Top 9 Tuesday- Horror Movies

It's Halloween!!! I was trying to think of a clever list to do with Halloween coming up but I couldn't, so here we are with my favourite horror films of all time. I know about two months ago I made a list of recent horror movies but very few of those are actually going to end up on this list, so I'll be mostly talking about movies I haven't discussed yet. Also, I didn't get into horror until around this time last year so there will be some major omissions. So try not to judge when you don't see A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Thing, Scream, Friday the 13th, Saw, etc. The list goes on, but I love every movie on this list so here we go.

As usual I have some honourable mentions

Zombieland (2009)/ Shaun of the Dead (2004)/ The Sixth Sense (1999)- I love these movies to death and they'll certainly end up on another list, but despite what IMDb tells you, they aren't horror movies, they're comedies.
Frankenstein (1931)- I just watched this film yesterday and for the time it came out it is very very good. It isn't too long and it doesn't need to be, telling its story perfectly in a brief 70 minutes. It is very entertaining and is a great watch around Halloween.
The Lost Boys (1987)- I haven't seen this movie in a few years but I really need to watch it again because it is a ton of fun. Kiefer Sutherland is amazing and this movie makes you want to find some cool vampires to hang out with.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)- The  #3 movie on my recent horror list, this movie is a brilliant example of insanely well directed tension. That tension is complimented by incredible performances from John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
The Conjuring (2013)- This is arguably one of the films that ended a string of really bad cheap horror movies that plagued the late 2000s. This movie is full of fun scares, as well as some that might give you nightmares.
It (2017)- I know this is a lot of honourable mentions but I want to give this movie some credit for being one of the most fun theatre experiences I've had this year.

Alright, I think it's time to hit the top 9.

#9- The Evil Dead (1981)
In the film that kickstarted Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell's careers, we see a group of friends that go for a cabin vacation, only to be hunted down by evil flesh eating demons. This movie is a ton of fun and is a perfect movie to watch around Halloween. I unfortunately haven't had a chance to watch its sequels but I am a big fan of the 1981 original.

#8- The Babadook (2014)
This is one of two films from my recent horror list to make the top 9. The Babadook is a low budget piece of brilliance, bringing us one of the best movie creatures of all time. This movie is tense and has meaning that goes much deeper than your average creature feature. It's scary, it's intense, and it's one of my favourite horror movies.

#7- Psycho (1960)
Anthony Perkins is incredible in his role as Norman Bates, a role that has been talked about for the over 50 years since this film's release. I can't speak on the response this film got when initially released, but even these 50 years later it is a movie that gets under your skin, with one of the greatest twists of all time. Oh yeah, and there's a semi-famous shower scene you may have heard of.

#6- The Exorcist (1973)
This is one of two older films on this list that I didn't think could creep me out as much as they did. The way this movie manages to get under your skin despite its age is insane. The effects are insanely well done for when this film was made, and they give it a level of creepiness that not many movies can. This film is a classic and there's a reason for that, it is freaking amazing.

#5- The Fly (1986)
I guess you could also call this a coming of age film, of a man growing into his new body that just so  happens to be a mutated fly. The body horror that David Cronenberg uses still holds up today, as Seth Brundle's transformation is insanely gruesome and creepy. Jeff Goldblum is absolutely incredible in his leading role, and Geena Davis gives a great supporting performance. The Fly is one of my all time favourites and it easily makes my list.

#4- Halloween (1978)
Wait, what's that holiday today. This is the other film that scared me a lot more than I thought it would. This John Carpenter classic brought us the face of slasher films in Michael Myers and uses a blend of suspense and action to put the audience on the edge of their seats, all while wanting to cower in fear. With its title alone, this is a great movie for the holiday, and it also just happens to be one of the greatest horror movies I've ever seen.

#3- The Shining (1980)
I got to watch this movie again in film class last week and it is just as fantastic as the first time I saw it. Kubrick brings the Overlook Hotel to life and leaves the audience uneasy while he does it. Jack Nicholson is incredible in his role, and the rest of the cast also does a good job. This film may not be full of traditional scares, but still manages to stick with the audience and make them uncomfortable.

#2- Get Out (2017)
This movie is incredible, absolutely incredible. When I first saw the trailers for Get Out I thought it looked like a weird art film that no one would bother going to see. The fact that it was the directorial debut of a comedian didn't help how I felt about it. About eight months later and here we are, Get Out is one of the year's most successful films and has already cemented itself as a classic in the horror genre. It is easily one of the most original movies to come out in recent years, and has a level of social commentary that gives more reason for people to continue talking about it. The cast is incredible and the sense of unease Jordan Peele manages to give people makes this movie one of the best.

#1- Alien (1979)
In space no one can hear you scream. From the moment I first saw this movie a few years ago, it instantly became one of my favourite movies of all time. All of the other movies on this list, other than maybe The Fly, have a sense of relatability, in the sense that theoretically they could happen. The thought of these things happening to people give the audience an added sense of unease. Alien does not benefit from that relatability as unless you go into space, there is no reason for this movie to get under your skin. But somehow despite that, it is still one of the scariest movies out there. The Xenemorph is one of the best movie monsters ever brought to the big screen, and watching it pick off the crew one by one is tense and unsettling, but in all the right ways. This movie is absolutely incredible and easily takes the top spot.

I know I have a lot of gaps in my horror movie catalogue, so let me know what ones you think I should watch in the comments below. Oh, and have a great Halloween!