HDC Presents: 100 Years of Horror

[Giganticface]

Pretty good list, albeit somewhat standard. My only criticism is that it's probably not much different from what many mainstream media sources would pick. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but doesn't bode well for our ability to dig deeper. Credibility suffers a bit by not including a single French film. Neil Marshall is in there twice, which isn't necessary. Overall, however, that's an excellent bunch of movies - many of which I've seen multiple times, and most of which I'll continue to re-watch. There's even one in there I haven't seen (Behind the Mask), so that's now at the top of my watch list.

[Kandarian Demon]

Originally Posted by Giganticface

Credibility suffers a bit by not including a single French film.

I don't see why. Most countries aren't represented in the list at all.

[neverending]

Because the French contributed several particularly noteworthy films from this era. I share Gigantic's sentiment.

Ils, Irreversable, Martyrs, Frontier(s), High Tension

One of these, at least, should be on the list.

I'd like to see more diversity in general, but this is the way these things always turn out.

[_____V_____]

Originally Posted by neverending

Because the French contributed several particularly noteworthy films from this era. I share Gigantic's sentiment.

Ils, Irreversable, Martyrs, Frontier(s), High Tension

One of these, at least, should be on the list.

I'd like to see more diversity in general, but this is the way these things always turn out.

Originally Posted by _____V_____

ANNOUNCEMENT

...I am stretching this project to 200 of the finest films of our genre, stretching over NINE periods (and THREE eras) of horror movies.

This will be followed by 55 Honorable Nominations, hopefully with equal representation from all periods mentioned above.

So, if you can do the math, you might have an idea of the "delightful twist" I mentioned to Giganticface yesterday...

There is still hope yet. ;)

So, folks, now that the 00s is settled after a fierce debate/discussion, we now move into the SECOND PHASE of our project, as I had outlined in the Announcement I had made a few pages ago. If some of you are good at math, you might have an idea of what I am talking about, in the quoted Announcement above.

Here we go...

[_____V_____]

THE SECOND PHASE

1897 to 1929 = 20 films,
1930 to 1939 = 20 films,
1940 to 1949 = 20 films,
1950 to 1959 = 20 films,
1960 to 1969 = 20 films,
1970 to 1979 = 20 films,
1980 to 1989 = 20 films,
1990 to 1999 = 20 films,
2000 to 2012 = 22 films

------------------------

TOTAL = 182 films shortlisted

------------------------

But we had sat down to hammer out 200 films, you say? As per my announcement?

Yes, we will go through the eras AGAIN, and through the 9 periods of horror, we will finalise TWO more films from each period. That will bring us 18 more, and THAT's how we zero in on our 200.

Nice little surprise, isn't it?

This way we can give some underrated, overlooked films a second chance, and maybe we will find some other very worthy ones to further solidify our project.

Plus, it gives all the late joiners of the project a peek into all the selections made by the earlier members as well.

Remember, the selected 20/22 from each period is NOT up for debate here. We are going to select TWO films from the remaining choices.

I will elaborate on selecting the Honorable Mentions in subsequent posts.

So, sharpen your debating pencils again. Here comes the first period of horror...

[_____V_____]

The 1890s to the 1920s

IN THE CUT

Nosferatu (1922) - 9
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) - 9
The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) - 9

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) - 8
Faust (1926) - 8
Frankenstein (1910) - 8
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) - 8

The Cat and the Canary (1927) - 7
The Golem (1920) - 7
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) - 7

Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922) - 6
London After Midnight (1927) - 6

The Bat (1926) - 5
The Man Who Laughs (1928) - 5
The Phantom Carriage (1921) - 5
Un Chien Andalou (1929, Short) - 5
West Of Zanzibar (1928) - 5

Le Manoir du Diable (1896) - 3 (backed by fortunato, seconded by Fearonsarms)
The Hands of Orlac (1924) - 3 (backed by neverending, seconded by Kandarian Demon, The Villain)
The Lodger (1927) - 3 (backed by neverending, seconded by metternich1815, Straker)

