HORROR: The Classics, the Overlooked, and Hidden Gems
Just some of my favorite horror films and a few lesser known ones I think are worth being recognized. Not all are "horror" per se but they have elements of the genre, whether it be the atmosphere, psychological subtext, or overall creepiness. Loosely ranked.
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- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.One of horror's most fascinating premises: a creature that can imitate anything it touches. That, along with the fluid writing, chilling atmosphere, realistic characters, and brilliant special effects work, is what makes The Thing a bonafide classic.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.It's a crisis-of-faith spiritual drama as much as it is a deeply unsettling horror film, and the sensitive subject matter makes it all the more disturbing. It's tremendously acted, written, and directed; an iconic horror film if there ever was one.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.The apex of sci-fi horror, there isn't an ill word I can say about 'Alien'. It's a superbly crafted, well-cast, and bone-chilling masterpiece of horror filmmaking.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.Possibly the most terrifying movie-watching experience I've ever had. The grimy atmosphere, the grotesque imagery, the naturalistic acting - everything is executed with such gritty realism and finesse. This film is disturbing on a primal level.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.The quintessential slasher film. Expertly subtle in direction and flawlessly paced, ‘Halloween’ goes to show that sometimes the simplest ideas are the scariest. This is the template from which all subsequent slashers were built upon; horror in its purest form.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMorgan FreemanBrad PittKevin SpaceyTwo detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
- DirectorGeorge SluizerStarsBernard-Pierre DonnadieuGene BervoetsJohanna ter SteegeRex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.A haunting psychological horror mystery that raises some intelligent and unsettling questions.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLee Byung-hunChoi Min-sikJeon Gook-hwanA secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.This movie has everything for those who can stomach it.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie HarrisClaire BloomRichard JohnsonHill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.Atmospheric horror at its best.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerCarl WeathersKevin Peter HallA team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.It can't be stressed enough how awesome this movie is.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..More of a dark drama than anything else, but the ending never fails to send chills down the spine.
- DirectorAri AsterStarsToni ColletteMilly ShapiroGabriel ByrneA grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsAnya Taylor-JoyRalph InesonKate DickieA family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.A haunting period piece and worthwhile slow burn.
- DirectorWilliam Peter BlattyStarsGeorge C. ScottEd FlandersBrad DourifA police lieutenant uncovers more than he bargained for as his investigation of a series of murders, which have all the hallmarks of the deceased Gemini serial killer, leads him to question the patients of a psychiatric ward.A superb sequel and a genuinely unsettling, thoughtful standalone film.
- DirectorRose GlassStarsMorfydd ClarkCaoilfhionn DunneJennifer EhleA pious nurse becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGeorge C. ScottTrish Van DevereMelvyn DouglasAfter experiencing tragic personal losses, a music professor rents a Seattle mansion, haunted by a slain boy.A classy, under-appreciated haunted house film.
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsRobert PattinsonWillem DafoeValeriia KaramanTwo lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.A modern-day classic.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.One of the most imaginative, terrifying premises ever put to screen.
- DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsBelén RuedaFernando CayoRoger PríncepA woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.Creepy, disturbing, and uniquely beautiful piece of cinema.
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsShauna MacdonaldNatalie MendozaAlex ReidA caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.If the claustrophobia isn't enough to give you the chills, just wait.