I've been a fan of horror films since I was too small to reach the light switch on my bedroom wall. I remember quite clearly calling for my daddy one very dark and spooky night, after he'd put me to bed… but not before he'd shown me The Pit & The Pendulum on one of the midnight theater TV shows. After that, I was hooked. I remember my mom let me see The Exorcist when I was far too young for it. What's more, she'd tease me in that raspy Regan voice for weeks afterward at bedtime. (And I wonder why I'm an insomniac?)
The first horror movie I remember watching all by myself are the TV movies Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Trilogy of Terror [1]. There was no PG or PG 13 back then (no "parental guidance" in general — my parents loved horror movies too!) and what you could see on television, from the macabre minds of masters of horror like Richard Matheson, Dan Curtis, and Jack Vance, was more chilling than half the horror movies you'll see in theaters these days. But we are living in "these days" they're pretty damn good, too.
At first, when confronted with the idea of compiling a list of my favorite horror movies of the decade, I was daunted. How to do it? Then it struck me like Patrick Bateman's ax to Paul Allen's cranium: Which horror movies have I loved enough to own? I have over 1,200 DVDs in my library — everything from The Thin Man to The Hangover — and many of them are in the horror and suspense categories. I cut out everything from 1999 on down and took it from there. And so here it is:
50. Willard (2003)
49. Resident Evil [2] (2002)
48. Dracula: Pages From A Virgin's Diary (2002)
47. Jennifer's Body [3] (2009)
46. Box, The (2009)
45. Ginger Snaps (2001)
44. Fido [4](2007)
43. Parasomnia [5](2008)
42. Behind the Mask: Leslie Vernon [6] (2006)
41. A Tale of Two Sisters [7] (2003)
40. What Lies Beneath (2000)
39. House of the Devil [8] (2009)
38. Jeepers Creepers (2001)
37. Midnight Meat Train [9] (2008)
36. Phone [10](2002)
35. Haute Tension [11](2003)
34. Inside [12](2007)
33. Saw (2004)
32. Riding the Bullet [13] (2004)
31. Hills Have Eyes, The [14] (2006)
30. Frailty (2002)
29. Bug [15](2007)
28. Secret Window [16] (2003)
27. Ring, The (2002)
26. Insomnia (2002)
25. Dawn of the Dead [17] (2004)
24. Blade 2 (2002)
23. Trick 'r Treat [18] (2009)
22. Stay [19](2005)
21. Vital [20](2005)
20. Drag Me To Hell [21] (2009)
19. Hostel [22](2006)
18. Repo! The Genetic Opera [23] (2008)
17. Brotherhood of the Wolf [24] (2001)
16. Planet Terror [25] (2007)
15. Panic Room (2001)
14. Joshua [26](2007)
13. Let The Right One In [27] (2008)
12. Orphanage, The [28] (2007)
11. Night Watch [29] (2004)
10. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer [30] (2006)
9. Cell, The (2000)
8. Descent, The [31] (2006)
7. Shaun of the Dead [32] (2004)
6. Final Destination (2000)
5. Others, The (2001)
4. Devil's Rejects, The [33] (2005)
3. Devil's Backbone, The [34] (2001)
2. Hannibal (2001)
…And, card-flick please, the #1 scary movie of the decade is American Psycho.
Interestingly, this is the very film movie I ever reviewed professionally (for Cinescape magazine). Little did I know it'd be all downhill from there! Here's a look at a DVD review I wrote right here st HDC for American Psycho five years ago - click here [35]
1. American Psycho (2000)
Fave Fifty List by Staci Layne Wilson [36]
January 2010
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