question if he's behind the murders. John Saxon comes back in a larger role (yay!) and Fran Bennett has a very memorable moment in her small scene. Other Nightmare characters like Lyn Shaye come in for cameos as well as Craven himself and Boy Shaye, the man behind all the films.

The downside is it's not a film for the hardcore fans. The ones who love Freddy as the pop culture icon he is and not so much of his terror or Craven's ability to write might not like the film as its not like the first six. The film isn't great, and it has had no where near the impact Scream had, but its not bad and unique. Don't go out of your way to watch it but if it happens to be on TV, click on it and check it out.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

After seeing the Never Sleep Again documentary around Halloween, which is a great documentary, for fans especially but really for anyone curious of film making and the early techniques with special effects, I became possessed with the thought of watching all seven Nightmare films (I decided to skip Freddy Vs Jason because I've seen it, and I'm just not in the mood to watch it again). I've seen a few before, but never the entire series. So I set out with the, surprisingly tedious, task of watching all seven films in chronological order.

To start at the beginning A Nightmare on Elm Street typically falls under the slasher film genre, though I'd argue that it doesn't truly earn that title until later in the franchise, the reason being that the film is a lot more imaginative in concept than say the Friday the 13th series, which is more of a full bodied slasher. The story starts out with Tina, a teenage girl who's having strange nightmares about a man, burnt from the head down, wearing a dirty green and red stripped sweater, a ragged hat, and a glove with knives for fingers. Tina becomes rattled by the dream when she feels there is something more to it than a typical night terror, which proves to be true one night when she dies in her dream and then dies in real life. From there it goes to her best friend, Nancy, as she tries to figure out who the man with the knives for fingernails is and what he wants, while ultimately trying to stay awake.

The film has a horror aspect that Wes Craven has always done well with, he connects it to real life. True the film has a more fantasy base than a reality but it lies in the inevitable fear that we must all sleep at some point. A vulnerability issues plays in this as in most people's cases when you sleep you are helpless. To add more depth Craven gives a disturbing background to the killer, Freddy Krueger, a child murder who escaped trial later to be burned by the incensed parents of Elm Street. I actually found out from the documentary, something which has always been a debate, is that Freddy is a child molester, but they don't come out and say it in the film for news related issues at the time. This discreetly presents itself in the sexual prowl Freddy has in scenes with Tina and Nancy. The famous one being where Nancy falls asleep in the bathtub and his glove comes up from the water in between her legs. It's hard for some to imagine Freddy as anything scary since he became a pop culture icon but in truth he was built to be a perturbing character, and the first film reminds us of that.


As far as quality goes I'll argue that this one is the best out of the seven (though Dream Master gives Craven a run for his money in directing, as well as for the the look for the film). The directing and writing for this is fairly obvious, so I wont linger too long but it's apparent what he intended out of the film, a sleepless night fueled by more than just jumps and scares, but with creative thought. Acting is fairly good here too, it's one of those horror movies that has a now a absurdly huge film star in it, Johnny Depp. Of course Glen doesn't compare to his more eccentric characters in which he's famous for but for a first time actor whose never, and I mean never, acted before he's pretty good in it. Heather Langenkemp is alright, having done a few movies in her career at that point and not succumbing to dumb gazes into the camera lens. Then there's John Saxon and Robert Englund, neither which I'll go into because Saxon is been in everything and he's just great, and I've believe I've made my love of Englund's acting clear in previous reviews. The special effects for the film are pretty good, in truth I prefer old school techniques like these as opposed to CGI which I can always tell they've used.

I'm sure this, basically, two paged love letter isn't obvious us enough that I have to say it flat out but I love A Nightmare on Elm Street. It's not only my favorite out of the franchise but one of my favorite horror films. But at the same time I pose caution to new viewers who've never seen the movie. Though it's not as bad as some it does show it's age a bit, so some scenes or concepts will appear as cheesy, and there are some that might not be as generous about the acting. Plus the ending, (not the very ending with the little girls) still fails to make sense. Either way it's sort of an essential see, Freddy Krueger is a household name and at the end of the day it's better than most slasher films and remakes today.

The Master Of Horror

I hate Mondays. I'm still not a 100% better and the fact that after 9 posts and still no followers I'm discouraged to the point where I don't care enough to write for literary snobs. That being said.

