Having knocked out the first half of the top 20 on my 31 Horror Films for Halloween list last week, today we’ll start the top 10. However, we will not finish the top 10. No, in order to see the top 3, you’ll just have to stick around for one more week!
Once again though, we’ll begin with a bit of a refresher. First, here is, once again, a quick recap about the criteria used in determining what makes any old horror flick right for this time of the year.
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 now let’s remind everyone of the list have we have unveiled it so far:
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%)
Week 3
#20 – Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – 26.8/38 (70.53%)
#19 – The Strangers (2008) – 26.9/38 (70.79%)
#18 – You’re Next (2011) – 27.0/38 (71.05%)
#17 – Hostel: Part II(2007) – 27.6/38 (72.63%)
#16 – Scream 2 (1997) – 27.6/38 (72.63%)
#15 – Friday the 13th (1980) – 27.7/38 (72.89%)
#14 – Children of the Corn (1984) – 28.1/38 (73.95%)
#13 – The Ring (2002) – 28.1/38 (73.95%)
#12 – Scream (1996) – 28.2/38 (74.21%)
#11 – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – 28.3/38 (74.47%)
And, as always, you can go back to any of those three articles simply be clicking the week edition you want to go to. Okay, with all of the necessary announcements out of the way, let’s get on with the show!
#10: Saw (2004)
Ten years ago next week, this little gem of a flick came out and arguably changed the horror genre forever. So new and so unlike anything that came before it, it is one of those rare films that have become a landmark on the timeline that is the history of horror. Not since Freddy Krueger in 1984 have we had a horror villain so embed himself in the fabric of pop culture. We all know the doll riding the tricycle and we all know what he means: if you’ve recently regained consciousness, chances are you’re effed. The subsequent and ever-worsening sequels have effectively diluted the franchise into mediocrity in the eyes of true horror fans, but I implore you to go back and watch the first. It’ll remind you why you once loved this franchise, rather than loathed it.
Film Rating: 8.5/10
Seasonalness: 6.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 4.0/5
Scare Factor: 2.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 5.0/5
Rewatch Value: 3.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 28.5/38 (75.00%)
#9: The Conjuring (2013)
2013 was something of a renaissance for the horror genre. ‘You’re Next’ finally saw a wide release, the ‘Evil Dead’ remake stood on its own, and, well, yeah, we’re just not going to talk about ‘The Purge’. That one was admittedly a horrible misstep. But ‘The Conjuring’! Oh, ‘The Conjuring’ was 2013’s apogee of the horror world. It’s content is fresh, it’s acting is superb, and it’s fear is palpable. It’s hard to get the tried-and-true horror fans truly scared anymore, but ‘The Conjuring’ gets closer than anything has in years. I don’t like to exaggerate, but it very well may be the greatest “haunted house” movie of all time. ‘The Amityville Horror’, by comparison, is about as scary as ‘Scary Movie’. And what helps take it even further — at least as far as this list is concerned — is its imagery. The room of creepy objects, the rustling leaves, the menacing tree bearing a noose. It all makes the movie fit snuggly into this time of the year. And, if we give it some time, I’m sure its Pop Culture Value will only go up.
Film Rating: 9.0/10
Seasonalness: 8.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 3.0/5
Scare Factor: 4.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 1.5/5
Rewatch Value: 3.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 28.5/38 (75.00%)
#8: The Evil Dead (1981)
The original cabin in the woods, ‘The Evil Dead’ has stood the test of time not only for its simple concepts but by going where some might have perceived too far at the time. Okay, and even today. We’re looking at you, scene with the tree vines! But ‘The Evil Dead’ really is your prototypical horror movies. You have a group of young adventurers going where they probably shouldn’t be going, ignoring all warning signs along the way, and then, as expected, ish begins to hit the fan. Interjecting robust loads of comedy into the script is something writer/director Sam Raimi can’t help but to do, but at least in this first one, unlike Evil Dead II, the comedy is somewhat in moderation and therefore does not become cumbersome. As with ‘The Conjuring’, ‘The Evil Dead’ has all the right imagery to make it perfect for this time of year while ventures a near-perfect score on Pop Culture Value. I can’t help but to think the 2013 remake did a lot of work here to bring the original deservedly back into the mainstream with the other classics.
