Top 10 Horror Movies

A few months back I set a poll on one of my sites which asked horror fans to rate their top ten horror movies of all time. In this article I list the movies and explain what makes horror fans rate them so highly.

Psycho (1960)

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho terrifies audiences because it is an exploration of insanity which concludes that anyone, even the sane, can become insane and suffer terrible consequences.

Alien (1979)

The powerful theme in Alien is one of disease. The crew aboard a futuristic space vessel become infected by an alien species and hunted down in grisly fashion. Perhaps the most terrifying thing about Alien is the theme it shares with Psycho: Evil is inside of us and, thus, cannot be easily escaped.

The Shining (1980)

Almost every college campus bedroom has the poster of Jack Nicholson peering through a recently-axed bathroom window, grinning in his uniquely iconic, maniacal manner. This easily deserves to be one of the top 10 horror movies of all time. Derived from the book by Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece is a haunting look at insanity and claustrophobia, as the Wife and Son of Jack Torrence are mentally abused and later on hunted down by him in a remote hotel called The Overlook. What perhaps scares us most here is the possibility that our trusted loved ones can become our worst enemies.

Aliens (1986)

In Aliens we see Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) return with a rescue team to a colony where she must do battle with yet more aliens. No one believes her, of course, until it is too late and both herself and the other crew members are besieged by dozens of drooling, toothy beings. It is the claustrophobic settings here, more than the Aliens, that we find most scary.

Les Diaboliques (1955)

A boarding school headmaster is murdered by his mistress and wife who has a weak heart. They submerge his corpse in their school's swimming pool but, upon being brained, the body has disappeared. What ensues are scenes of suspense that slowly turn the murderers insane with tension. This movie is painful and terrifying to watch as we, unwillingly, must become the killers and share their fears. Although it is one of the top 10 horror movies of all time, I would say it is - possibly - the best suspense movie of all time.

Jaws (1975)

Amity Island has everything: beautiful beaches, warm weather, friendly inhabitants . . . oh, and a fifteen-foot killer great white shark! This is the original summer block buster known to all movie-goers. The theme here is man against nature. What terrifies most about Jaws is the uncompromising monster. He will not be reasoned with, he will not stop eating, and you will not escape his teeth, even if you're an expert shark fisherman. In this film only the lucky survive.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

This horror movie takes up where Frankenstein left off. Frankenstein and his monster are both still alive. The crazy Dr Pretorius kidnaps Frankenstein's wife and blackmails him to create another monster to become bride to the original abomination. With grave-digging, decaying corpses, re-animated living tissues, and the terrifying theme that man should not play God, this is a truly terrifying tale.

The Thing (1982)

In a remote Antarctic station, an expedition of American scientists encounters a dog, being perused by a helicopter which crashes. That same night the dog attacks both dogs and scientists and soon a shape-changing entity is loose among the survivors. The notion that evil lurks within those we trust is explored here to terrifying affect.

King Kong (1933)

When original audiences watched King Kong many of them literally ran screaming up the isles. Never had a monster been so realistically portrayed.

The Exorcist (1973)

In the Exorcist we are confronted by the ultimate evil: The Devil and his minions. Unlike serial killers or ghosts, Satan seems invincible; success feels hopeless. This terrifying film was made shocking by the use of blasphemy, a child becoming possessed and spouting obscene language; and the weakness of Good (namely an alcoholic priest) in the face of purest evil.

The top 10 horror movies of all time will, of course, change in the future, but - perhaps - the themes will remain the same. We will always be scared of inner evils (insanity), invincible evils (nature and the Devil), and monsters, of all shapes and sizes, will likely still prove to entertain and terrify!

If you want horror movie trailers, news and reviews of upcoming horror movies, visit Kristian's site: Upcoming Horror Movies.

