Top Ten Scariest Films Ever

How do you know when a horror movie is truly scary? There are some people who quiver at the mere sight of blood. Some will insist that a villainous movie slasher has followed them home, to lay in wait until they are alone and at their most vulnerable. But if you really want to know what's scary, ask the person who laughs off Jason Vorhees as a wannabe; the person who considers themselves to be a true horror movie buff. Though my cinematic tastes are ecclectic, at best, I consider myself to be just such a person. In fact, alongside Disney animation, horror is my genre of choice. Now tell me that combination isn't scary?! In no particular order, here is my list of the top ten scariest movies of all time.

"Halloween"

It truly does take a lot to scare me, but Michael Myers is the one movie villain who can do it every time. Perhaps that's because he is the most simple, but horrifying killer of them all. Void of any expression or words that betray his thoughts, there are the occasions throughout the "Halloween" franchise where we've seen the conflicted monster show a split second appearance of conscience, and even take pause when faced with his driving evil that compels him to kill his surviving family members. In my opinion, this conflict makes him more human than we want to believe he is, and his desire to endlessly persue his bloodline is beyond unnerving. Then, there's the added horror of that William Shatner mask. Now THAT is scary!

"Saw" - "Saw V"

Unlike most any movie that ever spawned a slew of sequels, "Saw" is one that truly didn't get worse as it went on. The original is still arguably the best of the five, but all films in the "Saw" series stayed true to the original story, and each further explained the mystery behind the plot. It unfolds a little more with each sequel. Tobin Bell is the unlikely antagonist, dubbed Jigsaw, and masterfully he puppeteers victims and surprising accomplices through games of torture intended to teach them the error of their ways. Essentially, Jigsaw claims to have the goal of punishing those that are wasting the gift of life. A number of impressive names have graced the "Saw" series cast lists. Combine that with the aspect of a surprise around every corner, tortore methods that the average human mind could not possibly conceive, and the fact that the central villain is a terminally ill old man, and you have a genuinely unique horror franchise.

"Hostel"

"Hostel" and its sequel, "Hostel: Part II" are hands-down, the most gory and grotesque films in existence. Of course, a true horror afficianado requires more than gore to really praise a film. I'll admit that some of my fears may be a bit unfounded and bordering on silly, but I have always been concerned about some of the abnormal things that may take place in some isolated foreign locales. "Hostel" certainly did nothing to quell that fear in me. Even if it is a stretch, this film made me think...what if? What if their truly is a market, an entire industry, cornered on allowing people to enact a fantasy of torturing and murdering another human being? What if your rich, prominent, respected doctor took a weekend jaunt to Slovakia to secretively enact his darker, disturbing fantasies. Probably not much of a potential reality, but severely disturbing, nonetheless.

"Texas Chainsaw Massacre"

It was 1974, long before the gruesome ghouliness of "Saw" and "Hostel". In fact, many of the concepts introduced in the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" were unheard of in cinema, and bone-chilling. Cannibalism is quite possibly one of the greatest horrors that we can imagine. When your cannibals are a whole family of complete lunatics in the middle of nowhere, where is there any room remaining for hope? And when your central killer wears a mask made of human flesh, it's obvious that reasoning won't help you escape. The movie was loosely based on true events, and it had a certain "Jaws"-like, imbedded, lasting effect on all who've seen it. Think about it, can you hear a chainsaw start up without getting a quiver? Unfortunately, through all the sequels and remakes, none ever even came close to matching the original. In fact, all other films spawned from the first were well beyond total disappointments.

"Child's Play"

Personally, I always saw the "Child's Play" series as more comedic in nature than frightening. However, my opinion on that changed when my young daughter sneaked a peek at the film while quietly hidden behind a couch. That was eight years ago. Now, at the age of 12, she still has not forgotten the wicked little doll. Her horrors led to me making a startling connection when she volunteered to junk all of her "Rugrats" memorabilia. Who's the mental giant that opted to put a red-haired Chuckie in a children's cartoon anyway? The snide serial killer with a knack for plastics only got creepier as he eventually developed quite a crass personality, found a doll wife and eventually had a doll baby, but as is often the case in horror series, the first was most certainly the best.

"A Nightmare on Elm Street"

Freddy Kruger may very well be the closest thing to the Boogeyman that Hollywood has imagined yet. He's the monster under the bed, the big bad man who preys on youthful innocence, and he can get to you where no one else can...in your dreams. The first of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" films held a level of horror that none of its sequels has equaled, and it was downright chilling. Much like Chucky, as the films keep coming, the evil slowly gave way to a sort of laughable badness. Still, Freddy is one villain that often seems unstoppable and unescapable, even if his one-liner wit yields a chuckle or two in the interim.

"Cujo"

Stephen King, the "master of horror" does not often deliver in the form of monsters and bad guys. Typically, the thing you fear from King is much more sinister...and often, much more real. Such is the case in "Cujo". Here, the evil comes in the form of a rabid dog, and there's no stopping his demented, delirious quest for blood. Though it could certainly be seen as an exaggeration of the extent to which rabies may manifest itself, it's not beyond the realm of possibility, and it's that factor of potential reality that terrifies. It's man versus beast, and naturally, there is no reasoning with a wild animal.

"Final Destination"

Graphic brutality and the element of surprise make the "Final Destination" trilogy unique and thrilling to the horror movie buff. Though you do harbor that expectant reservation that we all come to expect before a murder, you never quite know how or precisely when death will actually come. This is basically the central idea of the entire plot: when death has its sights set on you, you're not going to avoid it. In each of the films, one tormented soul is stuck with visions of reality to come, and it becomes their burden to defeat death, on behalf of themselves and an unlucky assortment of peers. How do you outwit the instrument of death when it is not in the form of anything tangible or seen?

"Psycho"

Before we came to love Stephen King, it was Alfred Hitchcock that proudly supplied us with nightmares. The amazing thing is that Hitchcock horrified us without ever needing to produce bloodbaths or vicious, tortorous attacks. The kills of his villains were realistic and simple, but driven by pure madness and insanity. "Psycho" is the perfect example of such. In fact, never once during the nightmarish, infamous shower scene where the troubled Marion meets her death do we actually see the knife penetrating her skin. However, the split-second film chop camera angles and Janet Leigh's horrific reaction to her impending death were enough to make us all do a double-take whenever we'd glimpse a shadow through our shower curtains. Norman Bates was possibly the most timid of all killers, but his pure insanity was earth-shattering. The seemingly divided personality could be the man you'd most want as your neighbor, until "mother" took over.

"Strangeland"

All of a sudden, our rock stars want to be a part of the horror world. While I was completely unimpressed with Rob Zombie's over-embellished remake of the original "Halloween", I feel quite the opposite over Twisted Sister frontman, Dee Snider's foray into horror. Proving that you never can tell whose on the other end of an Internet chat, Snider lures unwitting young victims into his sick world of S&M amplified. Another example of the mentally deranged making their mark in a bloody manner. When Carlton Hendricks is revealed to be Internet-stalker "Captain Howdy", he has a second chance at an honest life following mental rehabilitation. But just what happens when community vigilantes decide to take matters into their own hands? Honestly, it made me ponder a though-provoking idea... is it possible that we, at times, help to create the monster?