Halloween Watchlist: 13 of Our All-Time Favorite Horror Films

Halloween Watchlist: 13 of Our All-Time Favorite Horror Films

Halloween Watchlist: Our Top 13 All-Time Favorite Horror Films
Michael Myers, ‘Halloween’ (1978)

The most important holiday of the year is upon us.

A busy number of horror films–good and bad–are being released. And if history of late is to be trusted, I am inclined to believe that we stand a better chance in looking back.But then again, if you insist spending the occasion inside a film theater, there is Sineng Pambansa’s Horror Plus Film Festival (link to post of schedule), which runs in perfect time with the season. (You can learn more details in this post.)

As far as list goes, what follows should not govern a “best horror films” list, but a mere compilation of our favorite titles (Jonell’s, James’ and mine)–an exhaustive list of 13 overall films, and even more individual favorites.

Halloween Watchlist: Our Top 13 All-Time Favorite Horror Films
Ramon Bautista and Wincy Aquino Ong in ‘San Lazaro’ (2009)

Although, I have recently appeared in GMA News TV’s Ang Pinaka as a guest panelist in listing a surprisingly sensible countdown (with fellow enthusiasts Nicol Latayan and Oggs Cruz): the Top 10 Filipino Horror Films released in the last eight years. (If you want a quick look at that list, click here.)

So, without ado, here is our list of favorite horror films for your Halloween watchlist consideration.


Jonell Estillore

[toggle title=”1.) THE SHINING | 1980, US“]

1.) THE SHINING | 1980, US

Based on the horrifying work of Stephen King, The Shining does not only live up to the expectation of its origin but also gives a more horrifying look at a very totally different realm. Running two and a half hours, it is an exploration of the consequences of a writer who takes a job as the winter caretaker of a mountain-locked hotel, tagging along his wife and psychic son. With a calculated hand and easter-egg-filled framings, its director Stanley Kubrick created a world of madness, teeming with numerous memorable scenes and techniques that are more than what the horror genre means. At the end of the day, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.

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[toggle title=”2.) PSYCHO | 1960, US“]

2.) PSYCHO | 1960, US

So when is the best time to kill off your protagonist: on the very beginning, on the middle or on the last frame? The answer is hard to tell in a story that keeps your butt on your seat, your jaw hanging loosely in awe. Not to mention, there’s is much to say about the quiet yet powerful styles utilized in Psycho that its horror lies in its shrieking musical scoring and believable performances by its actors. Remember that shower scene? It’s so flawed, it’s awesome, eh? Good enough, its director Alfred Hitchcock knows exactly what to do: instill in its viewer’s mind a mother-and-son tale that can be immortalized as a major output on the roster of the best horror films in our time.

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[toggle title=”3.) SUSPIRIA | 1977, Italy“]

3.) SUSPIRIA | 1977, Italy

An enticing horror film should always have these elements: (1) an intention in its (2) own world where (3) original characters possess the (4) quality of terror amidst (5) affecting sound and scoring. Suspiria goes beyond these elements that it is more than able to be a remarkable contribution in the classic lineage of horror films through Dario Argento’s crafty direction. It tells the story of an innocent American ballet dancer who gets a chance to be a part of a prestigious European dance school where all her dreams are turned over by the trembling fact that it is merely a cover for a murderous coven of witches. As it reaches the climax, what it means to have an excess of visual extravagances comes full circle.

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James Reido Perico

[toggle title=”4.) RINGU (‘THE RING’) | 1998, Japan“]

4.) RINGU (“THE RING”) | 1998, Japan

The year was 2001 and in the advent of bootlegged DVDs, 1 found its way to me simply because of the hype it entailed. I liked to think that horror movies really don’t do it for me as i often find that my skepticism ruins the fun but The Ring changed all that. The film’s premise was built around the certain terror urban legends bring and director Hideo Nakata did an awfully good job at making sure this fear rooted on hearsays and word-of-mouth accounts is met with the right amount of scare factor at every turn. It was, at that time, utterly original, tastefully done and downright scary. Remember that scene? Just when you thought the film was about to end, we see Ryuji with his back to the TV. The TV switches on by itself and we see the well. Then, a ghostly white hand emerges from within; from here on, we are introduced to the iconic Sadako scene which ultimately spawned a lot of copycats years after. The Ring, in my books, remains as one of the few horror films that truly made me think twice about turning the lights off at night. In case you were wondering, the 2002 remake isn’t worth the rant so i won’t even mention it.

