Ash's Horror Picks (Top 10)
10. Demon Knight
Demon Knight was a brad pick (my brother). He always forces me to sit and watch movies he likes that 9/10 I end up liking also. Thankfully he does this to his wife and daughters now but every now and then I'm in the cross-fire. This movie was not only scary/creepy but it has one of the most beloved characters from my child-hood (The Crypt-Keeper) and one of the best story-lines of a horror film. Based on a man who came from the Bible times, a former soldier has to keep a very special vile of blood filled with the blood of a sinner turned saint. The movie really shows that no matter what your background in life is, if you're chosen for a greater purpose nothing should get in the way of fulfilling your destiny.
James Wan is easily one of the best horror film directors of our time (along with Del Toro). Another film of his will show up on this list and Insidious can technically be looped in with this bunch but that one is a stand-alone masterpiece honestly. I couldn't pick just one of these films and they all elude to each other almost like a horror MCU-verse. It did start with The Conjuring and then it spiraled from there. The Conjuring was one of those psychological thrillers in the beginning but the end of the movie became a mental scar for me personally. I have a soft spot in my head for possessions due to the trauma I suffered from seeing The Exorcist at 22. There will be a few of those that pop up on this list but this universe has no shortage of crazy possessed women and objects. From The Nun, La Llorona, Annabelle 1-3 to the second Conjuring it's very obvious that James Wan has a hold on our nightmares with this anthology.
9. The Conjuring-Verse
8. Saw
I remember like it was yesterday going to the movies and seeing this one. The concept was so different and fresh that there was no way you couldn't love it. A series of puzzles and the most insane "Escape Room" murder mystery you could watch. This was back when Escape Rooms were a new concept...hell this could have been the reason Escape Rooms were even created now that I think about it. The perfect cast and the perfect dirty gritty background and story Saw (the original OG version and maybe the 2nd and 3rd) will forever go down in horror movie history. The end twist was one of those "The Sixth Sense" moments when you were like "Shit how did I not see that coming". Yet another James Wan masterpiece (his first major picture if I'm not mistaken) you will just love the story, the plot and the surprise ending.
You really thought I would have a horror movie suggestion list and not have my favorite director make a cameo? From Dusk Till Dawn was raunchy, gritty, creepy and just the right amount of twisted to end up here. George Clooney is a master of his craft there is no denying that and I'm pretty positive this is the movie that... well never mind just watch Selma Hayek as Santanico and you'll see where I'm going with this thought. If you haven't noticed I was raised in catholic school so any movie that highlights the magic of my boy God is a winner in my book. A priest turned faithless man after his wife was taken from him in a car accident and his family has to help 2 master thieves get across the border. They make a pit stop in what seems like a rowdy truckers bar but it ends up restoring faith, kicking ass and giving us some bad ass vampires in the process. Side Bonus when they did this attraction at Halloween Horrors they nailed the set and it was my 2nd fav attraction that particular year.
7. From Dusk Till Dawn
6. The Cabin in the Woods
This one is dear to my heart because I got invited to the premiere of this movie in Las Vegas and tortured my cousin to come along for the madness (hey Court :-) When we sat down to watch this movie everyone in the theater thought they were in the wrong movie (the sign of an already epic horror movie or just movie in general: confusion). The director also just so happened to direct The Avengers and Chris Hemsworth was in it so by law I had to see it. Yes the movie was crazy and creepy and twisted but my favorite part? The PLOT! It is literally what I believe we are living through now (or a version of it) and I don't want to ruin that for anyone so please just watch it. This was neck and neck for 1st place (along with Evil Dead) one year for Halloween Horrors at Universal. When I walked onto the Elevator scene at HHN I thought my God this is so cool and exactly what horror dreams are made of.
Man I should cut my brother a check for all the movies he made me watch that I ended up loving as a kid. The OG Chucky doll was something that men, women and other could not deny scared the shit out of you just thinking about it. I enjoyed the 1st one but for some reason the 2nd was my absolute favorite. It's the classic...kid see's things that parents don't think are possible so they all end up dead for not actually being smart enough to observe and listen to all the weird shit that was going on around them. I think the scene where Chucky beats the shit out of Andy's Teacher with the ruler in the closet was one of the best scene's in horror history and his face when he smiles is something nightmares are created from. Yes Hollywood made sequels and spin-offs and even revived him with a good concept copy for this generation but the original Chucky movie from the Golden Age of movies is something that is unmatched. Side-note Annabelle had the potential to be the new age Chucky but they missed the mark with her lol.
5. Chucky 2
4. Silent Hill
Ok I'm going to openly admit a time where I was a grown woman and actually was afraid of a movie scene (and this occurrence will absolutely happen again). It's one of the most subtle scenes that is probably not even a big deal but when the mom first see's a glimpse of the real silent hill and that baby turns into some evil creature I turned away for a second. This movie yet again so fresh and different (based off the video game) like Resident Evil had fans in love with video-game to movie adaptations. Sometimes Hollywood beats a dead horse and comes out with a sequel or multiple movies and the second one was pretty awful but this movie is one of my favorites. That cut demon butcher guy with the triangular head was a Halloween costume favorited among any guy who went to the gym that year but he also was a bad ass character for the movie. Those hot nurses with no face were also a fan favorite among the ladies. Every time you heard that alarm you knew some shit was about to go down.
The original Evil Dead was more my mom's era and if you watch it today you would think it was a joke. The graphics are laughable the dialogue is horrendous and the acting is sub-par but that was before the beauty of new era filming. For the time, it set the bar as one of the greatest horror films made but the remake was something I can only watch a few times in my life and I have to be watching with someone. The Evil Dead remake was terrifying and it really set the tone for horror films being creepy and haunting your nightmares. Walking through the Evil Dead attraction at Universal was one of my favorite things ever. They did an amazing job at truly making you feel like you were on the set of the film and along with some other films on this list they stood out in creating a memorable experience.
3. Evil Dead 2013
2. IT Chapters 1 & 2
The original IT, like Evil Dead was passable for the time but the new aged version was one of the greatest horror films in the last 20 yrs and they have the box office numbers to back it up. When IT Chapter 1 came out the previews were obviously alluring but when you went to see the actual film something else entirely happened. The cast of kids was the perfect potion but it also came at a time when shows like "Stranger Things" were taking over and you had no choice but to get on board. Both films were glorious but the Projector Scene in Chapter 1 and the Paul Bunyan Statue Scene in Chapter 2 literally made me jump out of my seat in horror. These films really put our generation back on the map for horrifying story-telling and I'm so thankful they were produced. I want them to do this at Halloween Horrors so bad but WB owns the rights to this so Universal can't nab it but oh if they worked out a deal.....
1. The Exorcist
This has been dubbed the greatest horror movie of all time in some lists and I think it's worth understanding/knowing why. The subject of this film was always off limits and dubbed a hoax aka 'possessions'. It was a catholic fairytale if you will that a human person could be mentally or physically taken over by an un-seen spirit or entity. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was making you think he doesn't exist would be the main theme of this film. When it came out not only did it smash box office numbers for being an original concept at that time but it literally sent audience members to the emergency room for being so scary. I went to see the remastered version when I was about 22 and I remember walking out the theater crying because I was so horrified and had to be convinced to come back in to finish it. I slept in the living room as my mom worked when I came home cuz I was afraid to sleep alone. The set of the film was said to actually be cursed and the odds stacked against everyone to actually release it. To this day, this will always be the scariest movie to exist in my eyes and it frightens me so much that I won't allow myself to own the film in any capacity (dvd,vhs,streaming IDC)