HORROR MOVIES 101

Trying to build the ultimate horror movie list

Hey everyone,

 I've been working on building a web site that will help movie buffs like this community find new movies - for instance, I'm working on a super-list of the best horror movies of all time. The list is actually built using a ton of sources, including existing lists I found online and users on the site.

The  way it works is that users all submit their favorite horror movies in order, and the site takes all that data and presents one list that captures all those rankings.

 The problem is, I'm not sure how useful the list really is - the goal would be to help people who love movies (in this case horror movies) find new stuff that they haven't seen.

I don't really want to list the URL here, because I don't want to spam this group. But I am interesting in picking your brain about how such a list could be genuinely useful to experts like you who love horror movies.

If there is any interest in something like this, please let me know. Just as an example, the current list (created from around 17 individual lists) has these movies at the top:

1. Halloween
2.  Night of the Living Dead
3. The Shining
4. The Thing
5. The Exorcist
6. The Evil Dead
7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
8. A Nightmare on Elm Street
9. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
10. Hellraiser

Thanks!

Ben 

Re:Trying to build the ultimate horror movie list

Well, I'm sure this will be an active discussion over the next few days, but I'm going to have to put some thought into this. I'm horrible at top 10 lists, because so much of it depends upon my mood whenever I'm putting them together. That said, I think the lists can be useful. I used to be upset at those AFI lists, because there are so many movies that deserve to be on that list but lost out to middle of the road wonders like Shawshank Redemption(great movie, but not one of the top 100 ever made). But then I realized who they were targeted at. Those lists aren't for snooty film critics, but for the budding cineasts who may not know where to start. I was lucky as a kid; I was friends with a video store owner, and he gave me free rentals all the time, so I just worked my way through the sections. Many people don't have that luxury, and need a place to start. Popular opinon polls may not always have the absolute best material, but it is a good way of getting your feet wet.

I for one would be interested in that URL(and I can't speak for the group owners, but I can say I've seen far worse 'spamming' than a single innocuous mention of your website). I'll get back to you tomorrow with my list.

Re:Trying to build the ultimate horror movie list

please include me in too. I am interested in which films are included.

puhn

Re:Trying to build the ultimate horror movie list

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm very interested in your feedback about the usefullness of lists - that although they are a great starting point for interested beginners, they are not as useful for, as you said, snooty film critics. I think there's truth to that, and it's interesting to think about how a list could be made that would be useful to both groups.

 Two ideas that could help - first of all, the AFI lists tend to be only 100 long, so by necessity a lot of great films are pushed off the list to make way for middle-of-the-road films. Online, lists could be arbitrarily long, which means that great films would find a spot (although admittedly, they would still be further down the list and hence harder to find). For instance, the list my site has over 227 horror movies (at least a few are duplicates I'm sure).

 Also, what if you could input the movies you have already seen, and the site would automatically not show you those items? That might help you filter past the stuff you aren't as interested in to find the gems that you haven't seen. Just a thought (the site doesn't support this feature, but if it would be useful, I could write it). 

 Anyway, the list is at http://seekler.com/lists/Best+Horror+Movies

 I'd love to hear what people's favorite horror movies are and how an online list could help you easily find stuff that you haven't already seen.

Re:Trying to build the ultimate horror movie list

   Hey, bhb, I see you have already done so, but I wanted to let you and everybody else know that it is perfectly ok to post your URL or a link to your site in this group.   We are ALL very interested in checking these things out.   Nice list, by the way!   I (of course) would have to dissagree with most of your rankings,  there are some films near the bottom that should be near the top and SOME films that simply don't belong at all!  ('The Holy Mountain'?   I am still trying to figure out just WTF that movie is supposed to be!   I have tried to watch that three times and I have yet to make it to the end...   it seems I have yet to find the right combination of drugs and alcohol to make this completely senseless movie even remotely bearable!   This movie is nothing BUT 'symbolism',  and 'religious-metaphor-symbolism' at that!   I have a feeling that, if they were to ever watch it,  this movie would piss-off a lot of 'christians' and 'catholics' as well...   I am also quite certain that these same people would have NO IDEA just what it is they are pissed off about!   It is THAT confusing!   I am not at all sure just WHAT this movie is supposed to be, but I don't think it's a horror film!) ...  

   Anyhow, I like the idea of your site and your lists!   You will find plenty of lists and commentaries in this group that will be most helpful to you, I think.   Most recently, if you have not already done so, check out  'The Naked Lunch Radio Show: Top 31 Horror Movies of the Past 31 Years'  for both their list and my own...   Also, in the discussion titled  'Tis The Season' , You will find my (at the time) all-time top ten list as well as lists from other prominent members of this group.   I hope we can be of mutual service to each other and I am looking forward to seeing how your 'mega-list' might improve with more input.   Thanks again.

                                                               <  GOR  > 

Re:Trying to build the ultimate horror movie list

Re:Trying to build the ultimate horror movie list

Awesome, thanks for the detailed feedback. A few thoughts:

 "I (of course) would have to dissagree with most of your rankings,  there are some films near the bottom that should be near the top and SOME films that simply don't belong at all! "

One good thing about having this list online is that if you don't agree with the list (and of course, everyone will and should have their own opinion), you can create your own list on the site and it will automatically affect the rankings of the master list. I totally understand that not everyone will want to do this - but we're trying to make it really easy to do so. If anyone on this forum is interested in having their opinion contribute to the list, I'd encourage you to try making your own list (and of course, please tell me if you have any problems or just plain don't like the site!).

Of course, even if we make it really, really easy to make your own list (and we still have a lot of room to improve on that front), it will always be easier to have the site import lists for you.  On that note...

 "You will find plenty of lists and commentaries in this group that will be most helpful to you, I think."

That's awesome. Would you mind  if I imported these lists into the site? If I do, there will of course be a list back to the forum post the list originates from.

 That said, if anyone here has a top horror movie list anywhere on the web (say, on a publicly viewable forum, or in a blog post, or even comments on a blog post) that you would like me to import to Seekler, please post the URL and I'd be happy to do it. This can be for horror movies or just about any other list you've made. 

 Oh, and a huge thanks for pointing out that 'Deep Red' and ' Profondo Rosso' were actually the same item. We get all our data from our users and from existing lists on the web, so sometimes we get dupes like that. Unfortunately, it effectively splits the vote between two items, so the item doesn't get as up on the list. I just corrected the mistake - and Deep Red went from #79 to #58. So thanks!

Thanks everyone for the great feedback, as always. I'll continue to try to make this list a great resource for horror fans.

Re:Trying to build the ultimate horror movie list

I have to say that I really like lists.  I consider myself a bit of an expert on a LOT of horror movies but when I saw some people's favorite lists there were some movies I had never heard of.  So it was great putting them on my Netflix queue and watching them.  Now I have even more favorite movies, I shudder to think that I would never have known about the movie Zombi by Fulci if Dr. Gor hadn't suggested it, it is now one of my favorite movies...  That is one reason I really like this group, getting great recommendations on some really cool hidden gems. 

Very cool site bhb...

Re:Trying to build the ultimate horror movie list

Re:Trying to build the ultimate horror movie list

divinemsjunebug - Thanks! I hope  you can find some good horror movies you haven't seen on the list.

 Risselada - myself and my friend created the Seekler site. However, since it's only been out for about a month, we also create the vast majority of lists (including the Best Horror Movies list). We hope that as we add more data and improve the site, we'll get more and more of our data from our users. Right now, I'm just trying to get a feel of how we can make the site as useful and easy to use as possible. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!