Latest Horror Films

Every so often we live in an era when certain upcoming horror movies elicit uncommon levels of anticipation. This happens to be one of those times. In this brief article I will explore the latest horror films responsible for such high levels of interest among horror fans. These new horror movies are Zombie Strippers, Lost Boys 2: The Tribe, Paranormal Activity, American Zombie and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.

Zombie Strippers

Zombie Strippers harks back to the video nasty era of the 1980s when horror movie gore was all the rage. Everything about this scary movie - from the high concept title, to the cast that includes Robert Englund and Jenna Jameson, even the humor where we see a stripper birthing billiard balls on a take of Full Metal Jacket - is over the top and out to at once shock and, let's face it, delight. If Zombie Strippers where a food for horror fans, it would be a hugely scrumptious gastronomic joy.

Sometime in the future, President Bush is at war with half the world. In a government laboratory a secret vaccine is under development to turn soldiers into zombies; the theory being that legions of the undead would be a formidable force in their world-conquering endeavors. When a crack team of special forces fails in their attempt to quash a zombie uprising within the lab, an operative becomes infected after a bite to the hand and flees the lab, in fear of becoming cannon fodder for his comrades, to a local strip joint. It is at this strip bar, owned by Robert Englund, that he infects the talent: a line-up of stunning female strippers.

The first stripper to become a Zombie is Jenna Jameson. The onlookers are momentarily struck with shock, fear, disgust which is soon replaced, in a brilliant moment of comic-timing, with uproarious approval. It then becomes imperative among the strippers to become a zombie or fall in the popularity stakes and possibly lose employment. The real problems begin, however, when the beautiful strippers discover a hunger for human flesh!

Paranormal Activity Trailer

Do you remember the impact of The Blair Witch Project? Much of the reason behind the success for Blair was the combination of verisimilitudinous filmmaking and - at the time - uncommonly clever use of internet marketing. Paranormal Activity is one of our latest horror films anticipated to assume similar cult status to Blair. Yet this horror movie is no staged sham; no, this, my friends, is the real deal.

A happily married couple move into a new house. They quickly come to believe that it is haunted. Is it a coincidence that the woman, Katie, has been haunted by spirits since infancy? In a bid to prove the existence of paranormal activity within their home the couple make a home movie over several months. Paranormal Activity is the result of their endeavors, a combination of shocking home movie and surveillance footage.

Test screenings have reputedly seen audiences running screaming from the theater. An urban legend? A clever marketing ploy? Or is this true horror story so blatantly terrifying that we cannot help be run away screaming . . . or at least consider the notion?

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Horror comics have for years been fodder for a glut of Hollywood horror movies. Hell Boy comics had a huge following and it was important to get it right or, from the very start, kill any possibility of a franchise. The huge anticipation over Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is proof - not that we need any - that the original Hell Boy movie, a stylish, Gothic horror thriller, was bang on the money. The sequel is reported to be even better!

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is said to be about a battle between the underworld and Hell Boy and his gang. Demons wish to conquer humanity and only Hell Boy dares stand in their way!

American Zombie

American Zombie is a rarity in the horror genre: a biting (excuse the pun) social satire.

We explore the lives four characters who live among zombies in a Los Angeles community: A socially-witty convenience store clerk; Judy, a zombie in denial who is searching for love; Joel , founder of ZAG, Zombie Advocacy Group; and Lisa, a florist for a funeral parlor.

American Zombie has been compared to Kevin Smith's Clerks and is one of the latest horror films that veers away from shock and gore entertainment tactics to intellectual elicitation of emotion.

Lost Boys 2: The Tribe

I have purposefully saved the most anticipated of our latest horror films for last. Horror fans of Lost Boys, a classic horror movie in the vampire sub-genre, have waited 21 years for this, the massively anticipated sequel.

The story reportedly takes place in Luna Bay, California, a small surfer community which is - like the original Lost Boys Santa Carla - riddled with blood-thirsty vampires. Corey Haim, the lead of the original horror movie, and Corey Feldman, the two Coreys, reprise their original roles.

