John Charet’s Favorite Horror Films: Part 1 of 3

Happy Halloween 2019 everybody. Since I have been so busy lately, I have decided to gather up a large number (though it is not a complete list of horror films I consider to be great) of my favorite horror films from my favorite directors and paste it on here in the alphabetical order of it’s respected director’s last name. Happy Halloween dear readers and enjoy my results below 🙂

  1. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) (Dir: Robert Aldrich)
  2. Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) (Dir: Robert Aldrich)
  3. The Skin I Live In (2011) (Dir: Pedro Almodovar)
  4. Images (1972) (Dir: Robert Altman)
  5. Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954) (Dir: Kenneth Anger)
    (Short Cinema)
  6. Fireworks (1947) (Dir: Kenneth Anger)
    (Short Cinema)
  7. Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969) (Dir: Kenneth Anger)
    (Short Cinema)
  8. Deep Red (1975) (Dir: Dario Argento)
  9. Tenebrae (1982) (Dir: Dario Argento)
  10. Suspiria (1977) (Dir: Dario Argento)
  11. Opera (1987) (Dir: Dario Argento)
  12. Inferno (1980) (Dir: Dario Argento)
  13. Phenomena (1985) (Dir: Dario Argento)
  14. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) (Dir: Dario Argento)
  15. Kill, Baby… Kill! (1966) (Dir: Mario Bava)
  16. Blood and Black Lace (1964) (Dir: Mario Bava)
  17. Lisa and the Devil (1973) (Dir: Mario Bava)
  18. A Bay of Blood (1971) (Dir: Mario Bava)
    (a.k.a. Twitch of the Death Nerve)
  19. Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970) (Dir: Mario Bava)
  20. Planet of the Vampires (1965) (Dir: Mario Bava)
  21. Black Sabbath (1963) (Dir: Mario Bava)
    (Anthology Film)
  22. Black Sunday (1960) (Dir: Mario Bava)
  23. The Whip and the Body (1963) (Dir: Mario Bava)
  24. Hercules in the Haunted World (1961) (Dir: Mario Bava)
  25. Hour of the Wolf (1968) (Dir: Ingmar Bergman)
  26. Near Dark (1987) (Dir: Kathryn Bigelow)
  27. The Host (2006) (Dir: Bong Joon-ho)
  28. Un Chien Andalou (1929) (Dir: Luis Bunuel)
    (Short Cinema)
  29. White of the Eye (1987) (Dir: Donald Cammell)
  30. Demon Seed (1977) (Dir: Donald Cammell)
  31. The Thing (1982) (Dir: John Carpenter)
  32. Halloween (1978) (Dir: John Carpenter)
  33. They Live (1988) (Dir: John Carpenter)
  34. In the Mouth of Madness (1994) (Dir: John Carpenter)
  35. The Fog (1980) (Dir: John Carpenter)
  36. Prince of Darkness (1987) (Dir: John Carpenter)
  37. Someone’s Watching Me! (1978) (Dir: John Carpenter)
    (TV Film)
  38. Vampires (1998) (Dir: John Carpenter)
  39. Cigarette Burns (2005) (Dir: John Carpenter)
    (Masters of Horror Episode)
    (Cable/Television)
  40. Diabolique (1955) (Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot)
  41. God Told Me To (1976) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
  42. Q (1982) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
  43. It’s Alive (1974) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
  44. The Stuff (1985) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
  45. Pick Me Up (2006) (Dir: Larry Cohen)
    (Masters of Horror Episode)
    (Cable/Television)
  46. Videodrome (1983) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
  47. The Fly (1986) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
  48. Dead Ringers (1988) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
  49. The Brood (1979) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
  50. eXistenZ (1999) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
