30 Greatest Horror Movies of All Time

With Halloween just around the corner, i figure for the fun of it, i would do a list of what i saw as the greatest horror movies of all time, mostly because i like to do lists, and also because i felt this is the right time of year to do it. Plus, the horror film is a staple of the grindhouse era of cinema, there isn't a person over the age of 30 that doesn't remember either going out to a drive in and being scared senseless, or huddled into an inner city grindhouse to watch some mindless weapon of destruction go around destroying people to the delight of the crowd at least once. Its a tradition as old as cinema itself, and once a year, we sit down in crowded living rooms, or old dark revival theaters, or modern ones, to be collectively scared out of our wits, so with that said, lets get into this shall we? Here is my list of the 30 Greatest Horror movies of all time.... Oh and Mike, when you read this, I know you're gonna disagree with me...

30. 'Eyes Without a Face' (1960)
Not to be confused with Billy Idol's ballad of the same name, George Franju's Eyes Without Face crafts a terrifying tale of scientific depravity with this black and white thriller about a doctor who kidnaps young women in order to perfect a surgical procedure that may restore his daughter's tarnished beauty. Written by the same scribes who carved out such classics as Vertigo and Diabolique, the film is heavy on atmosphere and simultaneously on almost clinical creepiness; made in 1958, the film's surgery scenes are among the most realistic ever filmed, and are further enhanced by the dreamlike imagery of Franju's direction. This list's glass of champagne to wash down 24 bottles of beer, Eyes Without a Face offers elegant thrills for horror fans who prefer a little ambience with their amputations.

29. 'Carrie' (1976)
It has a deceptively humble premise (shy girl with a crazy mom and supernatural powers just wants to fit in), but even in a pre-Columbine world, Brian De Palma's take on a Stephen King novel was enough to give teens and their parents nightmares. And in today's climate, it simply resonates with horror. Plus, ofcourse it gave the world the greatest random line of all, ... ahem... "They're all gonna laugh at you!"

28. 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968)
Roman Polanski's deliciously paced thriller is part satanic horror, part paranoid delusion. We know something's not right with hubby (John Cassavetes), but isn't pregnant Rosemary (Mia Farrow) letting hormones get the best of her, suspecting everyone she meets? Nope, she's right. Never mind.

27. 'The Haunting' (1963)
Multi-genre master Robert Wise ('Sound of Music,' 'The Set-Up') wasn't afraid of no ghosts, and he sure spooked the nation with this still-scary flick. The most definitive haunted house movie of them all, 'The Haunting' spawned 'Poltergeist,' 'Amityville' and, of course, countless episodes of 'Scooby-Doo.' Oh well two of those three things aren't a bad thing.

26. 'The Stranglers of Bombay' (1960)
The British East India Company is disturbed by a number of unexplained disappearances of travelers in India and sends military officer Connaught-Smith to investigate. Captain Lewis is dismayed that the relatively inexperienced Connaught-Smith has been assigned to the case and when his servant goes missing, Lewis carries out his own investigation and discovers a cult of murderous Thuggees. Plus, this is the first of the Hammer Studios classics on this list, cuz I do love my Hammer Horror.

25. 'The Bride of Frankenstein' (1935)
The monster takes a wife -- and horror fans were invited to the reception. James Whale's compelling classic is the perfect marriage of poignant romance and creature discomforts. And as for the unholy union, turns out the couple was catastrophically mismatched. Fun fact; James Whale not only made The Frankenstein films, but is celibrated as one of the best pre-code hollywood directors of all time, if you are able to find it, watch his 1931 masterwork "Waterloo Bridge", brilliant film that actually got him the job directing Frankenstein.

24. 'The Damned' (1963)
In Weymouth, American Simon Wells is attacked by a gang of local thugs led by the brutal King, who resents Wells flirting with his sister Joanie. When King and his gang later try to attack Wells again, he and Joanie fall from a cliff and are rescued by a group of children who emerge from a nearby research facility run by scientist Bernard. The children are the radioactive subjects of experiments being run by Bernard, the offspring of women exposed to high levels of radiation to produce children capable of surviving a nuclear war.

