Top 10 Horror Films of My Lifetime

10.  Misery

9.  The Exorcist

8.  Let Me In

7.  The Silence of the Lambs

6.  Let the Right One In

 

5.  The Sixth Sense

4.  Poltergeist

 

3.   The Shining

2.  Halloween

1.  Jaws

Let the Right One In (2008) and Let Me In (2010): Brilliant and Nuanced Horror Classics!

Rarely does an international art house film and an American mainstream independent both succeed in telling a mutlilayered story so well, embracing directorial language, drawing nuanced characters, and exploring narrative techniques and filmmaking conventions that feel strikingly bold and fresh. Let the Right One In and Let Me In are wonderful companion films that succeed on every level in bringing John Ajvide Lindqvist's Swedish novel to the screen. 

 

A unified story, part coming of age fable and part Gothic vampire tale, Tomas Alfredson and Matt Reeves brilliantly succeed in capturing the moving relationship of two marginalized children who need one another, one a victim of brutal bullying, the other a lonely vampire looking for companionship.  Each director puts his unique stamp on the story, favoring character and psychology over blood and gore even as they weave strong elements of horror and indelible imagery into the narrative.

See Cedar Rapids on DVD

Ed Helms is a parochial mid-western salesman thrown into the lion's den of debauchery at an insurance convention where he has to compete for a coveted industry award. A Sundance export, Miguel Arteta's smartly written film is a wonderfully offbeat effort with a rich mix of quirky characters that come to rely on each other in surprising and endearing ways. John C. Reilly is pivotal as Dean Ziegler, a comic Bill Murray, who keeps the laughter going throughout. A small gem!

2011: Both Hollywood and Independents Show Promise!