Top 5 – Horror Films (4.5/5)
Before I begin, I’ll just say that due to length (or an excess thereof), I’m going to be splitting this review up into 2 parts… The second will be going up on Halloween night, so, if you want to read the rest, you’re going to have to be a little patient… But, to the review:
Throughout this list, we’ve seen the simplicity, the psychological horror, the shocks, and the great performances that can go into making a great horror movie. But, the best of the best are movies that emcompass all of these factors. Without being too gory, and still shocking you. Having a few performances stand out to cause terror, and finally, not being too complicated. THIS, is what makes a near perfect horror movie.
So, without any further ado, my favorite horror movie of all time:
Psycho (1960)
Where do I start when talking about how amazing this movie is? The acting, the direction, the script, the moments? To be completely honest, I have no clue where to start, so, I’ll just show you the trailer (warning, this trailer is a long one, but, definitely worth watching):
I suppose that due to this trailer, I’ll start with Alfred Hitchcock. There are many directors who I really appreciate, if not love, like Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick (just to name a few). But, the one director who I always come back to as being one of my favorites is Alfred Hitchcock. There is a very good reason why he’s known as the “Master of Suspense”. The movies that he makes are some of the best movies ever made, suspense or otherwise. North by Northwest, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, the list goes on (and on), and constantly, he surprises us with some of the best movies ever made.
Moving onto his work in Psycho itself. Of the movies of his that I’ve seen (and I’ve seen quite a few), this is the closest that he has ever gotten to doing a horror film. But, he doesn’t play it like a horror film, or at least, not like a Halloween movie, or a Friday the 13th movie. He plays his shocks very well, and some of the things he does with his camera have you on the front of your seat, gripping you for minutes at a time (watch for one scene where he follows a character up the stairs… I’ll say no more).
The plot as well is fantastic. Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, who runs away after having taken $40 000 from the bank where she works and stops for the night at a motel run by Norman Bates (played extremely well by Anthony Perkins, but, more on him in the second half of the review). And then the shower scene happens, and things spiral out of control. Crane’s sister (Vera Miles) and boyfriend (John Gavin) come to investigate how Marion went… “missing”… with the help of Detective Arbogast (Martin Balsam), to try and find out what could’ve happened.
Interested in my thoughts on the shower scene, the performance of Anthony Perkins, and the entire movie? Wait to read the second half of the review in two nights!
Keep on watching!
R.S.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Gasp! Where’s Halloween (the ’78 version)? That movie redefined the slasher movie for those to follow in the late 70s and 80s. And what would the Scream trilogy be without referencing that movie?
Regardless, I enjoyed reading your posts and glad to see some classic horror movies on there!
November 6th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Ok, I never said that I was the most knowledgeable person around when it comes to horror films… In fact, I’m pretty sure that I specifically said I wasn’t…
Honestly, as much of a blasphemous thing as this may be, I’ve never seen Halloween, nor have I seen very many slasher films (Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, none of them)… I’m just not a huge horror fan, I suppose, but, I do admit that there are very likely many films that I’m missing out on (really though, I only had 5 to choose from)!
March 18th, 2010 at 4:06 am
Anyone should watch a bad ass horror movie like this one.