23. 'The Shining' (1980)
On the one hand, Stanley Kubrick's film is a drama of a father driven mad by inadequacy (Jack Nicholson, a little TOO good at playing crazy); on the other, it's a nightmarish landscape of dead twins, a possessed little boy and a naked woman who turns into a corpse. Either way, it'll scare the crap out of you. Neat fact, the doors that were used for the ironic axe through the door scene, where Jack says "heres johnny!", are all still in the Stanley Hotel where the movie was filmed, they're stored in a room under the hotel, they are not sure which door was the one that was actually used on screen in the final cut, so they aren't able to know which one to send to the Smithsonian, who have requested it for their film and television wing.

22. 'Psycho' (1960)
The shriek of violins, the flash of a knife, Janet Leigh's horrified face: The shower scene in 'Psycho' is perhaps the most terrifying scene in movie history, but Hitchcock's classic unnerves in countless other ways, from Norman Bates' creepy (yet oddly sympathetic) mama's boy to the film's final, shocking twist. Plus, its made almost 50 years worth of people double check a bathroom before they get into a shower, thats something pretty impressive.

21. 'Jaws' (1975)
The film that has made all of two generations scared to get in the ocean, and is seen as the very first blockbuster film ever made, Jaws continues to thrill, delight and terrify people even 34 days after its release. It scares us because of the unknown aspect, there is no unyielding monster who only wishes to kill, or a mental case with a chainsaw, or some unknown alien bent on eating humans beings because of how tasty we are, or wishing to enslave us, or any of that stuff, this is simply the story of a great white shark who seems to have a thing for swimmers, what scares us about this one is that you hardly ever see the shark, only when he's about to attack, that unknown factor, thats what scares us all still.

20. 'Straight On Till Morning' (1972)
Shy Brenda Thompson writes naive children's stories to amuse herself. Stifled and desperate for a man of her own, she leaves Liverpool, telling her mom she's pregnant, and gets a job in a boutique in London. She moves in with the promiscuous but good-hearted Caroline but the mod set shuns her for her plain looks. Then she kidnaps a strange young man's dog, so as to perhaps get to know him while returning it. The young man turns out to be Peter, a psychopath with a predilection for killing beautiful things. He renames Brenda Wendy, and they start a hopeful, if strange, relationship. It might have a chance, if it weren't for Peter's murderous secrets. This is one of those many forgotten gems of the Hammer Horror Catalog, its a thriller thats got very few contemporaries for both its time and of all time. Brilliant and terrifying film..

19. 'Halloween' (1978)
Oft-emulated but never equaled, John Carpenter's moody masterpiece is as terrifying today as it was 29 years ago. Vacant-eyed Michael Myers is soulless evil personified, the score bone-chilling, the cinematography eerily sublime and the overall impression unshakeable. Put simply, it is horror perfection. I should mention that I had issues deciding if I should give the spot I allotted for Halloween for the original, or the equally brilliant remake done by Rob Zombie, and though I love Zombie's take on the film, giving Myers a tragically identifiable human side to him that makes us care for a psychopathic mass murderer, I decided in the end to go with the traditionalist in me, and take the original, I think I made the right choice, its actually the choice I had to make for afew films on here, but you'll see what I mean as we go on.

18. 'Demons Of The Mind' (1972)
Baron Zorn keeps his teenaged children locked up and drugged, fearing that his insane wife passed along a congenital curse to them before her own suicidal death. Elizabeth escapes for a brief tryst with a local before being recaptured and subjected to a bleeding process to 'draw out the bad blood.' Emil keeps trying to escape, but is thwarted time and again by his aunt Hilda who runs the house like a prison. One reason the siblings have to be kept apart, is their incestuous attraction to each other. Local wenches are being murdered in the woods, and the superstitious peasants think demons are responsible. A wandering Priest dedicates himself to root out the evil, but isn't taken seriously. Arriving at the castle are two more interested parties: Mountebank scientist-huckster Falkenberg stands to make a small fortune if his strange apparatus can cure the children of their inherited evil. Young Carl simply wants to rescue Elizabeth. As more murders mount, Falkenberg enlists village lass Inge to play the dead mother in a psychodrama that he hopes will shock the children from their morbid state; but Baron Zorn's symptoms of derangement soon make it obvious that the doctor is treating the wrong patient. This is one of those great screwed up films that you don't think will amount to much, but in the end you find yourself watching in a clambered state of terror, fear and excitement on how its gonna all end, this is another of those great forgotten gems.

