Martin Scorsese Picks 11 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time!

[MarcMorris]

The Daily Beast: Martin Scorsese Picks 11 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time!


1. The Haunting (Robert Wise, 1963) - amazon.co.uk

2. Isle of the Dead (Mark Robson, 1945) - amazon.co.uk

3. The Uninvited (Lewis Allen, 1944) - No DVD

4. The Entity (Sidney J. Furie, 1981) - amazon.co.uk

5. Dead of Night (Alberto Cavalcanti, 1945) - amazon.co.uk

6. The Changeling (Peter Medak, 1980) - amazon.co.uk

7. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) - amazon.co.uk

8. The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973) - amazon.co.uk

9. Night of the Demon (Jacques Tourneur, 1957) - amazon.co.uk

10. The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961) - amazon.co.uk

11. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) - amazon.co.uk

[viva la gore]

Only seen a few of those must check the others out.

[tobiaswragg]

Some excellent choices. I'm glad to see him choose Isle of the Dead over some of the more famous Lewtons.

[jacksmith1983]

Yes indeed, this is a nice little list from Scorcese. I must say I am surprised by the inclusion of The Entity though as I've always felt that was an overlong and rather dull film, although I understand it did get a lot of attention at the time of its release thanks to its famous "invisible rape" scenes involving star Barbara Hershey.

[tobiaswragg]

Her tits, and the invisible manhandling thereof, were the only positive aspects of the film, according to Twilight Zone magazine. I personally have not seen this film, and doubt that I ever will.

[thehamish]

cant believe he picked the entity over peeping tom!!!

[tobiaswragg]

That surprised me as well, I must say. I understand he was involved in plans for a potential remake of Peeping Tom at one point.

[christats]

Familiar with them all apart from Isle of The Dead and Uninvited.

Good list,I like the Entity but it relys on the irritating thumping music for scares/atmosphere rather than its content.

[Dave Jay]

I thought THE CHANGELING simply veered between tedium and stupidity, not once making a stop-off for anything particularly frightening. And as for THE ENTITY...

[MarcMorris]

I love The Changeling!

[Dave Jay]

Really? Well, each to their own, Mr. Morris...

[MarcMorris]

imdb user comments

If it's alright for Martin too, then I'm happy liking it!

[jacksmith1983]

I agree that The Changeling is a great film. One of the most chilling of all haunted house films with a genuinely gripping mystery at its heart and, of course, an excellent central performance by the great George C. Scott.

[Rollo Yates]

Lists like this are a good way to turn people on to flicks they've never heard of/seen, but can also set expectations too high. I like Isle of the Dead, it's a cool flick with a couple of real creepy parts, but to list it as one of the scariest movies ever is a bit of a stretch and a set up for a let down (which is a dog gone shame). Martin Scorsese's Favorite Horror Movies would be a better title. I'm probably nit-picking, but it would be a shame to have someone walk away from Dead of Night feeling gypped because they weren't as horrified as they were the first time they saw the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
I will add that it's nice that he's talking about them as most still think the horror genre is garbage.

[Dave Jay]

To be honest, I'd be hard pressed to come up with 11 films that I actually find scary... there's certainly some I find a little unnerving and / or disturbing (Georges Franju's EYES WITHOUT A FACE being one example) but hardly any that flat-out frighten me...

Even the movies that used to scare me when I were a young'un (HALLOWEEN, EVIL DEAD, THE SHINING) have now lost their power to do so.

Can anyone recommend a title that STILL has them hiding behind the sofa?