These guys at this podcast claim it's The Innocents? Does anyone else agree?
http://www.soundonsight.org/?p=5785
Poltergeist!
-Sarah
http://www.youtube.com/moviecultist
You're all wrong. Its obviously Casper.
shareI stand corrected
-Sarah
http://www.youtube.com/moviecultist
[deleted]
"Ghost Story" with Craig Wasson, John Houseman, Fred Astaire
sharePoltergeist, without a doubt.
WALL-E SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED for Best Picture
I was just about to say "The Innocents"... The widescreen black and white photography is sublime. I still think the scariest was "The Shining" (1980), while the most entertaining was "Poltergeist".
shareIts a toss up between the original Amityville & The Entity for me.
Hello I-I'm Harvey & I've come to give you jipshare
As a serious genre junkie, the original (Japanese) Ring Virus is best ghost movie. The simple special effects are amazingly effective and the storytelling takes itself very seriously in a campfire storytelling way. It is tense and eerie all the way through and the ending is one of the landmark moments in horror film making...maybe in film making period. I still remember watching the film in a theater paralyzed and cowering with fear in that last scene. People were screaming all around the theater and a number of people were literally running for the exits. Of course, the move was remade at least twice and ripped off countless times by bad techno-horror movies so the ending may not have the same effect to today's audience. A close second for me is the Sixth Sense. People seem to forget what an effective ghost story this is due to that twist ending but even if you take that ending out, the movie is incredibly creepy.
Third place would be the Tale of Two Sisters (Korean) followed by the Shining and Poltergeist. Id also check out Juon (Japanese) which was remade into the Grudge by Hollywood. It is a ghost story without reason or redemption. Just disturbing and spooky.
The Orphanage is also excellent but sad more than scary.
The best ghost movie in my opinion is probably Casper, the Friendly Ghost
"You're supposed to stop the Q-tip when there's resistance!"
-Chandler Bing
I just read the topic and clicked on it ready to type out "The Innocents," and then I read your post. So yes, The Innocents--one of the few good ghost movies, and arguably the only great one.
share
Horror is a segment of film where there are alot of average productions but just a few that go beyond.
For me, the #1 is The Exorcist. That film scared the hell out of the the first time I saw it. I was maybe 12 or 13 at the time so I thought it was just the reaction of kid. However, having watched it multiple times as an adult, it still scares the hell of me. I know this one is more about Demonic possession than a ghost but it is about an entity kicking ass and taking names. So I think it fits this category.
#2 Poltergist. The end with the dead bodies coming out of the ground by the pool, yuuuuccckkk!!!! It was a great story told well. Even now, almost 3 decades later, it still sets the standard for these types of films.
#3 Sixth Sense. The best twisted ending ever. Although that movie is not old by any means, it ushered in an new era in film making with it's unexpected finale. I doubt there are many who could honestly say they saw that twist coming. It kept you guessing the entire time.
Honorable mention:
The Innocents
The Others
The Haunting - orginal
Amityville Horror
"Some day men will look back and say I gave birth to the 20th Century...JTR"
For me,
The Eye (Chinese version)
The Others
The Grudge
If you can't find a friend, make one.
-May (2002)
The Entity (old one), Poltergeist and the sixth sense for me.
shareThe Others and The Exorcist.
The Shining didnt do much for me but I watched it a while ago, are there any ghosts in that movie? I only remember the kid hearing stuff and Jack Nicholson going crazy. Have no recollection of the ghosts.
Never watched the Innocents but will rent it based on the good feedback
The Others
The Changeling
Sixth Sense
Woman in Black (original British tv version), NOT the new one