MY TOP FILMS: SCARY MOVIES

In keeping with the recently concluded Valentine's Day and my upcoming birthday, I thought to repost my favorite scary movies of all time. Yeah, I don't have anything on my mind to write right now. This will be filler til my birthday post in a couple of days. Enjoy.

I don't actually think that ghosts are scary, but when executed properly they could be spine-tingling. Well, the supernatural is really frightening if you think about it, but what's more frightening is finding out what real live people can do. Obviously, you'll find slasher films here as well.

Now with the recent success of Asian horror films (which I personally don't find scary at all), there seemed to have been a rise to sucky horror/suspense movies. And unfortunately, I've seen alot of them. If you've browsed through the archives, you'll find I've written a few of it here in my blog.

I know some of you may not agree with what's on the list and say some of the old horror films like Carrie, Psycho, The Exorcist, or the Shining should be here. I've seen them all, and honestly I didn't get scared. I actually slept through all of these films, and I guess because of the lack of technology back then, the scary films aren't as scary as if done now.

Anyway, my introduction's gone long enough now, so let's go on with the list shall we...

10. FENG SHUI: Why this one and not Sukob or Ouija? I know this is Purefoods Chunkee the movie, but it's actually really scary if you look at it. Specially the scene where all the ghosts appeared to Jay Manalo and the kids. I remember everyone at the cinema screaming the entire time. Yeah I know alot of the killing scenes are silly (Lotlot and the red horse because she was born year of the horse), it's actually funny. I guess, I just like this one better than Sukob or Ouija (even if they're both far better storywise).

9. FATAL ATTRACTION: This is not a horror film, more of a psychological thriller kind of film. But for married guys (who has a mistress), this could possibly be the scariest shit they'll ever see. You see Michael Douglas got tempted to cheat on his wife by a sultry Glenn Close, only to find out that the woman is actually a psycho bitch. I like these kinds of films. Proof that sometimes you don't need ghosts to scare people.

8. HOUSE OF WAX: If only for the scene where Vincent pummels Paris Hilton's face with a huge stick. Yeah, alot of people cheered during the death scene of the overrated heiress. But that's not the only reason why this film is on the list. There are alot of gruesome scenes from this movie. Eliza Cuthbert's mouth being glued, the waxed Jared Padalecki, Vincent's face. The fact that a town full of wax figures is already eerie, add the fact that all those people were once alive makes this scary.

7. SIGNS: Yes, there's only about 2 or 3 scenes that are scary in this movie, but all those 2 or 3 are REALLY scary. While War of the Worlds focused on the alien invasion in a worldwide perspective, Signs actually focused only on one family and how they dealt with aliens who wanted to take over. Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin and a very young and very cute Abigail Breslin gave chilling performances that actually made me believe how truly frightening aliens could be.

6. THE SIXTH SENSE: "I see dead people... everywhere." This is the movie that made M. Night Shyamalan a household name. While his films so far are a hit and miss, this movie is definitely a huge hit. Just like with Signs, there really aren't a lot of scary scenes on this movie, but when the ghosts finallys show up, you can't do nothing but cover your eyes. What fascinated me with this film was the twist ending. I did not expect that. The way the film was done, is very VERY brilliant. It was done intelligently.

5. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: The version with Jessica Biel is the one I'm talking about. I don't know how many times I've screamed at the cast to "run" or "look behind you!" when I first saw this film. I actually still do it when I catch in on cable. Leatherface is the scariest motherfucker I've ever seen. I loved the gore, and cheered at Biel for doing what she was pushed to do by the maniacs that's been trying to kill her and her friends. This is definitely one of the best slasher films I've seen.


4. SCREAM: But the best slasher film for me goes to Scream. This is the original whodunnit movie, and definitely the best among the trilogy. It is the mother of all slasher movies and even is the mother of spoof films (Scary Movie was based on Scream, as if you didn't know). This is the only movie by Wes Craven that I truly enjoyed. I was in high school when this film was first shown, and I was really shocked about who the killer turned out to be. This film is surprising in more ways than one. And I only watched the film because I was then a fan of Friends and Party of Five.

3. THE OTHERS: To be honest, this movie is not really as scary as The Sixth Sense, but what Sixth Sense originated, this film perfected. The plot twist at the end was definitely something I never expected. I only thought that this was originally just about Nicole Kidman's weirdo helpers, but by the end it's something different. It's actually a beautiful film, not overrated or overdone. Just enough to make you think if you're actually still alive.

2. WHAT LIES BENEATH: If it still isn't obvious to you, I am a huge fan of Michelle Pfeiffer. At first, it may seem to be just another ghost story. But as the story goes on, there really is something more about the house that she and her husband lives in. Like I said, ghosts aren't as scary as knowing what live people can do.


1. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS: So what's scarier than ghosts, Leatherface and serial killers? Hannibal freakin' Lecter!!! Thomas Harris' creation comes to the big screens and he went on to earn himself an Oscar. What other scary movie did that? The fact that in this film, he's not even the real killer is much more scarier. Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling and Anthony Hopkins' Lecter both gave chilling performances and the dialogues between the two are so good, that I never get tired of watching this film over and over again.