-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
Favorite Horror movie or book
- Thread starter Charity
- Start date
Renji
Well-Known Member
Horror movies? Hmm, I love the Excorcist: The beggining, Excorcism of Emily Rose, Wrong turn2, Dracula 1 and 2 and Jeepers Creepers. In our country, I've red books entitled True Philippine Ghost Stories series 1-14 I think,Mga Kwentong Galing sa Hukay(or Tales from the other side) and Excorcism: Encounters with the paranormal.
Charity
Let's go racing boys !
Yes Jeepers Creepers, I liked both of those movies....Glad you reminded me about those......
Circle_One
Well-Known Member
Teeth is in my Blockbuster queue. Look it up.
HAHA!
That movie ROCKS!
My boyfriend didn't enjoy it so much, though.
Renji
Well-Known Member
I also love Jeepers Creepers. Especialy the JP 2.
Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, T.E.D. Klein, and Ramsey Campbell are all phenomenally influential horror authors who I can't praise enough.
S.T. Joshi's annotated Lovecraft includes The Rats in the Walls, The Color Out of Space and At the Mountains of Madness- 'Mountains being Lovecraft's undisputed masterpiece. His Dunsany inspired stuff like The Silver Key are good reads as well, but they are a bit too imitative of his hero. 'Mountains, Shadow Over Innsmouth, Rats', etc. are the best examples of Lovecraft's talents.
And if you're feeling a bit academic, try checking out Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature. There's a Joshi annotated edition published by Hippocampus Press that's quite good.
S.T. Joshi's annotated Lovecraft includes The Rats in the Walls, The Color Out of Space and At the Mountains of Madness- 'Mountains being Lovecraft's undisputed masterpiece. His Dunsany inspired stuff like The Silver Key are good reads as well, but they are a bit too imitative of his hero. 'Mountains, Shadow Over Innsmouth, Rats', etc. are the best examples of Lovecraft's talents.
And if you're feeling a bit academic, try checking out Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature. There's a Joshi annotated edition published by Hippocampus Press that's quite good.
As for films, in no particular order:
Night of the Living Dead ('68- though Savini's remake was surprisingly competent)- Still a stunning example of low budget smart storytelling trumping big budget stars and ostentation. Disturbing and wonderfully innovative. One of those rare few that can be considered a timeless classic.
Dawn of the Dead ('78- not that travesty of a remake): I flip-flop 'tween Night' and Dawn' as my #1. Night' usually wins as it was such a pioneering film and Dawn', though incredibly innovative, still trails by a slim margin. Funny as all hell, grim, gory, and smart as a whip. Its much praised social commentary in this age of HDTV and American Idol still works. One of the few films that I've actually kept track of the number of times I've viewed it: theatrical release- 28; "director's" cut (not really, but that's how it was marketed)- 18; European cut (Argento!)- 12. Yeah, I've memorized the damned thing.
John Carpenter's The Thing- A rare example of the remake surpassing the original. Carpenter's masterpiece. Absolutely terrifying, paradoxically claustrophobic horror set in the expanse of the arctic. Wonderful characters, performances, and Rob Bottin's effects (done when he was only 19) are still far superior and more imaginative than any cg effect to date. If Romero had never gone into filmaking, The Thing would've been my #1.
The Haunting ('63)- The remake never happened. Wonderful book, wonderful movie translation. The subtle hints of Nell's lesbianism, her descent into insanity, and the house's menacing whispers and creakings combine to make a truly, well, haunting experience. Was the house haunted or was Eleanor haunted? Classic!
Suspira- Hallucinatory with vivid beautiful colors splashed across the screen like a prism. The opening murder scene with knife to heart savagery is absolutely nightmarish and beautiful. Riveting film. Though Argento's films are hit and miss, I love them all and Suspira is the master at the height of his craft. For a young Jennifer Connelly immersed in a pool of maggots check out Argento's Phenomenon. Good ****!
Nosferatu ('22)- Beautiful and eerie. Schreck's performance as a predatory feral animal was perfect. It introduced several horror archetypes we now take for granted; first and foremost the idea that vampire's are susceptible to sunlight. Herzog and Kinski's remake also deserve to be on this list but I wanted more variety so I unfairly excluded it.
Alien- True, Ridley Scott is all style over substance, but what f**king style! My uncle took me to see this at the tender age of 9 or 10 and it did bad things to my head.
Ringu- Far superior to the American version (though I enjoyed that as well). Sadako was far creepier in the original! Haunting imagery, sublime, disturbing- the images will have you seeing things out of the corner of your eyes and cause anxiety when you see and hear tv static. The quick one-frame shot of her hand coming out of the well is more horrific and iconic than a thousand hockey masks or chainsaws.
