October Horror - Random Comments On "The 31 Flicks That Give You The Willies"

Over at Shoot The Projectionist, Ed Hardy Jr. has the final ranked list of the 31 Flicks That Give You The Willies. Just like any list it has its ups and downs for every individual taste, but it's a cool set of films and it was great fun voting.

A few random thoughts:

• It's a bummer that no Kiyoshi Kurosawa is represented in the final list. "Pulse" and "Cure" are two of the most unsettling movies ever.

• "Night Of The Hunter" is such a great film...I didn't vote for it here because it's never seemed to fit into the horror genre for me, but I have to agree about that Shelly Winters scene under the water being one of the spookiest things you'll ever see.

• Though I chose "Ringu" on my list instead of the remake, I don't necessarily have a problem with Verbinski's version being there. It's overly complicated and makes the video at the heart of things too long, but it delivers some great scares (I found the opening scene more effective actually).

• I've got to see Cronenberg's "The Brood" now...That's a hugely creepy screenshot in the final list.

• Ed doesn't get "The Birds". Nor do several other commenters. I understand how some people see the film as being slow (it is for a big part of it), but when those little winged bastards are nipping at the kids or tearing away at Tippi in that room...Seriously, that doesn't throw you folks at all?

• On the flip side, I don't quite get "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Oh sure, the concept is disturbing but I never really felt a sense of dread because of the ridiculousness of the characters. C'mon, Leatherface is a doofus.

• I just watched "The Changeling" again last night - damn, that should really be on the list as it's one of the best ghost stories I've seen. The screenshots below don't do it justice (a great deal of the anticipation is set up via the music, sound and camera movement), but I wanted to show 'em anyway:
  

It's been a fun month...I've actually built up an even bigger list of must see horror movies now, so I'll be continuing to watch 'em throughout the year (though perhaps balancing them with a few other genres).