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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Thursday, October 10, 2013 - 12:55 pm:   

Note the following list is a work in progress and only includes those films I have actually seen up to 10/10/13. Expect regular updates and if anyone can spot any glaring omissions they feel sure I have seen then let me know (there's always a few slip through the net). Here it is:

1. 'The Exorcist' (1973) by William Friedkin
2. 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968) by Roman Polanski
3. 'The Shining' (1980) by Stanley Kubrick
4. 'Don't Look Now' (1973) by Nicolas Roeg
5. 'Night Of The Demon' (1957) by Jacques Tourneur
6. 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers' (1956) by Don Siegel
7. 'Tenebrae' (1982) by Dario Argento
8. 'The Birds' (1963) by Alfred Hitchcock
9. 'Inland Empire' (2006) by David Lynch
10. 'Peeping Tom' (1960) by Michael Powell
11. 'Mulholland Drive' (2001) by David Lynch
12. 'Psycho' (1960) by Alfred Hitchcock
13. 'Profondo Rosso' (1975) by Dario Argento
14. 'The Wicker Man' (1973) by Robin Hardy
15. 'Jaws' (1975) by Steven Spielberg
16. 'Videodrome' (1983) by David Cronenberg
17. 'Dawn Of The Dead' (1978) by George A. Romero
18. 'Seven' (1995) by David Fincher
19. 'Mask Of The Demon' (1960) by Mario Bava
20. 'Suspiria' (1977) by Dario Argento
21. 'The Witchfinder General' (1968) by Michael Reeves
22. 'The Devil Rides Out' (1968) by Terence Fisher
23. 'The Haunting' (1963) by Robert Wise
24. 'Antichrist' (2009) by Lars von Trier
25. 'Alien' (1979) by Ridley Scott
26. 'Angel Heart' (1987) by Alan Parker
27. 'Alice' (1988) by Jan Švankmajer
28. 'Martyrs' (2008) by Pascal Laugier
29. 'The Omen' (1976) by Richard Donner
30. 'Night Of The Living Dead' (1968) by George A. Romero
31. 'The Entity' (1982) by Sidney J. Furie
32. 'Eraserhead' (1977) by David Lynch
33. 'Nosferatu' (1921) by F.W. Murnau
34. 'Hour Of The Wolf' (1968) by Ingmar Bergman
35. 'Opera' (1987) by Dario Argento
36. 'The Innocents' (1961) by Jack Clayton
37. 'The Thing' (1982) by John Carpenter
38. 'The Evil Dead' (1983) by Sam Raimi
39. 'Halloween' (1978) by John Carpenter
40. 'The Brood' (1979) by David Cronenberg
41. 'Little Otik' (2000) by Jan Švankmajer
42. 'Vampyr' (1932) by Carl Theodor Dreyer
43. 'Blood On Satan's Claw' (1970) by Piers Haggard
44. 'Salem's Lot' (1979) by Tobe Hooper
45. 'Macbeth' (1971) by Roman Polanski
46. 'Blue Velvet' (1986) by David Lynch
47. 'Frankenstein' (1931) by James Whale
48. 'An American Werewolf In London' (1981) by John Landis
49. 'Dust Devil' (1992) by Richard Stanley
50. 'The Bride Of Frankenstein' (1935) by James Whale
51. 'Funny Games' (1997) by Michael Haneke
52. 'Young Frankenstein' (1974) by Mel Brooks
53. 'From Beyond The Grave' (1973) by Kevin Connor
54. 'Shaun Of The Dead' (2004) by Edgar Wright
55. 'Picnic At Hanging Rock' (1975) by Peter Weir
56. 'Repulsion' (1965) by Roman Polanski
57. 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers' (1978) by Philip Kaufman
58. 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974) by Tobe Hooper
59. 'Hellraiser' (1987) by Clive Barker
60. 'Ms 45' (1981) by Abel Ferrara
61. 'The Fearless Vampire Killers' (1967) by Roman Polanski
62. 'To The Devil A Daughter' (1976) by Peter Sykes
63. 'Cronos' (1993) by Guillermo Del Toro
64. 'Theatre Of Blood' (1973) by Douglas Hickox
65. 'A Bay Of Blood' (1971) by Mario Bava
66. 'Eyes Without A Face' (1960) by Georges Franju
67. 'Basket Case' (1981) by Frank Henenlotter
68. 'Wolf Creek' (2004) by Greg McLean
69. 'House Of Mortal Sin' (1975) by Pete Walker
70. '10 Rillington Place' (1971) by Richard Fleischer
71. 'Rabid' (1977) by David Cronenberg
72. 'Henry : Portrait Of A Serial Killer' (1987) by John McNaughton
73. 'Dark Water' (2002) by Hideo Nakata
74. 'Lunacy' (2005) by Jan Švankmajer
75. 'Horror Express' (1972) by Eugenio Martin
76. 'Dead Of Night' (1945) by Alberto Cavalcanti
77. 'Braindead' (1992) by Peter Jackson
78. 'Dracula, Prince Of Darkness' (1966) by Terence Fisher
79. 'I Walked With A Zombie' (1943) by Jacques Tourneur
80. 'Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde' (1931) by Rouben Mamoulian
81. 'The Mummy' (1932) by Karl Freund
82. 'Frenzy' (1972) by Alfred Hitchcock
83. 'The Vanishing' (1988) by George Sluizer
84. 'The Silence Of The Lambs' (1991) by Jonathan Demme
85. 'The Hunchback Of Notre Dame' (1939) by William Dieterle
86. 'The Howling' (1981) by Joe Dante
87. 'Carrie' (1976) by Brian De Palma
88. 'Dracula' (1958) by Terence Fisher
89. 'The Bird With The Crystal Plumage' (1969) by Dario Argento
90. 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?' (1962) by Robert Aldrich
91. 'Shivers' (1975) by David Cronenberg
92. 'Targets' (1968) by Peter Bogdanovich
93. 'The Magician' (1958) by Ingmar Bergman
94. 'Faust' (1994) by Jan Švankmajer
95. 'Häxan' (1922) by Benjamin Christensen
96. 'Curse Of The Cat People' (1944) by Robert Wise & Gunther Von Fritsch
97. 'Marebito' (2004) by Takashi Shimizu
98. 'Martin' (1976) by George A. Romero
99. 'Zombie Flesh Eaters' (1979) by Lucio Fulci
100. 'The Phantom Of The Opera' (1925) by Rupert Julian
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Craig (Craig)
Username: Craig

