7. Trick r Treat

Trick 'r Treat
Michael Dougherty, 2009

On Halloween night, four loosely related tales of monsters, ghosts, and killers interweave and intersect.

Prior to its release, Trick r Treat had achieved near-legendary status online, as a result of wildly successful test screenings followed by an inexplicable delay in release - it was originally scheduled for 2007, and finally got dumped direct to DVD in October, 2009. Of course, after all that hype, anything would be a letdown, and this is no exception. It's not bad, and looks very nice - but it possesses many of the typical first-time director flaws, primarily awkward tonal shifts and excessive referencing of superior works. One thing it does have going for it, though, is an obvious affection for the season that carries it over the rough spots. Really, it's just a nonsensical bunch of Halloween-y fun, and what's the problem with that? I didn't love it, but I could easily see it becoming a perennial hit.

Oh, and for the record, the best story is the one with the kids, although the twist at the end of the vampire story is pretty awesome.

7.5/10

The 50 Best Horror Movies: #31-35

35. Session 9
Brad Anderson, 2001



Location, location, location. It’s less of a concern for filmmakers than for real estate, but if you can find something special, it can elevate even the weakest project to something watchable. Session 9 has, perhaps, the greatest location ever – an actual abandoned mental asylum. Any movie shot there would, by default, be creepy as hell, even (or perhaps especially) if shot on video, like Session 9 was. Add to that the strong script and solid cast, and you’ve got something a lot more than watchable.

34. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Wes Craven, 1984



What can be said about Freddy Krueger that hasn’t already been said? He’s the greatest of all the modern horror icons, with an unforgettable visual profile and possibly the most frightening idea of all at his core: a monster who can kill you in your dreams. It’s a concept that makes him incredibly versatile, as the Nightmare series has moved from horror to comedy to fantasy to action and back again, with only two real failures in my eyes (numbers 2 and 6). It all started here, though, and Freddy is at his most stripped-down: he’s lean, mean, and often off-screen, but still has a glint in his eye and touch of theatrical flair. Any flaws arising from the ridiculously tiny budget are easily overlooked in light of the legend being created here.

33. City of the Living Dead
Lucio Fulci, 1980



This is the only movie I’ve seen in my adult life that made me sleep with the lights on. I can’t really explain this reaction other than to say there’s just something off about the way it feels. It will probably not have the same effect on you, but fortunately it also features a record number of incredible setpieces (The puking! The maggots! The drill! The pickaxe!) to enjoy, even if you’re not actually scared.


32. Creepshow
George A. Romero, 1982



Creepshow is a loving tribute to EC comics, brought to us by two men at the top of the game in their respective fields – George Romero and Stephen King. It’s funny, but not in a comedy sort of way. It’s scary, but not in an overwhelming way. Each of the five segments functions essentially as a sort of morality tale, in which people do bad things and are punished for it (just as in HBO’s Tales from the Crypt, which was literally adapted from the comics that inspired this film).

This is one of the very first horror movies I ever saw, and it traumatized my young mind. Showers became a prelude to a zombie attack (see “Something to Tide You Over”), and as a result, the smell of a particular brand of soap still puts me on edge. It took me two years before I could eat cereal again (see “They’re Creeping Up on You”). That’s what I call an effective horror movie.

31. Inferno
Dario Argento, 1980



A sequel (roughly) to Suspiria, Inferno is not nearly as iconic as the earlier film, but more than compensates by considerably upping the surrealism quotient and focusing on what could best be described as “architectural horror,” in which the danger comes from within the (man-made) environment itself. A great example of both strengths is the lengthy underwater room sequence that occurs early on, and may be one of the most perfect passages in any horror film.

The 50 Best Horror Movies: #36-40

40. The Descent
Neil Marshall, 2006



Neil Marshall’s tale of a group of women trapped in an underground cave is so effective and terrifying that, when the monsters show up halfway through, it’s actually kind of a relief. The violent, action-y movie that follows can’t match the creeping, gnawing dread of the first half, but is still pretty terrific in its own right. Make sure to watch the version with the original, UK ending, even though the apparently terrible sequel picked up from the weaker US ending.

