What horror movie sticks out to you?

[Guttersnipe]

Black Sabbath 1963 Anthology horror film by Mario Brava it consisted of e stories
1. The Telephone
2. The Wurdulak
3. The Drop of Water

All three story segments are terrific .T he best and most memorable is number 3 The Drop of Water.

The Drop of Water scared the s**t out of me. That face!

 

[BAYLOR]

The Drop of Water scared the s**t out of me. That face!

Today directors and movie producers who do horror could learn a few things From watching The Drop of Water.

 

[BAYLOR]

Quatermass and the Pit 1967 . The scene where Quatermas the police officer go across the street from the train station an enter one the abandoned house on Hobbs End. The sides of the house decrepit , cobwebs dust and there are scratches on the walls and , that the the first thing you notice in the scene The Police officer relates the fact that he live in the area as a kid and knew some the people living in this houses and described how strange happens caused people to abandoned those houses . And while he's explaining things to Quatermass , he's sweating and gets ever more uneasy , he doesn't want to be in that house, he afraid and can't really say why. . When Quatermass asks him about the scratches on the walls and what caused them , police officer abruptly and fearfully answers ." Kids playing ' and bolts out of the house. Once outside he he seem to recover.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

My tastes in horror change with the times and my ageing but I think the one’s that consistently fight for my favourite are The Babadook, Night of the Demon (1957) and The Fog (1980).

3 great films!

But if you’d asked me ten years or so ago, The Blair Witch Project (1999), Paranormal Activity 1 & 3 would be on my list.

It's a shame the BWP format was so widely copied - the original was a great film and gave me a few sleepless nights after. The original found footage movie Cannibal Holocaust is one that I can't bring myself to watch.

Lake Mungo was another fantastic found footage movie that seemed to fly under everyone's radar.

The Taking of Deborah Logan too had shades of found footage, particularly in the climax with its iconic ending.

Relic also reminds me of the the last with its focus on Dementia.

The Descent is also a pretty good post BWP horror.

My worst hasn’t changed since I saw Cabin Fever. I also tend to dislike things like Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Scream was a great deconstruction of the slasher genre - far better than any of its copycats, but its sequels adhered to the law of diminishing returns. Not really horror though.

And then horror there’re films I have no intention in seeing such as A Serbian Film, Human Centipede and all those torture-porn ones.

A good friend was a horror buff with a very strong stomach and he said ASF was the absolute worst, most depraved thing ever. Movies like that and Irreversible have no interest to me at all. From what I've heard about them, they're sickening.

The first Hostel I saw in the theatre. I went with two lady work colleagues who thoroughly enjoyed it, but I came away from it feeling deeply uncomfortable. Same with Saw.

In more recent years, the most outstanding film I've seen is One Cut Of The Dead.

One cut of the dead is amazing. Quite unlike any movie I've ever seen before.

I love unique quirky films like this and the "zombie-sound-of-music" Happiness of the Katakuris - if you haven't seen the latter you're in for a treat - the tagline doesn't do justice to the sheer level of heartwarming bonkers of this Takashi Miike movie.

Miike's most famous horror is Audition - a film I couldn't get through.

Another film that left a lasting impression was A Nightmare on Elm Street, although the sequels watered the horror down so that it was more comedic than horrific.

The first NOES is brilliant, the second is probably the most subversive horror movie of all time. Freddy is, like Jason, an uber icon for horror cinema - up there with Leatherface, Basket Case, Michael Myers, Pumpkinhead, The Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Xenomorph and Dracula in the horror pantheon.

Best horror movie of all time? That would have to be The Wicker Man (1973). Just the right length for a horror movie (90 mins) meaning that it can build the intensity up throughout the movie, until arriving at its ultimate, unforgettable, conclusion.

The Wicker Man is one of my all time favorites. I love folk horror like Blood on Satan's Claw and Witchfinder General. Ari Aster's Midsommar and Hereditary, particularly the latter are real psychological horror pieces, too.

I think the issue with 'Us' is that the reveal at the end feels a bit 'deus ex machina' (if that is the right phrase). It takes what appears to be a normal horror movie and turns it unexpectedly sci-fi; I can't see how anything that happens in the first 2/3rds of the movie could give the viewer any clue as to how things will turn out. Personally I really enjoyed it. Get Out was great as well, and (personally) I think this is the better of Jordan Peele's movies, because the 'reveal' was something that made more sense based on what had gone before.

I think Jordan Peele is vastly overrated. US was silly and squandered a great premise. Get Out was good for its examination of liberal white patronisation, but I don't think it was a screaming success as a film - just okay, imho.

