Horror movies? There are two kinds of people when it comes to the subject of horror movies. The kind that would rather live without them, and the kind who are 'scare junkies'. Craving that next frightening fix! When I was younger it seemed as though everyone was seeing the scariest horror movie at some sleepover or another, I wasn't. I only heard tales of the 'Nightmare On Elm Street' movies, 'Candyman' and the 'House' movies (one of which I watched, and which I'm pretty sure was kind of scary... I think). The same goes for 'Child's Play', 'Poltergeist' and 'It'. But I never watched them, I was too scared and my parents didn't really offer them to me. But when, at an older age, I ploughed my way through all of the 'Nightmare', 'Poltergeist' films etc. I realised something very important... they weren't really that scary at all.
The first thing you should know when it comes to the subject of a good horror movie is that it should be unbelievable. Not only because the unreal is scarier but because the last thing you want is to walk away from a film, mentally disturbed, with plans to keeping a knife under your pillow. Take this selfsame writer, who found 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'A Handmaid's Tale' brutally disturbing and scary. That's not the kind of fear anyone wants, they want jumps, figures appearing in mirrors and scary ghosties. To sum up, it is important to have an unreal subject matter, not only to protect your delicate psychological state, but because it is definitely much scarier when you know that a simple gun won't be able to protect the protagonists. To sum up, ghosts are scarier than serial killers. But when you go to bed at night, you are more likely to panic yourself into thinking that a serial killer is in your house rather than a ghost.
The second thing you should know when it comes to watching horror movies is that being scared is a relative emotion. Some people would have found 'Poltergeist' truly scary. But the fact is that by the time this writer had seen it, 'The Shining' had already been on late night television and she was none too bothered by the little blonde girl and her television, as much as she bared a resemblance to her younger self. This is why I believe it's a good idea to build up to scary films. I would never recommend that someone watch 'The Shining' before 'The Exorcist', not because they would need to build themselves up gently to the scares of 'The Shining'. But because I believe the latter to be much scarier than 'The Exorcist' and if 'The Shining' were watched before hand the viewer, in my opinion, would have built up an immunity to something scarier and hence 'The Exorcist' would be a pointless 'scare' exercise to them. Basically, if you build yourself up gently, you can get a little bit scared over and over again. A 'scare junkie' could watch 'A Tale Of Two Sisters' now, but would subsequently probably never be scared by 'House On Haunted Hill, 'The Others' etc.
The third, and last point I'll make about horror movies, and here we return to relativity. A good horror movie will only be worth watching if you watch it in the right surroundings with the right people. How many of you have watched a horror movie with someone who will talk through it, simply because they don't want to show themselves up by jumping at the scary bits? And how many of you have watched a horror movie, only to have the scare factor severely depleted by the fact that you watched it with ten other people, or by the fact that it was the middle of the day and the sun was shining through the windows? The best time for a horror movie is late at night, lights off, preferably by yourself.
So, what have we learnt? A horror movie should be based on relatively unreal elements, serial killers are okay, but 'Saw' and 'Seven' are enough to keep you up at night counting up all the bad things you've ever done. Build up to your horror movies, otherwise you'll waste the 'scare potential' of many films by developing an immunity to them. Thirdly, watch a horror movie in the right setting with the right people!
THE FOUR BEST CATEGORIES OF HORROR
When it comes to the best horror films there are four kinds you can rely on. Contemporary (1970's to present) Hollywood horror, which mostly offers jumps and gore in equal amounts. The second is classic British horror, once upon a time it was our forte, now we are mostly comedy people. The third, is the newer and more independent style of film making; 'mockumentary' horror movies. The fourth, and most important category of horror can be found in contemporary Asian cinema.
Frankly, contemporary Hollywood horror doesn't offer you much in the way of scares. It is this writers belief that the scriptwriting simply doesn't have the edge, and the directors, not the talent. But maybe it's simply that the studios don't have the (ahem) courage? However, some Hollywood horrors can be entertaining. The remake of Vincent Price's 'House On Haunted Hill' was definitely not without its scares, but the ending sadly let it down. The horror/thriller; 'What Lies Beneath' has been one of the few films that has offered a strong narrative with a number of terrifying jumps. Belonging in the the Hitchcock genre of horror movie making it would probably be worth mentioning at this point that 'Psycho' is still, to date, one of the best horror movies of all time. However, as good as it is, it's scare factor has been diminished over the years principally because so many people know what's coming. For contemporary Hollywood horror I would suggest, above anything else, the Spanish made; 'The Others'. This is a film which definitely takes its lessons from classic British horror and is all the better for it. Like most good horror movies it is the building narrative coupled with scary jumps that makes the film so much better than any cheesy horror. When it comes to Hollywood it is actually better to stick to the classics. Namely; 'Halloween', 'The Shining', 'The Exorcist'. The latter two I would deem the scariest. Possible because, despite it's 'scare potential' it is very easy to shirk off the idea of a serial killer like Michael Myers. If you can take out the baddie with a gun, the fear factor is diminished some what. 'The Shining' is definitely the scariest of these films, and of many other films. Because there are many paranormal entities at work in this story, it is not simply the case of a madman and his axe.