39. Prince of Darkness
John Carpenter, 1987



This is generally considered one of John Carpenter’s minor works, but it’s one of my favorites. I love the central conceit of breaking theology down into quantum physics (er, sort of. . .), and the utterly relentless tension is extremely unnerving to me. Granted, I have a bit of a weakness for stories where people are turned into monsters instead of just killed by them, and this movie is chock-full of that sort of thing.

Plus, don’t even get me started on that creepy-ass tachyon-transmitted dream from the future (no, seriously, there is one of those in the movie).

38. Candyman
Bernard Rose, 1992



Candyman is a movie about an idea – quite literally, as the Candyman himself is an urban legend, a ghost that only exists because people believe in him. It’s an interesting concept that gives the movie more intellectual resonance than most and puts it right on my wavelength. Even if you don't feel the same way, Tony Todd’s booming voice will never leave your skull once you've seen it, and neither will Philip Glass’s mesmerizing score.

37. The Evil Dead
Sam Raimi, 1982



Probably the best example of can-do gumption by a bunch of nobodies who went on to be very big somebodies, The Evil Dead is cheap, nasty, and crude, but also possesses an innocence and charm that can’t be manufactured. The sequels tend to be better-loved, and are certainly better-made, but I don’t think they ever quite recaptured the magic. .

36. Slither
James Gunn, 2006



I’m a big fan of James Gunn, which is kind of weird, when you break it down. I was not a fan of the Dawn of the Dead remake and didn’t see the Scooby-Doo movies (all of which he wrote). I don’t like his Troma work. Really, his reputation is made primarily by The Specials and by this film – and really, that’s enough. Slither is a delicious cornucopia of styles and horror tropes – you have your mutation/body horror, your possession/mind control paranoia, a touch of zombies, and some big gooey latex monsters, all delivered with a razor wit and just a touch of genuine pathos.

6. Poltergeist

Poltergeist
Tobe Hooper (or was it Steven Spielberg?), 1982.

After their youngest daughter is kidnapped by the television people (aka angry ghosts), the Freeling family must find a way to rescue her without falling victim to the spirits themselves.

First off, the title doesn't make sense. They actually take a moment, halfway through the film, to explain how a poltergeist is different from a haunting, as if to justify it - but then they proceed to give us a fairly textbook example of a haunting. Weird - but I suppose the alternative title was already taken.

Nitpicking aside, Poltergeist is a really middle-of the road movie. It's got some wonderful bits of creepiness (the second conversation with Carol Anne after she disappears, for instance), and a stronger emotional pull than I was expecting (see that same scene), but it never really comes together the way it should. I think the problem is that Spielberg doesn't really want to be making a horror movie, because I have the same issue with Jaws. In both cases, you have the trappings of a horror movie, but when you dig past those trappings, you find the beating heart of an adventure film. There's a light touch to most of the peril, a strong "quest" element to the plot, and a great big ending that is simultaneously epic and anti-climactic. It should be the moment where things become most intense, but it isn't, really. It's just louder - kind of like an action movie. So you have the structure of the movie pulling it in one direction, and the moment to moment details pulling it in the other (perhaps this is the best proof that Hooper really did direct the movie), and then you have a layer of borderline satirical suburban life slathered over it just to really confuse the issue. It's enjoyable, and there's a lot of very well-crafted parts, but it's a mess overall.

6/10

5. Vampire Circus

Vampire Circus
Robert Young, 1972

Fifteen years after the townspeople dispose of an evil vampiric baron, a group of vampires comes to town disguised as a traveling circus to take revenge and resurrect their master.

Vampire Circus really never gets better than its opening sequence. The vampire's attack on a young girl and the subsequent assault on his castle is thrilling stuff, and could easily serve as the climax to a mid-grade Hammer film. The bulk of the film, though, is pretty standard fare, as the vampires pick off the children one-by-one and people grow more and more suspicious. To be honest, there's more fun to be had identifying familiar actors from other roles (Hey, it's Darth Vader! Ethan Rayne! Romana II!) than in following the story, although it is livened up a bit by the producers' willingness to indulge in levels of blood and nudity that would have been unthinkable at Hammer Studios ten years earlier. The ending is fairly typical of Hammer fare, although somewhat more violent than usual, with one moment that gave me a chuckle - once the final vampire is dispatched, our surviving heroes pause for a moment to look around the room, and we see that the floor is literally covered with bodies. All in all, it's pretty typical of the studio's output in the 70's quality-wise, and makes for a decent afternoon matinee, but it's not going to stick with you.

