Insidious <3 That was one of the films that properly got me into horror (I think it was one of the first horrors I saw and loved as I was scared to watch a horror film for ages), I absolutely loved it and I adore Rose Byrne as well, I watched it a few years ago so I found it scary af!

 

I still haven't seen any of the sequels though oops.

41. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

266 | Highest Voters: Haus #12, Mack #12, Jakewild #13



IMDb: 8.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%

Summary: Stanley Kubrick dissects the nature of violence in this darkly ironic, near-future satire, adapted from Anthony Burgess's novel, complete with "Nadsat" slang. Classical music-loving proto-punk Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and his "Droogs" spend their nights getting high at the Korova Milkbar before embarking on "a little of the old ultraviolence," such as terrorizing a writer, Mr. Alexander (Patrick Magee), and gang raping his wife (who later dies as a result). After Alex is jailed for bludgeoning the Cat Lady (Miriam Karlin) to death with one of her phallic sculptures, Alex submits to the Ludovico behavior modification technique to earn his freedom; he's conditioned to abhor violence through watching gory movies, and even his adored Beethoven is turned against him. Returned to the world defenseless, Alex becomes the victim of his prior victims, with Mr. Alexander using Beethoven's Ninth to inflict the greatest pain of all. When society sees what the state has done to Alex, however, the politically expedient move is made. Casting a coldly pessimistic view on the then-future of the late '70s-early '80s, Kubrick and production designer John Barry created a world of high-tech cultural decay, mixing old details like bowler hats with bizarrely alienating "new" environments like the Milkbar. Alex's violence is horrific, yet it is an aesthetically calculated fact of his existence; his charisma makes the icily clinical Ludovico treatment seem more negatively abusive than positively therapeutic. Alex may be a sadist, but the state's autocratic control is another violent act, rather than a solution. Released in late 1971 (within weeks of Sam Peckinpah's brutally violent Straw Dogs), the film sparked considerable controversy in the U.S. with its X-rated violence; after copycat crimes in England, Kubrick withdrew the film from British distribution until after his death. Opinion was divided on the meaning of Kubrick's detached view of this shocking future, but, whether the discord drew the curious or Kubrick's scathing diagnosis spoke to the chaotic cultural moment, A Clockwork Orange became a hit. On the heels of New York Film Critics Circle awards as Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, Kubrick received Oscar nominations in all three categories.

Thoughts: I don't think I voted for this purely for the reason I don't actually think of it as a horror film, certainly horrifying, but I think it's uncategorisable, there's dystopian sci-fi, thriller, coming-of-age, political satire + crime elements in it and it could appear on any of those lists, but I couldn't put it into a single genre. Regardless, that is the true hallmarks of a great film.

WHAT A FILM though, a true classic in every sense of the word, never has a film been so horrifying yet so engaging at the same time. Taking a sociopathic character and actually twisting it so he isn't the character that we are actually rooting against after some of the scenes we see of him during the film (look up the Singing in the Rain scene at your own peril) is something of a masterstroke, but it works as it is society that is the real villain here as we witness in shocking full realisation. Completely unashamed in what it shows and brutal yet deep in it's themes, and beautifully shot and soundtracked with it's classical score, don't expect a light watch, but I would recommend it anyway as it is one of the most unique and also important films possibly of all time.

These are the horror films making up your top 40!

 

A Nightmare On Elm Street

Alien

Aliens

Black Swan

Carrie (1976)

Dawn of the Dead

Drag me to Hell

Final Destination

Halloween

Jaws

Let The Right One In

Pan's Labyrinth

Paranormal Activity

Psycho

Rosemary's Baby

Scary Movie

Scary Movie 3

Scream

Scream 2

Scream 3

Scream 4

Shaun Of The Dead

Sinister

The Babadook

The Birds

The Blair Witch Project

The Cabin in the Woods

The Conjuring

The Conjuring 2

The Evil Dead

The Exorcist

The Fly

The Omen

The Ring

The Shining

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Wicker Man

You're Next

Zombieland

[REC]

omg I think I'll actually follow this as I need to think of a scary film to take to a halloween movie night next week and I don't have a clue what to go with :o :lol:

omg I think I'll actually follow this as I need to think of a scary film to take to a halloween movie night next week and I don't have a clue what to go with :o :lol:

Final Destination is so much fun to watch! I imagine it'd be just as amusing and awesome with a group of people!

I've seen four movies in that top 40, oops!!

 

I want to see Rosemary's Baby though actually, I think I'd really like that and I do have it on DVD :o

Still need to watch the final destination films bar the 4th one!

 

A clockwork orange is another film I rly need to watch but I didn't know it was a horror so I'm surprised how high it finished here

So many films in that batch which are amazing!

 

'An American Werewolf In London' in particular, is fantastic.

'The Orphanage' is so good too! I recommend that to people!

'Poltergeist' is really good too! It's not as scary now, but it's still a genuinely good movie in it's own right!

