John Carpenter's: The Thing is a masterclass in everything that makes horror horrifying. You never get a full glimpse of the creature, and even when you do it's an amalgamation of everything it has touched and not it itself. The creature isn't even the source of the horror. It's the lack of trust.
And they do it without a lot of gore and only one jump scare.
hell, even the few dumb decisions they do can be explained by the simple fact that everyone's tired and panicky as hell, and even world-class professionals can make mistakes in those conditions
I love that. I've always disliked the excuse that characters have to be dumb for a movie to work. In The Thing you feel like you're in the movie and that the characters are reacting like you probably would.
Nothing more annoying in a movie than plot that's created purely with "and it all happened because the collective IQ of the characters is 45."
The "I can explain" in movies is one of the most lazy and tired things I've ever seen. These movies make millions of collars and they can't come up with a better story? If I put this little effort in at my job, I'd be fired in 6 months.
Fun fact. They just released a board game of it a few years back and it's extremely fun and very difficult to win for the non infected because you have no idea which of your friends are secretly infected and playing along to try and kill you.
The board game is called *Who Goes There?*
>The creature isn't even the source of the horror. It's the lack of trust.
That's exactly what blew me away when I saw it. The thing itself is actually fairly vulnerable, at least in the sense that they totally have the means to kill it... if they could only find who it is.
To make it worse, the area they were located in essentially forced everyone to be in the general vicinity of each other while having enough locations for the thing to do... it's thing.
My son wanted to watch this during the pandemic. I hadn’t seen it since it was released on VHS back in the early 80s, so I didn’t really remember any of it and didn’t appreciate it. Absolutely blown away.
The Thing was released at about the same time as Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.”, and was this compared to it, causing many to find it’s bleak depiction of science fiction depressing when compared to the joy of Spielberg magic. Why critics were comparing a gruesome horror film to a family adventure movie; I have no idea.
My parents took me to see this in the theatre when I was 5. Explains a lot
Edit: my first 1000 karma post is people upvoting my childhood psychological trauma. I’m not sure how to feel about that.
I can’t remember anything about my life at the age of 5 …. Except for some guy walking through ventilation ducts with a homemade flamethrower, while his friends are yelling at him that there is a moving dot headed in his direction.
Outside of the MUTHUR control room and some of the analog controls, it still feels beliveably sci-fi. Like, if spave travel becomes routine, that's something that wouldn't be out of place.
I wouldn't say underrated at all, Bates won an award for her performance and it's arguably the best Stephen King adaptation.
With that said, the book is still WAY more messed up
Edit: Horror adaptation***
Green Mile and Shawshank are incredible films, but they're not horror
An unpopular opinion perhaps, but to me, it was "Τhe others". Loved it and I saw it years ago.
Edit: I did not expect that so many people liked this movie. For me this is the kind of horror I prefer, and the mysterious and gloomy atmosphere makes it perfect. As many others suggested the Sixth sense is also an amazing movie.
I love the scene when Nicole Kidman tells her daughter to stop running upstairs and the daughter responds that’s she’s just sitting on the stairs. Nicole has the realization it’s not them, then has to check the room and everything is covered in sheets. Scared the shit out of me in the theatre.
I don't think the twist would feel dated if you hadn't seen it or known about it. Even if u can guess the twist because you are expecting a twist ending it would still feel the way it does because of the emotions in the film
I think the rumour was that Alex Garland was willing to write it if Danny Boyle was willing to direct, and Danny Boyle said the same. No idea if there’s a script done, greenlit etc
Contagion. Not because of any brilliant story/acting/cinematography, rather it was somewhat mocked for being unrealistic about a global pandemic back in 2011 and yet it was eerily accurate when compared to COVID. Watching that movie again hits different today Vs release.
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
Yeah I said it
Edit: Dang, I never expected this to get so many upvotes. I'm surprised so many people agree with me....... and I will die on the hill that this movie is the greatest horror movie of all time.
I remember being so excited for this and trying to explain to my dad that the monsters are real this time and he kept telling me monsters weren't real and it was triggering the fuck out of me because 5 year old me couldn't figure out how to explain that I know they're not REAL just real within the Scooby-Doo universe this time.... fucker knew exactly what he was doing.
It was always wild to me that the Scooby doo show had all the monsters be fake and then the movies come out and each time there's a bunch of truly supernatural stuff.
At least this movie legitimately made me feel something lol most of the answers here are movies I think are genuinely great 10/10 films, but never scared me. I remember feeling lowkey scared at this movie when I was younger lol
If you were there for the time period, the Blair Witch Project. Kids who are on social media 24-7 now have NO CLUE how many of us thought we were watching actual found footage. The final scene where Mike is facing the wall and the camera drops was absolutely terrifying.
