Favorite horror movies?

[James Y]

What are some of your favorite horror movies and why?

Here's a list of some of mine, not necessarily in order of how much I like them:

Hereditary (2018, USA). Excellent acting all-around, and an appropriately gloomy and atmospheric setting. None of the cheap, predictable "jump-scares" that are over-done in most horror movies of recent years.

Kairo (2001, Japan). An apocalyptic story about the loneliness of after-death. Depressing atmosphere, but IMO the first 45 minutes or so are quite eerie.

Night of the Demon (1957, UK). This movie about an evil magician who summons a demon to kill his enemies was ahead of its time.

I Saw the Devil (2011, S. Korea). This movie combines elements of suspense, horror, and action. Excellent acting and storyline about a vengeance-obsessed cop's cat-and-mouse 'game' with a serial killer.

Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971, USA). Low-budget but very creepy and atmospheric psychological thriller about possible vampires.

Suspiria (1977, Italy). A true classic and surreal story of a young American woman who joins a ballet school in Germany run by a coven of witches.

The Priests (2015, S. Korea). A very well-done character study of the two priests who take on the job or freeing a young possessed girl.

Dog Soldiers (2092, UK). A combination horror/action film that is my personal favorite in the werewolf genre.

Carnival of Souls (1962, USA). Ultra-low-budget film about a woman who miraculously escapes death from a car crash...or did she?

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018, S. Korea). A fictitious story based on an actual location, IMO this is one of the two best in the 'found-footage' horror genre. I found the first part of the movie annoying, but as it progresses, the atmosphere and the setting become increasingly creepy, and the acting is quite convincing.

Noroi: The Curse (2005, Japan). Another very good in the 'found footage' horror genre, on par with Gonjiam.

Infection 2004, Japan). Excellent film about a hospital taken over by a spirit seeking vengeance against doctors who have no compassion.

These are a few from my list of favorites. What are some of yours?

Jim

[ChrisinHove]

I’m more a fan of the humourous or cheesier horror films rather than the gorey ones, so I’d certainly agree with you about Dog Soldiers. American Werewolf in London is another classic, in my book. For added, extra cheesey cheese I liked The Lair of the White Worm (perhaps mainly for the female lead, I must add...)

A superb albeit low budget film, well worth watching is Attack The Block.

I loved The Descent when it came out, and The Others, albeit more a classic ghost story, gave me chills for weeks.

[Evil D]

Texas Chainsaw Massacre, hands down my favorite. Also a big fan of most of the cheesy '80s zombie flicks.

[James Y]

Hey, guys.

Yes, An American Werewolf in London and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original one) are great movies. I also liked The Others.

My favorite zombie movie is the original 1978 Dawn of the Dead. There is some humor and social commentary mixed in, but IMO, once zombie movies became cliche, they now are no longer creepy. When it came out, the original Dawn of the Dead still had some creep factor, and an underlying feeling of menace to it.

i like cheesy horror films, but my big horror preference is atmosphere and some degree of danger or menace. One of my favorite cheesy horror films is the Japanese film Tokyo Zombie. It can be described as a slacker comedy/zombie apocalypse movie with some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sprinkled in. Also the original Evil Dead and Army of Darkness movies.

Jim

[Doc Dan]

The recent Wolfman was great. I like movies like Alien, The Thing from Another World (James Arness), Shin Godzilla, Resident Evil, etc. I think a lot of horror and monster movies just go too far and are just plain sick.

[JD Spydo]

Two of the older 1970s horror classics I thought that were way ahead of their time were "Chlldren Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" which was a "zombie" type movie that would coincide with this present day zombie craze. Also there was another one that played when I was still in high school. A bunch of us went to see it and it even scared some adults. The movie I'm speaking of is entitled "Asylum" (1971). It was also ahead of it's time as far as real graphic gore.

Probably my all time favorite horror film was Stephen King's "PET SEMETARY". Of all the Stephen King movies I ever saw that Pet Semetary was head & shoulders above all of them IMO.

There were two other horror films of the 1970s era that had extremely weird plots and are now considered classics. They were "Andy Warhol's FRANKENSTEIN" and the other is "Andy Warhol's DRACULA". Both of those movies were renamed since Andy Warhol dies. They were "Flesh For Frankenstein" and "Blood For Dracula">> so if you're trying to Google them you will have better results with the newer titles.

