The Scary Movie Rankings thread
 

Deviating from the tournaments (which honestly have been done to death, and then some), I have been thinking of this for a few days now. It will require some active participation and the purpose - to determine how the films in the sub-genre of haunted houses, ghosts, paranormal and the supernatural stack up against each other when it comes to inducing pure and unadulterated terror in their viewing experiences. We will also be looking at several close-to-real-life horror films which have been successful at scaring audiences the world over for a good many years till now.

It will also help to address a complaint we have been reading from contemporary horror fans - how they have become jaded to films of our favorite genre. Do we still have films which can add to that terror experience? Let's find out.

The rating system for this will be quite simple. (you can call this the Scare-O-Meter)

1 = Not scary at all,
2 = Mildly scary except for some scenes,
3 = Moderately scary with some effective scenes,
4 = Solidly scary, and
5 = Downright terrifying!

I will post 3 films every day. All you have to do is rate them on the abovesaid scale of 1-5. A film needs at least 3 ratings to score on the Scare-O-Meter, otherwise it will end up as Insufficient Data.

We will add up all scores at the end and average it out, to see where the film(s) stack up in the Scare-O-Meter!

For example, The Shining receives a cumulative score of 45 from 10 members, so it's average score comes to 4.5. That lies between "Solidly Scary" and "Downright terrifying!", and that's a very high score!

And who knows, maybe we will end up adding a few more films to the Halloween must-watch lists of the fans reading this thread.

First set of films will be up later today.


SCARE - O - METER (out of 5)

