Director: William Friedkin. Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow. Forty years of sucking cocks in hell. By the ’7. 0s, horror had divided into two camps: on one hand, there were the . On the other, there were the more outrageous dream- horrors popular in Europe, the work of Hammer Studios in the UK and Mario Bava and Dario Argento in Italy, films that prized artistry, oddity and explicit gore over narrative logic. The first film to attempt to bring the two together was . The first to achieve that blend with absolute certainty was . And make no mistake: ? That it still succeeds, almost four decades later, is testament to Friedkin’s remarkable vision. The 1. 5 Best Japanese Horror Movies of All Time « Taste of Cinema. Horror as a genre has remained to this day primarily trapped in the shadow of the Western world, at least in the public consciousness. The fact is, however, an appreciation and thrill for the sensation of a chill down the spine is a universal desire, almost a drive, and areas all over the world have produced their own corpus of horror masterworks waiting to be discovered. One of the more famous crazes was the modern J- horror renaissance that began in the late 9. Japan has been producing horror films for decades. Horror, as a manifestation of a society’s inner- most fears, not only transforms over time but melds to the consciousness of the nation that produces it, and as such Japanese horror sees a number of particular through- lines as fascinating to dissect thematically as to confront with a primeval chill. To this extent, here are 1. Japanese horror films stretching from the modern era all the way back to silent classics from an alien world. Suicide Club (Sion Sono, 2. It’s almost a statement of fact that the narrative is a mess in Sion Sono’s droll dark comedy horror, but the sloppiness only adds to the film’s alien artifact curiosity. The story about a mass suicide craze sweeping Japan’s teenage youth plays out more like a rough idea that a fully formed concept, but the odd cinema verite style gives it an uncommonly creepy earthiness that contrasts smartly with the freak- out quality of its bloodletting and hyperbolic storytelling. The dry comedy is a nice touch, the quintessentially East Asian rejection of individual leads in favor of process- oriented storytelling is a fascinating kick in the pants to narrative storytelling, and Sono proves a visual journeyman to boot; an early moment where a almost- black blood surrounds a pristine white bag and Sono holds on the shot is inspired.
![]() A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial movie, but one that is not an arthouse film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more. Jigoku (Nobuo Nakagawa, 1. Replete with hellish imagery that depicts with an astounding bluntness the moralism of Japanese horror cinema, Jigoku is at once one of the more palatable mid- 6. J- horror films for today’s ever- violent audiences and one of the most esoteric. Its story, set in the modern day, naturally has a more modernist twang with a small dash of mod flair that gives the opening moments a sleek cool that director Nobuo Nakagawa then devotes the film to subverting. Once his main character Shiro (Shigeru Amachi) descends into the depths of hell (after wracking himself with guilt for his involvement in a hit- and- run), everything sleekly artificial about the product festers and implodes on itself in a firestorm of color- coded, sickly hued hellacious imagery that attains a fever pitch even by the standards of 6. Japanese horror. Nakagawa’s film provides one of the most lurid, lustful versions of hypnotic cinematic hell ever captured on celluloid, going straight for the gut with an almost pop- art attack and losing its mind in the process. Ju- On: The Grudge (Takashi Shimizu, 2. Finding the world's most beautiful eyes was challenging, to say the least. With a list that started at 50 sets of beautiful eyes that then had to be reduce.A film with virtually no narrative coherence and a complete lack of psychological tension or steadily mounting dread over the course of its already slim 9. But Takashi Shimuza’s J- horror film (released in 2. J- horror explosion) holds together for one, and only one functional reason: very sharp jump scares, some of them masterful, and all of which meld together to compose a solid majority of the finished product. It is not artistically sound on paper, and the linking narrative for the sequences is fairly poor, but the pure craftsmanship of the sequences f horror themselves win over in the end (and this resolutely episodic narrative, about the ghost of a boy who preys on all who take up residence in a specific house, is clearly aware that it is functionally an excuse for exquisitely crafted jump scare sequences). Particular note should go to the sound design, which mimics a jagged croaking noise over and over and curdles the blood every time. A Page of Madness (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1. Teinosuke Kinugasa’s surrealist horror is a grand paradox of a film, a work that approaches us like a time capsule from an