The Shining is a movie that gets scarier with repeated watching for me. As I get older I appreciate the creeping atmosphere and the familial threat of danger more and more. All time favourite.

Jaws is up there too. Alien may not shock so much now, but it's still a fantastic monster movie. The Thing is a just perfect.

Evil Dead II - along with Ghostbusters are comedy horror - but they're a rocking good time!

It's remiss not to include Mark Kermode's number 1: The Exorcist. It looks kinda tame now, but there's no doubt it's worked its way into the social mind like few others. When it was re-released in the 90's I did have to leave the theatre, more to do with alcohol consumed beforehand and a scene of someone either being injected or cut with a scalpel. I can't remember which now. I was pretty hammered.

One movie that kinda holds up is Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's an odd film, but there is such a constant unnerving atmosphere throughout that really gets under your skin. I don't know if it's the soundtrack, the 16mm film look or the slightly amateurish acting - but when it gets going it never fails to disturb. A film that's more than the sum of its parts, that makes you feel like you've seen more than you actually have - for a horror film it's surprisingly tame in what it shows - but you come away thinking you've seen something truly horrific.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Note to self: Need to reply to @Mon0Zer0 great post

 

[Toby Frost]

Alien and The Shining for me, followed by The Thing.

I agree that Lake Mungo is an excellent film. A very unsettling experience.

I've only seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre once, and it left me cold. I saw it in an arty cinema where the audience seemed to be amused by it, at least by the first half. I've never really gone for the "hillbillies murder travellers" genre, although I can appreciate that it's the first of its kind.

There are quite a few non-horror films that feel like horror: Zodiac has an eerie, frightening quality, and Marathon Man is like watching a nightmare.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

I've only seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre once, and it left me cold. I saw it in an arty cinema where the audience seemed to be amused by it, at least by the first half. I've never really gone for the "hillbillies murder travellers" genre, although I can appreciate that it's the first of its kind.

Yeah, I must admit I can't really call it an enjoyable movie or that I liked it - but my nerves were frayed by the end of it.

I've never seen The Hills Have Eyes, the other big hillbilly murderers movie (other than Deliverance).

There are quite a few non-horror films that feel like horror: Zodiac has an eerie, frightening quality, and Marathon Man is like watching a nightmare.

I love Zodiac. The brooding menace of it all. It's one of those films I find myself watching once a year. Marathon Man too, is a fantastic movie - great script from William Goldman too.


One film I missed from my earlier list was Suspiria by Dario Argento, part of his witch trilogy. Superior, imho, to the recent remake the use of colour and that soundtrack from Goblin make it so strange and creepy. I have yet to see Inferno or Mother of Tears.

Berberian Sound Studio is a loving homage to giallo too.

In post 00's horror, The Void, A Cure for Wellness, The Colour out of space, The Ritual, and Beyond the Black Rainbow (also Mandy) were entertaining, lovecraftian movies.

Dan Stevens (Legion) also has two great movies - Apostle (2018) - a folk horror in the vein of the Wicker Man, and The Guest (2014).

Trick R Treat (2007) is a nice compendium movie that harks back to 80's classic horror.

Rec (2007) is also a well made zombie movie - the spanish one, not the remake!

 

[Mr Cairo]

I like my horror as straight up horror so for me its classics like The Thing, Alien, Hellraiser, Childs Play, Original Elm Street, Original Candyman, Driller Killer, Fright Night, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, American werewolf. IT (both versions), The Burbs, The Crazies, Southern Comfort and Jaws

Of the more modern stuff I quite liked The Babadook, Sinister, The Creep, Ready or Not, Cabin in the Woods, The Ring, Ginger Snaps, Let the right one in, The orphan, Host and the conjuring

I am not a fan of US, Get Out, Nope, Birth, Midsomner or Herditary none of these are what I consider Horror at all.

 

[BAYLOR]

Other Quatermass and the Pit moments of note The discovery of the Pentacle on the bulkhead of the Martin Capsule and the first attempt to drill the the bulkhead and vibration and noise it creates forcing everyone to exist the Capsule and then going back in the hole meted into the wall where thye drilled and the burning fragmentation of the wall which reveal the Martians.

The workman goes back into the subway and the capsule to collect his tools and suddenly the light go out and the capsule activates and the Workman stubs out in odd gates ans in his wake he bring disruption . The experiment where thye get the images of the purging of the Martin hive of all mutants .This is how they discover what the Matin ended when they genetically altered early mans ancestors, to create colony y proxy because their world was dying and they couldn't;t live there .

