The Exorcist voted No.1 horror film by HMV customers

[Grubert]

The Exorcist was named the greatest horror film yet in a poll.

The 1973 supernatural thriller came out on top in retailer HMV’s annual survey of more than 6,000 customers, published as Halloween approaches.

Directed by William Friedkin, the movie, which also scooped the most votes last year, features performances by Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn and Max von Sydow.

Second spot in the HMV poll went to director Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, starring Jack Nicholson, which came out top two years ago.

British director Ridley Scott’s deep space adventure Alien came in third.

Jonny Scurfield, HMV DVD buyer, said there has been a surge of interest in the horror genre - probably more than in any other movie category, with younger customers in their late teens and early 20s leading the way.

He said: “Halloween has become a key retail event, with sales of horror DVDs more than doubling in the past three years, and this year, with the doom and gloom of the credit crunch, you get the feeling it may prove a bit of a boom for horror, with more people staying in to watch their favourite movies.”

He said the advent of DVDs had brought a greater interest in more contemporary types of horror, such as “slash” movies by directors like Eli Roth.

The oldest film in the Top 50 is director FW Murnau’s enduring classic Nosferatu, released in 1922.

The most recent titles are director Masayuki Ochiai’s Shutter, Frank Darabont’s The Mist and Juan Antonio Bayona’s The Orphanage, all of which were released this year.

The survey was conducted on hmv.com over a four-week period between September 19 and October 20.

The HMV Top Ten
1. The Exorcist. William Friedkin (1973) 8.8 per cent
2. The Shining. Stanley Kubrick (1980) 7.6 per cent
3. Alien. Ridley Scott (1979) 5.8 per cent
4. The Silence of the Lambs. Jonathan Demme (1991) 5.7 per cent
5. Saw. James Wan (2004) 5.4 per cent
6. Halloween. John Carpenter (1978) 4 per cent
7. A Nightmare on Elm Street. Wes Craven (1984) 3.9 per cent
8. Ring (Ringu). Hideo Nakata (1998) 3.3 per cent
9. The Wicker Man. Robin Hardy (1973) 3.1 per cent
10. The Omen. Richard Donner (1976) 3 per cent

... and the rest
11. The Birds. Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
12. The Thing. John Carpenter (1982)
13. Lost Boys. Joel Schumacher (1987)
14. Dawn of the Dead. George A Romero (1978)
15. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Tobe Hooper (1974)
16. Jaws. Steven Spielberg (1975)
17. The Blair Witch Project. Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez (1999)
18. An American Werewolf in London. John Landis (1981)
19. Se7en. David Fincher (1995)
20. Poltergeist. Tobe Hooper (1982)
21. The Amityville Horror. Stuart Rosenberg (1979)
22. Candyman. Bernard Rose (1992)
23. Scream. Wes Craven (1996)
24. Carrie. Brian De Palma (1976)
25. Friday the 13th. Sean S Cunningham (1980)
26. Final Destination. James Wong (2000)
27. The Evil Dead. Sam Raimi (1981)
28. Hellraiser. Clive Barker (1987)
29. Hostel. Eli Roth (2005)
30. Salem's Lot. Mikael Salomon (2004)
31. The Descent. Neil Marshall (2005)
32. The Hills Have Eyes. Wes Craven (1977)
33. Wolf Creek. Greg McLean (2005)
34. Misery. Rob Reiner (1991)
35. Rosemary's Baby. Roman Polanski (1968)
36. Child's Play. Tom Holland (1989)
37. The Orphanage. Juan Antonio Bayona (2008)
38. The Entity. Sidney J Furie (1981)
39. Nosferatu. FW Murnau (1922)
40. Night of the Living Dead. George A. Romero (1968)
41. House on Haunted Hill. William Malone (2000)
42. The Haunting. Robert Wise (1963)
43. It. Tommy Lee Wallace (1990)
44. Audition. Takashi Miike (1999)
45. The Changeling. Peter Medak (1980)
46. The Mist. Frank Darabont (2008)
47. Suspiria. Dario Argento (1977)
48. The Vanishing. George Sluizer (1993)
49. Shutter. Masayuki Ochiai (2008)
50. Planet Terror. Robert Rodriguez (2007)

http://www.birminghampost.net/life-l...5233-22147017/

[P@t_Mtl]

Not an horror fan, never was. These films bore me to tears.

The only 3 films I do agree with on this list (got all 3 on DVD) are

The Birds
Jaws
Alien

[upswiseass]

Wow, that is quite the list. While I like Saw(the sequels not so much), it is a great deal higher than what I would have it. There are a lot of fantastic horror movies to be had, especially the first one on the list.

[cravnsn]

I always tell people if they’re looking for a good scare, The Exorcist is the way to go.

[naturephoto1]

I am not a big horror fan. I would say, that both the Exorcist and Alien scared the ***t out of me when I saw them on the big screen.

