Run away...'cause now it's Halloween. Shave your hair and burn your jeans. Evil could be right next door... or maybe just inside this starwars.com blog! Here comes my list for the top five best horror films of all time! And just in time for that unholiest of nights, "All Hallow's Eve".

I can't think of any other festive occasion that gets my blood pumping faster or my imagination running more rabid full of thoughts of monsters and undead eating hapless victims, serial killers stalking nitwit teenagers (and the obligatory virgin) and the occasional demonic force that could swallow your soul. Yes, I love horror movies and Halloween is the perfect time to celebrate in watching an excessive amount of this particular genre of cinema.

So if you're a creepy horror geek like me and just love talking about horror movies and watching them anytime of the year or if you're planning your own costume bash or ghoulish get-together this week and need some movie ideas then you've come to the right cyberspace. I recommend visually torturing your eyeballs and annihilating your brain with any or all of these titles from this definitive list of all films fearful, frightful and freakish for your sick and twisted viewing pleasure.

Here we go with the list for my top five horror flicks of all time -

5) Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn

A cabin in the woods, soul swallowing demons and just an ordinary guy... with a chainsaw hand. Directed by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead 2 is a excellent mix of fun, fear and style.

This is one of the best horror films *ever* created. Not only is it scary, but it's funny too. It's a horror film that wasn't happy following formula so it crossed genres and escaped the mainstream, setting the standard for all "undead" features to follow. Excellent over the top acting and perfect comic timing by Campbell and inspired, eccentric and energetic camera work by Raimi. This movie is still *genuinely* scary at the all the right moments and doesn't pull any punches... or leave out any gore.

And Raimi's and Campbell's follow-up, Army of Darkness, still stands as one of the best action/horror/comedy/fantasy movies ever in my book. In fact, I think it created that mixed-up genre so it may be the sole entry in that particular category.

4) The Exorcist

The plight of twelve year old Regan MacNeil is disturbing, fightening and shocking. Regan seems to suffer from some sort of mental disorder that only gets worse over time. At first, her mother turns to modern medicine and doctors to diagnose and treat her condition. She will slowly learn that it's not Regan's body or even her mind that needs to be saved, it's her soul. William Friedkin directs a compelling and revolutionary horror movie.

Another movie that doesn't pull any punches and made more disturbing and horrific by the fact that an innocent twelve year old girl (Linda Blair) can be portrayed to be so insanely evil in such a believable and convincing fashion as the living vessel for Satan incarnate. I love the slow steady build-up of this film. When Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) shows up to open a can of whup-butt on ol' Satan himself this movie really takes off. The theme music - unforgettable.

People tend to forget how truly scary this film is and make light of it's portrayal of demonic possession and the multitude of obscene vulgarities spewing from the mouth of a child like a machine gun. Though folks are pretty much desensitized to the kinds of images present in this film from other media today (most notably other films that were inspired from this original work), I dare you to sit in the dark and watch this in the privacy of your own home... alone.

Don't say I didn't warn you!

3) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Don't bother with the newer, Michael Bay produced remake montrosity. Save your money and pop this true original and truly frightening classic into your DVD player instead. From the opening imagery of roadkill and death and decay along with the narrator's dry delivery of dialogue, you know there's something seriously wrong going to happen in this movie. It's powerful sense of impending, maddening doom threatening the sanity of a group of innocent young travelers is made all the more dreadful by the film's raw, almost documentary type feel (due in no small part to Tobe Hooper's low budget I'm sure). It seriously feels like your watching and witnessing and honest to goodness 'snuff' film. When the victims are dispatched in this movie it gets under your skin and it really feels like they are *killed*.

It's straight for the jugular, viscious and completely humorless film-making. You can literally feel the uncomfortable, sweaty Texas climate exude off the celluloid putting you right in the thick of the carnage. A scary film so effective that it's only soundtrack is the bizarre, organic and mechanical noises coming from the sounds of pigs, chickens, photo cameras, generators chainsaws and the decaying household that is the centerpiece of the gritty on location shoot. It's the pacing, convincing acting, bizarre visuals and frenetic camera work that make this movie unsettling and nerve-wracking, not the actual gore (which is almost all implied since in fact there is very little of it in comparision to an average horror film).

Trust me folks, they don't come any more meaner, grittier or shocking than the original version of this movie. "Who will survive and what will be left of them?"

*Special triva or useless knowledge blurb* - The dialogue spoken by the narrator in *both* versions of the film is none other than John "Dan Fielding" Larroquette of Night Court fame. Now that's scary.

2) John Carpenter's The Thing

John Carpenter's best film with a budget. Rob Bottin's effects are so frightenedly well done it's like watching a train wreck... with aliens. You just can't look away whenever the FX work is on display here. Well you could since you'll most likely be scared or freaked out, but you would be missing some of the best moments of the movie.

Exceptional acting by an ensemble cast including genre favorite Keith David and Wilford "Quaker Oats" Brimley. And Kurt (Snake Plissken, Jack Burton) Russell is the only actor in the world who can pull off wearing a giant sombrero in artic weather conditions while flying a helicopter since he's that incredibly cool. The script, editing and brave yet ambigious, apocalyptic "un-Hollywood" ending (a staple for Carpenter's work) turned off fans and critics alike at the time (this was the year of Speilberg's much more friendly and popular alien invader - E.T.) but Carpenter's vision for the remake really not only exceeded Howard Hawk's The Thing from Another World original but it put this movie on another level above most horror films and has proven to stand the test of time.