Film Rating: 7.8/10
Seasonalness: 8.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 3.0/5
Scare Factor: 3.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 4.0/5
Rewatch Value: 3.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 28.8/38 (75.79%)
#7: Paranormal Activity (2007)
Everything I said about ‘Saw’ as far as it being a game-changer for the horror genre and becoming a landmark film in horror history equally applies to ‘Paranormal Activity’. In fact, it may even deserve more credit seeing as it came just three short years after that first Saw movie. And with the original in this franchise dotting the list her at lucky number seven, I will go ahead and now confirm that only two films from the franchise are on this list. As I said with ‘Paranormal Activity 3’, only a certain number were so exceptional that they were deserving of this list. PA3 was one, but PA1 is perhaps even a tier or two above. That’s because, just like with the Saw franchise, nothing has really come close to the first. By being so fresh, so new, and so never-done-before, for sequels to follow the same formula means quite frankly the excitement just isn’t there. But boy was it for this first one. If you ever have an opportunity to go to a big, dark, indoor theater where it is playing, do not pass up the opportunity. The big screen and big sound multiplies the fear exponentially here!
Film Rating: 8.5/10
Seasonalness: 9.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 1.5/5
Scare Factor: 4.5/5
Pop Culture Value: 3.5/5
Rewatch Value: 2.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 29.0/38 (76.32%)
#6: Halloween (2007)
You had to figure as we went further and further down (up?) this list that movies that were Halloween-specific we’re going to start to invade the list like a herd of rambunctious trick-or-treaters. Almost by default, they are destined to nail the Seasonalness, Halloween Spirit, and, to a lesser extent, Pop Culture Value criteria. Yet, interestingly, not all of them were good enough in other parts that mattered to make this list. So to see which ones did is sort of the “list within the list”. Enter Rob Zombie’s 2007 reimagining of the original classic. While it will never be as good as the original, Zombie (Mr. Zombie?) does some things here to the story that make it worth a watch. For one thing, Michael Myers goes from being a rather large adult man to something more in the territory of The Great Khali. The word “brute” comes to mind. Second, Zombie makes sure that Myers this time around had a decidedly effed-up child hood. How effed-up? Well, you’ll just have to see for yourself. Again, it will never be the 1978 original with Jamie Lee Curtis. But Rob Zombie puts his usual twist on the classic tale, and that will always be intriguing.
Film Rating: 6.8/10
Seasonalness: 10.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 5.0/5
Scare Factor: 2.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 4.0/5
Rewatch Value: 2.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 29.8/38 (78.42%)
#5: The Exorcist (1973)
For those of you who don’t already know, GuysNation is largely based in the Washington, D.C. area. The godfather himself, Rob, is from the area, as am I and a bevy of other GN contributors. So, naturally, ‘The Exorcist’ holds a special place in our hearts. But even if it didn’t, it certainly deserves to be this high on the list. One of the all-time classics, ‘The Exorcist’ is probably one of the most critically-acclaimed films on this list. That’s because the film is a horror saga in and of itself. There is a story long enough to fill two or three movies here all gloriously compacted into one film. While horror is very much present, it is not the only genre at play here. ‘The Exorcist’ is also a drama, a tale of redemption for one priest and the final swan song of another. There’s the story of a single mom desperately trying to keep her daughter alive and a Georgetown detective who, apart from wanting to solve a mysterious murder, really just wants a pal to go with him to the movies. ‘The Exorcist’ is a classic. In every sense of the word. If you haven’t seen it, you need to stop reading (and judging this list) and see it right now.
Film Rating: 9.0/10
Seasonalness: 9.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 3.0/5
Scare Factor: 2.0/5
Pop Culture Value: 5.0/5
Rewatch Value: 2.0/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 30.0/38 (78.95%)
#4: Halloween II (1981)
Halloween II is a sequel in every sense of the word. For one thing, it picks up almost literally the minute the original leaves off. Yes, it’s sort of weird for a movie that came out three years later. But for all generations that have come after where the dates are nothing more than a footnote, it weaves the two films together better than perhaps any other original and sequel ever. Again, I hate to exaggerate, but I really don’t think I am here. Michael Myers, the psychopath with an affinity for knives, is still on the loose and it’s up to his famous psychiatrist as well as the town sheriff to reign him in. It’s the perfect complement to the first film and watching both back-to-back is highly encouraged. But where is this original ‘Halloween’? We haven’t covered it yet and this edition is over. I guess you all will just have to wait until the top three next week!
Film Rating: 7.7/10
Seasonalness: 10.0/10
Halloween Spirit: 5.0/5
Scare Factor: 2.5/5
Pop Culture Value: 4.5/5
Rewatch Value: 1.5/3
TOTAL INDEX SCORE: 31.2/38 (82.11%)