Chris Emerson and his sister, Nicole, are compelled to battle a crazed group of vampire surfers. Just like last time, the Frog Brothers are on hand to help in the fight against the undead!

These are the latest horror films to have horror fans on tenterhooks. I hope you enjoy them!

Horror Fans! Visit horror movie trailers [http://www.horror-movie-trailers.com/] for clips of all your favorite horror movies (upcoming, new and classic) then head over to upcoming horror movies to get trailers and news on your most eagerly-awaited upcoming horror movies.

Lessons in Horror - Classic Elements the Horror Genre Needs to Remember

With countless slasher remakes and Japanese horror scene rip-offs filling our screens of late there has been a dearth of great horror on contemporary cinema screens. Perhaps if today's film-makers are to create truly great horror films again they need to look to the past for some lessons in creating suspense or sustaining mood. Let's take a look at some truly impressive elements of a few classic horror films that today's creators would do well to take note of.

Sound Design - The Haunting

In this classic 60s horror, nothing is actually seen of the malicious presence which torments the team of volunteers investigating the old house, but everything is heard of them. A cacophonous mix of banged doors, rattling windows, footsteps and whispered voices all contribute to the sense of menace which pervades every second of this movie. You can cover your eyes or cower behind the sofa, but you can't escape the horror.

Cinematography - Cat People

This low budget horror classic marked producer Val Lewton's first film as head of his own horror B-unit at RKO pictures, and it was an effective demonstration of his theory that things were scarier when left to the audience's imagination. The film's killer, a black panther, is only seen once in the film, and the danger is far more effectively conveyed through the flickering shadows and dark shapes that dance around the edge of the frame as the protagonists try to escape a terror they can barely see. Sound design also plays a significant part, and the film's strongest set-piece takes place in a swimming pool as a girl desperately treads water as the refracted light from the water gives glimpses of the silhouette whose growls echo around the pool.

Make-Up - Phantom of the Opera

In this CGI age horror effects are probably less scary than they have ever been, though even the copious amounts of blood and guts in the glorious gore-fests of the video nasty era were a little lacking in the quiet creepiness of earlier horror. Undisputed master of the modestly macabre is silent horror star Lon Chaney, who probably found his finest moment in an early adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera - the reveal of the Phantom's hideous features halfway through the film becoming one of the most iconic moments in horror history, an image burned on the retina of anyone who has ever seen it.

Showmanship - The Tingler

Horror movies are often most effective when they mess with our sense of reality - blurring the boundies between watching and participating in the film, albeit through campy or gimmicky methods. Master of the theatrical gimmick William Castle is perhaps most notorious for the release of this film about a creature which would tingle the bottom of a victim's spine until they died, their only escape being to scream. On the film's roadshow release, Castle would rig up selected chairs in the audience to tingle at the point in the film when the Tingler is set free in a cinema. It's arguable that Castle's techniques have their modern equivalent in the viral marketing of films such as The Blair Witch Project, but none of these provide such a memorable shared horror experience as Castle's screenings used to.

Ideas - The Undead

No one can claim that Roger Corman wasn't ambitious, and this film is perhaps one of his most surprisingly aspirational films. Intended to exploit the public's fascination with past lives in the late 50s, the film starts out as a conventional supernatural thriller with cardboard sets and unconvincing plasticine make-up, but is so earnest in its ideas that the audience is compelled to buy into what eventually ends up feeling like a powerful existential drama. The brutal intercutting between antagonists and protagonist as she realises the sacrifice she is being asked to make lingers in the mind longer than any musical stinger or gore-shot ever could.

You see, it isn't always what is shown onscreen that has the most power. With the right use of atmosphere, camera work, soundtrack, editing and lighting, it is possible to create chilling pieces of cinema without resorting to shallow CG fests. Much is made of onscreen torture and over the top gore these days, and some nods to a more calculated era of filmmaking would do the horror industry a great deal of good.

