20 Best Horror Flicks

19) The Village

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Actors: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Adrien Brody, Judy Greer, Brendan Gleeson,
Cherry Jones, Jessie Eisenberg, Michael Pitt

Year: 2004

M. Night Shyamalan has certainly proven that he can write a terrifically scary film, but it was 2004's The Village that kept audiences everywhere feeling unrelentless intensity and suspense. Another reason this film is so good: it introduced us to the amazingly talented Bryce Dallas Howard.

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Did You Know...

... Warren Beatty turned down the role of 'Jack Horner' and Leonardo DiCaprio turned down the role of 'Dirk Diggler' in "Boogie Nights". The parts, of course, went to Burt Reynolds (who garnered a Best Supporting Golden Globe and Best Supporting Oscar nomination) and Mark Wahlberg, respectively. I wonder how that would have changed the film.

***Apparently Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, John Travolta, Matt Dillon, and Joaquin Phoenix were considered for roles.

Performance of the Day

Actor: JOAQUIN PHOENIX

Film: "Inventing the Abbotts"

Character: Doug Holt

Year: 1997

Back before he was a two-time Oscar nominee and before he started looking like the uni-bomber, Joaquin Phoenix starred as Doug Holt in "Inventing the Abbotts". Phoenix, playing little brother to Billy Crudup's Jacey, has an obsession with the wealthy, beautiful Abbott girls. Phoenix's showed a mixture of sensitivity and shyness.

Ginger of the Week

I started off this category with one of my favorite gingers, Bryce Dallas Howard. The offspring of another famous red-head (former actor and current director/producer Ron Howard), she has been a breathe of fresh air in an industry full of bottle-blonds. With her star-making debut in M. Night Shyamalan's spooky "The Village", she made her mark (and managed to out-shine big names Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, and Sigourney Weaver). With a string of other hits (including "Lady in the Water", "Spiderman 3", "Terminator: Salvation", and now as the new 'Victoria' in the Twilight saga) beautiful Howard has shown that nepotism isn't the only reason she has become a success.

Fun Shoots

Joaquin Phoenix, Liv Tyler, Jennifer Connelly, Billy Crudup,

and Joanna Going in a publicity shot for "Inventing the Abbotts", 1997