The Capsule coming alive, Colone Been under the power of capsule walks up close to glowing capsule and stands there oblivious to the fact that his clothing as begun to smoke and he just stands there and burns to death. The reenactment of the purging the hive in modern day London in which those in thrall to the capsule kill anyone who different . The Cpasue turned to energy and the imagine the devil appears in the sky. Dr Roney tilled the crane into devil image extinguishing it by discharging the engird into the ground and dying in the process.


This film definitely has shades of H P Lovecraft's The Shadow out of Time.

 

[Toby Frost]

It's probably quite easy to disgust people, but I see some horror as a poo-sniffing contest: how long can you sniff this turd before you throw up? I have no problem with gore in films, but it has to be done well, which is why Alien is so good. Of its three most horrific scenes, one has no real blood and another can't be seen at all. I've also got no interest in those wink-to-camera slasher films. A lot of stuff that people like as ironic or kitsch just seems plain bad to me.

I've never seen The Hills Have Eyes, the other big hillbilly murderers movie (other than Deliverance).

I've seen both versions of The Hills Have Eyes. I remember the original one as being quite good, in a very 70s way, but pretty intense. The later one was quite nasty and felt somewhat pointless, in that its time seemed to have gone. I was surprised to find that Rob Zombie wasn't in it.

To me, the best horror has an unsettling quality that isn't really graphic at all. I find the butler scene in The Shining very sinister; likewise almost all of Lake Mungo. It's a sense of deep uneasiness that a lot of horror films never achieve.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I think that the most important thing in horror movies is to get the sound right. What makes Jaws great isn't the beast itself, but the increasing tempo of the music as it draws near; same with Michael in Halloween, and some of the most intense 'alien' scenes in Aliens are the 'beeps' on the marine's scanners. Also with sound the director can misdirect the audience, and really intensifies the 'jump scare' scenes. One of the most effective at this is the last scene in Elm Street - really made me jump at the time.

One of the greatest exponents of sound in movies is John Carpenter, and I don't think that it's a coincidence that many of his movies (Halloween, The Thing, The Fog) are amongst the greatest films ever.

In fact, I'd probably say that audio is probably the most important aspect to get right in any genre of cinema, and more than the visuals is what separates it most from books. You can picture scenes in your mind, but getting the right aural atmosphere is much harder to do in writing.

 

[therapist]

Miike's most famous horror is Audition - a film I couldn't get through.

I just watched this a few nights ago because it has a lot of praise. But good god. That scene. I can sit through Saw or Hostel, but I could not watch that ending scene. It was disgusting.

 

[Toby Frost]

I forgot to mention Dawn of the Dead. It's odd, because many of the details are pretty ropey, but taken as a whole it's a great film: a sprawling apocalypse with lots of interesting ideas. It's the best zombie film I've ever seen.

 

[KGeo777]

I agree about the importance of sound. It has a big contribution to your reaction.

JAWS is an interesting example because the music changes when they get on the boat and they are pursuing the shark. It becomes more like a sea adventure tone. They smile and make comments about the shark's speed. Also, the lack of music in one particular scene--where they decide to head back for shore and the shark barrels are behind--and Quint and Hooper are getting nervous while Brody is the opposite-he has lost his fear of the water. Much of it is performance-based---the Indianapolis scene is almost entirely a monologue. Similar to Halloween when Donald Pleasence talks about Michael Myers--"the devil's eyes." They undermined the effectiveness of that by showing Michael's face, especially at the beginning. I think it would have been better to cut away from his face as the mask is removed and only see him from behind. The kid did not look scary--the jolt of seeing the kid as the killer might have been unique for 1978 but now it feels like they missed an opportunity to generate creepiness by letting people use their own imagination). Carpenter has said he hates Val Lewton horror-where they don't show the monster--he said he prefers to show it but I think sometimes it is better not to.

The one subtle creepy scene in VAMPIRES 1998 is when they are at the house and have to decide who sticks the hand in the door to turn the knob and James Woods elects to do it and very quickly sticks his hand inside. It's so simple and yet generates creepiness-the fear that his hand will be grabbed when he does it.
The rest of the movie is more along western or comedy but that works well.

The thing about JAWS is the idea--being in water with some giant monstrous thing who has you at its mercy coming for you--that's a nightmare scenario. The cover book image is interesting because it is the damsel and the monster theme yet based on something real that could happen. A shark attack.

Likewise, horror involving someone hiding in your home or stalking you on the street--that kind of horror is based on reality.
But concepts that are imaginary--and yet you can be spooked by that, that is more difficult to get.