6.5/10

The 50 Best Horror Movies: #41-45

45. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Robert Weine, 1921



Considered by many to be the first real horror movie, Caligari remains a masterpiece of visual storytelling to this day, utilizing an expressionistic style that has been imitated many times, but never matched. Honestly, there’s nothing I can say about this movie that isn’t better demonstrated just by seeing it for yourself, so enjoy this fan-made trailer-ish thing I found on youtube (they didn’t make trailers back then).


44. The Masque of the Red Death
Roger Corman, 1964



For sheer consistency, it’s hard to beat the Roger Corman/Vincent Price cycle of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations. None of them are bad, and several are outright classics. This film is not the very best of the series, but it’s probably the most striking, due in large part to Nicholas Roeg (later a director in his own right, and will be seen again later on this list), who serves as director of photography. It’s filled with vivid, primary colors that lend the story a greater sense of surrealism than the other films, and Vincent Price is his usual self (over the top, and loving it).


43. Hour of the Wolf
Ingmar Bergman, 1968



There is very little in my experience that is more chilling than hearing Max Van Sydow describe the ghosts that haunt him, including a bird-like man and an old woman who always threatens to take her hat off, which would be a terrible thing, because her face will come off with it. It’s a masterpiece of suggestion, the words just abstract enough to invoke chills that an actual visualization could never possibly match.

But then, we do see them. And somehow, it’s even worse.


42. Suspiria
Dario Argento, 1977



Argento’s most famous movie, Suspiria is a wonderful mixture of fairy-tale imagery and tremendously gruesome violence. As with most Italian movies of the era, there are a lot of clunky parts, but the combination of blatantly stylish visuals (ooh, the colors) and more subtle design choices (all of the doorknobs are mounted too high, to make the characters feel like children) all wrapped up in Goblin’s iconic score, weaves such a spell that it doesn’t matter. Best moment of horror? When (SPOILER) falls into a pit full of razor-wire. Ugh.


41. Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
Terence Fisher, 1974



This is the last of the hammer Frankenstein films, and is my favorite of the bunch, despite some dodgy model work. Although the main difference between Peter Cushing’s Victor Frankenstein and the Henry Frankenstein of most other versions of the story is the former's outright villainy, I tend to prefer the installments where he has a bit more humanity – and in that regard, this is second only to Revenge of Frankenstein. What elevates ...Monster from Hell above that entry is the more interesting setting, the more monstrous monster, and a subtly tragic ending, when it becomes apparent that Frankenstein actually has gone mad – just not in the way that people usually accuse him of being mad.

4. Ju-on: The Grudge

Ju-on: The Grudge
Takashi Shimizu, 2002

An assortment of people with loosely interrelated lives fall victim to a curse that was left behind by a violent murder.

Ju-on: The Grudge was not the first of the modern cycle of Japanese ghost stories, but it seems to be as close to an archetypal example of the genre as anything I've seen. You've got your slow-moving, long-haired female ghost, you've got your curse that must be investigated, you've got your unnerving intrusions of the supernatural on to a distinctly modern world, your creepy little boy, etc. etc.

One thing that does stand out about this movie, though, is its structure. Many of the reviews I've come across have complained about this, but I loved it. The movie is structured almost as a series of vignettes, each focusing on a different victim of the curse. They're all interrelated somehow, with characters from one story often making brief appearances in other stories, and one story will sometimes (but not always) pick up where another left off. They're also shown out of chronological order. I found that this gave the whole thing a sort of archeological feel, which I suppose mirrors the characters' investigation into the cursed house. It also prevented any of the characters from developing all that much, but the curse itself is really the main character anyway.

Ultimately, though, there's really nothing to it beyond the experience itself, and some of the J-horror tropes are getting a little bit old, so I can't praise it too highly. Still, if you're just looking for a spooky thrill, you could do a lot worse.

7/10