Hello, dear reader, and welcome to the Horror to Culture Five to One Film Roundtable! We’ll be going down our list of favorite horror films, from five to one, and because this is Horror, it’s just like Jim Morrisson said: no one here gets out alive! Well, at least not in most of these films…
Our panel consists of Michael A. Dyer, a.k.a. MAD, the founder of Horror to Culture; Adrian Amiro-Wilson, guest contributor, impeccable interviewer, and horror enthusiast; Shel Rogers, our enigmatic recluse; and yours ghouly, C. Rommial Butler, a.k.a. Rommi, cynickal artist-philosopher.
FIVE:
MAD: Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and Friday the 13th VII
These are easily my favorite from each franchise. I love it when these classic villains have some worthy opposition and aren’t just hacking and clawing their way through random teenagers. The Dream Warriors and The New Blood both introduce relatable “heroes”, who all have powers and abilities of their own, and make for an interesting juxtaposition against the unstoppable killing machines that are Freddy and Jason.
Adrian: Cemetery Man
This movie inspired me so hard in high school that I made a doll of the beautiful zombie chick using dryer sheets and ivy. It’s weird and has so many layers. Every time I watch it I get something new. It’s early 90’s gore and very independent.
Rommi: An American Werewolf in London
This film is iconic for two reasons. First, this is, in my opinion, the best transformation scene in any werewolf film. The overall effects still hold. The Howling, which comes out around the same time, also did an excellent job of this, but American Werewolf ends up at five on my list because it has a much better story and John Landis straddles the line between action, horror, and comedy in this film better than any other where all those elements are omnipresent.
Shel: Ghost Story
It still shocks me to think there are only two film adaptations of Peter Straub’s work. The first being The Haunting of Julia with Mia Farrow, with Ghost Story being the second, and, in my opinion, the better of the two. Alice Krige looks like she walked right out of a Frank Frazzetta painting, and the cast of old actors, especially John Houseman, were a delight to watch. Dick Smith’s masterful makeup effects are sparing but highly effective.
FOUR:
MAD: EVIL DEAD (1981)
While I love and appreciate so much from this franchise (which includes sequels, reboots, a tv series, and comic books), I have to take it back to the original, for what I feel is the most potent mix of horror, comedy, gore, and camp. Evil Dead manages to be an ever-menacing fever dream, with some effective practical effects, and experimental cinematography that would go on to influence a new generation of filmmakers. Had the first Evil Dead only been a “one and done” film, I still think it would hold up as one of the very best of the early 80’s.
Adrian: Scare Me
This is one of the most creative, funny, brilliant, poignant, and magical horror films I have ever seen. This film has a few people telling stories to each other as their own story unfolds, and it makes a serious point. The cast is small and every actor in it just knocks it out of the park. It’s funny, it paints scary pictures in your head, and the ending made me think for weeks and weeks.
Rommi: The Phantom of the Opera (1929)
When I was a kid, I had this 1929 silent film on VHS, and I watched it all the time. Over the years I’ve learned about the way Lon Chaney did his practical effects. What Chaney did on his own, we now regularly use a team of people to execute in modern films. He was a genius, ahead of his time, and the impact of the unmasking scene in this film, by itself, is a testament to that.
Shel: Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls is a descent into nightmare that really didn’t get the credit and attention it deserved until decades after its initial release in 1962. From the score to the performances, and overall atmosphere, it’s a haunting journey from start to finish and an underrated accomplishment.
THREE:
MAD: MadS
The French film MadS is one of my favorites of 2024. And with that, I mean to say, I’ve included it on today’s list as a positive sign that horror continues to move forward and evolve, and that films which don’t get a lot of promotion or hype (such as MadS), can continue surprising us and pushing boundaries, becoming new favorites.
Adrian: Monster Squad
This movie changed my life. “My name… is Horace!” was one of those epic Heck Yeah moments when I watched it as a kid and made me want to be a monster hunter. I know the soundtrack by heart. Tracing a lineage from the Universal monsters to 80s panache, this film made me the happy horror nerd I am today.
Rommi: The Shining
Stephen King hated it, but it stands as the most iconic adaptation of his work, even if it deviated from the source material. Kubrick, to my mind, is to film what Johnny Cash or Ray Charles is to music. When they cover a song, it becomes theirs. Well, Stevie, sorry to say, Kubrick made The Shining his. The sequel, Doctor Sleep, is well worth a watch too, as it does justice to both the books and Kubrick’s masterpiece.
Shel: In the Mouth of Madness
Though it would be easy to argue there are technically better films in John Carpenter’s canon, this metafictional love letter to all things Horror is my favorite. It’s full of Easter Eggs for the discerning eye and Sam Neill delivers a knockout performance as that staple of many Lovecraftian pieces: the skeptic whose sanity unravels in the face of things he cannot explain.
TWO:
MAD: Dawn of the Dead (1978)
This is, by far, the film I have watched more than any other. The Romero classic holds up well, even nearly 50 years later, as a perfect blend of horror, mood, gore, soundtrack, and social commentary. I’ve seen it on the big screen in 3D, and even attended a GOBLIN concert where they performed parts of the soundtrack. The original Dawn is my horror comfort food, and the remake ain’t too shabby either…!
Adrian: Daddy’s Head
David Lynch meets the Wicked Stepmother archetype. It’s creepy and unnerving without just relying on jump scares. I can’t rave about this one enough. It has definite folk horror vibes and deals with grief in a very human way.
Rommi: The Thing (1982)
Is John Carpenter just pretending humility when he says he thinks the original 50s film is better? It’s no matter. I saw Carpenter’s The Thing for its forty-year re-release, which I wrote about here. It will always stand the test of time as both a special effects marvel and an excellently written and acted story.
Shel: Martin
This slightly obscure vampire film from 1977 would have to be my favorite of George A. Romero’s works. It takes a big risk in the way it presents “vampirism”, and viewers are never really sure what’s going on. Martin stands alone as the only vampire film of its kind, and one of Romero’s most original concepts.
ONE:
MAD: The Exorcist
I’m not going to be a horror snob and try to pretend that The Exorcist isn’t one of the best films ever made. It’s a timeless classic, as well as a powerful adaptation of an equally excellent book. While the genre might feel a little cliché at this point, it was The Exorcist that started it all, and one of the first films that really brought horror mainstream in a very powerful and memorable way.
Adrian: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
The most beautifully, morbidly romantic film I have ever seen. This has been my favorite movie since I was 13. I absolutely fell in love with Gary Oldman after watching this. It’s bloody, sexy, romantic, and haunting. I watch it every Halloween without question!
Rommi: The Exorcist
I make no secret about my love for The Exorcist. I talk at length about it in several places, including this Horror to Culture interview. I personally think it the best film ever made, full stop, and both the writer, William Peter Blatty, and the director, William Friedkin, will tell you it is first and foremost about Father Kerras’ crisis of faith, not Pazuzu; but the horror elements in the film are top-notch, especially Dick Smith’s makeup effects, which still hold fifty years later.
Shel: Altered States
Some will argue that Altered States is not a horror film, strictly speaking. But the existential ideas on display here freaked me the fuck out when I saw this movie in theaters in 1980, even more than the body horror elements brought to brilliant, agonizing life by makeup wizard Dick Smith. Altered States is Faust meets Frankenstein meets The Wolfman. It has all the things I loved about those movies, jacked to the nines on Mexican Mushrooms!
