Top 5 horror films

[MichaelWinicki]

I wanted to include John Carpenter's The Thing, and also the Exorcist, but in the spirit of limiting my choices to 5 these are mine...

1. Dog Soldiers
2. Drag Me To Hell
3. The Evil Dead - 1981 original
4. The Descent
5. The Last House on the Left - 1972 original

Some really good choices there.

Luv "Dog Soldiers". Great action. Great dialog. A great film that many have not seen.

"The Descent" is much of the same. The premise in the movie is terrific.

"LHOTH". Brutal movie. The rape scene... Tough to watch. But it certainly created upheaval when it was released. The remake is pretty good.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Here's my more modern list since everybody is only listing the classics:

10. The Strangers
9. Train to Busan
8. The Ruins
7. The Orphanage
6. Get Out
5. Drag Me to Hell
4. Cabin in the Woods
3. 28 Days Later
2. Let Me In
1. It Follows

I see they're coming out with a new "The Strangers" film.

Didn't care much for "The Ruins". It was OK.

"Cabin in the Woods". I think they ruined the great premise with an ending that I didn't find to be all that interesting.

"Let Me In". Good film. Just odd.

 

[BigStar]

1-Audition-from the Director who made "The Ring" & "The Grudge". Made Bravo Top 100 Scariest movies at #11.Rob Zombie said this film scared him.

2-Halloween-The original

3-The Shining-The original

4-Vacancy-Creepy because everyone has stayed in a dive hotel at one time

5-The Exorcist-Classic!!

Vacancy was a good underrated film and not a real far fetched concept if someone wanted to put that together which made it all the more creepy. IF those films exist, that's a seemingly easy way to produce them.

 

[BigStar]

"Breakdown" is another underrated psychological torture (Twilight Zone vibe) type of scary movie with Kurt Russell is scary for the same reason as Vacancy (we've all been stranded on the HW bf after our vehicle breaks down w no cars in sight) and did a decent job of making the premise seem realistic. Kurt Russell's SUV is sabotaged at a gas station to have his wife kidnapped after accepting a ride from a trucker in the AZ desert. Turns out they're a coordinated trucker murder ransom gang who prey on wealthy out of towners passing through.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

In no particular order.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre - the dinner table scene is simply awesome. the fear from the girl is palpable.
Hellraiser 2 - effects are dated but the dread is real. Plus Cenobites who are just awesome in the early incarnations.
Evil Dead 2 - One of my top 5 fave movies period. For me it's more funny than creepy but great nonetheless.
Exorcist - Blair's rotating head and projectile vomit are worth the price of admission.
The Grudge - Very underrated IMO. I went with a Gellar fan to see it in the theater and she was absolutely freaked out which made me freak out. As an added bonus I can make the noise the spirit makes and it still works now 12 or so years later when I make it around her. Only movie that has freaked me out since I was a kid. $7 well spent.

Honorable mention: A Nightmare on Elm Street. When I was about 7 my brother took my puppy and took off for a long walk leaving this movie on the tele. By the time that Johnny Depp was being disemboweled on the waterbed I was thoroughly in a lather of fear. Good times.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Vacancy was a good underrated film and not a real far fetched concept if someone wanted to put that together which made it all the more creepy. IF those films exist, that's a seemingly easy way to produce them.

Agree. Vacancy is a solid film.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Here's a couple extra from me... Not on my "greatest list". Probably wouldn't make my top-10 but still very good horror flicks...

"Abominable" I luv bigfoot/sasquatch/yeti films going back to the time I went to see "Legend of Boggy Creek" as a young impressionable kid. IMO "Abominable" is the best of the genre. The story is solid, the suite is very good and the level of violence escalates throughout the film. Solid horror film.

"Innkeepers" I don't know why I like this film so much, but the camaraderie between the two folks that operate the front desk in a hotel that's ready to close just holds my attention. The female lead in this also played the revenging couple's daughter in the remake of "Last House on the Left". Low body count in this film. Not a lot of gore. A couple good scares and great dialog.

"Jeeper's Creeper's" I've posted about this one before. IMO one of the best first hours of any horror movie ever made. Just spectacular first half of the movie. The second half falls off, but it's worth watching just to see the first hour.

 

[Tabascocat]

Here's a couple extra from me... Not on my "greatest list". Probably wouldn't make my top-10 but still very good horror flicks...

"Abominable" I luv bigfoot/sasquatch/yeti films going back to the time I went to see "Legend of Boggy Creek" as a young impressionable kid. IMO "Abominable" is the best of the genre. The story is solid, the suite is very good and the level of violence escalates throughout the film. Solid horror film.

"Innkeepers" I don't know why I like this film so much, but the camaraderie between the two folks that operate the front desk in a hotel that's ready to close just holds my attention. The female lead in this also played the revenging couple's daughter in the remake of "Last House on the Left". Low body count in this film. Not a lot of gore. A couple good scares and great dialog.

