The Top 10 Horror Films Of Director Thomas L. Phillips

Scaretissue is proud to present another guest contributor, Thomas L. Phillips.  Thomas is a writer, director & producer of such films as Quite A Conundrum, Where I Begin and Special Dead.  I first learned of Thomas when I watched and reviewed Quite A Conundrum and was absolutely blown away by the film.  You can follow Thomas on Twitter at @tstreet of you can find information of the worldwide release of Quite A Conundrum on the Official QAC Facebook page or at www.quiteaconundrum.com. 

We asked Thomas what movies he’d put on his Top 10 Horror Films list and here’s what he had to say:

People know me for the cult classic horror comedy SPECIAL dEaD and the soon to be released horror dark comedy QUITE A CONUNDRUM. So those same people may expect me to be more inclined to have a top ten list that includes humorous horror films, but that’s where they will be wrong. It’s the sick and twisted horror films of my youth that have inspired me, and those elements leak into all my films.

10.  HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1986)

This film is straight up bad ass and truly disturbed the hell out of me. With its rigid camera angles, long running scenes with very limited editing, the sparseness of everything about the movie just makes you feel uncomfortable the entire time you are watching it, which is exactly what the filmmaker intended. It was gritty, rough around every edge, a true indie film that held no punches and blew a load in your face without warning. Watching this movie for the first time is how I imagine you feel after your first facial, and no, I’m not talking about taking care of your black heads. AND IT INTRODUCED THE WORLD TO THE ROOKER!

9. POLTERGEIST (1982)

I was 8 years old when I saw this movie. Needless to say I did not sleep for a minute or two. This is also where I gained my super appreciation for midgets aka the vertically challenged, aka I do not know what the politically correct term is to use (short peeps, cause they are like candy coated marshmallow goodness). And this is also where I learned to be extremely scared of creepy little kids and the snow that use to pop on the television at 3 in the morning. Please stand up if you remember the national anthem cutting away to the snow on the TV, if not, learn!

8. APRIL FOOLS DAY (1986)

Okay this one has to be my cheesiest pick, but damn this movie did all kinds of things to me a southern boy going through puberty. I mean Muffy / Buffy had all kinds of attention standing prowess. I watched this movie non-stop for years. I wore the VCR and the VHS tape out. In fact my Mom got annoyed with the number of times I played this movie, in fact I am certain I stole it from the video store down the street. But in all seriousness the movie was creepy and sexy and funny as hell. It was classic cheesy 80’s at its finest. It also introduced me as a filmmaker to twists and turns and pulling the wool over an audience.

7. EVIL DEAD (1981)

There is nothing I should have to say about this movie. If you are a fan of horror then you should have seen it by now, if not, you are flat out silly. It has all the great aspect of 80’s horror, cheesy effects, bad acting, originality and it was the indie film that could! It gave the world Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Enough said, okay not really, when she’s possessed and talking and chanting through the crack in the basement, has to be one of the creepiest and scariest things I have ever seen or heard, I have had several nightmares over the years with that visual and her voice in my mind.

6. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)

On any given day I can pop in Texas Chainsaw Massacre and watch it form beginning to end without getting up to use the bathroom, checking my phone or updating Facebook. This movie is one of the few classics without a single dull moment. In fact on any given day it could jump to my Number 1 favorite horror movie of all time. A flat out gritty disturbing mind fuck if you will. This is one of the horror classics that filmmakers try and mimic and always fail. Tobe Hooper took the film world into a direction it had never even thought about going. It was a film the world was not ready for.  I can honestly say that I want to know what it feels like to cut someone up with a chainsaw. I already know what it feels like to wear someone’s face as a mask, please do not tell.

5. AUDITION (1999)

You will learn a lot about the films that really resonate while reading about my top 5 horror films. And Audition is a great place to start. It is character driven, strategically paced film. A film that slowly and perfectly builds to the ultimate climax of torture porn. But this is beautifully orchestrated methodical torture porn, like nothing ever filmed before. Takashi Miike stepped up his game and made the entire horror world pay attention to his work. A horror movie really works for me when I care about the characters and when there is the giant build up, and Audition builds and builds and builds. You keep wondering what can or will happen and how bad will it be. And the slowly paced build is perfect cause the finish is GRAND!

4. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)

This is one of the most original ideas in the history of horror. It came in a time in the 80’s when everything was getting super cheesy. I mean seriously, a murdered child molester invades your dreams and if you die in your dreams you die in real life. FUCK ME! BLOODY BRILLIANT! And he has a handcrafted glove of blades to fuck your ass up. BOOM! After I saw this movie when I was ten I had nightmares for weeks thinking that Freddy was cousin and he was looking for me. I will admit this; I had to sleep with my parents for quite a few nights in order to get any sleep.

3. THE SHINING (1980)

I will say less and less about my top 3 horror movies, cause I truly feel if you are a fan of horror and have not seen my top 3, then you are NOT a fan of horror, and should not be allowed to ever watch a horror movie again. THE SHINING! JACK NICHOLSON! STANLEY KUBRICK! NAKED OLD CHICK! REDRUM! KID ON BIG WHEEL! CREEPY HALLWAYS! TWINS! BLOOD TIDLE WAVE! FUCK ME WITH A CHAINSAW!

2. ROSEMARY’S BABY (1968)

The ultimate in building up to the perfect climax. A true ultimate ending.  JOHN CASSAVETES! MIA FARROW (Her only good performance, kind of like Kate Hudson in ALMOST FAMOUS). This film will make you breathless. You cannot stop thinking and feeling for the duration of the film! Your mind is constantly turning. It is tiresome and will wear your mind out. This film will exhaust you! This is POLANSKI’s masterpiece in my not so humble opinion. I will be nice to the supposed horror fans that have not seen this movie. Please, my suggestion to you, watch a true original horror film, I promise it will change you.

1. THE EXORCIST (1973)

1. “FUCK ME JESUS!” is one thing that needs to be said.
2. Creepiest music ever!
3. Scariest movie ever!
4. A cross was used to masturbate!

In all seriousness. This movie changed the landscape of film. One has to remember that when this film was released in 1973, there had never been a movie made of this caliber. No one had ever done, or said or seen any of the things that were put on celluloid. So when people watch it today for the first time, they just do not get the impact it made on the audiences of that generation.

(We’d like to once again thank Thomas for being a guest contributor to ScareTissue.com.  We love getting a view into the minds of these incredible directors & producers.  We realize that every horror fan has a top 10 list, and we will be bringing our readers a new top 10 list weekly from those in the business.  If you are interested in contributing your list please contact us.)