THE SOUND VIEW TOTALLY INFORMAL AND SOMEWHAT PARTIAL HORROR POLL WINNERS aka WHAT MAKES A GOOD HORROR FILM

?By D. Gurlitz for The Sound View.

The demons, the devils, the spiders and snakes, the jump scares and frightmares and poisons in cakes. The witches and goblins, and children in corn, the monsters' split hooves and gods sporting horns. The old, and the new, the scary and silly, the murderous beasts that do make you chilly.?[An Original Poem by D. Gurlitz]

So, what does make a good horror film??It seems they come in all shapes and sizes, from big studio demonically high budget productions like?WORLD WAR Z?(estimated budget $130 million) to no frills, virtually no budget micro indie phenomenon like?HEY, STOP STABBING ME?(reported budget of $500). The audience for these films is rabid (pun intended), and through the decades this audience has remained loyal to the genre, thirsting for all it can snack on like fava beans with a nice Chianti. In fact, over the years the sub-genres to the major genre of horror have developed specialty audiences, those specifically interested in the sub-categories, splintering off from the main stream to sink deeper into their lairs. Splatter, Supernatural, Zombie, Apocalyptic, Post- Apocalyptic, Folk Horror, Kaiju, Found Footage, Sci-fi Horror, Giallo to name just some.?

And what, might you dare to ask, started all of this?

The claim is supposedly held by Georges Méliès’ LA RAGE DU DéMON (1897)?(we could not find it anywhere)?which reportedly sent people screaming from the theater and causing violent riots. And while you might not want to violently exit the theater today (maybe you do), you can watch the 2016 documentary?FURY OF THE DEMON?which tells of the history and the controversy surrounding that 1897 launcher of the scary movie.?With all that said, and just for the fun of it, we decided to run a little informal poll among our readers, friends and through some social media. The poll had two simple questions:?1) What is it that you love about horror films? (limited to one sentence responses)2) What is your favorite horror film??

Below are some of the responses we received using only the responder’s initials to protect their identity from the monsters (human and otherwise) that lurk in the night. ??

IS: Horror movies offer an emotional release from the upsetting,? frustrating and disturbing things we encounter in real life.?George A. Romero’s?DAWN OF THE DEAD?(1978)?????

JG: I really enjoy the fake sense of fear that horror movies generate in my body—I can enjoy the suspense and surprise without actually fearing for my life.Jordan Peele’s?US?(2019)????????

JZ I love horror films that make?me laugh, but my favorites have compelling, chilling plots.John Carpenter's?THE THING?(1982)???

MH: Hammer Horror films were an integral part of my misspent youth, growing up in England in the sixties and seventies - the blood, the cleavage, the terror, the cleavage, the suspense, the cleavage, the gore ..uh, did I mention the cleavage? Richard Donner’s?THE OMEN?(1976)?

TF: I like being scared.George Romero’s?NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD?(1968)???????????

SD: I prefer the deep thought ones… the well-constructed, dramatic tales that make me think.Stephen King’s?THE STAND?(1994)??????

RS: I love the graphic and gross movies that make me cringe.George Romero’s?NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD?(1968)???????????

MD: I love that horror films focus so much on the visceral aspects of the human experience and are so eager to delve fully into the more mysterious and dark elements of humanity and the world at large (e.g. the supernatural and the presence of evil as both a tangible and intangible force). John Carpenter’s?HALLOWEEN?(1978)?

JR: Love the “old timers” from the 1950’s, especially the ones that cross the line between Sci-Fi and Horror, and if you add in Vincent Price, you have a winner. William Castle’s?THE TINGLER (1959)?

TJ: It’s not “jump scares” for me. It’s the terror developed out of great plot, original idea and magnificent execution that leaves me wondering if it could happen in real life. Alfred Hitchcock’s?THE BIRDS?(1963)?

Based on over 50 responses conducted over a 72-hour period, we zeroed in on 10. But, in reviewing all of them, it seems the older titles tend to crop up on the list more readily with George Romero films getting the most votes.?

If there are HORROR films that you find have achieved top placement on your personal list, drop us a note. Maybe we’ll do a round two of the Horror Poll.

#movies #horrormovies #poll #horrorfilms #scary #thesoundview Soundview Media Partners, LLC #halloween Horror Movie Talk #newsletter