Entertainment Weekly's 20 Scariest Movies of All Time

[Stingy Jack]

This is from a one-hour special on AMC last night (hosted by Bruce Campbell). I think the list is pretty solid ... how about you folks?

The list (in no particular order):

1. The Evil Dead
2. Jaws
3. Carrie
4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)
5. Night of the Living Dead (original)
6. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
7. Se7en
8. The Shining
9. Rosemary's Baby
10. The Hitcher
11. The Thing
12. Poltergeist
13. Silence of the Lambs
14. The Omen
15. A Nightmare on Elm Street
16. Lost Highway
17. An American Werewolf in London
18. Halloween
19. The Exoricist
20. Psycho (original)

You can read the list in-depth at this site:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,726267_1_0_,00.html

[hellfire1]

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=11099


tsk, tsk, tsk stingy ! and it's on the same page too. fo' shame ! :p :D


anywhoo... i can't see good stuff like that since french tv sucks ass. lol

[Vodstok]

The exorcist is #19!? I will never understand that....

Henry: Portait of a Serial killer isnt even scary, let alone scarier than the exorcist....


BTW, never watch the director's cut of the Exorcist with the director's commentary playing.... William Fredikin is about as interesting as wet toast. i swear, (no exaggeration either) he used the words "Juxtapose" or "Juxtaposition" in excess of 15 times during the first hour alone.....


Edit:
Originally posted by Stingy Jack
(in no particular order):



I re-read it. im an idiot.....

No caffiene and no beer make Vod something something......

[Sistinas]

I'd switch Jaws and Lost Highway with 28 Days Later and Friday the 13th.

[movieman64]

I'll give in and concur with this summation for examples of modern horror movies, however I am going to add classics like, Nosferatu, Phantom of the Opera, (silent version with Chaney Sr.), Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, (both Directed by James Whale) Dracula, (1931) The Wolfman, ( Chaney Jr.), Invasion of the Body Snatchers, (original). These films had huge impacts, "scare factor" on their audiences when they were released, bigger impacts then modern reviewers and most movie buffs give them credit for. I agree that by today's standards these movies seem benign and somewhat campy, but taken in the context of their time period there omission from the list is wrong, (IMHO). In one of my film classes we researched reviews and accounts of incidents revolving around a couple of these films, and they scared the pants off many of their viewer's, with several accounts of faintings, and people leaving the theatre. Today if someone leaves the theatre, it's due to the movie being so bad they feel cheated or mislead, (The Village as a Horror film). I will agree going back 40> years on the list is a long time, but "all time", I disagree.

[friday13thfan]

ok jaws is not scarey its more suspense then a horror aka scarey film

the only scarey thing his the music infact if halloween, jaws, friday the 13th and NOES did not have there music they would not be as scarey IMO

[allmykids]

Originally posted by Vodstok
The exorcist is #19!? I will never understand that....

Henry: Portait of a Serial killer isnt even scary, let alone scarier than the exorcist....


BTW, never watch the director's cut of the Exorcist with the director's commentary playing.... William Fredikin is about as interesting as wet toast. i swear, (no exaggeration either) he used the words "Juxtapose" or "Juxtaposition" in excess of 15 times during the first hour alone.....


Edit:


I re-read it. im an idiot.....

No caffiene and no beer make Vod something something......

I was just going to say that but you cought yourself!!! :eek:

[allmykids]

Originally posted by friday13thfan
ok jaws is not scarey its more suspense then a horror aka scarey film

the only scarey thing his the music infact if halloween, jaws, friday the 13th and NOES did not have there music they would not be as scarey IMO

Watch Jaws, Then go hang out in the OCEAN!! I think you will have a change of heart!! LOL

[massacre man]

Originally posted by allmykids
Watch Jaws, Then go hang out in the OCEAN!! I think you will have a change of heart!! LOL watch jaws in the ocean

[friday13thfan]

Originally posted by allmykids
Watch Jaws, Then go hang out in the OCEAN!! I think you will have a change of heart!! LOL

i do that at the beach a lot after watching it i wanted to go in the water even more lol

[Dark_Hero]

Jaws- Not scary at all. ot even a good movie, IMO. Im gonna get flamed, but I fould it really boring and pointless

Ive never even heared oof Lost Higway.....but It doesnt sound like it deserves to be there....


I dont know if I think Omen and Exorcist should both be there......Exorcist, sure, why not. . But Omen is a diret knockoff of the exorcist, so it shouldnt bother be there

[friday13thfan]

jaws is a great film but does not deserve to be on any horror list

the omen is better then exorcist IMO it was alot better but exorcist had its moments

[movieman64]

If I remeber correctly, it was done by David Lynch and has some well known actors. Like most Lynch movies you have to stay with it, (no distractions) or it won't make much sense.

[abbycomix]

The list was OK but I totally did not agree with Lost Highway being there. I didn't find it at all memorable. I usually like David Lynch too, but that one did not impress me much.
The special was awesome just to see Bruce. He's my fave.

[Vodstok]

Originally posted by Dark_Hero
Jaws- Not scary at all. ot even a good movie, IMO. Im gonna get flamed, but I fould it really boring and pointless

Ive never even heared oof Lost Higway.....but It doesnt sound like it deserves to be there....


I dont know if I think Omen and Exorcist should both be there......Exorcist, sure, why not. . But Omen is a diret knockoff of the exorcist, so it shouldnt bother be there

Jaws is responsible for an entire generation of people being so terrified of sharks, they are being hunted to extinction. i would say something like that deserves to be on a "scariest movies ever" list.... (fucking peter benchly...ashole.....)

I have never seen lost wighway, but being that it is david lynch, i would assume it is a good mindfuck if nothing else, possibly making it deserving. "Dont judge a book by it's cover...."

The Omen is NOT a rip-off of the exorcist. It is related, in that it deals with the devil, sort of. The demon in the exorcist was pazuzu, not satan. 2 points off there.
Damien isnt posessed, he is the Antichrist. another 2 points off for you. Outside of coming from the same decade, centering around children, and dealing with biblical evil, they have NOTHING in common.

Oh, wait. they were both filmed in english....:rolleyes:

[urgeok]

Lost Highway has slight traces of 'the supernatural' but it wasnt at all frightening .. in the least.

Alien should be on that list somewhere.
It was basically a gothic horror in space and had a couple of
fright moments that were more effective than most of the movies on that list.

Jaws was incredibly terrifying for the time.

The Changeling deserves to be on the list ... replace se7en .. it wasn't scary at all, just creepy.

[Vodstok]

Originally posted by urgeok
Lost Highway has slight traces of 'the supernatural' but it wasnt at all frightening .. in the least.

Alien should be on that list somewhere.
It was basically a gothic horror in space and had a couple of
fright moments that were more effective than most of the movies on that list.

Jaws was incredibly terrifying for the time.

The Changeling deserves to be on the list ... replace se7en .. it wasn't scary at all, just creepy. I agree totally. Especially about alien.


Blasphemy....

[Haphazard]

I wish people would STOP listing Rosemary's Baby on "Scariest Movies" lists! The damn movie could be aired on NICK AT NITE!

Ummm, other than that...pretty decent list.

[Arioch]

I hate rosemary's baby....so overated and so fucking boring....

[urgeok]

Rosemary's Baby has to be judged under a different light.
It is scary in its own way .. not popcorn throwing shocks, but
the fear of losing your mind ... or a conspiracy ... where you're the only one that knows something and even the people closest to you wont believe ...you have no one to turn to.
Maybe its not a thrillfest but the great direction and building atmosphere of suspense makes it a contender as far as I'm concerned.

Probably something that would affect someone with a family more because the greatest fear of any parent concerns your child - or c'hild to be' in this case.

I think it belongs in the list ... not in the top 10 but certainly in a top 20.

[Arioch]

I dare say anything attempted by rosemary's baby has been done better with The exorcist and The omen.....

[Haphazard]

Originally posted by urgeok
Rosemary's Baby has to be judged under a different light.
It is scary in its own way .. not popcorn throwing shocks, but
the fear of losing your mind ... or a conspiracy ... where you're the only one that knows something and even the people closest to you wont believe ...you have no one to turn to.
Maybe its not a thrillfest but the great direction and building atmosphere of suspense makes it a contender as far as I'm concerned.

Probably something that would affect someone with a family more because the greatest fear of any parent concerns your child - or c'hild to be' in this case.

I think it belongs in the list ... not in the top 10 but certainly in a top 20.

Well, I see a few people stating that Jaws is not a horror movie...or is not scary. But, the fact is that Jaws -- to THIS day instills instant fear into viewers. (most viewers). Grown men & women STILL think of Jaws when they are anywhere near water. I can't imagine too many women not wanting to get pregnant because their baby might turn out to be a demon...lol.

All I'm saying is that I always see Rosemary's Baby listed as one of the scariest movies of all time -- which is what prompted me to watch it in the first place. But, in my opinion -- although not a bad movie -- definitely not a scary one at all!

By the way, urgeok...welcome to hell! I didn't get a chance to say hi. But, it's nice to have a noob along for the ride who actually says anything worth a damn.

QUICK COMMENT: Regarding relating to Rosemary moreso if you have a family...ummm, that may be true I guess. I personally don't have any kids...but I was WAY more affected by the little kid getting hit by a truck in Pet Semetary. Sorry, Rosemary's Baby just did not get any emotion out of me.

