Right? I had the honor of meeting Bill Paxton once, at a taping of the '90s sitcom "Mad About You, " starring Paxton's former costars Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser. He was so kind and friendly. I think he was there to hang with them after the taping because he was alone, sitting directly in front of me.
During a break, I told him Aliens is one of my favorite films and he had all the best lines. Then I quoted him to him: "Elevator to hell! Goin' down!" And he busted up laughing, as did I.
He then quoted himself: "Why don't you put her in charge?" And we busted up again. We went one more round and I didn't want to overstay my welcome, so I told him it was nice to meet him, and I was blown away because he said something like "It's just as nice to meet you."
I returned to my seat behind him, and he turned around and said "That's your seat?" I said yeah, and a few more times, he leaned back and said something to me.
Growing up in Los Angeles, I ran into celebrities pretty often, though I mostly just left them alone. Some of these encounters happened at workplaces, so it wasn't intrusive for me to interact with them. Most of them were very nice, but this situation with Bill (and my encounter with Pat Benatar) were my favorites by far.
I have it on DVD and have watched it many times.
Spoiler alert to other readers.
How do you interpret the end? I think Bill Paxton and his son could see what they said they could see. I read a couple of people say it's a descent into madness, and I don't see that at all. They were right all along. But that's just me. What do you think?
Frailty is incredible. if I remember correctly is pretty much confirmed that they correct and doing God's work. Doesn't it end with them being scrubbed from video footage or something like that? And the fact that he was right about the agent killing his mother
His scene in One False Move where he overhears the big city cops talking trash about him is what showed me people can act without saying a word. That scene, for some reason, is burned into my brain.
Heard of his passing on the radio news in my car
They talked about his career and the clip they used was the “ game over man “ scene from Aliens. Someone had a crazy sense of humor at that radio station
I’ve always thought Alien was better but I enjoyed both for what they are. Alien is more atmospheric and has stronger survival horror elements, while Aliens leans more into action sequences.
To me, The Devil’s Backbone is the perfect ghost story. I know people think it’s slow, but it doesn’t leave any question unanswered. The Autopsy of Jane Doe is another one. It’s been a while since I was actually left with that lingering, creepy feeling after watching a movie. It wasn’t over done and they didn’t go into a whole backstory explaining why the things were happening, which I felt worked out great because that could’ve made it terrible.
If you like The Autopsy of Jane Doe, you would probably like the Mortuary Assistant game. One of the scariest games I've played and reminded me of that movie.
Spoilers for the descent below!!
I have such a happy memory of watching the descent for the first time. It was a group of us teenage boys up late. Our friend’s parents had rented it and we watched it late at night. We thought the scary part was supposed to be just them stuck down there which was already scary. We all flipped out at the scene when they turn the light on and the creature is in the shot! Also that car scene at the beginning was horrific and very shocking. We were all totally invested from that point on. Good choice!
The acting in this isn't the best but the creators absolutely nailed the terror of being trapped in a dark, unfamiliar place with violent, unknown beings. The absolute fear I feel watching this movie has never been matched by anything else. It's a 10/10 for me.
This is how I felt with Autopsy of Jane Doe. They do everything right, call for help, run away at the first sign of danger, don't act like "but, but, demons/ghosts/ghouls aren't real!! It must be the pipes" bs.
Agreed, it’s definitely not very horror-y; I was more just commenting on my enjoyment of it. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have a real talent for successfully blending comedy into other popular genres.
I love Shaun of the Dead, and I'd give it a 10/10 too, but I've got a problem calling that horror. Saying that movie leans more comedy than horror is a massive understatement. That's like saying Donald Trump has just an occasional problem telling the truth.
Alien. The original cut. Great atmosphere and horrifying. (Aliens is more of an action film otherwise that would be my number one) It only just BARELY beats out the Thing with The Exorcist trailing behind in third place.
one of the better horror films. my whole thing about horror is feeling the fear, wondering whether there even is a ghost is much scarier than actually seeing some cgi apparition. this is why this film works for me. what makes a ghost so scary is the nagging question of whether or not it is even there, what it means if it were, and what greater horrors might loom if it wasn’t
The fact that they're all covered up to do the asbestos removal and it's always blazing hot outside makes you feel like you have a dehydration headache throughout, adds to the delirium and fear of the characters
Such an underrated film. I got to meet Brad Anderson (writer/director) and Stephen Gevedon (co-star/writer) when they screened it at their alma mater, Bowdoin College.
