You must return to the Golden Age…
Frankenstein (1931)
Freaks (1932)
The Black Cat (1935)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Wolf Man (1941)
Cat People (1942)
I Walked With a Zombie (1945)
- Carpenter’s “Mouth of Madness”, “The Thing”, “Prince of Darkness”, “Ghosts of Mars”
- Cronenberg’s “Shivers/They Came from Within”, “Scanners”, “The Fly”
- “Jeeper’s Creepers” / Victor Salva
- “The People Under the Stairs” / Wes Craven (a very scarry old tale)
- “King of the Ants” / Stuart Gordon
- “Hannibal” / Ridley Scott
- “Candyman” / Bernard Rose
- " House of 1000 Corps" & " The Devil’s Rejects" / Rob Zombie (an inspired director !!)
- " The Relic" / Peter Hyams
-“Dracula” / John Badham
- “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed” / Terence Fisher
- “The Devil Rides Out” / Terence Fisher
- “The Tomb of Ligeia” / Roger Corman
- “Le Corps et le Fouet” / Mario Bava (sorry, I don’t know the English title)
- “Beatrice Cenci” / Lucio Fulci
- “The Wicker Man” / Robin Hardy (the original and only one !!)
- “Repulsion” / Roman Polanski
- “Le Locataire” / Roman Polanski
- “The Haunted” / Robert Wise (a great one !!)
- “Sweeney Todd” / David Moore
- “Horrors at the Black Museum” / Arthur Crabtree (oldy but goody)
- “The Flesh and the Fiends” / John Gilling (with amazing performances of Donald Pleasence and Peter Cushing !!)
– “10 Rillington Place” / Richard Fleischer
- “From Beyond the Grave” / Kevin Connor
- “An American Werewolf in London” / John Landis (funny & scarry)
- “Bug” / William Friedkin
….
If you want the classic among classics go for Friedrich Murnau’s “Nosferatu”. Preferably choose the version with the electronic soundtrack by Art Zoyd that enhances the terror factor in the film. True masterpiece!
The Collector, currently in theaters, is surprisingly good, though not for those too squeamish for or annoyed by the “torture porn” genre.
If you’re into laughing through zombie movies Dead Snow should be coming out on DVD soon (it’s Norwegian)
Also
The Fly (Cronenberg’s)
The original Texas Chainsaw Masacre
The Thing
Alien
Nosferatu the Vampyre (the Herzog film)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Nosferatu
The Hands of Orlac
This Old Dark House
Freaks
Vampyr
Dracula
Frankenstein
The Black Cat
Bride of Frankenstein
The Devil Doll
Cat People
The Leopard Man
I Walked With a Zombie
The Seventh Victim
The Thing from Another World
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Innocents
Psycho
Kaidan
Night of the Living Dead
I just watched the ninth gate with hope that Roman Polanski and Johnny Depp would be a dream team…sadly, my hope was lost.
Great Stuff
1. Kwaidan, 1964 dir. Masaki Kobayashi-It’s classic and has beautiful adaptations of japanese folklore.
2. Onibaba dir. Kaneto shindo-Also classic ghost story.
3. Kairo-Scary
4. Dark Tales of Japan-Scary TV made films.
5. Kaidan Kasane-ga-fuchi/The Ghost of Kasane)-another japanese classic.
6. Nosferatu-This one started them all.
7. Cul de sac-very nihilistic
8. Cache-Hitchcock on crack
9. Nightmare Detective-Great film from Shinya Tsukamoto=Lynch on crack
10. Cure (Already mentioned but I strongly recommend it)
11. Repulsion (also mentioned but i recommend it)
Just For Laughs
1.Tokyo Gore Police (Goriest film from Japan)
2. Versus (Kaleidoscope of genres)
3. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Original)
4. Flesh for Frankenstein
5. The Fearless Vampire Killers (Funny Polanski)
You’ll love [REC] who doesn’t? I also recommend 3 Extremes, which isn’t exactly horror, but really scary.
