Rashid’s Rankings: The 30 Greatest Horror Films (#10-6)

10: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
The oldest film on the list, and at 87 years old it’s still delightful to watch today. It was one of the earlier German Expressionist films of that era. It’s worth mentioning that the films of this era heavily influence director Tim Burton (watch Edward Scissorhands, then watch it, you’ll understand). “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” also has one of the greatest endings in any horror movie.

9: Carrie (1976)
The film based off Stephen King’s first published novel still ranks among the very best. It’s one of the more ‘realistic’ (if you ignore the part about telekinetic abilities) entries on this list, and deals with human emotions.

8: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Unlike most “slashers” and “torture flicks“, the original “Massacre” didn’t rely solely on graphic violence to creep out the viewer (though there is a nice share of graphic material). There is a lot of buildup, and it’s actually a slower paced horror than most.

7: Halloween (1978)
The king of all slashers, though what makes this movie most horrifying is not the violence, but the score (composed by John Carpenter, the man who also directed the film). Luckily seven sequels and a remake have not damaged the legacy that is “Halloween”.

6: Alien (1979)
It’s debatable as to whether or not “Alien” would be considered horror, but in my opinion it’s more a horror than a science-fiction (though I consider the sequels to be primarily sci-fi). The film looks and sounds great all throughout, the alien itself looks brilliant yet horrifying (thanks to H.R. Giger), and it broke the “stereotype mold” by having a strong and independent female as the lead protagonist in a horror movie.

The final 5 coming tomorrow hopefully.