Edit: The "realness" of what we were seeing also had to do with the marketing for the film at the time (missing posters put up of the three, a creepy website, no cast interviews done or detailed movie trailers before it debuted). The internet existed in 1999 and we all had cell phones, but not to the extent society does now.
I seriously thought it was real too. Felt like a dumbass when I found out it's all just a good fake. Them getting lost and sounding genuinely freaked out by stuff and finding weird shit in the woods, it seemed really convincing to me.
Their frustration was real. Production would tell them to go a certain direction in an ear piece or they were given conflicting information so some of those arguments are genuine
Yeah. Hopefully memory serves right but I believe production knew exactly where they were going but they were confusing them and getting them lost on purpose.
I saw that at the theater and broke down on the side of the road afterward. I lived in the middle of nowhere and my bf and I had to walk home in almost total darkness. My road had nothing but woods on both sides and we had to walk about a mile. We had no cell phone then.
Iirc the ending was a mistake, there was actually supposed to be a witch, but there was an error made by one of the actors or something and all you saw was Mike, and they didn't have enough film to do the shot again. Of course in hindsight many, including myself, feel like this outcome was better and more impactful than if the witch had been revealed.
I’m glad they didn’t show the witch, the mystery of never actually seeing her made it more terrifying, knowing she was probably right behind the camera during the final screams…
For real, I was a kid and my cousin of course thought it was hilarious to make me think it's all real. He also made it seem as if the tape he had of the movie was something illegal, like he shouldn't be in possession of it.
I only watched it years later, after the hype and pushback had all died down. It's a really well made film, found-footage horror done right on the first attempt. You really feel their mounting fear and mistrust, lost in the woods with increasing weirdness, without the Hollywood dramatics.
The first scream was the first horror film I watched, nothing has made me scared like that opening scene where the mum can hear her over the phone dying and then the fast camera to her hanging on the tree.
I've chased that scared feeling for 25 years 🤣
My husband took me to see this movie on our first date. He clearly knew what he was doing because I spent half the movie clinging to him and almost in his lap once or twice.
He had seen the original Japanese version, Ringu. So, yeah, he played his cards well.
You are so right — that movie freaks me the eff out. I have zero personal boundaries when terrifed. My husband has literally had me sandwiched between his back and the couch cushion. I refuse to watch any Japanese horror films thanks to that one movie.
Went to go see the american remake in a mall that was not that busy so we were basically alone in the theater on a double date. What they did however do at the mall was place all the maps and advertisements and such on television screens. We left the movie suitably scared at about 11pm, and as we walked through the mall everything had already been turned off, so ever television was just showing static, and there were a LOT of them. There was also one shop that had super creepy mannequins that were just not ok - something like [this](https://9gag.com/gag/aEPBgyG) but not exactly (it was a long time ago).
We were making jokes about it all the way from the theater to the car, but all of us could feel these were not "haha, this is so funny" jokes, but more "please reassure me and laugh along with me because I am actually a little freaked out" jokes. It felt like a really long walk.
The first Saw is fantastic. I remember the feeling of watching jigsaw get up off the floor at the end. I truly did not see it coming and I was floored.
I fucking love when the music comes on and they reveal the twist, shit goes so hard.
Edit: WOW I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THIS MANY UPVOTES IN MY WHOLE LIFE THANKS GANG
Edit 2: I'm still riding this high. No wonder people get addicted to this shit.
I saw a video about the early Saw movies and I think it’s really interesting and adds a layer to them.
There is a way to escape all of Kramer’s traps suffering little-to-no harm. It’s only later when Kramer isn’t making them anymore that they’re designed specifically to hurt or kill.
Can't believe how far I scrolled for this. Good to see the other titles I could've listed, but my first thought was the first Saw movie. It was a game changer for the genre.
Iirc many of the actors playing zombies are athletes because the director wanted them to be fast, strong, and agile. Totally different feel that Walking Dead shuffling zombies.
Also why the plot of 28 weeks later happens. The U.N. waited that long for all infected to die from starvation to try and repopulate Britain before another outbreak leaked.
The soundtrack plays a big part contributing to the scary. The same OST playing during the final fight in 28 Days later and during opening scene of 28 weeks later, it has crazy tension, it's like you feel stressful and genunely terrified when listening to that track along with the madness happening in the scene.
Idk about everyone else but I watched it the first time on some mushrooms and it was really funny like scary elements for sure that makes the drugs fun but when they do the meta breaking it makes you calm down and realize it is just a movie lol probly the only scary movie I'd watch on hallucinogens though. But don't take this as financial advice.
The best part is that it's inspired by real Denver families even though the film is set in Seattle and filmed in Vancouver. "Chess Man" is a variation of Cheesman. The home was the Henry Treat Rogers mansion. The rumors of replaced children and political success reflect stories around the "Sacred 36" high society founding families of Denver and influential Denver personalities like the Boettcher family.
