SHERDOG MOVIE CLUB: Let's pick the Week 103 movie!

[Guestx]

It's an interesting question now that I think about it. What is a horror anyway? Is something like American Psycho a horror? Bram Stoker's Dracula? The Sixth Sense?

I think it is a hard genre to nail down, actually.

I think with horror some people have stricter definitions than others. While many films obviously combine elements of different genres, I think that every film ultimately bears the qualities of one movie more than any other. And that is the genre I consider that film to be in.

That's why I don't consider Alien a horror film. Yes, it's a "sci-fi horror." But at the end of the day I shelve it in the sci-fi section, so I never include it in my horror rankings. Same goes with Jaws. It's a thriller, not a horror film.

I guess I'm pretty strict in my definition of horror. The Sixth Sense I would call a supernatural drama. The same for The Others, another film I have seen people categorize as horror.

 

[Guestx]

No particular order...

All right, all right, here you go. . .

1. The Exorcist
2. The Shining
3. Scream
4. Bride of Chucky
5. Let the Right One In
6. The Thing
7. The Ring
8. The Conjuring
9. Freddy vs Jason
10. The Witch

 

[MusterX]

All right, all right, here you go. . .

1. The Exorcist
2. The Shining
3. Scream
4. Bride of Chucky
5. Let the Right One In
6. The Thing
7. The Ring
8. The Conjuring
9. Freddy vs Jason
10. The Witch

Interesting that you would place Scream at #3 all-time. That is.....an impressive play.

 

[Guestx]

Interesting that you would place Scream at #3 all-time. That is.....an impressive play.

Scream's a lot of fun and a smart, well-made movie. It's one of the few horror films that I actually own on Blu-Ray.

It's probably worth pointing out though that, while I do enjoy the occasional good horror film, it is one of my least favorite genres. So I don't give it nearly the same amount of thought as I do to genres that are higher up on my list.

 

[MusterX]

Scream's a lot of fun and a smart, well-made movie. It's one of the few horror films that I actually own on Blu-Ray.

It's probably worth pointing out though that, while I do enjoy the occasional good horror film, it is one of my least favorite genres. So I don't give it nearly the same amount of thought as I do to genres that are higher up on my list.

I'm a little surprised at the film you voted for, its the one I least want to see out of the 4.

 

[Guestx]

I'm a little surprised at the film you voted for, its the one I least want to see out of the 4.

It was recommended to me a little while back by @TheRuthlessOne so I figured I'd go ahead and give it my vote.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

Its pretty fantastic

Nice little slow burn horror film

 

[sickc0d3r]

I think with horror some people have stricter definitions than others. While many films obviously combine elements of different genres, I think that every film ultimately bears the qualities of one movie more than any other. And that is the genre I consider that film to be in.

That's why I don't consider Alien a horror film. Yes, it's a "sci-fi horror." But at the end of the day I shelve it in the sci-fi section, so I never include it in my horror rankings. Same goes with Jaws. It's a thriller, not a horror film.

I guess I'm pretty strict in my definition of horror. The Sixth Sense I would call a supernatural drama. The same for The Others, another film I have seen people categorize as horror.

So, why is The Shining a horror? Because of the haunted hotel? Nobody actually gets killed until close to the end. You have a dude slowly losing his mind, and some ghosts fucking with people. Alien is scarier and gorier. Jaws is practically a monster movie (is that another genre?).

 

[MusterX]

It was recommended to me a little while back by @TheRuthlessOne so I figured I'd go ahead and give it my vote.

Its pretty fantastic

Nice little slow burn horror film

Hmmm, someone else who is in this club also said they have seen it and it was pretty good.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

So, why is The Shining a horror? Because of the haunted hotel? Nobody actually gets killed until close to the end. You have a dude slowly losing his mind, and some ghosts fucking with people. Alien is scarier and gorier. Jaws is practically a monster movie (is that another genre?).

Science says otherwise.

https://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-shining-is-the-scariest-of-all-time-says-science-1456481120

The British movie site Play.com had a wonderful idea. First it asked people to pick the scariest movie of all time. Taking the top ten, the company organized an experiment: get test subjects connected to heart monitors to watch the movies while recording their beats per minute. The winner: Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.

The scariest movie also had the scariest scene of all, with a 28.2-percent increase in beats per minute:

Here's the complete ranking:

• The Shining (1980)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
• Ring (aka Ringu) (1998)
• Alien (1979)
• The Silence of the Lambs (1990)
• Poltergeist (1982)
• Insidious (2010)
• Halloween (1978)
• Saw (2004)

 

[sickc0d3r]

Science says otherwise.

https://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-shining-is-the-scariest-of-all-time-says-science-1456481120

Hah! Bunch of eggheads don't know what's scurry. Probably think the earth is round.