A Page of Madness (1926) - 2 (backed by fortunato, seconded by neverending)
Dante's Inferno (1911) - 2 (backed by Fearonsarms, seconded by fortunato)


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


DEBATABLE

The Monkey's Paw (1923) - 4
Waxworks (1924) - 4 (backed by metternich1815, seconded by Straker, Sculpt)

Bluebeard (1901, Short) - 3
The Golem (1915) - 3 (backed by Kandarian Demon, seconded by The Villain)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1922) - 3
The Lost World (1925) - 3 (backed by Sculpt)


MINORITY

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920, Sheldon Lewis) - 2 (backed by Sculpt)
The 400 Tricks of the Devil (1906, Short) - 2 (backed by Straker)
The Monster (1925) - 2
The Penalty (1920) - 2
The Student of Prague (1913) - 2 (backed by Straker)
The Terror (1928) - 2
The Unknown (1927) - 2
The Wizard (1927) - 2


SINGLE VOTES TO

A Blind bargain (1922)
Der Januskopf (1920)
Destiny (1921)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912, Short)
Eerie Tales (1919)
House of Horror (1929)
Salome (1923)
The Dark Mirror (1920)
The Haunted Castle (1921)
The Headless Horseman (1922)
The Man Who Cheated Life (1926)
The Sealed Room (1909)
The Unholy Night (1929)
Wolf Blood (1925)


The initial backings stay. Remember, we are here to select TWO films from the remaining ones in the DEBATABLE section. The "In The Cut" section is NOT for debate.

Once that is done, we can proceed to select SIX films from the rest to figure in our Honorable Mentions.

OR, if everyone is in joint agreement, we can toss in the two films which scored FOUR votes each in the initial tally into the finalised list, and add the SIX films with THREE votes each into the Honorable Mentions list. Or we can go the old-fashioned way and debate till we get our films.

Either way, let's hear your thoughts.

[Giganticface]

Originally Posted by neverending

Because the French contributed several particularly noteworthy films from this era. I share Gigantic's sentiment.

Ils, Irreversable, Martyrs, Frontier(s), High Tension

One of these, at least, should be on the list.

Yep. I would also definitely include Inside in that top echelon list. As a movement, there are a lot of other great films, but perhaps not top 22: Sheitan, Calvaire, Trouble Every Day, In My Skin, Maléfique...from the 90s, I Stand Alone. And as always a few that can be skipped- Baise Moi, Vertige.

At the risk of oversimplifying things, I believe there are two films that brought horror back en vogue: The Blair Witch Project, which kicked off a slew of found footage films and franchises, and The Ring (really the American version) which kicked off J-Horror and made it a worldwide fad. Guillermo del Toro and the Splat Pack (Marshall, Aja, Wan, Zombie, Roth, couple others) have kept it alive. That, and the popularity of The Walking Dead, feeding the zombie fad. Del Toro was already making great movies, but I believe he benefited from J-horror, which made atmospheric supernatural stories popular. The Splat Pack, on the other hand, have secretly found inspiration from the New French Extremists, whose subject matter spans the gamut, and have consistently brought new ideas to old concepts, such as slasher, psychological, home invasion, vampire, thriller, ghost (although, spoiler alert, that ghost might be psychological), and exploitation.

IMHO, it's understandable that none of these films made a particular horror list, but unacceptable that they didn't on a horror forum. Oh well, it all boils down to taste, and it's not the taste of the majority on this forum, which is totally cool. But if we're trying to represent history in our "100 Years of Horror", it's simply not representative.

[neverending]

The Hands of Orlac
The Lodger (early Hitchcock)

[metternich1815]

I will back: Waxworks (1924) and The Lodger

[Kandarian Demon]

CORRECTED because I backed movies that were already in the cut!

Instead I will back:

The Golem
The Hands of Orlac