Escape real-life horror this 2011 with the lovely dark thrill of the cinema. We’ve got a grab-bag of the top (nearly) 30 best horror films in 2011, from franchise blockbuster to indie foreign horror. Actually, 28. We had 30 but the last two were rubbish.

If you love horror films and you have at least twenty-four hours to live, then there is absolutely nothing you should be doing more than reading (and subsequently adhering to) this itinerary. How else are you going to know what to watch at six thirty in the morning when you’ve just watched a zombie baby rip someone’s head open?

Some ‘reimaginings’ of classic horror films are truly dire – House of Wax, anyone? – but there are a few examples which have endured just as impressively as their inspirations. So, just in case you haven’t grimaced enough today, it’s our Top 10 horror remakes!

We’d all love to have Storm’s weather control, or Superman’s toy box of powers – but given the choice between having this line-up of genetically-different phenomena at our fingertips, or a life of crushing mediocrity, we’ll take easy street every time, thanks.

Nothing groundbreaking or awe-inspiring to be seen here, but John Carpenter being just okay is still better than no John Carpenter at all. Flimsy plot and performances, but what you’re forking over for is the shocks, and he still delivers better than most. Will leave you thinking, “Come on, John… let’s next time get our hands REALLY dirty.”

Master of horror John Carpenter has his first film for years arriving in January with supernatural chiller The Ward. We take a look back at the legendary director’s finest moments, to celebrate a career including some genre icons, a few cult classics and more than a few scares.

The world of film is awash with Marmite topics – actors, genres or even cinematic styles which make some movie-goers dampen their plush seats and others tear the stuffing from the punter in front. In our J’accuse series, two of Best For Film’s writers go head-to-head and debate a controversial aspect of cinema. This time round it’s the worst nightmare of every indie Japanese director – the Hollywood remake.

The remake of The Karate Kid is coming out soon and I’m scared. I have visions of myself coming out of the screen a broken woman, feebly humming Joe Esposito’s You’re the Best to myself. The horror of seeing a much loved film pillaged by grasping Hollywood producers is traumatic enough to merit the forming of some sort of support group.