The Haunt Of Fear: ILX Top 100 HORROR Movies Poll Results Thread

4 so far: picnic..., duel, cabin..., wolf creek.

Ha ha. What a delightfully wrongheaded notion. "Starting things off smoothly with Possession, indeed. Memories of that movie are like PTSD-induced flashbacks.

― Bob Bop Perano (Deric W. Haircare), Donnerstag, 17. Mai 2012 23:21 (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I was set for intense/heavy stuff, but I honestly didn't expect it to be that verschwurbelt. Which, as I have to confess, diminished the real impact (at least) on me quite a lot. Being fully aware that this will sound like a sacrilege, but I would have pereferred a bit more coherence, as the setup (Adjani, Berlin, Mauer, Gloom, the early Eighties) is prime for tragic suspense, and to pull some emotional strings too.

Well, not to single you or your response to the film out, but I always feel that it's valuable for viewers to critique movies on the basis of what the movie is trying to do and not on the basis of what the viewer wished the movie had done.

it is pretty bonkers, though. you can hardly expect everyone to stay in the saddle all the way through.

Exactly, was writing something in the same direction, seems to be a case of high/wrong expectations.

Nevertheless, and not to be misunderstood, I consider it an excellent movie in many aspects, from the camerawork to Adjanis performance etc. Quite a ride.

This was in response to DWH.

Maybe I somehow secretely hoped for a blueishly lit and furnitured East-German sequel to Don't Look Now.

sam neill is insane in it. i was expecting something different but once i gave up and went with it... made my ballot anyway.

I think it was incredibly helpful that I knew absolutely nothing about Possession before I saw it. And also that my girlfriend had just dumped me a couple of weeks prior.

yeah, i figured. it's anything but a sequel to don't look now, though. closer to a sequel to dementia, what with the "mind of a lunatic" POV. for me, the only thing about the movie that's really a hard sell is sam neil's performance. adjani just goes at it 100%, is completely present and convincing in almost every moment. neil can't quite get to those extremes, is by nature a rather awkward and mannered actor, and adjani's manic intensity only makes his mark seem that much more robotic. i like the tension between the two, but can see why it might be bothersome.

xpost

I was kinda primed for the experience, is what I'm saying here.

my xp was xp to graushleier

agree w deric. first saw possession without knowing anything about it or its reputation. rented it when anchor bay put out the restored original cut in the late 90s just cuz the box description sounded promising. came as a complete surprise and reduced my brain to ashes.

I'm 2/35 thus far--just Dressed to Kill and Dead Ringers. I've got a number of sure-things left; I'll probably end up between 15-20/35.

for me, the only thing about the movie that's really a hard sell is sam neil's performance. adjani just goes at it 100%, is completely present and convincing in almost every moment. neil can't quite get to those extremes, is by nature a rather awkward and mannered actor, and adjani's manic intensity only makes his mark seem that much more robotic. i like the tension between the two, but can see why it might be bothersome.

yeah that's interesting. but others in this, like the guy she's cheating with, seem weirdly theatrical too. adjani's is the most naturalistic performance in the thing, in a weird way. xp.

They're kind of all just different flavors of batshit.

re: Neill. True, but it's clearly the least rewarding role, to play against such characters like Anna and Heinrich.

Like, I saw Possession and The Ninth Configuration around the same time, and I was much more convinced that everyone in the Possession-verse was profoundly mentally ill.

it does seem as though they are. few film so effective capture and communicate the tense, skin-crawling horror of profoundly distorted perception. it's got a heavy bad trip vibe, imo.

^^this.

tho we should save all this for when it places in the top 20.

5 so far: Cabin in the Woods, Paranormal Activity, FWWM, Pontypool, & Creepshow

xpost

Better be at least top ten or it's on.

(It's probably gonna be on...)

Y'all do realize Eric's rolling another 3 out this evening, right?

This evening = about 20 minutes

Per an earlier discussion, my ballot is tied at 13 entries each for "People" (no supernatural involvement, so your Stabby McStabbersons, your mad scientists, your serial killers) and Satan/demons/Old Ones/cults devoted to those things. Then plague/zombie movies, then general monsters that aren't vampires or werewolves tied with ghosts (unless you count Paranormal Activity as a demon movie instead of a ghost movie, which is probably more accurate, then ghosts would rank above general monsters), then vampires, and then unclassifiable menace, which would include FWWM.

cool! look forward to catching up when i get home.

hexpee

6 of mine so far (and pending the release of the next three): nosferatu, phantom der nacht; seven; kwaidan; pan's labyrinth; invasion of the body snatchers (1956); dressed to kill. of these, only herzog's nosferatu was in my top 10.

"Personally I find tie scores a DRAG, but what the HELL!"