Hamish Spearson is an expert on classic cinema in many genres, and writes for the movie & pop culture memorabilia site Starstore.com as well as its many blogs. For the latest news on movies, collectibles, TV, comics and geek culture, visit =====> http://www.starstoreblog.com

5 Things I Hate About Recent Horror Movies

To go along with Zombie Cat contributor Gary Hamrick's recent angry rant about how much he hates "horror movies," I'd like to present my own feelings on the subject. Gary's column, while incendiary, isn't completely off base. Most horror fans have felt for a while that not enough strides have been made to further the genre. While the occasional diamond in the rough emerges from the dregs, it's still frustrating when a constant barrage of crap makes us look bad in the eyes of the common folk.

To this, I present five things (not necessarily in order, and by no means the only five) that drive me crazy about recent horror flicks.

1. OMG Moments

You know the scene - the teenie bopper lead character slowly makes her way down the hallway into her room where she heard a suspicious noise emit within. She creeps into the room softly calling, "Hello?" until she reaches the closet when SUDDENLY THE DOORS FLY OPEN OMG THE VIOLINS STRIKE SHE SCREAMS AND...it's her cat, Mittens. Mittens bounds away as the teenie bopper lead laughs and skips to the kitchen for ice cream (probably where she's attacked for real).

These "stings" or "scare chords" are usually just a cheap way to frighten the audience, give their heart a race to make up for how boring the rest of the film is. They've been going on for years and need to be toned down considerably, if not removed entirely. Think of other ways to shock the teens out of their seats, please.

2. "Torture Porn"

Let's get this out of the way: I'm calling for an end to the term, not necessarily the sub-genre, though I do have something to say about that too. At no point should a horror fan use the term "torture porn." Cole Abaius over at Film School Rejects published a piece on the subject in November, and I agreed with the vast majority of what he writes. Simply, "torture porn" doesn't exist. To claim a film has no artistic merit is one thing, but to deride an entire sub-genre is another.

Worse, it makes people who enjoy the films into degenerates, which is nothing new for horror fans. It's been happening since Frankenstein. Those using the term simply don't know their history; else, they would use the correct term, splatter film. "Torture porn" was coined by an otherwise quite serviceable critic (and self alleged horror fan) named David Edelstein, who claimed none of these films have any merit and are just pornography. Just because you don't think it does, princess, doesn't mean it doesn't. And vice versa, obviously.

That said, while I'm not one to complain about a splatterfest (hey, I love FX, sue me), the sub-genre does lend itself to simple copycats and lazy releases. In the future, we horror fans require some thought and effort on the part of the filmmakers. Now that the trend is on a major decline, future films should weed out the bad and the overused and come up with something wholly original and mind-blowing.

3. Zombies

Yeah, I said it. But hear me out.

Perhaps this goes beyond films into "real life" territory, but zombies have become so played out it's ridiculous. It was a strange time for me around the turn of the century when I saw otherwise totally normal folks wearing zombie shirts and talking about the gory special effects they loved.

Then came zombie walks. And endless stupid movies that just threw in zombies cause make-up is cheap. And then even more crappy movies that had big budgets because they were so popular. Today, you can't get away from them.

I studied zombie movies (among others) for my senior thesis in college. Zombies films are among some of my earliest horror memories, so I have a special fondness for them. When done right, zombies can mean the most out of the average movie monster because they're US, man.

But among all the films that came out, how many were any good? Beyond that, how many will be remembered down the road? Two? Three? Yeah, we got Shaun of the Dead and The Walking Dead looks to be a huge win for AMC that gets a lot right. But most of the meaning has been sucked out, and my beloved zombies are in danger of getting the Twilight treatment. Hopefully the "overload" will come soon and we'll have "werewolf walks" around Halloween instead.

