Top Ten Horror Movies (Without Monsters)

10.) Psycho

I grew up hating Hitchcock. I always thought he was just a dickhead, film elitist’s go-to director. It was not unlike hating Citizen Kane because every film buff calls it the best film ever. When I finally got around to watching Hitchcock’s films with a critical eye I, of course, came to the conclusion that he truly is the genius everyone claims him to be. Or maybe I’ve turned into a film snob? Come to think of it, Citizen Kane is the best movie ever made…

9.) Eden’s Lake

This is another horror film my brother was on my back to watch. Everyday he’d beg me to get a copy and sit down and watch it. Finally he caught me when I was already in front of T.V. and threw it in. Ugh, really? (I’m not a huge fan of the horror genre. Well, the modern, American horror genre is down right awful) But this english film about a couple vacationing in the woods is downright fucked up. It is one of only instances I can think where children are actually intimidating.
8.) The Shining

One of many masterpieces that Kubrick strung together. It remains the centerpiece to discussions about the legitmacy of the horror genre. Kubrick was a genius. This is his most accessible film. It followed Barry Lyndon, which was so cold, so distant, that I think it drove him to do a commercial film. It is a great film and I’ll go up against any film buff on why it is great. I’m just not sure.

7.) In the Mouth of Madness

This is John Carpenter’s weirdest, most terrifying movie. I believe this type of story is called Meta-fiction. (I should really have internet access when I write this stuff) Halloween is awesome but really not that scary and Michael Myers is a monster, therefore won’t be included on this list. JC was the king of cool movies right up to Mouth of Madness. What the fuck happened to him?

6.) Hostel 1 and 2

Quentin Tarantino was quoted as saying that Eli Roth is the future of horror. I don’t know why QT’s opinion is gospel, but he might have been right. The hostel films are the best of their kind. Check out Blood Sucking Freaks (#2) to see his influences. (he does the commentary if I’m not mistaken)

5.) Rosemary’s Baby

Another one of Polanski’s masterpieces. This is one of three “women-in-apartment” movies. Check all three of the out. They’re legitimately scary and a corner stone of the horror canon.

4.) Repulsion

This is questionably Polanski’s best film. My brother was on my back to watch this movie and I fought him. A horror movie from the 60s? And it is really, really scary? Yeah, alright… I finally caved and was in awe. This is a movie that was seriously ahead of its time.

3.) Inside

This is the best horror-film to come out of the french horror new-wave. If you haven’t checked out the french horror new-wave yet, do it now. Inside is great horror film. It might be the best of the past decade. Pure craftsmanship. It isn’t just pop-out scares. This film is psychologically creepy, gory, and twisted. Great film

2.) Blood Sucking Freaks

Another great horror movie. It was one of the first horror movies I ever saw ironically. My brother and I bought it at best buy when we were only 16 and 14 respectively. This movie is seriously depraved. It is an hour and a half of naked chicks being tortured. The midget sucking a chicks brains out remains one of the weirder horror images ever.

1.) Cannibal Holocaust

This might be one of the most disturbing films ever made. I saw it for the first time in a crowded get together comprised of all young men. There was a party atmosphere at first, people were drinking and chatting over the film. By the end, people were dead silent and requesting it be turned off. It affects people that much. As legend goes, the film is so realistic that the director was arrested and held by the Italian police until the actors/actresses came forward, proving they were alive. Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity couldn’t hold this film’s jock strap.