Favorite/Best Horror Flick?

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Listen2Savage

Listen2Savage

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Everything youtube is suggesting looks like crap.
 
Dangerous question to ask in this forum.

"Favorite" = Alien 2, though many will argue that this is not "horror".

I was roomies with a guy in undergrad who wanted to make horror films. Seen too many.
 
Would take me a while to pick favorite but here are some of my top recommendations:

High Tension (French version)
It follows
The interview
Martyrs (French version)

These 4 are solid
 
Oh god. Me and my boy @AlmostAnMD are board certified in cinema with a fellowship in horror. I’ll try to break down my top picks by genre in no particular order:

Psychological: the shining, get out, babadook, 1408, sixth sense, oculus, the visit, saw, cube, the witch, the ritual (a gem on Netflix), insidious, the conjuring, and shutter island (because it’s the best psychological movie of all time).

Sci fi: alien, aliens, event horizon, terminator 1 and 2, the thing (original).

Comedy: cabin in the woods, army of darkness, happy death day, beetlejuice, Shaun of the dead.

And the number one best horror movie of all time: Predator.

That’s a good start for horror I’d say. Mix of old and new.
 
Tenk said:
Oh god. Me and my boy @AlmostAnMD are board certified in cinema with a fellowship in horror. I’ll try to break down my top picks by genre in no particular order:

Psychological: the shining, get out, babadook, 1408, sixth sense, oculus, the visit, saw, cube, the witch, the ritual (a gem on Netflix), insidious, the conjuring, and shutter island (because it’s the best psychological movie of all time).

Sci fi: alien, aliens, event horizon, terminator 1 and 2, the thing (original).

Comedy: cabin in the woods, army of darkness, happy death day, beetlejuice, Shaun of the dead.

And the number one best horror movie of all time: Predator.

That’s a good start for horror I’d say. Mix of old and new.
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Shutter Island ain't the best psychological horror flick of all time, by a long shot.

My submission... Blair Witch Project. Uncannily well executed buildup of pure dread and tension. People with no taste like to **** on it but it's one of the best horror films of all time.
 
hoot504 said:
Shutter Island ain't the best psychological horror flick of all time, by a long shot.

My submission... Blair Witch Project. Uncannily well executed buildup of pure dread and tension. People with no taste like to **** on it but it's one of the best horror films of all time.
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I won’t get into an argument here because people may not have seen it but if you haven’t watched it 3+ times you need to go back and do so. It is truly a masterpiece.

Interesting fact about the original Blair Witch. The genuine terror that the cast has is just that. They were told by the director to go and film the towns folk who were plants and then go into the woods. They actually weren’t told they were going to have all the random crap happen to them. I think it is still the highest % grossing film of all time when you ratio production cost:revenue as well.
 
Tenk said:
I won’t get into an argument here because people may not have seen it but if you haven’t watched it 3+ times you need to go back and do so. It is truly a masterpiece.

Interesting fact about the original Blair Witch. The genuine terror that the cast has is just that. They were told by the director to go and film the towns folk who were plants and then go into the woods. They actually weren’t told they were going to have all the random crap happen to them. I think it is still the highest % grossing film of all time when you ratio production cost:revenue as well.
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It's mediocre late-era Scorsese but hey, to each their own.
 
blair witch im kinda meh on

people shyt so hard on shutter island, I actually thought it was good
 
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Agreed about Hereditary although it is a horror movie that sticks around in your head a bit...heavy stuff. The new IT movie was also very enjoyable (and my favorite on this list at this time).

I also actually really liked the original Paranormal Activity and Conjuring movies. I will give you two more worth seeing: The Strangers and The Cabin in the Woods.
 
@Tenk , that is a fantastic list, I would only add a cure for wellness if you're going to include shutter island. It's hard to like one and hate the other since they're somewhat similar but shutter island came out first so I suppose dibs to that.

so pumped about midsommar. A24 really knows how to pick'em, most of their movies aren't box office hits but they can really get movies with good scripts (a ghost story is a good example).

EDIT: I would also add "the gift" under pysch
 
"Split" is pretty awesome as a standalone horror movie, forget the trilogy with "Unbreakable" and "Glass".
 
