Excellent Horror Films

I enjoy horror as a genre, but unfortunately it is a genre plagued by utter shit. Many filmmakers mistakenly believe that half-naked women, buckets of fake blood, and creepy Japanese children are cruise-control for an awesome horror film. That is really not the case. But sometimes, a film is released that trancends the genre cliches to become excellent. Here are a few films that I personally consider to be superb. And I'm pretty much always right. I've included links to the trailers for you, too.


The Orphanage
Summary
Laura, her husband, and their son Simon move into the abandoned house that was once the orphanage Laura lived in as a child. They plan to renovate it and make it into a home for mentally challenged children. Soon into the renovations, Simon begins to talk about the other children who live in the house. He explains to his mother that the children like to play a certain game. They take something precious to you and replace it with a clue. You must follow the clues to find your treasure, and if you find it, you get a wish.

When her son abruptly goes missing, Laura, her husband, and the police do everything they can to find him, but it's no use. It seems as if he's vanished into thin air. Eventually, the time comes for Laura to make a decision. Just how far into this game is she willing to go to find her son?

Review
This film was nothing short of superb. It's entirely in Spanish, but don't let the subtitles deter you. Guillermo Del Torro, the director, does a masterful job of crafting an atmosphere so bleak, haunting, and intense that by the second third of the film, the little hairs on the back of your neck are standing the entire time. One scene in particular was so tense, so utterly terrifying, that my eyes were literally misting in terror, and yet another scene that was so heartbreaking and moving that my eyes misted over for an entirely different reason. This film transcends its genre through sheer excellence. It isn't just a "good horror film". It's an excellent film, period.

There are so many tedious films out there concerning children, ghosts, and children's ghosts that it's nearly impossible to create a fresh take on the idea. Del Torro has, and I urge each and every one of you to get your hands on a copy of this film and watch it. With the lights on.




Let the Right One In
Summary
12-year-old Oskar never stands up to the bullies who torment him at school, but contents himself by entertaining violent fantasies of revenge. Enter Eli, a mysterious young girl who moves into the apartment next door with her middle-aged caretaker. Immediately after their arrival, Oskar's quiet Swedish town is rocked by a series of grisly murders.

The two loners find themselves drawn to eachother despite Eli's initial claim that they "can't be friends". They soon develop a connection that cannot be denied, but their love is shadowed by the fact Eli is not an average little girl, and she can never stay in one place too long. When Oskar is faced with true danger, will Eli risk discovery to protect what she loves?

Review
When someone mentions "vampires" and "romance" in the same sentence, it raises a huge red flag for many of us. That flag is enormous and says, in block letters, "SHITTY, TEDIOUS WANGSTFEST AHOY!" We cannot help but draw unfavorable comparisons to films/novels like Twilight. Well, let me tell you something about Let The Right One In. Think if your favorite vampire movie, the best one you've ever seen.

This film will grab your favorite vampire movie, shake it like a deranged babysitter shakes a crying baby, and rip out its carotid and drain it the fuck dry.

Yes, this is another foreign film. Set in Sweden during the 80's, to be exact. While most vampire films are suffused with buckets upon buckets of fake blood, this film is suffused with in-depth characterization, heart-wrenching romance, and some of the most subtle, chilling, and cleverly filmed violence I've ever had the pleasure to see. First off, I don't know where the hell they found the kids who play Oskar and Eli, but Jesus Christ they are FANTASTIC. This is hands down the best child acting I've ever seen. The directing is superb, too. The relationship between Eli and Oskar is so beautiful, tinged with longing, and heartbreakingly palpable that you can literally feel it tug on your heart strings. Dialogue is sparse and the often disturbing scenes are handled with aplomb. I could gush even more, and I have just two words for you, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about once you rent this and see it for yourself: POOL SCENE. Just... the pool scene. Holy crap.

So yeah, see this immediately.



