This week, we’ll break into the Top 20 of our 31 Horror Films. Not only that, but I’ll give you an early Halloween treat as I unload ten — TEN! — horror films on you off the list. That means this will be the largest edition of the series. A little boost to get you over the mid-October hump and onwards to Halloween!
But before we get into that, real quick, we have to go over the usual stuff. Once again, this isn’t a list of the best horror films of all time, per say, but the 31 that are most perfect for this time of year. As such, here is the criteria used to sort through it all:
Film Rating: First and foremost, is it a good movie. If it’s not, why even bother, right?
Maximum of 10 Points
Seasonalness: Does it take place on or around Halloween? Is it fall-esque? The more the better!
Maximum of 10 Points
Halloween Spirit: How much are traditional Halloween themes represented? Witches and whatnot.
Maximum of 5 Points
Scare Factor: Pretty self-explanatory. The closer you are to soiling your pantaloons the better.
Maximum of 5 Points
Pop Culture Value: You know what Jason and Freddy are even if you haven’t seen their movies.
Maximum of 5 Points
Rewatch Value: So you know how everything plays out. Still want to see it again?
Maximum of 3 Points
And, seeing as we’re starting off at #20 in this article, let’s recap the earlier parts of the list that we’ve already uncovered:
Week 1
#31 – Poltergeist (1982) – 24.7/38 Points (65.00%)
#30 – Carrie (1976) – 24.7/38 Points (65.00%)
#29 – Scream 3 (2000) – 24.9/38 Points (65.53%)
#28 – Evil Dead (2013) – 25.3/38 Points (66.58%)
#27 – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) – 25.5/38 Points (67.11%)
Week 2
#26 – Hostel (2005) – 25.6/38 (67.37%)
#25 – Dawn Of The Dead (2004) – 25.7/38 (67.63%)
#24 – Frankenstein (1931) – 26.0/38 (68.42%)
#23 – Scream 4 (2011) – 26.0/38 (68.42%)
#22 – An American Werewolf In London (1981) – 26.3/38 (69.21%)
#21 – Dawn Of The Dead (1978) – 26.7/38 (70.26%)
You can go back and read either of those articles in their entirety by clicking on the corresponding week. With those 11 already done, we will essentially double the number of movies revealed off the list with this edition. So without any further adieu, let’s get on with it, shall we?
#20: Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
First of all, let me allay your concerns and tell you right off the bat that not all of the Paranormal Activity films are on here. We are far into this list for the Paranormal Activity franchise to make up a quarter of the list remaining. Rather there are (an number I will not yet reveal) installments of the franchise that are exceptional enough to make the list. In the case of ‘3’, or ‘Paranormal Activity: ’80’s Edition’, what makes the movie special is it throws the found film genre into a time it is not usual found in. No more security cameras (PA 2) or hacked laptops (PA 4), ‘3’ deals with the good ole bulky camcorder your dad would lug around. The subtle brilliance here is that it forces many camera shots to be much more first-person and thus, the fear is more palpable.
Film Rating: 8.3/10
Seasonalness: 8.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 2.0/5
Scare Factor: 4.5/5
Pop Culture Value: 2.0/5
Rewatch Value: 2.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 26.8/38 (70.53%)
#19: The Strangers (2008)
All horror movies are particularly dark, but ‘The Strangers’ takes it to a whole new level. Written and directed by Bryan Bertino — someone who I can only assume watched Simba’s dad be trampled to death far too many times as a youth — makes sure you walk away from his film thoroughly depressed. Without spoiling any fun for those who haven’t seen it, let’s just say there isn’t even a shred of a silver lining here. Stuff goes from bad to worse to the worst and then just keeps going. Luckily for you, it’s about a home invasion in the middle of the night, so you’ll only experience the film’s situation probably every time you go to bed. So sleep tight and don’t let the sociopathic killers bite!
