My Favorite 20 Horror Films Pt. 4

I had originally intended these to be the "top twenty" horror films, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how arrogant that was. I can only speak to what I like; I don't want the pressure of selecting what everyone else should think are the top twenty. The original title was limiting as well; it made me feel as if my criteria had to be too clinical and remote and didn't leave enough room for the undefinable, personal elements that have to factor into each of our choices.

I'm leaving the first eight unchanged, because I realized I had already been using those factors as standards anyway. I just changed the title to be more honest.

Moving along, then...

9) "The Re-Animator" This was a truly original, berserk Stuart Gordon film made in 1985. Combining gore and humor and a modern Gothic atmosphere, it followed the exploits of two scientists obsessed with finding a formula for eternal life. I've actually only seen this film twice, but what stands out most strongly in my memory is Jeffrey Combs portrayal of Dr. Herbert West, a driven, Dr. Frankenstein type hero who battles an evil rival in pursuit of the formula. Somehow in all the moist, unsettling special effects, nudity and murder, the characters remain predominant and well defined. I can honestly say I've never seen a film like this, before or since.

10) "The Lost Boys" It's odd that this is the only vampire movie I've listed, since it's equal parts pop culture, humor and horror, and might put off horror purists. But I thought the combination of vampires and a (then) modern California setting really worked well; sort of a "MTV meets Dracula". All the old vampire myths are given interesting modern twists, the acting is good (most of the stars went onto much greater things, including Keifer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim and Jamie Gertz), and the soundtrack is effective and well chosen.

11) "An American Werewolf in London" This is another example of a classic monster given new life by a modern setting and sensibility, while not scrimping at all on the scares. David Naughton is a likeable protagonist, who like Lon Chaney before him, plays a character cursed by lycanthropy, through no fault of his own. Novel twists liven this fast paced, humorous story; Naughton's best friend, murdered in the opening scenes, keeps coming back as an omen bearing zombie, in increasingly decayed states. The werewolf itself is not a the standard "wolfman" but a huge, prehistoric looking wolf. Director John Landis wisely allows us only brief glimpses of the creature until the very end, knowing that the imagination is much more powerful than the eye. The transformation scenes are heralded as being the new industry standard in werewolf pictures, and they are undoubtedly, awesome and jaw dropping, to this day.

Like "Lost Boys", "Werewolf" features a terrific soundtrack that perfectly compliments the sometimes scary, sometimes humorous mood of the the film. The English countryside is almost like another character, providing a great mood of foreboding and an alien quality that really catapults the film into the realm of the classic.