The Others
Summary
Grace Stewart is very firm in her faith, and very firm in her dislike of "funny ideas". She strictly goes about caring for her two photosensitive children in their isolated mansion home, waiting for her husband to return from fighting alongside the Allies in World War II. But one day, all of her servants up and vanish. After a time, three servants show up at her doorstep looking for work. She hires them on the spot. But odd things have begun to happen in her home, footsteps, whispers, doors that are open when they should be locked. She is angry at her daughter for insisting that there are intruders in their home, scaring her little brother with tales of a young boy named Victor and a frightening old woman. But there are some things that simply cannot be explained away, and some questions to which the Bible provides no answers. Grace must face facts. There are others in her home, others that are willing to hurt her children and tear her home apart to lay claim to the house that they feel is theirs.

Review
Easily one of the most underrated horror films I've ever seen. It is superbly acted, brilliantly crafted, and genuinely scary. It's one of the only films I've seen that contains a moment where a great deal of people in the audience literally screamed aloud. I'm not usually a huge fan of Nicole Kidman, but she is fantastic and compelling as the tightly-wound Grace. This movie raises just as many questions as it answers and is just very well done.


The Descent
Summary
Six girlfriends who enjoy extreme sports and exploring decide to go spelunking, their first outing since one of their number lost her family in a tragic car accident. At first things are going great and the trip seems like a success. That is, until the tunnel they are in collapses behind them. When they whip out the map to find an alternate route back to the surface, the friend who led them there makes a confession. They aren't in the cave on the map. In a misguided attempt to improve the adventure, she led them to an unsolved cave so that they could take the credit for "discovering" it together.

Now they are trapped in the labrynthian cave with limited supplies, and all that darkness and enclosed space can really mess with your head. And just because they're the only people down there does not mean they're alone.


Review
People might disagree, but I consider this surprisingly low-budget Scottish film to be one of the best horror films in recent history. The sense of claustrophobia and paranoia is expertly crafted, and this film uses brutality and violence to its great benefit instead of taking a back seat to it. For those of you who have seen it and were unimpressed, or have just recently viewed it and are interested the real source of my fascination with this film, click the spoiler tag below. But please don't touch it if you haven't seen it, as this film deserves to be viewed on its own terms:

Spoiler:

At no point in time could I even begin to guess that this was extremely low-budget. The acting and directing is spot on. It just goes to show that money doesn't make a film, and nothing can compensate for pure talent. If you like horror and aren't afraid of violence or gore, pick this one up the next time you go to Blockbuster.


Audition
Summary
Seven years after Shigeharu Aoyama's wife passes away, his son urges him to start dating again. Aoyama talks to a friend of his who is a movie producer, and his friend comes up with a plan: Hold auditions for a fake film in which beautiful young women audition for the role of Aoyama's wife, the goal being that Aoyama will find a woman to marry this way.

The auditions begin and many of the women are humorously unacceptable as potential wives. Then Yamazaki Asami auditions. She is quiet, graceful, and deep, and she captivates Aoyama instantly. Despite his producer friend's misgivings, he falls for her. It takes a while, but eventually Aoyama discovers that loving Asami, and being loved by her in return, is not what he expected.

Review
I watched this film on a cable channel with virtually no idea what it was about. I simply saw that it was a Japanese film and, curious, sat down to watch it. In the beginning I thought it was a romantic comedy. As time passed, I thought it was a psychological film. At its end, I was fighting back vomit and shaking like a wet dog, utterly horrified at what I had just witnessed.

FYI, when a gorehound like Rob Zombie says he had a difficult time watching your film, you did something right. Or, depending on how you look at it, something very, very wrong.

Some people complain about how "slow" this film is, but the build up just serves to give the climax an enormous amount of impact. Let it take you in and lull you. Don't tap your foot impatiently because you don't see any decapitated corpses or meowing ghost-children within the first two seconds. Let it do its job. Your patience will be rewarded, or again, depending on how you look at it, punished with the wrath of a thousand angry gods.

I consider myself hardened when it comes to gore, didn't bat an eye at Hostel etc., but the end of this film had me fighting not to give into the impulse of covering my eyes. For the love of God, if you are strongly bothered by violence or gore, stay the fuck away from this movie. If you think you're a badass, go ahead. I dare you. If you come back here and try to say you weren't affected, I'll know you were full of shit and so will everyone else who watched this.






There are more horror films that have my undying respect, but I don't want to hog them all. Got any films you think deserve to be mentioned?

Låt Den Rätte Komme In really is a very decent film. I definitely want to get a chance to read the book, because I heard it was even better.