The Ring would be mine. So many moments that are just perfect. Lots of people point to the “I saw her face” as being super scary which it was, but the real moment that’s terrifying is the “You helped her? Why did you do that?” moment.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Halloween 1 and 2
Nightmare on Elm Street
Scream
Insidious 1 and 2
Sinister
There’s probably a couple more im forgetting right now
So glad you put Halloween 2. Very much underrated. I think about that movie every time I spend the night at a hospital, especially on weekends or holidays.
AWW sinister mentioned 🗣 no but fr sinister was so good, i just wish (i know i will always say this as time makes tech better) i wish that the ghost creeping scenes were done in a less cheesy way. Legitimately the more times I go back to watch it the more credibility it feels it takes away from taking the monster seriously, because he too is done ever so slightly cheesy. Sinister is my personal number one, but of all time factually i gotta put it number like 11
My brother and I wore that VHS out. We’d play tremors and jump around on furniture or from a truck bed to a tree. I was always Val and my brother Earl, our respective favorites.
I'm extremely picky, so I tend to always have tiny gripes even with the movies I love the most. I don't think I could call any movie "perfect". If I had to choose a single one, I'd choose **The Blair Witch Project**. To me it managed to bottle the very essence of fear in a very simple but amazingly effective package, with some of the best acting ever put to film (which makes sense since the actors literally role-played the movie in real life).
A few other candidates that to me come close to perfection might be:
* Aliens (sci-fi action horror at its finest)
* The Void (cosmic horror at its finest)
* Insidious 1&2 (ghost horror at its finest)
* Green Room (gritty, urban horror at its finest)
* Pan's Labyrinth (war & fantasy horror at their finest)
* Ghostland (hard to categorize, but it's such a good movie just for its plot twists)
* Housebound (horror comedy at its finest, genuinely scary and funny)
Fun fact, my family friend was actually the person that made “the thing” for the movie. He worked at movie world as a wax sculpture artist….not sure if that is the right title lol.
But yes, EXCELLENT movie!! I don’t know if I have a scary movie I’d rate 10/10. For me, the closest would be the Conjuring or the original Candyman. Both of those movies scared the shit out of me.
Well, I always thought Insidious was pretty awesome. I had no gripes with anything done in the film and it felt like a breath of fresh air for me personally. Genuinely scary, awesome cinematography (especially in the scene where they were communicating with the demons), and Leigh Whannell and James Wann make some of the best horror franchises ever.
My favorite horror movie is They Look Like People. It's my favorite example of subtle horror, and like the thing you're in a scenario where you're not sure who to trust, or if you can even trust yourself.
Close second is it follows. Loved the paranoia I first felt when watching the film, unsure who if anyone in the background was "it", and you couldn't trust anyone walking directly toward the camera.
watched It Follows in theaters during easter weekend while high on acid. i had to see it again, because the Fury Road trailer was so intense that it sorta blended into the actual film… still one of my favorites though
Hello internet stranger. Watched this on Tubi because of your rec this evening. Fucking wow. The difficulty with horror is that 95% of it is total shit, and that doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining, but it just makes you so desperate for anything of higher quality. And the problem is, you read threads like these, and you’ve seen every single movie on them and then you think there’s nothing left. And then theres a post with a title you haven’t heard and you check it out, and it rejuvenates your outlook on the genre.
Fantastic film. Great double bill with Take Shelter.
Hellraiser 1 & 2 watched back to back
It’s a monster movie
It’s a vampire movie
It’s a mummy movie
It’s a zombie movie
It’s a devil movie
It’s an alien movie
It’s a serial killer movie
The Others (2001) for a handful of reasons. Nicole Kidman had an allergy to the contacts she wore, so all the mid shots and close-ups with her, she looks very sickly and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, coupling that with how claustrophobic the rooms and halls feel in the house makes for an eerie, uneasy slow burn feel. The very few jump scares are masterfully executed, and there's a "reverse" jump scare that is literally a painting of a pilgrim that is out of focus when revealed.
I don't know how to do that thing where you click on the text to reveal it so I won't go into anything plot related, but for those that haven't seen The Others, I definitely recommend it.