1) Halloween

Mentally disturbed Michael Myers, in actuality an inhuman cypher for evil itself, escapes from lifelong imprisonment in a mental institution and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield to go on a babysitter murder spree... on Halloween night. It's hard to believe such a simple concept makes such a great movie... but it does. Skillfully executed, atmospheric and suspenseful. The PERFECT horror film and quintessential boogey man story by John Carpenter.

Like it's predecessor, Psycho, this movie is the modern day grandaddy of all true horror films since. It's the archetype for the teen slasher formula and set the standard for most serial killer films following it. I still wish more horror film directors today would take cues from this movie, just as you can see the influence of Carpenter taking cues from horror auteur, Alfred Hitchcock. It commands multiple viewings, much like any Hitchcock film, to see it's artistry on all of it's levels. It's not what we see of "the Shape" that scares us, it's what we don't see. The violence, gore and murders are skillfully implied, subtle and controlled along with some really tight, claustrophobic visuals.

Carpenter's creation, the unstoppable, enigmaticly evil Michael Myers is truly one of the most scary movie slashers of all time. This monstrous sociopatch still gives me nightmares from watching this movie. Even with the likable and talented Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, veteran actor Donald Pleasance as the unflappable, obsessed Dr. Sam Loomis steals the show here and creates one of the most iconic horror film protagonists ever (right up there with the late, great Robert Shaw as seaman Quint in Jaws). And the soundtrack (written and orchestrated by Carpenter himself) alone induces serious chills and adds an entirely different creepy dimension to the visual aspect of the film.

Perhaps the best, and one of the most successful, independent horror flicks ever made and Carpenter's best film *without* a budget. But like Tobe Hooper, Carpenter gets the most shock value out of his limited resources here, proving yet again that less is more. He creates the slow building, eerie sense of atmosphere superbly letting the audience explore their own nightmares and psychological baggage with his work along the way. The last fifteen minutes will chill you down to the bone.

Here's my very close calls for fifth place....

Suspiria

One of the best films from Italian horror maestro, Dario Argento. From the opening, very elaborate and totally entertaining death scene, this movie is filled to the brim with eerie tension with superb directing and editing. Only Argento with his garish visual palette and masterful timing can make sliding glass doors look unnerving and deadly. This horror experience is also enhanced with incredible music by Goblin (co-produced with Argento) and is probably one of the most effective horror film scores ever comparable to Carpenter's Halloween and The Thing (which Carpenter co-produced with legendary composer Ennio Morricone).

The film is about a New York ballerina (Jessica Harper, with some of the most expressionistic eyes in a horror film since Barbara Steele) who enrolls at a haunted 'Black Forest' dance school run by a coven of witches. And these aren't the likable or sexy kind of witches you'd expect to find these days on shows like 'Buffy' or 'Charmed' either.

Seek this classic out and like the original trailer for the film says, "nothing will prepare you for the last frightening ten minutes of this film". Well... maybe you might be a little desensitized like me and possibly feel the dated effects of this movie, but it's still genuinely and satisfyingly creepy nonetheless.

Delamorte, Delamore (a.k.a. Cemetary Man)

I just *love* this Italian horror flick. Directed by Michele Soavi (The Church, The Devil's Daughter) Dellamorte, Dellamore is by far one of the most stylish and beautiful zombie films, or horror films for that matter, ever made. Soavi is the protege' to the Italian "giallo" master, Dario Argento. While watching Soavi's film one can easily see the influence from one of the masters of great Italian horror but this student of the macabre really comes into his own and excels in true form here.

In fact, not since the original Dawn of the Dead or even 28 Days Later has there been a horror movie about zombies this refreshing and unique with its macabre subject matter balanced with an appealing, philosophical approach on life, love and death itself. In recent years, the fabulous Shaun of the Dead has only come close.

Cemetary Man also complements the over the top violence and perfectly staged gore gags with artfully done cinematography and dialogue. It really is levels above your typical zombie-horror fare. The film's exceptional score really enhances the moody characters and twisted plot. I wish I could track down and own this soundtrack on CD, it's that good. Everything in this film is really much deeper than at first glance. It's layers, upon unfolding layers and the final scene should make you go back and watch the opening frames of the film with an even more attentive eye.

Do yourself a favor this Halloween and track this movie down. Especially if you're an Evil Dead or Romero fan. It's not to be missed and even if you don't like the plot or get the philosophy there's at least plenty of Anna Falchi throughout to tide you over.

The Ring

I *highly* reccomend this movie from Gore (Pirates of the Carribean) Verbinski. A geniunely CREEPY, HAUNTING, SCARY movie without the typical gore and cheap scares of regular horror flicks today. If you're thinking because it's PG-13 it can only be "scary-lite" as a "thriller" like The Sixth Sense... think again. This film is so much more disturbing I feel bad even mentioning it in the same sentence as that movie. The sound effects and editing in this film are exquisite and superbly elevates the tension and scares in this superbly paced shocker. Gore's level of control and tight directing is almost unparalleled in regards to most modern horror these days. This is the 'almost' perfect horror film.

If your ticker can handle the previous films I've outlined how about kissing your nerves goodbye and tackling these flicks? Here's my list of honorable mentions...

Alien
The Shining
Night of the Living Dead
House of a 1000 Corpses
28 Days Later
Scream
Freaks (Todd Browning's masterpiece!)
Ringu
Pumpkinhead
Dawn of the Dead (and the highly enjoyable remake too!)
Cabin Fever
Fright Night
Re-Animator

Haven't seen some of these yet? Seek them out, you won't be disappointed!

Happy Halloween, everyone!