Now, I'm sure people are going to disagree with me, but I thought 28 Days Later was a great zombie film. To me, anyway, because zombie films are always more of the same. I actually tend to prefer to fast paced virus zombie types, but I had respect for what the once were. Anyway, I thought it was well done.

The sequel though? Let's pretend a sequel doesn't exist.

Well, I'm a person who likes starships/spacecraft/etc, so here's mine:

Event Horizon

Synopsis:
When an experimental FTL spaceship returns 7 years after its initial test flight, its only message a latin phrase, the crew of a rescue vessel is dispatched (along with its designer) to see what went wrong. Shenanigans occur.

Spoiler:

Review:
While this movie may not be as slow and tension-y as some of those of Narwhal, it is very atmospheric. This movie was one of the primary inspirations for the atmosphere in the game Dead Space. Once things start happening, they keep happening, including one extremly creepy scene involving the dead wife of the ships designer.

I also love 28 Days Later for its unique take on the zombie genre. I'm a huge Danny Boyle nerd!


And I am intrigued by Event Horizon. Sunshine is one of my favorite films, so I definitely appreciate films set in outer space! I'll try and rent it next time I'm in the movie store.

The Mist - Even though the ending pissed me off personally, the entire movie is very awe-inspiring. It's almost something along the lines of Silent Hill/Cloverfield meets Lord of the Flies (or maybe Dawn of the Dead).

The Happening - I dunno what to say about this. It's just one of those horror movies that you can talk to anyone about and start raving about certain scenes. It's got some shocking stuff in it, some not always gruesome, but just for the "whoa..." factor.

The Host - Maybe one of my favourite monster movies of all. What makes this Korean movie so different from most creature features is that they don't keep the monster a secret. You see it in the first five minutes, and the movie combines a lot of humor with suspenseful moments. It goes a little downhill by the middle, but you still want to see how it ends.

I enjoyed The Mist and was very pleased by the ending because it was so daring, but I have to strongly disagree with you about The Happening. I actually consider it one of the worst films I've ever seen. Everything from the acting to the dialogue... It was an intriguing concept, but very poorly executed IMO.

I've never seen The Host. I'll dig around for a copy.

Sunshine was awesome. Event Horizon, not so much. >.>

Also in this thread that is awesome that was mentioned already is Audition (holy fuck, that movie creeped me the HELL out; just the look the girl had on her face and the sound of the wire... bbrrrrrrr!), The Orphanage (creepy kids with masks ftw), and The Descent (Afraid of heights, the dark, AND enclosed places? Don't watch). Also, definitely kudos to The Host. Another excellent foreign horror film.

For mine, I'm gonna have to go to some old school classics.

Hellraiser. Based on a novella by Clive Barker, it's horrific to me not because of the nasty Cenobites (although the make-up and special effects were really good for the time), but because of the depravity that people can sink to. Fantastic film, never fails to get a shiver from me.

Dracula, way old school. Bela Lugosi... well, you know. Still a classic.

Nightmare on Elm Street. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's all a joke now, but the original, man, holy f'ing hell, the original gave me nightmares and still gives me nightmares to this day. I probably shouldn't have watched it when I was twelve, but c'est la vie. As if anyone is an Elm street virgin anymore, but if they are, make 'em watch it and try to figure out what the hell is going on. Priceless.

Ok, now for some more modern ones.

High Tension. HOLY HELL. Although I figured out the "twist" early on, it was still very creepy, very visceral, heart-pounding, and psychological. And it's a French film. Other countries are putting out some very high quality horror films anymore.

Salvage. From my low budget awesomeness thread back on HoBFF, this was a psychological film that messed with me until the end. For once, I couldn't figure out the "twist" in the film, and had to resort to figuring it out with the main character. It was well worth it, and while the production is low, and there's not much gore (it's mostly implied), it was a decent psychological mindfuck with a very satisfying ending.

Wolf Creek Now, I haven't watched this one yet (so I probably shouldn't be posting it here), but I've heard some really great things about this film. It's supposedly "based on true events" (but the Texax Chainsaw Massacre was "based on true events" and that was a sack of BS the size of Texas), and who can really resist a horror film set out in the middle of nowhere?