4. Pretending Your Crappy Movie was Intended to Be That Way Thus Making it Retro

Yeah, long title, but it gets the idea across. I'm tired of seeing these kinds of films. It's generally some goofy slasher with a weak ass villain and some big boobed doofuses running around blah blah blah. No original ideas, no point - but when asked, the director says, "Oh we were just paying homage to the 80s LMAO!"

Listen: if you made a shitty film but you still managed to sell it to a distributor, that's fine. Own up to it. But don't lie. Horror fans know. Furthermore, how about you actually spend time on it and make a good film in the first place? Though slashers are done to death (I studied them for my paper as well), there's still territory to be explored if you try hard enough. But most don't, as they're in it for the money and not to made real films or at least learn the craft.

Trust me: you're no Lloyd Kaufman or Roger Corman. You're Uwe Boll.

5. Remakes

'nuff said.

Wait, no it's not. If anything encapsulates the "no originality and totally brainless" issue with horror flicks, it's the remake trend that's been going on for too long. Remakes of old films, remakes of other country's films, remakes of remakes for god's sake, it just won't end.

Of course, the real problem is people still go to see them. After they get back from the theater from seeing "Prom Night," these people complain about no original ideas. Then, when something original and good comes out, these same people suddenly find excuses to stay home (see: Slither). Horror fans will be the engineers of their own destruction. And then they'll complain about it online.

To end on a positive note: "True Grit" aside, the remake trend seems to be on a decline, especially since we're entering a new decade with new trends to be discovered. Hopefully whatever lies ahead in the next ten years does everyone's favorite genre a solid and puts horror on the top where it belongs.

What Makes A Horror Movie Scary?

Horror movies, we all love a good scare and to be quite frank, the world would be a different place without them. The movie industry would be somewhat different as well. Producers, writers and directors from around the globe frequently test their skills and divulge into one of cinema's oldest and most famous genres, but have horror flicks maintained their scare factor over time? 95% of horror films made today are still entertaining to some degree, but very rarely do these films really have the ability to frighten like the classics once did. A large percentage of horrors brought to the big screen in recent years annoyingly fit into the PG-13 horror thriller category, but are these really going to have the same effect as The Exorcist once produced? What does a successful horror flick consist of? Let's take a look..

Going To The Extreme

Remember "Friday the 13th" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (Original)? Both timeless classics, extremely successful AND very scary. The reason why these movies were so terrifying in the 1980's is because they showcased what can only be described as extreme elements never before seen. Both films featured violent, murderous villains intent on causing as much pain and suffering as possible. The extreme nature of such films is what essentially kept the viewers' eyes glued to the screen. Murder is unfortunately an everyday occurrence in today's society, it's a fact of life.. but seeing someone getting split in two with a chainsaw is much more disturbing than hearing about a stranger who's been killed in a random stabbing or drive-by shooting.

The team behind the more recent "Saw" Trilogy adopted the effective 'extreme element' rule, the villains twisted and bloody survival games in the films tested the limits of the average viewer's imagination, viewers couldn't help but put themselves in the horrific situations displayed withing the Trilogy, this resulted in countless toe curling moments, cringing left, right and center and of course viewers wanting to see more - the perfect horror!

The Soundtrack

A major MUST and one of the most important rules in creating a successful horror is optimizing the use of sound. The more traditional horrors have fairly predicatable soundtracks, viewers can usually predict when a scare is going to take place by taking note of the forboding tunes played immediately beforehand, it's all part of the fun! Another common trick that producers and directors like to employ in their films, is placing the music directly before the scary scene itself, only to end it suddenly, (providing the audience a false sense of relief), and then resuming immediately just as the next "shock" appears.

These tactics have worked for many years, and it continues to be a staple of the horror genre. Unfortunately after a period of time, much like a magic trick that has been used multiple times, it loses it's appeal.

More recent films are now implementing new formulas into the mix, attempting to heighten the scare factor. A trick that is becoming more common is omitting sound completely. Using music as a "cue" for the scary scenes can be somewhat distracting in some films. For example, if you were alone in a house and saw a ghost, you obviously wouldn't have a musical warning. Therefore, when directors opt for no sound in introducing their frightening material, the scares often seem and feel more authentic.

