These Horror Flicks Are The Most Horrific Of All

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Well, All Hallows Eve is again upon us. Time to get scared.

And one of the best ways to generate adrenaline pumping thrills and chills is watching quality scary movies. With emphasis on the quality.

Sad to say, the horror-suspense genre is littered with lifeless ideas, not-so-special effects and stiff actors (and that’s before they’re dead). They chew on banal dialogue and wander around looking for the story until some freak with assorted kitchen cutlery puts them out of our misery.

So how can you tell the good-as-gold from the evilly-dreadful? While there’s no sure-fire system, here’s a horror movie divining rod that should lead you to edge-of-your-seat excitement:

Night of the Living Dead

(1968)

Cryptic carnivores roam the Earth in search of human flesh in George Romero’s horrific and unsympathetic masterpiece. Seven unsuspecting victims barricade themselves in a remote farmhouse while hundreds of mindless zombies beat down the doors trying to recruit new members to their legion of the dead. This film set the standard in graphic cut-to-the-chase storytelling. First scene: zombies. The whys and hows are explained only later after you’re hooked on the characters’ plight. This was the fountainhead of modern horror cinema, for which many films have imitated.

The Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn

(1987)

The outrageous cult classic, ED2 is a stunningly visual, white-knuckle roller coaster ride into the heart of evil told with voracious fervor. One man trapped in a wooded cabin (that just happens to be possessed) is tormented beyond the brink of insanity by unseen, but definitely felt, demonic forces. Sam Ramai’s hyperstylish camera work has been his trademark. This one not only pushes the envelop, but folds it and crams it through the shredder. It’s the exhilarating fresh fusion of graphic bloody horror and uproarious slapstick that make this a highly enjoyable thrill-ride.

The Shining

(1980)

Jack Nicholson is cabin-feverishly frightening in Stanley Kubrick’s hallucinogenic, domestic nightmare about a failed writer and his family care-taking the haunted Overlook Hotel. His son Danny is gifted, or cursed, with an uncanny ability to witness grisly atrocities that have occurred in the hotel’s hallways. An abundance of evil naughties await behind each door in this intoxicatingly stylish drama. Loosely based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel, Kubrick’s version (though panned by most critics at the time) remains suspenseful throughout and has become a cult classic. Nicholson is in top form as the ballistic father who snarls such classic dialogue like “I’m not gonna hurt you, I’m just gonna bash your brains in.” This one gets better every time you see it.

The Exorcist

(1973)

This is the corrosively creepy tale of a 12-year-old girl possessed by a malevolent demonic spirit. A terrifying and graphically unorthodox expose that left audiences in hysterics as they watched two priests struggle to save the girl’s soul and confront their own inner demons. William Friedkin’s tight direction and gutwrenching realism add a sense of believability not often found in this type of genre. The second half has enough shocking scenes of aversion to make your head spin.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

(1974)

This unrelenting powerhouse of raw ferocity fuses low-budget schlock with exploits of real-life cannibal Ed Gein. A gang of hapless twentysomethings stumble upon a hellish haven of inbred psychos who have ulterior uses for power tools. This fright fest is enhanced by its unnerving music and sound effects.

Dead Alive

(1993)

A vicious rat-monkey spreads a malicious virus that turns a sleepy little New Zealand town into buffet line for the brain-hungry zombies it spawns. A hilarious, over-the-top carnage fest ensues as mama’s boy Nigel (our hero) defends his house from the rampaging un-dead home wreckers. A surprisingly endearing romance is also woven through the briskly paced story. Probably the goriest movie of all time, definitely not for the squeamish.

The Silence of the Lambs

(1991)

This is an exceptionally clever nail-biter with not one, but two psychopaths for FBI trainee (Jodie Foster) to contend with. Sent to interview one of the most exquisitely brilliant villains modern cinema has ever known, Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), she quickly learns of his cunning methodical manner in one of the film’s most gripping scenes. A psychological cat-and-mouse game follows as she tries to extract information about another serial killer (Buffalo Bill). This can only be achieved if she divulges her innermost fears to the seductively fiendish Dr. Lecter, bent on escape. Hopkins and Foster turn in supremely intelligent performances, netting them both Oscars.

The Thing

(1951) or (1982)

Scientists on a remote Antarctic base discover a ghastly … uh well … thing that of course can’t be friendly and must wreak havoc on its human prey. Whether you encounter the enthralling original black-and-white version or the equally impressive John Carpenter remake, you’ll be fiercely entertained as this estranged alien organism takes over the scientists’ bodies and instills a rampant sense of paranoia that pits man against man - as well as alien. A first rate sci-fi chiller.

Alien

(1979)

This galactic heart-pounding hybrid of horror and sci-fi transcended the studio’s expectations and was a runaway hit. Director Ridley Scott’s darkly claustrophobic xeno-slasher is landmark cinema morbidly enhanced by H.R. Giger’s stunning creature and set designs. A tense tale of the starship Nostromo’s response to an unknown distress call leads to a voracious hichhiker that hunts down the crew led by the self-reliant, and ever-resilient Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). Countless shoddy, unimaginative imitations have been offered, but in the everexpanding galaxy of extra-terrestrial life, there’s still only one “Alien.”

Psycho

(1960)

Of course no horror movie list would be complete without the obligatory tip of the hat to the master of modern suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. What may seem tame now - cross-dressing, back stabbing - was controversial dynamite upon release. Anthony Perkins is tensely calculating in his finest role (like there’s a lot to choose from) as the confused lunatic with a fetish for mama’s dresses and slicing up patrons in the hotel of no return. Hitchcock’s exquisite attention to every detail - music, lighting, pacing - is what makes this a textbook classic.