17. 'Frankenstein' (1931)
Based on the Mary Shelley novel about a mad scientist who reanimates dead tissue, this is a lasting film that helped to define the horror genre early on. Featuring Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster, it is a masterpiece of mood. The characterization of the monster makes him utterly human, making for a rare sympathetic character in horror cinema. Who can forget the famous line "It's alive!" or the monster throwing a young girl into the pond when he runs out of flower petals? This is such a great film by the great and forgotten James Whale, sure it differs ALOT from the book of which its based on, and normally that would annoy me, but I think it makes its own distinctively different masterwork out of the story, driving home the impact that regardless of intent, if we were to ever conquior death, and bring give life back to the dead, we would fear and wish to destroy it, its just our nature, as much as we don't wish to admit it.

16. 'Leftbank' (2008)
Called 'Linkeroever' in its native Belgium, and directed by the up and coming in the international market Pieter Van Hees, Leftbank tells the story of two lovers who discover that their home in a mysterious apartment building on the fashionable and trendy left bank of Antwerp Belgium. With out giving to much of it away, this tells the story of their decent into madness and tests their true human nature, as they try and figure out the mysterious reason of which bad things happen to them, and why its connected to their building and their apartment, its a mental mindscrew at its best really, the unknown danger, the unknowing evil, the unable to prevent it from happening aspect, it gets in your head and won't get out. I should also state this is the newest of the films on my list, its not that i don't enjoy modern horror, some of its really good, its just as the grindhouse specialist, I feel alot of films are not given their due given being outshined by other more iconic or better known films, that I don't think are that great, I had to really decide between this one or the Swedish film "let the right one in" for my list though, had i though of allowing for ties, i'd have them both, but, this won the coin toss.

15. 'The Pyx' (1973)
A motorist witnesses a woman falling or jumping from a tenement building. Police arrive on the scene and find a crucifix and a small metal container (a pyx). As the investigation continues, it is revealed that the dead woman is Elizabeth Lucy, a prostitute and heroin addict. Suspects in Elizabeth's death are soon murdered one by one, and evidence of occult ritual begins to surface, leading to a confrontation with a cult leader who may be possessed by Satan himself. Whats interesting about this film is that the scenes of the cult, and how they work and worship is specially scary, it makes you feel very unsettled that such people could live in the same world as you, and I have always loved that The Pyx is told in after Elizabeth's death/before Elizabeth's death sequence which alternates until the film's climax. Thats always great when its done right.

14. 'Nightmare' (1964)
Schoolgirl Janet is so traumatised by witnessing her mother murdering her father that she starts to have visions that she will end up a killer herself and will end up in a psychiatric institution. Driven to distraction by a series of strange happenings, Janet stabs to death Helen Baxter, the wife of her guardian, Henry. With the help of a sympathetic teacher, Janet starts to uncover a cruel conspiracy against her... This is another of those classics of Hammer's thriller department that not everyone is aware was ever made, and when you finally see it, you feel kind of like you'd been missing out on being able to tell your friends of this brilliant chiller all these years because you're sure none of them actually have seen it either. Or maybe its just that I love psychological thrillers because I see a movie that messes with your mind is a better scare then waving fake blood at a screen. who knows.