  51. The Dead Zone (1983) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
  52. Scanners (1981) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
  53. Rabid (1977) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
  54. Shivers (1975) (Dir: David Cronenberg)
    (a.k.a. They Came from Within)
  55. Homecoming (2005) (Dir: Joe Dante)
    (Masters of Horror Episode)
    (Cable/Television)
  56. Heart on a Chain (1991) (Dir: Joe Dante)
    (Episode of Eerie, Indiana)
    (Television)
  57. Foreverware (1991) (Dir: Joe Dante)
    (Episode of Eerie, Indiana)
    (Television)
  58. The Losers (1991) (Dir: Joe Dante)
    (Episode of Eerie, Indiana)
    (Television)
  59. The Hole in the Head Gang (1992) (Dir: Joe Dante)
    (Episode of Eerie, Indiana)
    (Television)
  60. The Retainer (1991) (Dir: Joe Dante)
    (Episode of Eerie, Indiana)
    (Television)
  61. The Devil’s Backbone (2001) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
  62. Cronos (1993) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
  63. Crimson Peak (2015) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
  64. Mimic (1997) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
  65. Blade II (2002) (Dir: Guillermo del Toro)
  66. Trouble Every Day (2001) (Dir: Claire Denis)
  67. The Fury (1978) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
  68. Carrie (1976) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
  69. Raising Cain (1992) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
  70. Phantom of the Paradise (1974) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
  71. Sisters (1972) (Dir: Brian De Palma)
  72. Vampyr (1932) (Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer)
  73. The Exorcist (1973) (Dir: William Friedkin)
  74. Bug (2006) (Dir: William Friedkin)
  75. On a Deadman’s Chest (1992) (Dir: William Friedkin)
    (Episode of Tales from the Crypt)
    (Cable/Television)
  76. The Beyond (1981) (Dir: Lucio Fulci)
  77. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) (Dir: Werner Herzog)
  78. Cutting Cards (1990) (Dir: Walter Hill)
    (Episode of Tales from the Crypt)
    (Cable/Television)
  79. The Man Who Was Death (1989) (Dir: Walter Hill)
    (Episode of Tales from the Crypt)
    (Cable/Television)
  80. Deadline (1991) (Dir: Walter Hill)
    (Episode of Tales from the Crypt)
    (Cable/Television)
  81. The Birds (1963) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
  82. Psycho (1960) (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
  83. Godzilla (1954) (Dir: Ishiro Honda)
  84. The War of the Gargantuas (1966) (Dir: Ishiro Honda)
  85. Matango (1963) (Dir: Ishiro Honda)
  86. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
  87. Salem’s Lot (1979) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
    (TV Miniseries)
  88. Poltergeist (1982) (Dir: Tobe Hooper)
  89. Legend of the Mountain (1979) (Dir: King Hu)
  90. Horrors of Malformed Men (1969) (Dir: Teruo Ishii)
  91. Shogun’s Joys of Torture (1968) (Dir: Teruo Ishii)
    (Anthology Film)
  92. Dead Alive (1992) (Dir: Peter Jackson)
    (a.k.a. Braindead)
  93. Bad Taste (1987) (Dir: Peter Jackson)
  94. The Dead Don’t Die (2019) (Dir: Jim Jarmusch)
  95. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) (Dir: Philip Kaufman)
  96. Kwaidan (1964) (Dir: Masaki Kobayashi)
  97. Perfect Blue (1997) (Dir: Satoshi Kon)
    (Anime)
  98. The Shining (1980) (Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
  99. Pulse (2001) (Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