I don't actually know if Stephen King is the master of horror. I've heard Wes Craven, John Carpenter, and Clive Baker with the same title. Maybe they are equally all the masters? When I looked up to see how many film adaptions of his books there are I was baffled, I've seen a good amount of them and a lot of that amount I really like, narrowing 20 down to 10 down to 5 was impossible so for this Monday, the last of the month, it's going to be doing a top ten list. Top Ten Stephen King Adaptions:

#10. Carrie (1976)

Stephen King said it himself, high school is hell. There's a fairly good chance that you were most likely not blessed with the gene of beauty or likability therefor you were probably awkward. Thus being the case with Carrie, the sheltered girl with telekinesis powers. The scariest part about the film is the relationship between Carrie and her mother. The best part about this film is the end because Carrie gets her revenge and since I wasn't at the top of the food change the revenge was sort of sweet for me as well. Of course I wouldn't want to burn my entire class to the ground but it's the brilliant thought by King that counts here.

#9. Children of the Corn (1984)

You'll notice a few related elements with Stephen King's work, sort of like a thumbprint to have proof of creation. Several of his novels and stories have a character who's a writer and a kid whose developed beyond his normal psyche, whether that being supernatural or just a greater understanding of the current reality around them. Children of the Corn does this with more than one kid but unlike previous novels this one has the children as the evil. Malachai and Isaac in particular, arguably ranking high on the list of creepiest kids ever. With Malachai killing adults off like its a basic every day thing and Isaac preaching a disturbing religion to impressionable kids Children of the Corn subtext is fairly scary, specifically to adults.

#8. It (1990)

Its not that I necessarily grew up on horror movies it's just that I watched them more than most because they fascinated me. Of course I watch a ton of Disney stuff as well but as odd as it may seem It was one of my childhood movies. This is what I was referring to in the previous paragraph, the kids conquering evil despite their size and limits. It's maybe not the most quality film out there but it's not a bad adaption and it's a pretty good made for TV movie. I personally prefer part 1 to part 2 as I find the kid's experiencing with the clown a lot more terrifying than the adults. Not to mention the cast isn't half bad (John Ritter, Annette O'Toole, Tim Reid, TIM CURRY) and a few of the child actors grew up to do good films (Emily Perkins in the Ginger Snap series, and of course Seth Green). Unfortunately this, Hellraiser, and Pet Sematary are among the few of my favorite horror films that are being remade.

#7. Cujo (1983)

King writes a lot of supernatural based horror novels but Cujo is one of the exceptions that is plausible. Yes, the chances of you ending up outside of a auto shop with a rabid dog are slim but I'd say its more likely than a raid of vampires attacking your small town. The main horror element here though is, IMO, the claustrophobia or the seclusion of the mom and her son.

#6. Rose Red (2002)

Rose Red technically isn't an adaption, but Stephen King did write the screenplay. The intended idea with this was to perceive that Rose Red was a real house and the Rimbauers were real people, none of it is factual, but the build up inside the movie revealing the history of the house, the comparison of those who died to those who disappeared is a great effect. It actually holds my attention more than it did in his novel The Shinning, which took a similar approach but not nearly as interesting. Basically though the build up made the actual ghosts more effective, and I also liked that they didn't overuse the ghost or the bumps and noises such as other haunted films tend to do.

#5. Misery (1990)

Misery is interesting because its not exactly a film I relate too it's just good and creepy. Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her role as Annie Wilkes, the mentally unstable fan of a famous author, and I believe it's well deserved. She's rather insane in this I must say, from shouting about cartoons to whacking Paul's ankle with a hammer, proving to be a disturbing character.

#4. The Shinning (1980)

I struggled with this list because it was so long and I had a hard time placing where each of these films should go, this one especially. As a Stephen King fan and a Stanley Kubrick fan I've been torn since I've read the novel and realized that, in all honesty, this is a pretty awful adaption. But it's not an awful horror movie, in fact it's probably one of the best horror movies. The film and the novel work on two different levels of horror, King's story is scary because you feel for this family that's having a hard time and watching the father descend into madness is slow and cautious but overtly effective. King has said in an interview that Kubrick's film is empty, and it's that emptiness that creates the horror. The isolation reaches to the viewers more since it's evidently present and the father initially being not all the way there proves to be as scary as the character in the book. Either way the film is scary, it makes the list, horrible adaption or not.

#3. The Stand (1994)

I believe I like Stephen King's miniseries more than I do the actual movies because they are in their raw Stephen King state, unfortunately though that means they are between 3 and 4 hours long, that being the case with The Stand. But if you do get a few hours to spare I'd recommend it. This and his other novel Desperation are heavily about religion, specifically good vs evil which fits nicely in the post apocalyptic world backdrop. There's great acting on several people's part (Gary Sinise, Ruby Dee, Rob Lowe). I suppose my only qualms with the film are Molly Ringwald (sorry but I stopped liking her after Breakfast Club) and Randy Flag's fashion sense (I know it was the 90's but denim-on-denim-on-denim?!)

