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Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Are these the scariest movies of all time?
The good folks at EW have strung together a list the like to call the “20 Scariest Movies of All Time,” and the choices are mostly solid, although there are some glaring omissions.
My takes on their picks (I’m not sure if this is in any order or not):
The Shining: Sure, I can go with that. It’s a pretty unnerving look at the complete mental breakdown of a man primed to go haywire.
The Exorcist: The gets my vote as the movie that scares me the most.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Saw this for the first time just last year, and it’s not as gory as the title might make you think. Much of the horror is implied - which is what makes it so effective.
The Silence of the Lambs: Everybody talks about the “fava beans” scene, but for me, the scariest moment is when Hannibal and Clarice touch very, very briefly.
Jaws: I never liked the water anyway.
The Ring: Some people will scoff at this choice, but I agree with it - this movie knocked the wind of me. It stayed with me for days.
Halloween: Obviously.
Psycho: Not everything in the movie works (like that final speech that “explains” Norman), but the parts that do are still incredibly disquieting. And is there a more influential film score than Bernard Herrman’s shrieking strings? The correct answer is no.
Seven: I blinked at this one at first because I don’t think of it as a scary movie per se, but its overall bleak vision is more than a little unsettling. And it has what may be the best “he’s not really dead” shock of any movie.
Rosemary’s Baby: I like the quote Charles Grodin gave EW: “When I sat, women moved. I had to go on Johnny Carson to show people I’m a nice guy.”
More after the jump:
Poltergeist: I like this movie quite a lot, but I don’t know that it chilled me enough to go on all-time list. Still, a fair pick.
28 Days Later: People like to gripe that zombies shouldn’t run. Wah, wah, wah. Why complain if that makes it scarier? The sequel, 28 Weeks Later, isn’t half-bad either.
A Nightmare on Elm Street: I was never a huge Freddy fan, but his series was a lot more imaginative than Jason’s. The first is the best, though Craven’s clever New Nightmare is underrated.
The Thing (1982): Great scary fun, but I still like The Thing from Another World better.
The Evil Dead: More great scary fun, but I prefer the faster, funnier sequel to the rough and ready original.
Carrie: For my money, still the best King horrror adaptation.
Night of the Living Dead: Still the best example of how horror can be so effective, even on the cheap.
The Omen: This one is fun, but a bit dated. Not sure I would include it.
An American Werewolf in London: Haven’t seen it in years, but what I remember of it struck me as more funny than scary.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer: Absolutely. This is EW’s most inspired choice. Most horror movies are bloody fantasies with killers that could never exist in real life. This one could.
Now, as for movies not on the list:
Deservedly left off: The appeal of the Friday the 13th series has always eluded me. Even the first one sucks and doesn’t belong on the list.
Where the heck is: What about the original Frakenstein? Or Freaks, for heaven’s sake? Or any of the low-budget shockers produced by Val Lewton, like Cat People, Curse of the Cat People, or I Walked with a Zombie? Oh, I forgot. They were made before 1960, so they don’t count.
Most glaring modern omission: Alien.
What do you think of the list? What deserves to be on there? What deserves to be off there?
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Today’s DVDs: American Girl, Tinkerbell
It’s a pretty quiet week for DVDs, but there are a couple of interesting offerings today:
Journey to the Center of the Earth: I heard reviews of this movie go two ways: “Entertaining junk” and just plain “junk.” The DVD is available in a 3D version, but beware: it uses those red and blue glasses that can cause a headache that’s this big.
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl: This very solid, unassuming little film, based on the much-loved doll line, should have attracted a bigger audience than it did last summer. It gets a little too silly by the end, but the movie is very charming, thanks to a strong cast led by kid actress du jour Abigail Breslin, who has been quietly proving her Oscar nomination for Little Miss Sunshine was no fluke. For more details, check out the full review, written by me and my favorite American Girl fan, Angela Allen, who, like Kit, is quite a talented writer. GRADE: B
Tinkerbell: Usually I turn up my nose at Disney’s direct-to-home-viewing titles, most of which are mediocre at best. However, I’m actually curious about this tale of Peter Pan’s little lady, because I’ve heard Disney’s creative chief, John Lasseter, talk it up, and I trust his judgment.
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