James' Top 10 Horror Movies
Ok, I'm going to give a little intro to this blog, purely because it must seem a bit random - I mean, who am i to tell you which horror movies are the best?
Basically for the past couple years me & my best mate have watched TONNES of horror movies. I mean each time we do anything, there's always "wanna rent out a few horrors?" "yeah sure" in the mix somewhere. Anyway after all this watching of horror movies I kept thinking I wanted to tell people about the better ones! So here's my chance :)
My word is not gospel, so don't sue me if you watch a movie in this list and you don't like it....it's just difference in taste!
(NB: Any films that are scarier than some of these are only missing because I haven't seen them - feel free to leave a comment/suggestion for me and it might make the list!)
The Top 10
1) [REC] - (2007) d.Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza // st. Manuela Velasco
My #1 is actually a Spanish film, but it comes with subtitled English so don't worry about not understanding it! This film pushed me closer to looking away in fright than any film since The Exorcist when I was 13. The whole film is shot documentary style, with just the camera of TV crew-member Pablo to give us an insight into the goings-on of an apartment block. Think Cloverfield, but effective. We start with the presenter of "While You Sleep", Angela, giving her introduction to the camera. She makes a few mistakes but all takes are on the camera, adding to the realism of the whole event. They are following firemen on their nightly duties, and all is relaxed ... maybe a little boring ... until the call comes in of a woman trapped in her apartment. The firemen bring us along but when they get into the apartment, everyone in the building starts to witness a series of hauntingly strange events. Local authorities seal the building off under BNC (Biological Nuclear or Chemical) protocol and things start to get out of control. A very effective film which builds up a rapport between characters and viewers before mercilessly throwing them into danger. You'll be edging off your seat throughout until the very end, when you'll wish you hadn't edged so far! There is an American remake, Quarantine, but this is the better version!
Oh and P.S. Don't leave the main menu running for too long :)
2) Five Across The Eyes - (2006) d.Greg Swinson & Ryan Thiessen // st. Veronica Garcia
The only truly gory film to make it into this list, Five Across The Eyes is a classic example of why ratings can often be misleading. Given only a 3.5/10 on IMDb, there are quite a few comments of "that was a waste of time". On the contrary however, this is an hour and a half of chilling horror. At the start of the film, it seems very 'student'. However the remaining 85 minutes dispell all worries of a bad film. Five teens are driving home in the dark, of course, when they find themselves lost because of a shortcut which went wrong. When they stop at a local store, a silly bit of playing around gets the girls in far more trouble than they could imagine. Hunted down by a crazed driver, the girls try everything possible to escape, but for every action, there's a reaction. Filled with shock and a couple of 'will they won't they's , the more this film progresses, the more your worry turns to anger. A completely unknown and underrated film which was only bumped down to the #2 spot by [REC] last night. There's surely no scarier violent film out there!
3) The Grudge - (2004) d.Takashi Shimizu // st. Sarah Michelle Gellar
The first of a few Japanese films in this list, and it's a classic. I'm sure you've heard of this American re-make at least once, but if not then here's the story. They say that in Japan if a person dies in great anger or sorrow, their pain gets left behind in their place of death...well they do in this film anyway. Straying from the classic 'journalist goes looking for trouble and gets it' Japanese theme, a care-worker travels to Japan to be with her boyfriend but ends up finding a job she would never forget. We learn the backstory of the previous inhabitants of the house, and their respective deaths. But even learning about this cannot prepare Karen for the spiritual following she would receive. The horror in this film is purely along the ghosts/spirits theme, so this will either shock you to your core or will just give you a good storyline. Either way, this is one of the horrors that will live long in the memory amongst most, and I simply can't describe how haunting some of the scenes actually are.
4) Shutter - (2008) d.Masayuki Ochiai // st. Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, Megumi Okina
Another American remake of a Japanese horror. Joshua Jackson, star of Fringe, plays Benjamin Shaw. Following his marriage to Jane (Rachael Taylor), a job opportunity lead the couple out to Tokyo, Japan. But following an accident on the road they are haunted by the spirit of a Japanese woman. Every photo Ben takes following that accident comes with a white wisp somewhere in the frame. They visit a medium who tells them he won't help them, only worrying the couple further. Ben starts to play down the events of the trip and plans to continue with his job as if nothing has happened. But Jane can't simply forget, and following a visit to a supernatural magazine (run by Heroes' Ando!) her fears are only enlarged. Suspenseful turn after twisted shock, this film is another that will keep you cowering behind a cushion or on the edge of your seat - depending on how you cope with Japanese horror. If that isn't enough to get you watching this film, then just wait until you discover the shocking twist which links the woman to the couple in an unbelievable way! A great end to a great film!
