While I wait for the majority to approve these final SIX films for our 00s Honorable Mentions, I would like to describe the final phase of our project.

We have arrived at 255 selections - 200 of the best films in horror history + 55 Honorable Mentions.

Add 40 more to those, which will be specially selected by me under the Special Recs section.

That makes it 295 films.

We have space for 5 more, and I want to give some space to a sub-genre mostly overlooked by many of us - horror documentaries.

Now, Haxan is a pseudo-documentary as well, but many parts of it were enacted, so it's not an exact documentary.

This will be our last and final phase of the project, where we finalise FIVE documentaries which display the history of horror films and serve as a guide to the common man about the genre.

This will take the total tally to 300 films, and we couldn't have a more comprehensive set of films to represent horror in here, and outside.

I have a few in mind...

Universal Horror (1998)
Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994)
100 Years of Horror (1996)
The American Nightmare (2000)
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

I think all of them are excellent documentaries chronicling the history and/or glorious moments of horror films.

If majority are in favor, we can finalise these 5 above for that small section and call it a day for this project. If you have a better recommendation than the ones above, please feel free to post them.

CORMAN
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185371/

AIP
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280780/

HARRYHAUSEN
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1839590/


Problem with the Corman doc is that it doesn't focus specifically on horror.

I'm good with those six.

I'm not big on Documentaries so I'll abstain from this part.

I've seen The American Nightmare, Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror, and 100 Years of Horror. Haven't seen the other two documentaries, but I'm ok with the five.

I would like to suggest this very well done documentary:
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy.

Out of the mentioned documentaries, I have seen "100 years of Horror" and would definitely support that.

I am sure that those documentaries would all be great, so I am fine with them. I have only seen The Slasher one though (I did want to see The American Nightmare one; I have not heard of the others). Two other horror movie documentaries I watch alot are Monster Mania (narrated by Jack Palance) and The Red, White, and Blue one (hosted by Lance Henrikson). I have seen the Monster Mania one dozens of times.

Oh yeah, the Red, White, and Blue documentary is excellent!

EDIT: The full title is "Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue"

Mark Gattis (The League of Gentlemen) made a quality horror doc, A History of Horror which is worth consideration. Filled with interviews and insights from horror legends and presented by someone with a genuine passion for the genre, well worth watching.

I haven't really seen that many horror docs though to be honest, so I haven't got much input to add, but I would like to see something special effects orientated in the list. Guys like Harryhausen, Bottin, Baker, Savini have really given a lot to the genre and this seems like a good opportunity to acknowledge their contribution, if possible. Something like;

The Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh

Not a pure horror doc, but focuses on special effects, contains a lot of horror legends, well worth watching.

I've look on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Movies Unlimited, can't find this title.

Sorry for the double post, just found A History of Horror on youtube and thought I would post the link. Its well worth a watch guys, great fun and Gattis' enthusiasm for the genre is great to see. I think you guys will really enjoy this one, so give it a watch if you get chance!

I just had a look too, looks like this was never released as a DvD, two of the three episodes are available to watch on youtube, link for one of those is in my previous post.... That said, the second episode has been removed for copyright reasons and that one focused on hammer horror and I know you would've loved it! Frustrating!

Thank you! I'll have to watch it when I'm home. I'm at work right now.

I am fine with the Honorable Mentions as well.

My Harryhausen recommendation doesn't fit that bill?

Haven't seen it, but yes I definitely think that fits the bill.... I guess I was hoping for something that covered the history of sfx rather than just Harryhausen. That said, Harryhausen is an absolute legend and I'd be more than happy to have him represent the importance of special effects in horror.

Great idea, V! A list of horror documentaries could be really valuable to a visitor stumbling upon our list. Maybe 5 is not enough, and at you'd consider reducing the number of Special Recs in favor of a handful more documentaries that you deem worthy.

I haven't seen many of the films mentioned, but now I'm excited to go watch them. Nightmares in Red, White and Blue is on Netflix streaming -- score! I've seen half of 100 Years of Horror, which was great. (That reminds me, I need to finish it.) I loved learning about the visionary Lon Chaney, who did his own makeup, the diverging careers and personalities of Bela vs. Boris, the Hammer explosion... Really interesting and informative.