I forgot to mention Brian de Palma’s “Sisters”, also “Stepford Wives” (original), 3 extremes seconded, and “Rampo Noir” is really bizarre and terrifying. I recall you said you enjoyed “Jacob’s Latter”. The same producer made a masterful films several years early called “Angel Heart”-very effective film. I’m also not sure if anyone mentioned “The Devil’s Backbone”. If you like Miike, his “Detective Story” is as repulsive as it gets and yet ridiculously funny.
Shaun of the dead has been marketed as more comedy than horror, and for the most part it is, but the last 2/3 of the film is just as much horror.
28 days later and the remake of Dawn of the Dead complete the zombie trilogy !
the opening ten minutes of 28 Weeks later, is great but the rest of the film in my opinion doesn’t live up to.
Don’t Look Now is pretty good, and watch Cannibal Holocaust while eating a sandwich. I dare you.
Auditon, The Orphanage, The Descent, and House of 1000 Corpses, also The Devil’s Rejects
Check out work by the Italian director, Dario Argento. His films are definitely gory but they have an art-house feel, good photography and intense color. Maybe start with “Suspiria”.
Also, I think it’s hard to beat the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. It’s scary and sickening and the cinematography is excellent. It will drag you in and then beat the hell out of you.
I have to say I think “Cannibal Holocaust” is terrible. It has a reputation for being, like, the “real thing” and totally hard-core, but in fact it is a very weak film. I mean, sure, it will horrify you and yes, the actors really kill real animals by hacking them apart with machetes while the cameras get close-ups of the entrails, spilling out of bodies that are still kicking and writhing. So it’s got that going for it I guess; it is real hard-core. And I’m not saying don’t watch it, I’m just saying if your nature is at all sensitive this movie will offend your humanity, and artistically it is uninspired and vacant. If you do decide to watch it, try to get the double-disc version. The extras include interviews with director, actors and others. This makes the film itself more worthwhile, because it clarifies the motives of all who were involved.
Diabolique.
Don’t Torture a Duckling
Witchfinder General
The Innocents
The Devils
The Howling
Audition
Dawn of the Dead- the Romero version
Evil Dead 2
Argento’s Opera
The Fly-Cronenberg version
Jacob’s Ladder
Exorcist III
‘Duel’ – Steven Spielberg’s first (I think) movie. An innocent motorist (Dennis Weaver) is relentlessly pursued by a murderous truck driver (whom you never see).
‘Tremors’ – Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, and the other other occupants of a small, isolated arizona community are terrorized by underground monsters. A comedy/horror classic.
Any movie with Jack Black in it should do the trick.
hahaha, nice.
steven, i think that’s the best review of cannibal holocaust i’ve ever read. i completely agree.
These are a few of my favorites.
Black Sunday (1960)
The New York Ripper (1982)
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)
The Seventh Victim (1943)
Waxworks (1924)
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
I’m not a fan of horror films, but I think the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Exorcist are must sees. I don’t think anyone has mentioned Jaws, but I’m assuming you saw that, too. Not horror per se, but close enough. And if you haven’t seen it, you should.
Some people are recommending films from the 20s-50s, and in my opinions these films are almost never scary. Some of them have some creepy moments and nice photography (eg. Vampyr and Nosferatu, either version), but I can’t see modern horror fans enjoying them, except for gaining historical perspective. Any film that with Dracula, Frankenstein or Wolrman from this time period won’t terrifying in the slightest, imo. Of the older horror films, I think Freaks is one of the more interesting ones. (I like the last shot.)
One last thing about the older films. Man, I think The Haunting is not scary in the least. Julie Harris is just hysterics is not scary, and it gets annoying. If your idea of horror is spooky sounds coming out of a big house, then this film is for you. Btw, the dvd I rented had a “G” rating on this, which says it all, imo. My guess is that people who like this film, saw it when it originally came out. I’d be surprised if people who see it now for the first time will like it as a horror film. (It does have some intersting psychological elements, but they’re not of the scary sort, imo.)
