Inspired by Live Journal’s Writer’s Block Question of the Day “‘Tis the season for scary movies. Some rank The Evil Dead as the best horror film of all time. What is your favorite scary movie?”
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I read today’s “Writer’s Block” question, and smiled. I read the question again and my brain started to hurt. How can I possibly pick my favorite scary movie? I love horror movies and it is very rare that I don’t like a horror movie, so it’s going to be impossible to pick a favorite. As far as Evil Dead goes I can’t say it’s the best of all time but I can’t say it isn’t either. I love all three, in fact Ash is one of my favorite characters in all of film. The Evil Dead films are hilarious but at the same time don’t become parodies.
I’m a big of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series, the original film and “New Nightmare” are brilliant films. Number 3 and Freddy Vs. Jason are great, the rest are pure cheese but still worth viewing. I also love the “Friday the 13th” series and I honestly have no idea why. They are all virtually the exact same movie, however, I can’t help but watch them over and over again. In fact, I have an uncontrollable urge to go watch one right now. I’ve started down franchise road so I might as well continue on. Halloween is clearly one of the best horror films of all time and I really enjoy most of the sequels, especially number 2 and H20. Rob Zombie’s re-imagining was also fun. Speaking of remakes, that reminds of something important. There is nothing wrong with remakes and sequels, especially in the horror genre and they have no effect on the original. I hate when people say “it ruins the legacy” or whatever, wether a sequel is great or total crap it doesn’t change the original at all. Black Christmas is a perfect example, the original is one of the best horror films of all time and was groundbreaking at the time. The remake doesn’t compare in quality but is still an entertaining horror flick. It gets trashed because its called “Black Christmas” and doesn’t live up to original, if it was called something different I think it would have done better. This is actually the case with most of the recent remakes. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes, Prom Night, Amityville Horror, and House of Wax are all classics and their remakes all pail in comparison but judged on their own they are fun horror movies.
No discussion of the Horror genre is complete without mentioning zombies. I love me some zombies. There is just something so compelling about watching the living dead stumble around. George Romero is the king, all his Zombie flicks are stellar. My personal favorite is “Dawn of the Dead”. As you already know I’m pretty tolerant of remakes, but I didn’t have to be with “Dawn of the Dead”, the remake is a kick-ass flick that totally stands on its own. “Shaun of the Dead” and “28 Days Later” are also great, it’s a good time to be a zombie fan.
I started off this post by saying I could never pick a favorite horror film, and I still can’t give you a definitive answer but if forced to, I would pick “The Shinning” 7 out of 10 times. Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” is a masterpiece, the cinematography, the performances, the music, and the atmosphere are all perfect. The film is so haunting and stays with you long after you’ve watched it. It is impossible for me to see a single frame of the film and not continue watching it. I have watched it many times and it never gets old. It always amazes me how many people I meet that haven’t even seen it, if that is you, make sure you watch this Halloween.
Tags: Dawn of the Dead · Horror movies · Nightmare on Elm Street · remakes · The ShiningComments
