Top Ten Classic Horror Movies and Why I Love Each One. Part Two.

Hello and welcome back to top ten classic horror movies! I hope that the wait wasn’t too bad. Thank you for sticking around for the second part anyways! The scare rating is also featured the same as last time! How scary it is does not control where the movie is ranked on the list! Like I said before, there will be mature content and spoilers included in this segment along with my own biased opinion on each movie! Lets just get back into it! 

 

5. The Strangers (2008)

The Strangers was another one of my favorites for a while. It was remade into “The Strangers: Prey at Night” in 2018 but I still prefer the first one. The screenplay of this film was inspired by two different true happenings. In the film there were three masked antagonists, one man and two women. A newly unhappy couple lead the movie as our protagonists. They make some good decisions and some very.. very disappointing ones. The masks used in the film easily accomplished that unsettling feeling for me.  They didn’t say much through out the movie but when they did they always spoke in short sentences, amplified by their soft monotone voices. I’m just saying if I saw one of these people outside of my window at night… I would either have a rush of adrenaline and go ham on them myself, or that adrenaline would move to my legs, not stopping until I’m in a whole different country. My favorite line from the movie, and probably the most famous one is:

Kristen McKay: Why are you doing this to us?

Dollface: Because you were home.

Scare Rating: 8.5/10. Never looking out of my windows at night again.

4. Psycho (1960)

My mom introduced this to me about a year ago. Before watching this movie I had seen a little of the spin off television series named Bates Motel. I wasn’t surprised to find that the movie was in black and white since the iconic scene of the woman getting stabbed in the shower. Even though I had heard of the movie, the ending plot twist really caught me off guard and made the movie. This was a super impactful and iconic movie that the line “We all go a little mad sometimes” was also referenced in the movie Scream which was number 10 on my rankings!

Scare Rating: 4/10 uncomfy uncomfy uncomfyyyy.

 

 

3. Nightmare on Elm street (1984)

The concept of this movie is possibly one of the most creative I’ve seen for the time period that it was made. In the film, they use different events and phrases that set up cliché’s in future horror movies. The main antagonist is named Freddy Krueger. His whole character is based around being able to kill people in their dreams and he is known for his iconic character design. He wears a fedora hat, a green and red sweater, has burnt skin and obtains an iconic glove with knives for fingers. Yeah, freaky I know. He usually likes to play around with his victims like a cat and mouse dynamic which really makes my skin crawl. Its intriguing to me to see how the protagonists try to avoid sleeping in order to get away from Freddy. They try caffeine, pills, and other things. They all seem to fail though. Sleep is inevitable and that’s the scariest part. There is some backstory around the character of Freddy Krueger but I think that you should watch the movies to figure it out!

Scare rating: 7/10. No sleep for me </3

 

2.  Friday The 13th (1980)

This is one of the most popular horror movies if not THE most popular of all time. If you haven’t at least heard of Friday The 13th, Jason Voorhees, or his iconic hockey mask you have been living under a rock. This franchise has twelve slasher films, a television series, novels, comic books, video games, and tie‑in merchandise. I actually bought the Friday The 13th game this year. Anyways, if you haven’t heard of this film I’ll summarize it really quickly.  Jason Voorhees is a hockey masked serial killer that preys on.. active.. teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake. I really loved the lore and all of the plot twists that occupy these movies. I definitely recommend them!

Scare Rating: 3/10. Its an amazing classic, but not the scariest I have seen. 

 

 

1. Halloween (1978)

Finally! I’m so excited to talk about this movie. My Mother and I share a love for this movie; its both of our favorites. We have Michael Myers’s mask and outfit in our Halloween storage boxes. Speaking of Halloween, the movie takes place on October 31st. This movie isn’t cheesy nor is it a funny spin off like the title would have you believe. Halloween is about a serial murderer by the name of Michael Myers. His main goal is to kill off his entire family because it brought him inner peace. In the opening scene of the movie,  a younger Michael is seen murdering his older sister, Judith Myers, and then brought in by the police to be ultimately sent to a mental institution. The primary protagonist of the series is Laurie Strode, Michael’s unknown younger biological sister. When Laurie was only a baby, she was left out on the street, eventually being adopted by the Strode family. This protected her from Michael for the first decade of her life, but Michael soon found out about his abandoned sister and targeted her for his final victim.  Halloween was THE movie that set off the babysitter trope for other horror movies. His character wears a mechanic’s navy jump suit and a pale face mask with brown hair on the top. He uses a sharp kitchen knife for a weapon as well as whatever else he can find if he doesn’t have access to one. He walks in a slow and calm manner, including perfect posture as he does his killings. He also has incredible strength. Gosh I love this movie, and even the more recent add-ons to the series were just really cool! They even included the same actress for Laurie as well, Jamie Lee Curtis! All together, this is just my absolute favorite classic horror movie series! 

