Why So Blu?

Scratch and Claw Your Way to Gregg’s Top 3 Horror Films

Ah it’s good to be back.  After nearly a year hiatus from Why So Blu, Brian White recently approached me to contribute an article, along with the other WSB staffers, on our top 3 favorite horror films of all time.  My split-second initial reaction was one of apprehension.  Horror has never been a genre at the top of my list.  I can’t think of one horror film I really liked…oh, but wait, there was that one.  Okay so now I need two more.  That’s not going to happen because…oh…yeah…that one was pretty good too.  So this whole non-existent list suddenly snowballed in my head, and for a good 72 hours, I wrestled with what my top 3 were going to be (and let’s not forget that one guilty pleasure).

My next hurdle was making sure this was an honest and well-versed list.  It’s no secret I have a great appreciation for the character of Freddy Krueger.  Heck, I’ve dressed up as the guy for at least 3 or 4 Halloweens now and spent well over $100 on the best Freddy mask I’ve ever seen.  This second predicament was to not knee-jerk and say my top 3 films are all Freddy movies.  Hey if those are your picks, those are your picks, right?  I needed to make sure I took everything into account that I have ever seen and not be clouded by only an unforgettable character.  Yeah, good luck with that, Gregg.  With all that being said, I give you my Top 3 Horror Films…

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So with all that in mind, let’s keep the Freddy theme going here.  What could arguably be my number one is the original A Nightmare on Elm Street.  The first time I saw this movie, I was probably around 8 years old and snuck over a friend’s house to watch it on VHS.  Yes, there was a reason my parents would never let me watch anything like this.  It scared the living s*** out of me.  I couldn’t get a solid night’s sleep for a good week after I watched it.  So what’s the most logical thing to do?  Go watch it again.  Robert Englund was masterful in a hellish sort of way as the claw-bearing, supernatural messenger of death that launched him to fame and spawned one of the most recognizable horror franchises around.  Everything from the way Freddy says, “Tinaaaa” to the elasticity of his head peering through a wall, spelled out ‘horror’ like no other in this movie.

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Next on the list is a film that I did not expect to win me over like as much as it did.  There was a great deal of talk about the Swedish film Let the Right One In.  It has been on my radar for more than a few years now, but is one that I still have yet to make good on seeing.  However, when the American version, Let Me In, came out, I found it much more accessible at the theaters in my area.  So, after catching the San Diego Comic-Con panel for it, and with a few hours to spare one day, I set out to see this North American take on its Scandinavian counterpart.  I was hooked as I appreciated the ability of the film to not be your typical vampire movie.  It contains a deliberately paced and solid story with a little bit of a twist that is discretely revealed.  All the while Let Me In fronts a very proficient cast including Richard Jenkins, Chloe Grace Moretz, Elias Koteas and Kodi-Smit McPhee.  Fans can debate on which version of the movie is better, but until I see the original, Let Me In works exceptionally well for me.

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So here we are at my third and final favorite horror film.  This was a toss-up like no other.  Dammit guys, why couldn’t we make this our top 5 favorite and 1 guilty pleasure?  Oh well, sacrifices are to be made as such is the case with our annual top 10, but I digress.  Let me just stall a little longer and hang onto Trick ‘r Treat and the original Frankenstein from 1931 that didn’t make this list……..okay that’s long enough.  The final film on my favorites list is none other that Freddy vs. Jason.  Take two powerhouse franchises and throw them together and what do you get; a movie that many fans of both titles had been longing for for years.  Ideas and scripts had been kicked around for some time before it finally came to fruition, and for me, it did not disappoint.  As a matter of fact, I bought the Blu-ray the day it came out which has since become a Halloween ritual for me.  The way the two demonic, blood-lusting villains collided (and everybody that was caught in the middle) worked extremely well from start to finish.  The film delivered its fair share of hapless victims as well as some great squaring off between the wise-cracking Krueger and the mute Vorhees.  I’ll take a sequel if you’ve got it.

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Alright so technically that wasn’t the final film on the list.  There’s still that guilty pleasure of a horror movie that we need to get to, and for me, that’s none other than Joss Whedon’s A Cabin in the Woods.  In a way, this film is almost the non-horror horror movie.  It delivers just as many comical aspects as it does horror, but is so clever in the way it accomplishes this.  Take fragments of some of the most famous horror films in existence, then mash them up in this monstrosity free-for-all.  College kids?  Check.  Creepy local?  Check.  Homicidal maniacs, mythical creatures and mission control?  Check…wait, mission control, what?  A Cabin in the Woods is by no means a landmark title in the hallowed halls of horror, but it is so unique that it will always get repeat viewings from me. In short, this movie is just a whole lot of fun.

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 Maybe we should do a top 3 comedies list when we approach April 1^st, but until then, grab your favorite pumpkin beer, let’s watch a few scares, and bring on Halloween.