Film Rating: 8.4/10
Seasonalness: 8.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 3.5/5
Scare Factor: 3.5/5
Pop Culture Value: 1.0/5
Rewatch Value: 2.5/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 26.9/38 (70.79%)
#18: You’re Next (2011)
Originally released in 2011 but only hitting theaters in wide release just last year, You’re Next is probably one of the most underrated slasher flicks of all time. Much like Joss Whedon’s ‘The Cabin In The Woods’, ‘You’re Next’ is a film that knows much of the horror genre is so overplayed that it can use those anticipated clichés to its advantage in flipping the script, in a way. It’s simultaneously extremely familiar as well as quite unlike anything you’ve seen before. What really helps it stand out? Writer Simon Barrett and director Scott Wingard’s attention to detail. Rewatching is encouraged as each new viewing will likely lead to something you didn’t observe the first, second, or eighty-fifth time around. I would make such observations here, but that would be ruining it for you. And for a film this good, that just wouldn’t be fair.
Film Rating: 9.0/10
Seasonalness: 6.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 4.0/5
Scare Factor: 4.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 1.0/5
Rewatch Value: 3.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 27.0/38 (71.05%)
#17: Hostel: Part II (2007)
You can argue back-and-forth all day whether or not Eli Roth’s second installment is better than the first or not, but you’ll almost definitely have to concede the two are very, very similar. That’s because Roth, as with Wes Craven and his ‘Scream’ franchise, knows you don’t deviate from a formula that works. But ‘Hostel: Part II’ expands the scope of the fear. This is no longer an isolated house of horrors in Slovakia, it is an institutionalized evil that caters to the inordinately wealthy as it creates the most horrifying of hobbies. We got a little peek behind the curtain in the first film, but ‘Part II’ puts the whole system center-stage. It does what a sequel should do, which is expand upon the story set forth by its predecessors. The only drawback here is that ‘Part II’ suffers ever so slightly in the category of Scare Factor now that we pretty much know what’s going on (is there anything scarier than the unknown?), but taking place during a Slovakian fall harvest festival does wonders for the sequel’s Seasonalness and Halloween Spirit scores.
Film Rating: 8.1/10
Seasonalness: 9.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 3.0/5
Scare Factor: 3.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 2.0/5
Rewatch Value: 2.5/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 27.6/38 (72.63%)
#16: Scream 2 (1997)
As the Scream franchise unfolds, it caters more and more to a broad audience. We, as a society, love serial killers and we love true crime. The ‘Scream’ series knows this and uses it to further draw us into the story. In ‘Scream 2’, it’s a couple years down the road and there are already books and movies being made about the “real life” slayings in Woodsboro. It seems like the perfect time for a copycat killer (another thing we love) to surface and throw the whole town back into chaos. And that’s just what happens. Neve Campbell is back as Sydney Prescott as are Courtney Cox and David Arquette as the opportunistic tabloid journalist and happy-go-lucky cop, respectively. After all, the only way you leave the ‘Scream’ franchise is in a body bag. Naturally, Scream 2 gets its highest marks for Pop Culture Value and Halloween Spirit (just about everyone knows what the Ghostface mask is), but Rewatch Value and Film Rating aren’t that far behind, either.
Film Rating:8.1/10
Seasonalness: 6.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 4.0/5
Scare Factor: 3.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 4.5/5
Rewatch Value: 2.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 27.6/38 (72.63%)
#15: Friday the 13th (1980)
Another one of my personal favorites, Friday the 13th is the quintessential slasher. There are young people, they’re isolated, and unbeknownst to them (until it’s late, anyway) there’s a serial killer out and about. It’s hard to call this original “formulaic” when it seems to have largely created the formula itself. I mean, normal teenagers don’t get hunted. But horny ones that play strip Monopoly? Of course! What’s even better (and something that has rarely been replicated since) is that it’s brief moments of comedy are genuinely funny. We’re not talking about a chuckle or a smirk, but full-on, belly-laugh funny. I still laugh out every time during the scene with the motorcycle cop. Telling us upfront it takes place specifically on June 13th, in the balmy heat of late spring, ‘Friday’ does not do well for Seasonalness, but the numbers are there for everything else including a perfect score for Pop Culture Value.
