It is hard to determine the 5 best of anything in life, not to mention the five best horror
movies, or the highest rated. There are so many iconic movies that not only linger with
us, but have had a major influence on the horror genre as a whole. So, I have compiled
a list of my personal favorite horror movies that I believe to be some of the best movies
ever made. So today on Top 5 Scary Videos, I’m going to be counting down our list of
the Top 5 Highest Rated Horror Movies Of All Time. Before we begin though, be sure to stick
around until the end of the video, where I’ll be responding to some of your comments. And
with that, let’s jump in.
5 Jaws Jaws ia 1975 thriller/horror directed by Steven
Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel of the same name. In the film,
a giant man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers at a New England summer resort
town, prompting police chief Martin Brody to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist
and a professional shark hunter. Shot mostly on location on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts,
Jaws had a troubled production, going over budget and past schedule, with the mechanical
shark often malfunctioning. Considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time,
Jaws was the prototypical summer blockbuster, often regarded as the watershed moment in
motion picture history. Upon its release, and while in theatres, the film was said to
have caused a single case of cinematic neurosis in a 17-year-old female viewer. Cinematic
neurosis is a condition in which viewers exhibit mental health disturbances, or a worsening
of existing mental health disturbances, after viewing a film. The symptoms first presented
as sleep disturbances and anxiety, but one day later the patient was said to have been
screaming “Sharks! Sharks!” and experiencing convulsions. Upon its release, Jaws received
mostly positive reviews, with Roger Ebert calling it: “a sensationally effective action
picture, a scary thriller that works all the better because its populated with characters
that have been developed into human beings.” Jaws went on to win three Academy Awards for
Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound. It was also nominated
for Best Picture, but lost out to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Jaws was key in
establishing the benefits of a wide national release backed by heavy television advertising.
It also played a major part in establishing summer as the prime season for the release
of studios’ biggest box-office contenders. Not to mention, it also set a template for
many subsequent horror films, to the extent that the script for Ridley Scott’s 1979
film Alien was pitched to studio execs as “Jaws in Space”.
4 Halloween Halloween is a 1978 slasher directed by John
Carpenter, a director who may very well make another appearance on our list further down
the line. The movie starred Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut. The
plot tells about a mental patient who was committed to a sanitarium for murder his teenage
sister on Halloween night. Fifteen years later, he escapes and returns to his hometown, where
he stalks a female babysitter and her friends, while under pursuit by his psychiatrist. Now,
upon its initial release the movie performed relatively well, even with very little advertising
- relying mostly on word-of-mouth, however, many critics seemed uninterested or dismissive
of the film as a whole. Pauline Kael from The New Yorker even wrote a scathing review
stating that: “Carpenter doesn’t seem to have had any life outside of the movies:
one can trace almost every idea on the screen to directors such as Hitchcock and Brian De
Plama and to the Val Lewton productions.” She also went on to claim that “Maybe when
a horror film is stripped of everything but dumb scariness --- when it isn’t ashamed
to revive the stalest device of the genre -- it satisfies part of the audience in a
more basic, childish way than sophisticated horror pictures do.” However, that review
aside, the movie currently holds an impressive 96% on rotten tomatoes, and is also dubbed
as one of the films that birthed the slasher genre. To this day it is considered to be
one of the best films of all time, not to mention one of the most important.
Halloween was such a success over the years, it spawned a film franchise comprising elebn
films which helped construct an extensive backstory for our favorite villain, Michael
Myers. However, an eleventh movie was released as a direct sequel to the original film which
retcons all previous sequels, thank god.
3 The Wailing The Wailing is a 2016 South Korean supernatural
horror film directed by Na Hong-Jin. The film centers on a policeman who investigates a
series of mysterious killings and illnesses in a remote Korean hamlet called Gokseong
in order to save his daughter. The film received widespread acclaim, with Rotten Tomatoes giving
it a 99% with the general consensus being: “The Wailing delivers an atmospheric, cleverly
constructed mystery whose supernatural thrills more than justify its imposing length” Now,
yes it is a long film, very long actually, but every single second is worthwhile. Jada
Yuan of Vulture described the film as “operating on a level that makes most American cinema
seem clunky and unimaginative”. The script is superb, but the acting is what sets the
movie apart. It's terrifying, yet emotionally crippling. It is initially set up as a thriller
before the supernatural elements begin setting in, and when they do, things get incredibly
scary very quickly. Although it is a slowburn, this is a horror movie that successfully manages
to include ghosts, zombies, and body horror, not to mention an exorcism, demonic curses,
and terrifying children. It takes a lot to pull that off, but The Wailing successfully
proved that it is far superior than any horror released in the last 10 years. It is superb
and needs to be watched by everybody. Trust.