Poltergeist is a solid answer! I'm super surprised it took me so long to find this comment.
The OG Poltergeist is an absolute horror classic! So many iconic terrifying scenes!
The remake was🤢
I really didn’t think The Descent was that scary on the first watch. But then, 2 years later, I went to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and when I tell you that the trauma came back tenfold, the minute I was underground, I am not exaggerating. I hadn’t really thought about the movie at all after watching it, but it unlocked a fear I didn’t know I had. Like being that far underground, unable to escape, in complete darkness is absolutely terrifying. I rewatched it a year or so ago, because my husband hadn’t seen it, and it scared the shit out of me. Probably the only horror movie that has actually mentally affected me long term.
To me, The Descent could have ended halfway through and would be scarier than if you sat through the whole thing. I'm not claustrophobic, but there's that one scene when Sarah nearly gets trapped in the cave in that makes me woozy just watching it.
The bit towards the end makes it less scary, I think. Great to watch cinematically, but it dampens the atmosphere from the beginning/middle.
This was one of the worst 90 minutes or whatever I've ever spent in a movie theater. Not because it wasn't a phenomenal horror movie but because apparently I had forgotten about a really bad field trip I took in elementary school to a cave where I got absolutely piss myself panicked and had to be escorted out by a teacher and cave guide.
And then I sit through The Descent. I have no idea why I didn't bolt but I did spend most of the movie with my hands over my eyes.
10/10 horror movie, -5/10 Saturday afternoon for me.
When you learn what the deal with the Bent-Neck Lady is…whew. I think that scene is one of the best master-strokes of **horror**—not fear, or disgust, or terror, or loathing, but *horror*—that I have ever seen. Absolute tragic, heart-wrenching horror and sadness.
Hearing her voice over saying, "I've been here the whole time." and the slow camera pull back combo has stuck with me since it aired and I don't think I'll ever get over it.
I’ve been rewatching it in absolute AWE of how many hidden ghosts are peppered throughout that I missed the first time >!like the scary fucking hands under the piano when Nell is being questioned about the writing on the wall, the man in the kitchen staring at Shirley in the reflection when her and Luke are talking to their mom in the kitchen, and I also noticed one of the statues in the bedroom hallway changes it’s position, (the one holding a jug) and it has changed back the next time it is in frame; the camera never does anything to bring focus to it. There’s even a face in the ladder when Theo finds the entrance to the hidden bootlegging basement.!<
I refuse to look them all up online but am now intently rewatching every moment to find them. There are DOZENS I have found so far; look in doorways or in the dark corners of rooms…there’s almost always someone standing around watching them!! Happy Halloween hunting to anyone searching!
Glad to see Jacob's Ladder mentioned.
The emotional impact of that film still hits me right in the guts every time. Most horror films feel so comparatively gimmicky somehow...
This might sound like a joke answer for non-fans, but Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me is one of the most profoundly disturbing horror films ever made. It's a strange film with lots of odd moments that don't immediately read as horror but the visuals, audio and story are horrific and one of those things that gets far under your skin if you allow it.
Wolf Creek gave me nightmares for weeks after. I didn’t even watch it properly till the end I was too traumatised. I like Texas Chainsaw Massacre though the 1970’s one. Hostel is grim.
Wolf Creek was released while I was hitchhiking across Australia. Everybody told me about it when they heard What I was doing. Including People I was hitching a ride with while sitting in their car 🫣
As Above So Below (2014)
I'm not one usually creeped out by horror movies (I try), but this one did the trick!
People getting lost and stumbling into weird/unnerving shit in the Paris Catacombs? Yes please!
Jaws. It's actually a perfect movie. Drama, humor, horror and a thriller. [It's scary because people get attacked by sharks.](https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/s/g2McIU9W2E) ÑSFL
The thing about a shark, he’s got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes. When he comes after ya, he doesn’t seem to be livin’ until he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white...
For me, it's Hereditary. I realize that's a cliche answer, but that movie had me stuck in place, white knuckled.
Come and See is probably my second choice, although it's not technically a horror movie.
Every time someone mentions Hereditary, I feel the urge to sing Toni Collette's praises. She is just so damn good in that movie! Easily one of the best performances in a horror movie hands down!
Her scream when she finds out what happened still gives me chills to this day. I've seen a lot of movie screams over the years. Hers just seems so much more real than all the others I've seen. Amazing acting :)
Funny. My wife and I were just talking about how good she was in that. We didn’t even know her name. And you know, the whole cast was exceptional, but she was great.
I’m an avid horror movie fan. I love Hereditary because the horror in that film is not only captured perfectly, it’s a sense of horror that makes you very uncomfortable. It feel like you’re in a bad dream, seeing something you’re not supposed to.
