Expert: Popcorn Guy - 10/31/2003

Question
I subscribe to the Netflix rental site and have been getting dvds from them since mid-summer...

Lately I've been on the lookout for a good Horror movie....something with a classic feel...

I saw Identity while it was in theaters and I was very impressed...it was the best Horror movie I'd seen in a long time.

I'm looking for something that'll really grab me and make me jump...any suggestions?
(I've seen quite a lot of movies...Horror/Suspense being a fav..)
p.s. name a few and I'll let you know what I've seen and what I liked, if that's okay..

thank's


Answer
Hi, Mike...

Horror with a classic feel... hmmmm... grab you and make you jump... hmmmmm again...

Well, for my money, you cannot go wrong with classic horror, like the Universal Monsters (Lugosi, Karloff, Chaney, Sr., and Chaney, Jr.). Of course, these are more atmospheric than "jump out and scare you" horror. If you've never seen the original "Cat People," produced by Val Lewton, it's an absolute must. Ignore that god-awful remake with Nastassia Kinski... beautiful woman, yes, but dreadful film...

As for "grabbing you and making you jump"... try these...

1) The Texas Chainsaw Masacre (original ONLY!!!)- anniversary edition now out on DVD...

2) John Carpenter's The Thing - guarantee you at least seven good jumps, and one that will almost make you wet your pants...

3) John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness - probably one of the creepiest things ever on film...

4) The Ring - newest entry into the realm...

5) any of the George Romero "Dead" trilogy - Dawn of the Dead just got remade, by the way...

6) Alien - the original is a masterpiece of suspense... and that damned jumping cat makes me jump every time...

7) Dead and Buried - nice little film with some spirit to it

8) Magic - Anthony Hopkins and a demonic doll... sounds dumb, but it'll freak you silly..

9) Wes Craven's Shocker - he tried to start another series after giving up control of Freddy Krueger... could have been a winner...

10) The Blair Witch Project - ONLY if you have a big-screen TV and surround sound... small screen TV's don't do this justice at all..

11) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - the silent classic may just be the birth of the horror atmosphere... check it out if you can find it...

12) The Leopard Man - near perfect film noir/horror... another Lewton production, directed by Tourneur...

13) The Haunting - directed by Robert Wise - you'll love it

14) Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte - if you've never seen these, shame on you...

15) Repulsion - Roman Polanski's first film in English... unbelievable...

16) Anything by Dario Argento - Suspira and Unsane (yes, spelled right...) are the best

17) David Cronenberg's They Came From Within, Rabid, The Brood, and Scanners - you want to talk about twisted? Cronenberg's your guy....

18) Sam Raimi's Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness - horror can be fun, too... just wait and see...

19) The Re-animator - horror can be twisted AND fun... you'll never see a decapitated head be this funny...

20) Near Dark - a Texas vampire story... amazing, and you would never think so to look at it in a store...

Try these and let me know what you think... look forward to hearing from you....

Thanks,

Tony D