Final Girl on 6th Ave: Top 100 Horror Films (Part 6)
Join us for the final part of our countdown of the top 100 horror films. In this episode, we cover the top 10 films on our list.
Show host Carolyn Smith-Hillmer takes listeners through a list of her 100 most recommended horror movies. This is part six, the final entry in the six-part series, where Carolyn counts down to her #1 horror film. If you missed any of the earlier entries, you can catch up using the links below. We hope you enjoyed this journey and discovered some great new horror! – Stephanie (Editor-in-Chief)
THE TOP 100 COUNTDOWN, PARTS 1-5:
SHOW NOTES FROM HOST CAROLYN SMITH-HILLMER:
It is finally the moment you have all been waiting for! Here is the beautiful top 10 list of my favorite horror films of all time. Thank you for sticking along for the ride.
Here are the killer films covered in this episode:
Saw: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_(2004_film)
Nightmare on Elm Street: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nightmare_on_Elm_Street
Raw: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_(film)
The Killing of a Sacred Deer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killing_of_a_Sacred_Deer
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre
American Psycho: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Psycho_(film)
Hereditary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereditary_(film)
A Clockwork Orange: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange_(film)
Persona: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_(1966_film)
Hellraiser: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellraiser
ABOUT THE SHOW:
The Final Girl on 6th Ave is a weekly show where host, Carolyn Smith-Hillmer, dissects an arthouse/elevated horror film. Each episode includes a detailed play-by-play of the film itself and a subsequent deep dive into the thematic elements and symbolism. Because elevated horror is sometimes viewed within the horror community as pretentious, Carolyn makes sure to use her down-to-earth tone and unique perspective to make these films less intimidating for the casual horror viewer and less ostentatious for the genre lover.
Listen to more episodes on the show’s website here.
The Final Girl on 6th Ave is a bi-weekly podcast where host Carolyn Smith-Hillmer reviews arthouse horror films in a non-pretentious way.
Lars von Tier and Horror
Lars von Trier has been called a visionary, a sadist, and a self‑mythologizing provocateur—sometimes all in the same breath. In this episode, we unpack how an anxious kid from Copenhagen became one of the most controversial figures in world cinema, and why his work looms so large over modern horror and “extreme” art‑film. Focusing on Antichrist, Melancholia, Nymphomaniac, and The House That Jack Built, we explore von Trier’s “Depression Trilogy,” his use of grief, sex, and violence, and the ongoing debates about misogyny, ethics, and audience complicity. Along the way, we bring in film scholarship, critical essays, and production histories to ask a simple but uncomfortable question: when von Trier pushes horror this far, is he revealing something profound about suffering—or just building a house out of pain?
SOURCES/INFORMATION
Biographical and career overviews
“Lars von Trier.” Wikipedia.wikipedia
“Lars von Trier – Simple English Wikipedia.” Simple Wikipedia.wikipedia
“Lars von Trier.” Encyclopaedia Britannica (biography, awards, filmography).britannica
“Lars von Trier filmography.” Wikipedia.wikipedia
“Lars von Trier – IMDb.” IMDb.imdb
“List of awards and nominations received by Lars von Trier.” Wikipedia.wikipedia
Context and Danish film culture
“Lars von Trier and Cultural Liberalism.” Danish Film Institute.dfi
Excerpt from Regional and Global Dimensions of Danish Film Culture and Film Policy (on Dogme 95 and Danish film branding).catalogimages.wiley
Critical profiles and interviews
“Lars von Trier: Behind the Curtain.” The New Yorker (profile on von Trier’s persona and controversies).mubi+1
“Lars von Trier: A Problematic Sort of Ladies’ Man?” NPR radio piece and transcript (Pat Dowell, with Caroline Bainbridge).npr+1
“The Many Faces of Lars von Trier.” BFI feature.bfi
“Lars von Trier: An Overview.” Film Festival Today (career overview).filmfestivaltoday
Horror‑specific and film‑specific sources
“The Immersive Examination of Depression and Grief in ‘Antichrist’ [Unveiling the Mind].” Bloody Disgusting.bloody-disgusting+1
“Antichrist (2009)” – film entry and production details. IMDb and Wikipedia.imdb+1
“The House That Jack Built (2018).” IMDb (plot, reception).imdb
“Manically Macabre: Lars von Trier as Horror Icon.” Horror Obsessive.horrorobsessive
“‘Terrifier 2’ and 9 Other Horror Movies Which Famously Made Audiences Sick.” Collider (section on Antichrist).collider
Scholarly / analytical work
“Lars von Trier – The ‘Sex’pression Ideology.” Academic essay (via Academia.edu PDF).academia
Caroline Bainbridge, The Cinema of Lars von Trier (discussed in NPR and academic contexts).npr+1
Career primers
“Notebook Primer: Lars von Trier.” MUBI Notebook.
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