This year's big awards season winner is Alejandro González Iñárritu for his brilliant Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), very recently taking home the Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. Just last year, fellow Mexican and close friend Alfonso Cuarón won a slew of awards, including the Best Director Oscar, for his sci-fi masterpiece Gravity. It is certainly not the first time for either filmmaker to have a brush with Oscar; Iñárritu has had Amores Perros, 21 Grams, and Babel get nominations, whereas Cuaron has seen his Y Tu Mamá También and Children of Men make Oscar plays.
Iñárritu and Cuaron form a powerful trio with another esteemed Mexican filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro. They have often been called the "The Three Amigos." In 2006, all three had major Oscar contenders. That year was del Toro's last play with the Academy with Pan's Labyrinth, the critically acclaimed dark fairy tale. His last major film, Pacific Rim, failed to garner Oscar attention even for its spectacular visual effects.
This year, del Toro will have Crimson Peak, a supernatural gothic horror film starring Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, and Charlie Hunnam. It currently has a 16 October release date.
Does he have a shot at completing the Tres Amigos sweep at the 88th Academy Awards?
It is no secret that the Academy has not been very friendly to horror films in its 87-year history, particularly in recent years. The last true horror film to have been nominated for Best Picture was The Sixth Sense in 1999. That was also the last time that the director of a horror film (in this case, M. Night Shyamalan) was nominated in their category. Black Swan may be considered a horror film by some (psychological horror, particularly), but by most conventions, it is more of a thriller--a close kin to horror but a different creature altogether.
Prior to that, 1991 saw Jonathan Demme take home the Best Director Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs, a Best Picture winner that also straddles the boundary between horror and thriller. However, there are no supernatural elements in the film. Just the year before, Ghost took its titular character (Patrick Swayze's Sam Wheat) to the Oscars as a Best Picture contender, but the film is unabashedly a drama.
One would have to go as far back as 1973 (the 46th Academy Awards) to see an uncompromisingly supernatural horror flick contending for top honors. Against the more conventional The Sting, however, neither cultural icon The Exorcist nor its director William Friedkin could prevail. Thirty-three years before this, the suspense-thriller Rebecca won Best Picture, but to call it a horror film is a stretch. Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock did score a Best Director nod for Psycho in 1960, but the film was not adjudged by the Academy as one of that year's best. It also has no supernatural elements.
Consider these recognized cinematic gems and directors that did not get Oscar love in the top two categories:
The Babadook (2014), Jennifer Kent
The Conjuring (2013), James Wan
Let Me In (2010), Matt Reeves
Let the Right One In (2008), Tomas Alfredson
The Orphanage (2007), Juan Antonio Bayona
Pan's Labyrinth (2006), del Toro
28 Days Later... (2002), Danny Boyle
The Devil's Backbone (2001), del Toro
The Others (2001), Alejandro Amenábar
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Francis Ford Coppola
Poltergeist (1982), Tobe Hooper
An American Werewolf in London (1981), John Landis
The Shining (1980), Stanley Kubrick
Nosferatu (1979), Werner Herzog
Halloween (1978), John Carpenter
Dawn of the Dead (1978), George A. Romero
Carrie (1976), Brian de Palma
The Omen (1976), Richard Donner
Night of the Living Dead (1968), Romero
Rosemary's Baby (1968), Roman Polanski
Hour of the Wolf (1968), Ingmar Bergman
The Haunting (1963), Robert Wise
The Innocents (1961), Jack Clayton
I Walked with a Zombie (1943), Jacques Tourneur
Cat People (1942), Tourneur
The Wolf Man (1941), George Waggner
Vampyr (1932), Carl Theodor Dreyer
Dracula (1931), Todd Browning
Bride of Frankenstein (1935), James Whale
Frankenstein (1931), Whale
When even revered auteurs like Kubrick, Polanski, and Bergman cannot get recognition for their work on outstanding films (regardless of genre), then there truly is a problem.
Not all hope is lost, however. There are certain factors going in the favor of an Oscar nod for del Toro:
- There is general good will toward del Toro. He is an unabashed fan boy of film the way that Quentin Tarantino is, and we have seen nothing to make us assume that he is disliked by the Hollywood community (despite the snub for Pacific Rim). He is generally seen as a visionary who has been bringing us exceptional craftsmanship and sheer passion on celluloid. I cannot say that there is a notion of him as being "overdue," but he has certainly been a hard and visible worker. The back-to-back wins of Cuaron and Iñárritu will only serve to remind the public of his oeuvre. And it is publicly known that Crimson Peak is a passion project for him.