'The Purge' movies, I like, but don't love. They have been getting stronger though with each release.

'The Mist' I'm torn on and think I need to watch again. The ending really put me off it, but not because it was bad or rubbish. But I don't want to say too much in case there are people who haven't seen it yet! (In fact, I'd be up for making this one of the film club options in the near future)

'Insidious' is so good too. So chilling.

'Final Destination 3' is the most fun of that franchise. It's not the best (the 1st) but it's not stupidly ridiculous/ott (4th). I have a huge soft spot for it in general though.

'A Clockwork Orange' I found it to be boring. I was really disappointed with it when I eventually saw it. I wouldn't say it's a horror either, probably psychological thriller.

 

That's such a good top 40 though! Yay for 'The Birds' :wub: Ew at 'Scary Movie' films making it over some all time faves! I also need and would like to see 'Rosemarys Baby'!

'An American Werewolf In London' is a brilliant film and probably deserves to be much higher. Has probably the best on screen werewolf transformation

'The Orphanage' I don't remember much about but I recall it being decent. Should watch again

'Poltergeist' is fabulous and really feels like Spielberg does Horror (sorry Tobe but it doesn't feel like one of yours). It's clearly an inspiration for Insidious too

'The Purge' movies are ok. I like the first one best as it keeps in taut and I feel they overeached with the sequels

'The Mist' has one of the best endings I've ever seen. I won't say much either but it's quite divisive. My fave Stephen King adaptation as The Shining is more Kubrick than King

'Insidious' is really very good but like I said it feels like a modern reworking of Poltergeist

'Final Destination 3' is the rollercoaster right? Turned it off half way through I think. 1st one's good though

'A Clockwork Orange' Utterly brilliant social commentary and still so very very relevant. Not a Horror film though so I didn't vote for it

 

All in all the top 40 is pretty decent even if some worthy classics have fallen already in place of popcorn fare and for me the Scream sequels and Scary Movies should have gone instead. Hoping the more thoughtful films make up the top 10

Shaun Of The Dead is more of a comedy horror

 

A Clockwork Orange was banned from showing in telly for quite a few years if I'm correct?

A Clockwork Orange was banned from showing in telly for quite a few years if I'm correct?

In 1973, after Director Stanley Kubrick's insistence Warner Bros withdrew the film from display due to supposed copycat violence and negative social impact. The film was never banned, this is a myth that has been perpetuated for many years, however the Scala cinema in London was closed down due to losing a legal battle following an unauthorised showing of the film.

 

Strictly speaking the distributors refused to allow its broadcast rather than the BBFC banning it

Edited October 25, 20177 yr by Severin

40. Black Swan (2010)

271 points / Highest Voters: #2 (UV) #11 (Regina) #19 (Harry)

IMDb: 8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%

Summary: A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet, BLACK SWAN stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a featured dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival at the company (Mila Kunis). A Fox Searchlight Pictures release by visionary director Darren Aronofsky (THE WRESTLER), BLACK SWAN takes a thrilling and at times terrifying journey through the psyche of a young ballerina whose starring role as the duplicitous swan queen turns out to be a part for which she becomes frighteningly perfect. BLACK SWAN follows the story of Nina (Portman), a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter,s professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

Thoughts: The ever boundary pushing Darren Aronofksy really strikes gold with this psychological thriller. I'm not a huge Natalie Portman fan, but she is excellent here. It's horror depicted is more rooted in the self and how obsession and quest for perfection can be truly damaging to our psyche and bring out a darker side, with Tchaikovsky's ballet serving a very appropriate metaphor here. There's certainly some grim and pretty explicit sequences here and the line is constantly blurred between what we are saying and what is a result of her damaged viewpoint, but it's all the more thrilling for it, certainly worth a watch.

Black Swan <3 <3 One of my favourite movies of all time, let alone horror films (I count this as being horror just!). I really need to watch the rest of Darren Aronofsky's movies as Black Swan & Requiem For A Dream are two of my favourite films ever (I didn't like Noah though)

 

The plot was so good and Natalie Portman was utterly incredible, such a deserved Oscar Win *.* Literally the whole supporting cast, especially Mila Kunis, deserved Oscar noms and I'm always shocked Natalie was the only acting nomination from the film :(

Black Swan is really rather amazing. I think that's probably the limit of how scary a film can get before I nope out of it, I had to pause it a couple of times and take deep breaths before pressing play again quite a few times :lol:

 

Aronofsky makes it so INTENSE :drama:

39. The Fly (1986)

278 Points / Highest Votes: #8 (Jonjo, Mack)

IMDb: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

Summary: Considered fairly gruesome in its day, the original 1958 The Fly looks like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood compared to this 1986 remake. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis star as Seth Brundle, a self-involved research scientist, and Veronica Quaife, a science-magazine reporter. Inviting Veronica to his lab, Seth prepares to demonstrate his "telepod," which can theoretically transfer matter through space. As they grow closer over the next few weeks, she inadvertently goads Seth into experimenting with human beings rather than inanimate objects. Seth himself enters the telepod, preparing to transmit himself through the ether -- but he doesn't know that he is sharing the telepod with a tiny housefly.