  100. Cure (1997) (Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
  101. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) (Dir: David Lynch)
  102. Eraserhead (1977) (Dir: David Lynch)
  103. Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2002) (Dir: Guy Maddin)
  104. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) (Dir: Rouben Mamoulian)
  105. Blind Beast (1969) (Dir: Yasuzo Masumura)
  106. May (2002) (Dir: Lucky McKee)
  107. The Woman (2011) (Dir: Lucky McKee)
  108. The Woods (2006) (Dir: Lucky McKee)
  109. Sick Girl (2006) (Dir: Lucky McKee)
    (Masters of Horror Episode)
    (Cable/Television)
  110. The Astronomer’s Dream (1898) (Dir: Georges Melies)
    (Short Cinema)
  111. The Bewitched Inn (1897) (Dir: Georges Melies)
    (Short Cinema)
  112. Bluebeard (1901) (Dir: Georges Melies)
    (Short Cinema)
  113. The Four Troublesome Heads (1898) (Dir: Georges Melies)
    (Short Cinema)
  114. The House of the Devil (1896) (Dir: Georges Melies)
    (a.k.a. The Haunted Castle)
    (a.k.a. The Devil’s Castle)
    (Short Cinema)
  115. A Nightmare (1896) (Dir: Georges Melies)
    (Short Cinema)
  116. Audition (1999) (Dir: Takashi Miike)
  117. Ichi the Killer (2001) (Dir: Takashi Miike)
  118. Imprint (2006) (Dir: Takashi Miike)
    (Masters of Horror)
    (Cable/Television)
  119. Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) (Dir: Paul Morrissey)
  120. Blood for Dracula (1973) (Dir: Paul Morrissey)
  121. Nosferatu (1922) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
  122. Faust (1926) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
  123. The Haunted Castle (1921) (Dir: F.W. Murnau)
  124. Empire of Passion (1978) (Dir: Nagisa Oshima)
  125. Thirst (2009) (Dir: Park Chan-wook)
  126. Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) (Dir: Pier Paolo Pasolini)
  127. The Tenant (1976) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
  128. Repulsion (1965) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
  129. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) (Dir: Roman Polanski)
  130. Peeping Tom (1960) (Dir: Michael Powell)
  131. Evil Dead II (1987) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
  132. The Evil Dead (1981) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
  133. Drag Me to Hell (2009) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
  134. Army of Darkness (1992) (Dir: Sam Raimi)
  135. The Testament of Doctor Cordelier (1959) (Dir: Jean Renoir)
    (French TV Film)
  136. The Reflecting Skin (1990) (Dir: Philip Ridley)
  137. Heartless (2009) (Dir: Philip Ridley)
  138. The Seventh Victim (1943) (Dir: Mark Robson)
  139. Isle of the Dead (1945) (Dir: Mark Robson)
  140. Bedlam (1946) (Dir: Mark Robson)
  141. The Ghost Ship (1943) (Dir: Mark Robson)
  142. Don’t Look Now (1973) (Dir: Nicolas Roeg)
  143. Dawn of the Dead (1978) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  144. Night of the Living Dead (1968) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  145. Martin (1977) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  146. Day of the Dead (1985) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  147. Land of the Dead (2005) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  148. Creepshow (1982) (Dir: George A. Romero)
    (Anthology Film)
  149. The Crazies (1973) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  150. Bruiser (2000) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  151. Diary of the Dead (2007) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  152. The Dark Half (1993) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  153. Survival of the Dead (2009) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  154. Monkey Shines (1988) (Dir: George A. Romero)
