In response to the lively and passionate debate that's arisen as a result of my last blogosphere-rippling post, I thought it might be a good idea to list all the other films which were in consideration, yet didn't make the final list of fifty. So here, for your edification, and to answer a lot of the "Hey, what about _______??!" comments, are all the other flicks that received votes from our venerable panel of blowhards:
The ones that almost squeaked through, but not quite:
- Dagon
- Peeping Tom
- Cat People (1942)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 & 1978--the original came out ahead, for those keeping score)
- The Ring
- Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde (1932)
- Sisters
- Horror of Dracula (highest-ranking Hammer)
- 2000 Maniacs
- Donnie Darko
- Hellraiser
- The Blood-Spattered Bride
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
- The Silence of the Lambs
- Don't Look Now
- Island of Lost Souls
Yet more also-rans:
- Tenebrae
- Gojira
- Alice, Sweet Alice
- The Devil's Nightmare
- The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Women
- The Cave of Demons
- The Cat and the Canary
- The Uninvited (1944)
- The Old Dark House
- Re-Animator
- Vampire Circus
- Creepshow
- The Curse of Frankenstein
- Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers
- Scream
- Vampyres
- Eyes Without a Face
- Pan's Labyrinth
- Deliverance
- Manhunter
- Dead Alive
- Night of the Werewolf
- The Abominable Dr. Phibes
- The Wicker Man (1973)
- Cloverfield
- Toby Dammit
- The Birds
- Ginger Snaps
- Bloodsucking Freaks
- Uzumaki
- Plague of the Zombies
- Halloween III: Season of the Witch
- Vampyr
- M
- Picnic at Hanging Rock
- Repulsion
- This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse
- The Howling
- Carnival of Souls
- Lost Highway
- Burnt Offerings
- Rabid
- Werewolf of London
- The Omen
- Freaks
- The Lost Boys
- The Descent
And finally, the lonely little films that got only one point, by virtue of being the bottom choice on a single list:
- Looking for Mr. Goodbar
- The Funhouse
- Vampire Lovers
- Ringu
- Shocker
- Sleepless
- Urotsukidoji
- Night of the Hunter
- I Walked with a Zombie
There you have it, list completists! You see, we're not as "populist" as we were originally accused of being. Old and crotchety, perhaps, but certainly not populist!
Really interesting. That Horror of Dracula got more votes than the much more modern Vampire Circus or The Vampire Lovers.
ReplyDeleteBut the list says a lot about what is perceived as classics.
Now THAT'S a list! Unless I overlooked them, DUST DEVIL, MAD LOVE, and DIABOLIQUE would be a great additions, as would other Hammer films like FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED and HANDS OF THE RIPPER. Good work, guys!
ReplyDeleteOK, at least Hellraiser made this list...
ReplyDeleteWow, I was quite surprised when Re-Animator and Hellraiser did not make the top 50 list, but good to see them both emerge for this.
ReplyDeleteI also agree That Dagon was quite overlooked as a whole, and that it was pretty darn good movie.
The only thing I disagree with is Halloween IV: The Return Of Michael Myers. I thought that IV - VI were horrible, and would have loved to see H20 or Rob Zombie's make it, as they are more deserving.
Bill
fxguy.livejournal.com
I suppose there might be some confusion what with the new Soderbergh film and all, but shouldn't it be "CHE?"
ReplyDeleteFun fact I just learned and keep passing along even though nobody cares: it's only an "acronym" if the letters form a pronounceable word (NATO); otherwise it's an "initialization."
Anyway, good job with this. Glad to know the go-to horror bloggers have excellent taste in movies, by which I mean they agree with me.
I STILL can't believe Re-Animator didn't make the big list. That is a fucking injustice I tell you.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Horror of Dracula.
ReplyDeleteOh well, at the very least, I've got a ton of new horror films to check out. Kudos Mr. B.
My pleasure sir. This list thing really has stirred up a veritable hornet's nest. Can't wait for the next one!
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of strong contenders out there, and when we're asked to just choose our top 10, I tell you filling that tenth spot was tough. A lot of films like Horror of Dracula were likely there knocking, just didn't make the individual top 10. And as a result fell from the top 50. If everyone submitted a top 50 (please no ideas there Brian) the lower ranks might have looked a lot different. I know I shake my head on a couple of these, as I'm sure Brian does as well, but to be fair the criteria was pretty broad "your favourite" I believe. How each individual decided to rank their list, and on what criteria is equally broad. This I think actually ads to the validity of the list rather than detracts from it. Personally I tried to be objective and select movies that I felt belonged for a variety of criteria, and not just "scariest, or historically important, etc."
ReplyDeleteGood Job Brian.
Thanks Gary! No, I won't be asking for a top 50 from you in the near future, but another top 10, that may be a different story...
ReplyDelete