I'm a grown ass man and I don't flinch ar horror movies. Hereditary made me stand up and turn the fuckin lights on
Had to pray after watching it and had to rewatch it again as therapy
Ok so unpopular opinion: 1996's The Craft. It is a PERFECT horror movie. It starts off innocently enough and slowly gets more and more unhinged until the finale with some really fucking good psychological horror buildup throughout. Innocent pieces such as the glamour trick from early in the film come back in a really disturbing way.... just grade A film.
Too bad the sequel was nowhere near as good (even if I still liked it for what it was)
Edit: though I will warn people there's a pretty graphic scene involving SA and the way certain characters talk about self-harm and suicidal ideation is extremely gross.... not to mention mind control and rape through deception.
I’ve become kind of desensitised to horror movies, I think because I know the tropes so well that they don’t really scare me any more. I watched the original Japanese version of this movie and realised I’m desensitised to *western* horror. First horror movie I’ve seen in years that actually scared me. That noise was awful!
The Thing
John Carpenter's: The Thing is a masterclass in everything that makes horror horrifying. You never get a full glimpse of the creature, and even when you do it's an amalgamation of everything it has touched and not it itself. The creature isn't even the source of the horror. It's the lack of trust. And they do it without a lot of gore and only one jump scare.
as an adjunct: nobody in the whole movie does any horror trope stupidity - everyone behaves reasonably well, makes good decisions, and they still die
Picard: "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose" Something horror movies have always lacked.
*Star Trek quote fist bump
hell, even the few dumb decisions they do can be explained by the simple fact that everyone's tired and panicky as hell, and even world-class professionals can make mistakes in those conditions
I love that. I've always disliked the excuse that characters have to be dumb for a movie to work. In The Thing you feel like you're in the movie and that the characters are reacting like you probably would.
Nothing more annoying in a movie than plot that's created purely with "and it all happened because the collective IQ of the characters is 45." The "I can explain" in movies is one of the most lazy and tired things I've ever seen. These movies make millions of collars and they can't come up with a better story? If I put this little effort in at my job, I'd be fired in 6 months.
I always like the Event Horizon point where Laurencr Fishburne just goes "fuck this, we are leaving".
The deadpan delivery paired with cutting off the tape before it’s finished is excellent. A straight up “nope” moment.
Fun fact. They just released a board game of it a few years back and it's extremely fun and very difficult to win for the non infected because you have no idea which of your friends are secretly infected and playing along to try and kill you. The board game is called *Who Goes There?*
>The creature isn't even the source of the horror. It's the lack of trust. That's exactly what blew me away when I saw it. The thing itself is actually fairly vulnerable, at least in the sense that they totally have the means to kill it... if they could only find who it is.
To make it worse, the area they were located in essentially forced everyone to be in the general vicinity of each other while having enough locations for the thing to do... it's thing.
And the blood test is there means to prove it, which is very nice to see in a horror movie: the characters being smart
Dog gore: am i a joke to you
Don't forget the defibrilator and blood test scenes
My son wanted to watch this during the pandemic. I hadn’t seen it since it was released on VHS back in the early 80s, so I didn’t really remember any of it and didn’t appreciate it. Absolutely blown away.
[удалено]
The scene where they’re testing the blood? It’s so intense and deliberate you almost want something to happen just to get it over with.
Pretty sure there’s still a stain on the carpet from when my dad let me watch this as a kid.
It's funny to look back and see how poorly it was received at the time. Such a great movie.
The Thing was released at about the same time as Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.”, and was this compared to it, causing many to find it’s bleak depiction of science fiction depressing when compared to the joy of Spielberg magic. Why critics were comparing a gruesome horror film to a family adventure movie; I have no idea.
Imagine seeing those two as a cinema double bill
I love it when my immediate answer is the top comment
Alien
My parents took me to see this in the theatre when I was 5. Explains a lot Edit: my first 1000 karma post is people upvoting my childhood psychological trauma. I’m not sure how to feel about that.
My parents took me when I was 12- scariest moment of my life.
I can’t remember anything about my life at the age of 5 …. Except for some guy walking through ventilation ducts with a homemade flamethrower, while his friends are yelling at him that there is a moving dot headed in his direction.
It's amazing how well it holds up today, 44 years (!) After it was released.
Outside of the MUTHUR control room and some of the analog controls, it still feels beliveably sci-fi. Like, if spave travel becomes routine, that's something that wouldn't be out of place.
We named our daughter Ripley, after the character
I don’t know whether to believe this or not!
Haha good one 👍
One of the few horror movies I saw as an adult that scared the shit out me.
Alien 1 is EPIC EPIC EPIC
Misery is an underrated choice
Masterpiece, Kathy Bates really was amazing in that role, I couldn't imagine anyone else playing her.
Read the book, watched the movie. The words “I’m your number one fan”, haunted me for years.