Maximilia wrote:

High Tension. HOLY HELL. Although I figured out the "twist" early on, it was still very creepy, very visceral, heart-pounding, and psychological. And it's a French film. Other countries are putting out some very high quality horror films anymore.

Wolf Creek Now, I haven't watched this one yet (so I probably shouldn't be posting it here), but I've heard some really great things about this film. It's supposedly "based on true events" (but the Texax Chainsaw Massacre was "based on true events" and that was a sack of BS the size of Texas), and who can really resist a horror film set out in the middle of nowhere?

For the record, Wolf Creek very, very, very, very loosely based on true events. And it's horrible. And do NOT watch the American remake of Haute Tension. It's bad.

Also, oddly enough, the subject of American horror movies being incredibly shitty during the last 10 years was the subject of my English paper last semester.

The Spanish film REC is fabulous. The story revolves around a reporter and her camera man as they investigate what is at first a routine fire department issue of helping an elderly woman who is trapped in her apartment. However, when they break down the door the woman viciously attacks them, as she is invested with a disease that soon spreads throughout the building.

The Call of Cthulhu short film, if you can find it, is also a wonderful adaptation of Lovecraft's work.

Apt Pupil. Awesome film about a highschool kid who discovers that a local old man is actually a Nazi war criminal. But instead of turning him in, the kid blackmails the old man to tell him all about what he did at the death camps.

Bad Moon. Average werewolf film saved by the fact that the hero's the family dog.

Night Flier. One of the better vampire films of our time.

VileCorp wrote:

Apt Pupil. Awesome film about a highschool kid who discovers that a local old man is actually a Nazi war criminal. But instead of turning him in, the kid blackmails the old man to tell him all about what he did at the death camps.

Bad Moon. Average werewolf film saved by the fact that the hero's the family dog.

Night Flier. One of the better vampire films of our time.

You'd probably like the short story Apt Pupil better, Viley. It was more... graphic and dark. It's by Stephen King in the book 'Four Seasons'.

And it's a damn shame about Wolf Creek. I had high hopes. Ah, well.

Also, going more old school: Psycho. The remake with Vince Vaughn was incredibly worthless because it was nearly shot for shot. Definitely watch the original. Anthony Perkins is deliciously creepy in it.

The Hitcher. It's my favorite movie of all time. No, seriously, it is. I don't know why. Maybe because it was never really explained what the Hitcher was, or why he was stalking C. Thomas Howell. I've read some interesting theories, that he was Death and C. Thomas Howell "killed" him and assumed the role of Death for example. Remake with Sean Bean? Skip. I try to ignore it was ever made.

Halloween. Low budget goodness ftw! Also, the remake that Rob Zombie did wasn't bad either. It was filmed "grungy" as an homage to the 70's horror movies, which I don't personally like, but it added enough to the backstory without corrupting the original source that I felt it was worthy of the original.

Maximilia wrote:

VileCorp wrote:

Apt Pupil. Awesome film about a highschool kid who discovers that a local old man is actually a Nazi war criminal. But instead of turning him in, the kid blackmails the old man to tell him all about what he did at the death camps.

Bad Moon. Average werewolf film saved by the fact that the hero's the family dog.

Night Flier. One of the better vampire films of our time.

You'd probably like the short story Apt Pupil better, Viley. It was more... graphic and dark. It's by Stephen King in the book 'Four Seasons'.

And it's a damn shame about Wolf Creek. I had high hopes. Ah, well.

All three of Viley's picks for film were okay; I've seen 'em, and they were enjoyable, especially Night Flier and Apt Pupil.

Max, I would still check out Wolf Creek if I were you. I personally loved that film... well, not loved in the sense that I was incredibly entertained. It's not the feel-good film of the year. It's incredibly sad and depressing, and it really haunted me after I watched it. But I do think that it has one of the most powerfully despicable, frightening villains in modern horror history, and that alone makes it worth seeing IMHO. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful, as well... I doubt that the Outback has ever looked as beautiful or as desolate as it does in Wolf Creek. Really, really gotta recommend that one.

Echoing the love for 28 Days Later (though I really liked 28 Weeks Later as well), The Descent, High Tension, Event Horizon, Hellraiser, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Psycho (it's amazing how modern -- timeless, really -- that film feels, and just how well it holds up even after all these years).