2 Suspiria Suspiria is a 1977 Italian supernatural horror
movie directed by one of my favorite directors, Dario Argento, who co-wrote the screenplay
with Daria Nicolodi which is partially based on Thomas De Quincey’s 1845 essay Suspiria
de Profundis. The film stars Jessica Harper as an American ballet student who transfers
to a prestigious dance academy in Germany, but quickly realizes, after a series of brutal
murders, that the academy is a front for a supernatural conspiracy. It is also the first
of the trilogy Argento refers to as The Three Mothers, which also comprises Inferno, and
The Mother of Tears. The movie itself became one of Argento’s most successful films,
receiving critical acclaim for its visual and stylistic flair, use of vibrant colors
and its score by Argento and the progressive rock band Goblin. On Rotten Tomatoes, the
film holds a 93% rating with the general consensus being: “The blood pours freely in Argento’s
classic Suspiria, a giallo horror as grandiose and glossy as it is gory.” In the years
since its release, Suspiria has been cited as a cult classic, and in the European Nightmares:
Horror Cinema in Europe Since 1945, the film is noted as being an exemplar of Eurohorrors...it
is excessive but here the excess seems to entail a more forceful retardation of a narrative
drive, to the extent that the narrative periodically ceases to exist.” Not to mention, The Village
Voice ranked Suspiria as #100 on their list of the 100 greatest movies in the 20th century.
However, I disagree, it’s easily number 2 on my list and will forever remain there.
Suspiria is absolute genius and we need to show it some more respect.
1 The Thing The Thing is a 1982 science fiction horror
directed by the legendary John Carpenter and based on the 1938 novella Who Goes THere?
Written by John W. Campbell Jr. The Thing tells the story of a group of American researchers
in Antarctica who encounter the eponymous “Thing”, a parasitic extraterrestrial
life-form that assimilates, then imitate other organisms. The group is of course overcome
by paranoia and conflict as they learn that they can no longer trust each other and that
any one of them could in fact be The Thing. The film stars Kurt Russel as MacReady, as
well as A. Wilford Brimley, TK Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, and Richard Dysart.
The Thing was released in 1982 to incredibly negative reviews, with it being described
as “instant junk”, “a wretched excess”, and proposed as the most-hated film of all
time by the film magazine Cinefantastique. However, things changed drastically when it
found an audience when it was released on home video and television. In the years since,
it has been reappraised as one of the best horror films ever made, and has gained a huge
cult following. Similarly, The Thing has appeared countless times on lits of the top horror
films, including number one by the Boston Globe. In a 2011 interview, Carpenter remarked
that it was close to, if not, his favorite film from his own filmography, with the director
lamenting that it took a long time of the movie to find a wider audience saying, I quote:
“If The Thing had been a hit, my career would have been different. I wouldn’t have
had to make the choices that I made. But I needed a job. I’m not saying I hated the
movies I did. I loved making Christine, and Starman and Big Trouble in Little China, all
those films. But my career would have been different.” The Thing to do this days remains
one of the greatest movies ever made and personally one of my favorite horror films to date.
Well, there we have it! Do you guys agree with our list? Were there any horror movies
that we missed? Leave us all your thoughts and feelings in the comments down below and
perhaps we can do a part 2. Before I go though, I just want to respond to a few comments from
one of our last videos, Top 5 Worst Horror Movies of the Decade You Should Never Watch.
The Jericho 1123 said: “The Gallows caused Lucy’s nosebleeds! Well, there’s going
to be a sequel” ----
Max Donders said: “Oh man, Lucy is always on point, especially in this vid. I just love
how she handles the comments. Just awesome, long live the Queen.” ----
Markus said: “No mention of Doug Jones? I’m very disappointed. He was the only good
thing in the Bye-Bye Man.” -----
Mechameleon Rex said: “If Lucy says I shouldn’t watch them, it means I must watch them.”
----
And on that note, if you haven’t already, be sure to give this video a big thumbs up,
subscribe, and turn on notifications so you never miss another Scary vid. And until next
time, see ya later.