Michael Biehn. Unfortunately, a list filled with relatively obscure titles (i.e., anything made outside of Hollywood, released before 1985, and that hasnt become a major classic of some kind) will not get the sort of media attention accorded to lists consisting of more popular fare. Jessica forces him to sleep on the couch, where he is seduced by Emily. I agree with a lot of your comments too. Director: Terence Fisher. Chicago Film Critics Association website. Cast: Karlheinz Bhm (a.k.a. 10. 40. [39], Film scholar John Stanley gave the film a favorable review in his 1995 book, writing: "Director John Hancock is to be congratulated for a multi-layered horror film with frightening visuals. Nothing spectacular, just quiet, building tension in a California town. Im a big Karloff fan, and despite the fact that his face is obscured by the heavy makeup, its one of his finest performances. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy. I remember finding some of it humorous. Ive not yet seen the 1974, made for TV version, but the 1992 film is nearly unbeatable. Julia Adams. Rory Culkin. 28 Days Later (2002). Cast: Richard Carlson. The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), the Chicago-area print, online and broadcast critics group that celebrates the art of film and film criticism, today announces the complete lineup, schedule and special guests expected for the ninth annual Chicago Critics Film Festival, May 13-19 at the Music Box Theatre. 18. Cast: Karen Black. Love me some horror.but then chances of watching 1 good one out of 20 seems to be common. [27] Frank Yablans, then an executive at Paramount, devised the film's title as they felt Hancock's working title, which was simply "Jessica", was not commercially viable. Neither Psycho or The Exorcist are even remotely scary. Hours pass and Jessica leaves to hitch a ride into town. John Richardson. Cast: Klaus Kinski. "[16] Because the film was shot in the fall months, the sequences that were shot in the lake required the actors to swim in very cold water. Gwyneth Paltrow. Hollywood Critics Association Awards RRR won the Best International Film with Best Action Film, Best Stunts, and Best Original Song and the Hollywood Critics Association Awards. Bride Of Frankenstein a comedy? "[8] Kalcheim is credited as a co-writer on the film under the pseudonym Norman Jonas. Friday the 13th (1980). [26], Filmed without a distributor and produced independently (under The Jessica Company),[27] Let's Scare Jessica to Death was sold to Paramount Pictures in early 1971. Founded in 1990, the Chicago Film Critics Association is the only critics' group in the U.S. to mount its own film festival, which offers its nearly 60 members the dubious distinction of . Director: Robert Harmon. Cast: Heather Donohue. Psychological terror gets me, not slasher horror. That night, Duncan tells Jessica that she needs to return to New York to resume her psychiatric treatment. Cast: Kim Hunter. Martita Hunt. 38. By Darel Jevens. Maurice Evans. 9. Learn more or contact Lee. [16] The exteriors of the house were shot at a farmhouse in Old Saybrook,[20] while the E.E. Salems Lot (1979, TV). Again, merely a personal thing though. Director: John McNaughton. Director: Stanley Kubrick. Dracula (1931). Jeff Goldblum. Martin Stephens. Ask 100 people what the 10 Greatest Romantic Films are, and guarenteed youll get different responses depending upon the person and theyre experiences in life. The film may not take the curl out of your hair, but it will hold your interest even if the title will throw you offthere actually is no plot to scare Jessica. Ralph Bellamy. I trusted their instincts because they had a concrete experience of audiences. Kent Smith. I gotta watch that movie again. [19] Heyman had been Hancock's first choice in the role of Duncan. "[32] The San Francisco Examiner's Stanley Eichelbaum also noted deficiencies in the screenplay, noting that the film "seems improvised and nothing could be worse for this kind of structured suspense thriller. Alien 5. Director: Alejandro Amenbar. Christopher Lee. The film received middling reviews from critics at the time, with some remarking the atmosphere and performances are inconsistent in tone, while others criticized the sparse and ambiguous narrative. [7] Director John Hancock, though ambivalent about whether it was consciously or subconsciously integrated into the screenplay, has conceded this interpretation, commenting: "You could already feel that negativity brewing when we were making Jessica; that things weren't working out the way some of us had hoped and dreamed they would. (Note: Don Siegels original Invasion of the Body Snatchers is on the list, but Kurt Neumanns original The Fly, in which Patricia Owens screams her head