The best/ scariest horror films

Tylerdurex

Went to IT last weekend and whilst I enjoyed it I didn't find it scary . In fact the bits that were supposed to be scary I found funny

Would appreciate a list of the best and scariest horrors

The exorcist and the shinning are surely on it

briany

Tylerdurex wrote: »

Went to IT last weekend and whilst I enjoyed it I didn't find it scary . In fact the bits that were supposed to be scary I found funny

Would appreciate a list of the best and scariest horrors

The exorcist and the shinning are surely on it

Halloween
Evil Dead
The Blair Witch Project
The Omen
Nightmare on Elm Street
The Ring
Gigli

shazzerman

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
A Tale of Two Sisters
The Haunting (1963)
Possession
[Rec]
Candyman
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Darkglasses

Another vote for [Rec]
Rosemary's baby
Let the right one in (Swedish original)
Paranormal Activity

TerrorFirmer

Coming as it from a scary/creepy POV rather than on how good a film actually is, these would stand out for me over the past few years:

The US versions of The Ring and The Grudge. Originals are fine but not remotely as scary.

Mama and Lights Out are in line with those, so if you like those types of movies it should suit.

Conjuring is quite good too and It Follows is another one I loved recently.

Sinister with Ethan Hawke definitely worth a watch as well.

Some of the Paranormal Activity movies are pretty creepy.

Irish films The Canal and The Hallow aren't a bad watch either.

The Evil Dead remake might suit the bill.

Sure there are loads more but those are the ones that I found creepy/bit scary. I wouldn't call them the best horror films though.

neirbloom

The Sentinel 1977 is a very scary horror movie, think early Polanski movies like The Tennant, Repulsion or Rosemary's Baby. Has one of the strangest cast list I've ever seen in a horror movie.

Dead of Night 1974 directed by Bob Clark is probably one of the most underrated movies I've ever seen. Very creepy movie about an Ex Vet returning home from Vietnam.

Angst from 1983 is a crazy movie about a psychopath released from a mental institution who of course goes on a killing spree although its based of a true story . Shot entirely from the perspective of the killer every line of dialogue you hear is in his head and your never given much breathing space at all. The Cinematography and camerawork is some of the best I've ever seen in any movie period but be warned it is very brutal at times.

Martyrs a French/Canadian horror from 2008 is also great and probably the last horror movie since The Babadock to genuinely creep me out.

Tylerdurex

briany wrote: »

Halloween
Evil Dead
The Blair Witch Project
The Omen
Nightmare on Elm Street
The Ring
Gigli

Whilst a lot of those movies are good id class some of them as more comedies than horror. Evil dead and Nightmare on elm street especially. Never seen gigli

Tylerdurex

I really like the conjuring movies but once the warrens become involved it ceases to be scary because every thing is out in the open, everyone knows what they are dealing with . I think the original Amityville is very scary for the opposite reason. They are on their own . I also found sinister harrowing and errie at the start but it loses that tension as the movie goes on and gets kinda stupid. The best foreign horror I've ever seen was switch blade romance

Tylerdurex

My brother has recommended session 9 also do you guys include alien the thing and event horizon belong to the horror genre

Tony EH

For sheer grimness and despair, you won't beat 'Day of the Dead' from 1985. One of the greatest horror films of all time.

For spooky atmostphere, I just watched an Australian film called 'Lake Mungo'. Very good mocumentary that uses creepy visuals and sound to great effect.

Another thumbs up for 'Rec'. But, ignore the sequels. They're terrible.

adox

The Thing is one of the best films ever made by the maimstream studios in any genre imo.

Suffocating suspense throughout and "real" special effects that still hold up pretty well to this day. Perfect soundtrack too.

briany

Tylerdurex wrote: »

Never seen gigli

Probably the most frightening one of them all.

But as Gigli illustrates, horror is in the eye of the beholder (and it horrified almost everyone who saw it, I think).

