She Likes to Watch

Just when you thought it was safe to come out …

I recently polled some friends about their favorite scary movies. Not surprisingly, “Halloween,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Night of the Living Dead” were at the top of the list.

Of course, everyone has their own take about what deserves the “Best Horror” label.

Some go for gory humor, such as Edgar Wright’s “Shaun of the Dead” or Peter Jackson’s “Dead Alive.” For others, it’s more about gruesome scenarios — witness the popularity of torture porn titles such as “Saw” and “Hostel” — or psychological thrills, like those depicted in Japanese exports “The Ring” and “The Eye.”

So, what’s on everyone’s lists?

First, it’s the attack of RottenTomatoes.com, as the movie review supersite lists the 50 best horror movies ever made.

Since 50 movies is a bit much to absorb in a sitting, I’ll skip to the good stuff. According to the critics at Rotten Tomatoes, the 10 films you simply must see are:

1. “King Kong” (1933)
2. “Repulsion” (1965)
3. “The Bride of Frankenstein” (1935)
4. “Aliens” (1986)
5. “The Evil Dead” (1989)
6. “Frankenstein” (1931)
7. “Jaws” (1975)
8. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1919)
9. “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968)
10. “Nosferatu” (1922)

A few of these titles are a bit obscure, but they all garnered high marks from dozens of newspaper, radio and online critics.

For instance, “Repulsion” — which follows a schizophrenic woman’s descent into madness — was hailed by critics as “intense,” “genuinely frightening” and “disturbing.” The 1965 psychological thriller stars Catherine Devenue and is director Roman Polanski’s first English-language film.
***

Moviefone.com invites you to view cinema’s “Scariest Movie Moments” — preferably at home with all the doors locked and lights blazing.

The list begins with the moment we see a ghoulish girl under her bed in “The Sixth Sense” (No. 31) and ends with such filmic freakouts as the girl emerging from the television in “The Ring,” Linda Blair’s spinning head in “The Exorcist” and Leatherface’s bloody feast in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

You’ll have to check Friday to see the final gory addition.

***

Over at IFC.com, the folks behind some of Hollywood’s most terrifying special effects talk about making scary movie magic. Favorite FX include “The Exorcist,” “Alien,” “The Thing” and, of course, “Frankenstein.”

***

Looking for an education in the horror genre? Check out Horror-101, which has trailers, posters and reviews of the latest terrifying flicks, including “Saw V.”

More dark delights are available at Anchorwoman in Peril, YDKS Movies and CinemaFist. (Like myself, all four of these blogs are members of the Large Association of Movie Blogs.)

Read, and watch, if you dare.