Board 8 > Snake Ranks Anything Horror Related Vol. 4 *RANKINGS*

(+) Yeah! (+)

That's actually a cool perspective of the film I've never really thought of before!
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33. World of Tomorrow (19 points)
Nominated by: Place (1/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdV1uFwtCpo

Importance: 5
Fear: 5
Snake: 9

I'm so happy that I finally sat down and watched this! What a gorgeous meditation on the human experience. Though the film is short, it packs so many philosophical and sci-fi ideas into its runtime that it could make many 2 hour films blush and turn away in shame. The film features a little girl named Emily, who, after wildly pressing buttons on a computer display, gets a visit from her older self. It's a lot more than that though, as the older Emily explains she's actually the latest in a series of Emily clones as part of humanity's many attempts to achieve immortality. Together, they go on a very abstractly animated adventure, with a facade of simplicity running through almost scenes that belies deeper, contextual meaning in both setting and in the stick-figured characters. One of the best examples is the earliest; older, clone Emily explains the complicated cloning process, while young Emily simply responds, "I had lunch today."

Backgrounds are equally as evocative, showing what they need to to establish a location and create feelings of child-like wonderment & grand spectacle, but also a strange coldness, alienation, and lack of belonging. Don Hertzfeldt mines so much darkness from a future that doesn't seem as distant as is portrayed, utilizing the blackest of dry humor, such as when Emily's grandpa sends out letters from his digital consciousness, simply being a series of clearly desperate "no's" read in the robotic tone of clone Emily's voice. There are other touches of existential horror as well, such as the brainless human clone stuck in the museum for years on end, or the long abandoned, purposeless moon robots programmed to always keep moving forward in the fear of death. Yet, I just love that there's always young Emily, in her child-like innocence, unfazed by technological innovations or even the imminent destruction of Earth in clone Emily's future. Ultimately, World of Tomorrow is not a film that wants us to be down on life or view it negatively. What it does want from us is to accept that those negative parts of life are just as real as the positives, and that we shouldn't push either extreme away. Life is such an incredible thing that we can, paraphrasing clone Emily here, be very proud of our sadness because it means we are more alive, and also just take solace in the comfort of a lingering, half-forgotten memory or fall in love with a moon rock. It's these two extremes that represented in both sides of Emily.

I guess Emily said it better than I ever could: "This is your future, Emily Prime. It is sometimes a sad life, and it is a long life. You will feel a deep longing for something you cannot quite remember. It will be a beautiful visit, and then we shall share the same fate as the rest of the human race: dying horribly."

Man, there's just so much to discuss here that's really hard to put into words. It truly is the definition of a visual piece I think, meant to be watched and taken it by its emotion and feelings more than anything. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all of the dead.
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God I love World of Tomorrow so much

WoT 2 is great as well, though it doesn't hold the same startling punch as the original
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I've not seen WoT 2 yet--been saving it for a rainy day, and few days are rainier than those spent escaping from a domestic conflict. In this hour of death, it may be important to remind myself that I'm about to see more of this life than I've ever known.

It probably doesn't need words, but this thread has been endlessly wonderful and I'm very glad that you enjoyed the short.
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I hope anything you may be going through right now ends up alright Place.

In any case though, I appreciate the kind words nonetheless!
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32. Emily Carrol Horror Comics (19.5 points)
Nominated by: Pirateking2000 (0/5 remaining)
http://www.emcarroll.com/

Importance: 5
Fear: 6.5
Snake: 8

In my first ever horror rankings, I reviewed Emily Carrol's fantastic anthology book, Through the Woods, which featured five gorgeously drawn Gothic tales that were extremely chilling in the best way. This anthology featured one of her most famous works, "His Face All Red", but I think there's two stories, "Our Neighbor's House" & "In Conclusion", that are the perfect indications to what you can expect from the rest of Mrs. Carrol's body of work. "In Conclusion" is based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and the comic features a strong dark fantasy lean, with the artwork shifting through different modes of surrealism and realism, creating a sense of paranoia and an emphasis on uncertainty. Like a lot of Carrol's stories, the horror slowly creeps up throughout the comic before going off like a bomb at the end. "Our Neighbor's House" follows a similar format, but what I love about this comic is its rhythmic flow, like a poem. Almost very page is punctuated after either 3 or 4 panels that reveal something new & scary to the reader while driving the story forward, and these lines are usually short but hard-hitting. Not only is this effective for the horror, but it's just satisfying and brisk to read through, and makes you focus on the artwork just as much as the dialogue, which I think is the primary goal of Carrol's stories. I've also taken notice to the corruption of innocence in many of her stories, as well as a focus on family, with stories often being from the perspective of a young girl. This corruption tends be to represented as the surrealism that takes over the realistic parts, personified by vicious animals like the wolf. Carrol's horror comics are all definitely worth checking out, especially if you're in the mood for twisted fairy tales in the true spirit of the Brothers Grimm.
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31. Obligatory Panic at the Disco music video (LA Devotee) (19.5 points)
Nominated by: trdl23 (2/5 remaining)
https://youtu.be/r5dNcKTcnPA