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 99.126.164.88
Posted on Thursday, October 10, 2013 - 05:07 pm:   

That's an exhaustive list, Stevie! And I don't see one I wouldn't put here (well, except those few I've not seen myself, and hence can't judge). The only film I don't see here, that surely needs to be, is Andrsej Zulawaski's Possession (1981), starring Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani. I daresay, it surely ranks high enough (to me) to crack the top 50, too....

I'm going to put in my own recommendation to watch for possible future inclusion, a film I've seen some months ago, and that—after fermenting in my mind all this time—lingers strongly enough for me to think it's indeed a great little-known horror movie, one with a truly terrible title (imho): The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974), directed by Francesco Barilli, starring (a never hotter!) Mimsy Farmer. Few movies approach the kind of horror that could be called "Campbellian," but this one's surely one of them; and like Lynch, or better Polanski (he must have been a strong influence here), there's so much more going on in it than first meets the eye. Anyway, there's my nomination for a future list....
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 07:12 am:   

Couldn't agree more re 'Possession', Craig! A true Campbellian nightmare on film. Saw it once on Film 4 back in the 90s and it certainly belongs in the Top 100. Let's see... I'd slot it in at No. 48 just knocking TPOTO off the list.
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 82.145.220.122
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 09:27 am:   

Let the right one in seems to be absent from that list. As is Taxi Driver. And there are a few Cronenburgs missing that should be there
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 82.145.220.122
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 09:34 am:   

The Fly? Naked Lunch? Byzantium? Interview With a Vampire? Company of wolves? Misery?
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 82.145.220.252
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 09:45 am:   

The descent? Dog soldiers? Ginger snaps?
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 10:00 am:   

'Taxi Driver' is one of my all-time favourite films, probably Top 10, and it is certainly disturbing enough but I think it's stretching a point to call it a horror film - borderline at best. More of an urban psychological drama/thriller/character study, imo.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 10:06 am:   

As for the other films you mention, Weber, they're all great works (apart from the overblown 'Interview With The Vampire') and would be in the Top 200.

