Alien is a masterpiece, the first horror film I genuinely loved for the right reasons. Aliens is a rollercoaster ride deluxe.

 

The Birds I enjoyed but never took seriously. I can't get over the concept - birds not scary.

 

Shaun Of The Dead is funny, but I'll go for Cabin In The Woods or Carry On Screaming or Young Frankenstein instead :lol:

I wouldn't call Martha Marcy May Marlene a horror at all personally, but either way it's such a great film and is what introduced me to the incredible Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson.

Martha Marcy May Marlene is another one I really want to check out!

That's the last goddamn hitchhiker I ever pick up.

 

 

16. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

 

The original Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a visceral, visual feast of body horror and it takes the term slasher and vamps it up several notches. The actual characterisation of leatherface is intriguing - his mysterious past and his grotesque, yet simplistic desire to create terror. It's pure horror, a mad man on the lose and unsuspecting victims at his beck and call. Controversial to the point where it was banned in several countries, and playing on the faux-real life events, it's a film that often garners mass hysteria and it's clear to see why through the cannibalistic and unexplainable horror of the antagonists.

 

Best scene: The final dinner table scene :mellow: Subversive and terrifying - I still can't pick apart exactly what it all stands for but it's both engrossing and totally unwatchable at the same time.

I prefer the original remake! I found the old one to be boring and quite bleh tbh. This was before I'd even seen the remake (2003?) so it's not like I had that to compare to. Also, in terms of mad men on the loose, 'Wolf Creek' also delivers the horror goods <3

Texas Chainsaw is an utter classic. An exercise is sheer mindless terror. I'd personally place it much higher.

Like Jonjo, I prefer the original remake! Probably because that was a horror film I sort of grew up with in my teens and I still find it terrifying.

I do disagree and prefer the original, but the remake is a very good remake, and is definitely superior in some aspects.

Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent.

 

 

15. The Wicker Man (1973)

 

One of the most brutal endings in cinema history - the scene alone would've been enough to warrant a placing here but the slow build-up and eery atmosphere of the film as a whole makes it shoot well into the top 30. Christopher Lee in one of his greatest cinema roles is the perfect over-zealous religious figure and the film masterfully showcases the horrific nature of religion and the occult to the point where everything that is held as holy and good is turned into unholy and terrifying. I love the setting of the film and the minimalist set design and production value, it all adds to the terror of the unknown that the film presents. May we never, ever mention or even think about the remake.

 

Best scene: No other contenders. The final scene is a momentous occasion for horror cinema - it erupts and ignites every value we hold dear to us in sheer horrifying ecstasy. Fiery and chilling. :mellow:

YES

Another two classics I need to watch!

Do you know what the most frightening thing in the world is? It's fear.

 

 

14. Peeping Tom (1960)

 

Before Paranormal Activity, Blair Witch Project and all other found footage films, there was Peeping Tom. A film that is totally meta - it's about cinema, horror cinema, the male gaze, terror in front of the screen and the power of directors behind it. It's a totally camp and over-the-top film with brilliant direction from British director Michael Powell. It tells the tale of a serial killer who records the expressions of the dying victims just before their final moments and the film follows his obsession with murder and terror and recording what he sees. It's a truly phenomenal film built on the terror of watching films itself and demands discussion, interpretations and critical viewpoints in its closing because as mentioned it is ABOUT cinema and the process of viewing a film.

 

It was totally disregarded at the time and basically killed the director's career but it's the perfect example of a film that gets better with time and with repeated viewings - pretty sure many have ignored it first time round but when you consider what the film is doing and how it does it, its power and critical appreciation is undeniable. It's now a cult classic and largely regarded as a vitally important film which pays respect and homage to much of cinema that came before (Hitchcock in particular) and a lot that came after (such as the films mentioned earlier).

 

Best scene: I've watched this multiple times and my favourite scene changes with every viewing :mellow: but I think the opening scene deserves strongest mention here. It introduces the concept of the film brilliantly and immediately opens up many questions that will left to be pondered on long after the film finishes.

Peeping Tom and The Wicker Man are both incredible and worthy entries. As we get closer to the business end of the countdown I'm agreeing more and more

We have to tape everything.

 

 

13. [REC] (2007)

 

I really thought this would be higher when I decided to compile this list, but alas it has to settle for a little outside the top 10. But even being near midtable is high praise enough for this now, cult horror thrillride. I'd say this is the film that has given me most frights in a cinema setting - I went to watch it with mates and legit screamed multiple times and it went on to become a must see every year for me and my mates. A truly fun, shocking horror film with wonderful suspense created and expert horror releases. Perhaps the film that makes me jump the most out of all 30 in the list and a real favourite despite it's quite limited and "basic" plot and structure. The best found-footage film ever for me.

 

Best scene: A lot of scenes that make me jump but the one that got the biggest reaction from me was the attic scene and the rotating camera as it peered into the darkness. :mellow: I leaped out of my seat in the cinema and it always gets me.

YESSS! One of my all time favourites and I think, it was the first non-English film I ever saw! Agreed about the stand out scene too! So terrifying.

 

I remember having to do a screen check on the film and it was during the night vision bit and I had to walk backwards and peg it towards the door!

^ knew you'd approve of that one! Lol at that story :lol: it's really one of the best cinema going experiences I've ever had seeing this with my mates. Full of screamers!

Now [REC] that is terrifying.

REC is one I'm desperate to see, it looks so good and I've only heard great things about it!

The pain and sickness all over me like an animal.

 

 

12. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

 

This is my favourite film of all time.. but in a ranking of my top horror films A Clockwork Orange drops a fair bit mainly because the film is so multi-layered and faceted that it doesn't really fit into any genre. It is hilarious, shocking, thought-provoking, satirical but most of all it is terrifying - its portrayal of society is more relevant and true to what we have today than it was in the 70s and its a mark of genius that Kubrick was able to translate the film onto the screen and present the most vivid, rich, haunting portrait of the world we live in. It makes the things people hold most dear to them, monstrous and grotesque. Terrifying not because of the supernatural or wondrous, but the real, the gritty and the human.

 

Best scene: Where to start on my #1 film of all time from my #1 director? :mellow: So many moments show off his visionary mind, but in terms of horror, I have to go for the break-in/rape scene - truly horrifying and almost unwatchable.

Some places are like people: some shine and some don't.

 

 

11. The Shining (1980)

 

Another Kubrick one before the top 10 and it's his most well-known horror flick and one of the highest rated of all time. A chilling and rollercoaster ride through the mind of Jack Nicholson who excells as the deranged, maniac on a murderous rampage as he loses it completely. The setting for the film is a grande hotel and it's through this merging of setting and mind, surrounding and being that the horror is revealed. There is a lot more on places of dwelling and the body in the top 10 but here, Kubrick shows off his masterful direction by merging patterned floors, striking imagery and bold colours, the film is part horror masterpiece and part a masterpiece of art. It's been overdone and mimicked ad infinitum (The Simpsons doing it the best as always) but nothing will ever take away the sheer horror and paranoia that the film creates.

 

Best scene: Jack's rampage as a whole deserves a mention and of course the iconic "here's Johnny", but I think "REDRUM" on the mirror is my favourite scene :mellow: Also the blood elevator...