Bill Paxton’s directorial debut, Frailty, is the perfect choice for Halloween scares, psychological thrills, or good old-fashioned serial killer huntin’. Starring Powers Booth as an FBI behavioral sciences agent (aka psychopath hunter), Frailty opens with Matthew McConaughey strolling in, sitting down, and calmly informing the agent that he knows the identity of the God’s Hand killer. Thus commences a tale told of missions from God, parents fanatic, youngsters trapped, loyalties tested, rescues mounted, appearances masquerading, realities bent, and of course, angels and demons and an axe or two.
In addition to being strong stuff perhaps unexpected from the affable Paxton, Frailty chills the spine from beginning to end. From the “Wha’?? Holy crap, you’re not actually serious?” ten minutes in to the “Holy crap, I can’t believe that!” as the credits roll, Frailty keeps us guessing ~ concerned when thinking we know what’s going on, horrified when we realize how mistaken we were, relieved when things seem brought under control, and reeling as they take several sharp turns until it finally wraps, leaving us dazed and delighted.
[h2]79) 28 Weeks Later[/h2]
I liked 28 Weeks Later, a lot. I thought it was an excellent sequel that stayed true to the story of the first film, moved it forward well, and remained scary and gruesome throughout. Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo does some truly impressive and assured work here, and gives us a follow up to the classic Danny Boyle film.
It’s visceral, entertaining, full of very strong performances and manages to be immensely satisfying. Some of these scenes are absolutely brutal and truly terrifying, even beating some of the moments from the first film. It’s also a very smart film though, with a very smart director behind the camera, which puts it well above most horror flicks.
Call me crazy, but I prefer 28 Weeks Later to 28 Days Later. It doesn’t have the same characterization as Boyle’s film and its story isn’t as human, but as a pure thrill ride, it takes the cake. It’s action sequences are kinetic and its scenes of terror are truly felt, making this a more than worthy sucessor.
[h2]78) The Ring[/h2]
Anyone who sees The Ring for the first time can look forward to 7 days of glancing over their shoulder and avoiding TVs at all costs. The videotape itself is disturbing enough to earn a spot on this list, but combine it with the absolutely horrifying scenes where Samara attacks her helpless victims, and the result is absolute terror.
The scares don’t come cheap in this one, as the story is well-crafted and complex, providing a glimpse into the past more intriguing than many of its contemporaries. The creepy TV-crawling girl is as haunting as any little girl in horror movies, and that’s saying something. Few images are more scarring than the dead girl’s bruised and beaten body in the closet, thrown at you mere minutes into the film.
[h2]77) Repulsion[/h2]
In the film that director Roman Polanski said started out as horror and turned into a psychological thriller, Catherine Deneuve plays Carol, a young woman terrified of just about everybody, but most particularly men. Living with her sister and sister’s husband, the world seems to be closing in around her, despite some sweet overtures from a young man. Things go from bad to worse when she’s left alone for the weekend. Holed up in the apartment, she slowly begins coming apart at the seams.
Repulsion is one of Polanski’s loose ‘Apartment Trilogy’ – along with Rosemary’s Baby and The Tenant – and, my, but isn’t it creepy? Focalized almost entirely through Carol, the viewer experiences everything she does, down to the oppressive sounds and sights – and nearly smells – of a London apartment in the summertime.
Without ever quite explaining just what is wrong with Carol, the film conjures levels of disturbance that even a more supernatural horror film like Rosemary’s Baby cannot equal. There’s no supernatural here; there’s barely even a threat, just a young woman’s increasingly disturbed mind. Which, if you watch Repulsion, is all the horror we really need.
[h2]76) Zombieland[/h2]
As a cowardly shut-in, the last thing you want is a zombie apocalypse, but that’s exactly what happens to Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), sending him on a cross-country journey to find his family.
Featuring outstanding performances from Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee and Emma Stone as Wichita, Zombieland is a surprisingly witty film, especially for one about brain-eaters. Fast and funny, Zombieland is everything that teen-horror should be, and the standard that future films should shoot for. The film also has the best Ghostbusters references and Bill Murray cameo ever.
[h2]75) Cabin Fever[/h2]
Before his crazy kung-fu collaboration with The RZA and before checking in to Hostel, Eli Roth broke onto the independent horror scene with a fantastic infection film called Cabin Fever. Opting for a flesh-eating virus instead of creepy backwoods killer, five college kids rent a vacation cabin where they stumble upon the horrors of infected water which contaminates them one by one – along with the crazy locals who don’t take too kindly to their immature shenanigans.