Importance: 3
Fear: 7
Snake: 9.5

Boy was I sleeping on this video! Featuring an appearance from Noah Schnapp (of Stranger Things fame), the video for LA Devotee is all about the seedy undertones and hidden themes that really tie in nicely with the primary message of the song too. Noah appears to be the captive of a satanic cult, and is tortured by them constantly throughout. Though the visuals themselves are creepy, the message is where the real horror is in my opinion. Noah becomes another "LA Devotee" under the influence of this cult, a slave to wealth, fame, and material things, forced to conform to this fake and evil world. I think it's really neat that Brendon tackles such a dark and taboo topic in this video, as Satanism has often been associated with Hollywood, particularly the realms of acting and music. What's even more interesting is that he portrays himself as the satanic mastermind, which sort of ties in to the Emperor's New Clothes video which sees him turning into a literal devil. I almost feel as if he sees himself as succumbed and taken over by the black magic of Los Angeles and now feels compelled to bring others to the same fate (obviously not for real, just referring to the videos). With a disturbing subject matter, excellent direction, and surreal visuals, LA Devotee is a real treat of a music video and a fantastic addition to the Panic! horror canon.
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Yeah Emily Carroll is great. I believe I was introduced to her work in a past horror ranking topic, possibly yours. The Nesting Place and His Face All Red are probably my two favorites, of what I've read. I should just get a hard copy of Through the Woods at this point, both her storytelling and art style are a treat.

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I loved that video when I saw it but never would have guessed it to rank so highly! Noah's performance really sells it. The jarring cuts between him actively resisting and his sunken look of enthrallment are by far the most disturbing part of the spectacle.

Any thoughts as to what the meaning is for Brendon manifesting physically at the end? It seemed like he was trapped in the screen before, or was that just a trick?

EDIT: Yes, I'll be doing one of these every single year, if that wasn't clear yet. Brendon keeps pumping out weird stuff.
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Yeah, I could kind of see him as being trapped, and perhaps using Noah as a physical form to spread his influence out further? Just a thought!

And you will get no complaints from me, I love Panic! music videos so keep 'em coming!
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30. Fantastic Planet (20 points)
Nominated by: Place (0/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgCxCZNkQ9E

Importance: 6
Fear: 5.5
Snake: 8.5

A landmark of sci-fi and animation, Fantastic Planet from the outside can look like an insurmountable wall thanks to its weird, eerie, and surrealistic visuals that range from the whimsical to the off-putting. You can take it at face value if you want, and enjoy it from a distance, and I'll admit, there's plenty of enjoyment you can get out of this just by merely looking at any single frame of this animated masterwork. However, you'll find looking deeper is both just as satisfying and really not as complex as it may seem. See, at its core, Forbidden Planet is an all-too-relatable allegory for racism, animal rights, and just the harmony of humanity in general. You will be surprised at just how much the impressive animation doesn't hide or muddle that fact in any way. In the film, you have the Draags, a giant race of humanoid aliens, and Oms, actual human beings taken from planet Earth. Despite the Draags' technologically advanced and philosophical society, they treat humans merely as wild animals and pets, even hunting them for sport occasionally. I'm sure I don't need to spell out how this relates to our society. One Om, named Terr, is taken in by the Draag daughter of a grand master, and though kept as a pet, Terr manages to learn a lot about Draag technology and society, and eventually leads an Om revolution against the Draags. It's pretty easy to draw comparisons to the civil rights movement at the time, or for a more appropriate French comparison, the Algerian War a decade prior to Forbidden Planet's release. But also, it draws from the entirety of human history and our constant struggle to fight against oppressors in whatever shape or form they may come in. Fantastic Planet is an impressive package with simple but deep roots that's worth watching for many reasons, be it a reverence for the animation and its influence on future works, or for those looking for a connection to archetypal characters that can easily stand as substitutes for any comparable modern situtations in our life.
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I read that as Forbidden Planet and got more excited.
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It must've been a product of your id!
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Every year you do this, I think of stuff to nominate next time.

Be prepared for Garth Merenghis Darkplace next time.
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Oh nice, I've been dying to talk about that since watching it for the first time this year!
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29. Bogeyman by Elizabeth Smyth (20 points)
Nominated by: PumpkinCoach (2/5 remaining)
https://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=ltwvgb2lubkx82yi