The Unexplained

It is no secret that humans are most afraid of what they don't understand, something we can't comprehend can easily become frightening. Think of it this way, the fact that whilst most people are not afraid of death, they ARE afraid of the manner in which they will die. Fear of unknown, the unexplained phenomena in life that causes a huge sense of discomfort too us all, film directors simply love to exploit this and it's extremely effective.

More and more horrors are employing examples of the unexplained, stories about ghosts, the occult, and human possession are fascinating because to this day, these subjects are still ultimately a mystery to us. The "what if's" start kicking around your head, conveniently complimented with the uneasy feeling in your stomach - could this really happen?

"Based On A True Story"

The bold "based on a true story" claim, often displayed shortly before the film begins. This trick is something that isn't widely used, but can certainly pile on the suspense before, during AND after the film has ended. "The Exorcist" for example was released during the early 1970's, nothing had been produced like this before, it was truly unique. An average, innocent young girl is targeted by a demon, a demon with otherworldly powers that is intent on pain and suffering. The scenes that were featured within "The Exorcist" were for it's time period, nothing short of shocking. This combined with the fact that the film is actually based on a true story only fueled the fear within the viewers. Could this happen to me!?

Dave Wint
http://www.screagle.com - The latest torrents, media streams and up-to-date file sharing news.

Top 10 Horror Movies for Halloween 2010

Here we go fancy dress fans, to start getting you into the 'spirit' of Halloween, here's a top 10 list of horror movies... If you were a teenager in the 70s or 80s, you are going to remember them all!!

1. The Exorcist

This 1973 horror film deals with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother's desperate plea to get her daughter back through the ancient exorcism rite to rid the devil, which is performed by two priests.

The most profitable horror film of all time, with 10 academy award nominations, it was one of a cycle of demonic child movies produced in the 60s and 70s. The Best Bit? The 12 year old girl shows very strange and unnatural powers including levitation, huge strength along with a strange male demonic voice spewing out obscenities. Loved the bit when her head rotates and projective vomits vile green sludge...

2. Evil Dead

A horror film many of you will remember from the 80s, made famous with its storyline of the five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a remote wooded area who find an audiotape that releases evil spirits. Evil Dead made headlines because of its extremely controversial and graphic terror, violence, and gore!

For its time, it was pretty radical. Stephen King called it 'the most ferociously original horror movie of the year'! Best Bits? Well... it's just a continuous pummelling of the audience with one insanely horrific shock effect after the other.

3. Nightmare on Elm Street

Nancy is having horrible nightmares. She discovers so too are her highschool chums, but they are being slaughtered in their sleep by the same hideous character of their shared dreams. Nancy, ignored by the Police has to confront the killer in his shadowy lair...

This movie was made by the master of the horror genre, legend, Wes Craven. Johnny Depp makes an appearance in his first starring role, and Nightmare on Elm Street gives birth to one of the most notorious and infamous undead villains in film history; Freddy Krueger.

Most memorable scary bit... the children singing... "One, two, Freddy's coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight, better stay awake. Nine, ten, never sleep again..."

4. Scream

Another of Wes Craven's blockbusters, the movie scream was hugely popular in the 90's for its resurrection of the teen slasher movie genre. The plot was apparently inspired by the Halloween movie series and Gainseville Ripper murders of 1990.

The plot of `Scream' is pretty simple: Halloween costumed knife-wielding psychopathic serial killer is busy stalking high school students and brutally killing them off one by one. The killer's inordinately obsessed with one of the girls, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who gets involved in the quest to unmask the insane killer Funny Bit? The wassuuuup phone conversation between the killer and three lads.

