Halloween Countdown Top 5: Those that just missed the cut

October is here, and with that comes HALLOWEEN. This year I'll be doing, gradually, a countdown of my top 5 favourite horror films. I'd do more but I don't know whether I'd have the time. Anyway, horror is a fantastic genre, so here are a few films that just missed the cut on my all-time top 5: these films are all at the very least HIGH 4.5/5's for me, and some are really close to making my top 100 films of all-time. 

Silence of the Lambs is a film I used to absolutely adore. Come time I still love it a great deal, but there are certainly some flaws apparent in it, notably though some of the more heavyhanded scenes in terms of direction, and I'd say the third act is slightly weaker than the terrific buildup of the first two (the ending with Lecter's goodbye to Clarice is brilliant, though).

Don't Look Now is Nicholas Roeg's most effective film, with moments that genuinely terrify you to the very core, yet unlike most of his work there's also an emotional undercurrent to it all that resonates through the story of a grieving couple, most notably shown through Donald Sutherland's brilliant lead performance. It's not perfect and some of the slo-mo and effects are a bit dated, but like Silence of the Lambs the final scene is absolutely amazing.

Halloween is one of those films, like Raging Bull, I understand and completely feel the adoration to be justified. I just don't love it nearly as much as some do, though I do think it's a rather terrific atmospheric film which makes the slasher genre, one I'm not particularly fond of, quite watchable.

As does Scream, which though I don't think is a truly great film, is certainly one of the most entertaining horror films of all time. Its subversive nature doesn't always quite hit the mark, and one could argue it reaches its peak from the opening scene (which is still one of the most downright terrifying sequences in movie history), but still...I love watching it.

I don't love the finale to Night of the Hunter but I love everything before it, so it warrants a mention here as a rather compelling subversion of the Big Bad Wolf story.

Most horror comedies are a bit of a farce (in a bad way), but Shaun of the Dead is a wonderfully witty and at times rather effectively emotional take on the zombie comedy that grows on me more and more with every re-watch.

I Saw the Devil has a bit of an intrinsic flaw to me in that I found it so reprehensible to watch throughout that it took away from some of my appreciation of the film. I know, I know, it was the filmmakers intent, and I was certainly horrified by its every sequence, but I never really felt invested in the story, so to speak, because the hellish atmosphere enveloped everything. It does have an amazing leading performance by the South Korean acting maestro Choi Min-Sik.

Like I Saw the Devil, The Fly is a horror film with a great leading performance by the one and only Jeff Goldblum, and is otherwise a rather solid and engaging sci-fi take on the genre, with some beyond its time special effects. I like it a great deal, I don't love it, which is the same for Dead Ringers, another David Cronenberg psychological horror film, but both flicks are rather unforgettable watches. I need a re-watch of Videodrome though, that's for sure.

I really need a re-watch for The Thing. I'll be doing so next month, but for the timebeing it's a solid horror film with a great Ennio Morricone score, and the fact I loved The Hateful Eight so much makes me think a re-watch could bump this up. Possible future head-to-head.

The first half of Stephen King's It (1990) is amazing, think of an even better version of Stranger Things with the horror levels amped up to 10. Its second half lets it down, but the first half with the kids is some fine cinematic magic in terror.

I'd put Mulholland Drive in my top 5 if I considered it to be a horror movie, but I don't. Eraserhead is what I consider to be the only proper 'horror' film of David Lynch's I've seen. When you get down to it the film is a series of scattershot scary images, but nevertheless it works incredibly well for what it is.

Rosemary's Baby is Roman Polanski at his most stylized and excessive, and while the film's overt symbolism and downbeat nature might not work for some, it does for me entirely.

Les Diaboliques, The Haunting and Hour of the Wolf are some older horror films I really, really need to see.

I love, love, love both Nosferatu and Nosferatu the Vampyre, and I'll admit in terms of quality they're up there with some of my top 5. The thing is I need a re-watch for both, firstly, and secondly I can't decide which of the two I prefer. A future head-to-head, perhaps? As it stands I love Max Shrek as Nosferatu, but I love Werner Herzog's style of direction for the 1979 version.

I personally prefer Hitchcock when he's more 'thriller' and less 'horror', but that doesn't mean I find Psycho and The Birds to be anything less than great horror products from the Master of Suspense, even if I do prefer it more when his characters are engaged in slightly more grounded sequences of tension.



I should note that my #5 film the first one I'll cover, will be me technically cheating by putting two films in joint place: one of the most iconic horror films of the 1970s and the film directly influenced by it...

Retroactive Castings: 'The Godfather' in the 2010s, 'Inglorious Basterds' in the 1970s

The Godfather Trilogy, 2010s version directed by Quentin Tarantino

Michael Corleone (Al Pacino): Oscar Isaac

http://www.colourlessopinions.com/2015/01/most-violent-year-review-malaysia.html

What more needs to be said? Isaac in A Most Violent Year was basically 1980s Michael Corleone. They even look incredibly similar. Isaac would be very much adept at showing the gradual arc of Michael from quiet and modest young man to cold and unfeeling Godfather.

Vito Corleone (young and old, Robert de Niro and Marlon Brando): Emory Cohen and Ray Liotta

Emory Cohen would bring the quiet charm and intensity to young Vito Corleone in spades, a sort of more toned down version of his Brooklyn performance. I could've gone with just De Niro as older Vito, but instead I'll go for the nowadays criminally underrated Liotta to deliver a career-resurgence turn as the Godfather.

