Rashid’s Rankings: The 30 Greatest Horror Films (#30-27)

Rashid’s Rankings: The 30 Greatest Horror Films

This is my list of what I consider to be the greatest horror films. Obviously it’s not going to be perfectly accurate (especially with the addition of only one Japanese movie). This is by no means a list of the 30 greatest horror films in a technical aspect. Movies will not be criticized for acting, budget or even camera work. I based these movies solely on how effective I believe they work as horror films (the ability to scare an audience or make them feel highly uncomfortable). Though good acting doesn’t hurt.

30: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
An intelligent thriller, and one of the finer suspense movies of the last two decades. I originally debated to myself whether I would even consider it horror as it’s obviously more of a thriller, but I decided to add it mainly because of the more horrific scenes towards the end. Anthony Hopkins fantastic acting hasn’t been topped yet since the 16 years of the films release.

29: Child’s Play (1988)
Charles Lee Ray, a murderer, is shot, and before he dies, he uses voodoo to transport his soul into the body of a “Good Guy” doll. A boy named Andy is given that same doll as a gift for his sixth birthday. Charles (or Chucky for short) begins killing people! Child’s Play is one part comedy, two parts nonsensical horror that’s impossible to take seriously though very entertaining.

28: Black Christmas (1974)
Contrary to belief, Halloween is not the original slasher. Black Christmas (which was released four years prior) is. It revolves around an all girl’s sorority that keeps getting perverted and harassing phone calls from a deranged lurker who they later discover is in the house with them. The use of first-person-point-of-view angles in the movie is excellent, and heavily influenced the horror genre since.

27: Friday The 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter (1984)
I had a hard time deciding which Friday movie to add the list. It was very close between Parts 1, 2 and 4. I went with Part IV because overall I felt it was the most entertaining of the series and the most likely to scare a large group of people. “The Final Chapter” has the best plot of the series, and easily the best pacing. Sadly, this was the last good movie in the ‘Friday The 13th’ series.

I shall be posting an update each day (though the amount of films per update will not be consistent) as we get closer to Halloween.

Feedback is appreciated.