Horror Movie Discussion and Recommendations

[Kuruwa]

We're steadily approaching Autumn 2014, and whenever the leaves start to change color, the first thing I always think of is my favorite holiday, Halloween, as well as all the great horror movies I love to watch at this time of year! I sort of grew up on horror, influenced by friends and family who were into the series, so enjoying a good horror flick has always been a pastime of mine. I'm pretty well-versed in 80s and 90s horror, but I've sort of fallen behind in watching recent horror movies, so I'm hoping we can recommend our favorite horror movies/series to each other here. I'll post one below, and hopefully more if anyone else is interested in this thread.

Halloween

The classic series by John Carpenter... I don't think there's a movie that better captures the "atmosphere" of a classic Halloween day and night than this movie. It focuses first and foremost on a serial killer plot that was copied many, many times in following horror movies... But below that, it's a story about babysitters and kids on Halloween. Yes, this is how Halloween used to be, people! (Minus the serial killer and all the deaths...) I think the first movie is an absolute classic. I like the 2nd and 3rd as well, though. And the music! Unforgettable, and copied by many...

As a series, it's all over the place. There are 8 mainline sequels, and then 2 remakes by Rob Zombie. The series is pretty much all over the place... the third movie was supposed to be a departure from the previous two, in order to turn the 'Halloween' movie series into a franchise of movies based on weird happenings around Halloween, as opposed to strictly serial killers. I think this is an interesting idea, and especially considering how silly some of the later sequels got, I wish they would have tried to swing things this way. But, unfortunately the third movie was a mess, albeit an entertaining mess, and 'Michael Myers' and his Shatner mask had already garnered too much popularity, so they decided to make it all about him. (Check out the sixth movie if you want to see a really silly plotline involving Michael Myers and a crazy Satanic cult!)

Anyway, that's all I have to say about the series. The first two are great, the third is just plain weird, and the rest of the sequels sort of rehash the same ideas. The Rob Zombie remakes are also interesting, but they're quite different in tone and atmosphere.

[Beorning]

I admit I'm a fan of the first Halloween! I suspect the movie is a bit aged these days, as many of its elements were copied ad nauseam by later slasher movies. So, the plot is not that surprising anymore... Still, I like this movie. It's interesting that the movie is very... quiet, so to say, for most of the time. Mostly it's about Myers stalking Laurie and murdering people without being noticed... it's the last 15-20 minutes or so, when the movie explodes into total terror.

I've also seen the first sequel (which was... okay, but not that special) and the sixth part. I haven't seen the Rob Zombie remakes and I don't intend to - I've watched two Zombie movies (House of 1000 Corpses and Lords of Salem) and I've learned that this guy's movies just... rub me the wrong way.

Speaking of other horror movies: I cannot recommend high enough another Carpenter movie: In The Mouth Of Madness. It's the best Lovecraftian movie ever! Carpenter's The Thing was very good, too.

I also need to mention Nightmares On The Elm Street 3 and Hellraiser 2, as... both of them kind of blew my mind. NOES3 was one of the first horror movies I've ever seen in my life - I was about 10 or 11 back then. The movie scared me so much I've ran out of the TV room a few times... I was seriously afraid of Freddy Krueger for years after watching this. I must admit that I kind of question the wisdom of my parents who let me watch this kind of stuff at this age...

Hellraiser 2 had similar effect on me when I was around 20. At that time, I haven't seen that many horror movies yet - and I used to think that most of them are quite harmless and a bit silly. So, one evening, I was alone at home, I checked the TV schedule and I thought: "Oh, some horror movie will be up. I think it's about that guy with nails in his head. That could be fun". So, I watched it...

... I really had trouble turning the lights off that night :)

Seriously, Hellraiser 2 redefined horror for me. It opened my eyes as to what you can do with this genre, how creepy, scary and serious these movies can be. It's one of those movies that made me a horror fan...

The last movie I'll mention now is The Ring. The great Japanase original, not the weaker American remake. It's a brilliant movie... scary as hell. Everyone who likes good horror should watch it.

[Mathim]

H.P. Lovecraft is always great for enjoyable horror stories. I recommend Dagon, among other Stuart Gordon films also based on Lovecraft.

Japanese horror is a mixed bag but one of my favorite Japanese directors helmed two films I highly recommend: The Midnight Meat Train, and No One Lives.