13. 'Suspiria' (1977}
Although a far lesser known work than Halloween, Italian horror classic Suspiria released a year before and likely influenced Carpenter's film. Goblin's amazing score is among the best horror scores ever created. Along with a few other directors such as Mario Bava, Argento rejuvenated the Italian horror genre with his bloody, nightmarish work. More than just a gore-fest, his film is also deeply psychological and visually breathtaking. This is the first in the brilliant Argento's "Three Mothers" series, which recently ended with Mother Of Tears, and alot of people might look at it strangely today, but, you must see this, if you only wanna find one film off this list, you gotta see this one, its honestly a great film that still to this day scares the hell out of people.

12. 'Dawn Of The Dead' (2004)
Zack Snyder may have carried with him the inestimable pedigree of being a 'commercial director' when entering into this potentially disastrous remake of George Romero's classic zombie tome, but anyone who watches the film's first ten minutes is guaranteed to forget all of their objections and join the talented helmer for a raucous thrill ride unsurpassed by virtually any other horror movie made in the new millennium. Ving Rhames, Jake Weber and a game Sarah Polley hold together this ramshackle remake, which changes a few key elements of Romero's story for modern audiences (the zombies can run) and retains others (the careful character study) both for horror fans current and classic. While the subsequent slate of horror remakes failed to similarly raise pulses, Snyder's Dawn is satisfying – and scary – enough to sustain fans through a dozen more crash-and-burn creep-fests. This is the other film I stepped outside of my semi-rule about modern horror for, simply because, I felt this film represented the idea of Dawn of The Dead better, I take nothing from the great George A. Romero, I have great respect and love for him, but I just felt this one fit the concept better, George himself actually agrees with me on that.

11. 'Let's Scare Jessica to Death' (1971)
In the film Jessica, (Zohra Lampert), her husband (Barton Heyman), and a friend (Kevin O'Connor) retreat to a Victorian farmhouse in an isolated part of rural Connecticut, after Jessica's release from a mental institution, following a nervous breakdown. Once there, the trio encounter an enigmatic hippie named Emily (Mariclare Costello) who is living in the house, and almost immediately, Jessica's madness resumes - increasing evidence from Jessica's point of view mounts to the fact that Emily may be a ghost and/or vampire, and that all those inhabiting the island are as well -- though the viewer is never sure whether the subsequent turn of events are all in Jessica's mind, or whether something sinister is truly after her.

10. 'Dracula' (1931)
1931's Dracula not only launched the career of star Bela Lugosi (who previously starred as the Count in the Broadway version of the Bram Stoker novel) but also marked the start of a series of horror films in the 1930s, mainly from Universal (who would release Frankenstein just a few months later). The film's arguably strongest moments are in the beginning, as we're introduced to the incredibly creepy Count Dracula with some very eerie, atmospheric camerawork by cinematographer Karl Freund. Lugosi's delivery of several key lines, in his native Hungarian accent, stand as classics to this very day, including "Listen to them. Children of the night. What mu-u-u-sic they make." and "I never drink...wi-i-i-ne."

9. 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1978)
Philip Kaufman's flick about aliens bent on repopulating Earth with emotionless "pod people" packs an even more terrifying punch than the '56 original. Its bleak ending featuring a bug-eyed, screaming Donald Sutherland is enough to give grown men nightmares. I find this one better then the original in the fact that its used as sort of a lampoon and satire the "Me Decade" matra of the 1970s, with the psychiatrist, Dr. David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy), a character who is a popular self-help guru who dismisses the other characters' fears until he is uncovered as a duplicate himself. If this was ment be true or not, i do not know, but it adds to the fear and the confusion of the film, that draws you in and won't let you out until the very end of it all. Sure you look at it now, and you laugh, like with most classic horror films, but you gotta look at the time period and then you'll understand why the idea of pod people getting their Stepford Wives on, is completely terrifying, hell even today its scary.

