[10] Ridley Scott’s sci-fi/horror opus Alien is really a haunted house movie set in outer space, where a ragtag team of “space truckers” do battle with one of the most fascinating monsters in movie history. Scott is one of the finest directors of our time, and this may be his best film — a taut thriller, designed and executed with tremendous attention to realism and …
[9] Ten years after Night of the Living Dead, which pretty much invented zombies as we now know them, George Romero went back to the well and made a sequel that I like even better. Never content to make a zombie movie that is just a zombie movie, Romero infuses Dawn with a statement on the soul-numbing effects of crash commercialism. It’s excellent fodder for …
[9] Brian DePalma directs this Stephen King tale of a ridiculed girl who discovers she has telekinetic powers she can use against her tormenters. King’s forte is character, and he’s got two rich ones with timid Carrie and her whackadoodle mama. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie knock it out of the park in two Oscar-nominated performances. Their scenes together are magic — especially when Laurie …
[10] Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Peter Benchley’s shark thriller is extraordinarily well made and far more sophisticated than your average monster movie. The first half is a solid scare-fest that unwinds beautifully, from the first vicious attack on a late night bathing beauty to the sensational tragedy during the town’s Fourth of July festivities. Once the people of Amnity Island have had enough the movie …
[10] Oh, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… I love that you’re an unrelenting free fall into madness. I love that your first half is mysterious and suspenseful, and that your second half is hysterically macabre. I love how your 16mm film stock lends a raw, documentary feel to the horror. I love your locations — from …
[9] Edward Woodward (TV’s The Equalizer) stars as a Christian police officer investigating the disappearance of a child on a remote island in the Scottish isles. Attempts to solve the case are complicated by the locals, all pagan practitioners who deny the child ever existed. The Wicker Man is a British cult classic that never had much of an original theatrical release, but has since …
[9] Director William Friedkin (The French Connection) approached William Peter Blatty’s tale of demonic possession with seriousness and realism, striking fear in the hearts of moviegoers worldwide. Often feeling more like a documentary than a sensational horror film, The Exorcist lulls you into a false sense of security with its measured pacing, only to shock the piss out of you when the Devil tightens his …
[9] Several years ago, Dr. Anton Phibes raced to the hospital after learning his wife had died on the operating table. His car crashed off a cliff and he was burned alive. Or was he? After a series of elaborate murders rob London of its top doctors, Scotland Yard is on the case, barely able to keep ahead of the eccentric doctor as he exacts …
[9] A crippled woman tries desperately to escape the torture of her jealous sister in this deliciously wicked suspense thriller starring icons Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Crawford is quite good in the sympathetic role, but its Davis’ maniacal performance as ‘Baby’ Jane Hudson that you’ll never forget. Her part is as juicy as it is ugly, and Davis is fearless in it — whether …
[10] This terrifying tale of emasculation is my favorite sci-fi/horror flick from the atomic age. Grant Williams stars as Scott Carey, a man who gets caught in a strange mist while boating with his wife. Afterwards, he notices his clothes don’t fit quite like they used to. His wife assures him everything is fine, that he just needs to eat more. A few days later, …
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