George A. Romero

Countdown to the 100 Best Scary Movies of All-Time (85 to 81)


85.     

Sisters (1973) 

Directed by Brian De Palma (Carrie), Sisters is a twisted suspense thriller featuring Margot Kidder (Black Christmas) and Jennifer Salt (Soap). The film is set in New York and is about a newspaper reporter (Salt) who witnesses, through her apartment window, a violent murder in the apartment across the way. Kidder plays a French Canadian model/actress who may or may not be involved with murder. Years earlier, she had been surgically separated from her Siamese twin. De Palma is a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock and this movie is a homage to the Master of Suspense.  The film is a well-crafted, dark thriller with great performances from Salt and Kidder. The 2006 remake with Chloe Sevigny ran into trouble from the beginning and became a straight to DVD release.

84.     

[Rec] (2007)

Written and directed by Jaume Balaguero (Darkness) and Paco Plaza, [REC] is a Spanish horror movie about a reporter and her cameraman who are shooting a documentary piece on a local Barcelona fire station. What begins as a routine call about a woman trapped in her apartment soon leads to terror, as the rescue/camera crew discovers an outbreak in the apartment building that turns the residents into flesh-eating zombie-like creatures.  To complicate matters, the building is then quarantined by local authorities, trapping everyone in the building. This effectively frightening, edge of your seat thriller was remade in 2008 as the American film Quarantine, which was a box office hit. The title of the film is short for the word ‘Record’ on video cameras.

83.     

Angel Heart (1987)

Angel Heart is a compelling, film noir style, detective story with a supernatural twist written and directed by Alan Parker (Midnight Express). The film features a strong cast including Mickey Rourke (Iron Man 2), Robert De Niro (Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein) and Lisa Bonet (The Cosby Show). The film is set in 1955 and is about a private investigator named Harry Angel (Rourke) who is hired to find a big band singer who has disappeared. The case takes the investigator to New Orléans and the underground world of voodoo and magic. Here, Rourke’s character gets more than he bargained for as he uncovers a sinister, satanic plot. The movie received a lot of controversy when it was released due to a graphic sex scene between Rourke and Bonet (who was appearing in the clean-cut The Cosby Show at the time). 

82.     

Carnival of Souls (1962)

Directed by Herk Harvey, Carnival of Souls is a low-budget, independent film that did not receive a lot of attention when it was first released. It has since gone on to become a cult classic and to influence a number of other independent filmmakers including David Lynch and George A. Romero. After surviving a car accident, a young woman is haunted by the souls of the dead, who lead her to a strange, abandoned amusement park. The film is an effectively haunting piece, notable for its creepy atmosphere and surprise ending.  Carnival of Souls was Harvey’s only directorial effort. The 1998 remake has little to do with the original film and went straight to video.

81.     

Hellraiser (1987)

Hellraiser is the best film in the Hellraiser series of nine horror movies.  A low-budget, British film written and directed by Clive Barker (Lord of Illusions), the film is based on one of Barker’s novellas. A man purchases an ancient puzzle box and unlocks a portal into another realm, releasing mutated creatures that capture and torture him.  Years later, his brother and family move into the same house and become involved in a dangerous life and death game with the brother and the same demented creatures.  The film’s strengths are its horrific imagery, suspenseful storyline and strong performances from a largely unknown cast. It is the film that introduced the Cenobite Pinhead character, which is one of the all-time scariest villains in film. The movie received mixed reviews upon its release and was a moderate success at the box office–though it did spawn a highly successful franchise. Hellraiser is rated #19 on Bravo’s list of the 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

 

Countdown to the 100 Best Scary Movies of All-Time (90 to 86)


90.        

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a film I found extremely disturbing when I first saw a re-release of the movie, due to its graphic violence and horrific themes. Directed by Tobe Hopper (Poltergeist) and starring Marilyn Burns, the film claims to be based on a true story (to add to the terror) though it is a work of fiction. A group of friends are travelling by van in the countryside to visit a family grave and old homestead when they fall victim to a family of cannibals living in a creepy, dilapidated rural home. Upon release, the movie received mixed reviews and controversy, being banned in a number of countries and theatres due to its graphic violence. Made on a budget of $300,000, the movie became a successful cult classic, grossing about 30 million worldwide, and is credited for influencing many slasher horror films that followed it. I am not a fan of the 2003 remake that grossed over 100 million worldwide.

89.      

Burnt Offerings (1976)

Filmed at the famed Dunsmuir House in California, Burnt Offerings is a haunted house story directed by Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows) and featuring a strong cast including Karen Black (Trilogy of Terror), Oliver Reed (The Devils), Bette Davis (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), Burgess Meredith and Eileen Heckart. A family takes over the care taking of a large mansion for an elderly brother and sister only to experience strange supernatural going-ons. The house seems to be rejuvenating itself with each injury and death that occurs. The movie features strong performances from the cast and a suitably foreboding  atmosphere, as the suspense of the film builds towards its creepy climax. Though this movie received mostly negative reviews from the critics, it is worth a look for fans of scary movies. The film did go on to win three Saturn Awards in 1977: Best Horror Film, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Davis).

88.          

Dawn of the Dead (1978) & Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Written and directed by George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) is the second of Romero’s zombie apocalyptic movies.  A worldwide pandemic, where the dead are brought back to life as flesh eating zombie creatures, has spread to a town where survivors barricade themselves in the local shopping mall to survive. The movie skillfully combines humour with the horror, as the zombies are mindlessly drawn to the mall and the terror mounts. Most reviews for the film were positive. Made for around $600,000, the movie went on to gross 55 million worldwide, making if the most success of Romero’s zombie films. Equally good is the 2004 remake directed by Zack Synder (300) and featuring Sarah Polley (Splice), Ving Rhames (Mission Impossible III) and Jake Weber (Medium). With strong performances, great characters, heart pounding action and strong reviews, the movie went on to gross over 100 million at the box office.

87.    

Black Christmas (1974) 

Before Halloween, there was this low budget Canadian slasher movie directed by Bob Clark (A Christmas Story). The movie features Olivia Hussey (Death on the Nile), Keir Dullea (2001: A Space Odyssey), Margot Kidder (The Amityville Horror), Andrea Martin (SCTV) and John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street). As Christmas approaches, a mostly vacated sorority house is threatened by creepy obscene phone calls culminating in the remaining young women being stalked and killed by a crazed killer.  The movie is both campy and frightening, containing strong performances, in particular by Hussey (as the terrified lead) and Kidder (who is hilarious as a foul mouthed drunk). The film has since gone on to become a cult classic and the inspiration for other slasher films that followed like Halloween and Friday the 13th. In the United States, it was released as Silent Night, Evil Night. Do not bother with the awful 2006 remake.

86.     

The Stepford Wives (1975) 

During the height of the feminist movement, Ira Levin (Rosemary’s Baby) wrote a best-selling novel which was adapted into a screenplay by William Goldman (Marathon Man) and made into this suspenseful thriller directed by Bryan Frobes and featuring Katharine Ross (The Legacy), Paul Prentiss (The Parallax View) and Tina Louise. A young mother (Ross) moves from New York with her husband and two children to a small, idyllic town where the women are all the epitome of the perfect wife, mother and homemaker. As Ross’ character slowly begins to uncover the mystery behind the town’s beautiful facade, she learns that something more sinister is at play here. The movie is effective due to the strong performances and building suspense with Ross’ character racing against time as her very existence is a stake. Though only a moderate success when it was released, the movie has gone on to become a cult classic. Note: The 2004 comedy remake directed by Frank Oz and featuring Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler and Glenn Close is terrible.