For me, I agree with what the makers of the Blair Witch Project thought before making the film, that being that documentaries about paranormal phenomena are infinitely scarier than fictional films on the same subject. So they had the genius idea (at the time) of creating a fictionalised documentary. OK, to be fair, this was not a strictly new idea, but they took it to new heights and employed a highly effective guerrilla marketing campaign to back it up.

Films that are effective in the same vein:

Ghostwatch - A 1990 mock-doc, hosted by Michael Parkinson, featuring a 'live' investigation of an allegedly haunted London home. Loosely based on the Enfield poltergeist case.

Paranormal Activity - Another one, like Blair Witch, that created a huge festival buzz. Very well known because it's been franchised to oblivion, but the original remains a deeply frightening piece of found footage work.

The McPherson Tape - A family get-together finds itself thrown into chaos as the home becomes targeted by extraterrestrials. This shouldn't be as good as it is due to the no-budget special effects, but the camcorder style and the reactions of the people in it, makes it feel very real.

Lake Mungo - A young girl dies tragically, and following her death, sightings of her begin to occur.

But a really brilliant theatrical horror, in my opinion, is Dead End. It's about a family driving home on Christmas Eve, and they take a detour. From there, the nightmares begin. It's a kind of surreal film, where it's hard to guess what will happen next, and I like a film that keeps you off-kilter as opposed to following the standard beats.

And for a foreign film, one of my favourites is Calvaire. A travelling musician ends up at a town that could be described as a Belgian Royston-Vasey, with the sinisterness dialled up.

Mantis Toboggan

Orphan
The Conjuring
The grudge
The ring
The hills have eyes
Nightmare on elm street
Childs play 1
6th sense

longshanks

The Devil's Candy was one I watched recently which was pretty good.

Inviere

Grave Encounters & The Grudge

gimli2112

Always liked Dawn of the Dead (2004) and 28 Days Later.
The 3 mentioned earlier the Thing, Event Horizon and Alien also awesome.

Inviere

Watched Event Horizon relatively recently, it doesn't hold up imo (I used to love it). 28 Days & Weeks are up there too

gmisk

The recent ish ones that stick out for me that haven't been mentioned are Eden lake and the descent...very different but both scary I thought!

fmpisces

The Collector - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844479/?ref_=nv_sr_3

The Collection - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1748227/?ref_=nv_sr_2

The Possession - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431021/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The Vatican Tapes - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1524575/

Laid to Rest - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1228933/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Chromeskull : Laid to Rest 2 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1792799/?ref_=tt_rec_tt

Backmask/Exeter - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1945044/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The Lazarus Effect - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2918436/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The Pact - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2040560/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The Pact II - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2924442/?ref_=nv_sr_3 (not as good as prequel IMO)

The Conjuring 1 and 2
Insiduous 1, 2 and 3

Liam McPoyle

Threads.

It's not a horror movie as such it's a 1980s BBC made docudrama about the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.

It's as unrelentingly bleak and terrifying as any straight up horror movie ive ever seen and considering the current climate with Korea and Murica, it's a topical as ever.

Tony EH

Business Cat wrote: »

Threads.

It's not a horror movie...

Speak for yourself. :P

What about the ol Human Centipede?

Wolf Creek is pretty scary, and pretty believable

Lorelli!

I usually find that it's not jump out scenes that really scare me so much but smaller things. There was a scene in The Ring where Naomi Watts pulls hair from her mouth and it was disgusting and creeped me out.

I actually thought the first scene in Scream was quite scary with Drew Barrymore in cameo because I wasn't expecting her to die.

I haven't seen Gigli, but it looks scary as f***

Tom Mann Centuria

Don't watch many horror films, Wolf Creek, as mentioned was scary enough, but scariest film I've ever watched (once) was the thriller Spoorloos. The Dutch film remade as The Vanishing (and ending completely changed)

It probably wouldn't even elicit a meh from most horror fans, but It's the only film that gave me nightmares, and I genuinely will never watch it again.