8. 'Nosferatu' (1922)
Perhaps one of the most notorious film productions of all time, director F.W. Murnau's film ranks as one of the great silent films and remains a classic staple of the horror genre. Somewhat ironically, the storyline and star Max Shreck's creepy appearance were created out of necessity when Murnau failed to secure the rights to Bram Stoker's Dracula novel. Murnau was determined to make his film anyway, and the silent went into a storied production that would later become the basis for the 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire. Shreck was notoriously reclusive on set, and the film took the mystery a step further, purposing that the actor was actually a real life vampire. Whatever your take, Shreck's Count Orlok is probably scarier than any Dracula ever portrayed since on screen. This is the grandfather of every single vampire movie thats even been made, and honestly, if you haven't seen this, you are not a horror person, its that simple.

7. 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974)
Filmed on a nightmarish set with a near-tortured cast, Texas Chainsaw Massacre stands as one of the most visceral, primal films set to celluloid. Loosely based on Ed Gein (who is from Wisconsin, not Texas), whose bizarre and macabre repurposing of human bodies made international headlines, it is a chilling account of a group of travelers taking a wrong turn that makes all the difference. Set predominantly in and around the creepiest house ever recorded by film, the film introduces us to Leatherface, an oaf of a man whose only pleasure is killing and skinning victims, only to use their body parts to form furniture and even his own mask. This happens to be one of the most iconic of all the horror films of all time, sure its silly when you look at it today, and many sight the remake in 2004 to be a much better film that fits the concept and idea better, but this is just such a beautifully horrific film, it will terrify you in a way that most movies won't, it really is pretty good as classic horror goes.

6. 'The Wicker Man' (1973)
Based on David Pinner's novel The Ritual, the story is about a Scottish police officer, Sergeant Neil Howie, visiting the isolated island of Summerisle to search for a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. The inhabitants of Summerisle all celebrate a reconstructed form of Celtic paganism, which appalls the devoutly Christian Sergeant. The Wicker Man is generally well regarded by critics and film enthusiasts. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as "The Citizen Kane of Horror Movies", and during 2004 the magazine Total Film named The Wicker Man the sixth greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. A scene from this film was #45 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments. The work was later allocated as the first film of The Wicker Man Trilogy, with a sequel entitled The Wicker Tree, based on the book Cowboys for Christ by Robin Hardy, currently in production. A third film, The Twilight of the Gods, is set for a later release. There is a remake from not to long ago, but its best to forget that film was ever made, its just, plain horrible, and shouldn't be remembered at all, not even Nick Cage could save it. Which in itself is scary.

5. 'Madhouse' (1974)
Based on a novel called Devilday (1969) by Angus Hall, the film is the last horror movie that Price made for American International Pictures, where he had worked consistently (mostly on Edgar Allan Poe adaptations) since 1960. Co-star Robert Quarry was being groomed to replace Price, but low-budget horror films fell out of fashion after the release of The Exorcist. Price plays Paul Toombes, a horror actor whose trademark role is 'Dr. Death'. Years after a scandal ends his film career (his fiancee is murdered and Toombes ends up in an asylum, suspected but never convicted of the crime), the embittered Toombes revives his character for a television series. Cast and crew begin to die in ways that suggest scenes from Toombes's films (which are represented here by clips of Price's AIP efforts), and they all point to Toombes. Now, Toombes must find and confront the real killer, before he becomes the killer's next victim. This is one of those great Price films that you just can't move away from after you've seen it start, sure its camp to many, but come on, this is Vincent Price, the master of horror, and ironically the dominate person in my top 10.

4. 'Friday the 13th' (1980)
Although many immediately associate the Friday the 13th movies with the character of Jason Vorhees, the original does not even introduce him until the very end (the hockey mask comes much later). Friday the 13th took the momentum created by John Carpenter's Halloween and accelerated it, leading to a slew of sequels and copycats throughout the '80s. Now on its tenth installment (and 11th if you count Freddy vs. Jason, Friday the 13th has risen above cult status and become a full-blown cultural phenomenon. The original is a great example of what makes slashers so scary and fun, and as a bonus, it serves as a great linking point when playing "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.". I put this one on here simply because it started what I see as the greatest of the "slasher" franchises, sure most Slasher fans will tell you that Jason Vorhees doesn't really appear as we know him until the second film, but, its always best to count a starting film when talking about a whole series.