- Crimson Peak has a big, popular cast. Hiddleston is certainly a big enough draw, but add to that Chastain and Wasikowska. All three are not only commercially viable actors but also critical darlings who have made names for themselves with respected projects. As far as Oscar attention goes, Chastain is always a draw. All of del Toro's previous films have had more low-key actors, except perhaps Pacific Rim with Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi and respected actor Idris Elba, but the hopes of that one getting nods for top Oscar honors were never high.
- The film might dominate in below the line categories. Judging from the trailer alone, Crimson Peak will likely get nominations (perhaps even wins) for Cinematography, Costume Design, and Production Design, and possibly for Make-up and Hairstyling, Original Score, and Visual Effects. None of the artists responsible for these elements of the film has ever been nominated (except for Production Designer Thomas E. Sanders), but the voters tend to be rather generous to newcomers here as long as they are blown away by the craftsmanship. Del Toro's lone Oscar nomination was for his original screenplay for Pan's Labyrinth, so it is certainly possible that he will be a contender again.
- With the advanced Oscar calendar, October is now a great date for Oscar contenders. Last year, Gone Girl, Nightcrawler, Best Picture nominee Whiplash, and eventual winner Birdman came out wide in that month. In 2013, October releases included Best Picture nominees Gravity and Captain Phillips, as well as Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave. Could the October release work for del Toro as it did for his compatriots?
- Yes, horror is not an Oscar favorite, but the gothic style, with its crumbling castles and chillingly enigmatic characters, is a throwback to old Hollywood. Consider the decay of Citizen Kane and the grand guignol feel of Sunset Boulevard. The Academy membership skews old (average of 63 years old) and male (76%), and so while the supernatural elements may turn some of them off, the overall look may prove irresistible to them. Younger voters will likely not be averse to the more horrifying elements.
- The time has probably come for a new horror classic to break the Oscar glass ceiling. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King broke the one for fantasy with its clean sweep in 2003, while science fiction has had quite a run, with films like Inception, Avatar, and District 9 breaking through (the latter two were even nominated in the same year). Is the time ripe for its "lesser" cousin in the speculative fiction umbrella genre? With The Conjuring and The Babadook making a strong case for the art and intelligence of the horror genre in the last two years and many being box office draws, the idea is not so far-fetched.
There are still many obstacles to overcome, and of course if the film bombs with critics and audiences then all of these speculations will be for naught. One good thing that del Toro has going for him because of the horror label: it likely will not be an early front-runner and so will not hit the stumbling block that has derailed the Oscar chances of others, most recently Boyhood. Regardless, many critical eyes will be on Crimson Peak. Del Toro can at least find comfort in knowing that he has at least two Academy voters wishing him the best (despite Iñárritu having his own Oscar contender this year with The Revenant).
Image source: http://www.ramascreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Crimson-Peak.jpg
BEST PICTURE
GRAVITY
12 Years a Slave
Short Term 12
Her
American Hustle
Rush
Before Midnight
Dallas Buyers Club
Stories We Tell
BEST DIRECTOR
ALFONSO CUARON (GRAVITY)
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Spike Jonze (Her)
Ron Howard (Rush)
Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)
Destin Cretton (Short Term 12)
Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club)
Jeff Nichols (Mud)
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)
BEST ACTOR
LEONARDO DICAPRIO (THE WOLF OF WALL STREET)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Hugh Jackman (Prisoners)
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Joaquin Phoenix (Her)
Joel Torre (OTJ: On the Job)
Robert Redford (All Is Lost)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby)
BEST ACTRESS
CATE BLANCHETT (BLUE JASMINE)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)
Julie Delpy (Before Midnight)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Zhang Ziyi (The Grandmaster)
Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Color)
Brie Larson (Short Term 12)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
