doctorsun
I'm not really a doctor.
I've been on a horror kick lately and have been revisiting many of my favorite movies. I think the horror genre is extremely difficult to get right. Most scary movies fail miserably. It's very rare to find movies that are genuinely good. Here's my list by category:
Slasher
Scream/Scream 2
They are fairly equal and both are very effective and, I find, smart movies. The first one has become a classic and as synonymous with the genre as the movies it calls out. The second one, I thought, was the perfect continuation. The third one sucked, though, and in many ways, did a lot to undo the good done by the first two. I've found it best to just forget that they made a third one.
Ghost
The Haunting (1963)
In my opinion, it's the definitive haunted house movie. It was based on the definitive haunted house story, so its source material lent a lot to its quality. It's easily one of the most effective supernatural horror movies ever made. It achieves its scares without ever actually showing a ghost and with the bare minimum of special effects. To me, it's the scale by which all other ghost movies should be judged. The only other movie of its type that has come close to being as good was The Others, which is number two on my list. As with Scream 3, it's best to forget the remake of The Haunting that was made in 1999.
Sci-Fi Horror
Alien
Basically, it's a haunted house movie in space with an alien instead of a ghost. Unlike its much larger-scale sequels, it was a very claustrophobic movie and employed a lot more psychological methods in achieving its scares. It sequels were quite good, as well, but the first one really stands apart and feels like an entirely separate movie in many ways.
Guilty Pleasure movies that are technically bad but highly enjoyable anyway
Final Destination/Final Destination 2/Final Destination 3
The first one really was a new take on the typical dead teenager movie. It replaced the masked psycho killer with death itself and had its characters discussing deeper topics like their own inescapable fates. By comparison to its sequels, it was fairly tame in terms of gore and it worked on some of the same levels as a high-end slasher movie. The second one took the concepts presented by the first one and took them WAY over-the-top. Where the first movie tended to be darkly-lit and atmospheric, the second one brought everything into the broad daylight and unashamedly killed its characters in the most brutal of ways. Where the first movie was slightly subdued, the second movie was relentlessly cruel. Was it classy? No. Was it morbidly entertaining? Very. Plus, the opening highway pile-up scene is truly terrifying. I was afraid to drive for a month. The third movie had to live up to the standards set by the second one. Since the first and third movies were directed and written by the same people, there was a return to the darker, more atmospheric feel. However, they couldn't skimp on the deaths since the second movie set the bar so high. Its deaths weren't quite as flashy as the second movie's, but they were every bit as cruel and relentless. The upcoming fourth movie is being directed and written by the team who made the second one, so we can probably expect the bar to be raised even higher. Plus, it's being filmed in high-definition 3D...the exact same technology being used by James Cameron for Avatar. So, it should be interesting.
Slasher
Scream/Scream 2
They are fairly equal and both are very effective and, I find, smart movies. The first one has become a classic and as synonymous with the genre as the movies it calls out. The second one, I thought, was the perfect continuation. The third one sucked, though, and in many ways, did a lot to undo the good done by the first two. I've found it best to just forget that they made a third one.
Ghost
The Haunting (1963)
In my opinion, it's the definitive haunted house movie. It was based on the definitive haunted house story, so its source material lent a lot to its quality. It's easily one of the most effective supernatural horror movies ever made. It achieves its scares without ever actually showing a ghost and with the bare minimum of special effects. To me, it's the scale by which all other ghost movies should be judged. The only other movie of its type that has come close to being as good was The Others, which is number two on my list. As with Scream 3, it's best to forget the remake of The Haunting that was made in 1999.
Sci-Fi Horror
Alien
Basically, it's a haunted house movie in space with an alien instead of a ghost. Unlike its much larger-scale sequels, it was a very claustrophobic movie and employed a lot more psychological methods in achieving its scares. It sequels were quite good, as well, but the first one really stands apart and feels like an entirely separate movie in many ways.
Guilty Pleasure movies that are technically bad but highly enjoyable anyway
Final Destination/Final Destination 2/Final Destination 3
The first one really was a new take on the typical dead teenager movie. It replaced the masked psycho killer with death itself and had its characters discussing deeper topics like their own inescapable fates. By comparison to its sequels, it was fairly tame in terms of gore and it worked on some of the same levels as a high-end slasher movie. The second one took the concepts presented by the first one and took them WAY over-the-top. Where the first movie tended to be darkly-lit and atmospheric, the second one brought everything into the broad daylight and unashamedly killed its characters in the most brutal of ways. Where the first movie was slightly subdued, the second movie was relentlessly cruel. Was it classy? No. Was it morbidly entertaining? Very. Plus, the opening highway pile-up scene is truly terrifying. I was afraid to drive for a month. The third movie had to live up to the standards set by the second one. Since the first and third movies were directed and written by the same people, there was a return to the darker, more atmospheric feel. However, they couldn't skimp on the deaths since the second movie set the bar so high. Its deaths weren't quite as flashy as the second movie's, but they were every bit as cruel and relentless. The upcoming fourth movie is being directed and written by the team who made the second one, so we can probably expect the bar to be raised even higher. Plus, it's being filmed in high-definition 3D...the exact same technology being used by James Cameron for Avatar. So, it should be interesting.
