Nigel Willmott: Ten Best Horror Films

Nigel Willmott's list appears on page 398 of The Encyclopedia of Horror Movies edited by Phil Hardy (Harper & Row, 1986). No mini bio is provided, and he explains all his decisions, which he says are all on the margins. He selected Herzog's Nosferatu because of its feel for landcape, Un Chien Andalou for its shocking imagery, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari as the only adequate way to portray the world after the First World War, Frankenstein for encapuslating Mary Shelley's female fears involving "the awesome power of creating new life and of the risk of birth deformation" and Whale's sympathetic look at the marginal. He selects Halloween for frighteningly placing Jack the Ripper in the suburbs, The Lodger for "the extraordinary performance of the main character," Witchfinder General for "its evocation of pre-industrial England," An American Werewolf in London for its special effects, Eraserhead for its imagination, and Alien for embodying "contemporary fears about predatory technology."