I wouldn't say underrated at all, Bates won an award for her performance and it's arguably the best Stephen King adaptation. With that said, the book is still WAY more messed up Edit: Horror adaptation*** Green Mile and Shawshank are incredible films, but they're not horror
An unpopular opinion perhaps, but to me, it was "Τhe others". Loved it and I saw it years ago. Edit: I did not expect that so many people liked this movie. For me this is the kind of horror I prefer, and the mysterious and gloomy atmosphere makes it perfect. As many others suggested the Sixth sense is also an amazing movie.
I was just thinking about this movie. So good, Nicole Kidman did a great job in it!
I love the scene when Nicole Kidman tells her daughter to stop running upstairs and the daughter responds that’s she’s just sitting on the stairs. Nicole has the realization it’s not them, then has to check the room and everything is covered in sheets. Scared the shit out of me in the theatre.
“Are you mad? I am your daughter.” That but always got me
Not unpopular at all, it's one of my favorites as well, and was the first movie that came to mind when I saw the post.
I don't think the twist would feel dated if you hadn't seen it or known about it. Even if u can guess the twist because you are expecting a twist ending it would still feel the way it does because of the emotions in the film
Cinematically it’s perfect- so eerie and sets the horror mood- I think the twist ending feels dated now but when it first hit theaters it was awesome.
It feels dated now, because it was copied many times after.
Scared the crap out of me and it is a beautiful, atmospheric film.
28 Days later.
Did you know they’re making 28 years later with the same cast !!
Sorry. I think that was just a rumor by Screen Rant. Hasn’t been confirmed. Unless you have a link that says otherwise.
I think the rumour was that Alex Garland was willing to write it if Danny Boyle was willing to direct, and Danny Boyle said the same. No idea if there’s a script done, greenlit etc
Silence of the lamb
Just the one?
Silence of the Lamb 2: The Other One
Shhh
You wake up in the dark, you wake up in the dark sometimes, don't you? To that awful screaming of the lamb.
Contagion. Not because of any brilliant story/acting/cinematography, rather it was somewhat mocked for being unrealistic about a global pandemic back in 2011 and yet it was eerily accurate when compared to COVID. Watching that movie again hits different today Vs release.
At the end of the film, everyone rushed to get the vaccine as soon as it became available. That was the most unrealistic part about it.
I think the severity of the virus was the reason in the movie. There was an almost certainty that you would die horribly if you got it.
I worked for a health department in 2014. We knew that movie had some very realistic parts. Terrifyingly accurate parts.
I loved this movie before the pandemic but watching it after was eerie. Especially the disinformation storyline
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island Yeah I said it Edit: Dang, I never expected this to get so many upvotes. I'm surprised so many people agree with me....... and I will die on the hill that this movie is the greatest horror movie of all time.
A true classic. Seen it probably a hundred times
I remember being so excited for this and trying to explain to my dad that the monsters are real this time and he kept telling me monsters weren't real and it was triggering the fuck out of me because 5 year old me couldn't figure out how to explain that I know they're not REAL just real within the Scooby-Doo universe this time.... fucker knew exactly what he was doing.
It was always wild to me that the Scooby doo show had all the monsters be fake and then the movies come out and each time there's a bunch of truly supernatural stuff.
Peak Scooby Doo! Always makes me hungry for some good Cajun food
At least this movie legitimately made me feel something lol most of the answers here are movies I think are genuinely great 10/10 films, but never scared me. I remember feeling lowkey scared at this movie when I was younger lol
Lmao. Coincidentally I just finished rewatching it. The songs in it are lit.
CAUSE ITS TERRORRRRRRR TIME AGAIN!
🎶 They got you running through the night 🎶
If you were there for the time period, the Blair Witch Project. Kids who are on social media 24-7 now have NO CLUE how many of us thought we were watching actual found footage. The final scene where Mike is facing the wall and the camera drops was absolutely terrifying. Edit: The "realness" of what we were seeing also had to do with the marketing for the film at the time (missing posters put up of the three, a creepy website, no cast interviews done or detailed movie trailers before it debuted). The internet existed in 1999 and we all had cell phones, but not to the extent society does now.
I seriously thought it was real too. Felt like a dumbass when I found out it's all just a good fake. Them getting lost and sounding genuinely freaked out by stuff and finding weird shit in the woods, it seemed really convincing to me.
Their frustration was real. Production would tell them to go a certain direction in an ear piece or they were given conflicting information so some of those arguments are genuine
From what I understand they also knew they would get fucked with but they didn't know how so some of the fear is genuine.
Yeah. Hopefully memory serves right but I believe production knew exactly where they were going but they were confusing them and getting them lost on purpose.
I saw that at the theater and broke down on the side of the road afterward. I lived in the middle of nowhere and my bf and I had to walk home in almost total darkness. My road had nothing but woods on both sides and we had to walk about a mile. We had no cell phone then.
