The 20 Greatest Horror Movies of All Time. Part 1

There are a myriad of horror films: from the American Laird Kregar to the Russian Nikolai Gogol, from Japanese horror films to the Mexican pearl Alucard. Introducing the best horror movies.

20. "Fly" (David Cronenberg, 1986)

David Cronenberg has been into the horror genre for half a century. This brought into his understanding a truly twisted perspective on how to make the film a hit on the mainstream. Jeff Goldblum plays a scientist who tests his breakthrough in teleportation and becomes a gadfly. Thanks to its incredible special effects, it is the graphic film that is the pinnacle of Cronenberg's exploration of what has come to be known as "body horror." The film reflects on disease and aging in ways that are as disturbing as the topics themselves. While Cronenberg's work pushes the boundaries, beneath it sits a conventional monster movie that allows viewers to seek and find a person buried in terror.

19. “Get Out” (Jordan Peel, 2017)

Writer-director Jordan Peele has gone beyond his comedy sketches for a groundbreaking work about race and privilege in American society that moviegoers have never really encountered. The outrageous premise - rich white liberals brainwashing black people to make them mind slaves - finds its relevance in the legal underpinnings of a psychological thriller, as well as a sobering portrait of a black man struggling with a troubled past and uncertain present. The creepiest aspects creep in while watching: Observations about awkward racing relationships are funny because they are true (even though the plot takes the wildest twists and turns) and terrifying for the same reasons, often leaving viewers unsure whether to laugh or contemplate. more dire consequences of the climax. This is the spirit of the times in a nutshell. Any historical book of the American mode in 2017 will always rely on quotes from the movie Get Out.

18. "The Silence of the Lambs" (Jonathan Demme, 1991)

Hannibal Lecter was already a renowned cultural figure when Jonathan Demme came aboard to direct a second film featuring Thomas Harris's murderous creation. In the film, a successful combination of Anthony Hopkins as a serial killer and Jodie Foster as an FBI agent. Backed by chilling phrases and snapshots of nifty prison tricks, Hopkins poured his astounding talents into Lecter's every inch. It’s never clear what he’s thinking. Demme, though, releases his film with enough other elements for it to continue to be popularized. The film would be formidable enough if it were just another serial killer thriller, but Demme, Hopkins, and Foster push him to delve deeper into every moment, eventually discovering that real terror doesn't always have a reason, but he has a taste.

17. "Nosferatu" (F.V. Murnau, 1922)

In many ways, Nosferatu is Citizen Kane of horror. Bram Stoker tried quite successfully to bury the film by winning a copyright case that required the destruction of all prints and bankrupted the studio (Prana) that produced the film. However, the unauthorized adaptation of Dracula by F.V. Murnau was a creative revision of the vampire story that helped define the genre and was so technically impressive that it laid the foundation for one of the most legendary and influential filmmakers in film history. The unique performance of Max Shrek as Count Orlok makes this film a miracle even a century later.

16. "Jaws" (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

People think they have conquered the planet. Humanity is so reigning that people are shocked when nature bares its teeth and reveals who is really responsible. This is the horror of what is shown in Steven Spielberg's landmark blockbuster. Sometimes, when an impending natural disaster looms in front of you, it is politically more convenient, according to Mayor Amity (Murray Hamilton), to simply deny that any danger exists at all. Jaws is a film that explores the special urge of Americans to live in every place we want to live - if people just stayed out of the water or decided to swim in the Friendship pools instead, there would be no story.

15. "Cat People" (Jacques Turner, 1942)

Producer Val Lewton's films were about creating low-budget horror, and Jacques Turner was his greatest practitioner, adding a layer of defiant style. Turner's Cat People use only camera and sound to create the presence of supernatural power without ever showing it. Take this example scene and how a sense of sinister, hidden presence is built through framing, subjectivity, and editing. Then, as in his classic film noir, From the Past, Turner uses cinematography that takes on the eerie and sexually charged atmosphere that creates the film's unusual premise - a Serbian woman (Simona Simon) who is convinced she is descending to cats and becoming one of the them, and when excited or angry - comes back to life.

14. “28 Days Later” (Danny Boyle, 2002)

Danny Boyle's dynamically focused ghostly gaze on the zombie horror is absolutely intimidating. The film takes place 28 days after a viral epidemic ravages Britain. The film follows those who survived struggling to make sense of the aftermath, trying to find safety. Moving beyond the typical zombie thrill and into something even more terrifying - humans are forced to lose their humanity as a survival mechanism - the film provides a gripping view of a country completely affected by a mysterious new disease. A terribly poisonous and incurable disease leaves its owners in a constant and terrifying state of aggression, filled with incredible rage. The film casts doubt on the question of whether this blinding, violent rage is something that already exists in us, and the virus just brings it out. Boyle's decision to shoot the film with consumer-grade digital camcorders gives the film effective grit and grime and the necessary realism, though not without moments of surreal beauty. What's scary about 28 Days Later is that the scenario he's presenting isn't unrealistic at all.

13. "Screen test" (Takashi Miike, 1999)

Kiri, Kiri, Kiri. Either these words haunt you, or you have never heard them - there is nothing special between them. Takashi Miike recently released his 100th film, although it is unlikely that he or any of his 98 other works will ever achieve the same vaunted status as Kinoproba. The adaptation of Ryu Murakami's novel of the same name begins and ends so deeply that anyone watching for a long time does not realize that this is a horror film. The film features an unpredictable transition from a romantic story to horrific torture.

12. "Dawn of the Dead" (George A. Romero, 1978)

George Romero's particular genius was to re-acquaint his audience with familiar places, making them seem alien. The plot takes place in the shopping center of Monroeville, Pennsylvania, where many survivors of the zombie apocalypse barricaded themselves from hordes of undead. Of course, the first thing that is required is the overkill of the zombies that are still inside. Once our survivors have finished their purge, they go crazy playing arcade games, stocking up on seemingly endless supplies of food and candy at the mall.Who cares if these supplies are really limited? Nobody can ever go outside again? This cannot last forever, of course. The end of the world was rarely so tragic.

11. "Blood Red" (Dario Argento, 1975)

Dario Argento did not create the genre of bloody Italian thrillers, this honor belongs to Mario Bave. But Argento refined it with 1975 Blood Red, often referred to as the greatest Italian thriller of all time. The film begins with a psychic who senses dark thoughts of the killer in the audience, who later stalks and kills her. David Hemmings plays the pianist who witnessed a murder that drags him into a dark mystery that puts his life in jeopardy. Argento uses many of the signature lines of the genre: a black-gloved assassin wielding a knife; twists and turns and false revelations; and a surprisingly twisted backstory that ultimately reveals the identity of the killer. Argento will soon gain international acclaim with 1977's Suspiria, but Blood Red remains a gripping murder mystery, and Argento is the best.

Also don't miss: 20 GREAT HORROR FILMS OF ALL TIME. PART 2