The Movie Forums Top 100 Horror Movies

→ in
Tools    







Following the completion of The Top 100 Films of the 1930s, we turn our gaze to the genre of Horror films. These movies are designed to frighten, cause shock and terror, at times laugh, while bewitching and entertaining us at the same time. AMC Filmsite.org says, "Horror films deal with our most primal nature and its fears: our nightmares, our vulnerability, our alienation, our revulsions, our terror of the unknown, our fear of death and dismemberment, loss of identity, or fear of sexuality." There can also be a purifying component to Horror films. One of the first major Horror film movements was that of German Expressionism of the 1920s, which used effects of light and shadow to distort reality and stimulate the human psyche. They dealt with madness, the most famous being The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922). The first great American Horror performer was stage, film actor, make-up artist, director and screenwriter Lon Chaney. "The Man of 1,000 Faces." He often worked with director Tod Browning, a former carnival barker. There have been many wonderful Horror film movements from around the world including Hammer Horror out of the United Kingdom, Italian Horror & Giallo from filmmakers Mario Bava, Riccardo Freda, Antonio Margheriti, and Dario Argento, as well as Japanese Ghost Horror (Kwaidan, Onibaba, Kuroneko, etc). In the United States, Universal Picture Monsters were the first to explode really big, featuring stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Horror literature has been another popular way to adapt horror to film theaters, especially from authors Edgar Allen Poe, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, H.P. Lovecraft, and Stephen King. Then there was Hitchcock. After that, a film movement that evolved from the 1960s hippie and counter-culture lifestyle was that of exploitation, with 70s films like The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House On The Left, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.




Perhaps the dominant time for Horror in the US, at least financially, was with the Slasher film cycle of the 1970s and 80s, which completely demolished competition at the box office often in spite of low budgets. These stories explored urban legends such as the Babysitter and "The man upstairs." There were also genre-mixing of Horror & Sci-Fi exemplified by Alien and The Thing, among many others. In the 1980s, gory "B-movies" which were panned by critics became cult classics (Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films). There are Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, Evil Clowns and Witches. That's not all. There's Zombies, and Little Monsters from films like Critters, Ghoulies, and yes *sigh* Gremlins. David Cronenberg "Body Horror" & Mad Scientist themes. Also self-reflective metafictional Horror films of the 1990s such as New Nightmare, In The Mouth Of Madness, and Candyman. Films which explore the relationship between fictional and real world horror. The trick became more overt with Scream, featuring teenagers inside the story fully aware of horror movies and openly referencing them. Along with that are splatter films taken to ridiculous excess - think Peter Jackson's Brain Dead (Dead Alive). Self-mocking parodies. Franchise films, Rob Zombie and a re-visit of Exploitation, Anthology Horror films, and Remakes. These are altogether by no means the only kinds of films to choose from, but give a foundation from which to build on.

The Rules:
  • Submit your ranked list of twenty-five titles, numbered 1-25 with no ties, to me via a private message with the title "[Your Username] - "Top 100 Horror Movies"
  • Films will be awarded points as follows: 25 points for 1st place, 24 points for 2nd place, 23 for 3rd and so on, all the way down to one point for your 25th placed film.
  • New members can send in a list as soon as they've been a member here for one month. This measure is taken so that the list isn't falsified by people who have been here for a week, and then disappear.
  • If the movie is tagged HORROR on IMDb, it is eligible for vote on the countdown. If the movie is not tagged HORROR on IMDB, it is not eligible for vote.
  • Short films are not eligible.
  • Anyone who reveals their list before the countdown has ended will be disqualified.
  • The deadline for entries is March 15, 2019. That's three-and-a-half months. Plenty of time to review favorites, discover new ones, and order a list.
  • NEW COUNTDOWN FEATURE: Guest Presenters. Up to Ten Guest Presenters will be allowed. If you are interested in being one, send me a private message. You will present one film, to be negotiated in Private Message once our List is finalized. The first ten to commit will be the ones chosen. The Top 10 (1-10) will be off limits, as will the Bottom 10 (91-100). No more than ten will be permitted. This is our list, and if there are members who want to be the entertainer for a movie they like, I think they should get that chance.
I wanna play a game.

Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	Header 1.jpg
Views:	207
Size:	199.3 KB
ID:	49953   Click image for larger version

Name:	Header 2.jpg
Views:	209
Size:	175.4 KB
ID:	49954   Click image for larger version

Name:	Header 03.jpg
Views:	216
Size:	15.6 KB
ID:	49955  



Votes Submitted

Citizen Rules
The Rodent
ahwell
Jase
John-Connor
ScarletLion
Hey Fredrick
Steve Freeling
TokeZa
Sunomis
Holden Pike
rambond
Miss Vicky
rauldc14
Swan
pahaK
HashtagBrownies
Kaplan
the samoan lawyer
KeyserCorleone
Tugg
Yoda
Daniel M
Sedai
Nope1172
Thursday Next
Nemanja
gandalf26
Derek Vinyard
WorldFilmGeek
StanleyKubrick
honeykid
Mingusings
TYTD
cricket
gbgoodies
MovieMeditation
Dirk120
Okay
re93animator
Raven73
mark f
akatemple
Fabulous
MoreOrLess
edarsenal
Cynema De Bergerac
Siddon
jiraffejustin
cat_sidhe
CosmicRunaway
Nathaniel
7thson
jal90
Frightened Inmate No. 2
Guaporense
Yam12
BraedenG33
TheUsualSuspect
Iroquois
Nostromo87
Captain Spaulding
sarah f



I can't lie, I got kind of... scared ... typing all that.

All of this feels surreal. Can't wait to see your lists!



That's a great introduction, Nostro.

If anyone has any recommendations, particularly in psychological or supernatural horror films, feel free to tag or message me. I already have a ton of films I'd like to rewatch/finally check out, but I'm sure there are plenty of amazing horror films out there I haven't even heard of.



Sorry if this has already been asked, but will this countdown replace the previous one in the Lists section? Or will they both stay up and just add the year to differentiate them?



Sorry if this has already been asked, but will this countdown replace the previous one in the Lists section? Or will they both stay up and just add the year to differentiate them?
I don't know if it's been stated for sure. But the original list was a private list made by a few people, while this list (like the other MoFo list) will be a group effort by the MoFo community. So I assume the old one will be retired.



Can I put The Care Bears Movie on my list? That movie scared the crap out of me.



Can I put The Care Bears Movie on my list? That movie scared the crap out of me.
That movie was super-scary when I was a kid if I remember correctly. However, sadly, NO. (Fails the IMDb-tag test)



Finally a countdown I can participate. Already started rewatching some films that may end up on my list. Is there going to be Horror HoF(s) to accompany this?
You would probably make an excellent host



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Does anyone have any recommendations? I've seen a lot of horror, but I feel like this is a chance for people to get some lesser known or personal favourites to be seen by more people.
__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



Does anyone have any recommendations? I've seen a lot of horror, but I feel like this is a chance for people to get some lesser known or personal favourites to be seen by more people.
Set of films on my watchlist, you've probably seen them. Will be looking for more.

Dead Of Night (1945)
Zombie (1979)
City Of The Living Dead (1980)
The Changeling (1980)
Just Before Dawn (1981)
Demons (1985)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
Opera (1987)
Night Of The Demons (1988)
Frankenhooker (1990)

Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	MV5BMTQwMTE2NDQxM15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwOTQ5MjE5._V1_.jpg
Views:	189
Size:	37.4 KB
ID:	49968