Importance: 3.5
Fear: 7
Snake: 9.5

Over the past decade, I feel like Twine has been on the forefront of making some of the most unique games in horror, achieving the perfect meld of descriptive literature and adventure-style game mechanics that expands beyond your typical CYOA style of book, often placing you in the shoes of dubious characters and asking you to plunge right into an unsettling and twisted world. Smyth's Bogeyman has you taking on the role of a little child, trapped by the titular antagonist with a roster of other children, all captured by the Bogeyman for doing various "bad" things, from a child's perspective. Early on, you think you're settling in for one particular story, simply trying to escape the clutches of this bad, bad man, but it slowly gets a lot more complex than that. I found myself consistently shocked and disgusted with myself as to what I found myself doing to appease the Bogeyman and make my entrapment more comfortable for myself, often at the expense of the other children. It's like Stockholm syndrome, the game. That alluring promise of being allowed to go home if I was good enough made me do these things, and I couldn't even be sure if the promise was real. Of course, this is just my experience, you can just as easily side with the kids but there was something very psychological about this game that just compelled me against doing that. Smyth's writing is amazing and obviously contributes to this immensely; you will smell every disgusting smell, you will taste the rottenness of the "food", & you will feel the pain of the slave-like chores because Smyth describes everything with unflinching and overly-descriptive details. This extends to the characters too. The way the Bogeyman can switch from cruel and abusive miser one day to having high-spirits the next makes choosing your next move all the more difficult. Likewise, you can feel the shifting nature of the childrens' attitudes towards you depending on your choices.

This game affected me deeply in a way I wasn't expecting. I felt my innocence crumble away over the course of the experience, as harrowing situations constantly broke my spirit and resolve. I recommend playing this in one go, maybe with some ambient music in the background like I had. I'd be very interested to see if other people were affected by this game the way I had been!
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28. Sandman #17 ("Calliope") (20 points)
Nominated by: scarletspeed7 (2/5 remaining)
https://imgur.com/a/SL716re

Importance: 5.5
Fear: 5
Snake: 9.5

Sandman #17, entitled Calliope, I think encapsulates well what makes Sandman such a legendary series. The first issue of the "Dream Country" arc, it features a frustrated author, Richard Madoc, suffering from an intense case of writer's block, being unable to write a follow-up book to his original best selling novel. To remedy this, Madoc seeks out a muse, Calliope, yes the very same Calliope of Greek mythology fame, considered the chief of all muses. Easily the most horrific part of the story is how Calliope is treated, or rather, mistreated and abused by Madoc and her prior captor, Erasmus Fry. To set the tone off the bat, the first thing Madoc does to Calliope is rape her. In case you had any inklings that maybe Madoc has some good in him or would help Calliope in some way, no, Gaiman makes it crystal clear that Madoc is loathsome, greedy, and irredeemable. So, Madoc gets his ideas and becomes successful, but during this time, Calliope plots her escape, enlisting the help of Morpheus, the lord of dreams & stories. Appropriately, like a Greek tragedy, Morpheus curses Madoc with "ideas in abundance". Though you never really feel bad for Madoc here, there's still some horrifying imagery as he works his hands to the bone writing all of these ideas down. Penciled by Kelley Jones, inked by Malcolm Jones III, and colored Robbie Busch, the artwork here revels in harsh, dark shadows that subtly inform both Madoc's and Calliope's mental states and inner thoughts. Calliope's unnatural posture and occasionally twisted proportions also creates the feeling of beauty that feels hard for mortals to truly grasp.

"Calliope", like a lot of Sandman, feels like the perfect commentary for the pursuit of stories and the sometimes extreme lengths we will go to make our work perfect. It handily rejects the idea of "author-work" separation; how we get our stories is intrinsically tied to ourselves, and a story written not from a "pure" stand-point might as well be worthless. One of my favorite little moments that really proves this is how Madoc regards himself as a feminist writer, a laughable notion considering where he got that idea from: through violence & abuse of a woman. It's a story that may just make you reconsider your notions on the idea of a creator-driven piece and I love it for that reason.

Though this is mostly a self-contained story, its place in the wider Sandman story is important. Calliope would go on to recur and her relationship with Morpheus would be expanded on. Morpheus' entrapment is heavily referenced and plays a huge role in his decision to help Calliope. As for smaller details, I like that Madoc wears an Ankh earring, making Death almost have a sort of background role in the story. And both Madoc's & Erasmus Fry's books would make recurring appearance in future stories as little nods. This also wouldn't be the first time Gaiman wrote about muses; a similar concept appears in Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories, featuring a photographer desperately searching for a woman he saw in a magazine when he was younger.

This is in my view essential Sandman reading, a perfect introduction to the weighty ideas, mythological influence, and dark fantastical horror that truly defines the series.
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Definitely one of the best one-shots in comic book history. Glad it rates so well for you.

I always compare this issue to Grant Morrison's Deus Ex Machina, just in how the two writers treat authors in general. It's pretty interesting.
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great write-up for bogeyman that echoes a lot of my experience with it. even when trying to side with the kids, the game is very effective at goading you into a more self-serving path and pushing you into this uncomfortable mix of helplessness and complicity.
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More coming soon, just needed a little break today!
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27. The Terror (20 points)
Nominated by: scarletspeed7 (1/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjq7Gl_hhPY