As a counterpoint to all the straight horror documentaries, one film that was influential in my horror vocabulary was American Grindhouse (2010). While 100 Years of Horror covers the true legends, this film covers the branch of cinema that will never win an Academy Award, but had a stark influence on the horror genre (among others), including Freaks (1932), Maniac (1934), Blood Feast, and the like. It also puts legit classics like Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931) and Psycho in context as films that were subversive and disturbing for their time. I might have first learned about the cannibal subgenre from this film, but I could be misremembering. It definitely includes stuff like Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS and other shlocky stuff. However, more important than the actual films mentioned, it focuses on our collective lust to see shocking stuff, as well as the once-bustling grindhouse theater culture in which these films could be viewed. Anyway, just throwing it out there for variety. As others have mentioned regarding other documentaries, this one is not purely horror, but covers the underground that I believe is important to the genre.

Also, I'm good with the six HMs.

Excellent recs, though I am afraid we might have to skip the Corman doc for the reason above.

I don't want to focus on documentaries of specific films, hence didn't name some others - the Friday the 13th one, Omen Legacy, Terror in the Aisles, etc.

Looking specifically for documentaries which broadly covers most of our genre's films, it's history and it's impact on modern society and culture.

Nice. I haven't seen it yet so I'll have a look into that one. Thanks for the heads up!

Nice. And thank you for the youtube link as well!

Same here. I am sure the Harryhausen doc would have covered his sci-fi career tool, but he did some quality work in giant monster films and fantasy films bordering on horror. We can include the doc based on him, no problem.

Thanks! Gee whiz how could I forget American Grindhouse?! Quality stuff. Thanks for reminding me.


Yes, like Giganticface suggested, with so many good recommendations coming through, I am tempted to increase the number of documentary recommendations to TEN. The "Specially Recommended" section will be further pruned to 35 films, instead of 40.

Thanks, folks. We seal off the 2000s here, now that the majority don't seem to have any problems with the final SIX Honorable Mentions.

The final list of documentaries will be posted tomorrow by me, and we will wind up this project. If you can think of some other good recs for the documentaries, feel free to post ahead.

Expect the sticky up by Sunday, September 1st. I hope all fans of horror (and beyond) of our forum and the outside world benefit by it when the holiday season comes through in a month's time.

V, can you tell us a little more about the Special Recommendations section? ...what it's for, why you're doing it, what purpose it serves, how you're picking films, that sort of thing?

(I went back to the first post of the thread to see if there was more info about it at the beginning, but I wasn't able to find any info on Spec Recs.)

I am doing it because of you folks. It was not a part of my initial plan.

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthre...end#post954395

Page 91, post 904.

Universal Horror (1998)
Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994)
100 Years of Horror (1996)
The American Nightmare (2000)
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

Looks like a good list to me. Other docs that are very broad on horror film are:

The American Nightmare (2000) - An examination into the nature of 1960's-70's horror films, the involved artists, and how they reflected contemporary society.

Terror in the Aisles (1984) - A compilation of trailers and scenes from science fiction, crime drama and horror films of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. - (Saw this long ago and enjoyed it. As you can see includes 'crime drama', though I don't recall that. Probably is inferior to a few of the others, & maybe redundant, but I it's one I saw that I know was good. Not recommending this be included.)

(already mentioned) Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009) - An exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.


If horror doc was increased, we might consider picking a section of horror docs using the same criteria as the rest of '100 Years', which is, those docs that are excellent and notable, which could be about any horror subject, rather than restricting to docs about horror films. These might include docs like:

American Movie (1999) - (Excellent film!) Documentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.

The Fear of God: 25 Years of 'The Exorcist' (1998) The Exorcist became a cultural phenomenon upon its release. This making-of documentary tells the story of its creation and describes how audiences reacted to it. Interviews with cast and crew are shown.

The Aswang Phenomenon (2011) - What would happen if a country of 97 million people were taught at a young age that the boogie man was real. In the Philippines for the last 400 years, the 'aswang' has been used as propoganda and social control by Spanish Colonizers, the Catholic Church, the Philippine Administration, and even the CIA.

Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006) - A documentary that follows the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years

A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King (2011) - Author Stephen King discusses the various types of horror films and why they are so popular with moviegoers.

Sorry, didn't put those two things together. How long (how many paragraphs or words) are you thinking would be appropriate for a Spec Recs write up? (As I volunteered to do a write up for Ghostbusters.)

I've seen that one with King, and even though I'm a big King fan, I found that documentary banal in many parts, rehashing what's been said over and over and over about many films and trends. It came across to me as King rfeading a script that was prepared for him, rather than him sharing his own insights. I don't think it's up to the quality of other suggestions.

Good feedback. If we're expanding the horror doc section, let's not include the Stephen King one. I haven't seen the King one, nor all the ones I mentioned.

I do highly recommend American Movie (1999) and The Fear of God: 25 Years of 'The Exorcist' (1998). American Movie is a really good documentary. Has it all: tough times, family angst, friendship, very funny and heart warming. It's actually become one of the most famous documentaries of all-time, and of course, probably the most famous doc in the horror film subject matter.

I love American Movie, and thought about suggesting it, but ultimately, I don't think it's about horror movies. It's certainly about indie filmmaking, the American dream, and human spirit, but if someone wanted to learn about horror movies, they wouldn't find it here. That's why they didn't call it something like Making a Horror Movie- they called it American Movie. Its story is universal.

American Movie is about horror movies in the same way that North By Northwest is about crop dusting,





"No- it's pronounced COE-VIN!"

Quoting myself from the previous page (since it seems like you are hellbent upon not reading my previous replies)



Patience. All will be revealed in due time.


-----------------------------

Okay, seems like there are plenty of other good recommendations for the documentaries too, so the number stands expanded to TEN.

These are the finalised choices :-

100 Years of Horror (1996)
A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (2010)
American Grindhouse (2010)
The American Nightmare (2000)
Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994)
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)
It Conquered Hollywood! The Story of American International Pictures (2001)
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)
Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (2011)
Universal Horror (1998)


Thank you to everyone for chipping in with their thoughts.

Okay, we have finalised through the 00s, and these are our final choices:-


IN THE CUT

Jeepers Creepers (2001) - 6
Let the Right One In (2008) - 6
Shaun of the Dead (2004) - 6
The Ring (2002) - 6

[REC] (2007) - 5
28 Days Later (2002) - 5
Dog Soldiers (2002) - 5
Paranormal Activity (2007) - 5
Saw (2004) - 5
Signs (2002) - 5

A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) - 4
American Psycho (2000) - 4
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) - 4
The Cabin In The Woods (2011) - 4
The Descent (2005) - 4
The Mist (2007) - 4
The Others (2001) - 4

Cloverfield (2008) - 3
May (2002) - 3
Shutter (2004) - 3

Frailty (2001) - 2

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Ginger Snaps (2000) - 3 (backed by neverending, seconded by metternich1815, hammerfan, Sculpt, realdealblues) [IN]
Greedy Guts aka Little Otik aka Otesanek (2000) (backed by Straker, seconded by Sculpt, The Villain, fortunato, Giganticface) [IN]

---------------------------------------------------------------

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Devil's Backbone (2001) - 4 (backed by neverending, seconded by Straker, fortunato, The Villain)
Battle Royale (2000) - 3 (backed by The Villain, seconded by neverending, Straker) {Giganticface*}
The Host aka Gwoemul (2006) - 3 (backed by The Villain) {Straker*, Sculpt*, Giganticface*}
Inside aka À l'intérieur (2007) - 2 (backed by Giganticface, seconded by neverending, Straker) {The Villain*, Sculpt*}
Hard Candy (2005) (backed by neverending, seconded by The Villain, metternich1815, Straker) {Sculpt*}
The Orphanage (2007) (backed by The Villain, seconded by hammerfan, metternich1815, Sculpt)




DEBATABLE

Prometheus (2012) - 4 (backed by natedog722, seconded by tiberius) (-1)