"Jeeper's Creeper's" I've posted about this one before. IMO one of the best first hours of any horror movie ever made. Just spectacular first half of the movie. The second half falls off, but it's worth watching just to see the first hour.

Jeepers was solid, the last scene/shot was insane. There was another movie like that with Paul Walker but can't remember the name that was decent.

 

[haleyrules]

"Breakdown" is another underrated psychological torture (Twilight Zone vibe) type of scary movie with Kurt Russell is scary for the same reason as Vacancy (we've all been stranded on the HW bf after our vehicle breaks down w no cars in sight) and did a decent job of making the premise seem realistic. Kurt Russell's SUV is sabotaged at a gas station to have his wife kidnapped after accepting a ride from a trucker in the AZ desert. Turns out they're a coordinated trucker murder ransom gang who prey on wealthy out of towners passing through.

Yeah. I forgot about Breakdown...good flick.

 

[Lodeus]

Alien
The Thing

No two better than those. The way they're enclosed in such small and completely helpless places makes them that much more great for me.

The Sixth Sense
The Conjuring
The Descent

 

[blindzebra]

Jeepers was solid, the last scene/shot was insane. There was another movie like that with Paul Walker but can't remember the name that was decent.

Joy Ride...Candy Cane, calling for Candy Cane. The trucker voice is the guy that played Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.

 

[bb721]

Some really good choices there.

Luv "Dog Soldiers". Great action. Great dialog. A great film that many have not seen.

"The Descent" is much of the same. The premise in the movie is terrific.

"LHOTH". Brutal movie. The rape scene... Tough to watch. But it certainly created upheaval when it was released. The remake is pretty good.

Not sure if you're aware of this, but both "Dog Soldiers" and "The Descent" were directed by the same guy, Neil Marshall.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Not sure if you're aware of this, but both "Dog Soldiers" and "The Descent" were directed by the same guy, Neil Marshall.

I guess I did hear that at one point... Makes sense. Both UK flicks.

 

[bb721]

Some really good choices there.

Luv "Dog Soldiers". Great action. Great dialog. A great film that many have not seen.

"The Descent" is much of the same. The premise in the movie is terrific.

"LHOTH". Brutal movie. The rape scene... Tough to watch. But it certainly created upheaval when it was released. The remake is pretty good.

I haven't seen the remake of LHOTL, will have to check it out. Have you seen Drag Me To Hell?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I haven't seen the remake of LHOTL, will have to check it out. Have you seen Drag Me To Hell?

No have not seen "Drag Me..." but I need to!

The remake of LHOTL is decent.

Similar vein... the remake of "I Spit On Your Grave" is brutal... But entertaining! LOL! As are the sequels.

 

[timb2]

Both great choices. The Rosie Greer movie is The Thing With Two Heads, which also starred Ray Milland (as the other head!!!)

Thank you!!!

 

[timb2]

Lifeforce was pathetic. The previews sold me on the movie though. The actress who played the queen vampire was the ONLY thing good about that movie...

...and the single reason why I have re-watched it about two dozen times over the years. She had a killer body (pun intended).

Audiences get to see a pre-Star Trek The Next Generation Patrick Stewart also. Yep. He sucked too.

Off-topic Edit: I think I remember a poster questioning me about my 4-of-10 review score for Fantastic Four. If I recall correctly, they thought no film could be worse that FF. In my opinion, Lifeforce is a great example of a movie WAY worse than FF. And that is including the gorgeous young actress in the evaluation too.

Worst horror movie Rawhead Rex was awful. Lifeforce & Rawhead rex were both British Horror films. ..The Lifeforce vampire babe was walking around nude half the movie was worth it.

 

[bb721]

I wanted to include John Carpenter's The Thing, and also the Exorcist, but in the spirit of limiting my choices to 5 these are mine...

1. Dog Soldiers
2. Drag Me To Hell
3. The Evil Dead - 1981 original
4. The Descent
5. The Last House on the Left - 1972 original

A few more that didn't make my top 5 but are deserving of an Honorable Mention....

Ginger Snaps
Re-Animator
Frailty
Hellraiser
28 Days Later
American Werewolf in London

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Joy Ride...Candy Cane, calling for Candy Cane. The trucker voice is the guy that played Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.

"Joy Ride". Underrated flick. The sequence starting with the run-in of the nasty disposition guy in the motel lobby and ending with the sheriff questioning the two brothers about his attack after visiting the hospital is pure horror gold.

 

[mattjames2010]

1. Jacob's Ladder
2. Begotten
3. Ginger Snaps
4. The Babadook
5. The Thing

Jacob's Ladder is still the epitome of mainstream horror films, and Begotten is the best indie horror film I've ever seen.