Scare Rating: 6/10. Don’t ask me to babysit your kids.

 

That’s the end of the list everyone! I appreciate your reading and waiting for this part! I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to leave a comment about your top ten or what you think about mine! Keep your eye out for my blogs in October! I’ll be revisiting horror themes! See ya!

Top Ten Classic Horror Movies and Why I Love Each One. Part One.

     Hello again friends! Welcome back to my top tens. This week we’ll be looking at the first part of my top ten favorite classic horror movies! If you know me personally you would know that with my writing I prefer to write in the genres of horror, psychological, suspense, thrillers and things in that general category. My love for writing about those things sprouted from my mother and I’s love for horror movies and Halloween. Even when my friends come over to my house, I usually like to introduce them to a favorite horror movie of mine. Gosh, putting together this list was hard just by itself. I rearranged them so many times, I was lucky enough to finally get to a set arrangement. There will be a scare rating at the end of each segment from not really scary to pee your pants scary. Anyways, I’ll just get started. As always in my top tens I will be biased since these are MY top tens.

!!!!SPOILER AND CONTENT WARNING!!!!

10. Scream (1996)

Scream was my favorite horror movie for a long time. I just loved the stereotypical predictability of it. The characters were enjoyable too. The whole movie didn’t consist of just comedy or just horror. It was a good balance of both which is the reason why I believe that this is one of the most iconic horror movies. I definitely recommend this movie for beginner horror movie enthusiasts. The movie in general was entertaining to watch and it got a few good scares in there, not to mention the plot twist of which I will not spoil. The concept and ideas behind the killer’s motive added a bit of spice to the movie that really made me latch onto it. It was actually inspired by a real-life killing spree that sent an idyllic Florida town into a panic. Ghostface, the antagonist, is my all time favorite horror movie villain even though the movie itself is no longer my top favorite. He appears in video games and the same outfit was used throughout the whole series. He even has merchandise like pins, figures (hehe I have a figure of him) costumes, masks, props, shirts, and even some fanfictions/novels.

Scare rating: 3/10. Did not pee my pants.

 

9. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

I was alone when I watched this for the first time. It made me scared to close my eyes, and to keep them open. I still remember the way I didn’t get up from the couch until my Dad got home from work.  It’s primarily about a small group of people doing a homestyle film surrounding a local legend of the Blair Witch. Things go wrong as they do in all horror movies, but this one is really slow-burn. It doesn’t jump right into the scares. It takes it slow and creates a very unsettling atmosphere. 

Scare Rating: 7/10. Stuck to couch for hours..

 

8.  The Ring  (2002)

Okay, the concept of this movie really caught my attention. Not only did the director perfectly execute this interesting concept, they added in extra plot twists and hidden messages which really make the experience more enjoyable for me. Throughout the whole movie they have this film like color over the screen, very similar to Twilight. This filter over the screen really adds to the atmosphere of the depressing situation. The main antagonist of the series, Samara, is a very iconic character as well. You may see prank videos online using samara’s character traits like long wet black hair covering her face, pale sickly skin, a dirty white nightgown and bare feet. 

Scare Rating:  6/10.  ~sEvEN dAyS~

 

7. Amityville Horror (1979)

I watched this movie a long time ago, so, my memory of it might make it seem like it was better than it actually is. This movie was based on a true story, and it depicts something very close to the actual events. They remade this movie in 2005 starring Ryan Reynolds. I like them both, but I prefer the 1979 version because the definition isn’t high which gives in a more immersive atmosphere. In the movie, the father figure falls deeper into madness the longer they stay in their new home. He eventually starts killing animals, and then that violence leads to… other things. 

Scare Rating: 5/10. Decently scary. 

