The original “Friday the 13th” didn’t prominently feature Jason and that’s a good thing. Sean S. Cunningham went out on a limb when he introduced the rare female slasher. Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) is Jason’s mother. She’s never been the same since some fornicating camp counselors let her little disfigured boy drown at summer camp. […]

“Carrie” isn’t like other horror movies. The bad guy is really the good guy driven by bad people to do bad things. I think if I took another minute I could make that last sentence even more confusing. Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is your typical high school outcast. She’s a frumpy dresser, she’s quiet and […]

Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby” is one of those films that most people consider a horror film, but in actuality, it’s more of a psychological thriller or suspense story. But if it’s scary (and it is), it fits perfectly in our 31 Days of Horror countdown. Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and her husband Guy (John Cassavetes) are […]

The No. 23 spot was a last-minute change because I only recently saw “Trick ‘r Treat.” It’s not only perfect for this list, but a perfect Halloween movie. Not since John Carpenter’s “Halloween” has a movie centered around my favorite holiday worked. “Trick ‘r Treat” tells four different horror stories, but what sets it apart […]

Clive Barker’s “Hellraiser“ came at a time when horror movies were so stale that if we saw one more drunk teenager getting slaughtered at a summer camp we would’ve thrown in the bloody towel. This unique movie gave us a new sub-genre that could allow us to be scared again. A mainstream movie dealing with S&M […]

“The Omen” had a lot to live up to following similar films “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Exorcist.” It stepped out on its own as if it was the only demon-child film ever made. With an almost-soap opera premise, politician Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) is faced with a dilemma when his wife Katherine (Lee Remick) gives […]

1970s horror movies found a niche with nasty, murderous rural families. That can be attributed to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” which is also the best. But the second-best was Wes Craven’s “The Hills Have Eyes” in 1977. The movie follows the Carter family as they make their way cross-country to California. There’s Big Bob and […]

Before the franchise started getting ridiculous, “Friday the 13th” was actually worthy of lists. That’s why the first sequel comes in at the No. 27 spot. We first see Jason Voorhees spill blood in “Friday the 13th Part II” and he does so in a big way. Jason apparently saw Alice kill his mother in […]

“The Others” isn’t just another ghost story. It’s one with great intelligence, suspense and surprise. During the height of the movie-twist era (thanks, M. Night Shyamalan), “The Others” does go there, but unless you’re a psychic, you won’t know everything that’s going on until director Alejandro Amenabar tells us. Nicole Kidman brilliantly plays Grace, the […]

What Steven Spielberg didn’t tell us in No. 30 “The Duel,” Stephen King and John Carpenter does. The No. 29 spot goes to another killer vehicle, “Christine.” Based on the book by King and directed by Carpenter (“Halloween“), we’re told the story of Arnie, a complete slacker that was probably classified as a huge geek. […]