Saturday, October 30, 2010

Scary movies are too damn scary!

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" has edged "The Shining" and "Scream" to be named the scariest movie of the Snooze Button Generation.

Although Snooze Button Generation founder and CEO Joe Stevens is not a big fan of horror films, the SBG still released its top 10 scary movies list today as part of "Halloween Weekend 2010."

"Some people are totally into horror movies, and that's not me," Stevens said. "But I still think it's appropriate to have such a list, although I try to stay away from these movies. They scare me."

Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) has pretty much everything a scary movie needs from quirky and dermatologist-needy villain, Freddy Krueger, to the feature film debut of Johnny Depp. It has much more depth, and humor, than many other films in its genre but is cliche enough to be a scary movie.

2. The Shining (1980)

This is by far a better film than "A Nightmare on Elm Street," but it has too much going on to be considered a mere horror film. Plus, it was released in 1980, so it's darn near impossible to find a member of the Snooze Button Generation who saw "The Shining" in the theater. In fact, I would guess that's about as rare as going to an adult's Halloween party without seeing a "Catwoman" there.3. Scream (1996)

Dang, it's another Wes Craven film, and it deserves to be there. It's funny, a box-office smash, and it revitalized the horror genre. Yeah, the SBG likes Wes Craven. It's only a coincidence that he hails from Cleveland, the hometown of Stevens.4. Halloween (1978)

Jamie Lee Curtis had her feature film debut here. Without that part, would she have ever been able to write her much talked about, but seldom read, children books?

5. Friday the 13th (1980)

Jason is an institution of fright. Honestly, the movie is not the best. Is it? But it certainly holds a high spot in the pantheon of horror flicks.

6. Poltergeist (1982)

Carol Anne? Carol Anne? The fact that Heather O'Rourke, the actress who played the girl Carol Anne, died at 12 makes the film even creepier.7. Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

Real cheesy and m-f-ing scary!

8. The Exorcist (1973)

Well, "The Exorcist" might be the scariest film of all-time, but its 1973 release date probably doesn't make it an SBG film. But, man, that pea-soup flick deserves to be somewhere on this list.

9. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."10. Saw (2004)

If the horror genre isn't dead, only "Saw" can save it. Unfortunately, many of the films on this list have a gazillion sequels that just make it obvious that their goal is to cash in and not pretend horror films can be an art form.

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