5. Carrie

The 1976 supernatural horror movie shocked millions of viewers during the 70s, based on the novel 'Carrie' by Stephen King. Carrie is the story of a socially outcast teenage girl who discovers she possesses psionic powers which are brought to life when she is angered. After humiliation by her peers, teachers and abusive mother, Carrie turns her supernatural powers on them to devastating tragedy.

Best Bits: The moment the bucket of pig's blood is tipped over Carrie, who is on stage, who has just been named prom queen... but this is eclipsed by the final moment when the only survivor of the prom, dreams of visiting the plot where Carrie's house once stood. As she places flowers on the ground, a bloody hand reaches out, grabbing Sue wrist...*shiver*

6. An American Werewolf in London

The 1981 horror-comedy film about two young American men on a backpacking holiday round England, where they eventually find themselves deep into the moors one night and they are attacked by a werewolf. Jack dies and David ends up in a London hospital and is visited in his dreams by the ghostly apparition of his friend who re-appears to tell him that he is now a werewolf and will transform at the next moon. Sure enough he does and goes on a murderous killing spree and awakens to find himself back to normal, but caged at the London zoo.

Best bits - the ever decaying and zombie like corpse Jack returning telling David to kill himself.

7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

This horror film from 1974 introduced the spine chilling character of Leatherface and was originally presented as a true story involving the ambush and murdered of a group of friends by cannibals on a road trip across rural Texas.

The film however is completely fictional, but no less horrifying. This terrifying movie has gained a reputation as one of the most influential horror films in cinematic history, with its portrayal of the killer as a large, hulking, faceless figure whose weapon of choice is a power tool to unleash inexplicable horror on its victims... brrrrr, watch this one during daylight hours with friends...

8. The Shining

Made in 1980, The Shining based on Stephen King's novel and directed by Stanley Kubrick, is a psychological horror that has become a classic of the horror genre and it has been ranked as one of the best horror films of all time! It's intensely eerie and powerfully menacing. A writer, his wife and young son head off to care-take an isolated hotel in its off season. The son who is psychic, can see ghosts and predict things from the future or past. Following a ferocious winter storm, the family are barricaded in the hotel and the father becomes influenced by the supernatural presence in the haunted hotel, he descends into insanity and ends trying to kill wife and son.

Memorable Bits; Jack Nicholson's descent into madness and when he turns against his family... 'Wendy? Darling? Light of my life, I'm not gonna hurt ya. You didn't let me finish my sentence. I said, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just going to bash your brains in'

9. The Amityville Horror

This 1979 horror film gained huge popularity with its claim to be based on a true story of the Lutz family and the paranormal disturbances they experienced at 112 Ocean Avenue, a large Dutch colonial house in Amityville. 13 months before the family moved in, Ronald DeFeo, Jr shot and killed 6 members of his family. After only 28 days, the Lutz's flee the house, having been terrorized by a supernatural presence.

Some of their experiences included; - George waking at 3:15 every morning to inspect the boathouse (the time that Defeo murdered his family) - Kathy having vivid nightmares about the murders and a feeling of being embraced in a loving manner by an unseen person. - The red room, a room painted in blood that did show up on the houses blueprints. - The image of a demon in the fireplace, which his head half blown off - Strange smells of excrement and perfume in random rooms of the house. - Missy's imaginary friend, a demonic pig-like creature with glowing red eyes. - Slamming doors and German marching bands were heard by George. - Kathy levitating off the bed and receiving red welts on her chest. - Green slime oozing from the walls and plagues of flies - George received bite marks from a four foot high ornamental china lion.

A terrific horror film and the book is even better... don't be scared if you start waking at 3:15am...

10. Night of the living Dead

This 1968 black and white movie is the first and original zombie movie that sets the bar for all other zombie laden gore-fests. It follows the story of 7 folks who are trapped in a rural farmhouse in Pennsylvania. It's a long night of survival as the house is being attacked by mysterious ghouls, the living dead, otherwise known as zombies who swarm around the house in search of living flesh.

