A lot of the films I would like to see in the collection have already been mentioned including Don’t Look Now, The Shinning, Carrie, and The Thing. But I would like to see some, not quite sure if his work qualifies as horror, David Lynch films. Blue Velvet and Eraserhead would be great.
I also think that The Wickerman should be included.
Last House on the Left, Dead Alive, Scanners (not a horror film), Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Day of the Dead, although they have way too many editions out there.
I can’t think of too many- Halloween is still one of the best horror movies ever, and Halloween 3: Season of the Witch is just as, if not better. And if thats to be included might as well release the Stuff and They Live.
Angelo I hope your not talking about the remake. The first one is not american though and neither is Dead Alive but there both very good.
The Shining – we need some Kubrick in the collection.
I’d also agree with The Fly.
Ones I like, but would not expect to see on Criterion include Blair Witch, and Hard Candy.
You have to include “Maniac”- which has a great chase sequence in the New York subway, not to mention great F/x. “Henry: Portrait of A Serial Killer” is just bleak as all hell, but ranks as a horrible movie stripped of pretense and can really be described as a proper horror in the truest sense of the word. “Devil’s Rejects” is another film that carries the courage of its convictions. The original “Dawn of the Dead” could use Criterion coming from a different angle. “Shivers”, “Rabid” or “The Brood” could also do with shaking up with special editions. Who couldn’t forget “The Stepfather”, criminally unavailable on region 1, but has a crappy bare-bones release on region 2-with the remake opening next year? De Palma’s “Phantom of the Paradise” is a nice curio, unseen for many years. And, why not “Cannibal Holocaust”?, the grandaddy of Grindhouse, or the excellent “Blood Sucking Freaks”, or “Basket Case”? The “Exorcist III” could do with a Criterion reevalutation; It’s an underrated mind-screw… maybe “Jacob’s Ladder” or “Cat People” (the 1982 remake)…. the list goes on.
Horror movies don’t really…work for me. I don’t find them frightening at all for some reason, I just end up laughing at them. However, there are a few exceptions. “Hard Candy” by David Slade is a must, for sure. Ellen Page’s performance is ridiculously intense. Also, David Lynch’s “Inland Empire” absolutely needs to be a Criterion release. It was one of the only convincingly scary movies I’ve ever seen.
Definitely The Fly (HONESTLY!), Carrie, Repulsion, The Evil Dead, The Devil’s Rejects, Don’t Look Now, Cannibal Holocaust and Eraserhead.
Oh, and I have to second Inland Empire!
Chopping Mall
Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, The Blair Witch Project, Rosemary’s Baby, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist, John Carpenter’s The Thing
Simply put…John Carpenter’s The Thing and Cronenberg’s The Fly
Simply put…John Carpenter’s The Thing and Cronenberg’s The Fly
Joe-The movie you are referring to is The Killer Shrews(actually badly disguised dogs). Repulsion is a great movie but a British release. I would go with Rosemarys Baby, Exorcist, Frailty, The Stepfather, Invasion of the Body Snatchers,The Fly, The Thing, Carrie. Not sure if Don’t Look Now is an American or British film. Hate Blair Witch Project-it did nothing for me. 90 minutes of looking at someones shoes. With a flat ending.
love David Lynch but have watched Inland Empire twice now and can’t warm up to it.
Once upon a time George Romero made other things besides zombie movies and his Martin would make a good Criterion selection. It’s a terrific, sad little movie about a would be vampire who bares his soul on a radio talk show. It just never got the attention or love of the Living Dead movies.
While I think NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. DAWN OF THE DEAD and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE are all great films, they’ve also been given pretty much definitive presentations on DVD, and I’m not sure Criterion needs to step forward for an upgrade. I do think that the definitive version of HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER is still waiting to be released, and I’d like to see Criterion take a stab at it. I wouldn’t mind a better version of Jim Van Bebber’s THE MANSON FAMILY, either. And I’ll join the chorus on ROSEMARY’S BABY, a terrific movie that hasn’t been given an especially strong DVD release.
None.
I’d love to see The Shining and Hard Candy. Those seem likely.
Maybe JACOB’S LADDER.
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE
CANDYMAN
I agree that NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD have been pretty well mined for special editions and I don’t see any benefit to Criterion releasing another set.
The Hughes Brothers’ overlooked masterpiece “From Hell”
Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In my mind, it is the best slasher film to date. The visceral brutality and documentary style worked very well, I thought, to convey terror.
The …of the Dead series would make a cool box set, minus the dreadful Diary of the Dead, which seemed like a big “fuck you” from George Romero to his fans.
Martin is good but is it worth a Criterion release? Personally I already have it so I wouldn’t buy it again, thats just me.
Again, personally I like Don’t Mess With My Sister better than I Spit on your Grave. “Spit” is a bit too sadistic for me, I like that every dog has its day in the film and they get theirs, but I find the rape scenes way too drawn out and quite nasty for my taste. And I don’t find anything in Meir Zarchi’s directing to grant either film a Criterion release.
Deathproof , if you choose to call horror genre, for me its more of a thriller though.
Blair Witch Project, Texas chainsaw massacre (1970’s version) and My bloody Valentine
It’d be cool if Criterion was the one to give the theatrical presentation of Grindhouse an American DVD release.
hmmmm… While I do love horror films, and if they are interesting and innovative enough I definitely think that the Criterion Collection should hop on giving them the release that they deserve, yet I don’t really feel as if there are many newer American horror films which are that innovative, only newer horror films which re-hash the interesting and innovative filmic techniques utilized in the past when no one (meaning the main stream) was looking, or that have been forgotten. While I have found myself enjoying Zombie’s (Rob) films, even he would admit that they are almost complete homage to horror cinema history, which is cool and has made for some entertaining and (in some ways) interesting films, but far from ground breaking. And, thins may be a controversial thing to say, but while I understand the impact of the Blair Witch Project socially as well as upon the cinema, I can’t help but think that (as it has been said before) they stole the technique from Cannibal Holocaust, which I think was a much better and more shocking film. But, with that said my vote goes to 28 Days Later, I think that while it definitely plays into a genre tradition, it was extremely well executed, with beautiful cinematography, interesting character development, and an intriguing twist on the tradition of ‘zombies,’ because even though I fully understand that this is NOT a zombie film, it very much plays to the zombie traditions. so there’s my 2 cents.
I think if The Blair Witch Project got a criterion release it would be interesting. It might be a good think for the makers of that film to discuss how their simple marketing technique made it one of the most profitable independent films of all time. It’s not even a bad film, at least to me. It should be regarded as one of the most original horror works in any country’s library.
Cannibal Holocaust and Candyman would be great! Good suggestions.
I really want early DePalma movies on Criterion. The Sisters DVD is a fave of mine (even if it’s lacking in special features) so would love to see Dressed to Kill or Phantom of the Paradise (which is kind of a horror comedy, right?) as part of the collection.
Agreed about Kubrick (besides Spartacus) on Criterion, but with WB having his shiz on the lockdown, I don’t see that ever happening.
I think a Criterion box set of slasher films would be good—be it the first few Friday the 13th’s or something else. Kinda like Monsters and Madmen, only trashier and more fun. I like when Criterion gets a little dirty.
“I like it when the criterion gets a little dirty.”
Great quote!
phil
“The Addiction”. A great modern vampire film.