Top Ten British Horror Films
F tells the story of Robert Anderson, a burned-out alcoholic world-weary English teacher, a man who has to face his most terrifying demons. F is set in a huge sprawling U.K. comprehensive school, after lessons have finished for the day. What is a place of learning during the daytime, becomes a vast and deserted labyrinthine nightmare of endless corridors, empty classrooms, woodwork rooms, gyms, welding rooms, motor pool shops, canteens, photographic darkrooms, art studios and sports halls. The school comes under relentless attack from a group of blood thirsty hoodies, intent on only one thing, to spread terror. Anderson must battle these brutal killers, and his deepest fears, in a desperate battle for the survival of his pupils, fellow teachers and those he holds most dear.
To coincide with this week’s release of Johanne Roberts school-set horror film F on DVD, we’ve put together a list of the top ten British horror flicks of all time. Read on if you dare!
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| Robin Hardy’s 1973 horror The Wicker Man fast became a cult classic, with Christopher Lee’s performance as the strange and dangerous Lord Summerisle becoming one of his most memorable roles since Dracula. The late Edward Woodward took the other lead as a policeman sent to Summerisle’s island to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a local girl. Eerie, atmospheric and with one of the most unforgettable endings in cinema, The Wicker Man thoroughly deserves it’s coveted place in the history of British horror. |
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| In 2005, the director of Doomsday and Dog Soldiers brought us The Descent, a claustrophobic horror about pot-holing gone wrong. When six women become trapped in an unmapped cave system, sustaining food and water become the least of their problems as they are hunted by carnivorous ‘crawlers’ that pick them off one by one. Tense, scary and appropriately gory, The Descent became a fast favourite of horror fans everywhere. |
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| 28 Days Later - 2002 Before Slumdog Millionaire, Sunshine and 127 Hours, Danny Boyle made 28 Days Later, a visually stunning and boundary testing zombie film set in London. Set four weeks after an incurable virus spreads across the city, the film follows a group of survivors desperate to find safety. Nominated for the Best British Independent Film Award at the BIFA’s in 2003, and winning Best British Film at the Empire Awards the same year, 28 Days Later demonstrated that British horror’s still got what it takes. |
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| Dead Man’s Shoes - 2004 Revenge horror Dead Man’s Shoes tells the tale of Richard (Paddy Considine), a recently returned soldier with a plan – to exact revenge on the local bullies who abused his mentally impaired brother Anthony. Gritty, gory and far from an easy watch, Shane Meadows produced a hard-hitting horror that’s made a permanent mark on the British genre industry. |
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| 2002 saw werewolves return to the big screen in all their glory – huge, hairy and most of all hungry! When a squad of British soldiers go on a training expedition in Scotland they come across the mangled remains of a Special Ops Squad. From there, it’s a short journey to terror, teeth and turmoil as the soldiers fight for their lives against the most unlikely of enemies. A fine addition to the lycanthropic genre, Dog Soldiers demonstrated director Neil Marshall’s aptitude for horror, and his uncanny ability to take a familiar trait in new directions. |
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| Adapted from a novel of the same name by Susan Hill, 1989’s The Woman in Black follows the story of young solicitor Arthur Kidd after he is sent to a small town on the East coast of England to attend the funeral of an elderly widow. While there, he finds the locals reticent to talk about the recently deceased Mrs Drablow and ignores their warnings about delving into her affairs. Kidd soon becomes embroiled in the widow’s horrible history and a tale of terror ensues. Later adapted into an awarding winning theatre play, The Woman in Black is now one of the most notorious of all British horror stories and is due for a cinematic remake this year. |
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| Cinematic veteran Sam Peckinpah teamed up with Dustin Hoffman in 1971 for the psychological thriller Straw Dogs. Hoffman played a young American Mathematician who moves to rural England with his wife, only to be tormented by local bullies. Released the same year as A Clockwork Orange, Straw Dogs drew controversy surrounding its violent content and the continuing growth of violence in cinema. However, it is still considered one of Peckinpah’s greatest films and received an Academy Award nomination the following year for its impressive musical score by Jerry Fielding. |
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| Almost solely responsible for launching Chrisopher Lee’s acting career, Terrence Fisher’s 1958 adaptation of the classic Bram Stoker novel launched vampires into the foreground of cinema. With Peter Cushing as the resilient Doctor Van Helsing and Christopher Lee as the most famous vampire in history, Dracula was a gothic masterpiece that ignited a string of successful British Hammer Horror films. |
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| In 1960 Michael Powell made a serial killer movie that would essentially end his career in the UK. Focusing around Mark Lewis, a lonely and sexually repressed young man who works in a film crew, Peeping Tom sees its protagonist systematically murder women; filming their dying moments as he goes. This voyeuristic piece of movie making proved a gold mine for film students and, although critically rejected, developed a cult following that in later years had it re-evaluated as a masterpiece. |
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| When young couple Jenny and Steve go for a romantic break in an idyllic but isolated setting, things turn nasty after a gang of kids discover them and engage in a brutal encounter with Steve. Jenny is then left running for her life as she tries desperately to escape the surrounding woodland. Directed by James Watkins and starring Michael Fassbender, Eden Lake won four film awards and was nominated for a further five. Bold British filmmaking, Eden Lake was one of the best horror films of 2008. |
| F IS UNLEASHED ON DVD TODAY |