JARED LETO (DALLAS BUYERS CLUB)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Matthew McConaughey (Mud)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners)
Chris Cooper (August: Osage County)
James Franco (Spring Breakers)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Barkhad Abid (Captain Phillips)
Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks)
Xavier Samuel (Adore)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
LUPITA NYONG'O (12 YEARS A SLAVE)
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County)
Sarah Paulson (12 Years a Slave)
Margo Martindale (August: Osage County)
Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color)
Jennifer Garner (Dallas Buyers Club)
Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)
June Squibb (Nebraska)
BEST SCREENPLAY
HER (SPIKE JONZE)
12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
Before Midnight (Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy)
Short Term 12 (Destin Cretton)
American Hustle (Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell)
BEST ART DIRECTION
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
12 Years a Slave
The Great Gatsby
Gravity
Her
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE GRANDMASTER (PHILIPPE LE SOURD)
Graviity (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Rush (Anthony Dod Mantle)
12 Years a Slave (Sean Bobbit)
Mud (Adam Stone)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
THE GREAT GATSBY (CATHERINE MARTIN)
American Hustle (Michael Wilkinson)
12 Years a Slave (Patricia Norris)
Thor: The Dark World (Alexandra Byrne)
The Grandmaster (William Chang)
BEST EDITING
GRAVITY (ALFONSO CUARON, MARK SANGER)
Rush (Dan Hanley, Mike Hill)
Her (Jeff Buchanan, Eric Zumbrunnen)
12 Years a Slave (Joe Walker)
American Hustle (Alan Baumgarten, Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers)
BEST MAKEUP
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Great Gatsby
12 Years a Slave
Thor: The Dark World
BEST SCORE
PACIFIC RIM (RAMIN DJAWADI)
Gravity (Steven Price)
Frozen (Christophe Beck)
Ain't Them Bodies Saints (Daniel Hart)
All Is Lost (Alex Ebert)
BEST SONG
"LET IT GO" (FROZEN)
"Love is an Open Door" (Frozen)
"For the First Time in Forever" (Frozen)
"I See Fire" (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" (Frozen)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
PACIFIC RIM
Gravity
Thor: The Dark World
Iron Man 3
Star Trek Into Darkness
BEST CAMEO PERFORMANCE
XENIA KALOGEROPOULOU (BEFORE MIDNIGHT)
Matthew McConaughey (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Kristen Wiig (Her)
Alfre Woodard (12 Years a Slave)
Chris Evans (Thor: The Dark World)
BEST ENSEMBLE
AMERICAN HUSTLE
August: Osage County
12 Years a Slave
Prisoners
The Worlds End
BEST PICTURE
12 YEARS A SLAVE*
DIRECTING
ALFONSO CUARON (GRAVITY)*
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
CATE BLANCHETT (BLUE JASMINE)*
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY (DALLAS BUYERS CLUB)*
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
LUPITA NYONG'O (12 YEARS A SLAVE)*
ACTOR IN SUPPORTING ROLE
JARED LETO (DALLAS BUYERS CLUB)*
WRITING, ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
JOHN RIDLEY (12 YEARS A SLAVE)*
WRITING, ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
SPIKE JONZE (HER)
Predicted: American Hustle
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
CHRIS BUCK, JENNIFER LEE (FROZEN)*
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
20 FEET FROM STARDOM
Predicted: The Act of Killing
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
"THE LADY IN NUMBER 6: MUSIC SAVED MY LIFE"*
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
THE GREAT BEAUTY (ITALY)*
SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
"MR. HULBOT"
Predicted: "Get a Horse!"
CINEMATOGRAPHY
EMMANUEL LUBEZKI (GRAVITY)*
COSTUME DESIGN
CATHERINE MARTIN (THE GREAT GATSBY)
Predicted: 12 Years a Slave
FILM EDITING
ALFONSO CUARON, MARK SANGER (GRAVITY)*
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB*
MUSIC, ORIGINAL SCORE
STEVEN PRICE (GRAVITY)*
MUSIC, ORIGINAL SONG
"LET IT GO" (FROZEN)*
PRODUCTION DESIGN
CATHERINE, BEVERLEY DUNN (THE GREAT GATSBY)*
SOUND EDITING
GRAVITY*
SOUND MIXING
GRAVITY*
VISUAL EFFECTS
GRAVITY*
SCORE: 18/22
BEST PICTURE
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
8/9. Predicted Inside Llewyn Davis and Saving Mr. Banks instead of Philomena.
DIRECTING
David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
Alexander Payne (Nebraska)
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)
4/5. Predicted Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips) instead of Payne.
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
4/5. Predicted Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks) instead of Adams.
