Sir Anthony Hopkins, esteemed master of the British stage, Oscar winner, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, horror star... yes, you read that right. Horror star. The Welsh-born Hopkins may not have the intimidating genre resume of fellow Brits Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, but his creepshow cred was formidable long before he made a cultural touchstone of Dr. Lecter's slyly chilling account of eating that pesky census taker's liver with "some fava beans and a nice chianti." 

And here's the kicker: In a movie career littered with forgettable TV pictures, ill-advised remakes and bills-to-pay junk like Shortcut to Happiness (you know, the notorious Devil and Daniel Webster reimagining that starred living blow-up doll Jennifer Love Hewitt as Ms. Satan) and the scifi thriller Freejack, Hopkins' horror movies have been a pretty classy bunch.  

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Why beat around the bush? Hopkins gave the genre a new icon with psycho shrink Hannibal "the cannibal" Lecter.  Yeah, it's a meaty role, but an old-school frightmeister like Vincent Price would have delivered lines like, "Good evening, Clarice" with campy relish, while Hopkins' dry, whispery tones make it the sound of pure evil. No matter that fellow-Celt Brian Cox originated the role in Michael Mann's Manhunter (1986): Hopkins owned it. The Silence of the Lambs was a perfect storm of A-list talent, but would it have scooped up five top-tier Oscars -- including best picture, best director for Jonathan Demme and best actress for Jodie Foster -- without Hopkins' insinuatingly malevolent performance? Well, the last horror movie to rack up comparable nominations was The Exorcist -- ten to Lambs' seven -- and it only won two.

Continue reading "Step Aside, Vincent Price! Anthony Hopkins Is King of the Creepshow" »

Sure, Saturday Night Live has churned out several generations of comic superstars -- just check out Cheri Oteri's turn in AMC's Life Coach for the latest proof. But SNL stars in horror movies, well, that's a little less expected. Maybe these guys are simply hellbent on showing us that not only can they make us scream with laughter, but that they can also make us scream. Read on for a list of movies in which the Not Ready For Prime Time Players get dismembered, turned into trees and sample that zombie ice cream.

Chris Kattan, House on Haunted Hill (1999)
In this remake of William Castle's 1959 frightfest, Chris Kattan owns the titular house, an abandoned asylum where an eccentric mogul is hosting a dinner party. Alas, Kattan's character is a mincing little cretin with no sense of humor, and his death is a footnote. Hungry for more? Check out Santa's Slay (2005), in which he's slaughtered alongside none other than James Caan!

Cheri Oteri, Scary Movie (2000)
Oteri's endlessly obnoxious Gail Hailstorm one ups Gail Weathers (Courteney Cox) from the Scream movies. Just a few minutes of her bragging about her shamelessly exploitative book "You're Dead, I'm Rich" or her mercilessly berating her cameraman and you'll start praying for something truly awful to happen to this awful (and awfully funny) character.

Continue reading "Dead From New York - It's the SNL Alumni " »

Once upon a time, horror-movie fandom was a Boys' Club: No cootie-ridden girls allowed. But we've come a long way, baby, as today, every dark-and-scary night is ladies' night with women making up a solid half of the audience for fright flicks. Remember the thrill of seeing Halloween's Laurie Strode (the inimitable Jamie Lee Curtis) stand up to the bogeyman with a knitting needle? Well, there's more where that came from.

Continue reading "The Top Ten Horror Flicks for Chicks " »

The French love horror. They loved Edgar Allan Poe more than his fellow Americans did. They invented splatter theater more than 100 years ago: Eli Roth could have been a superstar if he'd written plays for the Theatre du Grand Guignol. And the French have always loved horror movies. They take them as seriously as they do Jerry Lewis... um, scratch that last part. So if the French love horror movies so much, how come for decades they only made a handful of (admittedly choice) shockers themselves? Beats me. But these days they're kicking cul and taking noms, and Hollywood is snapping up their bloody young things wholesale. Here are ten films that made the world take notice.

Continue reading "Ten Movies to Make You Squirm... In French, No Less" »

There's a distinct possibility that as you're reading this you're already thinking, "Oh, I hate vampire movies!" That's probably because, after zombie movies, no sub-genre of horror movie has ever generated so many horrible, pointless films. And yet when handled correctly, the vampire remains the most effective and yes, scary monster out there. Here are ten movies that will make you believe a man can suck blood. I've intentionally stayed away from movies about Count Dracula (a sub-sub-genre all its own), and for you Twilight fans, well, sorry kids. Shouldn't you be updating your Facebook page right now? For the rest of us, these are the ten greatest vampire movies:

10. The Lost Boys (1987)
There are some of movies that aren't great, but because of some redeeming feature, they transcend notions of quality and taste. The Lost Boys has some good bits, like the Frog Brothers, or Kiefer Sutherland having too much fun with his role, or the bridge scene, or its amazing soundtrack, but nothing really stands out as superb. Yet people love the movie. They really do. Why? Because it has heart. Because always, always, it remains entertaining, which puts it above 99.999% of all movies ever made.