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[toggle title=”5.) THE OTHERS | 2001, US“]

5.) THE OTHERS | 2001, US

Nicole Kidman’s fall to damnation and the subsequent events that entailed in The Others is what truly makes this film a solid standout for me. Hauntingly dreamy in so many ways, hysterically gripping at every turn and awfully poignant through and through, Director Alejandro Amenabad did a good job at weaving a good horror film that resonates strongly after the credits roll and for crafting one of the prominent cinematic twists seen in recent years.

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[toggle title=”6.) QUARANTINE | 2008, US“]

6.) QUARANTINE | 2008, US

One of better found footage type of horror movie, in my opinion, as Quarantine, the US remake of the Spanish film [REC], made the most of its pretend limited material by making sure that the feeling of terrifying isolation and the fear of the unknown was captured and presented in a very convincing fashion; From someone who did not see the original, i would say that Quarantine was quite suspenseful, surprisingly entertaining and it came across as a solid horror film throughout.

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[toggle title=”7.) SHUTTER | 2004, Thailand“]

7.) SHUTTER | 2004, Thailand

If small dosage fails, it is strongly advised that you follow the medical guidelines, and viagra soft tablet thoroughly read the precautions written on the prescription and the label. So if you want have a happy and satisfying intercourse, order cialis online try this Female Sildenafil Citrate cream like Vigorelle. It will not only link viagra pills online impact a person’s body but also does harm to the prostate, which would aggravate prostatitis. In any case, the pharmaceutical is required in such sort of treatment also. cialis levitra online Ghosts in pictures will always pique our human nature to be drawn towards the so called proof of the unexplained; at one point in our lives, we probably have heard of or seen a picture that seemingly captured a ghost or someone who’s supposedly dead; Shutter took that experience and brought it to the big screen with what i like to think were genuinely fresh scare tactics on a premise that seem very familiar. It was believable, creative and ultimately terrifying. And in case you were also wondering, sadly, the Hollywood remake did not even come close.

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[toggle title=”8.) FENG SHUI | 2004, Philippines“]

8.) FENG SHUI | 2004, Philippines

With a plot that surprisingly stood on its own, a premise that’s almost too absurd yet somehow it was able to have a semblance of a fluid story, and some of the most genuinely terrifying scare tactics that ever graced Philippine cinema, Feng Shui, to me, did to commercial Philippine cinema what The Ring or The Exorcism did to their corresponding markets; it brought ingenuity to the local Philippine horror genre that’s far superior from the likes of what we have seen prior to its release. Strongly resembling some of the thinking asian horror films that was ubiquitous in the early 2000s, director Chito Rono managed to get away with a storyline that to me was dangerously treading on that thin line that separates pure genius from utter “what the hell?” I genuinely hope they won’t ruin this franchise with its upcoming sequel.

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Armando Dela Cruz

[toggle title=”9.) ROSEMARY’S BABY | 1968, US-France“]

9.) ROSEMARY’S BABY | 1968, US-France

The film for which the Polish-French auteur is most famous, Rosemary’s Baby (1968) is Roman Polanski’s bracing adaptation of Ira Levin’s same-name novel. Whether it is the American Opium or the internal distraught one feels of parenthood, the story of the New Yorker couple (portrayed by Mia Farrow and John Cassevetes–the former an unforgettable soul) is one that resonates and identifies with all, greatly now as it did decades ago. The film seems a mere glint of the hellscape that Polanski has in mind (and memory); being a child to Hitler’s tyranny, the rise of the Devil in his film is equal parts unnerving and heartbreaking.

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[toggle title=”10.) KAIRO (‘PULSE’) | 2001, Japan“]

10.) KAIRO (“PULSE”) | 2001, Japan

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s MUBI profile highlights that he does not “start with a philosophical or thematical approach. Instead [he] often starts with a genre that’s relatively easy to understand and then explore how [he] wants to work in that genre.” It is the most straightforward of self-inspection relevant to the Japanese filmmaker. And it is true, too. The horror films in his oeuvre terrify on varying degrees. Kairo (Eng. title: Pulse, 2001) being the most prominent and fully-realized–a disorienting ghost story and rumination at our times’ impersonality and disconnect. His work seems sheltered in a way; only few are familiar with his other great works (Doppelganger and Séance, to name just two), or that infamous and eerie train scene…just creeps under the skin.