Film Rating: 8.7/10
Seasonalness: 3.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 4.0/5
Scare Factor: 4.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 5.0/5
Rewatch Value: 3.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 27.7/38 (72.89%)
#14: Children Of The Corn (1984)
There is a very short list of films that forever labeled certain themes “scary” and thus forever ubiquitous during the Halloween season. For movies like ‘Friday the 13th’ and the ‘Blair Witch Project’, it was camping in the woods. For the television movie ‘It’, it was clowns. And, thanks to Children of the Corn, corn fields now will forever have a certain level of creepiness to them. It makes sense, doesn’t it. The endless rows make it impossible to get your bearings straight. And you never know whether or not Malachai is somewhere out there with an unnecessarily sinister-looking instrument of death. Of course, as with just about every Stephen King story, there is a strong sci-fi element here, and whether that adds to or detracts from the Halloween spirit is debatable. But one thing that will always work in the favor of Halloween are murderous juveniles, and Children of the Corn obviously has that in bushels. Once again, there’s another Pop Culture Value perfect score here as all you have to do is drop the title of the movie and everyone instantly knows what you’re referring to.
Film Rating: 7.6/10
Seasonalness: 7.5/10
Halloween Spirit: 3.0/5
Scare Factor: 3.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 5.0/5
Rewatch Value: 2.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 28.1/38 (73.95%)
#13: The Ring (2002)
The thirteenth spot would be the perfect place to put ‘Friday The 13th’ if this list were totally rigged but it’s not. Instead, it’s ‘The Ring’, which is just about as close to “classics” territory as any contemporary horror flick gets. Just think about the pop culture aspects of it. We’ve all heard about the video that you watch and then you die in seven days. We know about the creepy girl in the well. What you may not remember is that the movie has a nice “coolness” about it that helps ‘The Ring’ garner some points for Seasonalness here. Whether it’s the breeze-driven foliage outside the cabin or the cloudy, rain-filled skies, the whole movie just feels like it set the thermostat to 50 degrees (or 10 degrees Celsius for you metric commies). Again, though, ‘The Ring’ is a pretty great movie in its own right, so it’s not lacking in any specific category on here.
Film Rating: 8.1/10
Seasonalness: 6.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 3.0/5
Scare Factor: 4.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 4.0/5
Rewatch Value: 3.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 28.1/38 (73.95%)
#12: Scream (1996)
Scream is the ‘Citizen Kane’ of, well, teen screams. There are high schoolers getting brutally murdered one-by-one and the ones still alive soon learn they have to play by the “rules” of horror movies if they’re going to live. How very meta. But, ironically, ‘Scream’ has stood the test of time (all 18 years, anyway) for its simpleness. We will always fear a knife-wielding masked killer lurking in the shadows. For anyone who has ever been alone at night when the phone rings, ‘Scream’ will always be in the back of their minds. As for Pop Culture Value and Halloween Spirit, well, let me ask you this: how many Ghostface masks do you see on shelves this time of year? Exactly. Scream not only is a great horror flick in its own right, but it pays homage to the greats that have come before it. And for that, it always, always be a go-to this time of year.
Film Rating: 8.2/10
Seasonalness: 6.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 4.0/5
Scare Factor: 3.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 5.0/5
Rewatch Value: 2.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 28.2/38 (74.21%)
#11: A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Freddy Krueger is one of the last classic horror villains to be talked about on this list, but he finally makes his debut here. As good as Wes Craven was throughout the ‘Scream’ franchise, ‘Nightmare’ is by far his best work. Creating a killer who attacks you while you do something you literally have to do to stay alive is perhaps the most ingenious concept of any horror film to date. Are you afraid of the dark? Fine, don’t turn off the lights. Are you afraid of being alone? Cool, always be with people. Are you afraid of sleeping? Then you’re shitake mushrooms out of luck, my friend. Add in some of the most jaw-dropping, special effects-driven gore scenes we’ve ever seen, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a horror flick. Oh, and did we mention glove blades? We should probably mention gloves blades. Glove blades!
Film Rating: 8.3/10
Seasonalness: 5.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 5.0/5
Scare Factor: 3.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 5.0/5
Rewatch Value: 2.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 28.3/38 (74.47%)