The Brood- I have yet to be disappointed by a Cronenberg film, and there are several of his horror films that deserve to be here. But I have a weakness for The Brood. We have sociopathic retarded kids created by some 70s primal therapy, Oliver Reed, and one of the most jaw dropping grotesque finales ever filmed. How can this not be brilliant! This sucker still kicks me in the throat every time I watch it.
Zombie- Fulci's master piece of gore, decomposition, maggots, and grime. Watching this film is like taking a bath in Zuma Beach runoff: it leaves an oily residue and an unpleasant taste in your mouth. So why watch it? The corpses are far more foul than Savini's admittedly beautiful creations; Fulci's corpses are all rot and vermin and stink. The scene where they are feasting on the woman in the house and the hand held camera is bouncing around like some morbid documentary is absolutely stunning. There's no moaning and groaning, just the sounds of eating and shuffling. And the infamous eye gouging scene still makes me wince after countless viewings! Absolutely horrifying film.
There are so many more that deserve to be here: Romero's Martin is second only to Nosferatu in the vampire genre, and may even be a better film than Night' or Dawn'. I find Weil's films disturbing: Picnic at Hanging Rock and the Last Wave are phenomenal, but I may be stretching the horror definition too far by including them. Begotten is a difficult yet fascinating metaphor about....well, I'll get back to you when I figure that one out. Tetsuo is a nightmare of sexual identity, self mutilation, and pain. Asian cinema in general has offered amazing works like Audition, Tale of Two Sisters, Dark Water, etc. Hellraiser is Barker's one true success; it still works as a meditation on pain as pleasure. Don't Look Now needs a quality dvd release; it's a classic. The Shining is an example of a talented director adapting a talentless hack work novel into something profound and terrifying. I'll stop now... I promise.
:run:
Night of the Living Dead ('68- though Savini's remake was surprisingly competent)- Still a stunning example of low budget smart storytelling trumping big budget stars and ostentation. Disturbing and wonderfully innovative. One of those rare few that can be considered a timeless classic.
Dawn of the Dead ('78- not that travesty of a remake): I flip-flop 'tween Night' and Dawn' as my #1. Night' usually wins as it was such a pioneering film and Dawn', though incredibly innovative, still trails by a slim margin. Funny as all hell, grim, gory, and smart as a whip. Its much praised social commentary in this age of HDTV and American Idol still works. One of the few films that I've actually kept track of the number of times I've viewed it: theatrical release- 28; "director's" cut (not really, but that's how it was marketed)- 18; European cut (Argento!)- 12. Yeah, I've memorized the damned thing.
John Carpenter's The Thing- A rare example of the remake surpassing the original. Carpenter's masterpiece. Absolutely terrifying, paradoxically claustrophobic horror set in the expanse of the arctic. Wonderful characters, performances, and Rob Bottin's effects (done when he was only 19) are still far superior and more imaginative than any cg effect to date. If Romero had never gone into filmaking, The Thing would've been my #1.
The Haunting ('63)- The remake never happened. Wonderful book, wonderful movie translation. The subtle hints of Nell's lesbianism, her descent into insanity, and the house's menacing whispers and creakings combine to make a truly, well, haunting experience. Was the house haunted or was Eleanor haunted? Classic!
Suspira- Hallucinatory with vivid beautiful colors splashed across the screen like a prism. The opening murder scene with knife to heart savagery is absolutely nightmarish and beautiful. Riveting film. Though Argento's films are hit and miss, I love them all and Suspira is the master at the height of his craft. For a young Jennifer Connelly immersed in a pool of maggots check out Argento's Phenomenon. Good ****!
Nosferatu ('22)- Beautiful and eerie. Schreck's performance as a predatory feral animal was perfect. It introduced several horror archetypes we now take for granted; first and foremost the idea that vampire's are susceptible to sunlight. Herzog and Kinski's remake also deserve to be on this list but I wanted more variety so I unfairly excluded it.
Alien- True, Ridley Scott is all style over substance, but what f**king style! My uncle took me to see this at the tender age of 9 or 10 and it did bad things to my head.
Ringu- Far superior to the American version (though I enjoyed that as well). Sadako was far creepier in the original! Haunting imagery, sublime, disturbing- the images will have you seeing things out of the corner of your eyes and cause anxiety when you see and hear tv static. The quick one-frame shot of her hand coming out of the well is more horrific and iconic than a thousand hockey masks or chainsaws.
The Brood- I have yet to be disappointed by a Cronenberg film, and there are several of his horror films that deserve to be here. But I have a weakness for The Brood. We have sociopathic retarded kids created by some 70s primal therapy, Oliver Reed, and one of the most jaw dropping grotesque finales ever filmed. How can this not be brilliant! This sucker still kicks me in the throat every time I watch it.