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7220/7211436200_6b229b08e4_o.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7079/7217117426_a106112315_o.jpg

72. (tie) DRAG ME TO HELL
Sam Raimi, USA, 2009
(261 points, 9 votes)

72. (tie) NIGHT OF THE DEMON [a.k.a. CURSE OF THE DEMON]
Jacques Tourneur, USA, 1959
(261 points, 9 votes)

it's possible the theater had the sound jacked up to eleven but this was non-stop LOUD-BOO-JUMP-SCARE
― da croupier, Tuesday, May 26, 2009 9:32 PM (2 years ago)

It was maybe the loudest movie I've ever seen.
― lindseykai, Thursday, June 18, 2009 9:13 AM (2 years ago)

the guy behind me saying "epic fail" out loud every time somebody got served or whatever was several new levels of pathetic
― worm? lol (J0hn D.), Friday, May 29, 2009 9:09 PM (2 years ago)

I want Lamp to direct a sequel to this that follows the gypsy around as she curses everyone who inconveniences her.
― Obama seems to have the views of a 21-year-old Hispanic girl (HI DERE), Wednesday, May 27, 2009 1:45 PM (2 years ago)

Persuade Me to Heck
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, May 27, 2009 1:45 PM (2 years ago)

if you watch the excellent Curse Of The Demon you get to hear the dialogue that Kate Bush sampled on that one song: "It's in the trees!" At least I think that was from Curse Of The Demon. My memory is shot.
― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, June 18, 2004 9:21 AM (7 years ago)

Curse of the Demon seconded. Scariest black and white movie ever? Even more so than The Haunting, Carnival or Souls or Psycho? Discuss.
― C-Man (C-Man), Friday, June 18, 2004 10:55 AM (7 years ago)

drag me to hell just barely missed out on my ballot.

Yeah, I was surprised by how much I liked it, but don't think I voted for it. Someone had to vote for THE TINGLER and that person was me.

And me!

Drag Me to Hell was okay, don't really get why it's so highly rated around here. It wasn't bad but it wasn't scary either.

As I'm sure I won't be the only one to notice, Drag Me to Hell, in addition to holding the title as the Loudest Movie Ever, might also win the Most Disgusting Things Sprayed at Faces Award, which is really quite an honor all things considered.

The guy who plays the villain in Night of the Demon is an A+ ham. I seriously don't think I could make it through Drag Me to Hell (I remember the commercials)--I'd be hiding the whole time.

ha all of the wrong modern stuff is placing in this poll, serves me right

xpost to be fair we could just call that the Sam Raimi Award right from the get go. dude has a archetype

i wouldnt worry about it too much clemenza, Drag Me To Hell is at best intermittently scary, much more in the evil dead 2 camp of horror comedies

i think there's something on my computer screen, hold on

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_q9gTdYDKI3U/TRoQHjgjuoI/AAAAAAAADw0/-gSWO-VTikQ/s1600/tingler.jpg

xp I thought you were going somewhere else for awhile?

Voted for Drag Me to Hell. Loved it. Still love it.

Didn't vote for this, but you gotta give it up to Raimi for that ending. Also, the lead actress was perfectly cast: she's fresh-faced enough to have stepped out of Where the Boys Are and then, well, dragged through hell.

Wished I'd seen Drag Me To Hell in the theater. 'Twouldv'e been fun, whatwith the pure physicality, esp. the car lot confrontation scene, and the whole general "shock" sound design

drag me to hell was lots of fun but never seriously considered it. as for night of the demon, it was in my top 10 and if it wasn't for the, much-derided everywhere, reveal and also dana andrews then i think it would be a different film right up there in this. the tornado scene is all-time.

iirc the ending was followed by the title, right? If I'm not imagining it, man that was perfect.

drag me to hell was lots of fun but never seriously considered it.

yep. it's PG-13 and shows it. the car lot sequence is probably the best. the ending seemed pretty obvious imho.

Drag has that right-at-your-face gibbering horror I mentioned re: Creepshow that so few filmmakers try to pull off for fear of looking dorky. Best example of this, maybe EVER, is in the otherwise mediocre Pet Sematary, where the sister with spinal meningitis rushes the camera. Oh god.

xp

Best example of this, maybe EVER, is in the otherwise mediocre Pet Sematary, where the sister with spinal meningitis rushes the camera. Oh god.

Awesome.

I think the best example of that is actually Inland Empire.

some folks may overrate drag me to hell b/c it came right after the indisputably shitty spiderman 3 and folks be like, "oh, raimi can still make OK films!"

haven't really cared about Raimi since Evil Dead 2 tbh. he's not a bad director, but he isn't great either. his films are always passable (I haven't seen s3)

I like A Simple Plan every time it turns up on TV.