So It's Come to This: A Top Ten List

THE BLOG LIVES!

Ok, I mean, technically I posted a few weeks ago. But... shut up.

So I am really chomping at the bit for the binge this year. The weeks leading up to October are always rough; I don't want to start watching any movies early so I have the least chance for burnout during the binge. Which is stupid. Because I always burn out. Around horror movie 20, you just start hankering for a good rom com or something. But, hey. I love every second of it.

Instead of buckling and jumping in early, I decided I'd make a post that I've never done: a top 10 list. Often, when people find that I am mentally unhinged enough to watch a horror movie every day of October every year, they ask me what my top horror movies are. I feel like my answer always changes, so why not make the definitive top 10 list of horror movies that Sean thinks are the best because his opinion is obviously superior to yours. Obviously. Plus, catchy. So, here it is...

So It's Come to This:

Top 10 List of Horror Movies That Sean Thinks Are Best Because His Opinion Is Obviously Superior to Yours

(a caveat: these are the top 10 horror movies for me personally. They may not be the ones I even see as the most well-made or classic (that's why there's not an inclusion of movies like Jaws, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, etc, but rather the ones I find I enjoy the most)

10. Lake Mungo

In determining the number 10 spot, there were a lot of contenders: Shaun of the Dead, The Nightmare, etc. Ultimately, though, Lake Mungo took the spot simply based on the amount of times I've watched it. This movie is captivating every time, and takes the haunting trope and gives it something different. It's not so much about being haunted by a spirit or ghost as much as being haunted by the demons of your past. Lake Mungo's look at a broken family and their even more broken daughter is beautifully, well, haunting. 

I hate myself for saying that.

9. The Devil's Backbone

Man... Guillermo del Toro at his absolute best. Another haunting movie that takes takes the tropes and warps them. The movie opens with "what is a ghost?" and this is the major question the film asks. More than just a ghost story, the film looks at the effects of war, childhood, and the very nature of human evil. The ghost here is not the villain but rather the evil found in humanity.  

8. Paranormal Activity

Ok, look, I know the rap Paranormal Activity is, and it's somewhat well deserved: it's spawned a million sequels all of diminishing returns. Paranormal Activity suffers from the Saw syndrome: the first one is great, but that's often forgotten due to the films that followed it. I can easily I have never been as scared in a theater watching a movie than I was watching Paranormal Activity, and with how much horror I've seen, that's saying something. This is jump scares done right, drawing out the moments of silence to build for the scare. Taking away all the judgements of future Activity films, this movie is solid and pretty damn groundbreaking for what it was. 

7. Cabin in the Woods

Ah, Cabin in the Woods. So gloriously meta and a treasure trove for all true horror fans. Really, this film is brilliant, and made all the more brilliant when you fully understand and recognize all the tropes it's displaying. I once had a college professor say that good parody is successful because it  respects and honors the source material it's parodying. That's the biggest explanation of the quality difference between movies like Cabin in the Woods, Shaun of the Dead, and Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil and, say, Scary Movie. The former pay homage to horror, the latter makes fun of it. That's truly why I love Cabin in the Woods: it breaks down the genre and actually makes a system to explain it. Brilliantly, I might add.

6. Hereditary

Holy crap this movie. Can we just sit back for a second and give a classic slow, gradually gaining clap for the advertising team for this movie? I mean, what we saw in the trailers was misdirect upon misdirect, leading me and I think everyone else who saw it to believe that this movie was one thing when a half hour in it becomes something COMPLETELY different entirely. 

This is one of the most brilliant and unsettling horror movies that has come out during recent years. It's part of this whole retro 80s craze but not a victim of it; it's still wholly it's own thing. Look for a full review on this come October, but seriously... I love Hereditary.

5. The Shining

I mean, come on... what can I say about this movie that hasn't already been said? Kubrick is gloriously weird and so is this movie. I know Stephen King hates it, but Stephen King is dumb (just look at how unbelievably overly long The Stand is); it's a movie that embodies the madness of it's main character and has left an undeniable impact on pop culture forever.

4. The Changeling

Seriously though, how is this movie not in the conversation more as one of the best horror movies of all time? I might be slightly biased as I can't turn down a good haunting movie (I mean, look at this list), but damn... this movie is good. It's eerie and uses scares in a different and effective way from  most horror movies. The ghost here is different too and the way it haunts the main character throughout his new home sticks with you. I said this way back in 2012 when I reviewed the movie, but this is the perfect haunted house film.

3. It Follows

It Follows... apparently this is a bit of divisive film, in that either you hate it or love it. I can't for the life of me figure out why. This movie is perfect. It's horrifying and has a creature (demon? Ghost?) unlike anything else I've ever seen before. It's freaking terrifying: something that will pursue you relentlessly and can look like anyone? Willies, man. Willies. Add to that an incredible soundtrack (them synths though!) and this really is the perfect, wholly original horror movie. 

2. The Thing

This movie. Oh man this movie. From the practical effects to the claustrophobia to the mistrust between the characters... The Thing is my worst nightmare, and it should probably be yours too. An alien that infects by becoming one with it's host to the point that you can't tell the difference? F. That. Plus, it creates weird hairy spider people things. Nope. 

1. The Exorcist

Everything has literally been said about this glorious film. I don't care that it's so tremendously typical to have The Exorcist in your number one spot. It'd be a crime to not have it there. So, yeah. That's about it. It's the horror that all other horror films strive to be.

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There ya go... my (probably) definitive list of my personal Top 10. For now, anyway. There's so many more excellent horror films I wanted to throw on, but ultimately I think this stands as the true cream of the crop. At least for this jabroni right here.

Alright, got that out of my system. See ya in a week for the binge. 

Yep, that'll be me.