THE VAULT OF ILX Top 100 HORROR Movies Poll Voting Thread (voting closes May 9 *~*~*~*2012*~*~*~*)

There's a few grindhouse nasties I forgot to nominate but probably that's for the best. Goodbye Uncle Tom is definitely some *kind* of horror movie, but maybe not this kind.

it's funny how the plot is so non-existent, characters are established but then they do things and go places for no apparent reason, there's no discernible logic to the sequence of events etc

every italian horror film

The Grim Reaper with Tisa Farrow probably should've been at least given a mention tho.

I am simultaneously cursing and thanking you for cutting off the nom process eric

Paperhouse! I totally need to rewatch that. I remember renting it from my local video shop as a kid and thinking I was all smart and fancy b/c a blurb on the box advertised it as 'the thinking person's Nightmare on Elm Street.' I don't remember much about it at all, save for that it creeped me out sufficiently, despite there not actually being some intellectually sophisticated version of Freddy (lol which I guess is what said blurb made me envision back then).

I consider something horror if some supernatural element or unexplained phenomenon is intrinsic to the plot, or the movie was designed to invoke a sense of horror (even if it doesn't). The only controversial nomination I made was Fire Walk With Me, but I stan for that as a horror movie because it is full of supernatural/unexplained things, it succeeds in evoking horror, and also it scares the bejeepers out of me.

it's funny how the plot is so non-existent, characters are established but then they do things and go places for no apparent reason, there's no discernible logic to the sequence of events etc

every italian horror film

― diamanda ram dass (Edward III), Monday, April 16, 2012 5:55 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yes! I kept trying to reply with "That's so Fulci!" but I was getting xposted into oblivion.

I know I know, it just seemed especially pronounced in this case. I kept laughing every time someone went down under the house by themselves just to, y'know, wander around.

I have no idea why Stalker was nominated either, unless it was a different one than the Tarkovsky movie. Or maybe the final shot (SPOILER ALERT?) tipped someone off into Carrie territory?

― jungleous butterflies strange birds (Eric H.), Monday, April 16, 2012 1:46 PM (9 minutes ago)

this was a carry over from darin's yearly horror polls, which were awesome and comprehensive but sometimes too broad in their inclusions. pretty sure I bitched about the stalker nom at the time.

see also: equus. one of my fave films but in no way a horror movie. unless you're a horse.

also, is testament the 1983 film about nuclear war?!?

Yup.

Testament is possibly the scariest movie I've ever seen

And yup. It's going to be very high on my ballot. I'm gonna limit my hardcore nominee stumping to Testament and Possession. If at least some of y'all made a point of seeing those two before voting, I'd be over the moon.

I can't decide if the fact that I can't bring myself to watch it as an adult means I should include it or not.

I meant to make this point on the horror thread, but I think if a future sci-fi poll is a "sci-fi and fantasy" poll, that will allow for some glaring misses to be rectified (e.g. king kong, godzilla).

*horror nom thread*

I mean, as weird as The Beyond is, the House by the Cemetery is completely incomprehensible. But should have placed in the comedy poll for the Little Bob's voice dub acting.

also, still finding movies missing from the nom list that have a shot on the lower echelons of my ballot *sniff*

burnt offerings (1976)

Zombie is lugubriously paced and then there's a shark vs. zombie battle that's awesome in concept but *yawn* in execution.

Is Zombie the one where the girl has her eyeball impaled on a jutting wooden splinter in super slow-motion, or was that COTLD? Either way, that is one most harrowing death scenes ever iirc.

I can't decide if the fact that I can't bring myself to watch it as an adult means I should include it or not.

I will tell you this: I found it just as horrifying and devastating as an adult as I did when I saw it as a kid. Feel free to take that as a recommendation or a dissuasive argument.

If I were going to vote in this*, I'd put Testament at #1 and fill the rest of the ballot out with 19 films I didn't think would get any votes.

(*which I'm not; I don't like horror films and haven't seen many)

What does "horror film" mean, then? Any movie with a supernatural element? Is that why movies likes like The Isle or Stalker, which have absolutely no scary scenes at all, are on the list?

― Tuomas, Monday, April 16, 2012 1:40 PM (25 minutes ago)

any movie nominated which eric h allowed as "horror" is a horror film for purposes of this poll. thank you and have a nice day!

I'd recommend you to vote, then, WmC! Do it for Testament's sake!

I thought Testament was a very powerful movie and all, but am a little weirded out at how many people are calling it one of their likely top vote-getters.

Is Zombie the one where the girl has her eyeball impaled on a jutting wooden splinter in super slow-motion,

Yeah! It's great!

Zombi's the only Fulci film i rate that highly, although Lizard In A Woman's Skin is better from a technical perspective.

xpost In a horror movie poll.

also as eric pointed out on the nom thread, "scary" is a terrible barometer for what is a horror film, since he's only ever been frightened by a handful of films

maybe wikipedia can help

Horror films are a movie genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus they may overlap with the fantasy and supernatural genre. Horrors frequently overlap with the thriller genre.[1]

Horror films deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden worst fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Although a good deal of it is about the supernatural, if some films contain a plot about morbidity, serial killers, a disease/virus outbreak and surrealism, they may be termed "horror".[1]

Plots written within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event, or personage, commonly of supernatural origin, into the everyday world. Themes or elements often prevalent in typical horror films include ghosts, torture, gore, werewolves, ancient curses, satanism, demons, vicious animals, vampires, cannibals, haunted houses, zombies, sadism and serial killers. Conversely, stories of the supernatural are not necessarily always a horror movie as well.

