Best Horror Movies of All Time

[Bayushi_seikuro]

I'm not always a horror person, but I love when it's done right. There are two that come to mind I enjoyed, that I saw on Netflix, and luckily watched during the day.

Grave Encounters - for all of its corniness, I think that came from the fact they were modelling those 'ghost hunter shows' Discovery puts out, but I enjoyed it.

Yellowbrickroad - about an American town that was removed from maps and classified after the townfolk watched a screening of The Wizard of Oz in 1940, got up as one, walked to the trailhead, and disappeared into the woods of New England. As is prone to happen, the government decides to declassify the town and trail, so some people decide to make a documentary about it.

 

[TiQuinn]

Do you think The Dead Zone is horror? In the book, there's that serial killer storyline (early-on) and that bit is scary, but the rest of it (book and movie) is just a political drama. I'd say it's more of a thriller with supernatural overtones. That's what I meant, especially by "not scary." This is also what I was saying about The Hidden, although I agree that it's more firmly rooted in Action/Sci-Fi; the overall concept is horror, I think. Horrific, anyway. I don't know about Dead Zone.

True, but Dracula features vampires and the Supernatural. I suppose dude (from The Dead Zone) is a psychic and that counts as Supernatural, but still. Arlington Road has moments of, I guess, "horror," but it's a political thriller.

How about that flick with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino - where Pacino was the devil? Was that horror? That film kind of falls squarely in the middle of what we're discussing. I barely remember it, but I don't think it counts as horror... I can see the argument, but I (personally) still don't think it's horror. But you're right about Dracula.

I’d call it Horror. The movie is presenting itself as horror - its tone, the camera angles, the music, Walken’s acting (he is experiencing horror at his visions). Same with Devil’s Advocate.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I’d call it Horror. The movie is presenting itself as horror - its tone, the camera angles, the music, Walken’s acting (he is experiencing horror at his visions). Same with Devil’s Advocate.

Devil's Advocate is definitely horror IMO

 

[manodogs]

I’d call it Horror. The movie is presenting itself as horror - its tone, the camera angles, the music, Walken’s acting (he is experiencing horror at his visions). Same with Devil’s Advocate.

That's a really great point I hadn't considered, but it's also been decades since I saw either one. For my money, the book veers squarely into political thriller territory after he saves that girl from the ice. I mean in the book, but that's how it worked-out in the movie too (I think, now that I'm remembering it somewhat). Either way, Dead Zone was pretty good.

 

[manodogs]

Devil's Advocate is definitely horror IMO

Oh, I haven't seen that movie since it came out and I only remember being disappointed by it. lol. I only brought it up because I thought it had similarities. Doesn't Pacino finally reveal himself on a train in the third act (well, maybe the very tail-end of the second-act, but...)? That part was definitely horror.

I love Stephen King, so I'm happy to call Dead Zone horror, although I feel his work is ghettoized for being horror and/or popular. Of all his movies from that era, I'd say Dead Zone - damn fine movie, don't get me wrong - was the least horror. Nope! I just remembered The Running Man. That may been the least Horror genre-fitting of his oevure. The Running Man novella wasn't even really Horror with a capital H, but the movie is 100% sci-fi. In comparison, Dead Zone is definitely Horror; but, even out of that context, I suppose so. I personally remember it as more of a supernatural-tinged political thriller - but that's just me.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is probably a better movie to argue, along these same lines: Comedy or Horror? I saw it more as a comedy, although the premise is definitely frightening. That's what made me think of The Hidden (merely a remake of The Body-Snatchers, this time with '80s guns and hair-dos).

 

[Bedrockgames]

Oh, I haven't seen that movie since it came out and I only remember being disappointed by it. lol. I only brought it up because I thought it had similarities. Doesn't Pacino finally reveal himself on a train in the third act (well, maybe the very tail-end of the second-act, but...)? That part was definitely horror.