I've just realised; 'Ringu', 'Audition', 'Freezer', 'Pulse', 'Ju-On : The Grudge' & 'A Tale Of Two Sisters' should have been included. Apologies to my Asian friends. Mulling over their positions now...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 10:08 am:   

Also 'Brain Damage' by Frank Henenlotter - his masterpiece, imo! I'm sure there are more. That's the thing with "definitive" lists.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 10:35 am:   

Here goes with List Version 1.1:

1. 'The Exorcist' (1973) by William Friedkin
2. 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968) by Roman Polanski
3. 'The Shining' (1980) by Stanley Kubrick
4. 'Don't Look Now' (1973) by Nicolas Roeg
5. 'Night Of The Demon' (1957) by Jacques Tourneur
6. 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers' (1956) by Don Siegel
7. 'Tenebrae' (1982) by Dario Argento
8. 'The Birds' (1963) by Alfred Hitchcock
9. 'Inland Empire' (2006) by David Lynch
10. 'Peeping Tom' (1960) by Michael Powell
11. 'Mulholland Drive' (2001) by David Lynch
12. 'Psycho' (1960) by Alfred Hitchcock
13. 'Profondo Rosso' (1975) by Dario Argento
14. 'The Wicker Man' (1973) by Robin Hardy
15. 'Jaws' (1975) by Steven Spielberg
16. 'Videodrome' (1983) by David Cronenberg
17. 'Dawn Of The Dead' (1978) by George A. Romero
18. 'Seven' (1995) by David Fincher
19. 'Mask Of The Demon' (1960) by Mario Bava
20. 'Suspiria' (1977) by Dario Argento
21. 'The Witchfinder General' (1968) by Michael Reeves
22. 'The Devil Rides Out' (1968) by Terence Fisher
23. 'The Haunting' (1963) by Robert Wise
24. 'Antichrist' (2009) by Lars von Trier
25. 'Alien' (1979) by Ridley Scott
26. 'Angel Heart' (1987) by Alan Parker
27. 'Alice' (1988) by Jan Švankmajer
28. 'Martyrs' (2008) by Pascal Laugier
29. 'The Omen' (1976) by Richard Donner
30. 'Night Of The Living Dead' (1968) by George A. Romero
31. 'The Entity' (1982) by Sidney J. Furie
32. 'Eraserhead' (1977) by David Lynch
33. 'Nosferatu' (1921) by F.W. Murnau
34. 'Hour Of The Wolf' (1968) by Ingmar Bergman
35. 'Opera' (1987) by Dario Argento
36. 'The Innocents' (1961) by Jack Clayton
37. 'The Thing' (1982) by John Carpenter
38. 'The Evil Dead' (1983) by Sam Raimi
39. 'Halloween' (1978) by John Carpenter
40. 'The Brood' (1979) by David Cronenberg
41. 'Little Otik' (2000) by Jan Švankmajer
42. 'Vampyr' (1932) by Carl Theodor Dreyer
43. 'Marebito' (2004) by Takashi Shimizu
44. 'Blood On Satan's Claw' (1970) by Piers Haggard
45. 'Salem's Lot' (1979) by Tobe Hooper
46. 'Macbeth' (1971) by Roman Polanski
47. 'Blue Velvet' (1986) by David Lynch
48. 'Frankenstein' (1931) by James Whale
49. 'An American Werewolf In London' (1981) by John Landis
50. 'Dust Devil' (1992) by Richard Stanley
51. 'The Bride Of Frankenstein' (1935) by James Whale
52. 'Funny Games' (1997) by Michael Haneke
53. 'Young Frankenstein' (1974) by Mel Brooks
54. 'From Beyond The Grave' (1973) by Kevin Connor
55. 'Shaun Of The Dead' (2004) by Edgar Wright
56. 'Picnic At Hanging Rock' (1975) by Peter Weir
57. 'Repulsion' (1965) by Roman Polanski
58. 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers' (1978) by Philip Kaufman
59. 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974) by Tobe Hooper
60. 'Hellraiser' (1987) by Clive Barker
61. 'Ju-On : The Grudge' (2002) by Takashi Shimizu
62. 'Ms 45' (1981) by Abel Ferrara
63. 'The Fearless Vampire Killers' (1967) by Roman Polanski
64. 'Brain Damage' (1988) by Frank Henenlotter
65. 'To The Devil A Daughter' (1976) by Peter Sykes
66. 'Cronos' (1993) by Guillermo Del Toro
67. 'Pulse' (2001) by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
68. 'Theatre Of Blood' (1973) by Douglas Hickox
69. 'Ringu' (1998) by Hideo Nakata
70. 'A Bay Of Blood' (1971) by Mario Bava
71. 'Eyes Without A Face' (1960) by Georges Franju
72. 'Basket Case' (1981) by Frank Henenlotter
73. 'Audition' (1999) by Takashi Miike
74. 'Wolf Creek' (2004) by Greg McLean
75. 'House Of Mortal Sin' (1975) by Pete Walker
76. '10 Rillington Place' (1971) by Richard Fleischer
77. 'Rabid' (1977) by David Cronenberg
78. 'Henry : Portrait Of A Serial Killer' (1987) by John McNaughton
79. 'Dark Water' (2002) by Hideo Nakata
80. 'Lunacy' (2005) by Jan Švankmajer
81. 'Horror Express' (1972) by Eugenio Martin
82. 'Dead Of Night' (1945) by Alberto Cavalcanti
83. 'Braindead' (1992) by Peter Jackson
84. 'Dracula, Prince Of Darkness' (1966) by Terence Fisher
85. 'I Walked With A Zombie' (1943) by Jacques Tourneur
86. 'Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde' (1931) by Rouben Mamoulian
87. 'The Mummy' (1932) by Karl Freund
88. 'Frenzy' (1972) by Alfred Hitchcock
89. 'The Vanishing' (1988) by George Sluizer
90. 'The Silence Of The Lambs' (1991) by Jonathan Demme
91. 'The Hunchback Of Notre Dame' (1939) by William Dieterle
92. 'The Howling' (1981) by Joe Dante
93. 'Carrie' (1976) by Brian De Palma
94. 'Dracula' (1958) by Terence Fisher
95. 'Freezer' (2000) by Takashi Ishii
96. 'The Bird With The Crystal Plumage' (1969) by Dario Argento
97. 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?' (1962) by Robert Aldrich
98. 'Shivers' (1975) by David Cronenberg
99. 'Targets' (1968) by Peter Bogdanovich
100. 'The Magician' (1958) by Ingmar Bergman

