Hello all! Happy October! I know my posts have been anemic of late, but I've been dealing with some shit so blogging has fallen by the wayside. However, I saw that Stacie over at Final Girl was doing another Shocktober 20 Favourite Horror Films this year.
I had the pleasure of finally meeting Stacie in person over the summer and we had a delightful conversation about Twin Peaks, Messiah of Evil and Toronto horror movie locations she should visit the next time she is in town. Her blog has always been an inspiration to me - I can safely say THS would likely not exist without it - and I'm glad almost twenty years later, it soldiers on.
So, yeah, the Fave 20 list. FG has done them before, but I believe this will be the first time I have participated. Here they are below, favourite being the distinction, over “best”. I tried to keep the titles as intrinsicly horror as possible, which is why adored titles like Alien, Black Swan, Fire Walk With Me, Mulholland Drive, Seven, Silence of the Lambs and Under The Skin didn't potentially creep in there.
I also kinda broke it down to sixty-percent classics, thirty-percent contemporary and ten-percent guilty pleasures. Ranking would be impossible so here they are alphabetically.
My favourite horror comedy and one that is absolutely intertwined with my childhood. It includes my favourite werewolf transformation and a bevy of quotable lines I still use to this day.
The granddaddy of all slashers that gets better every time I watch it - which is annually. Terrific CanCon, and ahead of its time in so many ways.
A movie I have become obsessed with over the last decade-and-a-half. I love everything about this film, including that all of its locations are within an hour drive of my house. This is the kind of bonkers low budget filmmaking that really makes my heart sing.
It was a tough choice between this and its predecessor Night of the Living Dead, but I just went with the one with more bang for your buck. A quintessential apocalypse movie and the catalyst for long office chair daydreams about my escape plan.
Another delicious piece of Canadian tax shelter gold. Even if this wasn't based on one of my favourite books, the fact someone had the idea to dress dashchunds in rat costumes is God-tier excellence. Also another movie where the shooting locations are within my grasp.
This still remains one of my favourite theater-going experiences. Witnessing a packed house collectively have their nerves shredded was euphoric. The one-two punch of intense claustophobia falling into visceral monster madness absolutely kills. I would have no problem crowning this movie the winner of the aughts.
I said there would be no rankings, but gun to my head, inevitably Sam Raimi's debut would be my #1. He's my boy, and inspired countless filmmakers to pick up a camera.
A true classic in every way, and one of my faves to watch YT reactions of. This film has such range switching from legit family drama to unhinged chaos that it almost feels unsafe to watch at times.
A film so ingrained in my DNA that I am surprised I don't bleed orange. As a kid, Michael Myers was my spirit animal. Though it may seem redundant because Black Christmas is also on here, let's be honest, Halloween was the true template for all that came after. A Top 3 movie for sure and another annual tradition.
One of my favourite Midnight Madness screenings, and my proper introduction to the New French Extremity. While 2006's Inside is admittedly just as deserving of this spot, Tension has the distinction of being the only piece of physical media I own that I paid over a hundred dollars for (if you count the all-region player I had to buy to play my UK import of the alternately titled Switchblade Romance).
Perhaps a controversial pick, but I adore this movie. It's lore, combined with its timeless visual style and unforgettable score really felt fresh and cemented it among the best this decade had to offer. Also the start of a promising career for its lead, Maika Monroe.
Another formative movie for me. A perfect man versus animal movie that birthed a thousand clones. While The Legacy and Alligator brought on my fear of water, my fear of sharks no doubt started with this movie. Terrific filmmaking all around.
Wes Craven took slashers to a new level and made the monster something you couldn't escape. Michael was my first bro, but I really responded to Freddy in my teens. Robert Englund deserves even more credit that he already gets for his performances in this series, and the reason he would likely be the Washington of the slashers' Mount Rushmore.
A beautiful and tragic film from Spain. This film has so many wonderfully chilling set pieces and gut wrenching performance from Belén Rueda. The image of Tomás standing in the courtyard while children play oblivious around him is one of my all time faves.
Another Spanish gem. This would have to be my favourite found footage movie, just edging out The Blair Witch Project after much deliberation. Though Blair may have had more of an impact on my life at the time, there is no denying the technical perfection on display in Plaza & Balaguero's opus. It is also one of the most unfaltering examples of escalation I have ever seen put to film.
No surprise here. Kubrick's take on King material is a masterpiece. The setting of The Overlook Hotel is so soaked in disorienting dread that essays (and documentaries) have been written on what it all means. I adore every frame of this film.
I realized early on that I'd only be able to put one Italian title on this list and after much debate, I had to go with Argento's seminal piece. It is the Mona Lisa of horror films. Dream-like, abstract and kaliedoscopic, it was the sound choice.
I assert that there is no more powerful horror film viewed on the big screen that Tobe Hooper's horror debut. The sound of that chainsaw mixed with Marilyn Burns' screams will cut through even the most stalwart. The last act is so unrelenting that it takes multiple viewings to see the underlying comedy of it all. Another Top 3 movie for me.
John Carpenter is only director on this list to have two movies on it so that should indicate how dear his work is to me. The amount of sheer effects wizardry on display - that still holds up today even after multiple restorations - is absolutely ridiculous, especially when you consider effects lead Rob Bottin was fucking 22 years old! But even without the effects, the film stands on its own as a paranoia pot boiler.
The newest film on the list that I instantly fell in love after seeing at TIFF. Robert Eggers delivers such a grounded and authentic period piece bouyed by fantastic performances led by future A-lister Anya Taylor Joy.
Okay, that's it. No takebacks! This was not easy. In addition to those outliers I mentioned before, I wasn't able to fit in any Asian horror titles or any others that are near and dear to my heart like Paperhouse or Blood and Black Lace. All that said, I'm chuffed to see where all these placed on Shocktober's list when all is said and done. Will I be the only cheerleader for The Brain and Deadly Eyes? Will Halloween reclaim its place as #1 after being unseated by the Suspiria remake? We shall see!
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