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
4/5. Predicted Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) instead of Bale.
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
June Squibb (Nebraska)
4/5. Predicted Oprah Winfrey (The Butler) instead of Hawkins.
ACTOR IN SUPPORTING ROLE
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
4/5. Predicted Daniel Bruhl (Rush) instead of Hill.
WRITING, ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke (Before Midnight)
Billy Ray (Captain Phillips)
Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope (Philomena)
Steve McQueen, John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)
Terence Winter (The Wolf of Wall Street)
4/5. Predicted August: Osage County instead of The Wolf of Wall Street.
WRITING, ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Eric Singer, David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine)
Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack (Dallas Buyers Club)
Spike Jonze (Her)
Bob Nelson (Nebraska)
4/5. Predicted Inside Llewyn Davis instead of Dallas Buyers Club.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco, Kristine Belson (The Croods)
Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin, Chris Meledandri (Despicable Me 2)
Benjamin Renner, Didier Brunner (Ernest & Celestine)
Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho (Frozen)
Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki (The Wind Rises)
4/5. Predicted Monsters University instead of Ernest & Celestine.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom
2/5. Predicted Blackfish, God Loves Uganda, and The Stories We Tell instead of Cutie and the Boxer, Dirty Wars, and The Square.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
"Cave Digger"
"Facing Fear"
"Karama Has No Walls"
"The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life"
"Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall"
No predictions.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
Omar (Palestine)
2/5. Predicted Two Lives, The Grandmaster, and The Notebook instead of The Great Beauty, The Missing Picture, and Omar.
SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
"Feral"
"Get a Horse!"
"Mr. Hublot"
"Possessions"
"Room on the Broom"
No predictions.
SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
"Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)"
"Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)"
"Helium"
"Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?"
"The Voorman Problem"
No predictions.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Philippe Le Sourd (The Grandmaster)
Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity)
Bruno Delbonnel (Inside Llewyn Davis)
Phedon Papamichael (Nebraska)
Roger A. Deakins (Prisoners)
1/5. Predicted American Hustle, Captain Phillips, 12 Years a Slave, and The Wolf of Wall Street instead of The Grandmaster, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, and Prisoners.
COSTUME DESIGN
Michael Wilkinson (American Hustle)
William Chang Suk Ping (The Grandmaster)
Catherine Martin (The Great Gatsby)
Michael O'Connor (The Invisible Woman)
Patricia Norris (12 Years a Slave)
4/5. Predicted The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug instead of The Invisible Woman.
FILM EDITING
Jay Cassidy (American Hustle)
Christopher Rouse (Captain Phillips)
John Mac McMurphy, Martin Pensa (Dallas Buyers Club)
Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger (Gravity)
Joe Walker (12 Years a Slave)
4/5. Predicted The Wolf of Wall Street instead of Dallas Buyers Club.
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger
1/3. Predicted American Hustle and The Great Gatsby instead of Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa and The Lone Ranger.
MUSIC, ORIGINAL SCORE
John Williams (The Book Thief)
Steven Price (Gravity)
William Butler, Owen Pallett (Her)
Alexandre Desplat (Philomena)
Thomas Newman (Saving Mr. Banks)
3/5. Predicted All Is Lost and 12 Years a Slave instead of Her and Philomena.
MUSIC, ORIGINAL SONG
"Alone Yet Not Alone" (Alone Yet Not Alone)
"Happy" (Despicable Me 2)
"Let It Go" (Frozen)
"The Moon Song" (Her)
"Ordinary Love" (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)
2/5. Predicted "In the Middle of the Night," "Young and Beautiful," and "I See Fire" instead of "Alone Yet Not Alone," "Happy," and "The Moon Song."
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler (American Hustle)
Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woollard (Gravity)
Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn (The Great Gatsby)
K.K. Barrett, Gene Serdena (Her)
Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker (12 Years a Slave)
3/5. Predicted The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Saving Mr. Banks instead of Gravity and Her.
SOUND EDITING
Steve Boeddeker, Richard Hymns (All Is Lost)
Oliver Tarney (Captain Phillips)
Glenn Freemantle (Gravity)
Brent Burge (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
Wylie Stateman (Lone Survivor)
2/5. Predicted Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, and Rush instead of All Is Lost, Captain Phillips, and Lone Survivor.