I realised 'Marebito' needed to be in a much stronger position and have slotted in the other Asian horrors as appropriate. 'A Tale Of Two Sisters' and those films that just slipped off the list are now, obviously, high up in the Top 200 - which would make a hardly less impressive list no doubt dominated by Lucio Fulci and other Italian horrors, not to mention an awful lot of Hammer, Amicus, etc British productions - oh, and the Lewtons & Universals! Sheesh...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 10:44 am:   

Hmmm... slot 'Possession' (1981) by Andrsej Zulawaski in at No. 49 this time. So bye-bye 'The Magician' <sigh>.
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Hubert (Hubert)
Username: Hubert

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 178.116.49.33
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 04:18 pm:   

The Fly II. I've always prefered this sequel to the original and the remake. Must be the scene with the dog, which is truly heart-wrenching.

I would certainly add Llama nel Corpo aka The Murder Clinic.

Session 9.
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Craig (Craig)
Username: Craig

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 99.126.164.88
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 04:59 pm:   

Quatermass and the Pit! One of my all-time favorites!

(...too many cooks, eh Stevie?... )
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Friday, October 11, 2013 - 05:37 pm:   

No, Craig. This list needs all the cooks it can get to make my selection truly definitive. The rest of you can make up your own definitive lists!

Yeah, I thought about 'Quatermass And The Pit' and it's definitely horror as much as sci-fi - like the entire trilogy - but it just fell marginally outside the Top 100 for me, like an awful lot of classic Hammers.

Funny thing, Hubert, but I just recently picked up 'The Fly II' on DVD for 75p and have intended watching all 5 movies in order as part of my triple bills. I vaguely remember seeing it on video way back in the day when I was half pissed and being completely underwhelmed but I really didn't give it a fair viewing.

Don't know 'The Murder Clinic' at all! Must check it out, thanks!

And I've yet to see or purchase 'Session 9' but its reputation goes before it...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 12:36 pm:   

Hmmm... mulling over the list again I've come to the conclusion you were right, Craig, and that 'Quatermass And The Pit' definitely deserves a higher ranking.

Here's the latest definitive version:

1. 'The Exorcist' (1973) by William Friedkin
2. 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968) by Roman Polanski
3. 'The Shining' (1980) by Stanley Kubrick
4. 'Don't Look Now' (1973) by Nicolas Roeg
5. 'Night Of The Demon' (1957) by Jacques Tourneur
6. 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers' (1956) by Don Siegel
7. 'Tenebrae' (1982) by Dario Argento
8. 'The Birds' (1963) by Alfred Hitchcock
9. 'Inland Empire' (2006) by David Lynch
10. 'Peeping Tom' (1960) by Michael Powell
11. 'Mulholland Drive' (2001) by David Lynch
12. 'Psycho' (1960) by Alfred Hitchcock
13. 'Profondo Rosso' (1975) by Dario Argento
14. 'The Wicker Man' (1973) by Robin Hardy
15. 'Jaws' (1975) by Steven Spielberg
16. 'Videodrome' (1983) by David Cronenberg
17. 'Dawn Of The Dead' (1978) by George A. Romero
18. 'Seven' (1995) by David Fincher
19. 'Mask Of The Demon' (1960) by Mario Bava
20. 'Suspiria' (1977) by Dario Argento
21. 'The Witchfinder General' (1968) by Michael Reeves
22. 'The Devil Rides Out' (1968) by Terence Fisher
23. 'The Haunting' (1963) by Robert Wise
24. 'Antichrist' (2009) by Lars von Trier
25. 'Alien' (1979) by Ridley Scott
26. 'Angel Heart' (1987) by Alan Parker
27. 'Alice' (1988) by Jan Švankmajer
28. 'Martyrs' (2008) by Pascal Laugier
29. 'The Omen' (1976) by Richard Donner
30. 'Night Of The Living Dead' (1968) by George A. Romero
31. 'The Entity' (1982) by Sidney J. Furie
32. 'Eraserhead' (1977) by David Lynch
33. 'Nosferatu' (1921) by F.W. Murnau
34. 'Hour Of The Wolf' (1968) by Ingmar Bergman
35. 'Opera' (1987) by Dario Argento
36. 'The Innocents' (1961) by Jack Clayton
37. 'The Thing' (1982) by John Carpenter
38. 'The Evil Dead' (1983) by Sam Raimi
39. 'Halloween' (1978) by John Carpenter
40. 'The Brood' (1979) by David Cronenberg
41. 'Little Otik' (2000) by Jan Švankmajer
42. 'Vampyr' (1932) by Carl Theodor Dreyer
43. 'Marebito' (2004) by Takashi Shimizu
44. 'Blood On Satan's Claw' (1970) by Piers Haggard
45. 'Salem's Lot' (1979) by Tobe Hooper
46. 'Macbeth' (1971) by Roman Polanski
47. 'Blue Velvet' (1986) by David Lynch
48. 'Frankenstein' (1931) by James Whale
49. ‘Possession’ (1981) by Andrzej Zulawski
50. 'An American Werewolf In London' (1981) by John Landis
51. 'Dust Devil' (1992) by Richard Stanley
52. 'The Bride Of Frankenstein' (1935) by James Whale
53. 'Funny Games' (1997) by Michael Haneke
54. 'Young Frankenstein' (1974) by Mel Brooks
55. 'From Beyond The Grave' (1973) by Kevin Connor
56. 'Shaun Of The Dead' (2004) by Edgar Wright
57. 'Picnic At Hanging Rock' (1975) by Peter Weir
58. 'Repulsion' (1965) by Roman Polanski
59. 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers' (1978) by Philip Kaufman
60. 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974) by Tobe Hooper
61. 'Hellraiser' (1987) by Clive Barker
62. 'Ju-On : The Grudge' (2002) by Takashi Shimizu
63. 'Ms 45' (1981) by Abel Ferrara
64. 'The Fearless Vampire Killers' (1967) by Roman Polanski
65. 'Brain Damage' (1988) by Frank Henenlotter
66. 'To The Devil A Daughter' (1976) by Peter Sykes
67. 'Cronos' (1993) by Guillermo Del Toro
68. 'Pulse' (2001) by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
69. 'Theatre Of Blood' (1973) by Douglas Hickox
70. 'Ringu' (1998) by Hideo Nakata
71. 'A Bay Of Blood' (1971) by Mario Bava
72. 'Eyes Without A Face' (1960) by Georges Franju
73. 'Basket Case' (1981) by Frank Henenlotter
74. 'Audition' (1999) by Takashi Miike
75. 'Wolf Creek' (2004) by Greg McLean
76. 'House Of Mortal Sin' (1975) by Pete Walker
77. '10 Rillington Place' (1971) by Richard Fleischer
78. 'Rabid' (1977) by David Cronenberg
79. 'Henry : Portrait Of A Serial Killer' (1987) by John McNaughton
80. 'Dark Water' (2002) by Hideo Nakata
81. 'Lunacy' (2005) by Jan Švankmajer
82. 'Horror Express' (1972) by Eugenio Martin
83. 'Dead Of Night' (1945) by Alberto Cavalcanti
84. 'Braindead' (1992) by Peter Jackson
85. 'Dracula, Prince Of Darkness' (1966) by Terence Fisher
86. 'I Walked With A Zombie' (1943) by Jacques Tourneur
87. 'Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde' (1931) by Rouben Mamoulian
88. 'The Mummy' (1932) by Karl Freund
89. 'Frenzy' (1972) by Alfred Hitchcock
90. 'The Vanishing' (1988) by George Sluizer
91. 'The Silence Of The Lambs' (1991) by Jonathan Demme
92. 'The Hunchback Of Notre Dame' (1939) by William Dieterle
93. ‘Quatermass And The Pit’ (1967) by Roy Ward Baker
94. 'The Howling' (1981) by Joe Dante
95. 'Carrie' (1976) by Brian De Palma
96. 'Dracula' (1958) by Terence Fisher
97. 'Freezer' (2000) by Takashi Ishii
98. 'The Bird With The Crystal Plumage' (1969) by Dario Argento
99. 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?' (1962) by Robert Aldrich
100. 'Shivers' (1975) by David Cronenberg