Importance: 3
Fear: 7
Snake: 10

The Terror, in my opinion, is perhaps the greatest horror show of all time. Starring a brilliant cast with an equally as brilliant concept, The Terror mashes up the tension, in-fighting, and paranoia of The Thing with an historical drama piece like Taboo. The Terror is actually based on a book, fictionalizing the account of the infamous lost expedition of Captain Sir John Franklin in the Arctic which became icebound after attempting to traverse the last section of the Northwest Passage. The Terror is a two-fold name, being the name of the lost ship (along with the HMS Erebus) and of course, the terror experienced by the crew during this tumultuous time. The novel adds a monster to the mix of starvation and mutiny, and the show translates this excellently to the screen. No matter the scene, The Terror never makes you feel comfortable in any manner. Every scene pierces fierce with biting cold and snow, characters constantly plotting against each other, and of course, the unseen entity causing constant destruction and death to the crew. But it's also so much more than that. The alien geometries of the Arctic ice reflects both the entrapment and deteriorating mental state of the crew. It examines how quickly societies can crumble in the face of the unknown, and how any hopes or optimism can become dashed in an instant. It's a bleak show that pushes the darkness of humanity to its limits, and does not shy away from the mistreatment of native peoples, punishment by lashings, or even the subtler sinister machinations of bureaucracy. As cliche as it may sound, it's a show that uses the threat of a real monster to magnify the worst parts of ourselves, and you will not come out the same on the other side.
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26. A civilians perspective of constant, everyday fear of sudden nuclear war during the Cold War. (20.5 points)
Nominated by: trdl23 (1/5 remaining)

Importance: 10
Fear: 9.5
Snake: 1

Not being alive at the time, I can only imagine the constant paranoia one must've felt throughout this era, especially in the 1950s-1960s span. It was the age of nuclear proliferation, kick started by the United States with the Soviets joining in with their first two-stage hydrogen bomb test in 1955. From there, a nuclear arms race was born, encompassing several different countries including China and France. In addition to this, the increasing tensions of the Space Race were born from this arms race, giving people another reason to fear total annihilation of the world they know and love. Propaganda from both sides only rose this to unsettling heights, some of the most notable to me being school safety videos like the infamous "Duck and Cover" short. Back then, without the internet, lies and rumors were a lot more liable to be spread and believed. As much I think this was an interesting time, it's also a time I do not very much envy being a part of, at least when it comes to this nuclear fear.

This fear was of course reflected in the pop culture of the day and in our modern times. In the realm of horror, one obvious example should come to mind: Godzilla. Japan knew first hand what it was like to be on the receiving end of one of these doomsday weapons, and as such, Godzilla wasn't just one of the earliest responses to this growing problem, it remains one of the most critical take downs of nuclear war ever, a sobering reminder to the devastating power that humanity now wielded. On the American side, we had The Twilight Zone. Many episodes were made about the Cold War, nuclear weapons, and the space race, but I think only one captures the paranoia so accurately, and that is "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street". It's a timeless lesson about mass hysteria and how our fears and prejudices can sometimes lead to more destruction than the very bombs we're so afraid of. Finally, there's the British film Threads, a completely grim, hopeless, harrowing series that lays the fearsome power of these bombs out bare, the first fictional series to depict a nuclear winter and its catastrophic effects on the human race.

It can be hard to describe just what people were going through during this time, the fear that was felt every time a new news report would come out about some recently launched object. I like to think though we learned a lot from this particular era, and certainly, while this level of fear is still around in some capacity today, it's not nearly as intense as it was during the Cold War. Despite these horrors though, we persevered and made it through as best we could.
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Snake5555555555 posted...

1955

1949
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NFUN posted...

Snake5555555555 posted...

1955

1949

Oh thank you, I forgot to specify 1955 was the first two-stage hydrogen bomb test.
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Obviously nobody wants that kind of fear, but as you noted, some of the best stories were crafted because of it. The one I was thinking of when I made the nomination was Watchmen -- without the Cold War and its paranoia growing on the average person, that story just wouldn't work.
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Very true, I just focused on the horror slant for the write-up! One of my favorites too I didn't mention was Fail-Safe.
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25. Us (2019 film) (20.5 points)
Nominated by: MetalmindStats (1/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNCmb-4oXJA

Importance: 5
Fear: 7.5
Snake: 8

Us is the kind of film any filmmaker would hope to make as their sophomoric follow-up to a huge hit. Jordan Peele's Get Out was a cultural touchstone, deftly tackling race issues head-on with a blend of comedy and existentialism with great touches of modern, viral horror sensibilities that the made the film super accessible for anyone who watched it. It was a film you never really had to look too deeply into to get a clear sense of, and if you did, the attention to detail that was there was extremely rewarding and gave the film a rich texture. Us is a bit of a different beast however.

