The 100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004) Review

The 100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004) Review

 

Clayton’s Creepy Cinema may have been inspired by Cinemassacre’s Monster Madness, but my entire blog was inspired by the idea of making countdown lists. Back in my 4^th October marathon I did horror-themed top ten lists on Tuesdays and wanted to do something like that for this final year as a throwback, so I figured there was no better way than to make the last fan request Wednesday of the month a review for one of the ultimate horror movie countdowns!

This is another Clayton’s Creepy Cinema first, because this is not a review for a horror film, but rather a review for a documentary about horror films. In October 2004 the cable channel Bravo premiered the ultimate countdown of the scariest movie moments of all-time, and while I didn’t see it during its initial broadcast, thanks to the internet I was able to watch it in its entirety many years later. I still go back to it from time to time, and have watched it all the way through multiple times, because it functions not only as a great introduction to a wide range of horror films for anyone just starting out as a horror fan, but it’s also an entertaining celebration bolstered by some great takes from many of the genre’s best contributors. It ranges from famous films to the obscure, from early entries to films that were (at the time) quite recent, even including scary moments from movies not typically classified as horror, such as The Terminator, Jurassic Park, and even Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

The show was broadcast in five one-hour-long episodes (including commercials) and starts at 100, counting down to what the show’s creators have deemed is THE scariest movie moment of all-time. You might be thinking it’s going to be a biased, uncomprehensive overview of only the most popular horror films, but I think it’s actually a pretty fair list. There are always inherent biases with countdown lists anyway, but the show’s creators were smart to not pit the movies against one another, instead they simply present each spot on the list and have only celebrities talk about them in front of the camera, shot against a black background, intercut with stills or clips or even part of the trailer for the film, then end with the scary moment, without having the show's creators enter the fold at any point. The confirmations from the people being interviewed, who frequently give personal anecdotes about the first time they saw the film being focused on, makes you forget about criticizing the subjective nature of the program and just enjoy it. It isn’t over produced or overly indulgent, with each segment moving quickly but not too quickly, the editing on the interviews is tight, and while coarse language is censored, a surprising amount of footage from the films is shown, with much of the blood and guts and violence unedited.

It’s definitely a bit dated and cheesy with some of the people they chose to interview. Does anyone even remember the Coors Light Twins? Well, if you do, you’re in luck: you get to hear their mostly vacuous comments on many movies. One criticism I have is there are some people interviewed who are less than compelling and were obviously just included in order to boost ratings, but they are in the minority. There are also some quirkier aspects to the interviews, as well, like how director John Carpenter has a Band-Aid plastered on his forehead, or director George Romero is very clearly smoking a cigarette as he's talking. The interviewees can be grouped into a few different categories, and I’ll name just a couple from each: there are actors and actresses who have been in famous horror movies (Courtney Cox, Ron Perlman), horror movie directors (sub-category: more contemporary directors [Rob Zombie, Eli Roth] and directors who have been around the block [Tobe Hooper, (who has two movies in the top 100), Wes Craven (who has five movies in the top 100)]), horror writers and critics (Stephen King, Clive Barker), and other miscellaneous celebrities (SFX creator Stan Winston and comedian Gilbert Gottfried), but some get to say more than just their two bits for a couple movies. A few personalities such as Misery director Rob Reiner, film critic Maitland McDonagh, and actor/SFX wizard/stuntman/director Tom Savini are seen and heard all throughout the program, and whether you like all the individuals in this large ensemble of horror experts or not, you have to respect their insights and appreciation for the craft of making a good scare.

I recommend The 100 Scariest Movie Moments to anyone who is even remotely interested in horror movies. This is where I saw some of what ended up being my favourite scary movie moments for the very first time, and it inspired me to work on adding all of the films into my DVD/Blu-ray collection. There were also a couple sequels to this show: 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments (2006) and 13 Scarier Movie Moments (2009), neither of which are as extensive, nor do they cover films that are as important (though they do sneak in a few sorely missed absentees from the top 100), but they’re decent enough countdowns to check out if you are still craving more after the original show.

As a bonus, here’s the list of the movies that made the show’s top 100, 64 of which I currently own—I’m over half way to owning them all! If you’re interested in watching, I would skip reading it for now if I were you, but if you aren’t concerned with spoiling it for yourself, have at it.

 

    100. 28 Days Later

    99. Creepshow

    98. Zombi II

    97. Cat People (1942)

    96. The Birds

    95. Jurassic Park

    94. Child’s Play

    93. Pacific Heights

    92. Village of the Damned (1960)

    91. Shallow Grave

    90. Night of the Hunter

    89. Alice Sweet Alice

    88. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

    87. Black Christmas (1974)

    86. Wizard of Oz

    85. Blood & Black Lace

    84. Blue Velvet

    83. The Others

    82. The Terminator

    81. The Howling

    80. Poltergeist (1982)

    79. Dracula (1931)

    78. The Brood

    77. Signs

    76. The Evil Dead

    75. Candyman (1992)

    74. Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

    73. Blood Simple

    72. Them!

    71. The Sixth Sense

    70. The Stepfather (1987)

    69. Re-Animator

    68. The Black Cat (1934)

    67. Duel

    66. The Tenant

    65. Marathon Man

    64. Near Dark

    63. Deliverance

    62. The Wolf Man (1941)

    61. The Devil’s Backbone

    60. The Beyond

    59. Fatal Attraction

    58. Cujo

    57. House of Wax (1953)

    56. Single White Female

    55. The Vanishing (1988)

    54. The Changeling

    53. Demons

    52. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

    51. The Dead Zone

    50. The Last House on the Left (1972)

    49. Diabolique

    48. The Thing (1982)

    47. Nosferatu (1929)

    46. The Sentinel

    45. The Wicker Man (1975)

    44. The Game

    43. It’s Alive!

    42. An American Werewolf in London

    41. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

    40. Black Sunday

    39. Dawn of the Dead (1978)

    38. Peeping Tom

    37. House on Haunted Hill (1959)

    36. Cape Fear (1962)

    35. Aliens

    34. The Hitcher (1986)

    33. The Fly (1958)

    32. Pet Sematary (1989)

    31. Friday the 13^th (1980)

    30. The Blair Witch Project

    29. The Serpent and the Rainbow

    28. When a Stranger Calls (1979)

    27. Frankenstein (1931)

    26. Seven

    25. Phantasm

    24. Suspiria (1977)

    23. Rosemary’s Baby

    22. Don’t Look Now

    21. Jacob’s Ladder

    20. The Ring (2002)

    19. Hellraiser (1987)

    18. The Haunting (1963)

    17. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

    16. The Omen (1976)

    15. Freaks

    14. Halloween (1978)

    13. Scream (1996)

    12. Misery

    11. Audition

    10. Wait Until Dark

    9. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

    8. Carrie (1976)

    7. The Silence of the Lambs

    6. The Shining

    5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

    4. Psycho (1960)

    3. The Exorcist

    2. Alien

    1. Jaws