3. 'The Abominable Dr. Phibes' (1971)
Anton Phibes, a famous organist with doctorates in Music and Theology was thought to have been killed in a car crash in 1921 while rushing to the side of his sick wife, Victoria. He in fact survived the crash but was horribly disfigured. He fashions himself a wig and lifelike mask to hide his injuries, and using his musical expertise creates a system whereby he can speak through a hose connecting his windpipe to a gramophone. When Phibes discovers that his wife had died on the operating table he is convinced that she was a victim of incompetent doctors, and spends several years planning a vendetta against those who operated on her, and begins killing them in 1925. Inspector Trout suspects Phibes, but finds little support from Scotland Yard. Trout is also hindered by the incompetence of his police force. Eventually Dr. Vesalius, head of the team of doctors that operated on Phibes's wife, begins to believe inspector Trout is right and aids him in the hunt for Phibes. Using various highly imaginative methods, Dr. Phibes kills seven doctors and a nurse with the help of his beautiful and silent female assistant Vulnavia (played by actress Virginia North). He has reserved the final punishment for Dr. Vesalius. He kidnaps the doctor's son and places him on a table on which a container full of acid is waiting to destroy the boy's face. A small key implanted near the boy's heart will free him, but Vesalius must perform the surgery within six minutes to get the key before the acid falls. The operation succeeds and the acid instead strikes Vulnavia. Convinced he has accomplished his vendetta, Phibes retreats to a stone sarcophagus beside the embalmed body of his wife. As he drains out his own blood and replaces it with embalming fluid the coffin's inlaid stone lid slides into place, concealing them both in darkness. Trout and the police arrive and discover that Phibes has mysteriously disappeared. Trout and Vesalius recall that the "final curse" was darkness and they speculate that they will encounter Phibes again. And they did in the second film in the series, but thats a film thats not exactly ready for a top 30 list.

2. 'And Soon the Darkness' (1970)
Jane (Pamela Franklin) and Cathy (Michele Dotrice) are two young nurses from London, taking a cycling holiday in rural France. When they stop at a busy cafe, Jane wants to plan their route, but Cathy is more interested in a handsome man (Sandor Elès), whom she spies drinking alone at the next table. Later, as Jane and Cathy make their way along a quiet country road, the man, who rides a moped, overtakes them, and they pass him a few minutes later, as he rests by a cemetery gate. Cathy becomes intrigued by him. Stopping for a rest, Cathy decides she wants to sunbathe for a while, but Jane wants to push on. Eventually they argue, and Jane decides to carry on alone. A short while later, at a lonely café, the owner tries to tell Jane, in poor English, that the area has a bad reputation. She begins to reconsider her decision, and heads back to the spot where she left Cathy earlier, unaware that something has already happened. Unable to find her friend, and increasingly concerned about the presence of the moped rider, Jane decides to look for the local police officer (John Nettleton). Jane becomes convinced that the moped driver, who is called Paul, and who says he is a plain-clothes detective, is in fact Cathy's attacker. She escapes from him and re-encounters the policeman, who is then revealed as Cathy's actual murderer. This is one of my ALL TIME favorite films of all time, and the second scariest film I've ever seen, this'll really blow your mind.

and finally...