MysticMonk

The Wicker Man ( the original with edward woodward)

La_Gordy

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

Don't watch many horror films, Wolf Creek, as mentioned was scary enough, but scariest film I've ever watched (once) was the thriller Spoorloos. The Dutch film remade as The Vanishing (and ending completely changed)

It probably wouldn't even elicit a meh from most horror fans, but It's the only film that gave me nightmares, and I genuinely will never watch it again.

Absolutely agree. Though I've watched it a few times, the ending is horror.

TerrorFirmer

Threads is a fantastic one and not an obvious choice at first. The Road is another one dealing with the same topic, absolutely haunting film that stays with you for a very long time.

MysticMonk

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Threads is a fantastic one and not an obvious choice at first. The Road is another one dealing with the same topic, absolutely haunting film that stays with you for a very long time.

Sorry but the amount of snafus in the road ruined it for me.

Useful.Idiot

Watched The Witch recently and loved it. A slow-burning horror that slowly gets under your skin.

holy guacamole

neirbloom wrote: »

Martyrs a French/Canadian horror from 2008 is also great and probably the last horror movie since The Babadock to genuinely creep me out.

Great shout, one of the few films I've seen that genuinely disturbed me. An unforgettable experience.

gmisk wrote: »

The recent ish ones that stick out for me that haven't been mentioned are Eden lake and the descent...very different but both scary I thought!

Along with Dog Soldiers these two represent a high-water mark for British horror. Kill List deserves a mention too.

neirbloom

holy guacamole wrote: »

Great shout, one of the few films I've seen that genuinely disturbed me. An unforgettable experience.

Its been a while since I've seen it but cant remember whether I found it disturbing sick or just plain creepy but it definitely left a strong impression. The two lead girls are fine though and course it has to get an unnecessary remake which I haven't seen and probably wont.

briany

I found Martyrs to be a sad, depressing experience, mostly. It does have its moments, and I like the big-picture concept, but it's not a film you'd subject yourself to twice. A certain visual I also found to be derivative of Ringu. Mostly, Martyrs is a mixture of mainly boring/little action & nihilistic violence/torture porn that eats away at your faith in humanity. It has to be said that a lot of French horror films are this way, at least ones that I've seen. Little light at the end of the tunnel.

p to the e

briany wrote: »

I found Martyrs to be a sad, depressing experience, mostly. It does have its moments, and I like the big-picture concept, but it's not a film you'd subject yourself to twice. A certain visual I also found to be derivative of Ringu. Mostly, Martyrs is a mixture of mainly boring/little action & nihilistic violence/torture porn that eats away at your faith in humanity. It has to be said that a lot of French horror films are this way, at least ones that I've seen. Little light at the end of the tunnel.

Yes, Martyrs and Irreversible were the only two movies that left a deep, dark impression on me.

Tony EH

briany wrote: »

I found Martyrs to be a sad, depressing experience, mostly. It does have its moments, and I like the big-picture concept, but it's not a film you'd subject yourself to twice. A certain visual I also found to be derivative of Ringu. Mostly, Martyrs is a mixture of mainly boring/little action & nihilistic violence/torture porn that eats away at your faith in humanity. It has to be said that a lot of French horror films are this way, at least ones that I've seen. Little light at the end of the tunnel.

It's certainly those things, but I found to be a very good film. It's definitely the best effort of the recent New French Extremism cinema of the last 15 years or so. Its no holds barred approach was gripping and the ambiguous ending is absolutely fantastic.

It's a savage film that I think is best seen, before you read anything about it. Take the journey the filmmaker wants you to go on.

Jimbob1977

The Fog (original)

The Others (Nicole Kidman)

The Omen

The Amityville Horror

Salem's Lot (although the special effects are now a bit lame)

Don't Look Now

Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (Donald Sutherland).