5) The Descent - (2005) d.Neil Marshall // st. Shauna Macdonald & Natalie Jackson Mendoza
You will never want to go into a cave again. Seriously. Towards the start you'll want to say "I know what's coming", but you really don't. The viewer is strung along, awaiting that first real scare. It's that anticipation which not only makes the first half of the movie so entertaining, but also sets up the second half of the film for a truly unbelievable ending! A group of friends go out to the woods on a trip, planning an expedition of discovery. There's just 2 concerns; the cave is such that once you enter you can only leave on the other end, and no group has ever completed this trip before. So the group set off into the cave, but as always there's the one girl who isn't so sure. They really should have listened to her, because bit by bit things start to go wrong. However if they thought that mining accidents were their worst worries, they had no idea. Their trouble starts to take a new turn when they find the previous mining crew to attempt this expedition. As the fear rises they go further still, and things only get worse. Another film that ends with a shocking twist. You'll be drawn in throughout and spat out at the end with no mercy.
6) Creep - (2004) d.Christopher Smith // st. Franka Potente
This film has the same sort of demeanour as The Descent, except it has a higher 'could-happen-to-me' factor since it is set in the London underground. A woman is heading home for the night when she falls asleep on a station in the underground. Upon awakening, she finds that the whole complex is now deserted. Having missed the last train, she heads for the street in hope of walking home. However, not only is the place deserted, but the front gate is locked. Kate is forced to stay the night in the underground, but everything gets just a bit weirder when she finds out the last train she missed was not the last train. A series of events take place which build up to one blockbuster of a twist at the end. I want to put this film higher but the films above it just edge it. Definately one to watch, especially if you have a subway system near you!
7) The Strangers - (2008) d.Bryan Bertino // st. Liv Tyler & Scott Speedman
This film really breaks the mould. It returns to that classic storytelling method of starting with the end, then working up to it again from the beginning. You might think that would ruin the events of the film, but the ending itself simply doesn't leave you enough clues to figure anything out until it's happened. The DVD I rented out had two versions on it - the theatrical version and the extended uncut edition. I watched the latter, so I can't necessarily vouch for the theatrical version. After the following eerie message:
"what you are about to see is inspired by true events. According to the FBI, there are an estimated 1.4 million violent crimes in America each year. On the night of February 11, 2005, Kristen McKay and James Hoyt left a friend's wedding reception and returned to the Hoyt family's summer home. The brutal events that took place there are still not entirely known."
We start with a couple arriving at a summer house. Things are a bit tense, and it is soon revealed that a rejected marriage proposal is the reason. The couple talk it out and start to get close until they hear a knock at the door. The porch light has been disabled and the girl at the door simply asks "Is Tamara home?" The couple send her away but she returns later, asking the same question. A trio of mask-wearers subsequently 'invade' and there's an essence of confusion in the way the intruders conduct their invasion. Make sure you remember the boy on the phone at the beginning - it'll really set you up for a great ending!
8) The Ring - (2002) d.Gore Verbinski // st. Naomi Watts
Now I'm sure you've heard of this film! This is one of the most well known film of the 2000s. Just in case you don't know it, somehow, here goes. There's a video tape. When you watch it you see lots of scary images - like some girl's nightmare. At the end you see a ring on the screen. The TV goes to fuzz and your phone rings. If you pick up (things don't change if you don't pick up, you just don't get a warning) you hear "seven days". This is how long you have left to live! When the relative of reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) winds up dead after watching the tape, she begins to investigate. Soon she finds that she, along with her son, get tied up in the scariest legend they will ever encounter. A good conclusion in which things are explained informatively and effectively. The Ring does have a sequel, The Ring Two, but this film is not as good since it follows basically the same story as the first film, meaning less shocks. There is a short 'tweener' film which links The Ring to its sequel, and if that were a film in itself it would beat this. Trouble is the tweener is on the DVD of The Ring Two, so you have to make a sacrifice!
9) One Missed Call - (2008) d.Eric Valette // st. Shannyn Sossamon & Edward Burns
What will it sound like when you die? This tagline basically surmises the appeal of this film. The most recently released on this list, the beginning shows a woman who dies after receiving an answer phone message. The murders that follow are linked by a red marble which falls from the mouth of the victims. Each victim gets an answer phone message prior to dying, dated on the day of their death (ergo in the future at the time of receipt). The message contains a lot of screaming which is later revealed to be the victim making the sound they will make when they die. Personally I think the one flaw in this idea is that surely upon hearing your death sentence, you simply wouldn't say that! Oh and of course, the victims are haunted by a black shadowy figure. An effective film until the ending which is quite a let-down to an otherwise powerful idea.
10) Silent Hill - (2006) d.Christophe Gans // st. Radha Mitchell & Sean Bean
This movie is based on the video game, Silent Hill. It bears the unique quality of a horror-style video game, in a way that I can't quite describe. Hey, maybe it's the way the film steals the idea of The Kryll from Gears of War - if you watch this and play Gears you'll see what I mean. Rose Da Silva goes in search of her daughter only to find herself in a very surreal town. Supposedly abandoned long ago, Rose encounters mysterious things which get more and more disturbing as the film progresses. Not the best ending in the history of horror films, but there's a pretty good lead up to the ending, when you compare Rose to her husband Cristopher - again, you'll see what I mean if you watch
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