(ThyBlackMan.com) It’s the Halloween season and that means candy, spooky costumes, and horror films. I mean, it could also mean kids wearing the same costume for the four year in a row but horror films are the main thing. As a matter of fact, one network is running horror movies every day of the month! Here are ten of the best horror films all of time. How many of these have you seen?
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
The first of many classics on this list, A Nightmare on Elm Street II is a strong follow up to the original in the franchise. As a matter of fact, I had a hard time deciding which of the two to put on the list. After all, if I put two Elm Street films on the list, that opens the door to putting more than one Friday the 13th films on here as well.
Freddy Krueger is a timeless villain in the old school, more supernatural side of horror films. This isn’t a jump scare fest or endless gore showcase. What you do get is tried and true family being haunted and teenagers being hunted by something that is hard to kill—much like another entry on this list.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
I’m a big zombie film fan. Love them to death and Night of the Living Dead is one of my favorites. When I first watched it, the film was broadcasted on the SciFi Channel—yes, pre-SyFy—and I just couldn’t get into it. Part of the reason was because it seemed sated in the mid-90s and I just wasn’t a horror fan. Now, I can appreciate what the film did for horror and zombie flicks. Plus, watching it then watching films that came after it show the evolution of storytelling and effects.
Because let’s face it, without the backstory being explained years later, the zombies in this movie just sort of appeared. Now, zombies are mainly scientific in origin like in Resident Evil.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Jason Voorhees. Enough said. He’s my favorite horror movie villain. This was the entry in the series where we first get to see Jason in action as the first saw his mother, Pamela Voorhees, as the killer. This movie follows the trope of 80s and 90s horror films of having teens thrown into a nightmare with a villain going on a killing spree.
After Halloween dropped three years earlier, you don’t see much new and it’s all in how things come together in these films. In Friday the 13th Part 2, things come together splendidly.
The Evil Dead (1981)
A favorite of mine, the first film in the Evil Dead franchise was more of a straight up horror movie than its sequels which straddled horror/comedy. It features the underrated Bruce Campbell—who should’ve been one of the biggest actors in the late 80s and early 90s—being thrown into a supernatural horror setting.
There isn’t a walking nightmare or arsenal of doom who stalks young people here. Instead, the supernatural—demons, possession, etc—is the main the threat. While the theme of young people and/or teens getting put into terrible situations is still there, this is a bit of a departure. Actually, it’s like if The Omen and Halloween were mashed together—in simplest terms. The sequels would be bigger successes and better remembered than the original, obviously.
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Now, if you want your horror a bit on the gory side while still being old school, Cannibal Holocaust is where you want to go. Italy has dropped a number of cult horror films for decades and this one is one of those that get name-dropped. It caused some controversy over the legitimacy of the scenes at the time and the story is—not important, really—but it’s a film that pushes 80s horror movie boundaries.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Yes, another predictable entry to the list. This film introduced us to one of the most memorable horror movie villains of all-time in Leatherface. The original gave fans a good fright without being heavy on story. That isn’t to say that story is bad as reboots in the franchise would go into greater detail about not just Leatherface but his family.
It (2017)
The remake of the 1990 miniseries was amazing. It did what the original It didn’t do: be a scary film. Yes, the original was a horror movie but the scary thing about it weighed on how much you didn’t like clowns. Me personally, I loathe them—no offense to readers who work as clowns or have family who are clowns. Now, 2017’s It? That’s a film that will frighten kids just by being all-around scary.
Maniac Cop (1988)
I have to say, Maniac Cop is a film series that gets lost in the shuffle even at the B-level. It has Bruce Campbell in it. That should be enough to garner some love but horror movies were flooding theaters in the 1980s so it’s not that surprising some films got overlooked.
The main thing that sold me on the film is that the villain is a cop who comes back from the dead and is just committing all of these attacks. It puts me in the mind of a reverse Blue Knight from the Astro City comic book series. Anyway, if you enjoy some C+ to B- horror films, check out Maniac Cop.
Halloween (1978)
Another classic for the list! Halloween really showed us what American, villain-driven horror movies could be. Sure, most horror movies are villain-driven but here we have someone who blurs that line between serial killer and horror monster. Then he crosses that line when he keeps coming back in later films. When a villain won’t stay dead after all the effort that the hero or heroine puts in, that’s horror monster and Michael Myers fits the bill to a “T”.
Get Out (2017)
So, you don’t want zombies, mass murderers, walking evil, spiritual possession, mutants, or any of that? Get Out is a really good horror/suspense movie with strong modern writing. As I’ve gotten older, I kind of expect things to be better explained but not overly explained in films and Get Out lands in the perfect spot for that. The scares here are less jumpy and more psychological which I dig.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.