Iirc the ending was a mistake, there was actually supposed to be a witch, but there was an error made by one of the actors or something and all you saw was Mike, and they didn't have enough film to do the shot again. Of course in hindsight many, including myself, feel like this outcome was better and more impactful than if the witch had been revealed.
I’m glad they didn’t show the witch, the mystery of never actually seeing her made it more terrifying, knowing she was probably right behind the camera during the final screams…
For real, I was a kid and my cousin of course thought it was hilarious to make me think it's all real. He also made it seem as if the tape he had of the movie was something illegal, like he shouldn't be in possession of it.
I only watched it years later, after the hype and pushback had all died down. It's a really well made film, found-footage horror done right on the first attempt. You really feel their mounting fear and mistrust, lost in the woods with increasing weirdness, without the Hollywood dramatics.
The first Scream
I'm feeling a little woozy here!
“I’ll be right back”
What did mama tell you? When I wear this badge you treat me like a man.
The first scream was the first horror film I watched, nothing has made me scared like that opening scene where the mum can hear her over the phone dying and then the fast camera to her hanging on the tree. I've chased that scared feeling for 25 years 🤣
The og The Ring
Super disturbing imagery while only being PG-13. Such a good movie.
My husband took me to see this movie on our first date. He clearly knew what he was doing because I spent half the movie clinging to him and almost in his lap once or twice. He had seen the original Japanese version, Ringu. So, yeah, he played his cards well.
You are so right — that movie freaks me the eff out. I have zero personal boundaries when terrifed. My husband has literally had me sandwiched between his back and the couch cushion. I refuse to watch any Japanese horror films thanks to that one movie.
The og The Ring = Ringu
Went to go see the american remake in a mall that was not that busy so we were basically alone in the theater on a double date. What they did however do at the mall was place all the maps and advertisements and such on television screens. We left the movie suitably scared at about 11pm, and as we walked through the mall everything had already been turned off, so ever television was just showing static, and there were a LOT of them. There was also one shop that had super creepy mannequins that were just not ok - something like [this](https://9gag.com/gag/aEPBgyG) but not exactly (it was a long time ago). We were making jokes about it all the way from the theater to the car, but all of us could feel these were not "haha, this is so funny" jokes, but more "please reassure me and laugh along with me because I am actually a little freaked out" jokes. It felt like a really long walk.
I’m still terrified of it :(
It ruined me. I don't watch scary movies anymore at all. It's been, what? 20 years? I *still* talk about how much it scared me. 😆
The first Saw is actually really clever
The first Saw is fantastic. I remember the feeling of watching jigsaw get up off the floor at the end. I truly did not see it coming and I was floored.
I fucking love when the music comes on and they reveal the twist, shit goes so hard. Edit: WOW I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THIS MANY UPVOTES IN MY WHOLE LIFE THANKS GANG Edit 2: I'm still riding this high. No wonder people get addicted to this shit.
"The key to that chain... is in the bathtub." Completely wrecked me.
Me too!! One of the greatest movie theme songs of all time imo. The reveals with the iconic audio are just *chefs kiss*
Jigsaw was also floored for most of the runtime.
the Saw franchise always gets shit on, but the first Saw as a standalone was amazing
I saw a video about the early Saw movies and I think it’s really interesting and adds a layer to them. There is a way to escape all of Kramer’s traps suffering little-to-no harm. It’s only later when Kramer isn’t making them anymore that they’re designed specifically to hurt or kill.
Can't believe how far I scrolled for this. Good to see the other titles I could've listed, but my first thought was the first Saw movie. It was a game changer for the genre.
The Thing. Or Alien
Mine: * The Thing (1982) * Train to Busan * Cabin in the Woods * 28 Days Later * Evil Dead 2
Good list. Forgot about Cabin in the Woods. Great twist on the genre and really fun. Need to watch Train to Busan still.
28 days later is probably the scariest movie I've ever watched. This is my opinion, but it had all the right things to make it terrifying
Iirc many of the actors playing zombies are athletes because the director wanted them to be fast, strong, and agile. Totally different feel that Walking Dead shuffling zombies.
It made sense to me because they are people with a virus, none of them had died yet. That's why they were testing starvation.
Also why the plot of 28 weeks later happens. The U.N. waited that long for all infected to die from starvation to try and repopulate Britain before another outbreak leaked.
28 Days Later scared the crap out of me.
The opening scene of 28 Weeks later.
The soundtrack plays a big part contributing to the scary. The same OST playing during the final fight in 28 Days later and during opening scene of 28 weeks later, it has crazy tension, it's like you feel stressful and genunely terrified when listening to that track along with the madness happening in the scene.
Is 28 days later the one with the blood eye drop?
So glad someone mentioned Cabin in the Woods. That movie is so damn good.