9. 30 Days of Night (2007)
It's full of plot holes, wooden performances, and the ending is silly. It's also seriously kickass. Some truly creepy vampires invade the town of Barrow, Alaska, above the Arctic circle where the sun won't rise for another thirty days. They proceed to lay the town to waste in one long, achingly elegant and nasty overhead tracking shot. Then we spend the rest of the movie watching them get killed off in glorious, grisly ways. Pure cinematic gold.

8. Lifeforce (1985)
A cult classic from director Tobe Hooper and not just because the wardrobe department completely forgot about star Mathilda May. A space shuttle mission to Halley's Comet finds an alien spacecraft co-designed by H. R. Giger and Charles Addams. Inside are three space vampires in suspended animation... suffice to say, they don't remain suspended for long. Of course, they have to be naked the whole time -- except when they're possessing the body of Patrick Stewart. Totally incoherent, totally unforgettable.

Continue reading "Vampire Novelist David Wellington (13 Bullets) Names Top Ten Vampire Movies" »

Not long ago Dario Argento had a cultish fan base and was the equivalent of fugu for foodies. Now he's a touchstone for hipster youth (remember the Herschell Gordon Lewis vs. Dario Argento debate in Juno?) who appreciate his giallo subgenre for the lurid, violent, and stylishly baroque thrillers the form embodies. If you're looking for plots that make sense, look elsewhere. But if you like your chills all'Italia -- graphic, bizarre and served con molto brio -- you're on track.

10. The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971)
A reporter, a blind man and the blind man's young niece inadvertently trigger a murder spree that has something to do with a top-secret genetic research project. And how about that hollow-eyed, screwed up rich girl ('60s Euro-babe Catherine Spaak) with her mysterious motives, shagadelic wardrobe and serious daddy issues? She's scary even if she isn't a killer. Be warned: Argento isn't afraid to terrorize cute kids.

9. The Stendahl Syndrome (1996)
A serial sex killer plays wicked head games with a police detective (Argento's daughter Asia) who suffers from Stendhal Syndrome: Too much great art gives her hallucinations. Not a big problem in, say, Kansas, but this is Italy -- there's a masterwork lurking around every corner. One minute the detective is looking at a seascape in the Uffizi, the next minute she's underwater, smooching a giant grouper fish with a vaguely human face. 

8. Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1972)
Roberto, an American drummer living in Rome with his rich, high-strung wife confronts a stranger who's been following him. They scuffle, the man falls to his death. And that's not the bad part: Someone in a creepy puppet mask is photographing the whole thing. Is there a plot to blackmail Roberto? Drive him insane? Frame him for murder? It doesn't matter: The stalker in the puppet mask is seriously spooky and the ending is killer.

Continue reading "A Dario Argento Expert Ranks Her Ten Favorites" »

Sadly, not every movie title is as wonderfully to-the-point as Midnight Meat Train or Thir13en Ghosts. (You pay to see thirteen ghosts, and thirteen ghosts is what you get.) A great number of movies with titles that seem to suggest a non-stop screamfest are actually comedies or dramas. Let's take a look at a few of the movies whose titles left us more confused and disappointed than petrified.

Albino Alligator (1996)
Good killer crocodile flicks are few and far between these days (we'd rather forget Lake Placid), so it's especially disheartening to discover that the chilling title of Kevin Spacey's 1997 crime film is just another heavy-handed metaphor. Even worse, as bad guy William Fichtner explains, the titular alligator is actually a weakling that regular gators sacrifice in order to attract their prey. So not only does the movie lack any gruesome albino gator action, it also makes fun of the poor creatures. 

Continue reading "Because Monster's Ball and Ghost Town Should Be Horror Titles" »

This year, Vanity Fair's "Hollywood Portfolio" takes a macabre turn, reimagining scenes from Alfred Hitchcock's films cast with contemporary stars such as Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Seth Rogen, and Charlize Theron. Vanity Fair also brings you behind the scenes of the photo shoot with an exclusive video, revealing the process to be as fun as the product.

Of course it's the horror movies that really shine, with Jodie Foster cowering in a phone booth to escape The Birds, and 2008 Oscar nominee Marion Cotillard subbing for Janet Leigh and taking the least private shower of her life. It's clear some of these actors would have been among Hitchcock's favorites if he was still making films today, particularly chilly blondes such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Naomi Watts -- though this may be the first and last situation in which we see Seth Rogen standing in for Cary Grant.