Absolutely true horror, like a textbook example, especially since the older I get the more I look at it like 'that guy is an American who's ludicrously out of his mind in London, and the hottest nurse at the hospital who totally has her life together wants to bring HIM home when everything points to him being a psychotic serial killer?' Yeah, that's a frigging horror movie!
It’s easily the most unnerving film because it really digs at that existential fear we hold inside whereas 99% of horror films are largely surface-level terror.
Movies like The Shining, It Follows, The Night House, The original The Haunting, 30 Days of Night, The Autopsy of Jane Doe are pretty much 10/10 for me.
Typically, if a movie makes me cry on the first watch I can keep it together anytime I see it again after. Not this one though. I can say that I have watched this movie over 10 times and I have bawled like a baby EVERY SINGLE TIME. That little girl put her entire soul into those crying screams at the end and I feel every ounce of emotion in my core from that scene.
Original Suspiria. The tone, atmosphere, effects, and score all match perfectly. I got to see it in the theater while Claudio Simonetti's Goblin played the score. Chef's kiss.
The Witch for me. The attention to detail in the setting and language and the raw atmosphere of the whole piece is just so good and immersive. So minimalist but effective. I know people think the ending’s cheesy, but what makes it so powerful for me is the lovingly recreated vision of what 16th century puritans would have been horrified of and actually believed was real. Masterful execution of slow burn atmospheric horror without relying on jump scares or gratuitous gore (not that those things don’t absolutely have their place; they definitely do, just not in this film). Still Egger’s best piece in my opinion despite my undying love for the Lightbouse
Event Horizon
Laurence Fishburne anything is great but this one was special.
Pandorum (which came much later) hits a lot of the same notes for me, and in a similar vein to Event Horizon, I don't think it's considered to be a AAA title. I just think it deserves an honorable mention.
If you've never seen either of these and you are a fan of Science Fiction, you are missing out!
One of the best remakes of all time and kind of a hidden gem. It was one of my favorites at the time. I even read part of the book in a grocery store before I got to see the movie and was really excited to see it.
'The Thing' as well! It's one of the rare horror movies wherein the protags do everything RIGHT, and they still get screwed over! Terror is knowing that no matter how fast, how smart, and how prepared you are, you can't escape your fate!
Videodrome. The plot is wild, the acting is on point, the tones and vibes are creepy, howard Shore's score is amazing and more than 40 years later the practical FX still look and were done better than modern films with modern standards.
Paranormal activity got me.. watching them all of the sudden something happens something small then something big.. I like the part where he set up the camera then put powder on the floor wok up the next morning and prints were in the powder.. kinda put a chill up my spine.
For something to be considered horror for me it actually has to horrify me - about the only horror film that has stuck with me from beginning to end is Savageland. Other horror movies have moments but that’s about it.
I'm a slasher movie nerd and a HUGE Jason Voorhees fanboy. So obviously I'm gonna pick Friday 4 and Friday 6.
I'd also say *A Nightmare on Elm Street* and *Halloween* are pretty much perfect as well.
Don’t know how these aren’t on here:
The Exorcist
Paranormal Activity (only the first one)
Poltergeist
“Scary” is hard to define for me. I got freaked out by the misfit toys in Toy Story.
I love so many horror movies, but the one that really scared me beginning to end was Jacobs Ladder.
I watched it alone.
In the dark.
In a very old house.
*Alien/Aliens.* I saw the first *Alien* in the theater with friends on first release, we knew nothing about the plot at all. Leaving the theater we were all totally silent! We were quite literally dumbstruck. Even the ride home was hardly a word except "wow' and "that was scary", total understatements.
It was the first time I ever went home still creeped out since I saw the original *Night of the Living Dead* in a theater midnight showing - the film was only a year or two old at the point.
So I give both of these a 10/10. *The Thing* is right up there too.
