The Five Best Horror Films Ever, According to Mushroomhead’s Richard ‘Stitch’ Thomas
It's never too early to start getting excited for Halloween. Unless, of course, you're the type of person who celebrates the holiday 365 days a year. Mushroomhead's Richard "Stitch" Thomas is that type of person. Mushroomhead has just released a new DVD, Volume III, and to mark the occasion, "Stitch" provided us with a list of his five favorite horror films. Disagree with him? No problem, let us know in the comments.
Halloween (1978) - This movie is a great example of "making something out of nothing". Due to its low budget, the prop department had to use the cheapest $2 mask that they could find in the costume store -- it was actually a Captain Kirk mask, believe it or not -- because they still didn't have a "look" for the stalker. This cheap mask went on to be one of the most iconic masks in horror still to this day (along with Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees' hockey mask). But Halloween's Michael Myers mask is by far my favorite, due to its simplicity and hollowness. I have numerous replicas of the mask in my collection, one of them is actually from the movie mold from part five (1989's Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers). With Halloween, John Carpenter set the standard and paved the way for many other great horror movies to follow. I watched a documentary on the first Friday the 13th and the director said, "We made this because I wanted to make a movie like Halloween."
Nightmare on Elm St. 3: Dream Warriors (1987) - Yes, the first Nightmare on Elm St. is great, however, Dream Warriors is by far the best one. It had the best balance of horror and comedy. Something about a villain insulting their victims before killing them is really entertaining to me. The kill scenes in this one were all great, but to this day my favorite is when Freddy rips out Phillips' muscles and walks him around like a marionette.After part three, the sequels just got way too campy and downright comical. Freddy Krueger was my favorite horror character growing up in the '80s. Starting at seven years old, I dressed up as him for Halloween up until I was 12. I finally met Robert Englund, who plays Freddy, a few years back when we played "Rock and Shock" in Massachusetts and he was super cool.
The Shining (1980) - Not only do I think this is the best horror movie in the category of "ghost story/hauntings" but it is the best acting Jack Nicholson has ever done. The movie is convincing from start to finish and never seems to get old to me. It’s timeless and doesn’t have a bunch of shitty CGI monsters in it like every horror movie seems to these days. There are barely any actors and even the dialogue is limited, yet I know I am not alone in feeling that this movie is brilliantly made. Next to Full Metal Jacket, this is Stanley Kubrick's finest work. The cinematography is amazing and intense – it makes you feel like you are attached to the movie in a way.
The Thing (1982) - Make-up and special effects have always been a passion of mine. Before I joined Mushroomhead, I originally planned to attend an FX school with the hopes of getting into movies someday. One of the things that inspired my desire to do that was this movie. To this day, the makeup FX and prop work in The Thing holds up and is more convincing than the Hollywood garbage horror flicks that are out there now. This movie scared the living shit out of me as a kid, due to how violent and otherworldly the death scenes were.
Hellraiser (1987) - When I was a kid my mother let me watch some horror films, but one of the ones on the "no" list was Hellraiser. As we all know, now being allowed to watch something just makes you want to see it even more. Just the name alone made you think it was going to be a fucked up movie. The cenobites in the movie are some of the coolest, most original characters. Doug Bradley's amazing acting as Pinhead literally made me think he was actually from Hell. The mask I currently wear was mildly inspired by the cenobite Chatterer. Due to my connection working in Haunted Houses, over the years I have had the pleasure of meeting Doug Bradley on a few occasions. It’s hilarious because he is absolutely one of the nicest guys.
If that's not enough creepiness for you, check out Mushroomhead's new video, "Devils Be Damned," below.
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