And now it's time for some analysis. Yeah, it's quiet in here today...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 01:12 pm:   

A quick initial analysis reveals what I always suspected. If I tally my personal Top 100 by decades this is the result:

1920s - 1 Film
1930s - 6 Films
1940s - 2 Films
1950s - 3 Films
1960s - 18 Films
1970s - 30 Films
1980s - 19 Films
1990s - 8 Films
2000s - 13 Films
2010s - 0 Films

Well I thought it was interesting! The long 1970s was unquestionably the golden era of horror cinema. We went through a dreadful lull in the 90s but things have picked up remarkably after the Millennium before starting, it seems, to slide off again in the last few years.

Earlier there was a small peak of top quality horrors in the 1930s before things tailed off, awaiting the great revival of the late 50s and all the glories that were to come. The history of horror cinema in a nutshell.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 03:47 pm:   

Now, how about supernatural horror vs non-supernatural horror? Judging where one begins and the other ends would involve us in too many philosophical debates about the nature of reality, so, as my criteria, I judge non-supernatural horror as any story that could feasibly happen given current human knowledge of the limited universe we inhabit - without the need for a paradigm shift.

Here goes...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 03:58 pm:   

A pleasingly clean division:

67 supernatural horror movies &
33 non-supernatural horror movies.

Horror exists in the realm of the impossible made real, for the most part, while the horror of the real - i.e. what can be done to us that we know of - makes up a more than healthy third of imaginable terrors.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 04:10 pm:   

Shall we try a different kind of genre split?

First up, this is according to perceived threat. I can think of five categories: threat to an individual, threat to a family unit, threat to a non-familial group, threat to a society, threat to the entire human race.

I'm enjoying this...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 04:39 pm:   

Here it is:

Threat to the Individual : 43 Films!!
Threat to the Family : 10 Films
Threat to the Group : 12 Films
Threat to Society : 23 Films
Threat to the Human Race : 12 Films

Horror is at its most potent when it is at its most personal, or its most subversive, it would seem.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 04:44 pm:   

What threatens the lone protagonist- for who else can we trust if not ourselves - or what subverts the laws of so-called civilisation, that make us all feel "safe", are the most potent and deeply felt of horrors, while what threatens the elusive definitions of "belonging" that constitute family, group and race remain at a comfortable, one might even say entertaining, distance.
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Craig (Craig)
Username: Craig

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 99.126.164.88
Posted on Thursday, October 17, 2013 - 06:26 am:   

Of course, Stevie, some contain all those threats together in one work of art—most notably, and arguably the greatest work of horror ever put to print, and various film editions—Stoker's Dracula!

(By the way, don't know if I'd include it in your top 100 list, but the 1979 version of the old play version of the original novel, starring Frank Langella?... it's a fine film indeed! In fact, one of my own favorite Dracula handlings on film. Langella is superb, and wow, Kate Nelligan...? I don't know what it is about her there, at that time and in that role, but be still my beating heart!) <---(that's me to her, just to be clear)
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Thursday, October 17, 2013 - 11:20 am:   

I see it as a gradation of threat, Craig. If one life or soul is under attack that's horror at its most personal and disturbing. If the threat is extended to a family or other group (usually squealing teens) then the horror is at a distance and, perhaps, more fun. When society and the laws that govern us are threatened we feel uncomfortable again - like a cripple in fear of having his crutch kicked away. But when its the entire race facing some hellish apocalypse we are once again comfortably distanced and able to enjoy the "impossible" ride.

