This is the "monster" most people tell me these days that they are most afraid of.
The filmography and annotations are the work of Tony Rosetti, October 2002.
Psycho (1960) --
Hitchcock's most famous movie, the shocker that still keeps people away from showers. Janet Leigh is a woman on the run who befriends Mama's boy hotel clerk Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). What is Norman's sinister secret? Will Vera Miles find her sister? And just where is Mrs. Bates? With John Gavin, Martin Balsam. 109 min.
Tower of Evil (1972) -- decapitations at a deserted lighthouse.
Carrie (1976) --
The classic horror film from director Brian DePalma and writer Stephen King stars Sissy Spacek as a tormented high school student who learns she has psychic powers, and uses them in a bloody campaign of vengeance. Also stars Nancy Allen, John Travolta, P.J. Soles and Piper Laurie.
John Carpenter's groundbreaking shocker that opened the floodgates for hundreds of (mostly inferior) imitators stills packs a scare-raising punch. Fifteen years after being placed in an asylum for killing his sister on Halloween, maniacal Michael Myers escapes and returns to his hometown in search of new victims. Jamie Lee Curtis (her film debut), Donald Pleasence, Nancy Loomis and P.J. Soles star. 93 min.
The one, the only, the original! Many years after a rash of deaths, scenic Camp Crystal Lake reopens, complete with young, naive, sex-hungry counselors...and a maniacal killer. And who's this Jason they keep talking about? Adrienne King, Betsy Palmer, Kevin Bacon, Ari Lehman star. 95 min.
Maniac (1980) -- female scalp collection in New York.
Friday the 13th, Part 2 (1981) -- more camp killings from Jason.
Friday the 13th, Part 3 (1982) -- teens still insist on camping.
Mountaintop Motel Massacre (1983) -- your "last resort." Get it?
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) -- yeah, right.
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) --
The debut of Ginsu-gloved dream demon Freddy Krueger, Wes Craven's chilling depiction of how Freddy terrorizes the sleeping teens of Springfield is a non-stop shocker that's a "cut" above the rest. With Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Johnny Depp and Robert Englund as Krueger. 92 min.
Stagefright (1987) -- asylum escapee pans musical based on his acting life.
Shocker (1989) --
Nightmare on Elm Street creator Wes Craven brings a new unstoppable killer to the screen in this supercharged chiller. Mass murderer Horace Pinker survives the chair by becoming an electrical force that zips along power lines and possesses people's bodies. Jolting horror tale also includes some neat swipes at TV; Mitch Pileggi, Michael Murphy, Peter Berg star. 111 min.
The third film in Oscar history to win all five top awards, director Jonathan Demme's harrowing cinematic thriller stars Jodie Foster as an FBI trainee who engages in a mental duel with jailed serial killer Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter (the understatedly sinister Anthony Hopkins) to gain information needed to track down another murderer. With Scott Glenn, Ted Levine. 118 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby 5.1 and stereo, French, Spanish; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; documentary; deleted scenes; "making of" featurette; outtakes; photo gallery; booklet; theatrical trailers; TV spots; more.
Creepy adaptation of Stephen King's novel starring Kathy Bates as the title character, a Maine woman suspected of killing her employer. When estranged daughter Jennifer Jason Leigh returns to Bates' home, she begins questioning the events that led to the death of the father she adored 15 years earlier. Christopher Plummer, Judy Parfitt also star. 131 min.
Director Wes Craven's slyly self-referential shocker follows a group of teenage horror film fans in a small California town who are systematically slaughtered by a mysterious murderer. Newscaster Courteney Cox thinks this killer also did in Neve Campbell's mother the year before, even though the supposed murderer is behind bars. Skeet Ulrich, David Arquette and Drew Barrymore co-star. Also included is a special "making of" featurette. 126 min.
Stephen King's bloody blizzard epic is set on an island off the coast of Maine where the residents must face twin evils: a devastating snowstorm and the arrival of a murderous stranger with psychic powers and a deadly agenda. Trying to stop the killer is Timothy Daly as a butcher who doubles as the town's lawman. With Colm Feore, Debrah Farentino. 248 min.
Ripper: Letter from Hell (2000) -- traumatized forensics student reliving Ripper murders.
From Hell (2001) -- Johnny Depp in London 1888 for the Ripper murders.
Hannibal (2001) --
It's been 10 years since diabolical doctor Hannibal Lecter fled the U.S., settling into a comfortable life as an art library curator in Florence, Italy. But now a vengeance-seeking millionaire, the hideously deformed survivor of a Lecter attack, is ready to lure him back to America, and plans to use FBI agent Clarice Starling as his bait. Director Ridley Scott's intense sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs" stars Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Ray Liotta, Giancarlo Giannini and Gary Oldman. 131 min. on two discs. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby 5.1, DTS and Dolby Surround, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; audio commentary by Scott; "making of" featurettes; deleted scenes; alternate scenes; theatrical trailers; scene access.
Red Dragon (2002)