Thoughts: A classic horror film that I only saw for the first time recently, and while it’s certainly very horrifying (not one to watch if you’re squeamish of insects), I actually find it more sad than anything in a tale of how one can be ultimately destroyed by their own work and Jeff ‘uhhhh’ Goldblum is actually the perfect fit for the character here, and I suppose if you’re feeling that way about…whatever it is he becomes, then you know it’s doing well. Again, it’s not for the faint of heart, but if you’re after a nifty blend of gross-out horror, sci-fi and romance, it’s definitely a must see.

38. Dawn Of The Dead (1978)

289 Points / Highest votes: #18 (Chez)



IMDb: 8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Summary: Viewers who haven't seen George Romero's low-budget horror masterpiece Night of the Living Dead, might be at a loss during the first sequences of Dawn of the Dead. The opening scenes rely so much on familiarity with the earlier film that it might cause resentment among the uninitiated. But once the story gets started, plot and exposition matter not a whit. Dawn is set in a deserted shopping mall, where the ever-increasing zombie contingent from the first film have set up a sort of Condominium for the Condemned. From this vantage point, the flesh-eating creatures plan to overtake the entire country. There's a lot of allegory and hidden meaning around, but Tom Savini's excellent (and unremittingly gruesome) special effects take center stage throughout. Dawn of the Dead is not recommended for those who have trouble keeping their popcorn down.

Thoughts: I mean I’m assuming people meant the original rather than the remake as there was no date given idk, I did anyway x A spiritual successor to George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead (how on earth is that not top 40 here?!), Dawn of the Dead takes it to the next level with a lot more graphic zombies and higher stakes, and as well as focusing on people in a situation like this, makes an interesting social commentary about consumerism and materialism. You can decipher the messages there for yourself, but it still stands as a classic whose message holds up remarkably well to this day.

37. You’re Next (2011)

 

292 Points / Highest Points: #4 (UV), #11 (Froot), #14 (JackJones)

 

 

IMDb: 6.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 76%

 

Summary: One of the smartest and most terrifying films in years, YOU'RE NEXT reinvents the genre by putting a fresh twist on home-invasion horror. When a gang of masked, ax-wielding murderers descend upon the Davison family reunion, the hapless victims seem trapped...until an unlikely guest of the family proves to be the most talented killer of all.

 

Thoughts: One of my favourite recent horror films, admittedly not particularly hard in the current climate but even so. It definitely has a sense of knowing itself well and there’s quite a bit of black humour here (the whole ending is hilarious in how OTT it is :’)) to match the relentless thrills and gore, and managing the pretty rare feat of a slasher actually making its characters actually quite interesting. It’s no classic, but definitely worth a watch for any horror aficionado.

 

36. Scary Movie 3 (2003)

304 Points / Highest Votes: #15 (Regina) #17 (Cody)



IMDb: 5.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 36%

Summary: While star Anna Faris returns for the third film in the Scary Movie series, the power behind the camera has shifted from the Wayans brothers to one of the Zucker brothers. The Zucker in question is David Zucker, and he's brought along his partner in movie-parody crime, Leslie Nielsen. This time around, aim is taken at such horror blockbusters as Signs and The Ring, while films of other genres, including Independence Day, 8 Mile, and The Matrix, are also lampooned. The plot finds Cindy (Faris) trying to help the president (Nielsen) thwart an alien attack while also facing crop circles and a mysterious video tape. In the spirit of the two Matrix sequels, Scary Movie 3 was shot back-to-back with Scary Movie 4. Queen Latifah, Charlie Sheen, and Eddie Griffin also star.

Thoughts: I’ve never seen it, and I don’t want to. Sorry, I mean the first one of these I had enough issues with (stay tuned for that) that and these type of cash-in 'parody' films that I really don’t need to subject myself to another one. I guess this one stands out amongst the original for some reason to you guys as it’s voted above quite a lot of classics here, each to their own I guess~

Black Swan - a true artist at work

 

The Fly - Cronenberg's Body Horror hit is probably his most accesible film (Dead Ringers?) and is a great if slightly dated example of his work

 

Dawn Of The Dead - Utter classic and probably the most influential zombie film. I prefer 'Night' and it's just as important but this made it into a genre. Please tell me nobody meant the remake?

 

You're Next - Surprisingly very good and smarter than average. Not a classic but recommended

 

Scary Movie 3 - At the risk of repeating the words of Mr Wombat. - I've not seen it and don't understand why anyone would want to. Saw the first one and it was f***ing awful. A bunch of terrible gags aimed at 12 year olds. I gather this is worse