RESONATING EVILS AND SINISTER INSPIRATIONS PART 4: FAVORITE HORRORS by Eric

UPDATE: slight change in my favorite horrors list! And added an honorable mention. Almost forgot about THE BLACK CAT...

Since this is a film review site, I think it's fitting to conclude my four-part Halloween tribute with a "25 of My Favorite Horror Movies" list. It's not original. Every journo on every blog will be doing the same this year. I guess what will make my list unique to most is that I'll share an occasional brief thought on some films and then follow up with a comparitive "Films That No Longer Hold Up For Me."

Now, both lists are in no discernable order in terms of what I think is better or worse. Nor do I think some of these films are particularly scary. Believe it or not, I don't think all great horror films HAVE to be. In fact, you might find my choices somewhat controversial. I just think they happen to be great movies and work exceptionally well on their own terms. So here goes...

25 FAVORITE:

1. HALLOWEEN (d. John Carpenter)
2. THE HAUNTING (d. Ray Wise)
3. THE SHINING (d. Stanley Kubrick)
4. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD/DAWN OF THE DEAD/DAY OF THE DEAD (d. George Romero)
I know: I'm cheating. But I seriously consider these three one big movie. And I pretend LAND OF THE DEAD never happened.
5. 28 DAYS LATER (d. Danny Boyle)
6. EVIL DEAD II: DEAD BY DAWN (d. Sam Raimi)
One of the best movies of the 1980s. Period.
7. BLACK SABBATH (d. Mario Bava)
8. DEATHDREAM (d. Bob Clark)
9. THE WICKERMAN (d. Robin Hardy)
10. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (d. James Whale)
11. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (d. Tobe Hooper)
12. [REC] (d. Jaume Balageuro & Paco Plaza)
13. CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER (d. Brian Clemens)
Gotta' have a Hammer horror on this list. But this is the most unusual of Hammer horrors: a swashbuckling vampire movie. The film VAN HELSING wished it could've been.
14. ROSEMARY'S BABY (d. Roman Polanski)
15. RINGU (aka "The Ring." D. Hideo Nakata)
16. THE THING (d. John Carpenter)
Rare remake that's better than the original.
17. PSYCHO (d. Alfred Hitchcock)
18. THE BIRDS (d. Alfred Hitchcock)
19. ALIEN (d. Ridley Scott)
20. THE HOWLING (d. Joe Dante)
21. MAD MONSTER PARTY (d. Jules Bass)
22. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (d. Edgar Wright)
Goes neck in neck with EVIL DEAD II as best horror comedy. The runner up is...
23. ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (d. Charles T. Barton)
24. WHO CAN KILL A CHILD? (d. Narciso Ibáñez Serrador)
I give props to Edwin for showing me this one.
25. CURSE OF THE DEMON (d. Jaques Tournier)

Honorable mentions: THE BLACK CAT (d. Edgar G. Ulmer), NOSFERATU (d. FW Murnau), FRANKENSTEIN (d. James Whale), LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (d. John Hough), THE REANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND (d. Stuart Gordon), ASYLUM (d. Roy Ward Baker), DEAD AND BURIED (d. Gary Sherman), THE EXCORCIST (d. William Friedkin), THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (d. Robert Fuest), RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (d. Dan O' Bannon), CARRIE (d. Brian DePalma), KWAIDAN (d. Masaki Kobayashi), MASQUE OF RED DEATH (d. Roger Corman), AUDITION (d. Takeshi Miike).

Now keep in mind that my list (or lists) could change from year to year. Occasionally something revisited gets added. Or something on the list might eventually fall out of favor. Which may then be added here:

HORROR FILMS I LIKED THAT NO LONGER HOLD UP FOR ME:

AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (d. John Landis)
The werewolf transformation still kicks arse. But what seemed funny/scary to me at one time leaves me cold now for some reason.
CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS (d. Bob Clark)
If you read my first post on this series, I indicated what an influence this flick had on me at the time. When it became available on VHS years later, it was the first video I rushed out to buy. Imagine my disappointment when this turned out to be nowhere good as I remembered.
BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (d. Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez)
BASKET CASE (d. Frank Hennenlotter)
COUNT YORGA: VAMPIRE
Like CHILDREN SHOULDN'T, another flick that creeped me out as a kid but seems silly and cheesy to me today.
DRACULA (d. Tod Browning)
The "classic" is rather stodgy and feels stage bound. The Spanish language version (made simultaniously with different cast but same sets and costumes) is far, far better.
POLTERGEIST (d. Tobe Hooper. But probably Steven Spielberg)
Scared the hell outta me when I was a kid. Still like this flick but I acknowledge it's more of a sfx showcase than the scariest film I had seen at the time.
SHOCK WAVES (d. Ken Wiederhorn)
Up until recently I thought this was a pretty nifty zombie thriller. Saw it again a few weeks ago and... eh. Don't know what all my fuss was about. The initial appearance of the water logged, Nazi living dead is pretty effective. But it gets repetitive fast.
TRILOGY OF TERROR (d. Dan Curtis)
Another childhood fav. The devil doll segment still holds up. But the rest of it is pretty forgettable. And of course it is. Because everyone just remembers the devil doll segment and nothing else.
SUSPIRIA (d. Dario Argento)
I remember beeing really spooked by the original trailer to this flick. And, yeah, it gave me nightmares when I first saw the film itself. But everytime I've revisited it, it gets more and more... annoying to me. Has some visually stunning moments. But the intentional (or unintentional?) lack of logic and screeching soundtrack wears on me.

So there you have it. Perhaps I'll update this each year. See if anything new comes up or not. And I encourage you all to post your favorite horrors in the comments section of this blog, or on our Facebook fan page. In anycase, have a very, scary 2009 Halloween.