Favorite horror

[Baixo Astral]

I stole this from another forum, as I thought it was a great idea, and it conforms to what I like in a poll/survey - one answer (actually, kinda two, but not really), no flip-flopping.
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Since it is that time of year, I thought a Thread dedicated to what scares/entertains us would be interesting.

Some ground rules...
-Only one pick no exception, no seconds or thirds or list.
-A short explanation of why this is the best In your opinion.
-Best scene in said movie.
-Favourite Hero(If any)
-Best Villian(What he does and/or adds, psychology)
-Little off topic and breaking rule one, list One and One only of the most underrated Horror/Suspense/Mystery.
-What are your Halloween Plans for viewing.


Mine is...


-Only one pick no exception, no seconds or thirds or list.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)

-A short explanation of why this is the best In your opinion.
Hooper takes a cast of what are basically non-actors and puts them, and the audience, though the wringer, with what I think is the best portrayal of flat out backwoods inbred lunacy imaginable.

-Best scene in said movie.
Forced to answer, I'd have to choose t,he scene where the female lead thinks that she's escaped, with Leatherface somehow 'giving up', only for the old guy at the gas stationto turn out to be weirdly more perverse than anyone else

-Favourite Hero(If any)
Marilyn Burns - she's very convincing

-Best Villian(What he does and/or adds, psychology)
The father - his affected morality is much creepier than the over-the-top acting of the other villains

-Little off topic and breaking rule one, list One and One only of the most underrated Horror/Suspense/Mystery.
Tourist Trap - extraordinarily creepy Chuck Connors starring role, with possibly the most demoralizing death scene ever, and some really surreal touches.

-What are your Halloween Plans for viewing.
Hoping to go out for some scary times, then home to watch the Walking Dead, and then out to some sort of midnight showing, possibly Paranormal Activity 2, although I'm secretly hoping for something a bit grimier - if there's a 70s horror movie on midnight somewhere, I'mma go see that

[Munkie91087]

-Only one pick no exception, no seconds or thirds or list.
The Exorcist

-A short explanation of why this is the best In your opinion.
The way the movie starts out. It's so calm and serene, then it all just goes to hell.

-Best scene in said movie.
The first head spinning scene, where Regan looks and talks to her mother. Always creeps me out.

-Favorite Hero(If any)
Father Damian

-Best Villian(What he does and/or adds, psychology)
The demon inside Regan.

-Little off topic and breaking rule one, list One and One only of the most underrated Horror/Suspense/Mystery.
Hellraiser doesn't seem to get the love it deserves.

-What are your Halloween Plans for viewing.
Already watched it, but I definitely will watch it again on Halloween night.

[pegasuswarrior]

-Only one pick no exception, no seconds or thirds or list.
Halloween (1978)

-A short explanation of why this is the best In your opinion.The use of the deep focus camera technique in this movie is as good as I've seen in this genre. Combine that with the perfect use of shadow and light (I LOVE the color tint in this movie--it's perfect). It's THE ultimate slasher film. Also, without giving too much about away, being familiar with John Carpenter, there are A LOT of geographical references in the film that add a whole other layer of pants-wetting for anyone who "gets" them.

-Best scene in said movie.
Notice the spoiler tag, people.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}I seriously just about get watery eyed with fear every time I see the scene in which the babysitter exits a room with anticipation of where Michael might be in the house. Behind her, as she looks around frightened is complete darkness. Then as she passes and pauses, the visage of Myers slowly slowly slowly comes into the view from out of the shadows, just hovering over her as he watches. There is just something about being watched without being aware that is r-e-a-l-l-y creepy to me. PLUS, the way he appears is as scary an image as one can conjure.

-Favourite Hero
Dr. Loomis

-Best Villian(What he does and/or adds, psychology)
Hmm, I wonder who it might be. I love the stalker mode and how he can blend in during Halloween. Psychologically, it works well for me that he appears in daytime OR nighttime. To have a really really scary sequence in the middle of town in broad daylight is REALLY effective. Also, there is a sense of sympathy for Michael that I dont' really associate with any other slasher flick I can think of.

-Little off topic and breaking rule one, list One and One only of the most underrated Horror/Suspense/Mystery.
Very hard to narrow down to one.
When a Stranger Calls (1979)
A Halloween tradition for me as well. If you are ever alone ... in the dark ... in the middle of the night ... and even slightly isolated ... then this movie simply MUST make you feel uneasy. Now, granted, only the first 20 minutes are worth your time. After that, the film is useless. It's a waste to continue any further. But I'll take that first 15-20 minutes of When a Stranger Calls over a lot of full-length feature horror films.

