When I got back into doing these reviews, I was saving my Fridays as a day to mix it up a little bit and not just do straight-up film reviews. And yet I have found myself for the most part doing standard film reviews. This week I decided to mix it up a little bit, but I also wanted to stick to the spooky theme I have been employing through October. So, today we going to be looking at Empire magazine’s ‘Top 50 Best Horror Movies’ (link below) list and dissecting it a little, seeing what a surprise inclusion is and what missed out. Just a bit of a fun one really.
Original list - https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-horror-movies/
Films I Haven’t Seen
I will kick this all off by being upfront with you all. This could never be a true dissection of this list as I haven’t seen all the films on it. I have seen enough that I can definitely have a good go at analysing the entire thing. But only seems right to let you know which of the films that are included I haven’t seen.
- Saw (2004) – James Wan
- The Devil Rides Out (1968) – Terence Fisher
- Kill List (2011) – Ben Wheatley
- Day of the Dead (1985) – George A. Romero
- Raw (2016) – Julia Ducournau
- Dracula (1958) – Terence Fisher
- Let the Right One In (2008) – Thomas Alfredson
- The Innocents (1961) – Jack Clayton
- The Fog (1980) – John Carpenter
- Dawn of the Dead (1978) – George A. Romero
Surprise Inclusions
I’ll be perfectly honest with you; this isn’t a list full of surprises. Empire is a popular, mainstream, film magazine and as a result, the list sticks to what you would expect for the most part. I don’t want that to be misconstrued as a negative thing as the mainstream when it comes to popular horror films isn’t a cesspit of crap and this is a generally very solid list, if slightly predictable. However, there are a few inclusions that did catch me slightly off guard.
IT: Chapters One and Two (2017 & 2019) – Andy Muschietti – 50th
The first surprise inclusion in the list came with the first entry. Perhaps I shouldn’t be all that surprised with these films being two of the more successful films in the genre, at least in the modern age. But, having both chapters combined is what surprises me. I enjoyed that first chapter, but the second one was not good. It was overly long and a little boring. If it needs to be on the list having it dead last seems fair, but I am not sure it needs to be there at all.
Drag Me to Hell (2009) – Sam Raimi – 42nd
This is a film that I saw very recently and one I did enjoy. It was fun in that Sam Raimi kind of way where it is as much a comedy as it is a horror film. But it wasn’t anything spectacular and to see it on a list of the 50 best horror films ever came as a bit of a shock to me. I know it has its devout fans and I see why, but not really worthy of its spot for me.
It Follows (2014) – David Robert Mitchell – 28th
A similar one to Drag Me to Hell. I feel like this film was hugely hyped when it first came out, and it is a really solid and fun horror film. The remise is a smart one and it leads to a fun viewing experience as any background character could be the monster. But is it top 50 of all time good? Let alone 28th of all time good? I don’t think so.
A Quiet Place (2018) - John Krasinski – 22nd
You could pretty much copy and paste the paragraph from above for this one. Another fun premise, executed well and a fun viewing experience, but is it really the 22nd best horror film of all time? Again, I like it, I think it is fun. But to be on a list of the best horror films of all time seems a little much.
Surprise Positions
You may be thinking that a couple of the films from the prior category could have made it into this section as well, and you would be right. The difference between the two sections, however, is I was surprised to see the prior films included at all, whereas these films I expected to be included in the list but where they were eventually placed took me by surprise, whether that be lower or higher than I would have thought.
Poltergeist (1981) – Tobe Hooper – 34th
This is one of those where I feel like the position of the film is far too high. If it was up to me this film would be nowhere near this list. I wasn’t surprised to see it on there as it is seen as a bit of a classic for the genre. But I think it is a bit shit. I don’t think it has aged particularly well and I can’t think of any particular moment that stood out when watching it. It has its place in pop culture so was always going to be here, but I wouldn’t have it anywhere near.