off, is not.). Se7en (1995). A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Sarah Berry. A Blu-ray was released by Scream Factory in January 2020. Lillian Gish. Three films earned two awards: THE FRENCH DISPATCH (Best Editing; Best Art Direction/Production Design); LICORICE PIZZA (Best Original Screenplay; Most Promising Performer - Alana Haim); and SPENCER (Best Actress (Stewart); Best Costume Design). John Fraser. Cat People (1942). Cast: Richard Attenborough. Bunker. Dont Look Now (1973). Evelyn Ankers. Art Hindle. Lets Scare Jessica to Death (1971). Carnival of Souls (1962). The Night Stalker (1972, TV). [19] Gretchen Corbett, also an established New York-based stage actress from Portland, Oregon, was cast as the mysterious mute girl whom Jessica encounters, and was the only performer in the principal cast to have not worked with Hancock prior. The Last House on the Left (1972). Cast: Boris Karloff. Director: Richard Fleischer. Now that scared me, especially the 1st episode about the woman who dressed dead people for a living. Cast: Cillian Murphy. 3. Cast: David Soul. Cast: Peter Cushing. Director: James Whale. Carrie (1976) 17. 90. 8. Have you seen it? Lauren Bacall. It wasnt really a horror, but if they made it a spookier theme, it would have been so. 77. Evil Dead 2? Michael Nouri. The 33rd Chicago Film Critics Association Awards were announced on December 21, 2020. 37. Elisha Cook Jr. Charles Grodin. Theyre just for fun, dont take life so seriously. 72. Cast: Mia Farrow. Marlon Wayans. It seems like they just threw in a load of old horrors even though they are not scary at all by todays staderds. Needless to say, youll find a number of oddities on the list. Nightmare on Elm Street 16. Director: John D. Hancock. 31. Cast: Nicole Kidman. [1] Fake plastic vampire fangs were given to patrons at some cinemas in promotion of the film,[29] while a horse-drawn hearse and coffins were parked in front of Manhattan's Criterion Theatre during the film's opening week. Bela Lugosi. The Shinning has by far the creepiest atmosphere out of any movie. The Exorcist 3. Claiming the organizations top honor as Best Picture of the year is THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, directed by Martin McDonagh. See also: Fay Wray, Lee Patrick, Edwige Fenech, and Mary Philbin among the movies' " Top Ten Scream Queens ." 1. Kevin OConnor. Director: Robert Wiene. Sandra Peabody (as Sandra Cassell). So, I think thats why youre description of it puzzled me. Silence Of The Lambs is crime/thriller, but just curious, they put The Howling and The Wolfman, what about An American Werewolf In London? Films Chicago Critics Film Festival Films Tickets and passes are now on sale for the 2022 Chicago Critics Film Festival! Gotta say man, this is pretty inaccurate. "Dawn of the Dead (1978)" 10. The film depicts the nightmarish experiences of a psychologically fragile woman who comes to believe that another strange, mysterious young woman she has let into her home may actually be a vampire. Make sure your comment adds something relevant to the discussion: Feel free to disagree with us and write your own movie commentaries, but *thoughtfulness* and *at least a modicum of sanity* are imperative. 46. Director: Fred Walton. I tend to ignore top 100 film lists because they are usually made by people who know little about movies beyond Hollywood stuff made in the last 15 or 20 years. Darren McGavin in the horror TV movie The Night Stalker image: ABC. Director: Dario Argento. The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) today announces their 2022 award winners. Cast: Simon Pegg. Are you Kidding? "The Banshees of Inisherin" won the best picture awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association, which also honored its . Cast: Julie Harris. [15] Actress Zohra Lampert was cast in the lead role of Jessica, the titular character who finds herself questioning her sanity. Of Jessica's frustration with a mental condition that has rendered her sadly dependent on men? "[38] She also praised the performances of Lampert and Costello, as well as those of Heyman and O'Connor, but noted of the latter that their "characters are not well developed by the script. Near Dark (1987). Director: M. Night Shyamalan. Julie Christie. Accept Read More. Why Are We Still Putting Actors in Fat Suits? Lance Kerwin. Director: Charles Laughton. 25. 