My Top 10(ish)

As I started to compile this list in my head, 10 seemed like a reasonable number, but honestly I just can't choose that few horror movies that I love. I am sure that I will review all of these at some point and I know that I could make the list 50 long if I gave myself 10 more minutes, but here are some of my all-time favorites, not necessarily in order of which I consider the "best",  in highlight mode:

1. Pan's Labyrinth (2006). Written and directed by Gullermo del Toro. Okay, so this movie for me is the movie that changed how I viewed all other movies. It was grusome, it was fun, it was inventive, it was beautiful and it made me forget that I was reading subtitles. There is so much going on in this movie: you can watch it once just for the visuals alone and it does not fade with multiple viewings. This movie is Guillermo at his finest and one that any fan of horror, or of movies for that matter, should see.

2. Halloween (1978) Written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, directed by John Carpenter. This was my first introduction to horror and it has stuck with me ever since. It defined what a slasher should be, not only for me, but also for the genre as a whole. Sure it spawned 9 sequels, only a few of which are any good (and the last of which is unspeakably bad, fucking Sheri Moon) but it was also the inspiration behind Jason and the jumping board for Wes Craven to re-imagine it all with Freddy. With Halloween it's simple, he is coming for Laurie and he isn't going to stop. He moves slowly and all he uses is a butcher knife, but it is enough. The movie uses the score so well (also put together by John Carpenter) and the fact that they could turn a William Shatner mask into the face of evil still amazes me.

3. Psycho (1960) Screenplay by Joseph Stefano, directed By Alfred Hitchcock. The shower scene, the house up on the hill and Norman Bates. If Carpenter's Halloween  is the bottom floor that horror rises from, then Psycho is the bedrock beneath it all. There is so much that this film does that is ahead of its time. Its use of pacing, its use of the soundtrack mixed with silence, the shower scene, the final reveal and of course, the casting of Janet Leigh (mother of Jamie Lee Curtis) as the ill fated first victim. I could watch Psycho 100 times and still love it as much as I did the first time. An absolute must see in terms of horror and where it all comes from.

4.  A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Written and directed by Wes Craven. Freddy was a whole new type of villain for the slasher/horror genre. He talked, he antagonized, he played with his victims before he killed them. Michael and Jason were always relatively unstoppable, but Freddy could even get you in your dreams. You can run and hide from Michael and Jason for a long time, but how long can you go without sleep? Robert Englund is masterful in this role, absolutely making it his own in all 8 of the original films.

5. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) Written by Scott Glosserman and David Stieve and directed by Scott Glosserman. This movie is honestly one of my favorite movies of all time, probably in my top 5 overall. This mock-umentary follows a group of grad school students filming the escapades of Leslie Vernon who is claiming to be the next great serial killer (he puts himself in league with Jason, Freddy and Michael Myers, referring to them as Mike, Jay and Fred, in a world where Leslie's town is in a place where Elm Street, Haddonfield and Crystal Lake actually exist). The students think it is all a joke, but things take a turn for the serious and they are along for the ride. Throughout, Leslie breaks down what it takes to be a killer like the legends showing a wonderful knowledge of the genre and spoofing it in the best way possible.

6. Saw (2004) Written by Leigh Whannel and Directed by James Wan. Quite possibly one of the best/ most unexpected endings in not only horror history, but in film history in general. What Wan and Whannel do so well is again capture the human element. We don't have some terrible supernatural beast. We have a man who is bringing out the worst in people after he has been shown the worst. Jigsaw argues that he never kills his victims, they kill themselves or eachother, and while that is twisted it is also true. This is another franchise that has about 4 films too many, but the original is and will always remain amazing.

7. The Orphanage (2007) Written by Sergio G. Sanchez, directed by Juan Antonia Bayona. This film is produced by Guillermo del Toro and while he does not do any of the directing, his presence can be felt throughout it. It is quiet and slow paced but in the best of ways and the whole psychic scene as well as the scene where Laura is knocking on the wall to summon the children are terrifying. It shows the innocence of childhood and the fear of losing that very well.

8. The Last House on the Left (2009) Written by Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth, directed by Dennis Iliadis. Brutal, uncomfortable and brilliant are three words that come to mind for me when I think of this movie. I don't think I would have watched it with it being a remake but Netflix sent it to me on accident and I was amazingly surprised. The rape scene is one of the most uncomfortable, horrific moments I can think of in a movie and when the parents begin to take their revenge, I was rooting for them and happy to see how each of the bad guys would die. It suffers from bad-ending-itis but is good enough otherwise for that to be forgiven. Fire-poker, never leave home without it.

9. 28 Days Later (2002) Written by Alex Garland, directed by Danny Boyle. 28 Days Later took zombies, made them fast and angry and gave you a small group fighting against all of it. The whole film is set off by a fantastic score by John Murphy that is punctuated by the song "In the House - In a Heartbeat" that is incredibly effective in creating the feel of the movie and keeping the tension built. A couple of years before Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake, Boyle speeds up the Zombies and brings them back with a vengeance, and just a little bit of rage.

10. Paranormal Activity (2010) Written and directed by Oren Peli. Paranormal Activity took the first person camera and faux reality of the story that made Blair Witch so successful and amped it up like 3 notches. It personalized things in a way that Blair Witch didn't and, in my opinion, it improved on what came before it. Now I shope they don't take a successful sequel and turn it into a terrible saga of horror movies like they tend to do with so many others.

11. 1408 (2007) Based on the short story by Stephen King, this movie personalizes terror on Mike Enslin (played by John Cusack). I love this movie and the story because I feel like it is saying, "See non-believers, this is what happens when you challenge the supernatural". For me, watching Mike's descent into what could either be madness or the monstrosity that is room 1408 and not knowing which it is makes this movie incredibly unnerving.

12. Scream (1996) Written by Kevin Williamson, directed by Wes Craven. Scream is another re-defining moment in horror. It creates characters who know what to expect in horror villains and villains who know these expectations and try to operate outside of them. It is so good and Wes is able to successfully helm them, even into the fourth installment.

13. Insidious (2010) Written by Leigh Whannell, directed by James Wan. Insidious is last on my list only because it is the most recent addition. This movie is simply incredible. It is hands down the best PG-13 movie I have ever seen. It has jump scares, creepy scares, eerie scares, and it lingers with you long after the movie is over. There were multiple moments when I, a seasoned horror veteran, was having to force myself to look at the screen and was yelling out loud. The setting was limited and it played with so many fears. You have to see this movie.