I enjoyed Duel, although perhaps its more of a thriller. Tremors is also great, a B-movie getting close to A-movie territory.
Many people have mentioned Don’t Look Now and I’d say it’s a fascinating film, not a conventional horror. I’ve heard people say that it has one of the best shot lovemaking sequences (pretty classy), and I wouldn’t argue with that.
Another film that wasn’t mentioned: Scream. I think that’s a must see for horror fans because it’s so aware of the genre, and it’s well-made.
i saw “drag me to hell” (sam raimi) recently and i liked it
>>Some people are recommending films from the 20s-50s, and in my opinions these films are almost never scary. Some of them have some creepy moments and nice photography (eg. Vampyr and Nosferatu, either version), but I can’t see modern horror fans enjoying them, except for gaining historical perspective. Any film that with Dracula, Frankenstein or Wolrman from this time period won’t terrifying in the slightest, imo. Of the older horror films, I think Freaks is one of the more interesting ones. (I like the last shot.)
One last thing about the older films. Man, I think The Haunting is not scary in the least. Julie Harris is just hysterics is not scary, and it gets annoying. If your idea of horror is spooky sounds coming out of a big house, then this film is for you. Btw, the dvd I rented had a “G” rating on this, which says it all, imo. My guess is that people who like this film, saw it when it originally came out. I’d be surprised if people who see it now for the first time will like it as a horror film. (It does have some intersting psychological elements, but they’re not of the scary sort, imo.)<<
Not much for subtlety or mood are you?
Vampyr
Nosferatu
Les Vampires
Suspiria
Rosmary’s Baby
Repulsion
Knife in the Water
Harry,
I’m open to subtelty and mood—if it helps to create the desired effect, in this case to scare audiences. I’m working under the assumption that most people who go to and like horror films liked to be scared or grossed out. And I just don’t think the films I mentioned will accompish that for anyone seeing those films for the first time.
WRT The Haunting I gotta say that Harris’ performance—as I recall not very subtle—was a big reason this film didn’t work for me. I just found her acting way over-the-top and unbelievable. I will say that I liked the concept of the story—the way the previous deaths in the house was linked to Harris’ character and her past.
Harry,
I’m open to subtelty and mood—if it helps to create the desired effect, in this case to scare audiences. I’m working under the assumption that most people who go to and like horror films liked to be scared or grossed out. And I just don’t think the films I mentioned will accompish that for anyone seeing those films for the first time.
WRT The Haunting I gotta say that Harris’ performance—as I recall not very subtle—was a big reason this film didn’t work for me. I just found her acting way over-the-top and unbelievable. I will say that I liked the concept of the story—the way the previous deaths in the house was linked to Harris’ character and her past.
Harry,
I’m open to subtelty and mood—if it helps to create the desired effect, in this case to scare audiences. I’m working under the assumption that most people who go to and like horror films liked to be scared or grossed out. And I just don’t think the films I mentioned will accompish that for anyone seeing those films for the first time.
WRT The Haunting I gotta say that Harris’ performance—as I recall not very subtle—was a big reason this film didn’t work for me. I just found her acting way over-the-top and unbelievable. I will say that I liked the concept of the story—the way the previous deaths in the house was linked to Harris’ character and her past.
Harry,
I’m open to subtelty and mood—if it helps to create the desired effect, in this case to scare audiences. I’m working under the assumption that most people who go to and like horror films liked to be scared or grossed out. And I just don’t think the films I mentioned will accompish that for anyone seeing those films for the first time.
WRT The Haunting I gotta say that Harris’ performance—as I recall not very subtle—was a big reason this film didn’t work for me. I just found her acting way over-the-top and unbelievable. I will say that I liked the concept of the story—the way the previous deaths in the house was linked to Harris’ character and her past.
Miss J
3 Women by Altman.