4. The Perfect Scary Movie (2005)
The Perfect Scary Movie was a 2005 documentary that aired on the 29th of October on Channel 4 and ran for 102 minutes. It looked at the various conventions and scare techniques of the horror genre and was hosted and narrated by comedian, and host of popular BBC quiz show Pointless, Alexander Armstrong. The documentary was essentially people discussing the different horror elements and giving their favourite examples. Contributors included many horror actors and actresses such as the Exorcist's Linda Blair, the Evil Dead's Bruce Campbell, Freddy Krueger himself Robert Englund, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Gunnar Hansen and Shaun of the Dead's Simon Pegg, as well as directors such as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Tobe Hooper, Gremlins' Joe Dante, Halloween's John Carpenter and Hostel's Eli Roth. There were also contributions from other celebrities who were horror fans or had horror links, such as Ed Byrne, Alice Cooper, Richard O'Brien, Jenny Agutter and Emily Booth as well as contributions from a scientific point of view from the likes of fear psychologist Professor Graham Davey. Elements that were discussed included jump scares, creepy music, characters' curiosity getting the better of them and the fact that any sex in horror movies almost guarantees death for the participating characters. It was a really fun insight in to what makes a great horror movie and had some very surprising and perceptive contributors and contributions.