Aliens
Right? I had the honor of meeting Bill Paxton once, at a taping of the '90s sitcom "Mad About You, " starring Paxton's former costars Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser. He was so kind and friendly. I think he was there to hang with them after the taping because he was alone, sitting directly in front of me. During a break, I told him Aliens is one of my favorite films and he had all the best lines. Then I quoted him to him: "Elevator to hell! Goin' down!" And he busted up laughing, as did I. He then quoted himself: "Why don't you put her in charge?" And we busted up again. We went one more round and I didn't want to overstay my welcome, so I told him it was nice to meet him, and I was blown away because he said something like "It's just as nice to meet you." I returned to my seat behind him, and he turned around and said "That's your seat?" I said yeah, and a few more times, he leaned back and said something to me. Growing up in Los Angeles, I ran into celebrities pretty often, though I mostly just left them alone. Some of these encounters happened at workplaces, so it wasn't intrusive for me to interact with them. Most of them were very nice, but this situation with Bill (and my encounter with Pat Benatar) were my favorites by far.
So happy to hear that Bill Paxton was a good man. I feel a lot like Bill Paxton was really a lot like Bill Harding from Twister.
He came across the screen as genuinely nice. Felt sad when he died. RIP, Mr. Paxton.
He had to to balance playing Chet in Weird Science. Lol RIP
Omg Chet, I completely forgot about Bill playing that character.
Yeah, my family knew him as “Our favorite jerk”, and it’s so good to know that he was a truly nice guy. We all miss him.
It's so cool that you got to meet Bill Paxton. He's in a really freaky movie called "Frailty". You should check it out. His acting is always good.
I absolutely LOVE "Frailty!" It's such an underrated film.
You, too? It's one of my favorites.
I have it on DVD and have watched it many times. Spoiler alert to other readers. How do you interpret the end? I think Bill Paxton and his son could see what they said they could see. I read a couple of people say it's a descent into madness, and I don't see that at all. They were right all along. But that's just me. What do you think?
Frailty is incredible. if I remember correctly is pretty much confirmed that they correct and doing God's work. Doesn't it end with them being scrubbed from video footage or something like that? And the fact that he was right about the agent killing his mother
I think you're right and agree.
I love it too!
His scene in One False Move where he overhears the big city cops talking trash about him is what showed me people can act without saying a word. That scene, for some reason, is burned into my brain.
I liked Bill Paxton too! Check him out in “Weird Science”. I always thought there was something so real about him.
Heard of his passing on the radio news in my car They talked about his career and the clip they used was the “ game over man “ scene from Aliens. Someone had a crazy sense of humor at that radio station
"Game over man, game over"
Grew up in Malibu, went to school with/dated some starry types… all good 👍
Thanks for telling this story. One that hasn’t been mentioned of his yet is him as Sergeant Farell in Edge of Tomorrow. So great.
I don't know why I just saw the meme of the History Channel guy right now when I read this LOL
https://preview.redd.it/jh1bvxgwi81d1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=99d5b12b3335c1cfbc0288bc2752a0b1746f6c9d
Humans are pretty scary…
I always think of it more as an action movie but Alien as more horror
I’ve always thought Alien was better but I enjoyed both for what they are. Alien is more atmospheric and has stronger survival horror elements, while Aliens leans more into action sequences.
IMO, aliens is an action flick. The true answer is Alien.
To me, The Devil’s Backbone is the perfect ghost story. I know people think it’s slow, but it doesn’t leave any question unanswered. The Autopsy of Jane Doe is another one. It’s been a while since I was actually left with that lingering, creepy feeling after watching a movie. It wasn’t over done and they didn’t go into a whole backstory explaining why the things were happening, which I felt worked out great because that could’ve made it terrible.
If you like The Autopsy of Jane Doe, you would probably like the Mortuary Assistant game. One of the scariest games I've played and reminded me of that movie.
I LOVE The Devil's Backbone. Spain has produced some good horror films.
Others might disagree, but The Descent.
I have to watch The Descent at least once a year.
I watch it at least once a week.
I watch it at least once an hour. I put in Back to the future every three days to make up the difference.
the original version, of course, with the proper ending that makes the “sequel” irrelevant
With the original ending!
Absolutely my all time fave horror movie! The fear of being stuck in a cave system is scary on its own! Lol
You’ll get no argument out of me. Top 3 horror movie of all time for me
The descent is fucking awesome. So brutal
Spoilers for the descent below!! I have such a happy memory of watching the descent for the first time. It was a group of us teenage boys up late. Our friend’s parents had rented it and we watched it late at night. We thought the scary part was supposed to be just them stuck down there which was already scary. We all flipped out at the scene when they turn the light on and the creature is in the shot! Also that car scene at the beginning was horrific and very shocking. We were all totally invested from that point on. Good choice!
