Just in time for trick-or-treating, another list (via USA Today’s Hip Clicks) brings us the 100 Greatest Horror Movie Performances. I won’t argue with placing Boris Karloff at the top; his work as Frankenstein’s creature, finding the humanity beneath the monstrous, set the standard for all monster-movie performances that followed. However, the inclusion of a number of terrifying characters (including Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates, Robert Mitchum’s Harry Powell in Night of the Hunter, and Dennis Hopper’s Frank Booth in Blue Velvet) who are merely sociopathic murderers in films that don’t have supernatural or sci-fi elements inspires the question of whether serial-killer movies count as horror films. Readers, would you place any garden-variety serial killers on your list of top horror performances?
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Comments (1-10) of 10 Add your comment
Sure it’s horror. It’s just psychological horror. EW had no trouble putting Henry in it’s list of the scarriest movies, so why should serial-killer movies be excluded from Retro Crush’s list? I think Eli Roth puts it well on the Cabin Fever DVD when he says (and i paraphrase) that whenever a really great horror movie like Silence of the Lambs comes out, and it’s Oscar worthy, it’s no longer acceptable to say “That was a really great horror movie.” You have to say “That was a really great thriller.” in order for it to be taken seriously.
How does Freddie Krueger get a higher rating than Jason (who beat Freddie Krueger in a man to man fight not long ago), Mike Myers, the Chainsaw guy from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the dude from American Psycho,Ash, Jamie Lee in Halloween or Kurt Russel’s role from Carpenter’s “the Thing”? Come to think of it, the little girl from Poltergeist was a lot scarier than Freddie.
Most of my faves made this list, credit where it’s due, but where is Shaun of the Dead? That flick at least deserved “honorable mention”
I’ll tell you why Freddy Krueger got a higher rating than Jason, Myers, Leatherface and the rest of the bunch: He’s F-ING SCARY!
I was terrified of him when I was younger because of the whole gettin-you-while-you-sleep factor. If you’re young and have issues with going to bed alone, Freddy will scare the pants off of you.
The other horror movie villains lack that psychological element. I always found it comforting to know that I could at least hide or run from Jason and Myers. But you can’t stay awake forever. And that’s what makes Freddy terrifying.
I’ll say I do agree that some performances, like Jamie Lee Curtis’s in the original Halloween and Christian Bale’s in American Psycho, are better acted. But Freddy’s the one you remember.
Norman Bates, for sure, and probably Hannibal Lecter, belong. They’re basically “monsters” of a horror-movie type, even if they’re supposedly real-world humans. Frank Booth, on the other hand, has more human (but sick) motives.
I say anything with Jennifer Lopez qualifies as a horro movie.
Although I liked the concept of Nightmare on Elm Street, it stole it’s main plot device from Dreamscape, which was IMHO, a much better movie. As for Freddie, I found him more funny than scary. On the other hand, the Alien, Leatherface, Hockey Mask and Wiliam Shatner mask wearing dudes were really spooky, plus, they didn’t say any snappy lines after they killed their victims.
I’m with Drew Barrymore from “Scream” on this one. The first nightmare on elm street was scary, but the rest were cheesy psuedo horror comedies that failed to scare, even if they did make us laugh.
In terms of serial killers making the list, I would definitely have to go with Anthony Perkins in “Psycho”. His characterization was so completely unlike anything else that came before it. A truly seminal performance, considering the many similar characters which have dotted the horror genre landscape in the years since.
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Pennywise the clown for “It” I have walked through a grave yard at night on a dare and still wasn’t remotely as scared as when i saw this thing on TV. At 7pm no less.
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