After laughing about the completely unplanned, totally-done-by-your-votes match-up between The Ring and The Thing in the Axe-Wielding Eight Round, I’d like to talk about two types of movies that didn’t make the cut. There are. of course, the 24 movies so far that have been chopped off the block by you clicking a Facebook button, but there are also a bunch of movies that didn’t get placed on the original bracket to begin with.
There are two reasons that your favorite scary movie didn’t make it. One, it’s a finite list (and a small one at that). Two, we aren’t mind readers. For the most part, our bracket was conventional in honoring the classics, but we also tried to spice things up by including newer films and even a few that maybe weren’t seen by wide audiences (Session 9, you will be missed…).
Today’s post will seek to celebrate some of those movies you suggested we were morons for leaving out. We’ll also run down the numbers, laugh some more about the rhyming Ring/Thing battle, and get serious about the predictions. We’re down to 8 insanely strong horror flicks, so it’s even more important to get out the vote because the margins are going to be razor blade thin.
Or you can vote first and then read all this
Round Three Results (8 Films Left)
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- The Ring narrowly upset The Omen (179–148)
- The Thing transformed Pamela Voorhees into a loser (251–62)
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ate The Strangers for breakfast (225–60)
- The Shining didn’t want to come play with Rosemary’s Baby (295–32)
- Halloween buried Poltergeist (209–112)
- The Exorcist deeply buried The Descent (244–68)
- Alien burst the chest of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (266–26)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street slashed Session 9 (220–46)
So here’s what the bracket looks like now:
Art designed by Jenn Lindeman – www.icandyart.net
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So what movies were we complete stupid idiots to leave out of the tournament entirely? Based on your Facebook comments, a lot of the options are nightmare-inducing, can’t-shake-the-bad-vibes movies like Cannibal Holocaust, Suspiria and, of course, Showgirls (thanks, Jimmy de Leon). To be blunt, those movies weren’t really on a radar past a certain point although there are good arguments for their inclusion. There’s also the (some might say unfortunate) bias toward movies that have had larger audiences that we’re seeing in the voting tallies. While Cannibal Holocaust might be life-ruining, it had little chance of advancing simply because of its relative obscurity. At least, that’s what I’m blaming Session 9’s loss on, because what else could it be?
Then there were movies that we argued about heatedly but didn’t make the final, impossibly difficult cut. High on our list were Saw, Martyrs and Hellraiser – all of which you suggested – but the movie most suggested was Event Horizon. To be honest, it didn’t pass through to the group of 50 that we whittled down to 32, so it was a bit surprising to see it pop up so many times in the comments. It’s a hell of a choice (and clearly a notable omission considering the united front of Facebook suggestions), but it’s also downright difficult to see it making it beyond the first round. It’s a cult film to be sure, and it’s simply unlikely that it could have rolled through with the titans.
However, one problem with the bracket that I don’t mind admitting and taking responsibility for is the exclusion of J-horror – specifically the choice to invite The Ring to the party instead of Ringu. Friend of the site Keith Calder pointed that out (saying it was the scariest movie he’s seen), and he has a solid point.
Still, it’s interesting to see that the 2002 film has lasted this long. It’s the youngest of the bunch at this juncture, and it’s amongst the cream of the crop, making the hypothetical of how the Japanese original would have done a frustrating mystery.
Day Four Predictions
I went 6 for 8 in my predictions yesterday, which my private psychologist called “marked improvement.” So I’m pretty excited to try for 7 correct guesses even though there are only 4 match-ups this round. Please know that these aren’t necessarily personal preferences; they’re estimations based mostly on tossing a coin and reading Rasmussen polls.
- Alien over A Nightmare on Elm Street
- The Shining over The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
- The Exorcist over Friday the 13th
- The Thing over The Ring
It’s really anyone’s tournament at this point (unless the Tarheels somehow sneak into the next round).
Voting for Round Four will be open all weekend, so tell a friend or ten.
Related Topics: Aliens, Halloween
