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

pillbox, I love M and don't have a problem with it on the list, was just calling out what seemed to be consensus complaint.

"Only PYRRH-ICK victories when art CREEPS into this genre of ILL re-PUKE!"

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7094/7221145716_84c6425aac_o.jpg

60. VAMPYR
Carl Theodor Dreyer, Germany, 1932
(314 points, 8 votes)

some of the most inventive and strangest long takes are in dreyer's vampyr
― amateur!!st, Thursday, September 2, 2004 1:09 PM (7 years ago)

I watched Dreyer's Vampyr last night, and it's the first of his that seemed like Guy Maddin without jokes.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, March 3, 2006 10:10 AM (6 years ago)

I spent gay pride at the pool, swimming with straight boys and drinking gin and tonic. Will watch Vampyr tonight.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, June 11, 2011 7:08 PM (11 months ago)

Aside from the fleeing the Nazis factor, actors often have made big impressions in the Hollywood industry via "small" films in their homeland that are little seen in the US. eg, Russell Crowe in Australia.

frankly, the grumbling about arty and effete borderline horror stuff is starting to make me wish i'd voted for nothing but lang, lynch and tourneur movies.

I guess we're getting the '30s outta the way.

now Vampyr is a proper non-horror Horror flick

amazing film, #3 on my ballot. unfortunately there are a lot of really really bad prints of this one (like the OG Nosferatu). y'all owe it to yerselves to get the Criterion print of Vampyr.

i think it's probably a better film than Nosferatu too. just doesn't have a Schreck

I guess we're getting the '30s outta the way.

i guess this also means that (except for Nosferatu) there won't be even a token 1920s silent film here, either.

personally pleased with the era-spanning results we've had so far, this is a really broad range of stuff.

frankly, the grumbling about arty and effete borderline horror stuff is starting to make me wish i'd voted for nothing but lang, lynch and tourneur movies.

naw, we're just getting those outta the way fast and early ... the buckets o' blood & gore stuff will probably predominate the Top 50 of this list.

xxp You don't think Caligari will show up?

The only time I saw Vampyr was a print where they'd just bunged a symphony over it, so the music would peak at all the wrong moments. Does the Criterion release have a proper soundtrack?

xxp You don't think Caligari will show up?

yeah, that one may show up. i don't think lon chaney sr. phantom of the opera will place at this point, though.

The only time I saw Vampyr was a print where they'd just bunged a symphony over it, so the music would peak at all the wrong moments. Does the Criterion release have a proper soundtrack?

as far as i remember ... though Vampyr was in many ways really a silent film in spirit. i liked the Criterion release b/c they cleaned up a lot of the visuals (some of which couldn't be completely fixed b/c of how the original versions had been butchered).

Xpost Enfeebled, crazy lorre is a weird sort of pitiful villain. Versus preacher in hunter, who is totally scary and evil and not in a banal way.

Bride hasn't placed yet. Dracula hasn't placed yet. Nosferatu hasn't placed yet.

I suppose I shouldn't hold my breath for Golum, Cabinet or Faust, but who knows. Experience from previous polls indicates that these kinds of declarations are often premature.

i figure bride, dracula and nosferatu are guaranteed, cabinet is all but guaranteed, and the other two are long shots at this point

Basically the way I feel. It looks like every film on here got a minimum of 6 or 7 votes. So even though something might not feel like a horror film to me, it's not one person disagreeing with me, it's a number of people. So I have to assume there's something there that's legitimate.

I agree with this, to be honest. Would prefer to complain about people liking rubbish than whether or not they're correct in their assumption that said rubbish is horror.

Vampyr is great - first caught it at an ATP, probably the only time I've headed back to the chalet through tiredness and turned on ATPTV, and man, am I glad I did.

amazed vampyr isn't top 50.

starting to lose hope that Haxan will place

I've given up hope on the 1924 hands of orlac placing, wish it were more well known

there are a couple versions up on youtube, one with the classic score and another with a crazy ass electronic score

I think haxan still has a chance

"Some of your CATTINESS on this thread today makes me want to SCRATCH your EYES OUT!"

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59. CAT PEOPLE
Jacques Tourneur, USA, 1942
(316 points, 12 votes)

What is not ludicrous about Cat People?
― amateurist (amateurist), Tuesday, May 13, 2003 5:36 PM (9 years ago)

Cat people have less body hair than dog people.
― kenan, Wednesday, April 25, 2007 2:29 PM (5 years ago)

http://www.petsinuniform.com/images/christmas_tree.jpg
― Markelby (Mark C), Friday, April 7, 2006 3:16 AM (6 years ago)

too low!

I dunno, I'm with Darin. Much as I'd like it to, I can't see Haxan making it above Frankenstein and Vampyr.

well at least we got the 40s out of the way

I'm getting a fair few of my older picks in today...

i do think that it's safe to say that now that cat people has placed, that this will be the last Val Lewton joint we'll see on this poll amirite?

yeah I think jacques and val are done now

How far are we going today? 55? 50?

