Pat Seals of Flyleaf Shares His Top Ten Horror Films
As we’ve mentioned previously, November 10th is the release date of the band Flyleaf’s new CD, entitled Memento Mori, and to help celebrate the occasion, their bass player, Pat Seals, has taken time out of his hectic schedule to prepare for Dread Central readers a list of his Top Ten favorite horror films.
Nothing relieves the stress of the holidays — or anything really — like a good horror flick, and Pat certainly has prepared an eclectic catalog that shows he knows his shit about our genre.
Without further ado, here’s Pat’s list (click each image to see the full poster):
1. The Addiction (1995) – Dir. Abel Ferrara, Starring Lili Taylor
This is my favorite vampire movie. It is the best. THE best. Morality and the darkness of human nature are the focus, and Lili Taylor’s performance is brutal. Plus, Christopher Walken waltzes in for a philosophical cameo. The film is also in black and white (a reference to the morality, I would assume) so if your girlfriend is under the age of 32, you’re probably better off taking her to see Twilight.
2. Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Grey (1932) – Dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer, Starring Julian West
Creepy doctors … deception … naïve, yet heroic, protagonist … baby skulls. This old classic was metal before they had metal (metal the genre, not metal the group of elements). Just about every shot in this film is aesthetically stunning. And scary.
3. 28 Days Later (2002) – Dir. Danny Boyle, Starring Cillian Murphy
This was the first zombie movie that I actually liked. The thought of zombies sprinting at their victims seemed revolutionary to me at the time. The story is genuinely good as well, with a perfectly crafted climax with Godspeed You Black Emperor providing a haunting, yet menacing, soundtrack.
4. Shadow of the Vampire (2000) – Dir. E. Elias Merhige, Starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe
One of my favorite films even outside of the horror genre. I can count the movies with a cast this good on half of one hand – Udo Kier! Eddie Izzard! Yessss! There is incredible dry humor permeating everything here as well.
5. Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979) – Dir. Werner Herzog, Starring Klaus Kinski
In hopes of avoiding simply referencing the original Murnau (which is like saying AC/DC’s Back in Black is a good record … duhh. Everybody says that is a great record; everybody says Nosferatu is seminal), I wanted to point some attention to this one of Herzog/Kinski’s half-dozen masterpieces. This film re-spins the Nosferatu tale with some alternate twists while highlighting the relatable human aspects of the vampire, which is the point of vampire stuff, isn’t it?
6. The Brood (1979) – Dir. David Cronenberg, Starring Oliver Reed and Samantha Eggar
My sister, myself, and some friends were on quite a Cronenberg kick a couple of years ago. This movie severely gave me the creeps, maybe due to the 70’s dismal setting. Oliver Reed is phenomenal as usual and has some killer sweaters going on, if I remember correctly.
7. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – Dir. Roman Polanski, Starring Mia Farrow
As if having a baby isn’t scary enough on its own … c’mon! This movie builds so well into its terrifying premise. I see elements of it in The Devil’s Advocate and many others to follow.
8. The Omen (1976) – Dir. Richard Donner, Starring Gregory Peck
I seem to recall watching this in the living room one Christmas with three generations of my Mom’s side of the family all crammed into the living room. Trying to prevent the reign of the Anti-Christ really brings the McCords together.
9. Faust – Eine deutsche Volkssage (1926) – Dir. F.W. Murnau, Gösta Ekman and Emil Jannings
A giant leap in quality from Nosferatu (in my opinion), this flick, although not really scary (it’s in the genre, c’mon), blew my mind with visual effects from the stone age and acting that bests just about anything going on today. Jannings as Mephisto is brilliantly comedic and … er … devilish.
10. Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) (2008) – Dir. Tomas Alfredson, Starring Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson
Sparse, freaky, Swedish, kids … snow! By far, the scariest 12-year-old girl I have ever seen. I’m cringing a bit in apprehension of how it may be butchered in the American adaptation, so I would advise folks to Let the *Real* Right One In first.
Our thanks to Pat Seals, Flyleaf’s Tour Manager Katy Caldwell, and the crew at Total Assault for coordinating this exclusive feature for us.
Along with Pat, Flyleaf is comprised of Lacey Mosley on vocals, Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartmann on guitar, and James Culpepper on drums. The band is currently on tour in the US and Canada. Be sure to visit the official Flyleaf site and/or their MySpace page for dates and more information.
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