AlmostAnMD said:
I would only add a cure for wellness if you're going to include shutter island. It's hard to like one and hate the other since they're somewhat similar but shutter island came out first so I suppose dibs to that.
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Wait, the recent "A cure for wellness" with the snake things? I did not enjoy that movie. It just seemed weird.
 
I really enjoyed Shutter Island, though I don't really consider it part of the horror genre, it's more of a psychological thriller/mystery.

I'm with @RustedFox in that my all time fav "horror" (sci-fi/horror technically) is aliens series. Aliens being the best, closely followed by Alien. James Cameron makes a better overall movie but I like Ridley Scott's film style more... Sometimes I'll just watch the entire series over a few weeks and then rinse and repeat a few months later. Recently watched all the director's cuts which added some really cool extra scenes. I loved what Ridley Scott did with Promethius and hated Covenant at first but the last few times I've watched it...it's growing on me. Fassbender was fantastic as David.

One of the better b-grade horror sleeper hits of the past several years was the original Descent. It goes to show that you really don't need a big budget to make an enjoyable film.

Recently watched Us and don't recommend it. It made no sense to me and I guessed the ending about 10 mins into the movie. Huge yawn fest and definitely NOT scary. I suppose you could say the script was original though I saw a few similarities with Stranger Things.

Last horror movie that scared the hell out of me was Sinister. I was sleeping upstairs in my old house where the attic door connects with the bedroom and totally got freaked out. I ended up sleeping downstairs with my Sig P226 under my pillow.

Another all time fav is Lost Boys. Just finished watching it again other night. Classic. I've been meaning to watch "Something Wicked This Way Comes" again...another classic.

I hated the M Night Shyamalan movies. He's so overrated. Alfred Hitchcock wannabe...

I'm not a fan of slasher horror. Descent would probably be a rare exception.

I recently got into watching Ash vs Evil Dead series. I know it's mindless comedy horror but I laugh and laugh with a gigantic grin on my face. Evil Dead, after all was 100% classic. My girlfriend hates it when I turn it on. She can't stand the sound effects.
 
Yeah, the slasher horror things are just ... in poor taste ... if you ask me.

I never want to see "Saw" or "Purge" films ever again.

We went to "Halloween Horror Nights" at Universal last year. It was a lot of fun. Actors with faux chainsaws were cleverly hidden and jumped out to scare you. When the "Zombie Bret Michaels" scared my wife, I had to stop him and ask for a pic, as his costume was perfect and I love hair metal. He obliged. What a great night!

Now, if you want to scare me... lets talk post-nuclear apocalypse fiction.
I can't NOT see or read these things (The Day After. Threads. Etc.)
but maaaan, I know where the doomsday clock is set, and I don't live downwind from a "target".
That's not an accident.
 
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RustedFox said:
Yeah, the slasher horror things are just ... in poor taste ... if you ask me.

I never want to see "Saw" or "Purge" films ever again.

We went to "Halloween Horror Nights" at Universal last year. It was a lot of fun. Actors with faux chainsaws were cleverly hidden and jumped out to scare you. When the "Zombie Bret Michaels" scared my wife, I had to stop him and ask for a pic, as his costume was perfect and I love hair metal. He obliged. What a great night!

Now, if you want to scare me... lets talk post-nuclear apocalypse fiction.
I can't NOT see or read these things (The Day After. Threads. Etc.)
but maaaan, I know where the doomsday clock is set, and I don't live downwind from a "target".
That's not an accident.
Click to expand...
I LOVE any and everything Purge!
 
Another vote for Paranormal Activity. 28 Days Later was also good. Going to have to check out some of these other recs though! My husband is out of town, so will probably need to muster up some liquid courage to get through some of these movies. Dying people? No problem. Spiders, demonic possession and zombies? No thanks.
 
RustedFox said:
Now, if you want to scare me... lets talk post-nuclear apocalypse fiction.
I can't NOT see or read these things (The Day After. Threads. Etc.)
but maaaan, I know where the doomsday clock is set, and I don't live downwind from a "target".
That's not an accident.
Click to expand...

