Oh, the horror!

For my money, if it's a horror flick, and no one dies in the first 5 minutes, it's not worth the money. But as Tilam says, good horror flicks are not about blood, gore, entrails, and nakes co-eds (well, maybe naked co-eds), good horror flicks affect your mind, not your eyes. Splatterfests with flying karo syrup and body parts, drooling nasties feasting on the innards of poor women, these were de facto for a long time. Now we see a change back to the psychological horror movies, movies that scare the shit outta you with suspense, not with boogeymen leaping out of the close and cutting you up with a meat cleaver (which, btw, can be kinda cool looking).

So, in response to Tilam's conversational segue, I present Thew's top 10 horror flicks:

Psycho
Jaws
Carrie
Saw
The Exorcist
Alien
the Hitcher Rutger Hauer is AWESOME
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Omen
The Shining

Honorable mention goes to a few others, in my opinion. Bram Stoker's Dracula is a great movie just because of Gary Oldman's portrayal of the Count, at least in the earlier part of the movie - he brings a power and, well, sexiness to the character never before seen. Also props to the "big three" of the 80's (or so), Halloween with a young hottie named Jamie Lee Curtis, Friday the 13th with a young Kevin Bacon, and Nightmare of Elm Street with a young Johnny Depp. The Sixth Sense was not so much of a "psychological horror flick" but was a great suspense movie and kudos for a GREAT ending twist. The Amityville Horror probably should make it on the list, but I'm kinda "so so" about it - oooo, spooky spooky, but ultimately not as much of an impact as I'd like. I'm going to get slammed for not including Silence of the Lambs, but I don't see it as a "horror flick", it's more of a crime drama. But based on Anthony Hopkins' creepy joi de verve in playing Hannibal the Cannibal, it must be mentioned. I'd give some props to Salem's Lot but ultimately have a real difficult time praising a HORROR moving starring Hutch and Lance Kerwin, one of the boy toys of the 70's.