The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time, According to Critics

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Josh Lynch at Business Insider posted The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time, According to Critics.  Lynch’s list is a good one worth checking out.

Here are three of my favorites and some comments…

69. “28 Days Later” (2003)

Critic score: 86%

Audience score: 85%

What critics said: “The movie’s craft makes the dread of a killer virus contagious: viewers may feel they have come down with a case of secondhand SARS or sympathetic monkeypox.” — Time

What Craig said:  I’m a huge fan of 28 days later.  While quite a few folks like to argue if 28 days later is truly a zombie film or not, I’d rather spend the time re-watching it.

39. “Train to Busan” (2016)

Critic score: 95%

Audience score: 88%

What critics said: “A zombie movie content not to aspire to any loftier subtextual readings needs little more than a skilled choreographer of action, and there’s plenty of evidence that this film had one in Yeon.” — The AV Club

What Craig said:  Train to Busan came out of nowhere to be one of my favorite horror films in recent years.  I hadn’t heard the buzz before seeing it.  This is a zombie movie with heart.  Dong-seok Ma should be a breakout star.  If you haven’t caught the Train to Busan you owe it to yourself to give it a ride.  Just be aware that not everyone makes it to the final stop.

2. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 89%

What critics said: “Undoubtedly one of the most exciting and inspired horror movies ever made.” — Time Out

What Craig said: Of the three movies from this list that I chose to highlight, I’ll bet that The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the one that has been seen the least by those reading this.  It has three strikes against it:

1.  It is a silent film.

2.  It is a foreign silent film.

3.  It is nearly 100 years old.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari has a twist ending that would make M. Night Shamalan and Rod Serling high-five.  When I first watched The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari I thought the choices being made in set design were due to budget restrictions and experimentation with expressionism and the relatively new form of story-telling called film.  I was wrong… at least partially.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari tells the tale of a serial killer hypnotist who uses a somnambulist to commit murders. The film takes advantage of the lack of color film and makes the most of a light and shadow with sets that are off-kilter.

If you haven’t seen The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and you’re a film lover, give it a try.