Warbringer's Favorite Horror Movies!

I'm really excited to be able to present the following list to you. I have been trumpeting the merits of California-based thrash metal up and comers Warbringer for almost a year now, and I still get just as much enjoyment in their album "Waking Into Nightmares" as I did the day it was released. Here now with his top ten favorite horror films, John Laux, guitarist of Warbringer! The stage is yours:

Hey, this is John Laux, the guitar player from Warbringer. With my list I wanted to try and give some attention to some lesser known or even outside of the genre movies that I consider to be true "Horror" Movies.

The Reanimator

Fucking classic! Based on an old HP Lovecraft story. This is a true, old-school horror movie masterpiece. Killer cast, characters, and story development. The scene that I can never forget is when they let a decapitated head give head to some poor chick. It's a great visual pun. The movie is so much fun to watch, something most movies today are lacking. This is easily my personal favorite.

The Vanishing (1988 NOT the remake)

No blood, no guts, why is this number 2? Because this movie is simply terrifying on a very psychological level. The story unfolds like a screw that digs its way down through your skull. Twisting and twisting until it hits a nerve- an ending that you'll never forget. I really don't want to spoil this one, but it's basically about a man who devotes his life to hunting down the murder who abducted his lover. When he meets the abductor things get very interesting, he won't turn him in because he has to know what happened at any cost.

Toxic Avenger

This is a classic, campy, fun horror movie to watch with all your friends. It's gross, retarded, and funny as hell. It's Troma's masterpiece. If you haven't seen it yet... I guarantee it's better than any of the drugs you're using. Through all the violence and mayhem, it has a lot of heart. That's why this movie so great.

American Psycho

"Why are you wearing a raincoat?" "Because, I'm going to kill you." This is a very watchable movie, The pace is fast and the acting is great. So many killer one liners. Every scene is classic cinema gold. Christan Bale is much better suited as some yuppie woman slasher than Batman. Really a dark, funny film based off a great book. The narrations are priceless. Now if you'll excuse me, "I have to return some video tapes."

The Thing

This is one of the most badass movies ever made. Kurt Russell kills it in this movie. The Director is also very noteworthy, They Live, Halloween, Big Trouble in Little China, etc. There's no stupid screaming chicks to taint this movie. It's all about some very smart dudes down in the south pole dealing with a shape-shifting alien that is impersonating them and killing them. It strings you along the whole way through because you don't know who the alien could be. They also put serious time and money into the special effects, which I find much more convincing than half the cg trash I see these days. My favorite scene would have to be when this guy's stomach explodes open and eats this dude up, ala alien.

Evil Dead II

My favorite Sam Raimi and company movie. Much better production that the first one, plus the horror and slapstick comedy is balanced much better than in the Army of Darkness. It's pretty much a tried and true classic if there ever was one. The scene where he has to cut off his demon possessed hand is brilliant. I grew up with all of these movies.

Poltergeist

Hello Steven Spielberg. Thank you for giving us one of the most badass ghosts ever. Although not a lot is said about Kane in this one, there's plenty of sweet eye candy in this movie. The best part is the family seems so normal and so real, they could live right next door if I didn't know any better. This movie had a lot of smart things to say beyond all the horror about the afterlife -- capitalism in suburbia, and human greed. The melting meat face in the bathroom is sick. When that door opens up at the end the shot always reminds me of the cover of the Eternal Nightmare by the bay area group Vio-lence.

The Serpent and the Rainbow

This is one of Wes Craven's first movies; I think in general he sucks. I never liked Scream, and has anyone had to sit through Wishmaster? Fuck. This is my favorite Zombie movie. The cool thing is this film's zombie lore is based on fact. These Witch Doctors in Haiti make a poison that affects neurological functions of the body, slowing down heart and respiratory function. In this movie real doctors mistake the victims for dead, burying them alive. and then the victim recover from the drug, suffers from brain damage and a lost soul. The location that this movie was filmed in was epic. There's a sound clip that was used on a Mortician Song from here. "I want you to scream.... Louder.... Not good enough..." Sweet.

Combat Shock

Yup, it's also the name of one of our first singles. Troma made a kinda gritty, serious art movie here. It's about a Vietnam vet that returns to a broken, defeated country. It's kinda like The Toxic Avenger, Taxi Driver and Eraserhead all rolled into one. It's disgusting. You really have to feel for the protagonist who after a horrible experience in the war, has to deal with a cow of a wife, a really ugly annoying mutant baby, and keeping his sanity in a cold world overrun with drug dealers, crime, and murder. This movie is amazing and deserves a lot more attention. Don't watch this back to back with The Nightmare on Elm Street on mushrooms like we did. You'll feel miserable.

Hellraiser

Beyond just being a brutally near-perfect horror movie, this is just great cinema in general. It's also noteworthy that this was one of director Clive Barker's FIRST movies. He really hit the nail on the "pinhead." In my mind half of the main characters were just as evil as the Sadosexual Cenobites in the first place. This movie also like so many older movies (Blade Runner, Phantasm, ect) had a excellent original score for a soundtrack.

Cannibal Holocaust

This movie deserves honorable mention for being the only movie to EVER actually make me feel sick to my stomach.

I don't know how the hell they made violence, rape, and disfigurement look so real in the '70s. It was however good enough to BAN the film from just about every halfway decent country in the world and have a court order where the actors had to show up and prove they were still alive. This movie is all about exploitation. Apparently there was supposed to be a point about all this journalistic integrity. After watching actors cut open a real live turtle, some Indian mauls his girlfriend's sexual organs with a giant rock, and a journalist burning people alive I really failed to see any point. Unfortunately I still watched it a good 4 or 5 times too many.