[Beorning]

H.P. Lovecraft is always great for enjoyable horror stories. I recommend Dagon, among other Stuart Gordon films also based on Lovecraft.

I've seen Dagon. I'm not sure if I liked it. On one hand, it had

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

that nicely-done half-octopus priestess that proved that tentacles aren't really sexy

. On the other hand, it had an extremely repulsive scene of

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

a guy having his face slowly ripped off

...

Japanese horror is a mixed bag but one of my favorite Japanese directors helmed two films I highly recommend: The Midnight Meat Train, and No One Lives.

I've heard of The Midnight Meat Train, but what I've heard doesn't make me want to watch the movie :) I haven't heard of No One Lives...

[Kuruwa]

Speaking of other horror movies: I cannot recommend high enough another Carpenter movie: In The Mouth Of Madness. It's the best Lovecraftian movie ever! Carpenter's The Thing was very good, too.

I love The Thing, so I'll definitely have to check out The Mouth of Madness as well. One other thing I love about Carpenter is his music... the Halloween theme has been ripped off by soooo many other composers of horror movie music, especially in the 80s!

I also need to mention Nightmares On The Elm Street 3 and Hellraiser 2, as... both of them kind of blew my mind. NOES3 was one of the first horror movies I've ever seen in my life - I was about 10 or 11 back then. The movie scared me so much I've ran out of the TV room a few times... I was seriously afraid of Freddy Krueger for years after watching this. I must admit that I kind of question the wisdom of my parents who let me watch this kind of stuff at this age...

NOES3 and Hellraiser 2 are both great, partly due to their amazing special effects. NOES3 also has some pretty great cheesy moments with the "Dream Warriors," especially the wizard kid! I love him! I was blown away by the ending sequences of Hellraiser 2 the first time I saw it. Just crazy, amazing stuff...


Also, Mathim, I'll definitely have to check out Stuart Gordon films, as I don't think I've seen too many of his! I remember seeing Dagon at the video rental store a long time ago, and I thought it was just another creepy-crawlie feature like Anaconda or something. Guess I was wrong!

Since Beorning brought up Nightmare on Elm Street, I'd just like to give a little shout out to the series here. I think it'd be hard to argue that this isn't an example of a really well-done horror series. Installments #4-6 are a little weak, but #7 bumps it back up with a very unique, intriguing approach to a sequel. Wes Craven really did a great job of keeping things fresh, and playing off horror cliches to his advantage using Freddy's unique sense of humor and goofiness. They're all worth at least one watch. By the way, did anyone catch the remake? I have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed...

[Beorning]

I love The Thing, so I'll definitely have to check out The Mouth of Madness as well.

If you haven't seen it yet, then you absolutely must to! In my opinion, it's one of the best movies by Carpenter. Also, as I said earlier, it may well be the best Lovecraft-inspired movie ever. It's not based by any specific work by Lovecraft, but there are some very nice Lovecraftian ideas in there... The general tone of the story is very HPL, too.

As to The Thing... I agree, fantastic movie.

One other thing I love about Carpenter is his music... the Halloween theme has been ripped off by soooo many other composers of horror movie music, especially in the 80s!

Oh dear, that theme! It's one of the best horror themes in history, only rivalled by stuff like the theme to Suspiria...

NOES3 and Hellraiser 2 are both great, partly due to their amazing special effects. NOES3 also has some pretty great cheesy moments with the "Dream Warriors," especially the wizard kid! I love him!

Yeah, the wizard kid was cheesy... On the other hand, the puppet scene? Oh crap...

I was blown away by the ending sequences of Hellraiser 2 the first time I saw it. Just crazy, amazing stuff...

I was blown by... well, everything about that movie. I was going "fuckfuckfuck" even before the movie proper started... as the cut I've seen had this small "previously in Hellraiser" vignette. This short selection of scenes from the original Hellraiser was enough to scare me out of my head. From the beginning, it was obvious that it wasn't going to be a "fun" horror movie I expected...

Then, there came the prologue and I witnessed Elliot Spencer turned into Pinhead. And my eyes were that big... 

And *then*, there came stuff like skinless Julia returning to life, her crazy romance-thing with Channard... I seriously didn't think stuff like that could be even conceived... I was like "There's a guy kissing a skinless, blood-dripping woman on screen!!! Oh, my fleeting sanity!!!"