  155. The Devils (1971) (Dir: Ken Russell)
    (I watched it online)
  156. Altered States (1980) (Dir: Ken Russell)
  157. Lair of the White Worm (1988) (Dir: Ken Russell)
  158. Gothic (1986) (Dir: Ken Russell)
  159. Coraline (2009) (Dir: Henry Selick) (Animated Film)
  160. Kuroneko (1968) (Dir: Kaneto Shindo)
  161. Onibaba (1964) (Dir: Kaneto Shindo)
  162. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) (Dir: Don Siegel)
  163. The Spiral Staircase (1946) (Dir: Robert Siodmak)
  164. The Phantom Carriage (1921) (Dir: Victor Sjostrom)
  165. Zigeunerweisen (1980) (Dir: Seijun Suzuki)
  166. Little Otik (2000) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
    (a.k.a. Greedy Guts)
    (Live-Action/Animation)
  167. Lunacy (2005) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
    (Live-Action/Animation)
  168. The Pendulum, the Pit and Hope (1983) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
    (Animated Short)
  169. Down to the Cellar (1983) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
    (Animated Short)
  170. The Flat (1968) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
    (Animated Short)
  171. Manly Games (1988) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
    (Animated Short)
  172. Punch and Judy (1966) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
    (Animated Short)
  173. The Ossuary (1970) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
    (Documentary Short)
  174. The Fall of the House of Usher (1980) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
    (Animated Short)
  175. Castle of Otranto (1977) (Dir: Jan Svankmajer)
    (Animated Short)
  176. Flora (1989) (Dir: Jan Svankmaker)
    (Animated Short)
  177. House of Wax (1953) (Dir: Andre De Toth)
  178. Cat People (1942) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
  179. I Walked with a Zombie (1943) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
  180. Night of the Demon (1957) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
  181. The Leopard Man (1943) (Dir: Jacques Tourneur)
  182. The Man from Planet X (1951) (Dir: Edgar G Ulmer)
  183. The Black Cat (1934) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
  184. Bluebeard (1944) (Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer)
  185. Antichrist (2009) (Dir: Lars Von Trier)
  186. The Kingdom (1994-1997) (Dir: Lars Von Trier)
    (TV Miniseries)
  187. Epidemic (1987) (Dir: Lars Von Trier)
  188. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (Dir: James Whale)
  189. The Old Dark House (1932) (Dir: James Whale)
  190. The Invisible Man (1933) (Dir: James Whale)
  191. Frankenstein (1931) (Dir: James Whale)
  192. The Haunting (1963) (Dir: Robert Wise)
  193. The Curse of the Cat People (1944) (Dir: Robert Wise)
  194. The Body Snatcher (1945) (Dir: Robert Wise)
  195. Shaun of the Dead (2004) (Dir: Edgar Wright)
  196. Yellow (1991) (Dir: Robert Zemeckis)
    (Episode of Tales from the Crypt)
    (Cable/Television)
  197. And All Through the House (1989) (Dir: Robert Zemeckis)
    (Episode of Tales from the Crypt)
    (Cable/Television)
  198. You, Murderer (1995) (Dir: Robert Zemeckis)
    (Episode of Tales from the Crypt)
    (Cable/Television)
  199. Possession (1981) (Dir: Andrzej Zulawski)
  200. The Devil (1972) (Dir: Andrzej Zulawski)