17. In 2006, the Chicago Film Critics Association pronounced Let's Scare Jessica to Death one of the scariest films ever made. The Others (2001). Of course thats just my personal take. The film also earned awards for Best Actor (Colin Farrell), Best Supporting Actress (Kerry Condon) and Best Original Screenplay (Martin McDonagh). Jeff Goldblum. Gene Bervoets. Director: Tod Browning. It was a fantastic film but doesnt deserve to be in the top 15. Dawn of the Dead (1978). Ned Beatty. Robert Shaw. Wrapping this up, its worth noting that four of the Chicago Film Critics top 100 scariest movies are made-for-television productions: Dan Curtis Bram Stokers Dracula and Trilogy of Terror, Tobe Hoopers Salems Lot, and John Llewellyn Moxeys The Night Stalker. Director: John Carpenter. Cast: Kevin McCarthy. Donald Pleasence. [53] Also in 2021 Australian cult film company Imprint films released a deluxe blu ray with slipcover, Let's Scare Jessica to Death has been named one of the scariest films of all time by several critical publications: In 2006, the Chicago Film Critics Association pronounced Let's Scare Jessica to Death the 87th scariest film ever made. International cinema. Suzanne Pleshette. [16] The ChesterHadlyme Ferry is featured in the film crossing the Connecticut River. The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, and Shaun of the Dead are all in, but not the 1945 British horror classic Dead of Night. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931). Scariest movies ever made: The top 100 horror films according to the Chicago Film Critics (photo: The Chicago Critics' Top 100 Horror (or Just Plain Creepy) Films in History, Lawrence Pitkethly, Producer of Documentary Series American Cinema and Voices and Visions, Dies at 79, Michelle Yeoh didnt work for two years due to stereotypical roles offered to her. Director: Brian De Palma. 253 Following. I know there are so many horror films out there (love the foreign, tired of the Japanese for now) that Id appreciate. Ralph Bellamy. Also unclear is the Chicago Film Critics choice of Bram Stokers Dracula. My mother mentioned being very moved after watching it. Blue Velvet (1986). Director: Terence Young. I dont see any horror to it, that would qualify it as a scary movie. Abusive, inflammatory, spammy/self-promotional, baseless (spreading mis- or disinformation), and just plain deranged comments will be zapped. [24] Co-producer William Badalato had suggested the location: "My wife and I had a weekend house in Chester, Connecticut. Cast: Conrad Veidt. When Jessica gets into town, she sees Duncan's car and asks about his whereabouts, but no one will speak to her; she then encounters Sam Dorker, and terrified, runs back to the house. "[33] This sentiment was echoed by Kevin Kelly of The Boston Globe, who felt the film contained so many idiosyncrasies that "nothing rings true. Those guys should make the restored LoC version available on DVD. Matthew McConaughey. Examples include Alfred Hitchcocks widely revered Psycho, which happens to be the top film on the list; Rob Reiners Misery, less a horror movie than a (not very suspenseful) suspense thriller; William Friedkins The Exorcist, despite all the avocado vomit and Mercedes McCambridges demon voice; and M. Night Shyamalans Signs, which has aliens killing off a few billion humans just so Mel Gibson can have his faith in God restored. Dead Alive / Braindead (1992). Director: Tobe Hooper. Hahah LMAO, Shaun Of the Dead! Fionnula Flanagan. Initially conceived by writer Lee Kalcheim as a satirical horror film about a group of hippies preyed upon by a monster in a lake, the screenplay was significantly reworked after director Hancock signed on to the project. Some of these just dont make sense. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986; released in 1990). Critics Favorites: Wine Country Road Movie + Incendiary Political Documentary Are Years Big Winners, Gay Pride Movie Series: From Heterosexual Angst to Indonesian Coup, Carl Reiner & Robert Mulligan + Alfred Hitchcock & Celebrating Women Designers, Anna Magnani Movies: Volcanic Italian Actress Remembered, Sergio Citti: Pier Paolo Pasolini Protg & Collaborator, Spider-Man 3 (2007) Movie Review: Franchise Fatigue + Villains Galore, William Cameron Menzies Movies: Murderous Joan Fontaine & Nazi Communists, Horror Sound Effects: The Sound behind the Image III Real Horrorshow, Dean Jones: Actor in The Love Bug + Christian Movies. As the plot develops, we learn that the world around Jessica is scarier than anything her mind could concoct. Tracy Arnold. Cast: Brad Pitt. There are some really great films listed here but none that are truly frightening to me. Matt OLeary. Great movie and book, but nothing scary to it. Tom Conway. 70. A historic, 1.6 million square foot secure facility offering 36 active stages, production office and support spaces over two campuses both located within 15 minutes from downtown Chicago. I just saw this film on the big screen at Cinesation( And had seen it before on the lovely DVD release). The nominations were announced on December 18, 2020. 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