There was one other 1970s movie that really had a creepy influence and a somewhat eerie prophetic theme to it. I'm speaking of Stanley Kubrick's "CLOCKWORK ORANGE">> even though it wasn't considered in the horror genre it was one movie that truly gave me the creeps like very few other movies ever did.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Mine is sortof a science fiction/horror mix, perhaps some of you have seen it? "Life Force" from 1985.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeforce_(film)

Its about a group of "space vampires" that instead of blood they drain a person's "life force". The victims appear to be shriveled up and then become one of them and have to seek out other victims. It has very scary parts and alot of military action etc.

[Bloke]

I don’t like horror movies.

When I was about about 13-14yrs I snuck into the cinema to see The Exorcist and it had a horrendous effect on me for many year after. :eek:

I did however see Fright Night (1985) and liked it. :)

[James Y]

Two of the older 1970s horror classics I thought that were way ahead of their time were "Chlldren Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" which was a "zombie" type movie that would coincide with this present day zombie craze. Also there was another one that played when I was still in high school. A bunch of us went to see it and it even scared some adults. The movie I'm speaking of is entitled "Asylum" (1971). It was also ahead of it's time as far as real graphic gore.

Probably my all time favorite horror film was Stephen King's "PET SEMETARY". Of all the Stephen King movies I ever saw that Pet Semetary was head & shoulders above all of them IMO.

There were two other horror films of the 1970s era that had extremely weird plots and are now considered classics. They were "Andy Warhol's FRANKENSTEIN" and the other is "Andy Warhol's DRACULA". Both of those movies were renamed since Andy Warhol dies. They were "Flesh For Frankenstein" and "Blood For Dracula">> so if you're trying to Google them you will have better results with the newer titles.

There was one other 1970s movie that really had a creepy influence and a somewhat eerie prophetic theme to it. I'm speaking of Stanley Kubrick's "CLOCKWORK ORANGE">> even though it wasn't considered in the horror genre it was one movie that truly gave me the creeps like very few other movies ever did.

Thanks, Joe. I'll try to check out Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things and Asylum. Oddly enough, to this day I've still never seen A Clockork Orange.

Mine is sortof a science fiction/horror mix, perhaps some of you have seen it? "Life Force" from 1985.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeforce_(film)

Its about a group of "space vampires" that instead of blood they drain a person's "life force". The victims appear to be shriveled up and then become one of them and have to seek out other victims. It has very scary parts and alot of military action etc.

Interesting, SEF. I'll look into that. As a kid back in the early 1970s, I saw a movie from 1966 called Planet of Blood, about an alien woman/vampire who wreaks havoc on a spaceship. It was ahead of its time. IIRC, I later heard somewhere that it inspired the original Alien.

The recent Wolfman was great. I like movies like Alien, The Thing from Another World (James Arness), Shin Godzilla, Resident Evil, etc. I think a lot of horror and monster movies just go too far and are just plain sick.

Doc Dan:

I liked the first two Alien movies, especially the second one, Aliens. The Thing from Another World is great, as is its remake, John Caroenter's The Thing. In fact, the latter is one of my favorites; don't know why I forgot to include it in my original list. Shin Godzilla is good; IMO, the best new Godzilla movie in decades. My all-time favorite Godzilla is still the 1954 Gojira (Japanese w/English subtitles). The original Rodan was also great.

I can take some gore and violence in some horror movies, but I don't like movies like Hostel, The Ruins, or Cabin Fever, which to me are just disgusting for shock's sake.

[James Y]

I don’t like horror movies.

When I was about about 13-14yrs I snuck into the cinema to see The Exorcist and it had a horrendous effect on me for many year after. :eek:

I did however see Fright Night (1985) and liked it. :)

When it first came out, The Exorcist really freaked out my older brother, as well as my older cousins. By the time I saw it a few years later, I was about 15 and for some reason it didn't affect me that much. I think because from when I was 2 or 3, my brother liked to force me to watch horror/monster movies to scare me. It backfired on him, though, as to this day, he gets more freaked out by horror films than I do. I became more and more immune to being freaked out, though there have been a few movies with scenes that sent a chill up my spine. The Japanese film Kairo, as well as one short scene in the S. Korean movie Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum gave me chills the first times I watched them.

Jim

[MacLaren]

I don’t like horror movies.