Now I'm in the mood for a monster split!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Thursday, October 17, 2013 - 11:24 am:   

Incidentally, as I've said on here many times, I agree with you entirely that Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' (1897) is the single greatest horror novel ever written. In that work straight-laced Victorian society faced its most subversive threat. I'm surprised UKIP haven't co-opted the book into their mindless propaganda machine!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Thursday, October 17, 2013 - 12:22 pm:   

The following threats cover the entire 100:

Maniac : 29 Films!!
Nightmare Surrealism : 9 Films
Satanic : 9 Films
Alien : 7 Films
Ghost : 7 Films
Vampire : 7 Films
Zombie : 5 Films
Demonic Monster : 4 Films
Evil Force : 4 Films
Man-Made Monster : 4 Films
Animal : 2 Films
Cult : 2 Films
Disease : 2 Films
Mutant : 2 Films
Portmanteau : 2 Films
Werewolf : 2 Films
Animated Effigy : 1 Film
Mummy : 1 Film
Psychic Powers : 1 Film

The maniac standing next to you in the crowd reigns supreme, not surprisingly, while Old Nick (our most ancient bogeyman) and the horrors that come unbidden in our worst dreams lead the rest of the bunch. That was fun.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Friday, October 18, 2013 - 04:01 pm:   

Interesting that the two most recent films on the list - 'Antichrist' (2009) & 'Martyrs' (2008) - would both be classed as extreme ordeal horror nasties made infamous by the graphic nature of the violence and cruelty on display. To me they are also two of the most mature and multi-layered horror films of the modern era that probe deeper into the raw psychology of evil and trauma induced madness than has ever been seen on screen before. I would point to them as examples of where horror cinema needs to go next. We aren't surprised or shocked by graphic imagery anymore but when the motives for unspeakable cruelty are laid bare and made understandably human, by great writing and intensity of acting as well as directorial flair, that's when horror cinema can still really have an impact in these purportedly unshockable days.

The ending of 'Martyrs', only recently seen for the first time, is seared into my brain and my heart. Must seek out more of Pascal Laugier's work!
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Lincoln (Lincoln_brown)
Username: Lincoln_brown

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 101.119.29.217
Posted on Saturday, October 26, 2013 - 02:14 am:   

Great list Stevie.
As much as I love 'Mulholland Drive', 'Lost Highway' is a better film - in my opinion, of course.
And 'Opera' is waaaaay too high!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Saturday, October 26, 2013 - 02:22 pm:   

Believe it or not I've never seen 'Lost Highway'!! Must get the DVD.

I love 'Opera'! It was Argento's last true masterpiece, IMO, when the full dizzying force of his directorial genius was at its most maniacally inspired.
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Hubert (Hubert)
Username: Hubert

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 178.116.59.62
Posted on Saturday, October 26, 2013 - 02:44 pm:   

I liked the first half of Lost Highway immensely. Not sure about the second part (and it's very much a schizoid film) though. Mulholland Drive is better imho. Haven't seen Inland Empire.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Saturday, October 26, 2013 - 09:39 pm:   

'Inland Empire' is Lynch's great masterpiece, IMO. The single weirdest and most disturbing thing he ever made. I was lucky enough to see it in the cinema on first release and was haunted by it for a long time afterward. Imagine all the surreal nightmarish potency of 'Eraserhead' made with a big budget and professional actors.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 212.183.128.87
Posted on Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - 04:45 pm:   

Thinking about David Lynch I've realised 'Lost Highway' is now the only film of his I've yet to see - bar his short works. It sounds like another surreal horror nightmare and that got me to thinking about how many of his films properly belong in the genre. All of them apart from 'Dune', 'Wild At Heart' and 'The Straight Story' would be my judgement.

I'm increasingly tempted to get 'Twin Peaks' on DVD and watch it all again for the first time since it was first broadcast - with the prequel, 'Fire Walk With Me', watched first.
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Lincoln (Lincoln_brown)
Username: Lincoln_brown

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 101.119.28.217
Posted on Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 03:28 am:   

Recently watched 'Fire Walk With Me', for the first time in about 10 years - probably his most under rated fim, and one that I really like.
'Lost Highway' is a masterpiece Stevie, I think you'll enjoy it. It's a lot darker than 'Mulholland Drive', and more of a 'horror' film.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 07:42 am:   

I see 'Mulholland Drive' as a kind of psychic vampire story involving soul transference and a pact with the devil. An innocent victim is seduced by the dark side of the Hollywood dream and descends into a nightmare reality playing a part in a noir melodrama with an inevitably bleak soul-destroying ending.