MINORITY

Dawn of the Dead (2004) - 3 (backed by Kandarian Demon)
Dead Silence (2007) - 3 (backed by natedog722, seconded by Kandarian Demon)
Diary of the Dead (2007) - 3 (backed by metternich1815, seconded by tiberius)
Final Destination (2000) - 3 (backed by metternich1815, seconded by natedog722, realdealblues, Kandarian Demon, tiberius) (-2)
Hatchet (2006) - 3 (backed by Kandarian Demon)
Session 9 (2001) - 3 (backed by Giganticface, seconded by hammerfan)
The Strangers (2008) - 3 (backed by natedog722)


30 Days of Night (2007) - 2 (backed by natedog722, seconded by hammerfan)
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) - 2 (backed by Straker, seconded by realdeablues, Kandarian Demon) (-1)
Constantine (2005) - 2 (backed by Sculpt)
Dagon (2001) - 2 (backed by Kandarian Demon)
Daybreakers (2009) - 2 (backed by Sculpt)
Feast (2005) - 2 (backed by realdealblues)
Fido (2006) - 2 (backed by realdealblues)
Grindhouse (2007) - 2 (backed by metternich1815)
Hostel (2005) - 2 (backed by The Villain, seconded by realdealblues) (-1)
House of the Devil (2009) - 2
Ju-on (2002) - 2 (backed by Kandarian Demon)
Martyrs (2008) - 2 (backed by Giganticface)
Oldboy (2003) - 2 (backed by neverending, seconded by Giganticface) {Sculpt*}
Pulse aka (Kairo) (2001) - 2 (backed by neverending, seconded by Straker) {Sculpt*}
Splinter (2008) - 2 (backed by natedog722)
The Devil Inside (2012) - 2 (backed by metternich1815)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) - 2 (backed by natedog722, seconded by Kandarian Demon)
The Hills Have Eyes (2006) - 2 (backed by realdealblues)
The Signal (2007) - 2 (backed by realdealblues)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) - 2 (backed by natedog722)
Thir13en Ghosts (2001) - 2 (backed by realdealblues, seconded by Kandarian Demon, tiberius) (-2)



SINGLE VOTES TO

An American Haunting (2005)
1408 (2007)
28 Weeks Later (2007)
Antichrist (2009)
Apollo 18 (2011)
AVP: Alien Vs. Predator (2004)
AVPR - Aliens versus Predator: Requiem (2007)
Beneath Still Waters (2005)
Black Sheep (2006)
Black Swan (2010) (backed by Giganticface, seconded by Sculpt)
Blade II (2002)
Boogeymen: The Killer Compilation (2001)
Borderland (2007)
Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
Cabin Fever (2002)
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)
Darkness Falls (2003)
Dead Birds (2004)
Dead Snow (2009)
Devil (2010)
Disturbia (2007) (backed by Sculpt)
Drag Me To Hell (2009)
FeardotCom (2002)
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Fright Night (2011) (backed by realdealblues)
Frontier(s) (2007) (backed by neverending)
Ghost Ship (2002)
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) (backed by Sculpt)
Grave Encounters (2011)
High Tension aka Haute Tension (2005) (backed by metternich1815, seconded by Giganticface)
Home Movie (2008) (backed by neverending)
Hostel: Part II (2007)
House of 1000 Corpses (2003) (backed by metternich1815)
I am Legend (2007)
Identity (2003)
Ils aka Them (2006) (backed by neverending)
John Dies at the End (2012) (backed by Sculpt)
Julia's Eyes (2010) (backed by The Villain)
Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (2003)
Land of the Dead (2005) (backed by realdealblues)
Legion (2010)
Let Me In (2010)
Lovely Molly (2011)
Man-Thing (2005)
Mirrors (2008)
Mother of Tears (2007)
Mum & Dad (2008) (backed by neverending)
My Bloody Valentine (2009)
My Name Is Bruce (2007)
Chakushin Ari aka One Missed Call (2003)
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) (backed by The Villain, seconded by hammerfan)
Red Dragon (2002)
Red Riding Hood (2011)
Resident Evil (2002)
Sauna (2008)
Shadow of the Vampire (2000) (backed by Straker, seconded by The Villain) (-1)
Silk (2006)
Sinister (2012)
The Amityville Horror (2005)
The Butterfly Effect (2004) (backed by Sculpt)
The Cell (2000) (backed by Sculpt)
The Daisy Chain (2008)
The Fog (2005)
The Forgotten (2004)
The Haunted Mansion (2003)
The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)
The Messengers (2007)
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007) (backed by The Villain)
The Revenant (2009)
The Ruins (2008)
The Skeleton Key (2005)
The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
Thirst aka Bakjwi (2009) (backed by Straker)
Three... Extremes (2004)
Trick 'r Treat (2009)
Trollhunter (2010) (backed by The Villain)
Tucker and Dale Vs Evil (2010)
Underworld (2003)
Vacancy (2007) (backed by Sculpt)
Venom (2005)
Versus (2000)
Zombieland (2009) (backed by realdealblues)