The first VHS tape I ever rented as a kid was "The Day After", scared the hell out of me and is probably the reason I studied WMD/CBRNE as a medic.
Need to see "Threads". I enjoyed "Jericho" when it was on CBS, although the trach with juice box straws was out there.
 
Watched the new Pet Sematary last night. I had low expectations because of some of the bad reviews. Totally enjoyed it! In fact, I much prefer the new ending and some of the other "minor" changes compared to the original though the original will always have a special place in my heart. Check it out!
 
CajunMedic said:
The first VHS tape I ever rented as a kid was "The Day After", scared the hell out of me and is probably the reason I studied WMD/CBRNE as a medic.
Need to see "Threads". I enjoyed "Jericho" when it was on CBS, although the trach with juice box straws was out there.
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"Jericho" was cool for five episodes, then it was all about "conspiracy!"
There was a "thing" where Jericho fans mailed tons of peanuts to the offices to protest the discontinuation of the series.

I'm not allowed to watch such things anymore. By edict of Mrs. Fox.

Psst. I still watch them. I will survive the apocalypse.
 
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The Exorcist, Poltergeist, Halloween, Alien, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Ring, It Follows, Hereditary. Babadook was good but overrated. Friday the 13th part IV was the best, but Jason X was pretty entertaining. Dark horse: The Autopsy of Jane Doe.
 
No votes for IT huh..
 
bravotwozero said:
No votes for IT huh..
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It wasn't bad. I was mainly curious to see how Bill Skarsgard performed (I like his dad...great performance in Girl with Dragon Tattoo..he's also in Chernobyl) but wasn't a big fan of the whole thing he did with his lower lip. Regardless, it was a decent remake. I still prefer Tim Curry as Pennywise in the old TV series movie from 1990. They are making a sequel to the new one. Actually, I think it's a prequel.
 
The new movie "Us" is pretty good with a relatively interesting concept for the plot (for those who like psychological thrillers). Pretty weird though. Kinda made me think of an odd combo of the Purge, the Happening, and Mirrors.
 
28 days later is the greatest zombie movie ever (yes, I know they aren't technically zombies). Fast zombies are so much more scary than the typical Romero zombies.
 
Zebra Hunter said:
28 days later is the greatest zombie movie ever (yes, I know they aren't technically zombies). Fast zombies are so much more scary than the typical Romero zombies.
Click to expand...
28 weeks and dawn of the dead are right up there
 
CajunMedic said:
The first VHS tape I ever rented as a kid was "The Day After", scared the hell out of me and is probably the reason I studied WMD/CBRNE as a medic.
Need to see "Threads". I enjoyed "Jericho" when it was on CBS, although the trach with juice box straws was out there.
Click to expand...
The emp scene was one of the best. It scared Reagan too.
 
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Oh man, this may become my favorite thread ever. I've literally seen thousands of horror movies (not an exaggeration) and I've got so many that one post won't do them all justice. The bolded ones are the lesser known "must see" movies imo. Not a huge fan of the movies like Insidious, The Conjuring, etc. as they actually seem corny with how formulaic they tend to be. I'm also going to apologize for the massive thesis in advance but I love horror too much not to. Going to use @Tenk 's format a bit to keep my too many thoughts straight:

Only movies to legitimately scare me: Storm of the Century and Event Horizon. SotC is 4+ hours long and based on a Stephen King book, I saw it when I was 9 and watched it straight through starting around 9 pm. Had nightmares for weeks. Similar thing with Event Horizon but watched it when I was a little older.

Psychological: 1408, Identity, Fallen, Suspect 0, It Follows (probably best horror film in the last 5 years I've seen), They (Wes Craven movie). 1408 is my all-time favorite horror movie. The concept is great, the execution is great, the stuff with his daughter is legitimately horrifying (won't ruin this further), and the ending is perfect. One of the only times I've ever had a legitimate chill run down my spine. Identity was also great and the twists were solid. Fallen is also an outstanding movie and one of the most underrated films I've seen imo (Denzel Washington and John Goodman).

Sci-fi: Event Horizon, Alien Series, They Live, I don't consider Predator to be a horror movie, but if we're calling it horror it's good here too as well as Pitch Black.