001) [°REC] (2007) - 4.8,
002) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - 4.4,
003) The Haunting (1963) - 4.3,
004) A Tale of Two Sisters (aka) Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003) - 4.3,
005) Inside (2007) - 4.3,
006) Nosferatu (1922) - 4.1,
007) The Exorcist (1973) - 4.1,
008) The Omen (1976) - 4.1,
009) Ju-On (2002) - 4.1,
010) Eyes Without A Face (1960) - 4.0,
011) Night of the Living Dead (1968) - 4.0,
012) Halloween (1978) - 4.0,
013) Poltergeist (1982) - 4.0,
014) Martyrs (2008) - 4.0,
015) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - 3.9,
016) The Descent (2005) - 3.9,
017) Psycho (1960) - 3.8,
018) The Amityville Horror (1979) - 3.8,
019) The Shining (1980) - 3.8,
020) The Evil Dead (1981) - 3.8,
021) Rosemary's Baby (1968) - 3.7,
022) Alien (1979) - 3.7,
023) Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) - 3.6,
024) Salem's Lot (1979) - 3.6,
025) The Changeling (1980) - 3.6,
026) Onibaba (1964) - 3.5
027) The Beyond (1981) - 3.5,
028) Fire In The Sky (1993) - 3.5,
029) The Devil's Backbone (2001) - 3.5,
030) Sinister (2012) - 3.5,
031) Dawn of the Dead (1978) - 3.4,
032) The Fog (1980) - 3.4,
033) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - 3.4,
034) Hellraiser (1987) - 3.4,
035) The Body Snatcher (1945) - 3.3,
036) House of Usher (1960) - 3.3,
037) Black Sunday (1960) - 3.3,
038) Kwaidan (1964) - 3.3
039) Friday the 13th (1980) - 3.3,
040) The House by the Cemetery (1981) - 3.3,
041) Prince of Darkness (1987) - 3.3,
042) Pet Sematary (1989) - 3.3,
043) Jacob's Ladder (1990) - 3.3,
044) Ringu (1998) - 3.3,
045) Paranormal Activity (2007) - 3.3,
046) The Innocents (1961) - 3.2,
047) Suspiria (1977) - 3.2,
048) Videodrome (1983) - 3.2
049) Session 9 (2001) - 3.2,
050) One Missed Call (2003) - 3.2,
051) Jaws (1975) - 3.1,
052) Phantasm (1979) - 3.1,
053) Halloween II (1981) - 3.1,
054) Creepshow (1982) - 3.1,
055) The Wolf Man (1941) - 3.0,
056) Cat People (1942) - 3.0,
057) Black Sabbath (aka) I tre volti della paura (1963) - 3.0,
058) The Devils (1971) - 3.0,
059) Zombie (aka) Zombi 2 (1979) - 3.0,
060) Demons (1985) - 3.0,
061) Event Horizon (1997) - 3.0,
062) Pulse (aka) Kairo (2001) - 3.0,
063) The Ring (2002) - 3.0,
064) Signs (2002) - 3.0,
065) Insidious (2010) - 3.0,
066) The Legend of Hell House (1973) - 2.9,
067) Black Christmas (1974) - 2.9,
068) Altered States (1980) - 2.9,
069) The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - 2.9,
070) Curse/Night of the Demon (1957) - 2.8,
071) Pit and the Pendulum (1961) - 2.8,
072) Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) - 2.8,
073) Burnt Offerings (1976) - 2.8,
074) The Sentinel (1977) - 2.8,
075) Audrey Rose (1977) - 2.8,
076) Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) - 2.8,
077) From Beyond (1986) - 2.8,
078) Opera (1987) - 2.8,
079) Misery (1990) - 2.8,
080) The Blair Witch Project (1999) - 2.8
081) House of Wax (1953) - 2.7,
082) Horror of Dracula (1958) - 2.7,
083) The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) - 2.7,
084) The Wicker Man (1973) - 2.7,
085) Stagefright (1987) - 2.7,
086) Communion (1989) - 2.7,
087) Candyman (1992) - 2.7,
088) Shutter (2004) - 2.7,
089) The Grudge (2004) - 2.7,
090) Frankenstein (1931) - 2.6,
091) The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) - 2.6,
092) Carnival of Souls (1962) - 2.6,
093) The Masque of the Red Death (1964) - 2.6,
094) Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) - 2.6,
095) Carrie (1976) - 2.6,
096) Stir of Echoes (1999) - 2.6,
097) Horror Hotel (1960) - 2.5,
098) Eraserhead (1977) - 2.5
099) When A Stranger Calls (1979) - 2.5,
100) The Funhouse (1981) - 2.5,
101) High Tension (2003) - 2.5,
102) Drag Me To Hell (2009) - 2.5,
103) Island of Lost Souls (1932) - 2.4,
104) Ghost Story (1981) - 2.4,
105) The Others (2001) - 2.4,
106) Wolf Creek (2005) - 2.4,
107) Body Snatchers (1993) - 2.3,
108) In The Mouth of Madness (1994) - 2.3,
109) Cat's Eye (1985) - 2.2,
110) House of 1000 Corpses (2003) - 2.2,
111) Silent Hill (2006) - 2.2
112) Curse of Frankenstein (1957) - 2.1,
113) Silver Bullet (1985) - 2.1,
114) The Old Dark House (1932) - 2.0,
115) Dementia 13 (1963) - 2.0,
116) The Fly (1986) - 2.0,
117) Monkey Shines (1988) - 2.0,
118) Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) - 2.0,
119) Se7en (1995) - 2.0
120) 28 Days Later (2002) - 2.0,
121) Dracula (1931) - 1.9,
122) Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) - 1.9,
123) Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) - 1.8,
124) The Blob (1958) - 1.8,
125) The Watcher in the Woods (1980) - 1.8,
126) What Lies Beneath (2000) - 1.8,
127) Dark Water (2005) - 1.8,
128) 13 Ghosts (1960) - 1.7,
129) Fright Night (1985) - 1.7,
130) House on Haunted Hill (1959) - 1.6,
131) Child's Play (1988) - 1.6,
132) Wrong Turn (2003) - 1.4,
133) Christine (1983) - 1.3,
134) House on Haunted Hill (1999) - 1.3,
135) Phantoms (1998) - 1.0,
136) The Devil Rides Out/The Devil's Bride (1968) - Insufficient Data,
137) Spirits of the Dead (1968) - Insufficient Data,
138) Kuroneko (1968) - Insufficient Data,
139) Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) - Insufficient Data,
140) Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (1973) - Insufficient Data,
141) XTRO (1983) - Insufficient Data,
142) Creepers/Phenomena (1986) - Insufficient Data,
143) Lady in White (1988) - Insufficient Data,
144) Reincarnation (aka) Rinne (2005) - Insufficient Data.

Awesome idea. :) There are alot of underrated ghost/haunting films out there.

Love this idea. Can't wait

This sounds awesome. I can't wait.

Great idea, I will definitely participate as this is my favourite kind of horror :)

I expect to see a real generational gap in these rankings.

The Others- 3

House on Haunted Hill (1999)- 2

What Lies Beneath- haven't seen

1's for all three.

I was thinking the same thing. :)

The Others - 3
House on Haunted Hill - 1
What Lies Beneath - haven't seen it

A film needs at least 3 ratings to score on the Scare-O-Meter, otherwise it will end up as Insufficient Data. Remember to rate the films according to their spookiness/scare factor, and not as how good/bad they are.

I will update the first post accordingly.


You just might end up pleasantly surprised, NE & HF, if the Supporting Characters tourney is any indication.

The Others - 4

House on Haunted Hill - 1

What Lies Beneath - 1

V: when is the next Battle Royale? In the spirit of horror movies, one knows the bad guy never stays dead for long...

The Others - 1

House on Haunted Hill - 2

What Lies Beneath - Sorry, haven't seen it!

V, I think you need to edit #4, you have "and" without anything after it (at the moment).

I like the idea too! Although 3 a day may be a bit aggressive, or more precisely, may become a bit laborious for you and the raters, and mute the fun. I think we like to talk about the films too.