And when the actual hell was shown, with that giant diamond floating in the sky? My mind was totally blown.

Overall, I admit that I'm a bit of fan of Hellraiser... although I tend to consider only the two first movies to be truly canon. The third movie was idiotic, IMHO (although I have this pet theory that one scene in it could've inspired the Borg from Star Trek - and hey, it also has pre-DS9 Terry Farrell as a lead!). The fourth movie was... completely mangled in post-production, as I understand. The less is said of the rest of the franchise, the better... From what I know, the latest movie is that bad that even Clive Barker lost his nerve and openly denounced it.

Also, Mathim, I'll definitely have to check out Stuart Gordon films, as I don't think I've seen too many of his! I remember seeing Dagon at the video rental store a long time ago, and I thought it was just another creepy-crawlie feature like Anaconda or something. Guess I was wrong!

No, no, Dagon is actually... interesting. I don't know if I would call it a good movie, but it is a serious attempt at Lovecraft adaptation. There are some good ideas in there...

Since Beorning brought up Nightmare on Elm Street, I'd just like to give a little shout out to the series here. I think it'd be hard to argue that this isn't an example of a really well-done horror series. Installments #4-6 are a little weak, but #7 bumps it back up with a very unique, intriguing approach to a sequel. Wes Craven really did a great job of keeping things fresh, and playing off horror cliches to his advantage using Freddy's unique sense of humor and goofiness. They're all worth at least one watch. By the way, did anyone catch the remake? I have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed...

As I mentioned, the third movie is actually the first installment I've seen. As a kid, it really traumatized me - when I watched it years later, I was a bit... underwhelmed. At this point, I've already seen the original movie (which I liked) and I thought that #3 was a more of the same, with better special effects (and some silly parts). I kind of liked #5, I must admit... and yes, #7 was interesting. I haven't seen the remake - but I've heard only bad things about it...

Overall, I'm wary of remakes. There is some talk of possible Hellraiser remake - and that possibility makes me... iffy. On one hand, after years of poor direct-to-video installments, it'd be nice to see a proper, big budget take on that mythology again... on the other hand, I fear that nothing good would come out of it. Would the new writer and director get what these movies were really about and what made them interesting..? I once heard that some people previously involved in Saw made a pitch for Hellraiser remake - and from what I've read on their take, they missed the point *completely*. What they came up with was a different movie altogether...

[Inkidu]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Goes_There%3F

The Thing was based on a 1938 novella Who Goes There? By Joseph W. Campbell, Jr.

I found it pretty freaking scary.

[Life on Mars]

The Nightmare on Elm Street remake wasn't bad. I enjoyed it and all but it lacked the pep of the original as part of the appeal of Freddy was how different he was from the usual slasher killer.

Now I love a good horror film but when I think of Halloween (also my favorite holiday) I usually think of FUN horror. I recommend a few films right off that bat:

Trick R Treat: Now here is a film that is ALL Halloween. It's an anthology of interconnected stories taking place on the holiday and is a bloody mess of fun.

The Cabin in the Woods: This one totally took me by surprise. I, like many, dismissed it from it's title and it's trailers as a cookie-cutter horror flick but trust me when I say it is so much more. Saying anything else would ruin the surprise, so if you haven't seen it already I highly recommend it.

Freddy vs Jason: HERE'S a movie worth watching! It's just so silly I can't help but smile 

V/H/S: Another anthology that's available on netflix. Pretty sure it went strait to video, but I really liked it. It's shot entirely shakeycam, Blair Witch, handheld style but I don't subtract any points for it. It has a sequel, V/H/S/2, but only a couple of it's stories are good.

[Inkidu]

Event Horizon is probably my go to horror movie. I could go on and on and on, but you've got to watch it first. Do not let anyone tell you anything about that movie. Just go watch it.

[Madriv]

Are you open to catching some older classics? I appreciate atmosphere and imagery in horror, even if the plots or characters may seem cheesy to modern-day viewers, so I lean towards older films like...

Nosferatu (1922) and the (1979) remake wasn't bad either. Vampires shouldn't always be gorgeous but always compelling.

Phantom of the Opera (1929), if only for the "bal masqué" scene.

Freaks (1932). Too much horror for its time and some would say ANY time.

Horror of Dracula (1958). If you haven't seen Christopher Lee's take on Dracula, you haven't really lived. No fluff & romance, just sex & predation.

