Rob Halford is ready for the holidays. The Judas Priest frontman just dropped what might be the most “metal” Christmas album ever— Winter Songs. It’s a collection of raw and ripping rock n’ roll that sizzles with the Christmas spirit. So how is Mr. Halford preparing for Santa to slide down the chimney? By talking to us about his favorite horror movies, of course! We asked Rob what his favorite horror flicks were, and he was a stoked to answer.

Read on for a look at the list. “That’s a good question! I don’t think I’ve ever been asked this question before. They’re really obvious aren’t they,” smiled the heavy metal god, and then he shared a bevy of classics with us.

1. The Shining

I liked the psychological aspect of this film—the way Jack went from being a very lucid, normal person to becoming an axe murderer. What makes people do that type of thing? I think that was the compelling part of The Shining from a human perspective, in terms of psychology. Then again, of course, it was the phenomenal photography, the sets and the location that draw me back. Stanley Kubrick only made a handful of movies, but they were all phenomenal. If he would’ve put Jack in a different venue, the film would’ve been totally different. To put him in that huge isolated place was perfect. Those scenes where he’s sitting at the typewriter in that big huge dining room are magical. I think it’s the uniqueness of The Shining that makes it the most attractive because there will never ever be another movie like The Shining.

2. The Exorcist

Both this and The Shining confront different things. The Exorcist dealt with Satan directly, and The Shining just dealt with mental horror because there wasn’t any kind of Satanic things going on in The Shining. It was just about a guy losing his mind and evil taking over.

3. Nosferatu

There’s a film that Willem Dafoe was in about the making of Nosferatu, and the back story was that this guy could’ve really been a vampire! He was into cannibalism or something. It’s urban myth! As I understood it, for the original Nosferatu, they actually found a really creepy-looking guy and put makeup on him. He did look particularly grotesque. The image stays with you forever. That’s the thing about great horror movies; you’ll remember a particular scene or visual. It just sticks with you, and that’s what makes them legends.

4. Carnival of Souls
5. White Zombie
6. The Terror
7. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
8. The Amazing Mr. X
9. Phantom from 10,000 Leagues
10. The Brain that Wouldn’t Die

I got this box set years ago called Horror Classics. It contains 50 all-time classic horror movies from different eras. I’ve got a cabinet literally full with thousands of DVDs. Some of these go way, way back. They’re important though. Like a lot of things in the creative sense, very early primitive ideas and attempts tend to connect to the great things out there. The box set has Carnival of Souls, White Zombie, The Terror with Boris Karloff, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Amazing Mr. X, Phantom from 10,000 Leagues and The Brain that Wouldn’t Die. I love the B-stuff! I’ve watched all of these.

11. The Giant Helomonster

I think the Japanese came up with this monster film technique first. They actually took a real reptile and they built all of these little miniature trees and mountains around it so it looked like it was this giant creature stomping through a jungle. It wasn’t though! They shot the actors in a way that the monsters were ginormous [Laughs].

By: Rick Florino (www.bookofdolor.com)