I'd also add in The Omen (the original). It's a very powerful film and does manage to inspire some dread along with doubt in the viewer.

Slither is a gross, well-written horror/comedy that contains a cool tentacle monster, plenty of old-school gore and humor, and Nathan Fillion. What more does a film need? :D

Spoiler:

Rogue is a good killer-croc movie by the director/writer of Wolf Creek. I love Greg McLean's work overall, so I'm biased, but it's effective, nasty, and fairly tense. Also, beautiful cinamatography FTFW. Setting is king in McLean films, it seems.

Antibodies (AKA Antikoerper) is a German serial-killer thriller that stars Wotan Wilke Mohring and Andre Hennicke. It's pretty solidly good, though not really a horror.

Both the original and the remake versions of The Hills Have Eyes are good.

Malganis wrote:

Max, I would still check out Wolf Creek if I were you. I personally loved that film... well, not loved in the sense that I was incredibly entertained. It's not the feel-good film of the year. It's incredibly sad and depressing, and it really haunted me after I watched it. But I do think that it has one of the most powerfully despicable, frightening villains in modern horror history, and that alone makes it worth seeing IMHO. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful, as well... I doubt that the Outback has ever looked as beautiful or as desolate as it does in Wolf Creek. Really, really gotta recommend that one.

Well, mebbe I will! Ah, who'm I kidding? Of course I will, eventually. I'm a huge movie nerd, and I adore horror. Just haven't gotten around to it yet...

Malganis wrote:

Slither is a gross, well-written horror/comedy that contains a cool tentacle monster, plenty of old-school gore and humor, and Nathan Fillion. What more does a film need? :D

I've heard good things about that one too, and I try to support all the Firefly actors.

And ARGH! How could I forget The Hills Have Eyes?!

Dagon. It's low budget and cheesy, but if you've ever read Lovecraft, you'll know that layering on the cheese is being true to the source material. The people who made this had fun with it. It's virtually impossible to work with this subject matter without there being something faintly ridiculous about it, so the director ran with it. There are hints all through the movie that they know they are not producing great cinema and the movie is ten times better for it. Hints like the hero wearing a Miskatonic University sweatshirt. And later, when trying to beat off some of the warped servants of Dagon and he breaks his cell phone on one of them, he declares, "I need a bigger cell phone!" (I discovered later this is loosely based on something that happened IRL to the producer.)

Because of the humor they approached the movie with, the moments of horror have much more impact. They did a great job with casting the lead female villain; she manages to be beautiful and repulsive at the same time. The ending left me going

Wolf Creek is one of the worst horror films I've ever seen. It was so hideously retarded that I was screaming at the TV:

Spoiler:

Narwhal wrote:

If you come back here and try to say you weren't affected, I'll know you were full of shit and so will everyone else who watched this.

Sorry to be such a badass, but I wasn't really affected. If you want to truly harden yourself against nastities, watch real life eye surgery videos. After all that poking and oozing you'll see on those, nothing cinematic comes close to grossing you out. In fact, you'll learn to enjoy the nastities...

The Horror of Dracula: Christopher Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. What more needs to be said?

The Exorcist: nothing else even compares. Though it does take its sweet time in getting to the good stuff, it is well worth the wait. The spider-walk scene on the restored version is one of the creepiest things ever put on film.

Halloween: the 1978 version, of course. Wisely goes heavy on atmosphere and creepiness, and light on nudity and gore. The 2007 "reimagining" was a piece of shit.

An American Werewolf in London: the best comedy-horror film ever made. The transformation scene still holds up nearly 30 years later. Rick Baker is so awesome.

The Howling: released the same year as American Werewolf, and has a kick-ass transformation scene that still holds up nearly 30 years later. Rob Bottin is so awesome. Fun fact: nearly all the characters are named after werewolf film directors.

Narwhal wrote:

I enjoyed The Mist and was very pleased by the ending because it was so daring, but I have to strongly disagree with you about The Happening. I actually consider it one of the worst films I've ever seen. Everything from the acting to the dialogue... It was an intriguing concept, but very poorly executed IMO.

I think that's what I actually liked about it. I found it was terrible in a way I could still enjoy it to some extent. Or maybe I was fangirling over Zooey Deschanel...