Psycho (1960). Anthony Perkins was jaw-droppingly amazing. Even if you know the reveal, his performance and Hitchcock's direction are worth watching.

Carnival of Souls (1962). Simple, brilliant, haunting. Proof that good horror doesn't require a lot of trappings beyond your own imagination.

Wicker Man (1973). Slow building horror with a great payoff. The original film that makes you go, "What the hell is wrong with these people?"

Within the Woods (1979). The pre-Evil Dead film that had less funding and more actual horror.

The Shining (1980). Silence, isolation, and trapped souls in a postcard-perfect location. Kubrick makes it beautiful.

Prince of Darkness (1987). A sadly underappreciated gem from John Carpenter. He considered it the middle film in a trilogy that started with The Thing and ended with In the Mouth of Madness.

Serpent and the Rainbow (1988). Great visuals. If that chair doesn't haunt you, nothing will.

[Beorning]

The Cabin in the Woods: This one totally took me by surprise. I, like many, dismissed it from it's title and it's trailers as a cookie-cutter horror flick but trust me when I say it is so much more. Saying anything else would ruin the surprise, so if you haven't seen it already I highly recommend it.

I actually watched this movie yesterday! It's... interesting. Some people say it's genius, I wouldn't necessarily say so myself... Still, it's fun. And yeah, definitely avoid spoilers!

V/H/S: Another anthology that's available on netflix. Pretty sure it went strait to video, but I really liked it. It's shot entirely shakeycam, Blair Witch, handheld style but I don't subtract any points for it. It has a sequel, V/H/S/2, but only a couple of it's stories are good.

Speaking of found footage movie, I wholeheartily recommend the Australian film The Tunnel. I'm not very fond of found footage movies, but this one's quite good.

Event Horizon is probably my go to horror movie. I could go on and on and on, but you've got to watch it first. Do not let anyone tell you anything about that movie. Just go watch it.

I agree. It's another interesting movie, with some fantastic scenery. And yes, avoid spoilers!

Wicker Man (1973). Slow building horror with a great payoff. The original film that makes you go, "What the hell is wrong with these people?"

The Shining (1980). Silence, isolation, and trapped souls in a postcard-perfect location. Kubrick makes it beautiful.

Prince of Darkness (1987). A sadly underappreciated gem from John Carpenter. He considered it the middle film in a trilogy that started with The Thing and ended with In the Mouth of Madness.

I have yet to see the original Wicker Man. That said, I've only heard good stuff about it.

Prince of Darkness is a movie worth watching, I'd agree. IMHO, it's not as good as The Thing and In The Mouth Of Madness, but it's definitely not a clunker.

The Shining? My God, this movie is deeply disturbing. One of the few movies I consider a bit *too disturbing* for my taste...

[Dotley]

Session 9 and Jacob's Ladder. If psychological horror is anyone's cup of tea then I can't recommend those two enough.

[RubySlippers]

I'm going to recommend one - May. Its about this quiet girl who has a doll that talks to her later loses it devolving into a slasher film but done smart.

Another is a take on Zombie Films more of a romantic movie in spots called - Warm Bodies.

Both kind of slipped below the radar as Indie movies.

And lets not forget the best series ever Twilight. j/k 

[Inkidu]

And lets not forget the best series ever Twilight. j/k 

Oh, I don't know, it's pretty terrifying... but for not the reasons you watch horror movies.

[Rel Mayer]

So, I have this guilty pleasure horror movie called Drag Me to Hell.

It's super silly and kind of hilarious, but everyone I know hates it. Even the ones that appreciate lame horror movies.

[Beorning]

And I thought it was a good movie? I planned on seeing it some day...

[Inkidu]

It's goofy Sam Rami horror. If you are scared of it, I'd be surprised. The man's only done one scary movie in his life and that's Spider-Man 3 Evil Dead (the original).

(Evil Dead is probably the only horror movie remake I really like)

[Strangefate]

So, I have this guilty pleasure horror movie called Drag Me to Hell

I thought Drag Me to Hell was alright.  Not going to say I loved it but I didn’t feel like I wasted my time watching it either.  Not really scary IMO but goofy fun.

Horror of Dracula (1958). If you haven't seen Christopher Lee's take on Dracula, you haven't really lived. No fluff & romance, just sex & predation.