THE RING--the asian version--with the guy sitting in the chair as the figure comes out of the tv. That is similar to JAWS in that it involves a threat coming for an unwary helpless victim--something about that scene is very creepy and suspenseful.

I saw the remake of The Hills Have Eyes first--and I thought overall it was well-made but when I saw the original, I realized just about all the story content came from the original movie. Most of the dialogue. They added the nerdish husband as hero and a good Samaritan mutant.

I thought 30 Days of Night had some good ideas and the vampires looked interesting--but as a horror movie I don't think it worked enough. It generated some dread in scenes but I haven't been interested in watching it again because there isn't enough to it and the ending bugged me.
I feel it lost the script when they went for the vampire vs vampire fight idea.

Blacula has some really good effective horror scenes like the vampire running down a hallway in slow motion. Just the way it was done--and the energy of it makes it creepy as hell.
Very good sound in that movie for creepy factor.

I have never been a fan of gore and I don't like the slasher genre.
Halloween is alright but I generally dislike that kind of thing.
I don't see gore as being scary--it's more of a joke much of the time.
Unless it is suggested--like torture you don't actually see.

The Stranglers of Bombay has a really disturbing scene with torture done off camera--you only see the aftermath and that was bad enough.

ALIEN is unique because the alien design is so "alien." It triggers a kind of dread reaction to see something that does not look recognizable at all. That's rare--you don't get that often where something can look so unusual that it is kind of spooky.
Not a good horror film but the remake of the House on Haunted Hill has an interesting "inkblot ghost" at the end--I think what hurt that execution was the use of CGI. If it was done with a practical technique--it would have been even more creepy.

Also, when a film looks so high gloss that you just know a 100 crew people are behind the camera, that can also undermine suspension of disbelief. That is what I felt with Haunted Hill--it was too bright.

Compared to say The Legend of Hell House--that was probably set yet didn't feel like one.
Likewise the Shining-that felt like a real hotel. But that was a huge budget film.

I don't find the creepiest parts of the Shining are performance scenes--I like Jack Nicholson's acting but I am more amused than scared.

In contrast, in The Legend of Hell House, Gayle Hunnicutt is rather creepy when she is ghost-possessed. It is subtle--it's not spitting pea soup or anything dramatic, but I think it really works. Her face looks so twisted and the way she is talking.

 

[dask]

Still enjoy Robert Wise’s The Haunting.

 

[KGeo777]

Night of the Demon 1957 I can rewatch every year.
Something about it. It has a hypnotic rewatch quality.

 

[JunkMonkey]

Unbelievable! I've found it on YouTube. Instead of looking for 'Dream House', I looked for 'Dreamhouse'
Needless to say my memory of it was totally faulty. It was the young wife with the visions. I also got the ending wrong, but, you know, 40 years, surely I can be excused?

It's only about half-an-hour. Here's the first part

Parts 2 and 3 should appear in the suggestions

Oh, and I can confirm it's NOT on IMDB. And judging from the comments I wasn't the only person who thought it was memorable

Yes it is. (Sort of.) It was edited into a portmanteau film called: Screamtime:

Screamtime (1983) - IMDb

Screamtime: Directed by Michael Armstrong, Stanley A. Long. With Vincent Russo, Michael Gordon, Marie Scinto, Kevin Smith. A trilogy of three improbable stories of horror and the supernatural are combined into this low budget thriller: "That's the Way to Do It," "Dreamhouse,," and "Do You...

www.imdb.com

 

[JunkMonkey]

For me - not a great horror fan and definitely not a fan of gore for gore's sake - my top ten horror films off the top of my head would have to be:

The Bride of Frankenstein
Les Eues sans visage (Eyes Without a Face)
Dead of Night
Night of the Demon
Quatermass and the Pit
Peeping Tom
The Wicker Man
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Witchfinder General
Cat People

 

[redzwritez]

Cabin in the Woods (2011) was certainly a different kind of horror film, as it was not only interspersed with (stoner) humor and toyed with conventions in a sort of meta way. I didn't think it was amazing or terrible, but it was unique.

It Follows (2014) manages to scare me each time I watch it; even when I'm "prepared" for a scary scene, I still feel unsettled. Not only that, but I really cared about what happened to the main character. I also give the creators props for not using any jump scares, proof that a good horror doesn't need any.

I've never watched It Follows but Cabin in the Woods is brilliant. I forgot about that movie for a while but I thought it was such an interesting concept for a horror movie. The unique parts of it made it stand out to me but the characters and humour were great too.

 

[KGeo777]