Peele doubles down on the modern horror aspects that made Get Out so enjoyable, but in doing so, he makes the deeper narrative much more complex and not as clear cut as Get Out was. It's not just about race anymore, it's about our identities, our true selves, our inner demons, learning to speak out against unfairness, the things that divide us. Get Out almost feels like the thesis statement for Us, transforming the "sunken place" into a physical realm that contains parallel versions of ourselves. In 1986, a young girl named Adelaide meets her counterpart here, in a moment of great surrealism that showcases Peele's excellent eye for detail. This experience definitely left an impact on her, but she grew up fine and is now part of a big, loving family. Peele particular uses this family set-up to dispel any notions of stereotypes regrading black characters in film. The stereotypes are instead shifted towards your typical nuclear family structure, in that this is just your averaged flawed but loving family that ends up on the wrong side of some bad things. The first part of Us feels like it pulls a page out of a Strangers sequel, or Funny Games if you prefer, but there's a lot of intrigue in the fact that their assailants are voiceless copies of themselves. This is the part of the film that will satisfy the crowd who would merely want scares, but it's the subtext that truly sells it, even if you won't always notice it, especially on a first watch. And yet, it's a double edged-sword that ultimately detracts from the film for me. There's a huge expository dump near the end of the film that explains a lot of what's going on, and I just think back to Get Out and just how satisfyingly simple it all was.

And, to contradict myself one more time, I think that's why Us is such an incredible effort for Jordan Peele. It's absolutely bold and ambitious, it's clunky and flawed in all the best ways, always interesting, scary, and darkly hilarious. Us demands your attention like nearly no other mainstream horror film today, and I can only hope we continue to see more films like this with a strong creative edge that gets us away from the haunted house jump scare rides we see too often nowadays.
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25. Sam (Trickr Treat) (20.5 points)
Nominated by: Great_Paul (0/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su4zZPgDzaE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT53vOyhYys

Importance: 4.5
Fear: 7
Snake: 9

Short for Samhain, Sam is sort of a "guardian spirit" of Halloween, ensuring we all follow the rules or else face the consequences. Created by Michael Dougherty for the 1996 short "Season's Greetings", Sam was envisioned by Dougherty as Halloween's answer to Santa Claus due to lacking a definitive icon, and I can definitely see this in many ways. Whereas Santa embodies the spirit of Christmas through giving & love, Sam embodies Halloween through trick 'r treating, wearing a costume, and strictly adhering to traditions such as the jack-o-lantern and showing reverence for the dead. Sam also knows if you've been bad or good, but in true Halloween fashion, murders you if don't follow all the rules laid out by him. Functionally, Sam works as a slasher, just with a much broader scope and mission. Designed with a "cute" slant, Sam appears as a child in a costume of his own, and isn't an inherently bad spirit. I like that he represents the child-like joy of Halloween, appearing at the most purest and innocent time where Halloween gives us a chance to confront our fears in a fun and safe manner. Underneath his mask, Sam is more demonic in nature however, representing the more ancient, darker side of Halloween where it was believed the dead came back to roam the Earth. In both Season's Greetings & Trick 'r Treat, Sam is shown enforcing these rules with several deaths while presiding over the various events taking place in the film, fashioning weapons out of candy bars and lollipops, and his short stature and quick movements are terrifying. I really do think Sam is the perfect representation of Halloween, but unfortunately, he still remains merely a beloved cult icon and hasn't gained much mainstream traction. I guess the main problem is marketability, I mean if you're gonna compare yourself to Santa, you kind of have no chance of matching the warmness and versatility such a character provides. But, Sam is a character that bridges the ancient traditions of Halloween with the modern version of slasher villains and commercialization, but it does take time to become a legend after all. Maybe in the future, Sam will come to a Coke can near you!

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24. The Batman Who Laughs (20.5 points)
Nominated by: Axl_Rose_85 (1/5 remaining)
https://imgur.com/a/KMEJUTu

Importance: 4.5
Fear: 7
Snake: 9

How do you deal with a character who has the martial arts prowess and detective skills of Batman mixed with the insanity and (lack of) morals of the Joker pushed to cosmic extremes? The Batman Who Laughs aimed to answer that question, debuting in 2017's Dark Nights: Metal storyline as one of the scariest additions to DC's villain line-up in years. Many other dark variations of Batman were also introduced, and while they were compelling and frightening too as direct parallels to the Justice League, Batman Who Laughs quickly stole the show thanks to his Hellraiser-esque design and participating in some of the most heinous actions the DC universe had ever seen. He has also been the one pushed most hard by DC since his debut. On his home earth of -22, the Joker loses any shred of sanity he had left and goes completely bonkers, bringing both Gotham and Batman to their knees as Joker murders Batman's rogues, allies, and even turned children into miniature Jokers to do his bidding. Batman is completely broken and ends up killing the Joker, which releases a gas that slowly transforms Batman into his worst enemy, and in true horror fashion, this process is gradual and explodes into a massacre as Batman eventually kills his entire Bat Family and even the Justice League, and these are done in the worst, cruel ways possible since Batman knows every weakness of them. BwL is so scary because it's not much of a stretch to imagine Batman pooling his limitless resources to become a villain just as easily as he became a hero. Really, anyone with that much uncontrolled power would be one to keep a close eye on no matter their intentions. Batman Who Laughs explores this path well, and whether it's bringing together a group of corrupted Robins or dismembering the Court of Owls, I'm eager to see where this insanity train goes next.