#2. Pet Sematary (1989)

Pet Sematary is the only film that still haunts to the point where I can't walk to close to a bed without getting paranoid. I swear to God every time I stand by a bed that's frame doesn't go fully to the ground I think of the scene in this film where Gage cuts Mr. Munster's tendon with a scalpel. Its absurd that a scene could stick with me for that long and I have no hope that the fear will fade soon, I'll likely be afraid of walking by a bed for the rest of my life all because of that fucking scene. Moving on though I really like Pet Sematary because it's a supernatural horror that encounters the real life horror of losing a child, which is one of if not the worst thing that could happen to a person. Its hard subject matter because of course all parents would want to bring their child back but to return as something unnatural? It's hard choice by the father in this and tragic that it doesn't work out.

#1. Stand By Me (1986)


Unconventionally I pick a Stephen King adaption that is not a horror movie. It's ill fitting for the intended purpose of these lists (Halloween=horror) but it's honestly my favorite film from his novels. In the paper I had to write the other week I mentioned him in it, stating that the reason I believe he's so successful at horror and as writer in general is because he has pays equal attention to plot and character. Stand By Me (as basically all his novels do) demostrate that as its about four friends traveling to see a dead body. While the story and the bits of action are appeasing it's the characters that hold it above the rest of the films on the list. Mainly River Phoneix character Chris, as the bad boy with more depth than usually alloted to his type of character. Kiefer Sutherland is also in it playing a 1950's bad boy again. It's a sound capture for it's time frame and primarily a film I can watch more than once.

Honorable mentions: I'm sure if anyone ever reads this they'll think that I either have bad taste or am just ignorant of not including Shawshank Redemption on the list somewhere, I have a clearly logical explanation for it not being on this list, I've haven't seen it all. In fairness I've seen most of it but there are still parts I've managed to miss and because of those parts I considered it unseen. I'm sure that when I finally finish it I'd update this list and it'd land somewhere in the top five, if not the number one spot. Other: The Dark Half (1993) a fiction writers alter ego beings taking over his life. The Langoliers (1995) corny Sci-fi made for TV movie with horrible graphic effects, stupid decisions made by stupid characters, but ulitmately forces you to watch from start to finish. The Green Mile (1999) great prison movie about a inncocent inmate with an exceptional gift. The Mist (2007) film about a group of towns people trapped inside a grocery store with obscencly large bugs outside and a crazy religous preaching Marcia Gay Harden inside.

If you've made it this far post your own.

They Live (1988)

John Carpenter's alien invasion/B-movie fest, and arguably his most quotable film.

They Live starts out with a beefy homeless man trying to find work. He makes a fairly solid place in a community of homeless workers, who are located on an empty plot of land across what is a seemingly abandoned church, open on occasion for a mysterious choir practice. After snooping around, due to suspicion that something bigger is going on, our main character finds a box full of sunglasses that give him the ability to see what we can't, aliens. It appears that aliens have been living amongst us for years and are slowly taking over our planet for profitable gain, they are entrepreneurs FYI. It's hard to say what I myself would do if I stumbled upon something as big as this, but it's easy enough for our main character, find a bunch of guns and kill them all.

For whatever reason I didn't catch our main character's name, so for the sake of the review I'm just going to refer to him as Big Beefy Guy with Mullet. Big Beefy Guy with Mullet is played by Rowdy Roddy Piper, a former pro wrestler. His acting is nothing less than appropriate for this role, since They Live is a parody and often cheesy. Keith David is also in the movie as Big Beefy guy's kind, maybe a bit angry at times, friend who helps Beefy out. But it's obvious that Big Beefy Guy with Mullet gets all the best lines, undeniably "Brother, life's a bitch...she's back in heat" is inimitable with the rest of the dialog.

The first half hour of the film is a bit slow, not really picking up until the police ambush the homeless people and the abandon church. The basic's of it could have been squeezed into ten - fifteen minutes, it's not like we'd miss character development or anything relevant like that. Then there's the six minute (yes I counted) fight scene between Beefy and his nice Friend, that could have been cut down significantly since it was a little bit more than absurd after the first four. I also wish we'd of gotten to see the aliens a little bit more, since they were actually a little creepy.

They Live is overall a fun alien invasion movie directed by a horror legend, it's got corny dialog, epic gun fights, and a hilariously memorable last scene/image. I'd recommend for anyone looking for a good B-movie that'll make you laugh.