The Best Horror Films
Ok, I know some of those movies aren't flat-out horror, but I've sought those that at least have some horror elements. Feel free to add suggestions in the comments, as I'm pretty sure I've forgotten about some classics when I made this list.
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- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.Classic film from 1968 by one of my favourite directors (Polanski)... The first movie I saw that really scared the *beep* out of me.... I still enjoy watching this movie more than 40 years after it's release.
- DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsBelén RuedaFernando CayoRoger PríncepA woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.Well made modern horror/psychological thriller from Spain.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsHarvey KeitelGeorge ClooneyJuliette LewisTwo criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in a truck stop populated by vampires, with chaotic results.Not horror at all, except it has vampires, and some really cool instruction from Robert Rodriguez!
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJohnny DeppFrank LangellaLena OlinA book broker discovers his latest find may summon Satan.Another Polanski movie which I really like. Great acting by Johnny Depp, and an ending which you either hate or love (I happened to love it)
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeff GoldblumGeena DavisJohn GetzA brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.I've never been a fan of David Cronenberg's movies (certainly the more recent ones)... But this one happens to be to my liking. Great acting by one of my favourite b-movie actors, Jeff Goldblum!
- StarsErnst-Hugo JäregårdKirsten RolffesGhita NørbyDoctors at an ultramodern hospital in Denmark become convinced, by way of weird, inexplicable happenings, that the place is haunted.The funny and sometime scary mini-series from (perhaps) the greatest director of all time... If you haven't seen it already, go do it!
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.This one never really scared me, not even as a kid, but I do enjoy watching it.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsSarah PolleyVing RhamesMekhi PhiferA nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.A really good remake of my favourite Romero movie. I like how the director kept fairly true to the original storyline, but still could put in his own ideas.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDavid EmgeKen ForeeScott H. ReinigerDuring an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.The best movie Romero ever made.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRoy ScheiderRobert ShawRichard DreyfussWhen a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.I haven't seen Jaws for years (and I prefer not to do it) but it scared me *beep* as a child... again, this movie is NOT excactly horror, but still more scary than most horror movies.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppChristina RicciMiranda RichardsonIchabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people; the culprit is legendary apparition The Headless Horseman.Fun and witty and with a headless knight... One of Tim Burton's best movies!
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.This one set the bar for me when I first saw it as a teenager. Perfectly made, and along with the second and third installments my favourite horror trilogy.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellSarah BerryDan HicksAsh Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.Didn't quite take itself serious (not that the first installment did that), but cool as hell.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEmbeth DavidtzMarcus GilbertWhen Ash Williams is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., he must retrieve the Necronomicon and battle an army of the dead in order to return home."This is my BOOMSTICK"
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsJames CaanKathy BatesRichard FarnsworthAfter a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.I'm a sucker for Stephen King (yes, it's my guilty pleasure), and even though this one isn't outright horror, it's creepy as hell.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.Some scenes can seem a bit silly when watched today, but "plug it up", and "They're all gonna laugh at you" still works IMO.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.By far the scariest movie I've ever seen.
I still enjoy watching this today. Classic - DirectorDan O'BannonStarsClu GulagerJames KarenDon CalfaWhen two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.Funny and the coolest zombie ever made in a movie (More Brains!)
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsJulie ChristieDonald SutherlandHilary MasonA married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.More a psychological thriller than a horror movie... I wish they would still make movies like this today. A product of it's time, and a classic in my book.
- DirectorGreg McLeanStarsNathan PhillipsCassandra MagrathKestie MorassiThree backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.Cool Aussie horror flick.
- DirectorRobert HiltzikStarsFelissa RoseJonathan TierstenKaren FieldsBunks and showers are a mad stabber's beat at a summer camp strictly for teens.So silly it's funny. A couple of extremely badly acted scenes only makes it better.
- DirectorOren PeliStarsKatie FeatherstonMicah SloatMark FredrichsAfter moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.A modern classic. Scary and really good made (The second one was crap though... a major let-down for me)
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.The best vampire movie I can think of
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.More horror than SF. A classic
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.Some of the best effects I've seen in a movie. By far better than any CGI they put into James Cameron's movies!
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.I still love Jack Nicholson in this part!
- DirectorChristophe GansStarsRadha MitchellLaurie HoldenSean BeanA woman, Rose, goes in search for her adopted daughter within the confines of a strange, desolate town called Silent Hill.The best Computergame-to-movie film I've seen. Enjoyable.