Malganis wrote:

Rogue is a good killer-croc movie by the director/writer of Wolf Creek. I love Greg McLean's work overall, so I'm biased, but it's effective, nasty, and fairly tense. Also, beautiful cinamatography FTFW. Setting is king in McLean films, it seems.

Ohh, I was about to suggest that one. That's up there with my favourite creature-features, and it's NOT a Lake Placid rip-off despite what a lot of people say. This is actually superior in every way.

EDIT: Almost forget, there was actually a second crocodile film made at the same time called Black Water - completely unrelated save for both being Australian movies. The release date was put on hold because of the release of Rogue. It's low-budget and based on real events (just likeRogue really which was also about a giant croc that attacked boats), but it's more of a psychological thriller than a gore-fest. The plot is very similar, although I still recommend taking a look at it.

Let me just nth The Mist. I effing loved it when I saw it in theaters.

The way it was filmed, the shots, the angles, the camera. It was so atmospheric. And realistic too -- the reactions of the people in the store, the way they held up, how it all just sort of deteriorated. And I loved the ending. I know a lot of people were pissed off by it, but I was really affected. I couldn't stop putting myself in the main man's shoes and thinking, "Wow..." I thought the acting was great, and I've seen this movie three times, and each time I have been thoroughly creeped out and thoughtful afterward.

The thing I loved about it was that it was as much about the (admittedly rather fakeish but still awesome) monsters as it was about the way people get when they are grouped together, terrified, without contact with the outside world.

Also: Fuck Wolf Creek. I'm tired of shit-for-brains protagonists and sick fucker rapist villains. Been done. Been done a million times. Fuck the makers of that movie.

Which of these would people recommend for someone who gets squeamish easily? I love good tense movies, but I feel faint even when I have blood drawn.

Miraba wrote:

Which of these would people recommend for someone who gets squeamish easily? I love good tense movies, but I feel faint even when I have blood drawn.

Hmm... Definitely not 28 Days Later. I think Låt Den Rätte Komme In is safe in that regard. I don't remember it to be very gore-graphic.

All these posts and no one has mentioned Cannibal Holocaust?

It's a great movie. A team of American something-or-the-others go on some kind of expedition to South America, but their reasons for doing so and the backstory are pretty much irrelevant. See, these Americans end up finding two rival cannibal tribes, and immediately begin to torment them. The Americans set the tribes' huts on fire, rape one of their women, and generally act like disgusting human beings until the tribes snap and proceed to, uh, deal with the Americans in a horrific manner. There are also a few scenes where animals are killed for food; these are not fake scenes. The animals you see really were killed, and you get the dubious pleasure of seeing them gutted and decapitated right on screen.

Now, this might SOUND like a crappy b-movie, and the acting is sub-par in some places. But the atmosphere of the film is unbeatable. The best way to describe this movie is that it sort of sucks you into its own little world. It's so deeply disturbing that it feels as if a little bit of joy has gone out of your life permanently after you watch it. The death scenes are sufficiently realistic that the producer of the movie was actually investigated under charge of creating a snuff film. He was forced to produce proof that the actors he used were still alive. Now, if you watch this film and you're some kind of badass who isn't disturbed by it - props. It is very, very difficult to disgust or frighten me and I felt like my insides were melting during certain parts of this movie.

Don't watch it if you have a weak stomach.

Miraba wrote:

Which of these would people recommend for someone who gets squeamish easily? I love good tense movies, but I feel faint even when I have blood drawn.

The Others has virtually NO gore in it at all, and there is only really one moment in The Orphanage that's gross, and it's very brief.

Dog Soldiers. It's not so much a horror movie as a war buddy comedy with werewolves and gruesome shit going on. Not being a fan of the horror genre, myself, I absolutely loved it. Think Shaun of the Dead, but without the over the top parody or romance.

Re: The Mist

I hated the ending the first time I saw it. Then I went back and took another look, and I realized: it's an EC Comics-type ending. Stephen King is a huge EC Comics fan ( see Creepshow), and this ending is his and Darabont's homage to the comics' ironic twist endings, kind of funny in a sick, twisted way.

Re: Rogue

Just watched it and I'm going to have to disagree with it being called awesome.

Spoiler: