Best Horror Movies of All Time

[Snarf Zagyg]

Oh, and I’ll take this moment to mention The Creeping Terror as a strong contender for worst movie ever, not just horror movie.

Ed Wood looks at The Creeping Terror and says, Hold My Beer Angora Sweater.

 

[Deset Gled]

Underwater. Just a perfect story of the struggle to survive in terrible circumstances, with escalating horrors making everything worse.

One of the reasons I like these threads is to find new movies. I just watched this last night. For a spoiler-free review, I will say that this was much better than I expected. Personally, it's nowhere near my top 10 list; the movie has some fundamental flaws (mainly related to pacing and editing choices that were very likely made for budget reasons). But much like Mimic that I discussed earlier, you can really see really see the good ideas and solid work that are just under the surface. I was also pleasantly surprised by Kristin Stewart. Overall, a very fun watch. And if you don't mind spoilers: This may actually be the best movie version of The Call of Cthulhu that I've seen so far. But I don't know if that was intended.

The Lego Movie IS a depiction of Lovecraftian Horror. The scene where he falls off the table is largely similar to the premise of From Beyond, The Render of the Veils, Lord of Illusion, Double Cosmos, Periphery, Assemblage Point, The Touch-Stone, Five Characters in Search of an Exit, In The Mouth of Madness, The Circular Ruins, The After Hours, The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, and the opening of The Great God Pan. It didn't scare me since I saw it as an adult, but given that I was scared when I first saw the witch from The Little Mermaid and the industrial accidents in Willy Wonka it probably would have scared me if I saw it as a kid.

Sorry, but no. First, the Lego movie is not a horror movie, it's a comedy. A horror movie isn't a comedy because it has one joke in it; a non-horrror movie doesn't become horror just because it has one triggering scene. Second, the basis of Lovecraftian horror is the idea that the unknowable Old Ones are too far removed from our reality to be understood in our reference frame, and that they have no care about what happens to humanity (on either a personal or large scale). The Lego Movie fails on both. The Boy and the Man Upstairs are both completely relatable to the movie's protagonist and antagonist (they're literally alegorical). And they both have a direct interest in the world, characters, and plot being played out; the Boy even directly intervenes to save the hero/world.

But the only horror movies that scare me now as an adult are the ones where one of the heroes gets framed for the killings; ie. Evil Dead 2, Nightmare On Elm Street, Final Destination, etc (edit: And also occasionally by things that strike exactly the right mix of surrealism and existential dread, as is achieved in many episodes of The Twilight Zone, and (more rarely) in the works of Junji Ito, Jorge Borges, and Clark Ashton Smith)
...
Coraline - Does the villain from this film make anyone else think of obnoxious pet owners? With the whole fake mother thing going on?

I'm a big Junji Ito fan, but I have yet to see a good movie based on his works. I do have Uzumaki (the new show, not the very blah movie) waiting for me on DVR right now.

Coraline is a great movie. The list of great animated horror is tragically short; too many people write off cartoons as being for kids. Perfect Blue was almost on my list, it just got pushed off by too many other great movies.

Some older movies still grab me every time, no matter how poorly the SFX or storylines have aged. I love:

The Monster That Challenged the World

5 Million Miles to Earth (aka Quatermass and the Pit)

The Green Slime

Oh, and I’ll take this moment to mention The Creeping Terror as a strong contender for worst movie ever, not just horror movie.

"The Brain that Wouldn't Die" is the first one of these that comes to my mind. Absolutely silly, terrible effects, clearly B-movie. But the concept of being forced to live as a disembodied head is a classic.

 

[Mannahnin]

I tend to appreciate atmosphere and acting performances.

Over reliance of FX, irrespective of if it’s CGI or practical, doesn’t make for good horror, since if you start thinking “how was that done” or “that’s wrong” it takes you out of the story.

The best horror is on the radio.

Do you listen to podcasts/internet audio dramas?

Some friends of mine make a good interactive horror anthology series called Witchever Path. They write and record the stories in installments, and have audiences vote for what the protagonist does next at the end of each installment (except the last one, of course).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Do you listen to podcasts/internet audio dramas?

I do.

 

[Maxperson]

The original or the remake?

(FWIW, I prefer the remake, because of Tony Shaloub and the visual aesthetic.)

The remake. I don't know that I've ever seen the original. I'd have to watch it again and see if it is familiar.

 

[Maxperson]

House on Haunted Hill remake was fun, but I wouldnt put it on a best list.

Yeah. I waffled a bit on that one before deciding that it was good, but not good enough to make the cut.

 

[Guest 85555]

The remake. I don't know that I've ever seen the original. I'd have to watch it again and see if it is familiar.

The original is a classic Vincent Price movie and has a couple of very interesting moments

 

[Maxperson]

The original is a classic Vincent Price movie and has a couple of very interesting moments

I may have seen it. When I was a kid I used to watch all kind of old horror/monster movies. Creature Feature and Elvira were staples.

 

[dragoner]

There used to be a lot of those horror hosts, like Sammy Terry, Son of Svengoolie, and such.

 

[Guest 85555]

I may have seen it. When I was a kid I used to watch all kind of old horror/monster movies. Creature Feature and Elvira were staples.

I think a lot of people have seen this one and don't realize it. It is a fun film