It’s a shocking and horrifying twist: Esquire‘s list of the 50 scariest movies of all time couldn’t find a spot for the 1973 classic, The Exorcist.
Many horror fans would embrace writer Paul Schrodt’s choice for the top spot — Tobe Hooper’s 1974 pioneering slasher flick, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
“The movie was originally billed as a true story in a genius bit of marketing and political commentary, and broke all the rules of what was acceptable in a mainstream movie,” explains Schrodt.
But from his runner-up (2008’s Martyrs) on through No. 50 (1964’s Blood and Black Lace), a fellow horror cineaste might be forgiven for screaming bloody murder over some of the choices that bumped off The Exorcist and John Carpenter’s 1981 sci-fi scarer, The Thing.
The rest of the Top 5 was rounded out by Halloween (1978), The Silence of The Lambs (1991) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968).
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
