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

i'm referring to the genre!

man why you gotta make me explain joeks

in particular, the home invasion/videotape scene, the conversation about how Henry's mother died, and the suitcase by the side of the road leaking blood... ugh. it is really well done, for what it is, but it approaches a level of nihilism I don't normally want to subject myself too.

xp

I remember McNaughton's Mad Dog and Glory as one big massive shrug.

This may be neither here nor there, but the truly terrifying Mulholland Dr. scene in my estimation is when Betty sees her body through the window and the score swells in an almost nauseating way that really expressively reflects the extreme disassociation she must be feeling at that moment. Just listening to the soundtrack, the dread I feel in waiting for that swell is palpable. Winkie's is a nice shock, but it's just about as telegraphed as a movie shock could be.

and yet still so effective

I remember McNaughton's Mad Dog and Glory as one big massive shrug.

Wild Things otoh...

mcnaughton did not have the distinguished career most were anticipating, unless you're a big wild things stan

lol xp

I'm a big Wild Things stan.

Geez, I forgot about that one. Eight different endings-within-endings.

most directors don't have two films as different, and both as great, as Henry and Wild Things tbrr

double feature ideas

Henry features the only actor to appear in more than one movie on my ballot, iirc

You voted for Mallrats?

as i said on the noms thread, i feel dumb for not voting for angst. definitely voted for henry though.

ed3 otm about inland empire. the theater was nearly empty and i was beyond tense the whole time. the screen felt like some dark hallway i was being forced to walk down against my will. and despite lynch's feelings on the subject, it is an almost unbearably nerve-shredding experience with headphones in the dark.

Shakey, slither? If so, a+++

071. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer [1986, 272 points, 10 votes]
072. Curse of the Demon [Night of the Demon] [1957, 261 points, 9 votes]
(tie). Drag Me To Hell [2009, 261 points, 9 votes]
074. Threads [1984, 251 points, 6 votes]
075. Creepshow [1982, 250 points, 10 votes]
(tie). Invasion Of The Body Snatchers [1956, 250 points, 10 votes]
077. Pan's Labyrinth [2006, 246 points, 9 votes]
078. Hellraiser [1987, 232 points, 10 votes]
079. Dead Ringers [1988, 228 points, 8 votes]
080. Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht [1979, 226 points, 8 votes]

081. Duel [1971, 224 points, 8 votes]
082. Kwaidan [1964, 224 points, 6 votes, 1 first-place vote]
083. Picnic at Hanging Rock [1975, 220 points, 7 votes]
084. Near Dark [1987, 219 points, 10 votes]
085. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me [1992, 218 points, 8 votes]
086. Witchfinder General [The Conqueror Worm] [1968, 209 points, 10 votes]
087. I Walked with a Zombie [1943, 208 points, 8 votes]
088. The Seventh Victim [1943, 206 points, 6 votes, 1 first-place vote]
089. Wolf Creek [2005, 205 points, 7 votes]
090. Dressed To Kill [1980, 202 points, 8 votes, 1 first-place vote]

091. Curse of the Cat People [1944, 200 points, 5 votes]
092. Onibaba [1964, 191 points, 7 votes]
093. Se7en [1995, 189 points, 10 votes]
094. Paranormal Activity [2007, 189 points, 7 votes]
095. The Cabin in the Woods [2012, 189 points, 6 votes]
096. May [2002, 186 points, 8 votes]
097. [rec] [2007, 178 points, 7 votes]
098. Blood on Satan's Claw [Satan's Skin] [1971, 177 points, 8 votes]
099. Pontypool [2008, 176 points, 7 votes]
100. Phantasm [1979, 175 points, 8 votes]

four today: near dark, kwaidan, threads, and henry. five for thirty so far. which serms about right.

I always feel that it's valuable for viewers to critique movies on the basis of what the movie is trying to do

except when what the movie is trying to do is bullshit, ie most horror films.

yep jjjusten guessed it

I loved Slither, it was on the low end of my ballot
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it is an almost unbearably nerve-shredding experience with headphones in the dark.

That's exactly how I first saw Inland Empire. Recommended.

i will admit to inland empire having some total terror moments, i just dont think anything else he has done works the same way.

inland empire and mulholland dr. are the two scariest movies i've ever seen, bar none. lost highway comes close in the first half, but then wanders a bit in the second before recovering nicely at the end. eraserhead is the only movie i've genuinely liked that gets across the sense of hopeless, nihilistic despair that some itt seem to prize (and which i ordinarily have no use for).

saw henry when it was released. effective, but so's a hammer. i respect it but can't imagine claiming to like it.

That's exactly how I first saw Inland Empire. Recommended.

that's how i watched it the second time (first was in the theater).

I'm up to six at this point (Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer, Creepshow, Hellraiser, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Seven, and Phantasm). Looking through my ballot, I think the chances of 10-12 of my picks (including my #4 pick) making the cut at this point are very slim, so I prolly only have about 30 or so more ponies in this horserace. But what fine ponies they are!

I think I just saw the lid on Eric's coffin close for the night.

