Last Updated on August 3, 2021
#1 – INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
For decades in early movie serials you had titled that featured the name of the hero and their quest or adventure for that tale. Simple and clear, this was a classic way to title films. After RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, Spielberg and Lucas wanted to pay homage to this and titled their prequel INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. TEMPLE OF DOOM by itself would have sounded awesome, but just adding in the Indiana Jones prefix set it apart. HARRY POTTER would follow this trend and few series outside of that and INDIANA JONES could pull it off as well. The best, coolest movie title of all time.
#2 – APOCALYPSE NOW
Simple, brutal, and poignant. APOCALYPSE NOW is a staunch reminder of how Vietnam affected the soldiers who fought and the world at large. The inspiration for the movie was the novel HEART OF DARKNESS and the original screenplay was titled THE PSYCHEDELIC SOLDIER. Both would have worked well, but Milius came up with the immortal final title after seeing a hippie button that read “Nirvana Now”. The rest is history.
#3 – DR. STRANGELOVE OR, HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB
From the same man who directed LOLITA, THE SHINING, BARRY LYNDON, THE KILLING, and many other normal titled movies comes the extra long DR. STRANGELOVE. What a phenomenal movie and one of the funniest films of all time. Most of us always drop the part of the title following OR, but when I recommend this movie I always make sure to include the subtitle. DR. STRANGELOVE is a great name by itself, but HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB gives it another level of uniqueness. We don’t have nearly enough movies with OR in their names.
#4 – KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE
A silly, stupid title with the word clowns misspelled, but hell if that doesn’t sound like a ridiculously fun movie. A complete guilty pleasure, KILLER KLOWNS is a dumb film with a really dumb premise and really cheesy performances, but there is no way that you hear that movie title and not want to see it. The movie never takes itself seriously and we shouldn’t either and that is the fun in watching it.
#5 – THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Paul Thomas Anderson could have kept the title of the Upton Sinclair novel he based this movie on, but would you have rather seen OIL! over THERE WILL BE BLOOD? I didn’t think so. This is a title that would have worked as an alternate name for THE EXPENDABLES. There is certainly blood spilled both literally and figuratively in this movie, but that title is ominous and foreboding, a feeling you get for the duration of the film. I would have been okay with naming it I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE, but that doesn’t have quite the same appeal until you have watched the movie.
#6 – I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE
Which movie would you rather see: DAY OF THE WOMAN or I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. A total f*ck you of a movie title, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is a f*cked up movie. If you want to see a woman get violent revenge on her rapists, this is the movie for you. It plays like a much more grotesque LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and is not for the squeamish. That poster is damn perfect and both the 1978 and 2010 versions of the movie use it to great effect. This is an exploitation movie through and through but can you honestly say that title doesn’t grab your attention by the balls?
#7 – NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
We often take for granted how great this title is. Forget the major cinematic impact George Romero’s film made, just listen to that title. How many movies since have incorporated the format of NIGHT OF THE in their names to sell us on the bleakness to expect on screen. While DAWN OF THE DEAD is a great name in it’s own right, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is both a terrifying prospect that sells exactly what you are going to get.
#8 – LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS
Guy Ritchie has had some great one word titles like SNATCH and REVOLVER, but nothing matches the badassitude of LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS. The name of the movie grabs you and lets you know right away that you are about to see a movie about violence. What is not conveyed is the great sense of humor the movie has as well. This was my first introduction to Vinnie Jones and what an intro it is.
#9 – ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
A brilliantly bizarre movie from the minds of Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry, ETERNAL SUNSHINE required a similarly lofty and obscure title. Even if you don’t know that it is a reference to a poem by Alexander Pope, the lyrical wordplay matches the visual trip this movie takes you on. Jim Carrey has rarely been better and Kate Winslet is hot as usual. The best part of this title is that once you hear it, you will immediately know which movie it is.
#10 – YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY
This Italian giallo film from the 1970s has one of those unwieldy titles that sounds like the name of a Fiona Apple album. In fact, the movie is a version of Edgar Allan Poe’s THE BLACK CAT, albeit with a helluva lot more nudity and violence. I checked out this film based solely on the title and I was pleasantly surprised with it. If you haven’t ventured into the world of giallo, you should give this one a shot.
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