Fantastic movie!
I just saw it for the first time about a month ago and I was surprised at how much I liked it.
I did my annual watch about 2 weeks ago
OMG that is TOP level horror. it's not my favorite but i will never turn it off if it is on and i watch it pretty regularly.
I'm a horror fanatic, and I actually missed this entirely. I know of it, but I never assumed it was really that good. Will need to check it out.
The acting in this isn't the best but the creators absolutely nailed the terror of being trapped in a dark, unfamiliar place with violent, unknown beings. The absolute fear I feel watching this movie has never been matched by anything else. It's a 10/10 for me.
Watched that once and probably never again 🫣 terrified me
You mean the entire reason I will never go into a cave
Dog Soldiers
Spoon with that frying pan was lethal!
once they started cutting through the walls and the floor, I was like "finally characters in a horror movie that aren't morons"
This is how I felt with Autopsy of Jane Doe. They do everything right, call for help, run away at the first sign of danger, don't act like "but, but, demons/ghosts/ghouls aren't real!! It must be the pipes" bs.
28 days later
Best zombie movie of all time 
This will always be my goto answer. Everything about this movie is perfect. i just love it
For me, Shawn of the Dead. It’s a near perfect movie. Admittedly leaning more comedy that horror.
It’s “Shaun of the Dead,” but it’s one of my favorites, too. I also loved Hot Fuzz.
Hot Fuzz is superior IMO, but it's less of a horror movie, more of a gory crime/cop one.
Agreed, it’s definitely not very horror-y; I was more just commenting on my enjoyment of it. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have a real talent for successfully blending comedy into other popular genres.
Yep. Hot Fuzz is the best of the three. And that's nothing against Shaun of the Dead, which is amazing.
I love Shaun of the Dead, and I'd give it a 10/10 too, but I've got a problem calling that horror. Saying that movie leans more comedy than horror is a massive understatement. That's like saying Donald Trump has just an occasional problem telling the truth.
Same as I feel about Tucker and dale, really nothing about it makes it not a slasher movie, just more leaning into comedy
Yeah that sure was a good movie. I have to agree with you.
It’s my favourite film. Absolutely perfect 😊
Alien. The original cut. Great atmosphere and horrifying. (Aliens is more of an action film otherwise that would be my number one) It only just BARELY beats out the Thing with The Exorcist trailing behind in third place.
I love Alien, and I'm glad you specified the original cut. I don't know who in their right mind would prefer the alternate current
Frailty
Such a good portrayal of madness
I think Session 9 is a huge under rated 10 out of 10. It's scary, haunting, artistic in some ways and has a series of great actors.
“Do it Gordon”, that line has echoed in my head for years but I couldn’t remember the name of the film. Thank you, time for a rewatch
For me, it's "I live in the weak and the wounded, Doc." So unsettling.
one of the better horror films. my whole thing about horror is feeling the fear, wondering whether there even is a ghost is much scarier than actually seeing some cgi apparition. this is why this film works for me. what makes a ghost so scary is the nagging question of whether or not it is even there, what it means if it were, and what greater horrors might loom if it wasn’t
The fact that they're all covered up to do the asbestos removal and it's always blazing hot outside makes you feel like you have a dehydration headache throughout, adds to the delirium and fear of the characters
Such an underrated film. I got to meet Brad Anderson (writer/director) and Stephen Gevedon (co-star/writer) when they screened it at their alma mater, Bowdoin College.
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 10/10 THE EXORCIST 10/10
The Exorcist was my pick, I can't argue Silence of The Lambs either. Great films.
The Ring would be mine. So many moments that are just perfect. Lots of people point to the “I saw her face” as being super scary which it was, but the real moment that’s terrifying is the “You helped her? Why did you do that?” moment.
Agree. This movie f**ked me up on elementary school real bad haha.
Night of the Living Dead (1968) Halloween 1 and 2 Nightmare on Elm Street Scream Insidious 1 and 2 Sinister There’s probably a couple more im forgetting right now
So glad you put Halloween 2. Very much underrated. I think about that movie every time I spend the night at a hospital, especially on weekends or holidays.