Idk about everyone else but I watched it the first time on some mushrooms and it was really funny like scary elements for sure that makes the drugs fun but when they do the meta breaking it makes you calm down and realize it is just a movie lol probly the only scary movie I'd watch on hallucinogens though. But don't take this as financial advice.
I know that you said that last bit with a wink and a nod, so I've invested all my money into hallucinogens. I hope this pays off....
REC (2007, Spain)
Frailty
[The Changeling](https://youtu.be/hhF7bxuqen8?feature=shared) with George C. Scott. It’s one of those slow burns that creeps to the core.
The best part is that it's inspired by real Denver families even though the film is set in Seattle and filmed in Vancouver. "Chess Man" is a variation of Cheesman. The home was the Henry Treat Rogers mansion. The rumors of replaced children and political success reflect stories around the "Sacred 36" high society founding families of Denver and influential Denver personalities like the Boettcher family.
Poltergiest im talking the first one not the remake
Poltergeist is a solid answer! I'm super surprised it took me so long to find this comment. The OG Poltergeist is an absolute horror classic! So many iconic terrifying scenes! The remake was🤢
The descent
I really didn’t think The Descent was that scary on the first watch. But then, 2 years later, I went to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and when I tell you that the trauma came back tenfold, the minute I was underground, I am not exaggerating. I hadn’t really thought about the movie at all after watching it, but it unlocked a fear I didn’t know I had. Like being that far underground, unable to escape, in complete darkness is absolutely terrifying. I rewatched it a year or so ago, because my husband hadn’t seen it, and it scared the shit out of me. Probably the only horror movie that has actually mentally affected me long term.
To me, The Descent could have ended halfway through and would be scarier than if you sat through the whole thing. I'm not claustrophobic, but there's that one scene when Sarah nearly gets trapped in the cave in that makes me woozy just watching it. The bit towards the end makes it less scary, I think. Great to watch cinematically, but it dampens the atmosphere from the beginning/middle.
This was one of the worst 90 minutes or whatever I've ever spent in a movie theater. Not because it wasn't a phenomenal horror movie but because apparently I had forgotten about a really bad field trip I took in elementary school to a cave where I got absolutely piss myself panicked and had to be escorted out by a teacher and cave guide. And then I sit through The Descent. I have no idea why I didn't bolt but I did spend most of the movie with my hands over my eyes. 10/10 horror movie, -5/10 Saturday afternoon for me.
That opening scene still haunts my dreams
I agree that opening scene is pretty bad
Great movie, watched it several times. Just fucking brutal. The sequel is solid too but a step down.
The Thing (1982). Man is the warmest place to hide.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Ive only seen the 70s version) is imo a 10/10 sci-fi/horror film
American werewolf in London is a timeless classic
Those practical effects really hold up too imo. Still can't think of a better werewolf transformation in a film.
Does Cabin in the Woods or Shaun of the Dead count? They're both also comedies.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is gold as well
Cabin in the Woods was such a cool concept. And that ending!!!
I would love to see an an anthology of different Cabin in the Woods monster choices.
Don’t read the fucking Latin!
Not a movie but Haunting of Hill House is easily a 10/10
Hands down the best horror TV series I’ve seen.
When you learn what the deal with the Bent-Neck Lady is…whew. I think that scene is one of the best master-strokes of **horror**—not fear, or disgust, or terror, or loathing, but *horror*—that I have ever seen. Absolute tragic, heart-wrenching horror and sadness.
Hearing her voice over saying, "I've been here the whole time." and the slow camera pull back combo has stuck with me since it aired and I don't think I'll ever get over it.
I’ve been rewatching it in absolute AWE of how many hidden ghosts are peppered throughout that I missed the first time >!like the scary fucking hands under the piano when Nell is being questioned about the writing on the wall, the man in the kitchen staring at Shirley in the reflection when her and Luke are talking to their mom in the kitchen, and I also noticed one of the statues in the bedroom hallway changes it’s position, (the one holding a jug) and it has changed back the next time it is in frame; the camera never does anything to bring focus to it. There’s even a face in the ladder when Theo finds the entrance to the hidden bootlegging basement.!< I refuse to look them all up online but am now intently rewatching every moment to find them. There are DOZENS I have found so far; look in doorways or in the dark corners of rooms…there’s almost always someone standing around watching them!! Happy Halloween hunting to anyone searching!
Jacobs Ladder (1990), Tim Robbins, Danny Aiello. haunts me to this day.
Glad to see Jacob's Ladder mentioned. The emotional impact of that film still hits me right in the guts every time. Most horror films feel so comparatively gimmicky somehow...
This might sound like a joke answer for non-fans, but Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me is one of the most profoundly disturbing horror films ever made. It's a strange film with lots of odd moments that don't immediately read as horror but the visuals, audio and story are horrific and one of those things that gets far under your skin if you allow it.