SOUND MIXING
Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro (Captain Phillips)
Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro (Gravity)
Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Tony Johnson (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff, Peter F. Kurland (Inside Llewyn Davis)
Andy Koyama, Beau Borders, David Brownlow (Lone Survivor)
1/5. Predicted American Hustle, Frozen, Rush, and 12 Years a Slave instead of Captain Phillips, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Inside Llewyn Davis, and Lone Survivor.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould (Gravity)
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash, Dan Sudick (Iron Man 3)
Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, John Frazier (The Lone Ranger)
Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton (Star Trek Into Darkness)
4/5. Predicted Pacific Rim instead of The Lone Ranger.
My Top 20 Horror Movies:
20. MAY (2002)
Director: Lucky McKee
Cast: Angela Bettis, Jeremy Sisto, Anna Faris
Scare Meter: 7/10
Scare Tactics: visuals, music, obsession
IMDb Plot Summary: "Psychological horror about a lonely young woman traumatized by a difficult childhood, and her increasingly desperate attempts to connect with the people around her."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303361/
This is one movie that made me love the horror genre. It isn't really scary. Lucky McKee and the amazing Angela Bettis together made a freaky character who was nevertheless sympathetic. "If you can't find a friend...make one." Shudder.
19. THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
Scare Meter: 8/10
Scare Tactics: lots of ghosts
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "A boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167404/
This film is worth much more than the infamous twist. Expertly made, with amazing performances throughout (especially the mother-and-child pair of Collette and Osment), it's a legitimate spine-tingler that deserves its Oscar Best Picture nomination (perhaps even a win) and so much more.
18. DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978)
Director: George A. Romero
Cast: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Scare Meter: 9/10
Scare Tactics: lots of zombies, with some nifty surprises
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "Following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077402/
As good as the remake is, nothing beats the original in terms of sheer grit, rawness, intensity, and novelty. "When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth." Phenomenal.
17. HALLOWEEN (1978)
Director: John Carpenter
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran
Scare Meter: 8/10
Scare Tactics:
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood for the murder of his sister, escapes and stalks a bookish teenage girl and her friends while his doctor chases him through the streets."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/
The ultimate slasher film. Michael Myers is an unstoppable, relentless force of pure evil: no ifs and buts about him. Awesome musical theme, too. This is where Jamie Lee Curtis's "scream queen" career was born. Well, you'd be screaming, too if you were chased around by an essentially invulnerable murderer in a weird mask.
16. ANTICHRIST (2009)
Director: Las von Trier
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Scare Meter: 7/10
Scare Tactics: talking foxes, nature, body horror
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "A grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870984/
One of the most controversial films to come out a Cannes. Then again, what Lars von Trier film isn't? The visuals here are jaw-droppingly beautiful--particular highlights being the opening sequence with the child and the walks in the woods. But the beauty easily extends to even the most gruesome scenes, which are exactly that: GRUESOME. The squeamish will not be able to tolerate this film, but those who can will as a whole be generously rewarded. What does the fox say? "Chaos reigns."
15. LET ME IN (2010)
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins
Scare Meter: 7/10
Scare Tactics: atmosphere, visuals
IMDb Plot Summary: "A bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1228987/
Stephen King has called it "...the best American horror film in the last 20 years" when it came out, and he may have been right. It doesn't matter that it's a remake; even the author of the source material praised it to high heavens and said that it is special on its own merits. It's an excellent, tense, beautiful film.
14. INSIDIOUS (2010)
Director: James Wan
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins
Scare Meter: 9/10
Scare Tactics: visuals, music, spirits
IMDb Plot Summary: "A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1591095/
The best horror films stay with you for quite some time afterward. You hesitate to look at mirrors or out windows or through doorways because what you've seen in the movie is haunting your mind. That's what Insidious did to me, and it's been a long long time since a movie has done that. It's this film that made me realize that great legitimately scary movies can still be made in this day and age. James Wan would prove me right again.
13. [REC] (2007)
Directors: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza
Cast: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano
Scare Meter: 9/10
Scare Tactics: fast rabid zombies, lost footage, atmosphere, claustrophobia, sound
IMDb Plot Summary: "A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1038988/
A true assault on the visual and aural senses. This fantastic zombie movie is not as appreciated as it should be. The monsters here are downright scary, and added to that is the claustrophobic tightness of the space in which the characters have to move, dodging rabid maniacs out for blood. The "lost footage" style works really well, especially in the closing sequence.
12. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008)
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Cast: Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
Scare Meter: 7/10
Scare Tactics: atmosphere, visuals
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/
Until now, I still cannot say if this is a better film than the remake. Like Ajvide Lindqvist (author of the Swedish source material) said, both are excellent. But of course, sentiment has to go the way of the original. Hauntingly gorgeous. Subtle, but really gets under the skin. That scene about testing the "myth" on vampires having to be invited in is phenomenal. So is everything else about the movie.
11. THE OTHERS (2001)
Director: Alejandro Amenabar
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan
Scare Meter: 8/10
Scare Tactics: atmosphere, visuals, sound
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "A woman who lives in a darkened old house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that her family home is haunted."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230600/
Talk about atmosphere! In The Others, the setting is as much a character as the human players. The country home and its woods in Jersey are shrouded in mist, literally and figuratively. Nicole Kidman is luminous; easily one of her best performances. Twist or no twist, the film is one of the all-time best ghost/haunted house movies.
10. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)
Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield
Scare Meter: 7/10
Scare Tactics: Romero zombies and gore amidst the comedy
IMDb Plot Summary: "A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365748/
Isn't this a comedy? Of course it is! But take a long good look at the zombies. They are, simply put, terrifying. Romero has given his thumbs up and essentially made this part of his canon, for good reason. Amidst all the laughter, of which there's a lot, is a commitment to showing the nastiest undead on film. What this film is is the perfect combination of comedy and horror. There's no better hybrid film out there.
9. THE OMEN (1976)
Director: Richard Donner
Cast: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens
Scare Meter: 8/10
Scare Tactics: music (that Ave Satani song!), tragedies
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "An American ambassador learns to his horror that his son is actually the literal Antichrist."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075005/
This film has taken quite a bit of flack over the years for its crazy setpieces and for not aging well. Whatever. For me, it has aged quite well, and the sequences all work. Portraying the Antichrist in a film, especially when he's a child, can be messy, but with such a fine cast and truly diabolical score (an Oscar winner), how can it go wrong? A true pleasure to watch.
8. THE EVIL DEAD (1981)
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor
Scare Meter: 9/10
Scare Tactics: gore, demonic possessions, animated forests...evil everywhere
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083907/
The legend of Ash and his chainsaw is born here, when Raimi's series was still serious in trying to scare movie fans. And it works. Lustful forest vines, deformed possessed bodies with demonic voices, the Necronomicon...it's a practically non-stop attack from all directions. The remake is sick fun, but it comes nowhere close to the sheer intensity of this original.
7. THE CONJURING (2013)
Director: James Wan
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor
Scare Meter: 9/10
Scare Tactics: imagery, atmosphere, sound, a pastiche of many horror film elements
IMDb Plot Summary: "Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1457767/
James Wan is a true master of horror. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to top Saw and Insidious. But he did. Not necessarily in scares (Insidious is still scarier, in my opinion), but in just making a great film overall. The Conjuring is a more tightly constructed and more grounded film than its predecessors, and of course it's pretty darn terrifying. What's great about it is that the film throws practically every horror genre fixture at you, but you'll relish it. Outstanding on all levels.
6. THE DESCENT (2005)
Director: Neil Marshall
Cast: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid
Scare Meter: 8/10
Scare Tactics: atmosphere, claustrophobia, imagery, sounds, cave monsters
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435625/
The relatively lacklustre 90s and early 00s was jolted awake by this British import, which is simply exceptional. An all-girl spelunking team (no damsels in distress here) in the tight dark corridors of an unknown cave, assaulted by creatures shaped by evolution in the subterranean realm. It's as delicious as it sounds. It has a fair bit of human drama, too. A harrowing film from start to finish.
5. THE THING (1982)
Director: John Carpenter
Cast: Kurt Russell, Wilform Brimley, Keith David
Scare Meter: 9/10
Scare Tactics: body horror, atmosphere, music, paranoia
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "Scientists in the Antarctic are confronted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of the people that it kills."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/
Body horror at its finest. Here, the human body is taken over, destroyed, and morphed into the craziest configurations that an insane mind could come up with. And all around, the paranoia is a crushing weight. So is the isolation in that cold dark place miles away from civilization. It's a true battle for humanity, both on the individual and on the species levels.