My Favorite Takashi Miike Films

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Audition (1999) 

2.   Ichi the Killer (2001)

3.   13 Assassins (2010)

4.   Masters of Horror (2006)
4a. Episode: “Imprint”
(Cable/Television)

5.   Three… Extremes (2004)
5a. Segment: “Box”
(Anthology Film)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000)

2.   Visitor Q (2001)

3.   Dead or Alive (1999)

4.   Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)

5.   Ley Lines (1999)

6.   Blade of the Immortal (2017)

7.   Rainy Dog (1997)

8.   Fudoh: The New Generation (1996)

9.   Shinjuku Triad Society (1995)

10. Dead or Alive: Final (2002)

My Favorite King Hu Films

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   A Touch of Zen (1971)

2.   Dragon Inn (1967)

3.   Come Drink with Me (1966)

4.   The Fate of Lee Khan (1973)
(I watched it on youtube)

5.   Legend of the Mountain (1979)

6.   Raining in the Mountain (1979)
(I watched it on youtube)

7.   The Valiant Ones (1975)

Note: King Hu only partially directed The Swordsman (1990).

My Favorite Edgar Wright Films

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Shaun of the Dead (2004)

2.   Baby Driver (2017)

3.   Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

4.   Hot Fuzz (2007)

5.   The World’s End (2013)

* * * * (Out of * * * *) (Short Cinema)

1.   Grindhouse (2007)
(Fictitious Trailer: “Don’t”)
(Anthology Film)

* * * * (Out of * * * *) (Television)

1.   Spaced (1999-2001)

My Favorite John Woo Films

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Hard Boiled (1992)

2.   The Killer (1989)

3.   Bullet in the Head (1990)
(I saw it on an old VHS tape)

4.   A Better Tomorrow (1986)

5.   Red Cliff (2008)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Face/Off (1997)

2.   A Better Tomorrow II (1987)

My Favorite Wong Kar-wai Films

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   In the Mood for Love (2000)

2.   Fallen Angels (1995)

3.   Chungking Express (1994)

4.   2046 (2004)

5.   Days of Being Wild (1990)

6.   Ashes of Time (1994)

7.   Happy Together (1997)

8.   The Grandmaster (2013)

9.   My Blueberry Nights (2007)

10. As Tears Go By (1988)

My Favorite Agnes Varda Films

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Faces Places (2017)
(co-directed with JR)
(Documentary)

2.   The Gleaners and I (2000)
(Documentary)

3.   Vagabond (1985)

4.   Daguerreotypes (1976)
(Documentary)

5.   Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)

6.   Jacquot de Nantes (1991)
(I saw it on an old VHS tape)

7.   The Beaches of Agnes (2008)
(Documentary)

8.   Happiness (1965)
(no relation to the 1998 film)

9.   Cinevardaphoto (2004)
(Documentary)

10. Far from Vietnam (1967)
(co-directed with Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker and Alain Resnais)
(Documentary Anthology)

11. Mur murs (1981)
(Documentary)

12. La Pointe Courte (1955)

13. Jane B. for Agnes V. (1988)

14. Documenteur (1981)

15. One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (1977)
(I saw it on an old VHS tape)

16. Kung-Fu Master! (1988)

17. The World of Jacques Demy (1995)
(Documentary) 

18. The Young Girls Turn 25 (1993)
(Documentary)

19. The Gleaners and I: Two Years Later (2002)
(Documentary)

20. One Hundred and One Nights (1995)
(I saw it on an old VHS tape)

21. Lions Love (and… Lies) (1969)

* * * * (Out of * * * *) (Short Cinema)

1.   Cleo from 5 to 7: Remembrances and Anecdotes (2005)

2.   La cocotte d’azur (1958)
(Documentary Short)

3.   Ydessa, the Bears and etc. (2004)
(Documentary Short)

4.   Ulysse (1983)
(Documentary Short)

5.   Salut les Cubains (1971)
(Documentary Short)

6.   Along the Coast (1958)
(Documentary Short)

7.   Black Panthers (1968)
(Documentary Short)

8.   Uncle Yanco (1967)
(Documentary Short)

9.   The So-called Caryatids (1984)
(Documentary Short)

10. Elsa la rose (1966)
(Documentary Short)

11. 7p., cuis., s. de b., …a saisir (1984)

12. Diary of a Pregnant Woman (1962)

13. Women Reply (1975)
(Documentary Short)

14. You’ve Got Beautiful Stairs, You Know (1986)

15. Le lion volatil (2003)

16. The Pleasure of Love in Iran (1976)
(Documentary Short)

My Favorite Robert Wise Films

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Set-Up (1949)

2.   The Haunting (1963)

3.   The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

4.   The Curse of the Cat People (1944)

5.   The Body Snatcher (1945)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   This Could Be the Night (1957)

2.   Executive Suite (1954)

3.   Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

4.   The Andomeda Strain (1971)

My Favorite Billy Wilder Films

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Avanti! (1972)

2.   Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)

3.   Some Like It Hot (1959)

4.   Ace in the Hole (1951)

5.   Sunset Boulevard (1950)

6.   Double Indemnity (1944)

7.   Fedora (1978)

8.   The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

2.   The Major and the Minor (1942)

3.   Stalag 17 (1953)

4.   The Fortune Cookie (1966)

5.   One, Two, Three (1961)

6.   The Apartment (1960)