Ti West names his favourite horror movie of all time
In the space of mere months, American filmmaker Ti West has managed to establish himself as one of the most innovative horror filmmakers of contemporary cinema, releasing X and the prequel film Pearl to critical and commercial acclaim. Now, he is considered among the very best of the genre, joining the likes of filmmakers Ari Aster, Jennifer Kent and Robert Eggers at the heights of horror supremacy.
Radiating a self-evident passion for the genre, West learnt his craft from the bottom of the industry ladder, making low-budget flicks such as The Roost, Trigger Man and Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, before his first critical success with 2009’s The House of the Devil. Itself an eccentric question mark, sporting a distinctive look and style that recalled the heyday of 1980s horror, the genre pastiche, starring Greta Gerwig, would pave the groundwork for West’s modern successes.
Over a decade later and West would finally reach the heights of the genre, creating X, a homage to the era of late 1970s horror filmmaking. Instantly proving to be one of the best horror flicks of 2022, the slow, methodical movie created a sumptuous atmosphere that meddled with the history of classic horror whilst paving a new path forward, inspired by the franchising of the modern genre.
Though inspired by countless classic slasher movies, West’s all-time favourite horror is far different from his recent style, opting for the iconic Stanley Kubrick classic, The Shining.
“It was the first movie that I saw when I was a kid that, like, really traumatised me,” West told Rotten Tomatoes in a discussion that covered his five favourite movies. Continuing, he addsL “It was the first movie that I saw when I was a kid that, like, really traumatised me…But as I’ve sort of grown up with that movie, what’s been so inspirational about that movie… if you watch that movie, like everybody watches that movie, it’s terrifying, it’s one of the scariest movies of all time”.
Telling the story of a family who heads to the isolated Overlook Hotel for the winter after an agreement to look after the establishment, Kubrick’s influential masterpiece stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Joe Turkel. As they settle into their new temporary home, a sinister presence takes hold, and the father, Jack Torrance (Nicholson), begins to steadily lose his control of reality.
“What I think’s great about it is that it’s not only a horror movie, it’s more a movie about an alcoholic man who hates his family, and then it’s a horror movie,” West explains of the movie, adapted from Stephen King’s 1977 novel. Discussing his favourite types of genre flicks, he adds, “To me, all the best horror movies are a regular movie first and then they’re a horror movie. That’s true with The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby as well as The Shining”.
Take a look at the trailer for the classic movie, below, and make sure you catch Kubrick’s film this Halloween.
