Best Horror Movies of All Time

[R_J_K75]

I fully believe horror movies are for teens and pre-teens.

When else is a horror movie going to be at the optimum age to scare you? Horror movies just lose their oomph as you get older.

Nowadays I usually just laugh at them, even the Exorcist. Last movie that didn't scare me but made me think "yeah I could see that happening" was "Saw". I would not be surprised to turn on the morning news and hear someone was putting groceries in their car at their local supermarket only to be bludgeoned, pillowcased over the head and shoved into a non-descript panel van.

 

[TiQuinn]

Nowadays I usually just laugh at them, even the Exorcist. Last movie that didn't scare me but made me think "yeah I could see that happening" was "Saw". I would not be surprised to turn on the morning news and hear someone was putting groceries in their car at their local supermarket only to be bludgeoned, pillowcased over the head and shoved into a non-descript panel van.

Honestly, the last movie that “scared” me was Gravity. Not a horror movie. It was more the adrenaline rush from being on the edge of your seat. Closest actual horror movie that made me jump a few times was It.

 

[R_J_K75]

Honestly, the last movie that “scared” me was Gravity. Not a horror movie. It was more the adrenaline rush from being on the edge of your seat. Closest actual horror movie that made me jump a few times was It.

Never seen either movies.

 

[TiQuinn]

Never seen either movies.

Highly recommend both.

 

[wicked cool]

Movies that I found scary when I was young
Fall-I’m afraid of heights so this movie for me has a terror

Exorcist-for me as a young person she was terrifying
Poltergeist-scary but I was young
Conjuring original-it’s the buildup to it
Shining-when I was young I always covered my eyes for that final scene
Original salems lot-mostly the kid outside the window
Haunting of hill house-1 or 2 scenes I jumped and that made me love it
Jaws- scary as it’s somewhat real especially now

 

[payn]

One I keep meaning to mention is the Cube series. The original is kind of refreshing. The sequels are more of the same.

Escape the Field is kind of a spiritual successor.

Also, I have to mention Cabin Fever. As a horror movie, it’s middle-of-the-pack at best. However, IMHO, it may hold the record for longest time between a movie setting up a joke and firing off its punch line. The setup involves familiar stereotypes; the payoff subverts them 100%.

Saw a Japanese remake recently on Prime. Was interesting in that they spent more time on the characters drive each other insane than the actual traps.

 

[payn]

While not a horror movie by intent, Paul Verhoeven's Flesh and Blood is a freaky story about what the renaissance was really like. Hint, not Costner's Robin Hood or Last Knight, and certainly not Knight's Tale.

Dont let the trailer fool you, this is a film about debauchery and humanity's not so bright side.

 

[Joshua Randall]

It's arguable, I think technically it [The Keep] could be called horror,

Fair enough. It’s certainly very weird and memorable. Worth it for the tone poem alone.

A lot of horror is also not very "horror" but just gore, like the Hostel, or Saw films.

I will die on the hill that mere gore is not horror. Else we need to label movies like Saving Private Ryan and Kick Ass as horror. Which they certainly are not.

It's classified as a horror movie/book by Wikipedia and if you can't trust them who can you trust?

Well obvious. We all know Wikipedia is infallible.

Honestly, the last movie that “scared” me was Gravity. Not a horror movie. It was more the adrenaline rush from being on the edge of your seat.

Great pick regardless of genre.

Although it should probably be called “Momentum”.

The soundtrack does a lot of heavy lifting, too. Those strings!

 

[Mannahnin]

I am NOT a connoisseur of the genre*, but for a quick draft:

Night of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (’78)
The Thing
Prince of Darkness
Evil Dead 2
28 Days Later
The Witch
Get Out
Mandy

Honorable mentions:
Night of the Hunter
The Beyond
What Lies Beneath
Pontypool
The Descent
The Vanishing
The Shining

Stuff like Cabin in the Woods, Scream, and Ghostbusters are excellent movies, but IMO really horror-themed comedies. Evil Dead 2 just got over the bar for me.

*Movies which this discussion is spurring me once again to finally get around to watching include: Audition, Halloween, Re-Animator, Kwaidan, Black Christmas, Don't Look Now, Black Sunday, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

 

[payn]

I will die on the hill that mere gore is not horror. Else we need to label movies like Saving Private Ryan and Kick Ass as horror. Which they certainly are not.

Im not a gore for gore sake horror fan myself, but I understand the difference in its purpose. Gore is obvious shock value, but can be used for different purposes. In gory horror flicks its often leaning on that shock value while the victim is defenseless which makes it horrifying. In saving private Ryan war is chaotic which has horrifying results, but that isnt the point of the film like the former.