Even with the “help” of a local officer though, we watch as the likes of Rider Strong and Jordan Ladd are ravaged by this deadly disease, while Roth displays his stick twisted horrific vision for all of us to enjoy. There’s a reason Roth is so big in the horror community these days, and Cabin Fever is the reason – even if a bunch of straight to DVD flicks are currently ruining the franchise name.
[h2]74) Les Diaboliques[/h2]
There was a period when Henri-Georges Clouzot was considered the French Hitchcock. Les Diaboliques (The Devils) is Exhibit A. The story of a cruel schoolmaster, how his wife and mistress plan – and accomplish – his murder and the weird aftermath of the killing could indeed have been made by the Master of Suspense. Hitch even remarked that it inspired him to make Psycho to win back his title.
Les Diaboliques is not just another director’s version of a Hitchcock film, though. Clouzot has a style all his own that he’d already perfected in the taut Wages of Fear and the paranoiac Le Corbeau. Half of Les Diaboliques is taken up by the planning and execution of the murder, the other in the investigation by policeman Fichet. With the murderered man characterized as so cruel, it’s difficult not to sympathize with the two women. Les Diaboliques shifts from psycho-thriller to legit horror when the body of the schoolmaster – drowned in the bathtub – vanishes and a young boy begins swearing that he’s seen him in various places around the school.
Les Diaboliques has marvelous twists and turns, culminating in a reveal that is unexpected, disturbing and just a little funny. Never mind being the Master of Suspense; Clouzot deserves a title all his own. You’ll never want to take a bath again.
[h2]73) The Mist[/h2]
Frank Darabont, Stephen King, and one of the most iconic horror endings depicted on screen for some time. Seriously, talk about reinventing “the shot heard ‘round the world,” but there was more to love about this novel adaptation besides a brilliant director and a heartless ending – heartless and gut-wrenching in the most boisterously admirable way though. Not everything in today’s world is butterflies and rainbows, and Frank Darabont treated us like adults with his reverse candy-coated ending.
Now, admittedly, the plot is intriguing yet kind of silly, as a thick mists traps townsfolk in a large supermarket, threatening dangers that hide in the mist itself. Yes, a giant mist that holds monsters rolls into town, and it’s up to Thomas Jane and some locals to escape their supermarket of doom before beasties overrun the joint.
Typically questionable, but with Darabont at the helm, entertaining creature work and bang-up CGI effects bring us into his mystifying world, along with a brutally honest societal reaction to impending destruction. Jane’s character is surrounded by people he sees every day, yet now he finds himself in a struggle for survival both outside and inside, facing different yet equal foes. Yeah, I’d say Darabont made Stephen King very proud with this adaptation.
[h2]72) Triangle[/h2]
Ah yes, Triangle. Christopher Smith’s twisted 2009 psychological thriller is quite a trip and a truly underrated gem in the field of horror. A complete mind bender with a satisfying payoff, it certainly stands out of the pack, bringing something a bit different to the genre.
I’d hate to spoil any of the fun but just pay close attention to this one. It may require more than one viewing to put the pieces together but once you’ve got it figured out it’s immensely satisfying. Providing some truly chilling moments, Triangle is a wonderfully constructed horror film that really needs to start getting more credit than it does.
[h2]71) It[/h2]
If you’re scared of clowns, then it should be a no brainer as to why Stephen King’s It is a classic horror film. It takes the fear of clowns that many have, and completely twists it into something even more terrifying, a killer clown.
The real star of the show here is Tim Curry, who brings King’s creation to life marvellously and really captures what was written on the page, bringing us what is undoubtedly one of the scariest characters in the history of cinema (yes, this was a TV movie but it still counts).
Even though It had to work within the constraints of a being a made for television movie, and featured some hokey effects and laughable dialogue, the scares are still there and Curry’s Pennywise the clown is far too horrifying to forget.
Admittedly, it doesn’t hold up as well when you watch the film today, with parts of it feeling a bit too drawn out. And perhaps it really wasn’t as scary as you remember it being back when you were six years old, but if nothing else, Curry’s performance is worth the watch. He has truly crafted a classic horror icon in It and has undoubtedly left many people deathly afraid of clowns.
Now, if only someone would adapt It for the big screen.
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