20. Fido: This black comedy/satire starring Billy Connolly, Dylan Baker, Carrie Ann-Moss, and Tim Blake Nelson entertains you with it's very odd story about a boy and his best friend: his pet zombie named Fido. The film has some pretty dark moments, but they're played for humor, and the film never feels unbalanced, and keeps the horror elements equal with the comedic ones. It's a strange, clever, and twisted movie, but it's one of the best horror-comedies of the past 10 years.
19. The Signal: A dark and strange independent horror film. In the fictional city of Terminus, a strange signal being broadcast via television stations and radio waves is turning normal people into psychopaths. The city begins to collapse into chaos, and groups of survivors attempt to escape. The movie chronicles three different stories, which all intertwine, and all have different genres that they cover: the first is a gruesome splatter film, the second is a gory black comedy, and the third is a horror-romance. The actors really pull the characters off, and the writers and director made a really original and clever horror film. The ambiguous ending was the perfect way to end it.
18. Jeepers Creepers: Victor Salva (Clownhouse) and Francis Ford Coppola's collaboration starring Justin Long and Gina Phillips has many faults, but overall is a chilling thriller with a very creepy villain. The use of the song "Jeepers Creepers" was so effective that now the song, originally a romantic piece, is associated with horror. The disturbing imagery, surreal atmosphere, and terrifying villain make this film worth watching.
17. Grindhouse: This fantastic homage to sleazy grindhouse films of the 70's is packed with sex, gore, and A and B-list actors. The fake trailers at the intermission, grainy look, over-the-top graphic violence, and cinematography make these films look really authentic. These are mandatory viewing by any fan of grindhouse films, or film fanatic in general. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's double feature is entertaining and fun, even if it sometimes crosses the line, and was successful enough to spawn the spin-offs Machete and Hobo with a Shotgun.
16. The Conjuring: James Wan's terrifying true story chronicles the real-life tale of the Warrens, two paranormal investigators, whose most horrifying case was that of a family haunted by a vengeful demon. The fantastic acting, writing, pacing, and special effects make The Conjuring one of the scariest movies of the past 5 years.
15. Shaun of the Dead: This horror-comedy from Edgar Wright stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two slackers who must fight to survive when a small zombie apocalypse breaks out in their small English town. This movie is gory, hilarious, and witty, and is not only one of my favorite comedies, but one of my favorite zombie movies.
14. The Others: This Spanish-British film starring Nicole Kidman features some incredibly eerie imagery and has a great twist ending. The movie is suspenseful and harrowing, and the scene with the pale little girl covered in the sheet is enough to send shivers down the spine.
13. The Devil's Backbone: Guillermo del Toro's disturbing but beautifully shot Spanish ghost story features some incredibly unsettling images of dead children, but is not too frightening, in fact it has some intriguing and deep themes that fans of straightforward dramas can enjoy.
12. Land of the Dead: George A. Romero's return to the zombie film genre is an action-packed, gory, and clever social satire and shows how humans have adapted to survive the zombie apocalypse. John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper give really awesome and over-the-top performances in the movies, and the main zombie "Big Daddy" is really cool and kind of the hero of the film, and he actually begins to evolve to be more humane and less flesh-hungry. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost also make cameos as zombies in the film, as Romero really enjoyed Shaun of the Dead and asked them to appear in the film.
11. Freddy vs. Jason: This made the list for sheer entertainment factor. It's not the most clever or well-written or original horror film, but it's just really cool to see these two horror icons battle it out. Of course the ending is left ambiguous so as not to piss off either fan base, which is kind of disappointing, but overall the fight scenes and gore make this movie a standout in the slasher subgenre, and it's also one of the better "versus"/crossover movies out there.
To be continued...
(Images: Wikipedia)
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