alien past and a bullet into the future, earning its cheekily subversive title by openly flouting any sense of realism in favor of its School of New Perceptions- dusted carnivalesque sideshow of wonders and amusements. A Page of Madness is a calling card for the defining early silents in the avant garde strain of non- classifiable cinema that is only meaningfully “horror” in the sense that its parade of images and sounds can’t but frighten and vex due to their dissonant non- narrative obstructiveness. Kinugasa’s film plays like a greatest hits collection of its time period, dancing with German Expressionism shot through with Soviet Montage and some of the naughtier, more sexually charged Mittel. European works to come out of various orifices of the world around this time. But its intermixing of ghostly wonders and feudalistic fable stylization, its disharmonious synthesis of archly- composed image and ear- scratching warbles that impersonate sound, concoct a uniquely Japanese potion that would form the ground level of all that would be so wonderfully arcane and oracular in J- horror’s future. Dark Water (Hideo Nakata, 2. Hideo Nakata’s follow- up to his monstrously successful Ringu series showcases why he kick- started the genre, and how his films alone (along with Takashi Miike, who was never only interested in horror) managed to transcend a ubiquitous craze that was more notable for box office success than critical acumen. What always separated Nakata’s work from his fellow filmmakers, beyond his impeccable craftsmanship, was his undercurrent of melancholy that favored mounting tension and saw horror as a cousin of pure overpowering sadness. He looked into the human mental state and saw it for the frail, brittle construction it was, and his films play out with a critical mass of dread lacking in so many other modern J- horrors. Dark Water is not his scariest film, nor is it his best, but it is his most fully felt tragedy, and when real world tragedies breed horror, a worthy and satisfying horror film you have indeed. Kuroneko (Kaneto Shindo, 1. Kaneto Shindo’s Kuroneko attains the rough- hewn texture of a forbidden creature long locked away in the inner chambers of the human mind, only now unleashed with bestial might on unsuspecting viewers. It’s a sensuous pleasure that finds the cryptic clashing to a fever pitch with the tactile and immediate, a work of beauty that rejects safety and modernity at every turn for something lost in the shadows. Shinda’s crisp chiaroscuro cinematography complements his lurching camera that starts and stops arrhythmically, both of which emphasize the film’s jagged emotions and high- contrast storytelling. The music, by longtime Shindo collaborator Hikaru Hiyashi, is a high point for all of cinema, combining the bestial with the symphonic into a mix as much animalistic as man- made, confrontation- ally emphasizing Japan’s past at a time when the nation was often eager to move forward with Western world desires. It’s a feral growth of a film that refuses to be burned off, a slinky, punishing cat o’ nine tails that hurts the mind as much as the body. Ringu (Hideo Nakata, 1. The beckoning light of modern Japanese horror and a beacon for future things to come, Hideo Nakata’s Ringu takes a simple story of a video that kills those who watch it and elevates it to brutally elegant high art. Like most Japanese horror, it deals forthrightly with temptation, but it takes a classical theme and throttles it into the modern age. Giving us a videotape that we “must not watch for it will kill us” and then teasing us with the specifics of the tape sees Nakata implicate his audience in our own modern voyeuristic quest to thrill and chill with increasingly gross video watching (and cinema watching, for that matter). He cryptically and methodically lures us into his sinuous web with a quiet chill and low- key, classical suspense, titillating us with the audience- baiting idea of the script before unleashing our inner desire – to always watch for something “dangerous” on video – back onto us. Top 1. 0 Scary Clowns in Horror Movies. Hey there Horror Fans! Got a inkling for a scary clown movie? Do creepy clowns freak you out? How about just plain haunting face paint that rubs you the wrong way? Well I think we all had to do a double take after the Gacy years, but for the meantime we thought we’d give you a nice little selection to choose from. Now my disclaimer on this list is “clown horror” films that I’ve yet to see which have been appropriately placed in the special mentions below. When they make the viewing circle, I might have to swap a few out ; ) My choices are subjective, but what I feel are appropriate also. Out of proper courtesy though, I do ask that commenters call a few out that “should” be in the top 1. Which upon that we’ll be more likely to push 1 or 2 forward on the review cycle (or bump it up to a top 2. Scary Clowns: The difference you’ll find is while some are “clown” focused films, a few others just have a smaller scary clown moments. TV shows were left out, though I did note a few memorable moments in the special mentions (sometimes scarier than the films on this list). Tim Curry was scary as the Devil in “Legend“, that freak in the “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, and “especially” playing the role of “Pennywise the Clown”. I think placing Curry in any makeup simply is not a good thing for our fragile minds. HMM, maybe Curry should have been the new Freddy Krueger??? In three tragic secrets, (stories) we get a small variety of subplots all involving the presence of clown horror. Amusement was a great film, one that I purchased right away upon viewing. If you’ve been putting this one off, don’t! It’s worthy of this list and for your DVD shelf. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1. Campy, fun and they still look like Klowns you don’t want to wake up to. Regarded as a cult classic for campy clown films, you really can’t ignore this on as a mainstay repeat lister. For a clown film, it gets my vote for being most “8. Clownhouse (1. 98. Just before Halloween, 3 young brothers alone in a big house are menaced by three escaped mental patients who have murdered some traveling circus clowns and taken their identities.”Now “Clownhouse” wears a darker presentation than some of these others. The film was banned, then released, then not released, then released again. In the end, it takes its dark clowns pretty serious. If you can locate a copy! History aside, its still a pretty good film. Blood Harvest (1. In a small town, people are being murdered by having their throats cut.”OK, weirdo Tiny Tim plays his 1 and only role of Mervo in this obsolete movie. Tiny really didn’t have much of a movie career. Ya I’m not sure what the public response was at the time but you can’t help but get a pit in your stomach on this one. Poltergeist (1. 98. Who can’t forget that scary clown doll creeping under the bed? This film damaged alot of youths who promptly discarded any clown toys in possession. I imagine, in Hell . Time to start praying! Carnival of Souls (1. Actor Comedian Larry Miller plays the role of Louis Seagram, a rapist and murderer. While I’ll admit this was a piss poor film or bears no resemblance to its 1. Carnival of Souls”, Larry Miller comes across creepy as hell. Not so much in a fantastical way as others on this list but in a more sleezy molester kind of way. Miller should never be a clown! Killjoy (2. 00. 0)This originally wasn’t going to be one of my choices, however with a franchise (3 films) behind the character, I think ol’ Kill. Joy has earned a place. What I’m calling the scary ghetto clown, Killjoy does have one set of creepy chompers on him. He might be a prankster, but he’s not someone you want to mess with none- the- less. Zombieland (2. 00. The film had nothing to do with clowns , and is rather a full- blown zombie movie. Though there is that 1 confrontation when “zombie clown” comes after Jesse Eisenberg that stands out from this list as being a noted moment worth mention. Zombie Clowns are the worst type of clowns. This one takes things to the extreme with lots of gut slicing chaos! It’s a frightening clown portrayal in a less fantasy based arena.! Without changing the original list itself, I would have to put new entry “All Hallows’ Eve” as the favorite over all (even giving Stephen King’s It” a run for its money. New entry! What starts as great fun turns deadly as the very real Wasco Clown returns to terrorize the town. A Tale of Legend come to Life, a test of the friends’ courage to overcome their fear of a circus nightmare, resurrected. New entry 2. 01. 6 – Clown (2. The description says it all “A loving father finds a clown suit for his son’s birthday party, only to realize that it is not a suit at all”. How about a clown suit that doesn’t want to come off as its possessed by a demon from old world times? Clown (2. 01. 4) is an entry that can’t be ignored. New entry 2. 01. 6 – Rob Zombie’s 3. Has a clown theme with killer clowns hired to kill for high stakes. Though despite a gaggle of clowns, we are going to select “doom- head” as the worthy entry here. Seen a scary clown movie? Think it should be on this list? Leave your comments below!=========================================================SPECIAL MENTIONS: Camp Blood (2. Camp Blood 2 (2. 00. Clownstrophobia (2. Dead Clowns (2. 00. Dead Silence (2. 00. Clown Doll puppet is often cited)Dear Mr. Gacy (2. 01. 0)Drive Thru (2. Fear of Clowns (2. Fear of Clowns 2 (2. Final Draft (2. 00. Fraternity Massacre at Hell Island (2. Funny Man (1. 99. Gacy (2. 00. 3)Hellbreeder (2. House of 1. 00. 0 Corpses (2. Captain Spaulding)Jingles the Clown (2. Klown Kamp Massacre (2. Masters of Horror (“We All Scream For Ice Cream” Episode)Millennium TV Series (1. Gehenna”)Mr. Jingles (2. Out of the Dark (1. S. I. C. K. Serial Insane Clown Killer (2. Secrets of the Clown (2. Spawn (1. 99. 7)The Clown at Midnight (1. The Clown Murders (1. The Devil’s Rejects (2. The Fun Park (2. 00. The Last Circus (2. To Catch a Killer (1. Torment(2. 00. 8)Urban Massacre (2. Vulgar (2. 00. 0)Within the Woods (2. Top 1. 0 Scary Clowns in Horror Movies.
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