Ti West names his five favourite horror movies of all time
Despite having busted a gut in the movie industry since the start of the 21st century, it’s only really been in the past eight months or so that the American horror filmmaker Ti West has been given the praise that he so evidently deserves. Directing the fabulously thrilling horror pastiche X at the start of the year, West has since changed the game of the genre by releasing a prequel movie, Pearl, mere months after the release of the original film.
As a result, it’s fair to say that West should be considered in the same category as the likes of Ari Aster, Robert Eggers and Jennifer Kent, being a horror filmmaker who is making genuinely innovative strives to better the genre. Teaming up with the equally progressive actor Mia Goth, for his previous two projects, West has carved out a name for himself as a curious creative who isn’t afraid to fly a little too close to the sun.
For anyone who has seen X, and indeed his most recent release of Pearl, it’s clear that West is a purveyor of horror, having learned his craft from decades of genre masters, including Peter Jackson, Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg. Such becomes even more apparent when he sat down with Rotten Tomatoes in 2014 to discuss his all-time top five favourite movies.
Taking the first spot is the cult-favourite documentary flick American Movie, directed by Chris Smith in 1999. Recently reappearing in the news after the sad passing of lead actor Mike Schank, the film tells the story of an aspiring filmmaker who set out to finance his dream project. Speaking about the movie, West states, “It’s incredibly charming, and it’s one of those movies that I think, as a filmmaker or just a film fan in general, it’s a very essential movie to see”.
Second on West’s list is the lesser-known Peter Jackson horror flick Bad Taste, the first of the filmmaker’s strange, graphic splatter films. Calling the movie, “one of the grossest movies ever,” West is an avid lover of Jackson’s strange film that follows a band of aliens who chase human flesh to run their intergalactic fast-food chain, explaining, “It was so rough around the edges, yet still compelling and well-made that it kind of gave me this sort of inspiration and confidence”.
The dark adventure movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom by director Steven Spielberg takes the third spot on his list, with the family-friendly flick that borders on horror being an instant favourite for the terror-loving filmmaker. “What’s really amazing about that movie is it totally defies genre constraints,” West explains, adding, “That movie is totally bonkers and totally sincere. It doesn’t really fit into any genre category”. We certainly agree.
It would be wrong for Ti West not to include a horror classic on his list of favourites, with the 1980 Stanley Kubrick movie The Shining making it in at number four. “It was the first movie that I saw when I was a kid that, like, really traumatized me,” the director says of the horror starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, adding, “If you watch that movie, like everybody watches that movie, it’s terrifying, it’s one of the scariest movies of all time”.
Switching genres entirely, West’s final choice in his top five favourite movies list goes to the Clint Eastwood western The Unforgiven, starring the Hollywood icon alongside Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. Speaking about the film’s revisionist roots, West states, “For me, Unforgiven is a great film and it’s a great traditional sort of American western, and it’s a great critique about an older guy whose past is very different than who he is now”.
Ti West’s favourite movies
- American Movie (Chris Smith, 1999)
- Bad Taste (Peter Jackson, 1987)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Steven Spielberg, 1984)
- The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
- The Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992)
