My Top 10 Movies for the Best Holiday of the Year

I’ve always been an aficionado for horror films, but I never actually made myself sit down and list the ones I think best represent the genre.

This is in no particular order, and apologies if my tastes aren’t as obscure as you like…or are too obscure.

I know, I know, John Carpenter’sThe Thing is in every aspect the better Carpenter movie, but I can’t help but this movie scratches so many itches for me (a meditation on the power of writing! Lovecraftian themes! a town with a dark secret!) I can’t help but list it here instead. At the least, it’s one of the best Lovecraft adaptations out there, even though it’s not actually based on any of his stories.

Speaking of Lovecraft, any film that manages to use his work as a springboard for such masterful body horror and icky eroticism should be regarded as a classic. And Jeffrey Combs!

Not nearly as well-known as other Japanese horror movies that came out in recent decades like Ringu or The Grudge, but this is my favorite of them. Just a great neo-noir horror.

Yes, it’s a Disney movie for kids based on a book that was also for kids. But Disney’s adaptation of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of the things that got me into horror, and besides that it’s just beautifully animated. And it’s narrated by Basil Rathbone!

Arguably more a psychological study than a straightforward horror, but I didn’t hesitate to include it anyway. Director/writer Richard Bates Jr. should be better known, in any case.

I do love “town with a dark secret” yarns, and this is one of the best, based on its “creepy coastal New England” atmosphere alone.

It seems like pseudo-documentaries and faux-newscasts have become a horror staple in recent years, but this remains the best, in my opinion.

A loose adaptation of the Elizabeth Bathory story, starring Ingrid Pitt and produced by Hammer Studios? How could I not love this?

I was torn between including this and The Legend of Hell House, but I had to pick this one, a fantastic, subtle haunting house story (although I do recommend The Legend of Hell House too!).

I said this was not in any particular order, but if Jason Vorhees held a machete to my throat and forced me to choose, this probably would be my choice for favorite horror movie of all time. It’s such a stylized and delightfully brutal movie that remains utterly unique to this day.