1. 'The Last House On The Left' (1972)
Mari Collingwood (Sandra Cassel) plans to celebrate her 17th birthday by attending a concert with her friend, Phyllis Stone (Lucy Grantham). Her parents express concern both at the band and Mari's friendship with Phyllis, who is implied to be of a lower social class. They let her go, giving her a peace symbol necklace as a gift before she leaves. Phyllis and Mari go to the city for the concert. On the way, they hear a news report on the car radio of a recent prison escape, involving violent criminals by the names of Krug Stillo (David Hess), his son Junior (Marc Sheffler), Sadie (Jeramie Rain) and Fred "Weasel" Podowski (Fred J. Lincoln). After the concert which ends late at night, Mari and Phyllis stroll the streets, seeking someone who might sell marijuana. They find Junior, who leads them back to an apartment, where they are immediately trapped by the criminals. Phyllis, who resists, is punched in the stomach and raped. Meanwhile, Mari's unsuspecting parents prepare a surprise party for her. The next morning, the girls are locked in a car trunk and taken to the countryside as the gang intends to leave the state. The villains' vehicle malfunctions right in front of Mari's house while police are in her home talking to Mari's parents about her disappearance. Removed from the trunk, Phyllis is beaten after biting Krug's hand; meanwhile, Mari, bound and gagged, realizes that they are near her own home as she is dragged to the woods. In the woods, the girls are untied, and Phyllis is subjected to torment and sadistic humiliation by the gang. Afterwards, Mari and Phyllis are lying on the grass. Phyllis whispers to Mari she will try to run away to distract the kidnappers and offer Mari an opportunity to escape. Phyllis runs, chased by Sadie and Weasel, while Junior stays behind to guard Mari, who makes a desperate attempt to convince the troubled addict that he does not need to listen to his abusive father because Dr. Collingwood, her father, can help him instead. She also gives him her peace symbol necklace as a symbol of her trust. Meanwhile, Phyllis is eventually cornered, tortured with a knife, stabbed fatally, and disemboweled by Weasel and the gang. Mari eventually convinces Junior to let her go, but they are immediately halted by Krug. Sadie and Weasel present Phyllis' severed hand and Krug proceeds to carve his name into Mari's chest before violating her sexually. Soon after this act, Mari, sick from the shock of being raped, vomits and then walks into a nearby lake. Krug shoots at Mari and her body floats on the top of the lake. Krug, Sadie, and Weasel wash and change out of their bloody clothes. In their new attire, the gang go to the Collingwoods' home, masquerading as traveling salesmen. Mari's parents agree to let them stay overnight. Junior exposes their identity when his withdrawal symptoms cause him to vomit in the bathroom, where Mari's mother, Estelle, sees Mari's peace symbol necklace dangling around his neck. Later that night she listens in to the gang while they are spending the night in Mari's bedroom and finds blood-soaked clothing in their luggage. She and Dr. Collingwood rush out into the woods, where the couple finds Mari's body by the lake barely alive. Outside, Estelle dupes Weasel into a sex game, in which she performs fellatio on him then bites him in the groin area, apparently mutilating him. Inside the house, Dr. Collingwood carries his shotgun into his daughter's bedroom, where two of the criminals are sleeping. Krug escapes into the living room and overpowers the doctor, but the criminal is then confronted by his own son, who now brandishes a firearm. Junior threatens to kill his father. Krug psychologically manipulates the already troubled young man, and Junior commits suicide with the weapon. As soon as Krug notices that Dr. Collingwood is missing, the doctor attacks Krug with a chainsaw. The sheriff arrives and pleads with the doctor to let Krug go. Dr. Collingwood kills Krug with the chainsaw anyway. Sadie runs outside, where she trips and drops her weapon. Estelle tackles Sadie, and after a struggle, Sadie punches Estelle but trips once again and falls into the family's pool. Estelle catches up with Sadie and slits her throat. The couple reunites in their living room in their blood-spattered clothes. This is far the most shockingly scary film I have ever seen, its brutal beyond anything I've ever seen, its scary because its not with any evil monster, its not with any occult evil, nothing more then just pure unrivaled human brutality. And that is the scariest thing of all.

Films that just barely missed out: I Spit On Your Grave, The House On Haunted Hill (original), Orka, The Butcher, House of Dark Shadows, Night Of Dark Shadows, Blood on Satan's Claw, Hands of the Ripper, The House That Dripped Blood, Murders in the Rue Morgue, She Killed in Ecstasy, Dracula AD 1972, And Now the Screaming Starts, Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, The Legend of Hell House, Carnival of Souls (literally lost out by one point on my list), Black Christmas (original), The Bloody Exorcism of Coffin Joe, The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, The Omen (original), The Exorcist (original), The Car... and ok well alot more... but you get the idea.

Well thats my list, I hope you all enjoy it as much as i enjoyed making it.



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BC