Three more. May have to post them in quick succession here.

"As SCARY Belafonte once sang -- Man smart, Woman s'MARTYR!"

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5231/7222540584_29b0b235e3_o.jpg

58. MARTYRS
Pascal Laugier, France, 2008
(319 points, 10 votes)

well fuck me,
that's another level
― jumpskins, Tuesday, June 14, 2011 7:46 PM (11 months ago)

the biggest thing in martyrs favor at least versus cheap cinema of discomfort garbage like anti-christ is that its never really distancing and its not really playing games w/ implication or meaning if anything its antirational in a way that gives it real power
― Lamp, Sunday, August 28, 2011 3:23 PM (8 months ago)

I thought this movie was totally shallow and padded the fuck out. It's like it was one of those weaker five page long short stories stretched out to feature film length. Didn't have much to say about anything, except how to make something out of nothing. All the portent of the intro scenes, or the home invasion scenes, or the escape from hallucinated horrors while the friend cleaned up the mess scenes ... pointless. Bunch of wheel spinning.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, September 5, 2011 3:19 PM (8 months ago)

sort of a one trick pony. But oh sheesh, what a fucking trick.
― Cass McCars (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, August 28, 2011 1:33 PM (8 months ago)

martyrs was the best horror movie I've seen in years. it's french torture porn, and then again, it's not... which is what makes it so great. it totally transcends the genre and I can guarantee you won't guess where it's going.
― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Thursday, October 22, 2009 1:21 PM (2 years ago)

ok, about to watch martyrs, will report back in about 1:45
― PHEAR MY POORAPULT (jjjusten), Wednesday, October 28, 2009 11:33 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oof. that was rough.
― PHEAR MY POORAPULT (jjjusten), Thursday, October 29, 2009 1:29 AM (2 years ago)

"As SCARY Belafonte once sang -- Man smart, Woman s'MARTYR!"

roffle

Sorry to backtrack here, but this thread moves much faster than I do.

lol what was "erotic" about IE or Eraserhead

― Roger Barfing (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, May 18, 2012 12:48 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"Erotic" is maybe not the right term since they aren't necessarily sexy, but most Lynch films including IE and Eraserhead are largely concerned with worlds shaped by sexual anxiety

lol it wasn't until this one that I realized these were crypt-keeper quotes and not old school poster taglines

"This BITCHLORETTE PARTY had me in absolute STITCHES!"

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5456/7222540708_88af231b84_o.jpg

57. THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
James Whale, USA, 1935
(326 points, 9 votes)

Bride of Frankenstein is the best. Wes Craven, Clive Barker et al couldn't make something that good if their lives depended on it.
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Saturday, May 14, 2005 10:03 AM (7 years ago)

gorgeous james whale flick, superior in every way to its predecessor. so strange, inventive, touching and beautiful. a nearly perfect film.
― And the piano, it sounds like a carnivore (contenderizer), Wednesday, June 8, 2011 9:29 PM (11 months ago)

I seem to recall Richard Schickel is a big homophobe, btw, which could explain why Bride of Frankenstein is the queerest film on the list (leaving the problematic LOTR aside)...
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, May 25, 2005 2:21 PM (6 years ago)

have not been able to bring myself to watch Martyrs, based on the wikipedia plot summary

Me, neither but I'm going to one of these days.

Probably while sitting in an adjoining room and watching the TV from around the corner, tbh.

may have to wait until the wife goes out of town, no way will she sit through this

josh in chicago otm re: martyrs. a bunch of loud noises in the first half, protracted agonies in the second, nothing gained.

bride of frankenstein: TOO LOW!

"Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH OH GOD NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO?"

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8162/7223230696_12412dc5fd_o.jpg

56. THE VANISHING [aka SPOORLOOS]
George Sluizer, France/Netherlands, 1988
(326 points, 11 votes)

Can't seem to search this one without landing on hundreds of posts from De Subjectivisten.
― Count-Dracula-Down (Eric H.), Friday, May 18, 2012 3:30 PM (0 minutes ago)

HOORAY!

well there's three more i figured would be top 50 locks... can psycho, the exorcist and the shining show up soon please?

glad to see my top 10 placing lobbed martyrs this high up the list. on one hand I feel like it runs the danger of being overhyped, on the other hand it's akin to audition, where no amount of prep can really prepare you for the hammering it will deliver. somebody upthread described the exorcist as feeling out of control which in turn amps up its scariness. martyrs has some of that same chutzpah. there are moments where I'm like "is this movie actively trying to drive me insane?"

"The Vanishing" is such a fucked up movie. Like watching a really slow car crash that you can't avoid. One of the few movies where knowing/guessing how it ends makes it even more unnerving.

Audition>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Martyrs.

kind of shocked about bride, too. would've figured that to be top 30. morbz will be by later to castigate you.

I am way excited to watch The Vanishing. That looks amazing.