 

6. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

  Along with some other movies on this list, Texas Chainsaw Massacre was lightly based on the true killings of serial killer Ed Gein. I was a bit younger when I watched this for the first time, and when I say I was disturbed, I REALLY mean disturbed. The content of this movie has the perfect balance of actual scares, gore, and unsettling atmosphere. It always sent a sense of worry and anticipation through my body almost the whole movie. This wasn’t any regular slasher movie, this one was different. Just the idea that the concept of the movie could very easily become real is one of the biggest scare factors in my opinion. 

Scare Rating: 8/10. Nightmare fuel for weeks..

 

 That’s all for this week guys! Keep an eye out for part two next week to finally see my top five! Feel free to comment your top ten or guesses to my top five! Have a nice day and see you next time! 

Top Ten Bo Burnham Songs From “Inside” and the Lyrical Genius Behind Each One.

Hello! If you’re a Bo Burnham fan just like myself, you would know that his most recent special was probably the most musically diverse works of them all. If you haven’t seen or heard of the special, PLEASE go watch it. You can find it on Netflix and probably some other sites wink wink. Anyways, I decided that for my first blog I would rank my personal top ten songs from the special here. This blog will be biased due to my love of this special, which means that my interpretations and opinions will be included.  Enjoy!

10. “Sh!t”

Okay, listen to me here, the comedic aspect of this song is absolutely amazing. A song about feeling like c0mplete garbage, but has this happy and sarcastic tone to it makes the song come together for me. I rate the jam-ability of this song is a 9 out of 10. Obviously everyone has those days where they… you know, feel like… the title, which gives this masterpiece a sense of reliability. A verse of this song was also sang by a famous Minecraft twitch streamer and YouTuber that goes by the name TommyInnit. This definitely boosted this song’s popularity.

My Favorite Verse: “Are you feeling what I’m feeling?
I haven’t had a shower in the last nine days (ah, ah)
Staring at the ceiling and waiting for this feeling go away
But it won’t go away!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn8TL12lXR0&list=OLAK5uy_k90oyL9rMAHPNupVRm4P3Ed2zBJrKAbT8&index=13

9. “Comedy”

This one’s reasoning to be placed here should be pretty obvious. Bo sings and shares about his feeling towards wanting to help the world in some way during this pandemic. Though, its not strictly about the pandemic. It contains some ideas about systematic oppression and his own self doubt. On the other hand, these deep meanings are overshadowed with comedic punches like “the world needs direction from a white guy like me.” 

My favorite verse: “I know what I’ve got to do, healing the world with comedy making a literal difference metaphorically.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3byzgVCdRSw&list=OLAK5uy_k90oyL9rMAHPNupVRm4P3Ed2zBJrKAbT8&index=2

8. “30” 

       This one kind of gives me anxiety about getting older. Bo talks about how he feels about turning 30 years old. He sings about how active he used to be and he compares his life to others his age and feels that same sense of self doubt that really makes me feel for him. He also brings in a darker aspects as well. Though, in this special Bo has been really good about covering the depressing parts of the song with jokes and funny lines. 

My favorite verse: “my stupid friends are having stupid children”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n57aQQsQiwc&list=OLAK5uy_k90oyL9rMAHPNupVRm4P3Ed2zBJrKAbT8&index=11

 

7. “problematic”

      I love this song in particular just because of how Bo talks about the small and big things that he’s done when he was younger and his life when he was that age that can be considered problematic. He talks about how he wants people to hold him accountable for his actions. That’s what the whole song is about. One of the biggest segments of the song is about how he dressed up as Aladdin for Halloween when he was a kid. He kind of has a mini crisis and panic about what to do with the costume that is now in his mothers attic. Towards the end of the song he keeps repeating about how sorry he is, but again, this song isn’t one of those sad toned ones. He definitely has a skill in making more serious subjects sound comedic.

My favorite verse: “I’m problematic (he’s a problem)”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsTG1ETKkHo&list=OLAK5uy_k90oyL9rMAHPNupVRm4P3Ed2zBJrKAbT8&index=10

 

6. “Look whose inside again”

This song is one of the only ones that is sang seriously, and is about serious subject matter. In this song, Bo talks about how he kind of felt trapped inside of a room. He wanted to be funny, he wanted to make jokes, but he felt like he was encaged in a box. He talks about things that he did to try to cope with that feeling as well. Later in the song he sings “Well, Well, look who’s inside again” meaning that he now feels placed back in that room. That box. Or maybe that’s just how I interpret this song. It really makes me feel for him, and everyone else who has experienced that type of feeling.  Although this one lacks the comedic aspect, it really has the power to impact people. 