I'd recommend you to vote, then, WmC! Do it for Testament's sake!

― Harried Ice Craw (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, April 16, 2012 1:10 PM (32 seconds ago)

Nah, it would feel dishonest. I haven't looked at the whole noms list, but I'd be surprised if I've even seen 20 of them.

Horror films are a movie genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural

ergo, patch adams, i accidentally domed your son and the john-travolta-in-drag hairspray should've been nominated as well ...

I'm gonna limit my hardcore nominee stumping to Testament and Possession. If at least some of y'all made a point of seeing those two before voting, I'd be over the moon.

enthusiastically second possession. one of the few films i really think more people need to see before voting. pontypool too!

I thought Testament was a very powerful movie and all, but am a little weirded out at how many people are calling it one of their likely top vote-getters.

In the stew of elements that I feel make for an effective horror film, 'dread' is probably the most prominent. Testament is one of the most dread-full films I've ever seen. It's not a boilerplate horror film and probably all the more effective because it was never intended as such and because it doesn't use any tired formulae in its pursuit to make you feel dread.

lastly, there are 734 movies in the nom list, maybe a dozen of them are not horror movies, that still leaves over 700 real live horror movies for you to choose from

It is pretty horrible how dark the sky gets by the end.

If I did 50, The Sixth Sense wd certainly make ballot

however, I have a Big Poll project due 2 days after this one, so even 20 will be hard.

people can vote for whatever they want on the list ... and i haven't seen testament so i can't judge. it just seemed a bit odd to be included on a horror film poll, and i was curious as to why it was so included!

at least come and see isn't on our list

the beyond is kind of like suspiria's slow brother, it tries to leap over yr aesthetic concerns by going for a similar pervasive atmosphere of terror, which translates to an almost poetic surrealism in some scenes, and a final sequence that is truly haunting. but it is a deeply stupid movie.

Yes, joining in the OTM fest on this. I love The Beyond, particularly the ending, but overall it is silly silly silly. Also gonna OTM carl agatha on the ludicrousness of the dub in The House by the Cemetery.

Please, please, anyone who is thinking of voting for Testament, make sure you watch Threads before you vote. It is far superior, and far far far scarier.

also as eric pointed out on the nom thread, "scary" is a terrible barometer for what is a horror film, since he's only ever been frightened by a handful of films

I wish scary movies scared me more. I LOVE being frightened in a controlled context, but the emotional callouses one can develop indulging in such things have long since dulled any actual sense of visceral fear I once got from horror. Every once in a while, though. something will genuinely give me the heebie-jeebies. I've found that it usually has just as much to do w/ the context in which something is seen as it does the film (or book etc.) itself.

i don't mind the inclusion of films that have almost no relationship to horror as a genre, hell i nominated a bunch of them, but i'll be disappointed if they dominate the results. can't imagine they will, though, so no need to worry about it.

Exactly, if enough people think they're horror films for them to feature in the countdown, they're probably going to be horror films.

Please, please, anyone who is thinking of voting for Testament, make sure you watch Threads before you vote. It is far superior, and far far far scarier.

I do intend to see Threads before I vote. I somehow doubt, though, that British nuclear panic could possibly compare to good ol' American nuke-yoo-lar panic.</arrogantpatriotism>

another film that everyone should see before voting: ingmar bergman's hour of the wolf (vargtimmen). it's a real-deal horror movie in every respect: atmospheric, imaginative, dread-ful and haunted. plus lots of fun, intellectually rewarding and beautiful to look at. the perfect after-dark movie.

So out of curiosity I checked the list and have seen 73 of them, almost exactly 10%. I'm surprised!

Having only just watched it, I enthusiastically second that recommendation. xpost

however, I have a Big Poll project due 2 days after this one, so even 20 will be hard.

Odds I'll extend the ballot window another week are pretty high.

I do intend to see Threads before I vote. I somehow doubt, though, that British nuclear panic could possibly compare to good ol' American nuke-yoo-lar panic.</arrogantpatriotism>

Threads is easily one of the most harrowing movies I've ever seen.

Actually, I believe I was thinking of The Day After, not Testament when I posted that, don't think I've seen the latter one. TDA is also a good film, but totally doesn't compare to Threads.

threads > testament > the day after

Day After is practically a joke next to Testament imho

i will also stan for hour of the wolf. good news, it's available on Netflix Instant and it's only 90 minutes so if y'all have nothing else to do y'all should watch it.

i've only seen a few parts of threads -- the parts immediately before, during and immediately after Sheffield gets nuked. the day after doesn't hold a candle to those scenes.

add some more >>>>>'s then

xp

on the subject of Ingmar-horror, i'll also stan for the virgin spring ... you get to see a young, buff Max von Sydow uproot a birch tree, rip off its branches and flog himself before doing his ass-whuppin'. it's also available on HuluPlus.

I think dl is horsing around. Either that or he's in need of emergency medical services.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL Either I fell through some sort of portal or I genuinely got 2012 and 2017 mixed up. Like, what is wrong with me? I voted and everything... :-O :-O

wait... we haven't done a different horror poll since have we?

Nerp. I'd be down, though. I've seen 45673862839 horror films since then (although relatively few that have been produced since then) so I imagine my ballot would be quite different.