Psycho (1960) – Alfred Hitchcock – 17th
A little low that don’t you think? This isn’t just one of the most iconic horror films of all time, it is also one of the most iconic films of all time. And it sits 17th? HOLD ME BACK. In all seriousness, the position of this isn’t so much of an issue although it is definitely far too low. The issue is more in what films are above it. I don’t know, I feel like it probably deserves a little more love.
The Exorcist (1973) – William Friedkin – 9th
Another one that feels like it is far too low. Now, my opinion of this film has been a bit of a rollercoaster over the years. I have always appreciated and liked it (I’m not a dimwit) but how much I like it does seem to change each time I see it. The last time I saw it I thought it was a masterpiece, the time before that I thought it was just okay. Bit weird, but because of this if I was to make my own list I wouldn’t be surprised if this landed in a similar position. What makes its position on this list surprising then? Well, it is so often placed higher on stuff like this, usually in the top three, so to have it only just breaking the top ten really took me by surprise.
Scream (1996) – Wes Craven – 3rd
There was no bigger surprise on this list than this one. I like Scream as much as the next person, but the 3rd best film of all time. Really? That feels extremely generous. I understand that it was it effectively reinvigorated the genre and it does hold up as a very fun horror film, but 3rd? I can’t get over how high that is. I genuinely did a double-take when I first saw it because I couldn’t believe my eyes. It definitely deserves its inclusion on the list, but it is so weirdly high.
Exclusions
In terms of what films didn’t make the list, we could be here all day. I did consider doing my own 50 best horror films before realising that was far too much work, but that would have been a good way of establishing how many films I would add that weren’t included, but I will just tell you a handful of the bigger ones.
The Conjuring (2013) – James Wan
This is probably the one film of the lot I am about to list that I would be happy to cut out if needed. But I think it is a really solid and fun horror film, and for the kind of horror film, it is most definitely in the upper echelons. By that, I mean a horror film of the jump-scare variety that were extremely popular around the time. But for me, it does stand out in that crowd, and I have always had a soft spot for it.
Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) – Takashi Shimizu
I feel like I rate this film so much higher than the majority of people and so there was no way I thought it would make Empire’s list. But oh boy I bloody love it. I think it is genuinely one of the more eerie and scary horror films I have seen in recent times. Of course, it isn’t perfect, but I buy into it so much and it really gets under my skin. Not only would it be on my list, but it would also be very high up on it.
Train to Busan (2016) – Yeon Sang-ho
There were several zombie films included on Empire’s list, but I feel like space could have and maybe should have been made for this one. This is one of the best zombie films I have ever seen. It is exhilarating, emotionally gripping, and eerie at times and it is no wonder that its sequel was so heavily hyped. And while that sequel didn’t live up to the original, this film still remains one of the best of the sub-genre and at least deserves a shout out.
Hausu (1977) – Nobuhiko Obayashi
Another film that had no chance of making this list, but if you looked at more niche horror films lists, I bet it would be all over it. This is one of my favourite films just because of how off the wall bonkers it is, and I haven’t stopped recommending it to anyone who will listen. And I won’t stop. It is superb and would absolutely make my list.
Kairo (2001) – Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Again, I am not surprised that this film didn’t make the list as it isn’t one of the more widely known of the J-horror boom of the 2000s. The list isn’t completely without J-horror representation, but I would put Kairo at the very top of the pile when it comes to that group of films. I think it absolutely superb. In terms of films that just creep me out and get under my skin, you can’t find many better than this one. It would easily slide into my top ten if I did my own list, possibly even the top 5.
American Psycho (2000) – Mary Harron
This was the biggest exclusion from this list. The only reason I can think it didn’t make it was because you could argue it isn’t a pure horror film. But Jaws (1975) is on the list. Alien (1979) is on the list. I would say they are as many horror films as American Psycho and so I really don’t know why it didn’t make the cut. I adore this film; I think it is close to being a perfect film. It is one of the only films I have rated 5 stars on Letteboxd and it couldn’t get in this list when Poltergeist could? Blows my mind.
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