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https://imgur.com/jnOqbPC
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23. Sandman #25 ("Season of Mists: Chapter 4") (20.5 points)
Nominated by: scarletspeed7 (0/5 remaining)
https://imgur.com/a/QXy8niH

Importance: 4.5
Fear: 7
Snake: 9

Sandman #25 is a great little issue, one that stands on its own but also tied inextricably to the events that preceded it. It's one of the more overtly horror focused issues of Sandman, set in the haunted house genre and featuring a young boy by the name of Charles Rowland being haunted by the dead souls of his empty boarding school. The concept for this issue was born from the prior issues in the Season of Mists arc, with Lucifer abandoning and locking up hell leaving the dead souls of Earth with no where to go. It's an interlude in a larger story, and thus brings a more grounded and realistic break from the grand machinations of celestial beings. I think what I love most about this story is its casual observations. The issue constantly remarks about the nature of school; Rowland mentions its inescapable smell, past reminders of long-dead headmasters constantly staring and judging you, and the trio of bullies still reveling in their past "glories". The issues uses the dead coming back to constantly criticize living in the past and repeating the same cycles, portraying it as the "real" hell certain people go through everyday, bringing it upon themselves. It's not all doom & gloom though! Rowland meets a friend, Edwin Paine, one of the dead souls, who at first felt scared and forever tied to his place of death. After a brutal attack by some bullies, Rowland meets his maker, or rather meets Death, who agrees to leave Rowland alone due to the craziness going on right now with Hell. This gives Rowland an optimistic feeling, and convinces Paine to come along with him and leave the school behind. Rather than stay in a personal hell of his making, I love that Rowland embraces a sort of freedom instead, ironically having a new lease on life with limitless possibilities. It's a positive message and one we should follow while we're still lucky to be among the living. Leave that musty school smell behind, carve your own path in life, and enjoy it while you can because it doesn't last forever.

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22. Let the Right One In (2008 Movie) (20.5 points)
Nominated by: PrinceKaro (0/2 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICp4g9p_rgo

Importance: 6.5
Fear: 5
Snake: 9

I'm personally surprised it took 4 of these rankings to get Let the Right One In, one of the best takes on vampirism in fiction, nominated. Playing out more like a romantic drama, Let the Right One In is a grounded and deep take on the genre, rivaled only, in my opinion, by Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre. Children are very rarely the focus of vampire films, but here, they're front and center. There's Oskar, an oft-bullied boy who meets lonely Eli, an androgynous vampire who just moved in next door, and they slowly fall in love with each other. Adding to the mix is an older man named Hakan, who appears unsavory but has good intentions for Eli (he's worse in the book though). Eli helps Oskar deal with his rampant bullying problems, and there's a particularly violent scene where Oskar splits open a bullies ear with a rod, and it's scenes like this that truly define this film's horror: unpleasant, unsatisfying, sloppy, and all together cruel. If you've seen the film's climax at a certain pool, you will know what I'm talking about. Yet, this horror comes slow and with clear purpose. They're unnatural markers to the inherent strangeness of Oskar and Eli's relationship, and the film takes careful pains to show the similarities between them despite coming from different backgrounds. If you took out the horror elements, you would still have a psychologically driven film that shows how loneliness and depression can sometimes to lead to some extreme actions. This film is an essential and should be at the top for any horror fan to see if they haven't yet! You will be drawn in by the film's dream-like flair and deep-cutting romance, and equally repulsed by the film's unflinching approach to vampiric evisceration.

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Let the Right One In is fantastic, and Let Me In is probably one of the best examples of an American remake of a foreign horror movie
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Yeah for sure, it's actually a pretty rare example as well.

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Us is so fun to watch. The backstory didn't make much sense but OK.
Also the Junji Ito vibes are great.
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21. The Joker (Batman) (21.5 points)
Nominated by: Shonen_Bat (4/5 remaining)
https://imgur.com/a/ss7HKyn

Importance: 10
Fear: 5
Snake: 6.5

When it comes to comic book villains, it doesn't get more iconic than the Joker. Whether on the page or screen, Joker has influenced countless homages & copycats that take inspiration from his twisted brand of comedic ultraviolence. Much like his caped crusader counterpart, Joker has gone through many iterations over the years, often receiving drastic makeovers to keep up with an ever changing world and a heavily demanding audience. Whether you like the extreme anarchic agency of Ledger's performance, the goofy silver age antics of 50/60s Joker, or prefer a healthy middle-ground like in the Animated Series, there's likely a Joker story for you, and it's equally as likely to be one of the most definitive representations of the character. More than anything, Joker represents an idea you can very easily mold to your will to fit any story and match any rivalry. This makes Joker as interesting as much as it makes him boring. Someone like the Riddler or Scarecrow always feels more compelling to me because they feel more concrete and real, they have very specific goals and wants and points of weakness that make them interesting to read about. Watching the Joker cause general mayhem and even going to certain extremes you weren't expecting can be great if done well, but I feel those are generally few & far between. "Joker's Five Way Revenge" and "Death of the Family" are some of my stand-out examples, and stuff like the Arkham series works best for me because you experience the cruelty of the Joker first-hand, sometimes feeling powerless to stop him. And the Joker is a great film villain since his plots are usually more focused and the actors generally put 110% into the performance. It's easy to see why Joker is a fan favorite, after all, the unknown is what good horror is made of, and his ability to consistently cripple the invincible Bat emotionally has resonated with some as some of the best comic writing out there. And I do like the Joker, I just wish other villains would get the spotlight more often I suppose. Well, clearly, the Joker will still be around for years to come, with many future writers and actors continuing the legacy in what I hope are interesting, gripping, and scary ways.