-What are your Halloween Plans for viewing.
Usually, it would include beginning Halloween r-i-g-h-t as it's getting dark, hitting pause as trick-or-treaters come by and while I give them candy. (You see, it fits the film very well too since it begins during broad daylight with trick-or-treaters and such. It makes it feel like I could open my door anytime and see Michael Myers across the street!) Anyway, I do that and let the the movie continue to get good as the night settles in. Then, When a Stanger Calls (the first 20 minutes only). Then, I always debut a flick I've never seen. This year, I'm thinking I will try the Asian film "Phone." Traditionally, I will usually follow that up with all night ghost hunt with Ghost Hunters. HOWEVER, last year's commentary and lack of actual ghost hunting ticked me off. One of my best Halloweens was Elijah Burke on a ghost hunt. That was REALLY entertaining to me. And that year's "debut" movie, I believe, was Penny Dreadful, which is an absolute GEM of a survival horror flick.

['Foretold' Joker]

Only one pick no exception, no seconds or thirds or list.
John Carpenter's The Thing

-A short explanation of why this is the best In your opinion.
Group of men in a an isolated arctic wilderness discover an alien thing impersonating and hiding within them. An atmosphere of tension, lack of trust and paranoia sets in. With a series of astounding physical effects and general brilliant acting its a thrill ride right tot he end.

-Best scene in said movie.
Bennings demise. From discovery by Windows that he's being turned all the way to the horrifying alien cry he emits before macready burns the bennings thing alive outside the camp while everyone watches.

-Favourite Hero(If any)
MacReady: Kurt Russel tries to fight all the way through, but in the end is he even human or thing?

-Best Villian(What he does and/or adds, psychology)
Blair maybe the obvious choice but my pick goes for the Thing Dog at the start with its ominous attitude from the start as it prowls half noticed around the scientists camp before eventually being exposed by the other dogs and not the humans. Then its true nature is horrifyingly gory.

-Little off topic and breaking rule one, list One and One only of the most underrated Horror/Suspense/Mystery.


-What are your Halloween Plans for viewing.
A host of 1950s horrors (Such as Screaming Skull, White zombie, killer Shrews etc) and finished by watching either Drag me to Hell or 28 Weeks Later.

[spec]

-Only one pick no exception, no seconds or thirds or list.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)

-A short explanation of why this is the best In your opinion.
The bleakness and horror of society crumbling due to re-animated dead attacking, killing and spreading their zombie plague, mixed with the satire of how bleak and dehumanizing contemporary society actually really is because of consumerism. The protagonists attempt to escape the zombie crisis only to find themselves utterly imprisoned by the shopping mall that they sought refuge in.

-Best scene in said movie.
hard to pick really, will just say all the zombie carnage in the mall, such an ordinarily sterile environment subjected to shambling undead and gore all set to a wonderfully cheesy 70's soundtrack

-Favourite Hero(If any)
Roger

-Best Villian(What he does and/or adds, psychology)
Tom Savini as one of the biker gang that launches a siege on the mall making things a 3 way dance: protagonists vs zombies vs bikers

-Little off topic and breaking rule one, list One and One only of the most underrated Horror/Suspense/Mystery.
Cannibal Holocaust: thought that with all the horror movies i'd seen over the years that i was pretty desensitised, but this was genuinely unsettling and disturbing - responses that great horror should invoke.

-What are your Halloween Plans for viewing.
Will be at Wembley for the UK NFL game

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Only one pick no exception, no seconds or thirds or list.

Halloween(1978)

A short explanation of why this is the best In your opinion.

I have ALWAYS been a strong believer that the best kind of horror is the atmospheric kind of horror, and the best way to achieve this atmosphere is through music. Sure the movie has a scary villain as all hell, but for me, what really got to me, and STILL gets to me was the music, especially the theme song.

Best scene in said movie.

The scene at the end of the film where the protagonists think Michael is dead and Dr. Loomis looks out the window and sees that Michael's body is missing.

Favourite Hero(If any)

Dr. Loomis. He tries his best to cure and contain a being of pure evil and death.

Best Villian(What he does and/or adds, psychology)

Michael Myers. He was evil itself. Always stalking, always watching, and never dieing.

Little off topic and breaking rule one, list One and One only of the most underrated Horror/Suspense/Mystery.

Idle Hands, man. Sure it is a Horror-Comedy, but it still counts in my book! I think the film gets a bum wrap mostly just because not a whole lot of people saw it. Being a film about a high school kid's possessed hand killing his classmates that was released just TEN DAYS after the Columbine Massacre did not help the film at all.

What are your Halloween Plans for viewing.

I'm going to be watching a combo DVD I got for either my birthday or Christmas many years ago that has two Friday the Thirteenth films and two Halloween films on it, as well as the DVD I got my mom several months ago that has the first four Nightmare on Elm Street films. I'm planning to watch these things all day long, maybe flipping on SyFy or Chiller in-between the films to cleanse the palate, so to speak.