Horror Films I Must See: A Bucket List

I have always been around horror cinema.

I remember hearing radio spots for the original "Child's Play" on the boom box my parents used to keep on in my bedroom before I went to sleep. That usually set my bedtime back a good hour or two.

I vividly recall sitting curled up on the couch as a seven year old with my equally traumatized four-year-old sister as my mother held Saturday matinees of "The Exorcist" while my Pops was at work. To this day, I can't trust an elderly woman with an Italian accent.

Watching Svengoolie host such classic films as "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" or "The Incredible Shrinking Man" with my Pops on Saturday nights was always a highlight of my childhood, up through my teenage years.

My grandmother let my sister and I watch "Poltergeist" on a rainy Sunday afternoon at her house so long as we didn't tell my Ma and Pops. Of course we did! There was no way my sis was going to sleep with dolls in her room after seeing that creepy ass clown attack that little dude in his bedroom and I'll be damned if I was going to go anywhere NEAR a muddy trench after finding out that there was a great chance it was full of half rotted corpses.

To this day, my mother and I still make a point of trying to see every new horror film in theaters. My grandmother is still good for a few horror rentals each year, so long as it isn't too late at night ("Oh, Jesus..this is ridiculous.. I'm going to bed..."). My Pops is always down for a good old fashioned Universal horror. My sister, God bless her, still hasn't mastered the technique of bravely walking down a dark hallway.

I've watched a ton of horror flicks in my day, yet I'm ashamed to admit I've yet to see some classic horror films. But the first step of recovery is admitting your flaws. So here goes- my list of horror films I absolutely must see before 2013 comes around... If, of course, the world doesn't end. (C'mon, President Danny Glover would NEVER lie to us!)



(In no particular order)

The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Alice, Sweet Alice
Aliens
Alligator
Altered States
The Bad Seed
Basket Case
The Beyond
The Howling
Ginger Snaps
The Host
House Of Dark Shadows
Let's Scare Jessica To Death
Noferatu (Werner Herzog version)
The Man Who Laughs
Martin
Martyrs
The Masque Of The Red Death
May
Near Dark
Plan 9 From Outer Space
Race With The Devil
Q
Repulsion
The Tenant
'Salem's Lot
Suspiria
Silent Scream
Session 9
Tales From The Crypt
Tales From The Hood
Uzumaki
Vampyres
Zombie


Please don't judge me. Just support me in my journey to happiness and success.