Scary Movie Time!

So its that scary time of year again. Halloween! And this brings me to my favorite topic. MOVIES! And my favorite genre of movie is HORROR! So what better time of year than now to show you my top ten list of all time favorite horror films. In no particular order, here they are...

1. Let The Right One In. Made in 2008, this film gives the old vampire story a much needed shot in  the arm. There's no sparkly pretty boys or brooding beautiful high school girls here. Leave that to Twilight which will NOT be making my list. No, Let The Right One In, is the story of a lonely boy named Oskar who meets his seemingly equally lonely neighbor. She only comes out at night and there is a series of terrible murders going on around them. They develop a caring friendship that is doomed because of what she really is. A beautifully written story and a wonderfully acted and directed film. Well worth watching, even if you are not a horror fan. 
2. Rosemary's Baby. Roman Polanski's brilliant film about a young couple who move into a new apartment and into the world of the demon. Mia Farrow is frail and scared and quirky throughout. Ruth Gordon is fabulous as the pushy Satan worshipping neighbor. The sequence where Mia is..ahem..taken by Satan is psychedelic cool. Love this movie and highly recommend it! 
3. Ringu. This was my first foray into amazing Japanese horror films. In this one, there is a video that if you watch it, you get a call telling you that you're going to die. The main character goes on a hunt to find the origin of the tape and as the story unfolds so does the scares! Brilliant!
4. As long as we're talking Japanese horror, my next pick is The Grudge. There is a legend that if something bad happens, sometimes the house it happens in retains the badness. There is a house in Tokyo that does just that. Something very bad happened there and now the badness is unleashed on anyone who sets foot in the home. The special effects, if you can call them that - its mostly an eerily contorted woman - is so creepy! Add the weird throaty cackling sound and it makes my skin crawl! A truly scary movie! 
5. Halloween. Having been a baby sitter, and having been scared out of my wits while baby sitting, there are scenes in this movie that get to me every time. This is the original. Michael Myers at his evil best. You just can't kill this guy! Jamie Lee Curtis taking her rightful place as a scream queen! So much fun in this movie and so many good fast scares! This was the one that started the franchise and it's still the best! 
6. Paranormal Activity. Again, this was the original. This film was touted as one of the scariest films you'll ever see and the ads did not lie. This has so many good quick scares. The audience I saw this with was screaming out loud, always a good sign. The rest of the films in this franchise have not lived up to this first one but I did just watched a teaser for the next one and it does show some promise. We'll see. 
7. The Shining. So, Stephen King hated Kubrick's version of The Shining. Boo hop! I think it's brilliant. Visually this film is amazing and the pictures he creates will stay in your head for a long time to come. Shelly Duvall and Jack Nicholson are so damn good. The hotel, the real star of the film, is vast and welcoming and frightening all at the same time. Love love love this movie. They remade this for TV with King's input and I watched that too. It was so saccharine sweet I nearly developed diabetes. Sheesh! 
8. The Birds. I think Alfred Hitchcock is a genius and I've seen all of his films. Yes, there are some that are arguably more frightening than The Birds but this one stands out in my mind for one reason alone. Every year, my friend Liz would have a slumber party for her birthday and every year we would watch this film. We knew all the dialogue by heart. And later, when we were sleeping I would have visions of men lying with their eyes pecked out and women being covered by crows and I would be scared out of  my mind. This will always be a favorite. 
9. Exorcist. What can I say? I was raised Catholic. The idea that devil possession exists is very real to me! This movie scares the crap out of me to this day! 
10. The Haunting of Hill House. This was remade too but I'm talking about the original British film starring Julie Harris. She's invited to meet up with a team of likewise "gifted" people at the notoriously haunted Hill House. The scares start the minute they all arrive. The best thing about this movie is that there is very little by way of special effects. The scariest bits are all done using shear suspense and sound. Another brilliant film,

So there you have it. My top ten list of horror films for this year. To tell you the truth this list could go on forever because I love horror films and watch them all the time. I'm always looking for really scary movies. Most of films being made today just aren't all that scary. The last two really scary films I saw, which could certainly have made this list were The Conjuring and Insidious. Both excellent movies! Now go out there and get SCARED!!!