Poltergeist

The Ring

An American Werewolf in London

Jacob's Ladder

Thirty Days of Night

Interview with the Vampire

Jeepers Creepers

Liam McPoyle

Martyrs for my money is the pinnacle of the French wave of extreme cinema, one of the few movies to stick with me days after watching it, it burrowed into my soul and tore it out.

Another one that hasn't been mentioned is Ils (Them). Genuine dread throughout it's less than 80 minute run time. Little to no violence in it but it ramps the tension up to the nth degree throughout.

Surreptitious

Nobody has mentioned Gothika. Scared the poop out of me.

briany

Let me give an over-due mention to House of the Devil . This is a brilliantly-executed 80s-styled horror from 2009 (it even had a VHS version). It's not even that I think the scares in this one are that good, but it matches a brooding tension with a fun presentation, strong soundtrack, great acting and just the kind of atmosphere that makes it the quintessential popcorn movie. Perfect for Halloween night, in my opinion. The kind of film you can let the kids stay up late to watch, perhaps giving them a wee complex about tall bald bearded men in the process.

Sugarlumps

Surreptitious wrote: »

Nobody has mentioned Gothika. Scared the poop out of me.

The only thing scary about that film is Limp Bizkits version of Behind Blue Eyes.

WinnyThePoo

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

Don't watch many horror films, Wolf Creek, as mentioned was scary enough, but scariest film I've ever watched (once) was the thriller Spoorloos. The Dutch film remade as The Vanishing (and ending completely changed)

It probably wouldn't even elicit a meh from most horror fans, but It's the only film that gave me nightmares, and I genuinely will never watch it again.

I love spoorloos. Watched it randomly a couple of years ago. Very freaky. I'm a cycling fan aswell, so it had me hooked.

the purple tin

I watched a swedish ( i think) horror film called goodnight mommy recently and it really gave me the willies.

gmisk

the purple tin wrote: »

I watched a swedish ( i think) horror film called goodnight mommy recently and it really gave me the willies.

It Austrian bizarrely, but really enjoyed that one too!

El Duda

The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a wholly unique, nightmarish ordeal to sit through. It has to be up there imo.

Also...

Suspiria
The Exorcist
Martyrs
Blue Velvet
The Babadook

The Witch is a really interesting film as well.

Lorelli!

Not a horror but I've always found Charlie and The Chocolate Factory scary, the original!

I'd love to watch that film fresh as an adult without any prior knowledge or viewing of it.

the purple tin

Lorelli! wrote: »

Not a horror but I've always found Charlie and The Chocolate Factory scary, the original!

I'd love to watch that film fresh as an adult without any prior knowledge or viewing of it.

Was it the scene where the boat goes through the tunnel and Wonka goes a bit mental? That scared the pants off me.

charlie_says

As a recent horror I really liked The Witch. Dripping with menace and tension.

I thought The Ring (only seen the American one) was pretty scary too. I saw Blair Witch many years after it was released and thought it was excellent, at the time there were many haters if I recall correctly.

For me though, the two scariest horror films I've ever seen are The Innocents and The Haunting, could be argued that they are psychological horrors. They both have supernatural elements to them.

You have to get over how dated they are as black and white 1960's films, but both are really chilling.

kirk buttercup

Babadook

Lorelli!

El Duda wrote: »

The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a wholly unique, nightmarish ordeal to sit through. It has to be up there imo.

Also...

Suspiria
The Exorcist
Martyrs
Blue Velvet
The Babadook

The Witch is a really interesting film as well.

A lot of scary films aren't classified as horror.

Love Blue Velvet. It's so weird! Always think of the Roy Orbison song whenever I hear the film name!

Lorelli!

the purple tin wrote: »

Was it the scene where the boat goes through the tunnel and Wonka goes a bit mental? That scared the pants off me.

Yea and the fate of all the spoilt kids!

laylag

Sinister is a really scary film and recent enough. I couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards!