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WriteMovies’ Favorite Horror Films Part Two

WriteMovies’ Favorite Horror Films Part Two

As Halloween approaches, the WriteMovies team give their list of favorite horror films and why they love them. This time, Ian Kennedy on BLACK SWAN as a horror and why horrors struggle to scare sometimes.

I like the psychological ones best, they can really get under our skin – isn’t BLACK SWAN a kind of horror movie really? – but ones that did also grab me for other reasons were THE DESCENT and the modern version of THE HILLS HAVE EYES, because both find convincing justifications for the horrors that their characters stumble into and become trapped by. My problem with most horror movies is often being convinced that this could really be happening (especially in the sequels, when the villains have come back from the dead!), and I didn’t have that issue with these two at all. For a long time I thought THE DESCENT was doing such a good job of creating an unnerving mood and scenario that the monsters were going to be unnecessary – there’s plenty fear enough just putting a team of cavers into an unexplored cave system where they get trapped, they could have just played that out and saved the monsters for the sequel. The fact it was a team of can-do, adventure-seeking women was another neat step for giving it distinctiveness – even if it chose the weakest one to be the protagonist in the end.

Check out more of our favorite horror films here.

So far our favorites are: ALIEN, THE HAUNTING, [REC], BLACK SWAN, THE DESCENT, THE HILLS HAVE EYES…

© WriteMovies 2017. Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.

WriteMovies’ Favorite Horror Films Part Two

WriteMovies’ Favorite Horror Films Part One

As Halloween approaches, the WriteMovies team give their list of favorite horror films and why they love them. First up, Jamie White talks aliens, the psyche, and Spanish zombies.

I’m not a big horror fan. I usually don’t find them to be substantial enough in story, theme, or even, well… horror. But there’s a couple of exceptions.

ALIEN is one of the films I rate most highly full stop, but the way the film blends the tensions and anxiety of horror in with the sci-fi setting is just wonderful. It’s an excellent piece of cinema and story. It broke the mold and I think it’s still one of the best horror and sci-fi films ever.

I rarely get truly scared by horror films either – ALIEN isn’t a “scarer” of a film, but THE HAUNTING (1963) gave me all sortsa Goosebumps. I remember watching it with just a dimly lit bedside lamp on. One moment it flickered and from that point on, you better believe the lights went on. The thing is though, there was no monster, no ghost, no threat – it was all psychological, which, for me, is worse than anything else. (This is also apparently Scorcese’s favorite horror film, so definitely one to check out!)

Honorable mention to the Spanish horror franchise [REC]. Not great films, or deep in story, but hey, there’s always an exception. They’re all enjoyable zombie romps to watch if you just want to watch a horror that doesn’t require your brain.

Next up, Ian Kennedy spills the beans on his favorite horror films.

© WriteMovies 2017. Exclusive to WriteMovies – To syndicate this content for your own publication, contact ian (at) writemovies dot-com.

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