Rich

[owa]

Nice list. It includes several of my favorite horror movies and I agree with The Exorcist being on top. For some of the others, I'd probably change the order around a bit but one thing that got me, I can't believe Aliens didn't make the list. Personally, I'd bump Alien from the list and replace it with Aliens. Maybe it went a little too far to the sci-fi/action side to be considered?

[Deadset]

Good list, I have an issue with Blair Witch though, it may deserve a spot, but not above classics like Candyman, Carrie, and NOTLD...

[(Fe)Man]

Well that list is garbage. They have Saw in front of Halloween, The Thing, Dawn of the Dead, and Night of the Living Dead.

The people who voted obviously don't know horror. It's a shame.

[Crim122]

Putting Saw in a top 10 list of anything good makes me go

[Blu Titan]

The first two are right on, but Silence of the Lambs should be #3! Very good list though.

[Steelmaker]

The fact that Psycho is not on that list is a travesty!! Oh and the fact that SAW made the top ten is even worse! If they HAD to include something from the 2000's, I would've put Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Grudge, or even the Texas Chainsaw Remake. However I will say kudos for putting The Wicker Man in the top 10! I love that film!

[Arvin Clone]

I don't have that much of a problem with the top ten. It was 11-50 that I had a problem with. No way should "Shutter" be in the top 50 of any horror movie list.

[Peaky]

Originally Posted by Grubert

The HMV Top Ten
1. The Exorcist. William Friedkin (1973) 8.8 per cent
2. The Shining. Stanley Kubrick (1980) 7.6 per cent
3. Alien. Ridley Scott (1979) 5.8 per cent
4. The Silence of the Lambs. Jonathan Demme (1991) 5.7 per cent
5. Saw. James Wan (2004) 5.4 per cent
6. Halloween. John Carpenter (1978) 4 per cent
7. A Nightmare on Elm Street. Wes Craven (1984) 3.9 per cent
8. Ring (Ringu). Hideo Nakata (1998) 3.3 per cent
9. The Wicker Man. Robin Hardy (1973) 3.1 per cent
10. The Omen. Richard Donner (1976) 3 per cent

... and the rest
11. The Birds. Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
12. The Thing. John Carpenter (1982)
13. Lost Boys. Joel Schumacher (1987)
14. Dawn of the Dead. George A Romero (1978)
15. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Tobe Hooper (1974)
16. Jaws. Steven Spielberg (1975)
17. The Blair Witch Project. Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez (1999)
18. An American Werewolf in London. John Landis (1981)
19. Se7en. David Fincher (1995)
20. Poltergeist. Tobe Hooper (1982)
21. The Amityville Horror. Stuart Rosenberg (1979)
22. Candyman. Bernard Rose (1992)
23. Scream. Wes Craven (1996)
24. Carrie. Brian De Palma (1976)
25. Friday the 13th. Sean S Cunningham (1980)
26. Final Destination. James Wong (2000)
27. The Evil Dead. Sam Raimi (1981)
28. Hellraiser. Clive Barker (1987)
29. Hostel. Eli Roth (2005)
30. Salem's Lot. Mikael Salomon (2004)
31. The Descent. Neil Marshall (2005)
32. The Hills Have Eyes. Wes Craven (1977)
33. Wolf Creek. Greg McLean (2005)
34. Misery. Rob Reiner (1991)
35. Rosemary's Baby. Roman Polanski (1968)
36. Child's Play. Tom Holland (1989)
37. The Orphanage. Juan Antonio Bayona (2008)
38. The Entity. Sidney J Furie (1981)
39. Nosferatu. FW Murnau (1922)
40. Night of the Living Dead. George A. Romero (1968)
41. House on Haunted Hill. William Malone (2000)
42. The Haunting. Robert Wise (1963)
43. It. Tommy Lee Wallace (1990)
44. Audition. Takashi Miike (1999)
45. The Changeling. Peter Medak (1980)
46. The Mist. Frank Darabont (2008)
47. Suspiria. Dario Argento (1977)
48. The Vanishing. George Sluizer (1993)
49. Shutter. Masayuki Ochiai (2008)
50. Planet Terror. Robert Rodriguez (2007)

http://www.birminghampost.net/life-l...5233-22147017/

Saw is above both Halloween & Jaws? Oh please.......

[andyman1970]

Originally Posted by Peaky

Saw is above both Halloween & Jaws? Oh please.......

I can't believe the Blair Witch Project was on the list, not to mention at No. 17. That was one of the worst movies I have ever seen not to mention nauseating. I sit through the whole thing waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever did.

[Clark Kent]

As a horror fan, a somewhat poorly constructed list. Way too many recent movies that aren't all that good with some classics put haphazardly on there. The only thing they got right was the Exorcist at number one. Not one Dracula based movie on the entire list, including classic Hammer films.

[darkpoet25]

How on earth did Seven end up on there? It wasn't even a horror film, more a suspense thriller. If they included this, then where is Psycho?