Top Five Favorite Horror Films by Shane

When it comes to something or someone we love it can be hard to choose sides or pick favorites. My sister has five kids--identical twins on the way--and we know that it would not only be difficult, but absurd to pick favorites. So when I decided to compile this list of my favorite horror films weeks ago the list gradually got bigger. I'll just write a Top 10 List, I thought. But my expectations failed when ten turned to eleven which turned to twelve to thirteen, etc. Then I realized that my tastes constantly change. Years ago one of my favorite horror films was Slugs in which these gigantic slugs devour people (one scene shows a woman eating one of the creatures in her salad by accident, but it still managed to kill her), now I realize, as horror has evolved so have my tastes. Below are some of the horror films that have stuck with me and I'm not sick of 'em yet:

5. The Blair Witch Project
Terror arises from the mass hysteria of the three filmmakers: is the Blair Witch real or is the audience witnessing three college-aged documentarians going insane as they believe the folklore? 

4. Trick 'r Treat

Smartly written and visually orgasmic, writer-director Michael Dougherty weaves together a new classic in his debut.

3. The Candyman
Based on Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden," this contemporary urban legend is accentuated by Philip Glass' haunting music box score and the raw direction of Bernard Rose.

*Spoiler Alert*

2. Scream
Like great literature,Wes Craven makes reference to pop culture and other great horror movies in his hit Scream. The film redefined the slasher flick and in doing so spawned one of the greatest horror franchises since Halloween and Friday the 13th. Craven plays with the human psyche combining suspense and humor.

1. Halloween

This Hitchcockian slasher combines the essence of Halloween and suspense with harrowing darkness that symbolizes impending doom, smooth camera moves and no gore or cheap gimmicks (save for the occasional heightened music).

Others worth mentioning: Carrie, Drag Me to Hell, Dead Snow, The Exorcist, Grace, Nightmare on Elm Street, Poltergeist, Parents, Psycho, The Shining, The Sixth Sense, The Wolf Man, Zombieland.

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