I also really enjoyed 'Fire Walk With Me' and haven't seen it since it first came out in the cinema. It makes a kind of demonic sense of the whole dizzying world of the TV series. Apparently 'Mulholland Drive' was intended to have led into a TV series as well but the project never came to fruition. So all we were left with was the beguiling enigma of the film.
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Lincoln (Lincoln_brown)
Username: Lincoln_brown

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 101.119.28.217
Posted on Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 11:16 am:   

Spoiler - though this is only my opinion, and I don't think you can really spoil a Lynch film!


The first three quarters are a dream, the last quarter a combination of reality and flashbacks.
The dream is the only way Diane can escape what she has done - she had her unfaithful lover, Camilla Rhodes, murdered. She dreams the whole 'Betty'/'Rita' story, with real people she has met playing roles in the dream.
At the start we see a pov shot of a bed and pillow, with eyes closing - the dream starts. Then much later, the cowboy says 'wake up' - from then we're seeing reality, and flasbacks of Diane's real life/situation.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 12:38 pm:   

So you think she really did have Camilla murdered. That the dream reality was a way for her to try and assuage her guilty conscience. She casts herself as the heroine of a romantic mystery thriller to gloss over her own sordid reality. It's a neat theory!

Looked at as a supernatural horror I saw Rita/Camilla as a kind of vampiric spirit leeching off the innocence of a naive young wannabe actress and dragging her into a hell of her own making but, yeah, your idea does appear more "logical". But if she saw herself dead in bed in the dream before she had actually died then the whole thing was a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy... and where does the satanic old man behind the dumpster fit in?
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 12:46 pm:   

I watched the film twice within a week for the first time recently and was very much struck by Camilla as a demonic femme fatale figure. The evil corrupting spirit of the Hollywood dream personified - with Betty as her eager young victim and the satanic old man pulling the strings in the background. The weird club they go to was like a reality warping initiation for Betty leading her into an inescapable nightmare. Must watch it again viewed as a partial dream.

Any thoughts on 'Inland Empire'?!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 12:57 pm:   

Maybe the girl was already dead and the film was her own ever repeating self-made Hell?

Kind of reminds me of a brilliant Richard Matheson episode of 'The Twilight Zone' I watched recently called 'Death Ship' with Jack Klugman. The crew of a spaceship think they have made first contact with an alien race when they discover the crashed wreckage of another spaceship on an unexplored planet but it turns out to be their own ship with their own dead bodies inside... or is it? That one goes round and round in all kinds of reality warping possible explanations as well and has a truly nightmarish denouement.
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Lincoln (Lincoln_brown)
Username: Lincoln_brown

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 101.119.29.217
Posted on Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 09:10 pm:   

The real Diane is the one we see at the end - just another actress who couldn't make it in Hollywood. Living alone in that house, having flashbacks - when Camilla says no to her sexual advances on the couch really happened, the dinner where Camilla and the director (cant remember his name) announce their engagement really happened.
The blue key is a dream version of the ordinary blue key that the hitman was going to leave to signify that the job was done.
I do think there is a supernatural element though - that there is a 'dream/alternate reality', shared by lots of people, and actions in one reality can affect the other.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 212.183.140.51
Posted on Thursday, November 07, 2013 - 12:01 am:   

Looking back over my Top 10 movies of this year I see there are three strong contenders for inclusion in the Top 100 above but I don't feel it right to include 'Stoker', 'Sleep Tight' or 'Byzantium' just yet. Three of the best top quality adult horror films of recent years, imho.
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Patrick Walker (Patrick_walker)
Username: Patrick_walker

Registered: 01-2010
Posted From: 62.3.229.59
Posted on Friday, June 27, 2014 - 10:56 pm:   

Stevie - what are the differences between the different cuts of Profondo Rosso? I've seen a version that runs at a little over 100 minutes and another cut that has a 2+ hour running time.
And which DVD edition should I be putting my hand in my pocket for?
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 212.183.140.10
Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2014 - 02:16 am:   

Hi Patrick. The DVD I have has both versions of the film. The 123 min Italian original with subtitles and the dubbed 100 min version. They're both great but I prefer the longer version as it makes more sense of the convoluted plot and has more of the charming comic interaction between David Hemmings and Daria Nicolodi, which makes the climax all that more affecting. It was released along with 'Cat O' Nine Tails' and 'Phenomena' as a box set titled 'Dario Argento : The Giallo Collection'.
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Patrick Walker (Patrick_walker)
Username: Patrick_walker

Registered: 01-2010
Posted From: 62.3.229.59
Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2014 - 02:27 am:   

Splendid! Great response. Thanks!

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