I'll take my chances with Jackie-boy over a xenomorph any day. Laying eggs in my throat and exploding through my chest versus some chick in a bathtub with a few scabs. No contest.

 

[MusterX]

Hah! Bunch of eggheads don't know what's scurry. Probably think the earth is round.

I'll take my chances with Jackie-boy over a xenomorph any day. Laying eggs in my throat and exploding through my chest versus some chick in a bathtub with a few scabs. No contest.

Yea but I also think the Shining wins in a lot of people's minds as the greatest horror flick of all time because its more than just a guy experiencing psychosis. That film is layered thick with symbology and hidden meanings.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Hah! Bunch of eggheads don't know what's scurry. Probably think the earth is round.

I'll take my chances with Jackie-boy over a xenomorph any day. Laying eggs in my throat and exploding through my chest versus some chick in a bathtub with a few scabs. No contest.

Can't argue that. But the scariest movie of all time (a ghost story) sounds properly categorized as horror.

 

[MusterX]

Blood. It's what's for dinner.

1. The Shining
2. Alien
3. The Thing
4. Requiem For A Dream
5. Jacob's Ladder
6. Bone Tomahawk
7. Near Dark
8. Audition
9. Hellraiser
10. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Glad to see someone besides myself that experienced the horrific ending of....Audition. I placed it at #6 on my list.

 

[sickc0d3r]

Yea but I also think the Shining wins in a lot of people's minds as the greatest horror flick of all time because its more than just a guy experiencing psychosis. That film is layered thick with symbology and hidden meanings.

Don't get me wrong, I love The Shining and I classify it as a horror flick. I'm just trying to nail down why some things are horror and some aren't, though they have a lot of the same elements. I think "scary" is numero uno, but "dread" and "disturbing" are up there. And slasher movies have no place else to go. Scream isn't scary at all.

Another example... most everyone agrees The Thing is a horror, but it is not even close to Alien on the scary scale.

Can't argue that. But the scariest movie of all time (a ghost story) sounds properly categorized as horror.

Agreed. My contention was with @shadow_priest_x saying Alien is NOT a horror.

Glad to see someone besides myself that experienced the horrific ending of....Audition. I placed it at #6 on my list.

That one was awesomely sick. I've only seen it once but it stuck with me for days and I was telling everyone to check it out.

 

[MusterX]

Don't get me wrong, I love The Shining and I classify it as a horror flick. I'm just trying to nail down why some things are horror and some aren't, though they have a lot of the same elements. I think "scary" is numero uno, but "dread" and "disturbing" are up there. And slasher movies have no place else to go. Scream isn't scary at all.

Another example... most everyone agrees The Thing is a horror, but it is not even close to Alien on the scary scale.


Agreed. My contention was with @shadow_priest_x saying Alien is NOT a horror.


That one was awesomely sick. I've only seen it once but it stuck with me for days and I was telling everyone to check it out.

When Alien first came out in 1979 I was too young to see it but I can tell you I have vivid memories of my aunt talking about it and other older members of my family. It made quite a stir, especially the burster scene. That's another thing, over time people get desensitized to things so you have to go back and look at the films effect on people of that time period sometimes. Like when Star Wars came out people were standing in lines to get tickets that were mind boggling long. Jaws really did make people not want to go in the ocean anymore. The Exorcist actually made people get up and run out of the theaters across the country. Sounds crazy but that shit actually happened.

 

[the muntjac]

1. Army of Darkness
2. Evil Dead 2
3. John Carpenter’s The Thing
4. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
5. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
6. Halloween (1978)
7. Aliens
8. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
9. American Werewolf of London
10. Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh

Horror comedies for the win, @Cubo de Sangre

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

10. Bloodsucking Pharaohs of Pittsburgh

 

[the muntjac]

Yeah, it's one of those films that holds more of a greater nostalgia effect for me because I discovered it when I was a teenager, and I loved it. Plus growing up near Pittsburgh gave it some bonus points. It's truly a dumb and fun movie. It's like if you mix Naked Gun with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Tom Savini did the effects, so the gore is good too. In my location where it says I'm from the Egyptian part of town of Pittsburgh, it's a reference to this movie.

 

[the muntjac]

10. It Follows

I would say that It Follows is definitely my favorite horror film with the latest release date. I can't think of anything that has come after it that has been better. In fact, it may be my favorite horror film so far this decade.

6. Audition

10. When a Stranger Calls (1979) This was one of the first films to scare the bejeesus out of me when I was a kid so it sneaks in because it 50-45'ed me.

I used to own Audition on dvd, but for some reason, that one ended up getting lost.

The first 20 minutes of When a Stranger Calls (1979) is truly some great suspense. Such a horrifying concept. Black Christmas (1974) did it well also.