Movies.ie counts down our top ten films guaranteed to give you nightmares…
Halloween is almost here, and with ghost and ghouls abound, its probably best that you stay indoors…or is it? Is there something sinister lurking behind your wardrobe doors? Was that a strange shadow moving outside? The horror genre works its magic best when it plays off the ordinary, things we face everyday, and truly great horror takes the ordinary and turns it into the sinister! Cursed videotapes, evil little dolls, simple train rides and even little children! Why are we so afraid? Is it because we know that somewhere at sometime, this might have happened to a friend of your friend’s friend who knew someone that this really happened to? Or, is it because deep down inside that we know to afraid because this could really happen? In honour of the terrifying and gruesome we count down the top ten films most likely to keep you up all night with the lights on and the doors and windows bolted shut…
10. Alive – Directed by Frank Marshall
Not typically classed in the horror genre, ‘Alive’ still manages terrify and traumatises its audience. When the Uruguayan Rugby Team’s plane crashes into the Andes, the survivors must battle against the elements as well as each other and survival seems almost impossible with no rations, no shelter and only a slim chance of being rescued before they succumb to starvation and the cold! Based on actual events, this story of human survival, of the chilling depths at which the basic human instinct to live overrides all rational thought! This film put the fear of flying into many and the fear of what we would do to survive if necessary, into many more!
9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – Directed by Tobe Hooper
We are talking old school horror gore now! Released in 1974, ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ mad its audience shake and quiver. A chainsaw wielding lunatic and his deranged family terrorise a group of free spirited teenagers, killing them off one by one, and using their bodies to replenish their dwindling supplies of food. Banned for scenes that were considered outrageously violent, and twisted characters, the film really plays off the mid of its audience! The notorious scene where Leaterface’s victim is hung on a meat hook while he chops up her boyfriend was considered too much and was one of the leading factors in its R rating and banning!
8. Battle Royale – Directed by Kinji Fukasaku
In the future, all law and order has broken down amongst the youth of Japan. In an effort to bring them back into line the Japanese government initialises the BR act or Battle Royale act. Every year a random class is selected from a random school, this class of children, is then brought to a deserted island, given rations, maps and tags, the children are told that only one may survive and go home, the rest must die. What ensues is a film, where 15 yr old school kids are faced with horrifying decisions, kill or be killed? A shocking film, with a slight ‘Lord of the Flies’ feel to it, you are drawn into the sadistic world created by Fukasaku, and are terrified by the gruesome choices many of the children take, all in an effort to be the last one standing.
7. Child’s Play – Directed by Tom Holland
‘Hi, I am Chucky. Wanna play?’ Think twice before you answer that question! Behind the plastic dimples and painted freckles lurks the evil soul of a sadistic killer! Chucky, the doll, every kid would kill for, may just kill you first! A mother buys a seemingly innocent toy, for her young son to play with, what ensues is bloody carnage as the possessed doll goes on a killing spree all in the effort to assume the body of the young boy and be human again! Like many horror films, Child’s Play would go on to spur many sequels, with the latest one being released only four years ago!