The story focuses on the characters weaknesses, their cowardice, their greed and stupidity and makes the drama inside the house as palatable as the danger from outside. The undead zombies are lumbering beasts, they appear unstoppable and relentless in the quest to feast on the living. Most horrifying Bit? A knife-wielding little zombie girl... zombie kids? That will keep you awake all night long.

So there you have it fancy dress fans, the top 10 best horror movies from the 20th century. It's enough to inspire you to host a horror flick marathon sleepover this Halloween. BYO pillows to scream into! Have a great Halloween!

Author; Keri Williams, Marketing Director of Fancy Dress Shack has over 15 years working internationally in sales and marketing. Fancy Dress Shack sells over 6,000 costumes and fancy dress accessories online. Super Fast Delivery, exceptional customer service and a price promise guarantee, if you Love Fancy Dress, you'll Love the Shack! Visit the website to see the full range of halloween costumes & halloween decorations.

What Makes Horror Games So Scary?

When somebody thinks of horror, the first thing that will probably pop into their minds is a movie. Usually it's a movie involving masked men with knives or cruel mutant monsters slaughtering innocent victims left and right. And of course, it's either at night, in a dark place, at a deserted and/or isolated location away from any possible help.

With today's video game savy world, where the more and more people are playing games, there is a growing number of people out there who would include video games in the realm of horror. With classic horror games like 11tth Hour, Phantasmagoria, and Uninvited to more recent games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill and F.E.A.R., more and more people are getting into the horror video game genre.

Just as all forms of media, which includes television, video games and movies, it is a recent invention. As a species, we haven't evolved enough to be able to handle these types of images and video. The human race still isn't quite used to seeing them on the screen yet. One could ask, do games have the ability to better manipulate our minds then when compared to other forms of media?

Ever since my experiences with the Silent Hill series, I've felt that this is true. As I sit down to watch a good horror movie, I might get a little nervous or figity. And that's certainly something that's good. That's what a horror movie is supposed to do. But if I was to play a similar horror game, I could tell you right now that I would have a harder time handling myself. As I'm playing a Silent Hill game, and I'm roaming around a darkend building that's covered in grim, blood, and who in the hell knows what, I'm suddenly petrified when I hear a strange unearthly noise close by. I'm actually afraid to continue on into the next room to find out what's making that noise.

I think it's because I'm actually in control of the game and the character that makes it so much more frightening than if I'm just watching it as a third party. There's so much more interaction with that game versus just watching that movie or show.

The kind of creeping dread you feel in a good Lovecraft story is different than the startling scares and disturbing imagery of film horror like Psycho or Ringu, just as the more tense horror you experience playing Silent Hill or Dead Space is unique to games," says Richard Rouse III, the lead designer of The Suffering, which appeared on the Xbox.

"I think games have the definite advantage in terms of immersion and raw tension, because in a well done narrative game the player starts feeling like it's them in the world and starts feeling threatened themselves. Other mediums simply can't deliver that type of horror in the same way."

You could ask, why do we even have the survival horror genre at all? Why do we need to experience horror? It has been thought that all animals, which includes us humans as well, developed the sense of fear because it helped us survive in the wild. Although there are some irrational forms of fear, like when somebody is afraid of clowns and balloons, this sense of fear would certain help explain why humans would be afraid of heights and other dangerous situations, like being around spiders or snakes who could certainly be poisonous and in turn, do us great harm.

It would be obvious that as a stimuli, we would try staying away from things that would scare and terrify us. So why would we come back to it and experience it over and over again? I felt that it is that sense of thrill that you get when you face you fear. That's another point as well. Facing your fear. When you face your fear, it could be trying to gain a certain level of control over your fear, so that when real life beckons and you are faced with legitimate fear, you won't be so out of control of the situation.

No matter the reason, game developers will always try using that sense of psychology when they are creating a horror video game. By these good practices, it, in the end, makes for a great game. Giving the player that sense of danger and foreboding really adds to the thrill of the game.

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