When I was about about 13-14yrs I snuck into the cinema to see The Exorcist and it had a horrendous effect on me for many year after. :eek:

I did however see Fright Night (1985) and liked it. :)

Lol!!! My brothers did the same thing! Taught them a great lesson lol.
I like Fright Night too

[JD Spydo]

Funny you guys mentioned the EXORCIST :eek: Because I remember about 5 of us guys going out for a night of drinking and partying back in 1974 ( yeah I was a bit of a bad boy when I was younger :D ) we all ended up at the Country Club Plaza Theatre to see the opening debut of the EXORCIST because one of my buddies had got 6 tickets given to him for the opening night. We all thought we were going to have some laughs after reading the reviews.

But after seeing it I can totally relate to what BLOKE said >> Everyone of us went back to my apartment and stayed up the entire night because we were all afraid to go to sleep>> even all the alcohol we downed didn't help much. One of the guys in the group was in his late 20s at the time and said that movie affected him like no other he had ever seen and he was an ex-marine and a pretty tough guy too. I will admit that I had nightmares for about a week after that.

However I found it interesting when I got HBO for the very first time in 1981 ( 7 years later) I got to see the EXORCIST for the second time>> and the second time around it just didn't phase me like it did the first time. After seeing some other movies I believe I got de-sensatized >> also I had worked in a funeral home for over a year which kind of made me a little mentally tougher. I had heard that Linda Blair had all kinds of weird personal problems as a result of doing that movie. To the best of my knowledge that truly was the first major movie of demon possession ever. I was really blown away that it affected me and 4 of my pals who were mostly really macho tough guys at that time. I had never seen any movie ever bother any of them before that one was released. I think maybe the timing of it ( 1974) might have played in it's favor. That movie probably changed the "horror" genre forever.

[legOFwhat?]

Mine is sortof a science fiction/horror mix, perhaps some of you have seen it? "Life Force" from 1985.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeforce_(film)

Its about a group of "space vampires" that instead of blood they drain a person's "life force". The victims appear to be shriveled up and then become one of them and have to seek out other victims. It has very scary parts and alot of military action etc.

I am quite fond of the "B" horror movies. Mainly the 80"S ; Forbidden world, Galaxy of Terror, Humanoids from the deep, Creepshow, Slumber party massacre, Night of the comet and any zombie movie. Puberty and the 80's movies went together like macaroni and cheese :D

[James Y]

Funny you guys mentioned the EXORCIST :eek: Because I remember about 5 of us guys going out for a night of drinking and partying back in 1974 ( yeah I was a bit of a bad boy when I was younger :D ) we all ended up at the Country Club Plaza Theatre to see the opening debut of the EXORCIST because one of my buddies had got 6 tickets given to him for the opening night. We all thought we were going to have some laughs after reading the reviews.

But after seeing it I can totally relate to what BLOKE said >> Everyone of us went back to my apartment and stayed up the entire night because we were all afraid to go to sleep>> even all the alcohol we downed didn't help much. One of the guys in the group was in his late 20s at the time and said that movie affected him like no other he had ever seen and he was an ex-marine and a pretty tough guy too. I will admit that I had nightmares for about a week after that.

However I found it interesting when I got HBO for the very first time in 1981 ( 7 years later) I got to see the EXORCIST for the second time>> and the second time around it just didn't phase me like it did the first time. After seeing some other movies I believe I got de-sensatized >> also I had worked in a funeral home for over a year which kind of made me a little mentally tougher. I had heard that Linda Blair had all kinds of weird personal problems as a result of doing that movie. To the best of my knowledge that truly was the first major movie of demon possession ever. I was really blown away that it affected me and 4 of my pals who were mostly really macho tough guys at that time. I had never seen any movie ever bother any of them before that one was released. I think maybe the timing of it ( 1974) might have played in it's favor. That movie probably changed the "horror" genre forever.

The Exorcist was based on a real,incident from back in the 1940s, IIRC, and it involved a boy instead of a girl. Also, the exorcism itself supposedly took months. But after it was completed, the boy grew up normally and is supposedly still alive today, obviously an elderly man.

Besides my brother, I also recall hearing from my aunt how my older cousins who saw it were afraid to go to sleep afterwards.

Some other great horror movies:

Carrie (1976). This has always been my all-time favorite Stephen King adaptation, and IMO the movie is better than the book. I also like the original much better than the recent remake. Although the remake is more true to the book, the spirit of the original movie was just not there. The remake is more violent, but that doesn't always make a better movie.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). I loved the original, and felt the awful sequels were unnecessary. When they made "Freddy" into an icon it ruined the character. But the original is still a great movie. The remake took itself too seriously and sucked (IMO).

The Fog (1979). One of the best classic ghost stories in a modern setting.

