I was asked recently to recommend some horror films, and this has set me to thinking.
Considering that I am known to some as a writer of horror fiction, the fact is, I very seldom watch horror films. I don't often watch any kind of films, in fact, but horror films are probably a small minority of those I do.
Recently I noticed this top 7 list of the best British horror films. I thought the selection was not bad, and decided to try making a list of my own, in case anyone requires further recommendations from me. My criteria are that I want to name horror films that are scary rather than just gory, and, further, that I want to name only those films that are scary in a nightmarish, otherworldly sort of way, those rare films that evoke the deep, queasy fear known to the sufferer of sleep paralysis. In fact, I shall attempt to stick to the standard outlined by Lovecraft in his essay 'Supernatural Horror in Literature':
We may say, as a general thing, that a weird story whose intent is to teach or produce a social effect, or one in which the horrors are finally explained away by natural means, is not a genuine tale of cosmic fear; but it remains a fact that such narratives often possess, in isolated sections, atmospheric touches which fulfill every condition of true supernatural horror-literature. Therefore we must judge a weird tale not by the author's intent, or by the mere mechanics of the plot; but by the emotional level which it attains at its least mundane point. If the proper sensations are excited, such a "high spot" must be admitted on its own merits as weird literature, no matter how prosaically it is later dragged down. The one test of the really weird is simply this — whether or not there be excited in the reader a profound sense of dread, and of contact with unknown spheres and powers; a subtle attitude of awed listening, as if for the beating of black wings or the scratching of outside shapes and entities on the known universe's utmost rim. And of course, the more completely and unifiedly a story conveys this atmosphere the better it is as a work of art in the given medium.
I imagine that my list will not contain many surprises. I imagine also that many others reading this could compile better lists, and I invite them to do so, in the comments section.
Here goes:
1. Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (1978)
… I'm going to have to take a break and get back to this. I can't stand sitting at this desk any more. I'll do the rest later…
Chris Barker writes:I’d rather see a list of TOP TEN ANNOYING LISTS and then only feature three or four entries in protest against lists. DESTROY ALL LISTS!Sounds like a decent lobby group to me. Lists surely aspire to elitism in addition to promoting either one’s self [subjectivity] or social recognition [so-called ‘objectivity’]. I never make lists. Well, that’s a lie; I *used* to make lots of lists but I now believe that lists entrap, limit, define and – ultimately – control us. CB
Well, I certainly don’t intend to chisel this list in stone. It’s really only intended as a possible discussion point for interesting horror films. As I say – or imply – in the above post, I’m far from being an expert anyway. There’s no way my list could be authoritative, even if I wanted it to be.
Chris Barker writes:I wasn’t being critical, I was being mischievously polemical!CB
How do you feel about the Saw films?
I never… saw them.
I know. I always thought that at least half of the motivation for naming it ‘Saw’ was to make people say things like this:”What are you going to see tonight?” – “We’re going to see ‘Saw’!””Have you seen ‘Saw’?” – ” Yeah, I saw ‘Saw’ a couple weeks ago… I mean ‘I watched ‘Saw’ a couple of weeks ago.” *embarrassed cough* 😀
I’m so predictable. I’m not so much into splatter films, torture-porn etc., but I believe the guy from Lost is in at least one or two of the Saw films, which might make them worth watching.