Sonny Corleone (James Caan): Bobby Cannavale 

Anyone who's seen Boardwalk Empire knows that Bobby's portrayal of Gyp Rossetti is absolutely a spiritual successor to Caan's work as hothead oldest brother Sonny.

Fredo Corleone (John Cazale): Macon Blair

He even looks kind of like John Cazale. Beyond that, Blair is great at playing technically reprehensible but nevertheless incredibly sympathetic characters, which would play perfectly into the role of the 'stupid' brother Fredo.

Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall): Billy Crudup

Tom's all about cool, calm collected dealings that are technically devious. Crudup's recent performance in Spotlight reminded me how good he is at being a sleazeball with style, so I'll grant him the role here.

Kay (Diane Keaton): Kelly Reilly

Kay's a bit of a thankless 'love interest' role, but Reilly's shown in the likes of Calvary and Flight that she can make something out of very little substance, so she'd be my pick here. I'd choose Carey Mulligan for the chemistry with Isaac if not for it being such a tiny role.

Connie (Talia Shire): Cristin Milioti

Milioti's a terrific blossming talent nowadays, and this would be a great role for her to shine and show of her emotional dexterity as an actress. She fits the role perfectly in terms of looks and I'd say also in terms of performance style.

Clemenza (Richard S. Castellano)/Frank Pentangeli (Michael V. Gazzo): John Polito

Preferrably the two roles would be joined together. Polito sadly passed away earlier this year, but this would've been a fantastic role for him, especially since his role in Miller's Crossing is essentially the Coen Brother's take on Pentangeli's arc in The Godfather Part II.

Jack Woltz (John Marley): Steve Buscemi

A Buscemi cameo that involves him screaming his head off to a dead horse head, what's not to like?

Captain McCulksey (Sterling Hayden): Michael Madsen

Another re-collaboration, Madsen seems to be in QT's good books again, so having him as a gruff corrupt police chief seems right up his street.

Salvatore Tessio (Abe Vigoda): Chazz Palminteri

Easy casting just in terms of fitting an actor into his usual type.

Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg): Harry Dean Stanton

It's been awhile since he's had a good role, so having him as the quietly menacing 'friend' of Michael Corleone would be a wonderful opportunity for Dean Stanton to show the world what we've been missing for quite some time.

Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia): Michael Pitt

Basically a reprise of his Boardwalk Empire turn as Jimmy Darmody, and you can't really complain about that.

Inglorious Basterds, 1970s version directed by Francis Ford Coppola

First Lieutenant Aldo 'The Apache' Raine (Brad Pitt): Bruce Dern

If Coppola were to stick with regulars, he could go with either James Caan or Robert Duvall going for comedic renditions of their turns in A Bridge Too Far and Apocalypse Now. Dern in full manic mode would be absolutely PERFECT for the role, though. He'd bring both the right amount of laughs and quirk to the role.

Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent): Jean Seberg

When watching Breathless I was supremely impressed by her ability to convey emotions wordlessly with a very particular style. A bit of Jean-Luc Godard flair wouldn't go amiss here. She might have been older than Laurent was when filming Basterds, but I do think the character could be written to be a bit older and nothing would be missing.

SS Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz): Maxmillian Schell/Max von Sydow

Depending on what sort of film Coppola would be going for, either of these choices would be splendid in the role of Landa (though of course no one would ever top Waltz). Schell would excel with a broader, more extreme film and would relish the villainy of Landa for all it's worth, while Sydow, while not Austrian or German, is of German descent, speaks German, and moreover makes a cracking villain whenever he gets an opportunity.

Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger): Romy Schneider

Schneider, from what little I've seen of her, had star power to go for miles. The role of BvH is actually deceptively complex, but hey, I never expected Kruger to give the great performance she ended up giving so I'd expect Schneider stepping up to the challenge.

Lieutenant Archie Hicox (Michael Fassbender): David Warner

You'll probably know him from his villainous turns in Time Bandits, Titanic, and Tron, but it's easy to forget that Warner was also an extremely versatile actor who could just as easily bring some nice supportive charisma to his throwaway role in The Omen. I think he'd have a hoot playing probably the most fun role in the whole film, Hicox, and milk that George Sanders accent for all it's worth. Don't be fooled by the picture above, I know he'd have nailed the role.

Major Dieter Hellstrom (August Diehl): Klaus Kinski

I actually salivate at the very idea of having Kinski vs Warner. The behind-the-scenes production would probably be nuts in trying to control Klaus, but what would come out would I'm sure be absolutely beautiful.

Donny Donowitz (Eli Roth): Art Garfunkel

I like Art Garfunkel the actor (he's pretty darn good in Bad Timing), but really the main idea behind this casting is the very sight of him bashing Nazi heads in. If we were to go the more conventional route though, James Caan would be an excellent choice too.

Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl): Helmut Griem

Griem was a great sleazebag in Cabaret, here he'd be 'subverting' his usual character at first by playing Zoller as the 'nice guy' he is, before turning it on its head and revealing that really he's as reprehensible as any of them.

Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger): Jürgen Prochnow

He has the grit, the size, the presence, and overall I think he'd kill the role (no pun intended).

Sergeant Werner Rachtman (Richard Sammell): Oskar Werner

Another cool little cameo, and imagining Werner delivering 'bravery' in the face of death already sends chills down my spine.

The Other Basterds: Coppola's Favourites

Cazale, Frederic Forrest, Duvall, Harrison Ford, etc.