I love Stephen King, so I'm happy to call Dead Zone horror, although I feel his work is ghettoized for being horror and/or popular. Of all his movies from that era, I'd say Dead Zone - damn fine movie, don't get me wrong - was the least horror. Nope! I just remembered The Running Man. That may been the least Horror genre-fitting of his oevure. The Running Man novella wasn't even really Horror with a capital H, but the movie is 100% sci-fi. In comparison, Dead Zone is definitely Horror; but, even out of that context, I suppose so. I personally remember it as more of a supernatural-tinged political thriller - but that's just me.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is probably a better movie to argue, along these same lines: Comedy or Horror? I saw it more as a comedy, although the premise is definitely frightening. That's what made me think of The Hidden (merely a remake of The Body-Snatchers, this time with '80s guns and hair-dos).

I would say going by the standards most people use for thriller and horror, Devil's Advocate falls into horror because 1) It is the devil, 2) it isn't about thrills, it is about the horror of losing your soul, 3) to the other poster's point, the cinematic techniques all feel very much like horror. But I think always making this distinction, 'is it horror' or 'is it a thriller' isn't something I am especially interested in....

Genres are always tricky and the older I get the less concerned I am about how things get categorized. I do think though the broader a genre is, the healthier it tends to be. The more it narrows, the more it shifts towards a narrow audience. Horror in particular has been pretty broad. As others have pointed out, a movie like Dracula isn't particularly scary. A lot of horror movies are more campy than scary. Many slasher films have thriller and horror elements to them. I've always been a little cold on the distinction between those two subgenres, as many movies will straddle a lot of lines (the difference between thriller or horror to me is pretty unimportant as I find grouping them together, makes it easier for me to find movies I would like to see for example). I would say horror includes a lot of stuff that is humorous. When I was a kid I got into horror because I had an uncle who loved monster movies, but some of his favorites were films with goofy concepts he found amusing (things like Christine, the old Fly, etc). And I found the same thing with my horror movie friends in school: half the time we were seeking out horror movies because they were genuinely scary, the other half because they made us laugh (this is why Freddy Krueger has one liners I would say). There is a type of horror that is meant to be fun, but with a horror atmosphere.

Also what is scary is going to vary a lot from person to person. Nosferatu scares me more than any other movie. I'm sure plenty of people have a non-reaction to that film. Exorcism films scare me quite a bit. Again plenty of people don't find the exorcist scary. I'm not particularly afraid of werewolves, but I adore werewolf movies. Some people find modern horror movies with their various techniques more scary than old ones (personally I feel they specialize in tension and rely heavily on sound design but aren't particularly scary or horrifying to me----especially the longer I grow familiar with the techniques around sound they employ). And this isn't a knock on modern horror movies. It is just going to show how subjective this all is

 

[Bedrockgames]

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is probably a better movie to argue, along these same lines: Comedy or Horror? I saw it more as a comedy, although the premise is definitely frightening. That's what made me think of The Hidden (merely a remake of The Body-Snatchers, this time with '80s guns and hair-dos).

I do consider this a horror movie. I remember liking it when it came out, but I watched it again recently and found it too boring to finish. Not sure why my response changed so much to it this time around

 

[Bedrockgames]

Also outside the US are a lot of great horror movies. Some amazing Chinese Horror films:

1) The Bride From Hell
2) A Chinese Ghost Story
3) Dumplings (which has already been mentioned)
4) The Eye
5) Rigor Mortis
6) Black Magic
7) Hex (really any number of movies by Kuei Chih-Hung)
8) Mr. Vampire
9) Legend of the Mountain
10) Painted Skin

A bunch of others too: Encounters of a Spooky Kind, Human Lanterns, The Enchanting Ghost, Heaven and Hell, Legend of the Demon Cat, Vampire Vs. Vampire, We are going to Eat You, etc.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Angel Hearth is a psychological horror movie I liked. I haven't watched it again since it came out. May not have aged well.

I mean, it's kind of hard to not notice the antagonist's name is Louis Cyphre on re-watching.

Or first watching.

 

[TiQuinn]

I mean, it's kind of hard to not notice the antagonist's name is Louis Cyphre on re-watching.

Or first watching.

Given I was a kid when I first watched it, it totally went over my head.