My favorite Verse: “Went out to look for a reason to hide again. Well, well, buddy you found it, now come out with your hands up we’ve got you surrounded”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3FnqD1UqwM&list=OLAK5uy_k90oyL9rMAHPNupVRm4P3Ed2zBJrKAbT8&index=9

 

5. “Don’t Wanna Know”

We’re going to start getting more into the meaning full songs as we get higher on the list. In the special, this song starts during the intermission. He asks how his watchers are feeling and if they like the show. He asks if its boring or if he has our attention. After each question he says he doesn’t want to know. I think this symbolizes how he is doubtful of his own importance and the acceptance of his work. He says he doesn’t want to know because he would rather not know anything than hear something negative. 

My favorite verse: “Do I have your attention? Yes or no? I bet I’d guess the answer but I don’t wanna know”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APGBRDeqsSI&list=OLAK5uy_k90oyL9rMAHPNupVRm4P3Ed2zBJrKAbT8&index=12

 

4. “Goodbye” 

        “Goodbye” is the last song, and one of the most vulnerable ones on the whole special. The ending. It contains a lot symbolism and is one of the more sad ones. There are a few comedic lines but the whole song revolves around something more serious. It has a sense of many different aspects of his personal issues. For example, he sings about how he thinks he’ll be stuck in this “box” forever, even when he’s irrelevant and broke. The pressure of this whole special. The pressure he’s had to endure to even reenter the comedic environment. This special had been distracting him for almost a year and half. He doesn’t really want it to end, he’s afraid of what his life will be after it. 

My favorite verse: “I’m slowly losing power, has it only been an hour?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA9deCtUNGM&list=OLAK5uy_k90oyL9rMAHPNupVRm4P3Ed2zBJrKAbT8&index=19

3. “Welcome To The Internet”

On the surface, this song just goes through some of the contents of the internet and some things you can find there. Though, like every other song on this special, it contains an undertone. Internet addiction and its affects on our brains. He takes on a villain-like voice, narrating from the internet’s perspective and talks to the listener as if he did this on purpose. “It did all the things we designed it to do… now look at you.”

My favorite verse: “Apathy’s a tragedy and boredom is a crime”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1BneeJTDcU&list=OLAK5uy_k90oyL9rMAHPNupVRm4P3Ed2zBJrKAbT8&index=15

2. “That Funny Feeling”

Nostalgia. Nostalgia is the biggest feeling that I get from this song. It feels cozy. It gives me campfire vibes, yet its also mostly nostalgia from quarantine, which is something I think we can all agree that we don’t want to go back to. During the verses between the choruses Bo sings about different events and some internet trends that went on during the past. 

My favorite verse: “The surgeon generals’ pop-up shop, Robert Iger’s face
Discount Etsy agitprop, Bugles’ take on race. Female Colonel Sanders, easy answers, civil war.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPB6u1BqZqU&list=OLAK5uy_k90oyL9rMAHPNupVRm4P3Ed2zBJrKAbT8&index=17

1. “All Eyes On Me”

This is one of the more straightforward songs in terms of theme and subject matter, but in my opinion this is the most meaningful song. From what I hear in the song, it’s about Bo’s anxiety, the pressure he holds onto and how he describes that sinking feeling. Even the title of the song speaks out about the surrounded, paranoid feeling he gets. I believe that there is some dialogue with himself when he sings not just when the actual dialogue comes in during the middle of the song. During the speaking segment Bo talks about his five year break from doing his performances due to the panic attacks he had on stage. He asks for people to pray for him. I don’t necessarily think that this is a cry for help, but more of a way for him to let everything out. A coping mechanism. 

My favorite verse: “You say the ocean’s rising like I give a sh!t
You say the whole world’s ending, honey, it already did
You’re not gonna slow it, Heaven knows you tried
Got it? Good, now get inside”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rx_p3NW7gQ&list=OLAK5uy_k90oyL9rMAHPNupVRm4P3Ed2zBJrKAbT8&index=18

 

Thank you for reading this far! Feel free to leave your top ten songs in the comments and maybe something that I missed when reading into the songs!