Classic British cinema is a great source when it comes to mining for classic horror. I know that many people often ponder over the wonders of 'The Wicker Man', but the storyline lacks a distinct fear factor when you know what's going to happen. Like 'Psycho', too many people are now familiar with the storyline and hence the 'scares' are lost on them. Like they were on this writer, who was happy when Edward Woodward was finally given his exit (he was just a little irritating). 'The Innocents' is one of Britain's best pieces of horror. Only released on DVD within the past year, it is frequently overlooked by horror fans. Even though it (like 'Psycho' and other classics) has lost some of it's 'scare potential' over the years, it still possesses a sinister and disturbing air to it's narrative. For a more contemporary British horror movie you might want to turn you attention to 'The Descent', it's not the best of all horrors, but good for a fright. For the best of British horror, you will find more chilling efforts in the BBC's archive of 'Christmas Stories'. For a number of years, between the sixties and eighties, the BBC got into the habit of making one-off scary Christmas television specials based on poems, short stories, and books. The best of which are; 'Whistle And I'll Come To You', 'The Signalman' and 'A Warning To The Curious'. Although they lack what scare potential they originally had, they still possess the ability to create a feeling of eeriness and fear within the viewer. 'The Woman In Black' is known to be one of the scariest of these 'Christmas Stories' and, in some people's minds, is the scariest of any horror movie they've seen. Unfortunately it's not available on DVD, in Britain anyway, if you're an American please go out and buy it and get back to me.
Since 'The Blair Witch Project' the 'mockumentary' horror movie has become a popular form of film making. However, 'The Last Broadcast', made prior to 'Blair Witch', was good but not great (that being said, I did watch it in the middle of a well-lit, well crowded room, with someone who gave the ending away) and 'My Little Eye' was pointless. 'The St. Francisville Experiment' is possibly one of the best films to come out of this niche genre. There has been much debate on the internet as to whether it was actually a documentary or whether it is truly a 'mockumentary'. Most people are of the belief that it was originally planned as a straight documentary, but was 're-worked' by the film-makers with some special effects. Whatever it is, it is a very scary film, and is one of the best horror movies to date. However, when it comes to 'mockumentary' horror you'll be missing out on something special if you don't watch the BBC's 'Ghostwatch'. Originally aired on the BBC in 1992, 'Ghostwatch' was shown on Halloween to viewers who believed the whole thing to be real. Documenting popular TV presenters as they investigated a 'haunted house', the show infuriated scared viewers who had quite stupidly let their children watch it, and it subsequently took ten years before anyone would even consider releasing it on DVD. Which you can now get quite easily, but whatever you do, don't let your children watch it. That's the scared ten year old inside of this writer giving you good warning...
Asian cinema is producing the best contemporary horror movies, bar none. But, if you're one of those people who are wary of subtitles I would bet that you've been watching those American remakes instead. Which you shouldn't be! You shouldn't be scared of subtitles, and you shouldn't be watching those appalling American remakes. The original Asian movies are well written, well directed pieces of horror. Despite what Hollywood thinks, some things just can't be translated; like good film making. The shame is, is that they don't even try to re-create the film making, they just make an English speaking, softened version of the original. And to add insult to injury some of these originals are only a few years old. Can you imagine Hollywood remaking a contemporary British film? They wouldn't do it. And why not? Because they only remake films when they know they are 'unavailable' to English speakers. Or, more importantly, unavailable to lazy English speakers. If there is a 'scare junkie' bone in your body you should watch, in this order; 'Ringu' ('The Ring'), 'Gin Gwai' ('The Eye'), 'Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara' ('Dark Water'), and ultimately 'Janghwha, Hongryeon' ('A Tale Of Two Sisters').
To this writer, the scariest of all horror movies are as follows, descending from scary to very scary. I apologise if they don't satiate the 'scare junkie' inside of you. But I hope, that at least, you'll experience a fear jumps. 'Ghostwatch' isn't technically a movie, but as a complete TV special I believe it deserves to be considered in this category. It''s the scariest thing I've ever seen anyway...
THE TOP 10 SCARY MOVIES...
10. Ringu (The Ring)
9. Gin Gwai (The Eye)
8. The Exorcist
7. Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara (Dark Water)
6. The Blair Witch Project
5. The Others
4. The Shining
3. Janghwha, Hongryeon (A Tale Of Two Sisters)
2. The St. Francisville Experiment
1. Ghostwatch