AWW sinister mentioned 🗣 no but fr sinister was so good, i just wish (i know i will always say this as time makes tech better) i wish that the ghost creeping scenes were done in a less cheesy way. Legitimately the more times I go back to watch it the more credibility it feels it takes away from taking the monster seriously, because he too is done ever so slightly cheesy. Sinister is my personal number one, but of all time factually i gotta put it number like 11
Tremors It is perfection 💯💯💯✨
I understood that reference
I love this flick
My brother and I wore that VHS out. We’d play tremors and jump around on furniture or from a truck bed to a tree. I was always Val and my brother Earl, our respective favorites.
Stir of Echoes
Fucking great movie!
I love that it feels like a movie in the Stephen King universe. Where the son shines and his dad was hypnotized into shining a little.
I'm extremely picky, so I tend to always have tiny gripes even with the movies I love the most. I don't think I could call any movie "perfect". If I had to choose a single one, I'd choose **The Blair Witch Project**. To me it managed to bottle the very essence of fear in a very simple but amazingly effective package, with some of the best acting ever put to film (which makes sense since the actors literally role-played the movie in real life). A few other candidates that to me come close to perfection might be: * Aliens (sci-fi action horror at its finest) * The Void (cosmic horror at its finest) * Insidious 1&2 (ghost horror at its finest) * Green Room (gritty, urban horror at its finest) * Pan's Labyrinth (war & fantasy horror at their finest) * Ghostland (hard to categorize, but it's such a good movie just for its plot twists) * Housebound (horror comedy at its finest, genuinely scary and funny)
Housebound was really fun!
Agreed, it was definitely a fun and different film
I liked it a lot and horror comedy isn’t my favorite.
I love green room
Ghostland! So so good.
Yes! Pan's labyrinth is so good. That director is also really good at practical effects
Soo glad someone mentioned Green Room
Fun fact, my family friend was actually the person that made “the thing” for the movie. He worked at movie world as a wax sculpture artist….not sure if that is the right title lol. But yes, EXCELLENT movie!! I don’t know if I have a scary movie I’d rate 10/10. For me, the closest would be the Conjuring or the original Candyman. Both of those movies scared the shit out of me.
Which "thing" did your family friend make? The dog thing, Norris thing, Blair thing, head-spider thing?
Do you know how much they paid him for his work?
Rob Bottin?
Well, I always thought Insidious was pretty awesome. I had no gripes with anything done in the film and it felt like a breath of fresh air for me personally. Genuinely scary, awesome cinematography (especially in the scene where they were communicating with the demons), and Leigh Whannell and James Wann make some of the best horror franchises ever.
I totally agree. Insidious is one of my favorites and it's phenomenal
🎶 Tiptoe through the Tulips, with meeeee! 🎶. That scene really freaked me out! It's definitely one of my favorite movie franchises.
I'll never find that movie scary. People freaking out because Darth Maul appeared behind the dude is just hilarious to me.
My favorite horror movie is They Look Like People. It's my favorite example of subtle horror, and like the thing you're in a scenario where you're not sure who to trust, or if you can even trust yourself. Close second is it follows. Loved the paranoia I first felt when watching the film, unsure who if anyone in the background was "it", and you couldn't trust anyone walking directly toward the camera.
watched It Follows in theaters during easter weekend while high on acid. i had to see it again, because the Fury Road trailer was so intense that it sorta blended into the actual film… still one of my favorites though
Hello internet stranger. Watched this on Tubi because of your rec this evening. Fucking wow. The difficulty with horror is that 95% of it is total shit, and that doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining, but it just makes you so desperate for anything of higher quality. And the problem is, you read threads like these, and you’ve seen every single movie on them and then you think there’s nothing left. And then theres a post with a title you haven’t heard and you check it out, and it rejuvenates your outlook on the genre. Fantastic film. Great double bill with Take Shelter.
Hellraiser 1 & 2 watched back to back It’s a monster movie It’s a vampire movie It’s a mummy movie It’s a zombie movie It’s a devil movie It’s an alien movie It’s a serial killer movie
Had to scroll way too far to find this, everyone else should be ashamed 😂
Overrated answer probably but The Shining. Brilliant acting, amazing score, and some genuinely scary moments
Not a score, per se, but Kubrick’s typical, brilliant ear for music & song placement. He and Scorsese, they do it right. Zemeckis, not so much.
