Copying Final Girl

It's Shocktober over at Final Girl and I think she did a poll where people voted for their top 20 favorite horror movies and it became a ranking of 500 films. Also, she posted her top 20 choices. I decided since it's October I'll do the same thing.

(This list is not in any order)

My Top 20 Favorite Horror/ Halloween movies

1. The Omen I & II
These movies scared me badly when I was a kid and saw them at 3am on HBO. the best part of I is when Gregory peck and the photographer go gravedigging in Italy. There's something special about the lighting during this scene- it's creepy and dreamlike, it's very beautiful. Part II is all gory and disturbing deaths; the most upsetting is when Damien kills his cousin Mark. Even now, years later, it's hard to watch.

2. Scream
I'm not a big fan of any of the Scream movies (I'm mad that Scream 2 is never on TV; I like how they cast Laurie Metcalf and put her in a Pam Vorhees-sweater) but the opening sequense with Drew Barrymore is amazing. Too bad the whole thing couldn't be that good.

3. Children of the Corn
This is another movie that I caught in the middle of the night on HBO. After seeing the opening scene in the diner I couldn't watch the rest so it wasn't until years later that I saw the whle movie and realized how ridiculous it is. I don't know which is worst: the special effects or Peter Horton's speech to the kids. So lame.

4. Event Horizon
I watched this movie with my friend Chris and it scared the shit out of me. "Where we're going we won't need eyes to see." Holy shit. And that scene with Baby Bear and the cabin doors.

5. The Shining
I've read the book twice and seen the movie a bunch of times. Neither actually scared me but they're both excellent. My favorite thing about the movie: The very first shot- the tiny island on the lake and the music- is so clear and creepy and perfect.

6. IT
I caught the movie on TV and read the book a couple years ago. The book was a good read with a lot of flaws. The movie was a lot of fun with a horrible ending. But it's always good to see Harry Anderson.

7. Haunted Honeymoon
A very unfunny comedy but it has lot of charm and really sets a mood. I like the old-fashioned haunted house feeling it projects. I can't think of one funny part but I'd weatch it if it were on TV right now. Gilda Radner was great.

8. Friday the 13th I II & III
To me it's all the same movie- I saw them when I was very young and always had it in my head that in all of them Jason was the killer and he was always wearing the hockey mask. The first film was really good at setting mood- I remember some nice scenes of waves on the lake and raindrops falling on leaves. The kinds of scenes you wouldn't see in Part VI or Jason X.

9. The Exorcist III
Both the book and the movie are fucked-up and scary.

10. Bram Stoker's Dracula
Not a scary movie in any way. What I love are the blazing sunsets and dark mountains in Transylvania. In some parts it's a truly beautiful movie.



Coming up...11-20