[urgeok]

Personal preferences i guess .. i love Polanski's style of filmmaking ... I never found Rosmary's Baby boring at all.
I love all 3 films for different reasons and never felt the need to compare them.

Have you seen The Mephisto Waltze ? Its sort of a poor mans Rosemary's Baby (with Alan Alda and Jaqueline Bisset)

[Arioch]

QUICK COMMENT: Regarding relating to Rosemary moreso if you have a family...ummm, that may be true I guess. I personally don't have any kids...but I was WAY more affected by the little kid getting hit by a truck in Pet Semetary. Sorry, Rosemary's Baby just did not get any emotion out of me.

Agreed...my father stopped reading Stephen King after that because he didn't like how he was killing kids....haha...although its a great book and a great movie...

[Haphazard]

Originally posted by Arioch
Agreed...my father stopped reading Stephen King after that because he didn't like how he was killing kids....haha...although its a great book and a great movie...

Hahahaha. Yeah, that was a pretty powerful scene! I can see where yo papa is coming from :)

[urgeok]

thanks for the welcome (it wasnt a 'fuck you' but I'll survive - leave it for the kids :)

Rosemary's Baby certainly wont prevent people from having kids (but Jaws didnt stop me from swiming either .... well, at least in fresh water :)

There are 2 things that prey on the fears of expectant parents .. 1) that the baby will be normal
2) that nothing will happen to the baby.

The other thing that Rosemary's Baby did was turn the girls life upside down ..
Kind neighbours turn into devil worshipers, A husband becomes a collaborator ...and the baby is in danger of becoming the son of satan ... and the girl herself questions her sanity ..
Its all about loss...

Maybe the demographic responsible for voting this in was largely women because it certainly hits them where they live.
It gets my vote because of Polanski's direction .. his pace, sense of style ...
I wish he wasn't such a twat when it comes to girls because he had a lot to contribute to the genre and should be making more films !!

[Haphazard]

Originally posted by urgeok
thanks for the welcome (it wasnt a 'fuck you' but I'll survive -

Ahhh, let's just get it out of the way:

FUCK YOU!

:D

[urgeok]

i feel so dirty now

[Vodstok]

One thing i completely agree with you on regarding rosemary's baby:

Roman Ploanksi is a Twat. Fucking rapist.....

[urgeok]

yes thats unfortunate as he is a brilliant filmmaker.

Tha same goes for Victor Salva (Jeepers Creepers 1 & 2 and Powder) also a convicted pedophile. Only his preference is boys.

[Vodstok]

Originally posted by urgeok
yes thats unfortunate as he is a brilliant filmmaker.

Tha same goes for Victor Salva (Jeepers Creepers 1 & 2 and Powder) also a convicted pedophile. Only his preference is boys. The same person who did jeepers creepers did powder? Wow..... And he's a pedophile.. great. Maybe he can make a movie with jeffrey Jones....

[MichaelMyers]

Decent list. "Lost Highway" doesn't belong on there, of course.

[Dark_Hero]

Originally posted by urgeok
the fear of losing your mind ... or a conspiracy ... where you're the only one that knows something and even the people closest to you wont believe ...you have no one to turn to.

So that'd make The Forgotton one of the best horror movies ever? Like hell. It was good, really good in fact.....made me jump, but not scay, even though it deal with all that you mentioned

[massacre man]

Originally posted by Dark_Hero
But Omen is a diret knockoff of the exorcist, so it shouldnt bother be there how ?

[urgeok]

Dark Hero :

you're right - The Forgotton would be considered a far more frightening film than a lot of these others if the demographic you were polling were mothers .. it really does hit them where they live.

I'll also have to go on record and say that i actually liked The Forgotton .. although I'm not sure why.

Probably because I saw Resident Evil 2 and The Village before.

Watching a cat lick itself would seem like entertainment after that.

[Haphazard]

Originally posted by urgeok
Watching a cat lick itself would seem like entertainment after that.

What?? It usually isn't?

:confused:

[Ginger<3s2Lick]

Poltergeist isn't really scary but other then that it's a good list.

[movieman64]

Originally posted by Dark_Hero
So that'd make The Forgotton one of the best horror movies ever? Like hell. It was good, really good in fact.....made me jump, but not scay, even though it deal with all that you mentioned


Which version of The Forgotten are you talking about?

[jay o2 waster]

hmmm... I don't know what to make of it

[urgeok]

pretty sure he's talking about the Julianne Moore film from this year

[jay o2 waster]

Originally posted by urgeok
pretty sure he's talking about the Julianne Moore film from this year We still talking about this :(

[movieman64]

I figured that was the one he was talking about, which I have yet to see. Their is an early "70's" version which I thought was OK.