Zombie- Fulci's master piece of gore, decomposition, maggots, and grime. Watching this film is like taking a bath in Zuma Beach runoff: it leaves an oily residue and an unpleasant taste in your mouth. So why watch it? The corpses are far more foul than Savini's admittedly beautiful creations; Fulci's corpses are all rot and vermin and stink. The scene where they are feasting on the woman in the house and the hand held camera is bouncing around like some morbid documentary is absolutely stunning. There's no moaning and groaning, just the sounds of eating and shuffling. And the infamous eye gouging scene still makes me wince after countless viewings! Absolutely horrifying film.
There are so many more that deserve to be here: Romero's Martin is second only to Nosferatu in the vampire genre, and may even be a better film than Night' or Dawn'. I find Weil's films disturbing: Picnic at Hanging Rock and the Last Wave are phenomenal, but I may be stretching the horror definition too far by including them. Begotten is a difficult yet fascinating metaphor about....well, I'll get back to you when I figure that one out. Tetsuo is a nightmare of sexual identity, self mutilation, and pain. Asian cinema in general has offered amazing works like Audition, Tale of Two Sisters, Dark Water, etc. Hellraiser is Barker's one true success; it still works as a meditation on pain as pleasure. Don't Look Now needs a quality dvd release; it's a classic. The Shining is an example of a talented director adapting a talentless hack work novel into something profound and terrifying. I'll stop now... I promise.
:run:
Circle_One
Well-Known Member
I think I just fell in love with you. Honestly I do. You don't mind, do you?
Romero's Martin was absolutely a masterpiece and one of my favorite flicks of all time. Suspiria is the posterchild of beautiful Italian Giallo horror. You can't help but fall in love with it. Have you seen Argento's third installation of the Mothers series yet, Mother of Tears? Not toooo bad, but not classic Argento, I was upset by it.
You should check out Jack Hill's 1963 masterpiece Spider Baby as well. Sid Haig's first ever performance. It's simply amazing (well, for buffs anyway. I don't know too many people who aren't buff that enjoyed it).
Needless to say, you've mentioned quite a few of my favorite flicks, and I think you and I will be talking horror movies very soon.
How could I possibly mind!
Mother of Tears was something of a departure for Argento, but I still thought it was worth checking out. Speaking of Argento: have you seen Lucky McKee's The Woods? It's very much a love ode to Argento and was unfairly ignored when initially released (partly due to the legal wrangling over the title. M. Night had initially used that title for The Village, but McKee had started production beforehand and won). And it has an actual serious performance by Bruce Campbell!
Spider Baby! I saw that not too long ago. A friend and fellow horror nerd (and a dj as well oddly enough....?) rented it from our local cinemaphile hangout Eddie Brandt's(their home site is blocked from work for some inexplicable reason :sorry1
a year or so ago. Cult goodness! I forgot to mention Pan's Labyrinth which I consider one of the best horror films in the last 10 years. Honestly, I could devote an entire lifetime to babbling about horror films and lit'..... :yes:
Circle_One
Well-Known Member
How could I possibly mind!
Mother of Tears was something of a departure for Argento, but I still thought it was worth checking out. Speaking of Argento: have you seen Lucky McKee's The Woods? It's very much a love ode to Argento and was unfairly ignored when initially released (partly due to the legal wrangling over the title. M. Night had initially used that title for The Village, but McKee had started production beforehand and won). And it has an actual serious performance by Bruce Campbell!
Spider Baby! I saw that not too long ago. A friend and fellow horror nerd (and a dj as well oddly enough....?) rented it from our local cinemaphile hangout Eddie Brandt's(their home site is blocked from work for some inexplicable reason :sorry1
I forgot to mention Pan's Labyrinth which I consider one of the best horror films in the last 10 years. Honestly, I could devote an entire lifetime to babbling about horror films and lit'..... :yes:
I haven't seen The Woods yet, but I've been dying to. I LOVED Lucky's May, but aside from HIS abilities as a writer/director, who could pass up anything with Bruce Campbell. He's actually got a new movie coming out (the name of it slips my mind), but I read a quick review about it in Rue Morgue and it's supposed to be incredibly fun.
Edit: Lucky's Sick Girl in the Masters of Horror first season was also amazing. Angela Bettis is an incredible actress. He's one of those new directors that make me hope, just a little tiny bit for the future of horror flicks.
I've yet to see Pan's Labyrinth, though oddly enough, I own it. I just haven't got around to watching it yet.
Spider baby is one of those films that if you're a massive horror nerd, you'll love it, just for the sheer fun of it "You want to play spider with me, Uncle Peter?", but if you're just a run of the mill fan, you'll not like it.
Last edited:
cardero
Citizen Mod
The Blair Godzilla Project
Trey of Diamonds
Well-Known Member
Tis Friday the 13th, anyone going to see the remake?
YouTube - Friday the 13th (2009) - The Official Teaser [High Quality]
YouTube - Friday the 13th (2009) - The Official Teaser [High Quality]
Charity
Let's go racing boys !
Hopefully sometime this weekend......I'm expecting more detailed scenes this time. The bloodier the better....