Jim

[JD Spydo]

Yeah I remember John Carpenter's "FOG" movie and saw it too. I saw a rerun of that not too long ago. Yeah I saw "Carrie" with Cissy Spacehead :rolleyes: but to me it didn't hold a candle to Pet Sematary :eek: Another Stephen King movie I did like was "The Langoliers">> but to me that was more of a science fiction show rather than horror.

Andy Warhols Frankenstein was about the first 3D movie I ever saw>> and the special effects in that movie was so gory for that time period>> and in 3D it looked so real I just about upchucked in that final scene where the Frankenstein monster ripped his own guts out :eek: :rolleyes: yeah a really good show to take the family to :eek: :D

Yeah the Exorcist was truly based on a true event which happened down the road from me ( I-70) in St. Louis, MO. They changed the sex of the child and location to avoid lawsuits and at that time they were still trying to keep the identity of the boy that it happened to a secret. It is really creepy and super strange that the Catholic Church officials acted as a consultant on that film I later found out. The scene in that movie where Linda Blair turned her head completely around looked so real that it was one scene that really creeped me out bad the first time I saw it>> yeah it looked that real :eek: >> because when you consider that movie was made in the early 70s it was way ahead of it's time in many respects.

[James Y]

Yeah I remember John Carpenter's "FOG" movie and saw it too. I saw a rerun of that not too long ago. Yeah I saw "Carrie" with Cissy Spacehead :rolleyes: but to me it didn't hold a candle to Pet Sematary :eek: Another Stephen King movie I did like was "The Langoliers">> but to me that was more of a science fiction show rather than horror.

Andy Warhols Frankenstein was about the first 3D movie I ever saw>> and the special effects in that movie was so gory for that time period>> and in 3D it looked so real I just about upchucked in that final scene where the Frankenstein monster ripped his own guts out :eek: :rolleyes: yeah a really good show to take the family to :eek: :D

Yeah the Exorcist was truly based on a true event which happened down the road from me ( I-70) in St. Louis, MO. They changed the sex of the child and location to avoid lawsuits and at that time they were still trying to keep the identity of the boy that it happened to a secret. It is really creepy and super strange that the Catholic Church officials acted as a consultant on that film I later found out. The scene in that movie where Linda Blair turned her head completely around looked so real that it was one scene that really creeped me out bad the first time I saw it>> yeah it looked that real :eek: >> because when you consider that movie was made in the early 70s it was way ahead of it's time in many respects.

IMO, Sissy Spacek played Carrie White perfectly. In real life, she was about 10'years older than the character she was playing, but IMO she captured the essence of a girl with no self-confidence/self-esteem, who had been emotionally beaten down all her life. I remember as a kid having a bit of a crush on a couple of the actresses who played the 'mean girls', Nancy Allen and P.J. Soles (who I also liked in the original Halloween). And Piper Laurie was perfect as Carrie's insane mom.

When it comes to actors, sometimes I think they're great in a role in a particular film, regardless of my personal opinion about them as a person. Leonardo Dicaprio comes to mind for me.

I also heard that the producer and other people involved in making The Exorcist experienced paranormal phenomena.

I may have to check out Andy Warhol's Frankenstein.

Other favorites of mine include:

The Haunting (1963). IMO, another movie that was ahead of its time, and pure atmosphere. My favorite haunted house movie.

The Legend of Hell House (1973). The novel Hell House, on which the movie is based, is more graphic and horrific than the movie, but there is real atmosphere in the movie, especially at the beginning.

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976). Technically not a horror film, it's about a police station under siege by a criminal gang. But it actually has more the feel of a zombie movie than a crime movie. IIRC, it was John Carpenter's directorial debut.

Jim

[JD Spydo]

Yeah I remember John Carpenter's "FOG" movie and saw it too. I saw a rerun of that not too long ago. Yeah I saw "Carrie" with Cissy Spacehead :rolleyes: but to me it didn't hold a candle to Pet Sematary :eek: Another Stephen King movie I did like was "The Langoliers">> but to me that was more of a science fiction show rather than horror.

Andy Warhols Frankenstein was about the first 3D movie I ever saw>> and the special effects in that movie was so gory for that time period>> and in 3D it looked so real I just about upchucked in that final scene where the Frankenstein monster ripped his own guts out :eek: :rolleyes: yeah a really good show to take the family to :eek: :D

Yeah the Exorcist was truly based on a true event which happened down the road from me ( I-70) in St. Louis, MO. They changed the sex of the child and location to avoid lawsuits and at that time they were still trying to keep the identity of the boy that it happened to a secret. It is really creepy and super strange that the Catholic Church officials acted as a consultant on that film I later found out. The scene in that movie where Linda Blair turned her head completely around looked so real that it was one scene that really creeped me out bad the first time I saw it>> yeah it looked that real :eek: >> because when you consider that movie was made in the early 70s it was way ahead of it's time in many respects.

