I love a good scary movie and I was recently sent a list of the 20 Scariest Movies of All Time according to Entertainment Weekly. I must say I agree with a large portion of them. I think during the 80s and 90s, the scare went more to slash with popular endless series such as Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street (the series became so popular that Jason and Freddy eventually combined into one film… by that time I had long lost interest). I did enjoy the original Nightmare though. I think Wes Craven was appalled by the rather comedic silliness that plagued the later sequels and eventually returned for the rather creative Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
That being said, I enjoy a fright more than seeing people being mindlessly chased by some psycho that is the work of some idiot out to make a few dollars with a movie that appeals to teenagers. I like the classics more than most. Hitchcock’s best: Psycho
Moving on to more modern fare. The Silence of the Lambs
Of course, I haven’t forgotten the real classic movies: the numerous versions of Dracula, Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and all the classic misunderstood monster movies. Those are good, too. However, that is only scratching the surface. Nothing better than sitting back in a dark room, popping on a good suspenseful yarn, and getting that heart pumping. [poll id=”11″]
I used to like horror. I enjoyed the 80s Elm Street Movies and the Poltergeist movies. Well, not the third (I think? The one with all the mirrors…). I also enjoyed the TV series Friday the 13th (not related to movies). Not quite sure which category that would have put me in.
I said classic monster features. While I do like those, I find the classic tale from Hitchcock to be very fun to watch also. The movies with blood and gore I will ignore with a passion. A movie can be very scary with out resorting to showing anything on the screen.
Well said, j. I feel much the same way but sometimes…
There was a poll option not present that I would have chosen, therefore I didn’t vote – depends on my mood. I liked the original House of Wax, but that’s the only vintage horror movie I’ve seen. I like all kinds of horror movies. If it’s gory, it also has to have a good plot. If you’re going to watch the Saw franchise, start with the first one (which is pretty good) and stop when they get too dumb – they get worse as they go.
Yes, I kind of thought the Saw movies would eventually lose their originality… someday, I must see the first.