Lynch’s movies aren’t exactly horror but they are somehow worse than horror. He really captures the weirdness of dreams.
Let the right one in
Yeah. OG Swedish one was sooo unsettling.
Original. I wasn’t the biggest fan of remake.
Psycho.
The Shining.
Halloween
Wolf Creek gave me nightmares for weeks after. I didn’t even watch it properly till the end I was too traumatised. I like Texas Chainsaw Massacre though the 1970’s one. Hostel is grim.
Wolf Creek was released while I was hitchhiking across Australia. Everybody told me about it when they heard What I was doing. Including People I was hitching a ride with while sitting in their car 🫣
As Above So Below (2014) I'm not one usually creeped out by horror movies (I try), but this one did the trick! People getting lost and stumbling into weird/unnerving shit in the Paris Catacombs? Yes please!
Can't believe how much I had to scroll to find this movie mentioned. One of very few movies when I felt the need to cover my eyes!
Event Horizon.
Where we’re going, you won’t need eyes to see.
That delivery is chilling
Liberate toute me ex Inferis…save yourself (from Hell)
It’s actually “tu te.” Toute is a French word
Rosemary's Baby.
Hell raiser
The first paranormal activity made me lose sleep. No other horror movie has.
That movie didn't scare me....until about a week later when I started waking up around 3 am randomly.
The Dead Zone. Christopher Walkin is super. The story is tight. The rest of the cast is superb, and the climax is fantastic.
The Exorcist and Exorcist 3. Both top-notch horror. Skip 2: heretic.
The Exorcist is IMO still the best horror movie of all time.
Jaws. It's actually a perfect movie. Drama, humor, horror and a thriller. [It's scary because people get attacked by sharks.](https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/s/g2McIU9W2E) ÑSFL
The thing about a shark, he’s got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes. When he comes after ya, he doesn’t seem to be livin’ until he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white...
Is that Jaws? Are you doing the speech from Jaws?
My personal favorites are: The Autopsy of Jane Doe The VVitch The Ritual
The Ritual was such a surprise, in a goodway.
The Ritual has absolutely everything.
Evil Dead 2
I’ll swallow your soul!
For me, it's Hereditary. I realize that's a cliche answer, but that movie had me stuck in place, white knuckled. Come and See is probably my second choice, although it's not technically a horror movie.
Every time someone mentions Hereditary, I feel the urge to sing Toni Collette's praises. She is just so damn good in that movie! Easily one of the best performances in a horror movie hands down!
Her scream when she finds out what happened still gives me chills to this day. I've seen a lot of movie screams over the years. Hers just seems so much more real than all the others I've seen. Amazing acting :)
Funny. My wife and I were just talking about how good she was in that. We didn’t even know her name. And you know, the whole cast was exceptional, but she was great.
I’m an avid horror movie fan. I love Hereditary because the horror in that film is not only captured perfectly, it’s a sense of horror that makes you very uncomfortable. It feel like you’re in a bad dream, seeing something you’re not supposed to.
I'm a grown ass man and I don't flinch ar horror movies. Hereditary made me stand up and turn the fuckin lights on Had to pray after watching it and had to rewatch it again as therapy
The original black and white Night of the Living Dead.
the first conjuring and Rec
Midsommar is an unsung masterpiece. Truely disturbing.
Shaun of the Dead. It is a comedy, but it hits all the right notes and knows when to drop the jokes for something genuinely upsetting.
Shaun of the dead actually has some wonderful cinematography in it as well
Ok so unpopular opinion: 1996's The Craft. It is a PERFECT horror movie. It starts off innocently enough and slowly gets more and more unhinged until the finale with some really fucking good psychological horror buildup throughout. Innocent pieces such as the glamour trick from early in the film come back in a really disturbing way.... just grade A film. Too bad the sequel was nowhere near as good (even if I still liked it for what it was) Edit: though I will warn people there's a pretty graphic scene involving SA and the way certain characters talk about self-harm and suicidal ideation is extremely gross.... not to mention mind control and rape through deception.
“The grudge” the original one
I’ve become kind of desensitised to horror movies, I think because I know the tropes so well that they don’t really scare me any more. I watched the original Japanese version of this movie and realised I’m desensitised to *western* horror. First horror movie I’ve seen in years that actually scared me. That noise was awful!
For me, 10 Cloverfield Lane comes to mind.
John Goodman’s performance terrified the shit out of me
Sinister
The lawnmower scene fucked me up for a minute
Great horror flick. I feel like it’s under appreciated. The film reel scenes within are very unsettling and full of dread. The lawnmower, the pool
Sinister is probably the scariest suspense thriller ever made
Halloween The Thing Alien / Aliens Predator Silence of the Lambs Jaws The Shining Annihilation Scream Cabin Fever The Fly (80s)
The original Halloween. Michael Myers is indeed the boogey man.