SPECIAL SECTION - REST OF THE GIANT MONSTER FILMS OF THE 00s :-

2-Headed Shark Attack 2012
Behemoth 2010
Big Man Japan 2007
Boa vs. Python 2004
Deep Sea Beast Reigo 2005
D-War 2007
Eight Legged Freaks 2002
Gamera the Brave 2006
Garuda 2004
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla 2002
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus 2000
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack 2001
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. 2003
John Carter 2012
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 2012
Journey to the Center of the Earth 2008
Jurassic Park III 2001
King Kong 2005
Mega Python vs. Gatoroid 2011
Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus 2010
Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus 2009
Mongolian Death Worm 2010
Monsters 2010
Negadon: The Monster from Mars 2005
Sharktopus 2010
Spiders 2000
Super 8 2011
The Attack of the Giant Moussaka 2000
The Monster X Strikes Back/Attack the G8 Summit 2008
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep 2007
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection 2001
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins 2004
Ultraman the Next 2004


{*} = Support for Honorable Mentions



And so, we pull the curtains down on the discussions/debate in finalising the films for our mega-compilation. I will start work on it by tonight so that we can have the sticky up by Sunday at the latest.

Big thanks to each and everyone of you who chipped in with their thoughts at various points of the project. Be proud that you were a part of the decision-making process of a HUGE project's thought processes whose impact will stay with the present generation and the coming ones as the definitive guide for all things related to horror films.

Ciao!

Catch you all soon with the mega-compilation sticky and further instructions on blurbs for the films.

I did read that you didn't want docs about specific horror films for the 5 docs. But after the suggestion about expanding the doc section, I suggested something new. If you read my prior post (#1340), in the middle paragraph I specified: if we were to expand the documentary section, to include any docs in the horror genre, without restricting ourselves to docs about 'all horror films', then those were my recommendations for that wider inclusion.

V, thanks for all the work you did! Excellent job with hosting, completing the list, and putting up with all of us! I think we have a great "100 Years of Horror" compilation!

Thanks, Sculpt.

Pored through this thread all day (from 4 PM in the afternoon till now, which is 30 minutes past midnight) from the beginning and went through all the previous 1347 posts and shortlisted 38 films for the "HDC Members Specially Recommend..." section of the sticky.

I'll prune 3 films from the lot with the least-voiced support and finalise the 35.

I won't name them in this post, but I'll post the number of recommendations from individual members...

Sculpt leads with 11 recs (one shared with Kandarian Demon),
Giganticface is second with 8 recs (two shared with metternich1815),
Straker is third with 6 recs,
metternich1815 is joint fourth with 4 recs (two shared with Giganticface),
Neverending is joint fourth with 4 recs (one shared with Kandarian Demon),
The Villain is joint fifth with 2 recs,
Kandarian Demon is joint fifth with 2 recs (one shared with neverending, one with Sculpt), and
Roshiq is sixth (and last) with 1 rec.

Expect a call for blurbs once the Sticky is up.

Cheers! I am off to get some sleep. Feeling totally fatigued right now.

Work on the Sticky will start sometime tomorrow. I can't promise, but will definitely try my best to get it up by Sunday.

The official compilation thread, now stickied, is up and running at this link -
http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63436.

This thread is hereby closed.