The Innocents (1961), dir. Jack Clayton
Eyes Without a Face (1960), dir. Georges Franju
The Silence of the Lambs (1991), dir. Jonathan Demme
Psycho (1960), dir. Afred Hitchcock
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920), dir. Robert Wiene
Hour of the Wolf (1968), dir. Ingmar Bergman
Ringu (1998), dir. Hideo Nakata
The Sixth Sense (1999), dir. M. Night Shyamalan
The Others (2001), dir. Alejandro Amenábar
Dead Ringers (1998), dir. David Cronenberg
Plus a film I don’t know how I feel about: Suspiria (1977), dir. Dario Argento
In this list, the 1st 2 are probably unusual choices. They are not the films people usually think of when talking about horror films, because they are more than horror—they have deeper meaning and convey something else. The films are eerie and haunting more than terrifying. The Innocents is possibly the most aesthetically pleasing horror film I’ve ever seen (not Suspiria), and among the best films ever made.
Eyes Without a Face is very poetic—a word that we normally wouldn’t use for a horror film, but watch it and you’ll know what I mean.
Once in a while I watch a film not in my favourite genres, and get a lovely surprise.
To an aficionado of the genre such as myself, to be “more than a horror film” is not in itself a recommendation, and neither is “nothing more than a horror film” a negative criticism. For a “horror film” is primarily all that we are looking for. If it can provide more – as “The Innocents” does – then fine: but it is not something we look for. But yes, “The Innocents” is my favourite horror film as well.
ReplyDeleteI know you did not like the Hammer film you saw, but that’s possibly because you were not in sympathy with the nature of the genre. I think those Hammer films, at least at their best, project a dreamlike world that evoke childhood nightmares, much like the Grimms’ fairy tales.