Top 5 Scary Movies

I figured in the spirit of Halloween I'd do a condensed Top 5 Horror movies. Of course I'm going to skew young here. I'm not much for Frankenstein Dracula or the Blob. Nor am I much for the real new crap that Hollywood is cranking out these days. The hayday for horror was the the late 70s and 80s with the classic slasher flicks. So here we go. Click on the story title for the full list.

Honorable Mention: There's tons of movies I could put here but I don't want to be here all day so I'm just going to mention the original Halloween 2 and the original Prom Night. Halloween 2 is easily the best horror sequel of all-time and actually had its plot set as a continuation of the night in the original Halloween. Prom Night (1980) was another Jamie Lee Curtis slasher flick and was a who-dun-it type of movie.



#5. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Of all the horror movie villains of the modern era Freddy Kruger is easily the most identifiable and probably gave children the most nightmares in the 80s. Aside from being scary as hell Freddy had a knack for comedy and really helped change the genre. Plus the movie launched the career of Johnny Depp. Here he is now.



#4 Scream
I thought I had to throw at least one movie from the 90s on this list. Scream changed the genre by shifting the slasher from an unkillable psychopath like Mike Myers or Jason to one of your friends from school. Plus it was pretty funny.



#3 - Friday the 13th
If one killer was as identifiable in the 80s as Freddy, it was Jason Voorhies. But what most people don't remember is that Jason's mother Ms. Voorhies is actually the killer in the original film. Jason makes his first appearance at the end of the movie and becomes the killer in the first sequel (also a very good flick). But it was Ms. Voorhie's killing of Kevin Bacon that highlights this movie.



#2. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
No horror movie has garnered the same kind of negative attention and hysteria that Massacre did. It's legend grew at drive-in theatres across America and it was subsequently banned in countries throughout the world. Most of those involved in the making of the film endured a July filming in the Texas heat and received no money from the film after the production company turned out to be mob related.



#1 Halloween
How could Michael Myers not win on his day? The King of Slasher flicks is Halloween which actually endured a lackluster debut to become one of the biggest cult classics of all-time, spawning seven sequels, a remake and a remake of a sequel. it also served as Jamie Lee Curtis' debut and made her the undisputed scream queen of her time. The infamous closet scene is the film's signature moment.