The Cow

I'm a little surprised there's no Friday the 13th movie listed.

Mike86

Yeah that was one thing about the list I found surprising too. No mention of Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street. Granted they aren't great movies but the originals are classics of the genre.

Norm de Plume

Not at all. Everything is subjective. I guarantee my top-100 list (if I could compile one) would have people more scratching/shaking their heads about inclusions and exclusions than this list.
I realize I'm in the vast minority with my negative opinion of The Exorcist, JC. I think it is a fine piece of filmmaking (well-made and well-acted), but I don't find a single moment of it scary or disturbing. Maybe it's because I'm irreligious and don't believe in demonic possession, or because I didn't see the film as a child. But no, I can accept and be frightened by metaphysical concepts in a film; I think it's because there wasn't a moment in the film when I felt anyone was in danger. A sense of danger or mortality is the cornerstone of horror. To me, The Exorcist amounted to a child tied to a bed, flailing, cursing, speaking in tongues, barfing up pea soup, and rotating her head. Adults around her were wringing their hands, holding crosses, wore concerned expressions, and were occasionally bombarded by gale-force winds.

To reference the list again, I'm glad to see TCM at the top (it's in my top five, or ten on the very outside). Halloween, Evil Dead, Henry: Portrait, should be much higher, as should The Changeling, imo. Don't Look Now is about where I would place it. Yes, Lt. Ripley, you should see it posthaste. It's one of those love-it-or-hate-it propositions, but I love it. It's among the most haunting and evocative horror film ever made, but some find it slow. If you connect with it, it'll burn itself into your consciousness. It's one of very few films of which I can recall almost every single detail, visual and aural. The amazing cinematography of Venice and the English countryside, the extraordinary editing, and Pino Donaggio's majestic, poignant score.
I'm a bit ambivalent about movies like Spoorlos (The Vanishing) and Henry being on a horror list. Both, especially the former (a nonpareil masterpiece), are much more aligned with the psychological drama rubric, though they undeniably have horrific elements.

inri222

I like it but it "tonely" feels different than the first and not in a good way.

Love Suspiria and think it is Argento's best film.

Not only is Don't Look Now a great horror film but IMO it is Nicolas Roeg's masterpiece.
But as Norm de Plume said, it is not for everyone. Some may find find it slow and others too artsy.

DeputyDave

Crap! How did I miss that? Thank you.

GoldenJCJ

Absolutely! It's the only movie I've ever seen where I was actually angry after I watched it. It's definitely one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

With the exception of Halloween II it's actually not a terrible list. Although any best of list that's longer than, say, 25 films basically just turns into a list of relatively good movies.

And while they haven't had the chance to stand the test of time yet I don't think it's unreasonable to place Insidious and The Conjuring on the list. IMO, both are certainly better and more effective than Day of the Dead, Wolf Creek, or Sleepaway Camp, to name a few.

joe_b

I kind of dig it, but I remember the group I saw it with thought it was total shit. I've watched it a couple times since and still enjoy it. McDowell turns Loomis into such a prick that it's fun to watch. A drastically different approach to the character, sure. At least Zombie did his own thing with it, for better or worse... but it certainly doesn't belong on a 100 greatest list.

I actually have the one-sheet movie poster and had it signed by some of the cast members at a horror convention. I met Margot Kidder last March and thought I would add her autograph to it as well, but felt like I needed to explain why (out of the many great projects she's done) I was having her sign a poster for such a poorly received movie that she played a minor role in.

Supermallet

I was paid to watch Zombie's Halloween II, and I still felt ripped off afterward.

Mike86

It just strikes me as a really weird choice amongst an otherwise pretty strong selection of films. I'd even put Zombie's Halloween remake above the sequel. The first one isn't perfect by any means either but it was okay and I liked it for being a different take on the story.

Halloween II though was just bad plain and simple. It was like Zombie just made a movie as weird and brutally violent as he possibly could for shock value or something. I just didn't like the way he went with it at all. Even having some cool actors in it (Danielle Harris, Malcolm McDowell, Brad Dourif) didn't save the film for me.

joe_b

No doubt there. Out of all of Zombie's films, perhaps only The Devil's Rejects belongs on a list like this (and definitely in the bottom half).

asianxcore

I've never seen Pulse (2001). Is it that good to end up on this list?

Hokeyboy

Suspiria doesn't belong on the list. It's not even the best Argento film

Masque of the Red Death should be Top 10, and Witchfinder General up in the 70s? Well poop

joe_b

I beg to differ. Maybe not top 5, but it deserves a place. I understand why some people dislike the movie, but I'm always drawn in by it and find it a very effective horror film (poorly dubbed, awkward dialogue and all). Definitely my favorite Argento, and I've seen them all (well, not Dracula 3D). The garish lighting and Technicolor photography still look amazing.

One big plus is Jessica Harper dubbed her own lines and has perfect sync throughout the movie. Surrounding her with characters speaking in voices looped by other actors only adds to the strange atmosphere of the film for me.

Norm de Plume

I agree, though one could make a case for Walkabout.
I don't even think I would place it in his top 5. To me, Deep Red (the truncated version) is clearly his best, followed by either The Bird with the Crystal Plumage or Opera, then Inferno (the amazing underwater scene is possibly the best in Argento's oeuvre), then perhaps Tenebre. Some of his I haven't seen in many years.
Suspiria has some very striking baroque imagery and opens with a bang, but it's noisy and too dull for much of its duration.

musick

Irreversible is not a horror film .. then again there are a number of non "horror" dramas on this list
Cronenberg's The Fly at #10 is as laughable as any Rob Zombie Halloween remake on the list

no Omen, Let The Right One In?

Giles

I never thought Bird with the Crystal Plumage as "horror" imdb doesn't even list it as such, it's very much more of a thriller.

I agree Argento's best in my mind are Deep Red or Tenebre - thought I toggle between the two.

Norm de Plume

Fair enough, though the same might be said of Deep Red. They're quite similar in story construction: something fleetingly descried at the beginning that isn't at all what it seems, which culminates in a startling revelation after much detective-work.
Don't know. I'm fairly certain I've seen it, but I don't remember a thing about it.

DaveyJoe

Pulse is one of my favorite horror movies, it would definitely be in my top ten. The list was severely lacking in foreign horror.

Giles

no 'High Tension' - wtf? or 'The Descent'... or '[REC]'

DaveyJoe

Shameful shit.

JumpCutz

Walkabout is my favorite Roeg film. Don't Look Now a close second. Both absolutely brilliant pieces of filmmaking. The Man Who Fell to Earth and Bad Timing though a rung below, are also pretty stellar in my books.

rbrown498

No, it isn't. I don't get the love for this film at all. I've seen it maybe three times now, and each time I walk away from it wondering what it was that I'd just seen. And it's not that I don't love Japanese horror movies, because I do--RINGU and DARK WATER are two of my favorite films. I think that PULSE is obtuse, and I think it's that way purposefully because Kurosawa had a great idea for the setup of a film but absolutely no idea what to do with it after that.

I feel you should check it out for yourself, however. I haven't met many people who are ambivalent about the film--either you'll feel the way I do about it, or you'll feel the way DaveyJoe does about it (see his opinion a few posts above).

inri222

Yes it is.

Let me ask you this, what is scarier and has more of a chance of happening in real life. A ghost, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger or some deranged bastard raping your woman? Sometimes what can happen in real life is more "horrific" than some made up tale.

While I don't agree with it being at number 10, comparing a Cronenberg film to anything by Rob Zombie is hilarious IMO.

Rockmjd23

I'm not. Though I'm a huge fan of the franchise, from a critical standpoint the movies range from bad to awful. A Nightmare on Elm Street should have made it.

DaveyJoe

Or New Nightmare, that's my favorite.