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Can I just add on that I find it impressive Shonen_Bat lasted this long without losing a nom? I didn't even realize until I wrote this one up.

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I can't believe it, made it to top 20 at least.
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20. Mummies (21.5 points)
Nominated by: Anagram (0/5 remaining)
https://imgur.com/a/XUphjdE

Importance: 10
Fear: 5
Snake: 6.5

Mummies are probably one of the most iconic generic horror monsters in the business. They're one of the oldest examples too, getting their start around 1827, with the landmark science-fiction novel, The Mummy! or A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century. In this novel by Jane Loudon, the Egyptian mummy Cheops is brought back to life in the year 2126. It's the first English story to feature a reanimated mummy, starting a trend that would continue all the way into our current decade with no signs of slowing down. It was written as a response to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and sparks a science vs. faith debate instead, and though Cheops is horrifying in appearance, he's rather well-spoken and easy to befriend. The novel also has a large focus on future technology and progressive feminist ideas, almost unhead of at the time. It's one of the more interesting starts to any horror monster, that's for sure.

The concept of the Mummy would continue to be used through the 1800s, one of the most influential examples being She: A History of Adventure, one of the best-selling fictional stories of all time. Written by H. Rider Haggard, it depicts a lost world ruled by a woman named Ayesha, who reverts to a Mummy like state by the end of the book. Like many similar Mummy-related novels of the time, it more deals with concepts of fantasy, adventure and romance rather than horror, but as always you can totally see the building blocks leading towards the bandaged, slow-walking, curse-fueled mummies we know today.

Bringing us close to this is the Universal Monsters classic, The Mummy from 1932. Easily the most famous incarnation and the origin point for undead Mummy films, it starred Boris Karloff as Imhotep, revived as a mummy in present day as he attempts to mummify a reincarnation of a princess who he loved in Ancient Egypt. Interestingly however, Imhotep isn't really the image we associate with mummies, still much more in line with the 1800s Gothic novels. That honor would go to 1940's The Mummy's Hand, which at last fully features a bandaged, shambling corpse of a mummy, mute and a near mindless brute known as Kharis, who would go on to feature in several sequels. With this iconic image established, this would go on to be the mummy's default mode of operation in fiction for years to come.

Despite their great influence on horror, I've always found mummies one of the least interesting horror monsters in fiction. Often I feel they're used just because they're an easy stock character when you need a generic enemy or something, and I way prefer the old style romantic mummies, which at least had some meaning behind them. Outside of horror however, they're a tad more frightening. Mummification was a process used by many cultures, and it's uncanny how well-preserved some of these are. It's no wonder how they inspire such spine-tingling fiction for many authors. You have, of course, the whole "curse of the pharaohs" thing too, especially with Tutankhamun's curse which has been claimed to have taken many lives of the years. It's a case of the truth being scarier than fiction here, but hey, mummies are here to stay so might as well embrace this importance slice of horror history before you find yourself succumbing to a similar curse!

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Damn, and Im out. I nominated mummies as a joke, too, figured theyd go out early.
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I managed to get 2 in the top 20!

having like 3 drop around the same place a while back had me worried
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Snake5555555555 posted...

Despite their great influence on horror, I've always found mummies one of the least interesting horror monsters in fiction. Often I feel they're used just because they're an easy stock character when you need a generic enemy or something, and I way prefer the old style romantic mummies, which at least had some meaning behind them.

absolutely agree
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I think this is my first trip to top 20 territory!
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19. The Old Dark House (1932) (21.5 points)
Nominated by: PumpkinCoach (1/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06RuAO980U4

Importance: 7
Fear: 6
Snake: 8.5

A classic, effective slow-burning creeper, The Old Dark House shows what you can do with a small budget, singular location, and a fantastic cast. It's one of the first "trapped" films I can think of, in which characters are stuck in a particular location, the case here being the titular house, as people seek shelter from a severe storm. You may think this is a straight-up horror mystery, however there's a great undercurrent of comedy that alleviates some of the Gothic atmosphere and relieves some of the more unsavory looking characters. Well, maybe comedy isn't even the right word here; it's more bizarre than anything and there's a lot of buffoonery that comes from Karloff's character in particular. This film was directed by James Whale of Frankenstein and Invisible Man fame, two other films that also used comedy in unique ways that sort of clashed with the horror of the film but in a way that emphasized traits of characters you wouldn't expect them to show. Still, The Old Dark House is an undeniable nail-biter through & through. The film has gorgeous use of shadowplay and lighting and the setting is claustrophobic and feels absolutely decrepit. It's for sure the real star of the film. This was actually a lost film for decades, until a poorly-kept negative was found in 1968 (now you watch it crystal clear on blu-ray!). It's often ranked as one of the best horror films in history, and has undoubtedly inspired future works, including several Twilight Zone episodes and House on Haunted Hill, among others. While I wouldn't say it's a top favorite, it's still a fantastic film absolutely worth your time, and short too at only around 70 minutes, perfect for a quick jolt of classic horror chills.