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[toggle title=”11.) TERROR IS A MAN | 1958, Philippines“]

11.) TERROR IS A MAN | 1958, Philippines

Gerardo de Leon’s Terror is a Man (1959) is often regarded as the no-budget iteration of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau. It is a fair statement, but in many ways a superior take at Wells’ humanist tale than the numerous rehashes of late. Noel Vera has written a terrific piece about it and noted that it “could be a fascinating companion piece to Erle C. Kenton’s classic The Island of Lost Souls (1932),” which is accurate and reveals much about the film. The monochrome photography is striking, an unsurprising feat coming from Manong Gerry who is a known master of image. The story is straightforward and tells that of a curious scientist who surgically alters species (a panther’s head—specifically—is sewn to the body of a man, concealed beneath layers after layers of gauze). Yet there is endless wonder, among many others, in that point-of-view scene early in the film and how the scientist’s creation almost stands as the conflicted child in a completely dysfunctional family setup. It is certainly my favorite among Manong’s B-horror efforts.

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[toggle title=”12.) VAMPYR | 1932, Germany-France“]

12.) VAMPYR | 1932, Germany-France

Carl Theodore Dreyer’s first sound film is indeed his most radical. There is a great number of distinctions to speak of Vampyr (1932) but perhaps it is an unforgettable masterwork because it is the creation of a foreign mind. “I wanted to create a waking dream on screen and show that horror is not to be found in the things around us but in our own subconscious,” says Dreyer, who in his chilling aural assault of a picture has instead conjured a nightmare, one from which is impossible to awaken. Dreyer uses hallucinatory image, blurring the lines between the real and unreal; uses a voluptuous score but remains uncompromising about his apparent fixations on the Silent Film. The entire effect feels naturally difficult — no, otherworldly — a truly rewarding discovery.

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[toggle title=”13.) THE HAUNTING | 1963, US“]

13.) THE HAUNTING | 1963, US

Visually noirish and just as perished to the core, Robert Wise’s inarguable best is the tale of a woman’s descent into madness. It plays out like a mere haunted house story as is Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining plays at first like an innocuous haunted hotel story. Both problematic in architecture, history and social reputation, the Hill House and the Overlook Hotel are instrumental to much-needed escapism. The latter is a looking glass to an alcoholic’s demons; the former a respite to a daughter, who has nursed her mother in the larger part of her adult life. Where the more superficial terrors in the film are creations of Wise’s efficient editing, the most unnerving element in The Haunting (1963) is with its principal character Eleanor (Julie Harris), who is literally and metaphorically plagued by demons–in her past; in the haunted house she claims Her New Home; and in her own perversion, Wise has introduced us to one of the the most damaged characters the genre has ever known.

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[toggle title=”10 MORE (of my) FAVORITES“]

10 MORE (of my) FAVORITES

The Shining, Audition, Psycho, Yanggaw, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The House of the Devil, Suspiria, Halloween, Freaks, Eraserhead

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[toggle title=”EVEN MORE FAVORITES (aka “just missed the cut”)“]

EVEN MORE FAVORITES (aka “just missed the cut”)

Begotten, Dawn of the Dead, The Birds, Night of the Living Dead, Pa-Siyam, San Lazaro, Berberian Sound Studio, Martyrs, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Thing, Wolf Creek, I Saw the Devil, The Babadook, Carrie, Pan’s Labyrinth, Oldboy, Dark Water

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That wraps it up. Shoot in the comments below what you think of the list, guys!

3 thoughts on “Halloween Watchlist: 13 of Our All-Time Favorite Horror Films

  1. Hey Jordan. That’s great to hear. Eraserhead is David Lynch’s debut, and if you are at all familiar with his later works you would know that the man is nightmarish as he is unfathomably profound. So, to answer your question: yes, while not categorically, Eraserhead is horror, because it has all the requisite aspects to be considered one. But then again, it is many things besides that. Go. You enjoy it. 🙂

  2. Hey Jordan. That’s great to hear. Eraserhead is David Lynch’s debut, and if you are at all familiar with his later works you would know that the man is nightmarish as he is unfathomably profound. So, to answer your question: yes, while not categorically, Eraserhead is horror, because it has all the requisite aspects to be considered one. But then again, it is many things besides that. Go. You enjoy it. 🙂

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