Creatures/Supernatural: (Too many to even think of, but off the top of my head) The Reaping, The Omen (original), IT (the original), The Faculty, 30 Days of Night, Trick r' Treat (because I like the anthologies), Jeepers Creepers, The House on Haunted Hill (1999), Odd Thomas (more action than horror, but still loved it)

Comedy: Cabin in the Woods, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead

TV shows: *Another, The X-Files, American Horror Story (first 4 seasons, but especially the first 2), The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, The Walking Dead (first 2 or 3 seasons)

Another is probably the most unique concept I've ever seen in the horror genre. It's an anime show and it's ~12 30-minute episodes, so kind of out there and more of a commitment. The show is a mystery/horror show and initially seems like it will be just a ghost story and is a tad slow, but then the pace picks up and it turns into so much more. My only knock on it is that the ending was a bit "wtf" as there's no way someone would solve the mystery portion without being given a big hint (though watching a second time there are some major clues that are very easy to miss), but it was still great. If you're willing to watch an anime it's a great show as it combines horror, mystery, and the supernatural really well with a very different kind of plot and twist.

Other films to watch not previously mentioned:
Devil- One of Shamylan's later films that was actually decent. Another "mystery" horror worth the watch.
The 9th Gate- This was definitely an interesting one with the classic brooding Johnny Depp of the 90's. The ending was interesting in a great way.
Pandorum- Sci-fi horror combined with creature feature (not aliens) and on Netflix.
Shutter- Was a Taiwanese film remade in the US, another interesting final twist.
The Ritual- On Netflix and a different kind of horror, but surprisingly good and worth the watch.
Flatliners- Kind of a mix of horror/suspense in the medical world. Definitely interesting for physicians into horror.
The Lazarus Effect- Another medical one with an accurate title.
Darkness- Older Anna Paquin movie that's a solid from early 2000's.
Frailty- If you haven't seen it, watch it.
The Haunting of Molly Hartley/The exorcism of Molly Hartley
13 Ghosts (2001)
A Christmas Horror Story (William Shatner narrates, lol)
Gremlins
The Kirlian Frequency (mini-series of shorts on netflix)
Slasher- Another series on Netflix, first season was the best, 2 and 3 were okay
John Dies at the End

Movies I still NEED to see: 28 Days Later, Us, IT (the new ones), Happy Death Day, Hereditary, Velvet Buzzsaw, most of the Conjuring series (the first one was meh, imo), most of the Paranormal Activity movies (not a fan of jump screams as "horror" though)


Listen2Savage said:
blair witch im kinda meh on

people shyt so hard on shutter island, I actually thought it was good
Click to expand...

I wasn't a huge fan because I read the book right before I saw it and they left A TON out and didn't really capture the spirit of the book very well imo. I enjoyed it, but just expected a lot more.

Renaissance Man said:
Agreed about Hereditary although it is a horror movie that sticks around in your head a bit...heavy stuff. The new IT movie was also very enjoyable (and my favorite on this list at this time).

I also actually really liked the original Paranormal Activity and Conjuring movies. I will give you two more worth seeing: The Strangers and The Cabin in the Woods.
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The Strangers is a great forgotten one. Thought it was going to be stupid and didn't want to see it and ended up actually loving it. The ending was a very different kind of tone from most horror movies and the sense of reality to it was fantastic.

Ibn Alnafis MD said:
The autopsy of Jane Doe was pretty good imo. It’s on Netflix.
Creepy movies: Orphan, skeleton key, secret window
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Agree, ended up being very different from what I initially expected it to be but still liked it and would definitely recommend for any horror junkie with Netflix.


Again, sorry for the thesis, I just love the genre and never get to talk about it anymore.
 
couldn't get past 45 mins of psycho (maybe since I know the kid is nuts already idk)

Bone Tomahawk was a waste of 2 hours

Tucker and Dale vs Evil was ok, still the best comedy/horror movie is what we do in the shadows
 
Rod Serling wrote some good stories. Too bad he died so young. He used to introduce his show while smoking a cigarette.
 
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