IMO, Sissy Spacek played Carrie White perfectly. In real life, she was about 10'years older than the character she was playing, but IMO she captured the essence of a girl with no self-confidence/self-esteem, who had been emotionally beaten down all her life. I remember as a kid having a bit of a crush on a couple of the actresses who played the 'mean girls', Nancy Allen and P.J. Soles (who I also liked in the original Halloween). And Piper Laurie was perfect as Carrie's insane mom.

I also heard that the producer and other people involved in making The Exorcist experienced paranormal phenomena.

I may have to check out Andy Warhol's Frankenstein.

Now I will totally agree with you about the gal that played "Carrie's" mother in that show. She totally ticked me off to the point to where she reminded me of a really bad girlfriend I had years ago. Yeah she was just like her in many respects. You're spot on because she played that part so well I just wanted to reach into the screen and smack her a good one :rolleyes: :D I also had a good buddy who had a mother very similar to her as well.

Now with the Exorcist I heard that there were some deaths surrounding the making of that movie. I heard even that Linda Blair's grandmother died either on the set or close to it and I heard that from a movie review writer as well as from some other sources. I knew a Pastor few years ago who had a lot expertise on Satanism and stuff related to it and he confirmed a lot of those stories too. I've heard so many accounts of true paranormal happenings associated with that movie and the people involved with it. There is also a well known Catholic priest who died about 10 years ago and his name was Father Malachi Martin and he was an expert in the field of true "exorcism" and had performed exorcisms thoughout his career. I had heard him on many radio shows and found him extremely intriguing and I do believe what he had to say. He has written about 3 books on the subject and I've been meaning to find one and read it. Also he confirmed a lot of what I had previously heard about the making of that movie and it was truly eerie to listen to him talk about it. But look up Father Malachi Martin there is a lot of his stuff on websites now that he passed away. I would have loved to have talked to him.

The newer version of Andy Warhol's Frankenstein had it's name changed to "Flesh For Frankenstein">> don't ask my why because I'm just not totally sure on that one. I think after Andy Warhol died back in the late 80s someone else got the rights to that film and pretty much removed everything with Warhol's name on it>> so I've been told by a couple of people over the years. And that's probably accurate. But if you can see that movie in 3D it is even a mind-blower by today's standards. That is about the only movie I ever saw that had that degree of an effect on me to where I almost upchucked. Yeah it looked that real :eek: Do not show that movie to anyone with mental problems or to any kid under 13 or so.

[justjohn]

Video of my marriage ceremony to my 1st wife for obvious reasons. In all fairness to her, the video probably has the same effect on her for obvious reasons. :eek:

[benben]

I watched the Exorcist with my parents, I was either 12 or 13 so this was either 1977 or 78. Neither of my parents had seen it. Mom sitting in her chair, Dad on the couch, and me in the floor. The wood stove has been breathing and pumping out heat for the entire movie, this is when movies went off at 11:00 sharp. It’s getting crazy, definitely down to crunch time and I’m on pins and needles, the final scene when the priest and her are destroying the room the wood stove POPPED about as loud as 9mm in the room! Guess it was cooling down a little, I’m only 5 feet from it, man it scared the crap out of me!!

My Dad said I looked like a cat coming 4 feet straight up in the air, they laughed at me for 10 minutes, we missed the very end of the movie! My parents never forgot that night and reminded me of it my entire life!

[JD Spydo]

The EXORCIST was probably the most successful horror movie of the entire 70s decade. Even in the 90s I had a lady friend who managed one of the BLOCKBUSTER video stores in our town and she told me that even in the 90s it was one of her most rented movies and they always had a waiting list for it most of the time and she said that they had 4 copies of it too. She also told me that HALLOWEEN and Nightmare ON Elm Street also were in demand for years after their release.

Like I said earlier it's truly a shame what that movie did to Linda Blair's life. I was told she had horrible mental and emotional problems for years after she made that movie. And unfortunately it's the one movie people still identify her with in spite of the fact that she had a long and diverse career. I believe that only Porno movies do more damage to the lives of the actors in many cases.