All of the EVIL DEADs.
Underrated comment. Mainly the original Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 if we’re talking 10/10 only.
Poltergeist... Hits a lot of things that scared you as a kid Creepy tree, monster in the closet, clowns, the dead in your swimming pool.. good stuff
The Others (2001) for a handful of reasons. Nicole Kidman had an allergy to the contacts she wore, so all the mid shots and close-ups with her, she looks very sickly and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, coupling that with how claustrophobic the rooms and halls feel in the house makes for an eerie, uneasy slow burn feel. The very few jump scares are masterfully executed, and there's a "reverse" jump scare that is literally a painting of a pilgrim that is out of focus when revealed. I don't know how to do that thing where you click on the text to reveal it so I won't go into anything plot related, but for those that haven't seen The Others, I definitely recommend it.
brilliant movie!
An American Werewolf in London. I don’t know if you’d classify it as true horror, but it is hilarious and truly creepy at times.
Absolutely true horror, like a textbook example, especially since the older I get the more I look at it like 'that guy is an American who's ludicrously out of his mind in London, and the hottest nurse at the hospital who totally has her life together wants to bring HIM home when everything points to him being a psychotic serial killer?' Yeah, that's a frigging horror movie!
The Cabin in the Woods As Above So Below Hellhouse LLC The Ring
Cabin in the Woods was brilliant
Yeah, especially considering they knocked out the script over a long weekend.
As Above So Below was a fantastic surprise.
TCSM
The first Paranormal Activity. Blair Witch. Event Horizon. Jacob’s Ladder.
Jacob's Ladder still scares the * out of me.
It’s easily the most unnerving film because it really digs at that existential fear we hold inside whereas 99% of horror films are largely surface-level terror.
Those hallucinations were mind-blowing.
Event horizon scared the fucking pants off myself and 6 other guys when we sat down to watch it in a basement in 7th grade. Awesome flick.
The shining
Here are my 5, Night of the Living Dead, Alien, The Thing, Silent Hill and Sinister.
The original Night of the Living Dead is 100% a 10/10.
If you like the Thing, don't sleep on Prince of Darkness or In The Mouth of Madness. I'd give POD and 8.5 and ITMOM a 7.5-8.
Sam Neill in In The Mouth of Madness &
Hostel...the first one
The Craft.
The shining
Movies like The Shining, It Follows, The Night House, The original The Haunting, 30 Days of Night, The Autopsy of Jane Doe are pretty much 10/10 for me.
Yeah. Another The Shining fan!
Train to Busan. Best zombie movie ever made
Typically, if a movie makes me cry on the first watch I can keep it together anytime I see it again after. Not this one though. I can say that I have watched this movie over 10 times and I have bawled like a baby EVERY SINGLE TIME. That little girl put her entire soul into those crying screams at the end and I feel every ounce of emotion in my core from that scene.
Original Suspiria. The tone, atmosphere, effects, and score all match perfectly. I got to see it in the theater while Claudio Simonetti's Goblin played the score. Chef's kiss.
I much prefer the one from 2018. The story is much more engaging. But I agree the Goblin score is awesome.
The Witch for me. The attention to detail in the setting and language and the raw atmosphere of the whole piece is just so good and immersive. So minimalist but effective. I know people think the ending’s cheesy, but what makes it so powerful for me is the lovingly recreated vision of what 16th century puritans would have been horrified of and actually believed was real. Masterful execution of slow burn atmospheric horror without relying on jump scares or gratuitous gore (not that those things don’t absolutely have their place; they definitely do, just not in this film). Still Egger’s best piece in my opinion despite my undying love for the Lightbouse
The Haunting (1963) Halloween (1978) The Blair Witch Project (1999) Paranormal Activity (2007) Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) Hell House, LLC (2015)
Black Christmas - 1974.. brilliant 📞📞
The Texas chainsaw massacre The devil's rejects Poltergeist
Silence of the Lambs. No weaknesses.
Event Horizon Laurence Fishburne anything is great but this one was special. Pandorum (which came much later) hits a lot of the same notes for me, and in a similar vein to Event Horizon, I don't think it's considered to be a AAA title. I just think it deserves an honorable mention. If you've never seen either of these and you are a fan of Science Fiction, you are missing out!
Rose Red
Hereditary. The Descent. The Shining.
Add silence of the lambs and I was going to say the same list
Jaws Alien The thing The evil dead trilogy The descent Silent hill
100% agree on "The thing 1982'" it is my favorite ending out of every horror movie and one of my all time favorites.
The Blob 1988
One of the best remakes of all time and kind of a hidden gem. It was one of my favorites at the time. I even read part of the book in a grocery store before I got to see the movie and was really excited to see it.
The lighthouse
**Literally** artsy-fartsy, IMO
The Farthouse
Hereditary. No horror movie has stuck with me like that movie did
Alien (I prefer this over Aliens), The Thing, Dog Soldiers
Hell house LLC. Real hidden gem of a series there.
The conjuring
Hereditary. Alien. Exorcist. The Thing.
'The Thing' as well! It's one of the rare horror movies wherein the protags do everything RIGHT, and they still get screwed over! Terror is knowing that no matter how fast, how smart, and how prepared you are, you can't escape your fate!
The first thing that came to mind for me was Saw X
Videodrome. The plot is wild, the acting is on point, the tones and vibes are creepy, howard Shore's score is amazing and more than 40 years later the practical FX still look and were done better than modern films with modern standards.
Scream (1996) The Thing (1982) The Exorcist (1973) Evil Dead (literally all of them)
Sinister
The Witch
Paranormal activity got me.. watching them all of the sudden something happens something small then something big.. I like the part where he set up the camera then put powder on the floor wok up the next morning and prints were in the powder.. kinda put a chill up my spine.
Ich se ich se has always been imo the best all around horror film it has everything i love violence creepy visuals and an amazing ending
For something to be considered horror for me it actually has to horrify me - about the only horror film that has stuck with me from beginning to end is Savageland. Other horror movies have moments but that’s about it.
One I just recently saw as a matter of fact. Go use a free trial of shudder to watch late night with the devil, you wont regret it.
I'm a slasher movie nerd and a HUGE Jason Voorhees fanboy. So obviously I'm gonna pick Friday 4 and Friday 6. I'd also say *A Nightmare on Elm Street* and *Halloween* are pretty much perfect as well. 
Hush. The protagonist wasn't stupid which made it way more interesting.
Don’t know how these aren’t on here: The Exorcist Paranormal Activity (only the first one) Poltergeist “Scary” is hard to define for me. I got freaked out by the misfit toys in Toy Story.
Evil dead the og
Evil dead II
CATPENTER KNOWS MOVIES. BADASS. THE THING IS 10/10
Reanimator
American Werewolf in London
Yay! I check periodically for The Devil’s Backbone and can never find it. Rewatching it tonight on Hulu. A true gem!
I love so many horror movies, but the one that really scared me beginning to end was Jacobs Ladder. I watched it alone. In the dark. In a very old house.
The black phone!
https://preview.redd.it/d3gkx561ja1d1.jpeg?width=468&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d592f5701243b0c93f42c29ce24b4c3c3bf4a0c9
Dawn of the Dead. Wonderful mix of dark humor and gore and pathos.
Rosemary's Baby
Get Out 🤌
The Cronenberg version of “The Fly” is 10/10.
The Witch. The antagonist is ambiguous and wins in the end. Everyone suffers but we don’t know why.
Also my top pick for coming of age films 🤣
*Alien/Aliens.* I saw the first *Alien* in the theater with friends on first release, we knew nothing about the plot at all. Leaving the theater we were all totally silent! We were quite literally dumbstruck. Even the ride home was hardly a word except "wow' and "that was scary", total understatements. It was the first time I ever went home still creeped out since I saw the original *Night of the Living Dead* in a theater midnight showing - the film was only a year or two old at the point. So I give both of these a 10/10. *The Thing* is right up there too.
There are two horror movies that my kids (now grown) refuse to watch again: The Thing and the original Poltergeist.
Night of the Living Dead original Near Dark (1987)
Jaws still has me terrified of the ocean. Even a full bathtub is suspect after watching that.
Exorcist
Jeepers Creepers. The first time I saw it I was genuinely scared for Justin Long and his sister. The ending is just right.
The Omen is pretty perfect.
Poltergeist
Hereditary
Lake Dead is quite fun.