Who's in there?!

http://themescompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/LetMeIn3.jpg

DWH, I am shocked, shocked that you have picked nothing pre-'79 as yet

saw henry when it was released. effective, but so's a hammer. i respect it but can't imagine claiming to like it.

Yeah, this is kind of what I was grasping to say about Henry. I think it's the only one of my picks that I don't find enjoyable on some level (and that includes a small handful of films that leave me feeling mildly wrong after I've watched them). But I do think it's a good film and that it deserves to be in these results. It's weird.

DWH, I am shocked, shocked that you have picked nothing pre-'79 as yet

Ha ha. Just wait, Morbs. I think I posted the breakdown in the nominations thread, but my voting was much more temporally diverse than it was in the comedy poll. Stretching all the way back to the fifties, even!

I do think it's a good film and that it deserves to be in these results. It's weird.

yeah, i feel exactly the same way. i don't like henry and didn't vote for it, but it's as worthy a horror film as any, and helps balance out the tourneurs & creepshow, etc.

Yeah, here it is:

My decade-by-decade breakdown:

50s - 2
60s - 2
70s - 10
80s - 22
90s - 7
00s - 7

Nothing from this decade, and the two most recent films in my top 15 are six and seventeen years old, respectively.

7 of my pics have shown up so far w/Near Dark, Creepshow and Drag Me to Hell from today's 15

pretty much all of my top ten will place, i think. except one. and if it does, you are all sickos.

one thing i will say is that i have one film on my list that's basically a fake snuff movie and another that has both corpse-fucking and poop and yet neither of them leave me feeling as unnerved/unclean as "henry" does.

Lucker? Nekromantik? Locks for top 3, ime.

sounds like someone voted for Salò!

fake snuff movie - Faces of Death, I'm guessing?

all the rape in salo was on live bodies as i recall.

I had both Cronos and The Devil's Backbone in the 30s on mine.

yay henry was on my ballot -- though it was near the bottom. which isn't a reflection of me thinking that it was a crap film, merely that there were 40+ horror films at least a smidge better/scarier. so now i'm 7/30.

a fake snuff movie

wait a minute, was the passion of the christ an actual choice in this race?!?

eraserhead is the only movie i've genuinely liked that gets across the sense of hopeless, nihilistic despair that some itt seem to prize

if it weren't for nihilism I'd have nothing to believe in

075. Creepshow [1982, 250 points, 10 votes]
080. Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht [1979, 226 points, 8 votes]
085. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me [1992, 218 points, 8 votes]
086. Witchfinder General [The Conqueror Worm] [1968, 209 points, 10 votes]
087. I Walked with a Zombie [1943, 208 points, 8 votes]
088. The Seventh Victim [1943, 206 points, 6 votes, 1 first-place vote]
094. Paranormal Activity [2007, 189 points, 7 votes]
096. May [2002, 186 points, 8 votes]
098. Blood on Satan's Claw [Satan's Skin] [1971, 177 points, 8 votes]

^^ voted for all these so far

if it weren't for nihilism I'd have nothing to believe in

throw in a bottle of whiskey, and you got yourself a country song

one thing i will say is that i have one film on my list that's basically a fake snuff movie and another that has both corpse-fucking and poop and yet neither of them leave me feeling as unnerved/unclean as "henry" does.

― jesus christ (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, May 18, 2012 3:13 AM (2 hours ago)

ha i have guesses abt waht both of these are but i am being quiet. good choices if i am right tho!

Great thread, even if the 'this isn't horror' comments after nearly every film for a while got repetitive. A fair-sized haul in the poll so far for me:

076. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers [1956, 250 points, 10 votes]
081. Duel [1971, 224 points, 8 votes]
084. Near Dark [1987, 219 points, 10 votes]
085. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me [1992, 218 points, 8 votes]
086. Witchfinder General [The Conqueror Worm] [1968, 209 points, 10 votes]
091. Curse of the Cat People [1944, 200 points, 5 votes]
093. Se7en [1995, 189 points, 10 votes]
097. [rec] [2007, 178 points, 7 votes]
098. Blood on Satan's Claw [Satan's Skin] [1971, 177 points, 8 votes]
099. Pontypool [2008, 176 points, 7 votes]

Lunchtime pastime: Getting the decades sorted.
God, I'm such a 70s stan... Also, on second view, rather erratic and questionable choices/placings in the lower ranks.

20s - 1
30s - 1
50s - 1
60s - 3
70s - 23 (5x 1973 alone...)
80s - 7
90s - 3
00s - 9
10s - 2

And the first big moment of "D'oh, how could I forget that one" in realizing that I failed to include The Medusa Touch, which I love dearly.

you know what's going to get repetitive? people gradually revealing their ballots.

Welcome to an ILX poll thread.

I remember reading that the producers of Henry : Portrait Of A Serial Killer thought they'd be getting a generic slasher film, and weren't too happy with the final result. Tom Towles as Ottis Toole is the most accurate depiction of a total fucking sleazeball I've ever seen, he should have won an Oscar for it! Plenty of humour in there too to lighten the mood - the TV salesman, Ottis's shirt, um I'm sure there was something else.