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i think mummy stories are either steeped in bad orientalist tropes or they're not about much at all - probably the most limited of the classic monsters by far.

old dark house is a lot of fun - a top 3 universal horror movie at least.
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18. The Haunting of Hill House (T.V Show) (21.5 points)
Nominated by: Axl_Rose_85 (0/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cctNrhq0saw

Importance: 5
Fear: 7.5
Snake: 9

Okay so, speaking of houses... I may have said The Terror was the best horror TV show ever, and I still stand by that, but god damn does Haunting of Hill House make a grand attempt at taking that crown. Differing from past adaptations, Netflix's version places a greater emphasis on family drama & psychological terror, alternating between present day and flashbacks to when the family lived in the Hill House. At first, this is the type of slow-burn horror that takes place just beyond the borders of your screen; attentive viewers will definitely catch many of the hidden ghost sightings, and even those that don't will always feel a tinge of unease whenever a scene plays out in the house or indeed, in the adult lives of the Crains. They're a splintered family for the most part, all carrying some weight or emotional baggage from their atypical childhoods, and some, like Theo, even possess a modicum of supernatural power; for example, Theo is a psychic, reading minds and emotions upon any physical contact. Eventually, there comes some truly intense horror that's scarier than most anything you'll see at the theater, with ghosts like the Bent-Neck Lady especially giving a whole new twist on the apparition formula. As a whole, the show has some of the most powerful showcases of themes like grief, death, loneliness, and sobriety you will ever see, but like most Netflix shows, it kind of runs a little too long near the end. Mike Flanagan never loses sight of what's important though, and for those that like compelling dysfunctional family casts mixed with edge-of-your-seat horror, Hill House is one show you don't want to miss.

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17. Deaths of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon (22 points)
Nominated by: jcgamer107 (0/5 remaining)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_of_Kris_Kremers_and_Lisanne_Froon
https://www.elitereaders.com/photos-tourists-mysteriously-disappeared/ (exercise a little caution with this one)

Importance: 10
Fear: 10
Snake: 2

God damn is this story very heartbreaking. Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon were young dutch students hiking in Panama, who both disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 2014. They had both just graduated from college and this trip was meant to be a sort of reward for them, after saving enough money for 6 months to finally be able to go. They had their whole lives ahead of them, and I just can't imagine the mental anguish their parents must've went through in the week following their disappearance, as well as still not having close with no discernible cause of death figured out yet. Foul play has been the most likely reason put forth so far, even possibly being linked to several other murders in the area. Of course, there also could've been a hiking accident involved with a particular bad injury leaving one or both of them unable to move or get help. I really hope the cause is solved one day, and if there really was a murderer, I absolutely hope he or she is brought to justice and that their parents, at the very least, are able to get some closure on this truly horrifying and nightmarish situation.

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16. North Korea (22 points)
Nominated by: trdl23 (0/5 remaining)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea

Importance: 10
Fear: 8
Snake: 4

I honestly considered disqualifying this nomination at first, as it definitely feels weird to call a country, with real people in it going through whatever they're going through, "horror-related". But, as I thought about it, with North Korea having the worst human rights violation record in the world, and so many despicable, cruel, and downright strange stories surrounding the country, North Korea sadly does fit this topic all too well. Seeing any pictures of malnourished children and adults, cramped and crumbling living conditions, or victims of brutal prison camps is enough to make any person sick to their stomach. But that's only scratching the surface. Freedoms we take for granted everyday are practically non-existent in NK; there is only limited internet and your day-to-day routine is practically automated, with allotted food and forced labor leaving little room for anything leisure-related. Like some kind of futuristic dystopia, apparently the same song plays every morning as people leave for work and school, which has to be some surreal experience to say the least. On a more global school, NK's possession of nuclear weapons has always been a troubling notion. Sure, they've been on the butt end of some jokes, but in reality, it's not much of a laughing matter. I don't want to speculate too much since I don't live there and could never really know what it's like unless experienced first-hand, but I think there's enough proof anyway to make a reasonable observation that life in NK is not very comfortable, to put out an understatement. However, I'm sure there are people there who genuinely love NK, even as it is with obviously a majority who would want to see it be better, and I definitely don't doubt there are millions of amazing, talented, and good-natured people who reside there and make the most of what they have. After all, it's easy to focus on the bad parts, but more often, I'd love to see more of the good as well.

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I think the pictures they found on one of the girl's phones that were taken 10 days after they went missing was the creepiest part of all that

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I hadn't heard about Kremers and Froon before, that's terrifying
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