Horror Show

[kensei]

I like Alien, The Thing, The Fly, and the Mothman prophecies; but otherwise find monster movies unengaging. King Kong is also good film but i dont find it scary.

Well King Kong has always seemed more like an adventure story than a horror one to me. By the way, which version do you mean? The original?

[Ginger]

Anyway, all in all I thought (Godzilla) was well worth two hours of one's time for any lover of giant Japanese monsters.

Oh, YES! A friend talked me into going to see this one, and I loved it! This was a proper Godzilla movie, not like that dud from ten years ago. The MUTO monsters, Godzilla's opponents, were grotesque and frightening, and the entire look and feel of the film was just absolutely spot-on. If you like old-school Japanese monster movies, this will please you.

[Scorpio]

Well King Kong has always seemed more like an adventure story than a horror one to me. By the way, which version do you mean? The original?

Yes, the original; it did scare me a little as a very small child.

[sdreid]

I've always considered King Kong a science fiction movie.

[Scorpio]

Enough about King Kong, and fricking Godzilla, please.

[Pcdunn]

Well, if we're talking horror movies with vehicles...

How about Killdozer!?

... Then please don't forget "Duel", starring Dennis Weaver, as the driver of a sportscar who is besieged by an early case of (then unknown) "road-rage" as personified by a huge truck rig and the never-seen truck driver. The pursuit winds up and down California highways and back roads for ninety minutes.
I saw it again recently on TV, and it holds up very well.

[kensei]

... Then please don't forget "Duel", starring Dennis Weaver, as the driver of a sportscar who is besieged by an early case of (then unknown) "road-rage" as personified by a huge truck rig and the never-seen truck driver. The pursuit winds up and down California highways and back roads for ninety minutes.
I saw it again recently on TV, and it holds up very well.

"Duel" is a very early Spielberg movie and he has stated that when he signed on to direct "Jaws" he saw a kinship between the two, since both have four letter titles and are about "leviathans preying on everyman." There is also a sound effect- a roar from some old B-grade dinosaur movie- that he used in both films, both for the truck and the shark.

[Ausgirl]

I don't think of it as actual misogyny, I think it is just that women are considered the weaker sex and so in fiction they often fall into the role of "damsel in distress." Plus there are so many real world examples in history to draw on like Jack the Ripper. But although women do often end up as victims in horror movies, you have to admit that they often get to turn the tables and triumph in the end as well. How many "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" films had Jason and Freddy defeated in the end by women? Most of them.

Also the Hellraiser series.

My first introduction to horror was a collection of Hans Christian Andersen fairytales , when I was just a wee thing, frightened the wits out of me. Especially "The Red Shoes", that one stuck with me for years.

I'm a devout fan of the horror genre, in almost every aspect except some of the more basic shlock slasher/killer stuff, and I am not fond of anything Rob Zombie has done, ever.

Perhaps because I have been immersed in horror - comic books, TV, film, literature - since knee high to a grasshopper, I don't often get genuinely frightened by any of it, though I still adore it all. Notable exceptions to this are:

- Relentless zombies. Scare me to bits. I have actually looked out the window at night to check for zombies, after watching the Walking Dead.

- Creepy ghost kids a la Blair Witch - those little handprints! Eeeep!

- People doing creepy things in their sleep, a la those Paranormal Activity films, folks standing by the bed swaying - just does me in, every time.

- Possessed people bending backwards and scuttling about like crabs. Thanks, William Peter Blatty.

- Films which seriously mess with my head. Not garden variety mind-benders, I love those. Not sure I can even explain the exact quality that frightens me in a film of this sort but David Lynch freaks me out at times, he really does.

As to the question of "value" of horror - too lazy to type much on it presently, but it obviously has enormous value or it wouldn't be so pervasive.

[kensei]

I'm a devout fan of the horror genre, in almost every aspect except some of the more basic shlock slasher/killer stuff, and I am not fond of anything Rob Zombie has done, ever.


- Relentless zombies. Scare me to bits. I have actually looked out the window at night to check for zombies, after watching the Walking Dead.

I wrote earlier in this thread about Rob Zombie's "Halloween" remake and how his version of Michael Meyers making his first kill on a school bully that made fun of his mother for being a stripper- ambushing the kid after school and beating him to death with a tree branch as he cried and begged for his life- was one of the most disturbing scenes I'd ever seen in spite of my years of being desensitized by these types of movies and it really made me cringe. I know what you're talking about in not liking it, but I think one has to admit that kind of visceral reaction is exactly what a filmmaker is going for.

And similar to your Walking Dead comment, as a young teen I remember cautiously walking around my house with a weapon in my hand and checking in every closet and under every bed for lurking werewolves after I first saw "The Howling."

[Scorpio]

Does anybody watch the Paranormal witness TV show ? Ive become a bit of a fan.

[Scorpio]

What is the greatest slasher movie ? This beloved horror genre inspired by Psycho, developed in the seventies and eighties by such titles as Black Christmas, Halloween, Friday the 13th , and A nightmare on Elm street. The slasher faded in the nineties but managed a satisfying swan song with Scream.

[DJA]

The Incredible Shrinking Man - Wikipedia

Trilogy of Terror - Wikipedia

[Abby Normal]

What is the greatest slasher movie ? This beloved horror genre inspired by Psycho, developed in the seventies and eighties by such titles as Black Christmas, Halloween, Friday the 13th , and A nightmare on Elm street. The slasher faded in the nineties but managed a satisfying swan song with Scream.

HiScorpio
Im not really into slasher movies (or zombie movies for that matter), but I think a nightmare on elm street is pretty good. I dont consider Psycho a slasher or else I would have listed that. I know this is sacriligeous to many but I think Halloween is one of the most overated movies of all time-I just find it boring. plus they latched onto the Halloween angle at the last minute, it was origianlly going to be called the Babysitter murders, and have nothing to do with Halloween...and I think it shows. the soundtrack/theme song saves it from being total garbage to me.
so if pressed i would say the best IMHO would be Nightmare on Elm street... the fantasy element saves it, for me anyway.

Im more into the period piece thrillers like:
The Raven
From Hell
Gothic
Crimson Peak
The Illusionist
Bram Stokers Dracula

as you see I prefer a little more plot (and depth) lol, and I think these are all mini masterpieces to some regard.

[Scorpio]

I remember liking slasher movies more when i was young; They seemed scary and edgy then. I am more interested in slashers as a phenomenon these days, many achieved video nasty status.

[Abby Normal]

I remember liking slasher movies more when i was young; They seemed scary and edgy then. I am more interested in slashers as a phenomenon these days, many achieved video nasty status.

whats "video nasty status" ? lol