4. SUSPIRIA (1977)
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci
Scare Meter: 8/10
Scare Tactics: psychedelic colors, atmosphere, music, imagery, gore
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "A newcomer to a fancy ballet academy gradually comes to realize that the school is a front for something far more sinister and supernatural amid a series of grisly murders."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076786/
This is the masterpiece of the Italian master, Dario Argento. The splashes of color, the weird sets, the gruesome murders (some of the most memorable in the genre), the witches and undead, and the ultra-memorable score by the band Goblins...all come together like a witch's brew, decadent and horrifying. You have to see it to believe it.
3. THE SHINING (1980)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
Scare Meter: 9/10
Scare Tactics: claustrophobia, atmosphere, imagery, weirdness
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/
"Here's Johnny!" Jack Nicholson is aces here as Jack Torrance, whose mind is taken over by infernal forces in the loneliest, scariest, most claustrophobic ski-lodge that you can think of. This film strangles you mentally and emotionally. And then there are the visions, which are some of the creepiest in the genre. The signature touches of Stanley Kubrick's genius can be found all throughout. It's no surprise that many consider this the best horror film of all time.
2. RINGU aka Ring (1998)
Director: Hideo Nakata
Cast: Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Yuko Takeuchi, Hiroyuki Sanada
Scare Meter: 9/10
Scare Tactics: atmosphere, music, Sadako
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "A mysterious video kills whoever views it, unless that viewer can solve its mystery."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0178868/
A perfect film to watch with your closest friends, when you're all huddled together and screaming in the right parts. That's how I first watched it, which is why this film will always have a particularly special meaning for me. But on top of that, it's just simply phenomenal. No wonder it started a whole revolution of Asian horror films and Hollywood remakes. It's a really simple premise, but the atmosphere of this classic proves that in the horror genre, you can elicit so much with so little. Of course, there's nothing "little" about the big reveal near the end, that scene that shook everyone to the core and had us forsaking television sets for a while. One of the most powerful horror films ever.
1. THE EXORCIST (1973)
Director: William Friedkin
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Jason Miller
Scare Meter: 10/10
Scare Tactics: atmosphere, music, sounds, visuals, Regan/Pazuzu
*Listed in 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die (Schneider, ed. 2009)
*Listed in Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death (Marriott and Newman 2010)
IMDb Plot Summary: "When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/
Speaking of sheer raw power, nothing holds a candle to my favorite horror film of all time (a sentiment shared by many all over the world). When it came out, audiences were revolted, angered, upset...but they came in droves and made this a box office hit. After all, the film was as much an attack on the spirit and faith as it was on the mind and emotions. What other film could claim as much? No possession film before or since has come anywhere close to the audacity, boldness, and in-your-face brutality of the McNeils' harrowing spiritual battle. Truly the standard against which all other horror films will forever be set.
SOME STATISTICS:
Number of Films Per Decade:
1920s - 1
1930s - 1
1940s - 0
1950s - 4
1960s - 13
1970s - 20 (with 5 in the Top 20, including #1)
1980s - 14 (with 3 in the Top 20)
1990s - 12 (with 2 in the Top 20)
2000s - 30 (with 7 in the Top 20)
2010s - 5 (with 3 in the Top 20)
*For the record, the general consensus (and I agree 100%) is that the 1970's is the best decade for horror movies.
The 15 Scariest Films (9-10 on the Scare Meter):
10/10:
The Exorcist (#1)
Ju-On: The Grudge (#23)
Shutter (#25)
9/10:
Ringu (#2)
The Shining (#3)
The Thing (#5)
The Conjuring (#7)
The Evil Dead (#8)
[Rec] (#13)
Insidious (#14)
Dawn of the Dead, 1978 (#18)
Alien (#26)
The Blair Witch Project (#44)
28 Days Later... (#45)
Paranormal Activity (#64)
Most Represented Directors:
John Carpenter - 3
George A. Romero - 3
Janes Wan - 3
Dario Argento - 2
Wes Craven - 2
Joe Dante - 2
Terence Fisher - 2
William Friedkin - 2
Lucio Fulci - 2
Takashi Miike - 2
Roman Polanski - 2
Sam Raimi - 2
M. Night Shyamalan - 2
Jan Svankmajer - 2
#s 21-60
#s 61-100
