Martin Scorseseis not particularly known for delving intohorror, but his slight approaches to the genre have been, as expected, more than excellent. In bothCape FearandShutter Island, the legendary director has employed his might and skills to draw elements from horror into chilling thrillers. This comes as no surprise as Scorsese has been throughout his entire career an avid student of film history, and has been influenced by countless directors and film genres.
In an interview withThe Daily Beast, the acclaimed director was asked to pick his 11 favorite horror films of all time. Some of his most evident influences, such as Hitchcock or Kubrick, predictably make it into the list, yet a lot of the films on the list are not nearly as well known asPsychoorThe Shining, but are just as good at crafting bone-chilling horror.
The Haunting
Though it has been remade on a handful of occasions over the last 20 years, no adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novelThe Haunting of Hill House,has been as fresh and scary as Robert Wise’s 1963 filmThe Haunting. Aseminal haunted house film,The Hauntingfollows a paranormal investigator assembling a team of people to look into the mysterious Hill House Manor.
Scorsese deemed it as “absolutely terrifying,”, and said the true terror found in both the film and the book, rises from what is not seen, making it a psychological nightmare filled with uncertainty and fear. Part of what makes the film so strong is Wise’s exceptionally timeless directing, which makes a case for which why most of his films have stood the test of time.
Isle of the Dead
Frankenstein himself, Boris Karloff leads 1945’sIsle of the Dead, fromhorror master Val Lewton. Karloff gives a fantastic performance as a Greek general stationed on a remote island in the early 20th century, who has to deal with a quarantined population due to a disease outbreak and the growing rumor that a vampire is roaming the island, leaving death and destruction across its path.
Clocking in at just 72 minutes,Isle of the Deadis all thrills and no fills, by managing to create a compelling and disturbing atmosphere in such a short time, the film is an exercise in economical filmmaking and engaging writing. Scorsese has remarked that to this day it continues to scare him.
The Uninvited
This subtle haunted house picture is no less chilling thanThe Haunting, and manages to create fear and anxiety through a nuanced tone.The Uninvitedfollows two siblings as they move into an old seaside house that has been abandoned for years, and is possibly haunted by a ghost.
The film is very mature in the way it develops its story, and finds a way to convey horror through atmosphere and imagery rather than with jump scares or big twists.The Uninvitedshould be a treat for all fans of slow-burning terror.
The Entity
To this day,The Entityremains as unnerving and controversial as it was when released. This1982 horror film finds Barbara Hersheyplaying a woman who is savagely raped by an invisible force. Her account and ensuing torment of her family by the entity is seen by the outside world as delusions.
Scorsese has highlighted the setting being a modern California house as a visual vehicle to accentuate the psychological distress of both characters and audiences. The film also excels at making a mix of horror, drama and social realism.
Dead of Nightis an early example ofhorror anthology film, which not only influenced this style of film for years to come but also became a cult favorite of many filmmakers, among them Martin Scorsese.
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Scorsese called this movie “a British classic: four tales told by four strangers mysteriously gathered in a country house, each one extremely disquieting, climaxing with a montage in which elements from all the stories converge into a crescendo of madness.” All segments in the film are directed by different directors, the most famous of them being Charles Crichton (A Fish Called Wanda).
The Changeling
One of the lesser-known films in this list is worth the time of any fan of not only horror, but of filmmaking in general. This well-thought and complex horror story is one of the first Canadian films to achieve major recognition world-wide, but has been slightly forgotten in the last years.
The Changelingis a haunted house story “filled with sadness and dread,” according to Scorsese.A great George C. Scott starstas a widower recovering from the death of his wife and child, as he discovers the angry ghost of another child in the mansion where he is staying at. This meditative ghost story sets itself apart from the violent and gory horror films of the early 80s, and should appeal to fans of the most recent wave of “elevated horror”.
The Shining
The classic Kubrick adaptation of Stephen King’s novelThe Shiningneeds no introduction. The iconic Jack Nicholson performance, the hallways, the madness, “redrum”, the wave of blood, the twins, “Here’s Johnny!” — all of it has transcended to become part of cinematic history and popular culture.
Scorsese says he never read the novel, so he has no idea how faithful the film is, but did remark the following “Kubrick made a majestically terrifying movie, where what you don’t see or comprehend shadows every move the characters make”.
The Exorcist
Another well-known horror classic is among Scorsese’s favorites. William Friedkin’s game changing possession story is both a drama about faith and horrifying work that brought to life some of the most gruesome and terrifying scenes in history.
Scorsese has said thatThe Exorcistis “as utterly horrifying as it was the day it came out. That room — the cold, the purple light, the demonic transformations: it really haunts you.” The very first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, has proven to be influential to basically every subgenre of horror and to all generations of filmmakers working on the genre.
Night of the Demon
Jacques Tourneur is mostly famous forthe legendary noirOut of the Past, but he should also be acknowledged for his fantastic work on horror films. His low-budget horror movies made for RKO are now the stuff of legends, which led him to direct a major film in the genre for Columbia Pictures.
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The result was the nightmarishNight of the Demon. Another film creating fear out of what is not seen, follows an American psychologist who travels to the UK to investigate a satanic cult, hell-bent on summoning a gigantic demon.
The Innocents
The Innocentswas a fresh take on horror films, largely in part thanks to Truman Capote’s rework on the script, which incorporated psychological depth as an alternative to the paranormal. The film follows a governess looking after two children in a massive mansion.
After mysterious incidents take place, she begins to suspect that the state is haunted and the children are being possessed. This adaptation of a Henry James novel is one which Scorsese considers to be one of those rare films that “makes justice to his work."
Hitchcock’s influence is felt all over through Scorsese’s filmography, so it’s no surprise that The Master of Suspense’s best-known film is among his favorites. For Marty, the brilliance ofPsychofalls upon Hitchcock’s use of non-traditional devices to generate a disturbing atmosphere.
Whether it’s the using of practical effects, like the chocolate syrup used as blood, or a simple shadow behind a window, these seemingly simple and small details when perpetuated on screen have made generations of filmgoers feel fear and anxiety up the very core of their beings. For Scorsese, besides it being “deeply disturbing on so many levels”, it is also a “great work of art”.