It's strange, I was excited to see the list of 3 movies, and then when I saw them, I realized the spooky/scary/terrifying feeling level isn't always easy to recall. Am I alone in that thought? There's horror movies that made a significant feeling hit on me (say, The Exorcist), which I remember well, but most may have been effectively spooky to me, but not enough to leave a memorable spooky level impression. But on the other hand, we could say those are going to be the films with a low spooky score.


The Others - 3

House on Haunted Hill - didn't see the remake 1999 yet; which I didn't even notice coming out in 1999. look forward to seeing it, as I really liked the '59.

What Lies Beneath - 2


The Others was many times better than What Lies Beneath because of the scripts; but I thought director Robert Zemeckis gave Beneath some mildly effective craft. The idea of the Others is genius. The detail of setting, mood effects, lighting, etc were also good. The ending is the kicker, of course. The actual content leading up to the end was mildly spooky to me; I give a low 3.

I completely agree with your first paragraph. I too, was having difficulty remembering how scary The Others was or was not. I thought that a three was probably the best choice. I also completely agree with your paragraph on The Others (except for what you said on What Lies Beneath because I have not seen it to make a judgment). I really thought that The Others was a really well-made film. Of course, the ending changes your perception of the whole film.

Also, I just want to note that there are some movies that were really good, but I just don't consider scary. For instance, the original House on Haunted Hill is really good, but it just is not scary to me. Honestly, as indicated in my rating, I don't even consider the remake to be scary either. The remake is okay, but I thought it could have been way better.

I'm pretty sure he did that just to indicate the progression to #5 as in #4. Solidly scary and #5. Downright Terrifying

The Others - 3

House on Haunted Hill - don't think I've seen it...and if I have it obviously didn't leave much of an impression

What Lies Beneath - gonna go 3 on this as well.....it's been awhile but I seem to remember a couple of good scares

The Others- 1

House on Haunted Hill- 1 (Total crap!!)

What Lie Beneath- 2 (Don't remember the movie being all that amazing, but there are some pretty decent scares from what I remember).

It's all wrapped up, Michael. No more BRs.

What Villain said.

Initially I wanted 5. But that seemed to be a bit of an overkill.

3 is fine. Discussions are welcome as well.


Keep them coming, folks...

I haven't seen any of these films so I can't vote.

The Others - 3

Haven't seen the other two, or if I did I don't remember it. (That happens with me sometimes.) I liked the HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL with Vincent Price quite a bit, though.

Good idea, V.

The Others - 2
HOHH - haven't seen it
What Lies Beneath - 2

I recommend The Others wholeheartedly. It's a good, solid, period, old-fashioned, atmospheric ghost story with a nice little twist at the end. You will love it.


Scare-O-Meter scores (out of 5)

The Others (based on 10 ratings) - 2.4
House on Haunted Hill (remake, based on 6 ratings) - 1.3
What Lies Beneath (based on 6 ratings) - 1.8


So, The Others earns a watchable rating while the other two fail to impress.

All 3 films added to the opening post, under the Scare-O-Meter.

Never seen any of these. I got some movies to watch

The Changeling - 3
Ghost Story - 3

I've never even heard of the other one.

The Changeling is really good. It was a relatively creepy ghost story and George C Scott gave a terrific performance as Dr. John Russell (the beginning is especially interesting). Despite seeming a little aged (not that there is anything wrong with that), this film definitely has some really effective scenes. I have not seen the other two films, but I would definitely recommend seeing this film because it is a classic. As for my scoring:

The Changeling: 3

Ghost Story: Haven't seen

Lady in White: Haven't seen

Thanks. Definitely adding it to my list of movies to see

Not seen any of these. V pick some classics!

Only seen Ghost Story. It comes from the era when big name stars were flocking to appear in horror films, and is well regarded by some. I can't remember much about it, since it's been so long since I've seen it. Adapted from a Peter Straub novel, which is quite good.

Still, it hasn't left much of an impression, so I'll give it a 3. If I could vote 2.5 I would.

Changeling - 3
Ghost Story -2
Don't remember ever seeing the other one.

The Changeling: 3

Ghost Story: 2

Lady in White: 1

The Changeling: 5 (Some perfect scenes, amazing atmosphere and everything that this project/ tournament is about).

Ghost Story: 3 (Not the most amazing movie, but has a great atmosphere and Alice Krige gives a beautifully haunting performance).

Lady in White: Not seen it...

Only seen Changeling, which was a great movie. If it were Quality-O-Meter, I'd give it a 4, but on the Scare-o-Meter, a 3.

Ghost Story - 3

I saw Ghost Story in the Theatre, where it was meant to be seen, it was pretty effective. Saw a couple years ago, doesnt hold up as well on small screen.

pretty much nailed my thoughts exactly.
The Changeling being one of if not my favorite "ghost stories".

you really have to see The Changeling

The Changeling: 4
Ghost Story: 2
Lady in White: 2

The Changeling - haven't seen it
Ghost Story - 1
Lady in White - haven't seen it