I love horror but apparently I don’t vibe with a lot of recommendations I find online.
I’d seen so much hype about Event Horizon and I absolutely hated it and didn’t find it scary. I just watched Late Night With the Devil and whole it was definitely enjoyable, it wasn’t the least but frightening. I also just watched Let the Right One In and really didn’t like it. It also was not a horror movie in my opinion.
I will say one of my favorites is Sinister or the first Conjuring. Sinister for the stomach twisting dread and suspence throughout and Conjuring for the same.
So, what movies do you find to be the scariest?
I don’t consider many horror movies genuinely scary. The ones I have, at various times in my life, been actually in some way frightened (or at least shook) by, in no particular order:
Note that this does not mean these are the only GOOD horror movies. There are LOTS that I consider masterpieces that just aren’t strictly all that scary.
Blair Witch
spoilers
I’m glad I knew the ending was disappointing before going in.
It hit on a very specific fear of mine that I have difficulty putting into words. The fear of developing a fear or maybe the fear of becoming superstitious?
It’s an interesting movie. In a lot of ways it’s annoying or underwhelming and not much actually happens, but I actually loved the ending.
Tap for spoiler
The way the entire film, from the lore that was set up in the early interviews, was all brought together instantly in a single iconic five-second shot blew me away. It stuck with me for a long time.
Can I ask what scared you about The Exorcist? Assuming you watched it as an adult and are not highly religious; otherwise I get it. I watched it for the first time a few years ago after seeing it regularly called one of the scariest movies of all time – maybe my expectations were too high but I found it almost comical.
I saw it when I was in my early twenties and I’d never seen it before. But tons of pop culture had made jokes of everything in the movie and I expected it to just be a laugh.
The film did such a good job developing dread and helplessness that I forgot all about the jokes.
Tap for spoiler
Plus the spider walk scene hits you in the face like a hatchet.
Oh I agree that they’re not the only good horror movies, there are so many out there that are good in other ways and many of which I absolutely love. But I’m really just looking for that something to keep the lights on at night, lol.
Thanks for the list! There are a few I haven’t seen in there, I’ll give them a try :)
I’d love to hear your thoughts on anything new you try! Or if you have opinions on items in my list, even.
I’ve never seen this version? But I have read the book and eugh. It’s horrible in a sort of losing bodily autonomy way.
This one sat with me for a long time and I swore immediately after watching it that I would never watch it again. And now I absolutely love it. There are a few bright moments that really freak me out, but the tension and build up is so good. Chef’s kiss to this one.
Haven’t seen!
One of my favorites! I know this one gets dragged for being campy(??), but I think the original did an excellent job of building suspense and dread.
Mike Flanagan is one of my favorites and this one is a lot of fun. Not as high in my list as others, but still a good time.
I need to rewatch the miniseries, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the more recent movies. I think the actors were all great (especially for Pennywise), but it felt like it was trying too hard? Pt 2 seemed to realize they’d never match the book and it ended up being more funny than anything.
These are all being added to my list!
Bleh. Lol
Love these movies. I would add the first half of Insidious as well.
As for my list - I’ll throw that in a separate comment soon enough :D
Wow you have some fun ahead of you. And from what you’ve said, despite a few (strong) disagreements, I think you have great taste.
The Exorcist Version You’ve Never Seen just adds some deleted scenes back into the mix. A common complaint is that it escalates too quickly as a result, but damn if it didn’t stick with me.
Blair Witch is a real divisive one but if it hits, it hits RIGHT.
Paranormal Activity is in my pantheon of game changers. It’s not perfect (Micah can fuck off forever please) but the way it established the day/night safe/scary cycle only to violate it at the end was a master stroke.
Ouija is just the best creepy Flanagan film for me, but I think my favorite of his is actually Oculus. I love that it’s legitimately trying to avoid the pitfall of dying from dumb decisions by starting off with “let’s study the shit out of this evil”. I also adore Doctor Sleep and Haunting of Hill House.
The It miniseries scared the hell out of me as a child so I can’t promise it’ll be as good now. I thought Chapter 1 was really solid and creepy but the second one dropped the ball really hard.
I am too lazy to change the formatting, but those are my notes on the movies I’ve seen this summer… some of them I remember better than others, and I’ve definitely forgotten to include quite a few on here.
[V] Late night with the devil - 7/10 Fun, unique
[V] Barbarian 5/10 - Ew, asshole characters
[V] Talk to me 7/10 - unique, uncomfortable
[V] Hell House LLC 7/10 - fun, scary
[V] Smile 7/10 - didn’t need the ending, excited for the sequel
[V] The menu 9/10 - dread, uncomfortable
[V] Anna and the apocalypse 7/10 - fun! Sad!
[V] The descent 6/10 - strong people, ew
[V] Event horizon 0/10 - ew, ew
[V] Train to busan 10/10 - terrifying, great characters
[V] Underwater 7.5/10 - claustrophobic, unique
[V] The cleansing hour 7/10 - unique, funny
[V] Sputnik 5/10 - ((can’t remember))
[V] Freaky 6.5/10 - funny
[V] Longlegs - undecided. But maybe 8/10? Dreadful
I think you and I share a fondness for the lightweight spook-house style like Conjuring, Smile, etc. Just in it for the freaky.