Wicker Man (1973). Slow building horror with a great payoff. The original film that makes you go, "What the hell is wrong with these people?"

I really enjoy Horror of Dracula but it’s also one of those horror films that isn’t really very scary either, at least to me.  I feel like it’s almost an action movie in a way.  Very stylish and cool though (how could it not be with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee at their prime?)  I re-watch it around Halloween quite often.

The original Wicker Man is one of the few horror films that is actually genuine horror I feel.  It’s a disturbing and eerie little film with entirely it’s own style.   



My own list (as someone who likes the idea of horror films more than the execution mostly…)

House of 1000 Corpses - Not exactly a good film IMO but so relentless in how the monsters/villains win, win, win that it has an uncomfortable effect the first time you watch it.  Or it did for me…

Alien - Probably still the best ‘creature’-type horror film ever made. 

Call of Cthulhu - A black and white silent indy film made by the Lovecraft Society a few years back that comes pretty close to capturing the eeriness of Lovecraft’s best stuff IMO, if you can ignore the fact it ends with a claymation sequence.   

House of the Devil - Really slow moving little film that effectively amps up a lot of tension before the payoff. 

Salem’s Lot - There are parts of this that really work IMO and it’s maybe the only vampire film (and vampire makeup) I really like.  (Except Horror of Dracula, but that’s just because I’m a lifelong member of the Peter Cushing fan club, I think).

David Lynch also hits on horror pretty effectively I think when he wants to, although his movies are often too intentionally disjointed to really view as pure horror films.  The are some genuinely uncomfortable eerie bits in Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive, and Lost Highway though.   

I guess I have a kind of a picky view of what’s really scary.  I find films (and novels) that manage to convey a sense of wrongness, that something is not the way it should be and something terrible is about to happen, most effective.  Slasher and monster movies not so much.  The original Halloween is still probably the best of the slasher-type films in my opinion.

[Kuruwa]

Beorning: With the Hellraiser series, the first two are fantastic, the 3rd one is just sort of OK, but still seems like a great movie compared to all the sequels. They just get worse and worse... It's really sad. The company keeps making sequels just so their license doesn't expire. And it's clear they don't want to spend that much money on the franchise.

Life on Mars: I was curious about Trick or Treat, so I rented it the other night and watched it! It was a lot of fun. Very action-packed and fast-paced too.

I love The Cabin in the Woods. Might be my favorite recent 'horror movie,' although it's really more of a comedy. The wit, the direction, it was all great. You can tell whoever made that really likes horror.

Madmartigan: Nosferatu, Freaks, and Horror of Dracula are all classics! Must-sees! I've never seen Within the Woods, but you've piqued my interest.

Dotley: Both Session 9 and Jacob's Ladder were great! The special effects in Jacob's Ladder, although sparse, were also pretty impressive.

RubySlippers: May is one of my all-time favorites! I love the atmosphere, May's style, and the overall storyline. I saw the sequel, which flipped the genders around, but I think I still prefer May.

Strangefate: I had heard mixed things about House of the Devil, did you enjoy it overall? I love Salem's Lot and Lynch stuff as well. And who could possibly hate Alien?!

I thought Drag Me to Hell was funny too. It did lack the punch of Raimi's earlier works, I thought, but it was still a lot of fun.

Another film I'd like to throw out there is Slumber Party Massacre from 1982. It was written by a feminist, and directed by a female director. It takes a LOT of cues from Halloween, but it's actually a really fun slasher flick. The serial killer is nuts to watch, and the final scene is a screaming slashfest. It's also shot pretty well, and the needless nudity is just hilarious. (High school girls changing into their pajamas right next to each other in the living room?!)

[Beorning]

Beorning: With the Hellraiser series, the first two are fantastic, the 3rd one is just sort of OK, but still seems like a great movie compared to all the sequels. They just get worse and worse... It's really sad. The company keeps making sequels just so their license doesn't expire. And it's clear they don't want to spend that much money on the franchise.

The fourth movie could've been good, but it was simply butchered by the producers, who cut a lot of stuff - so the movie doesn't make any sense anymore. There's a reason why the director refused to put his name in the credits...

Anyway, yeah... The company isn't doing anything interesting with the franchise, but they just can't let go of the license. It's definitely sad.

When it comes to further recommendations, have you seen Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon? It's a Scream-like satiric horror about a group of journalists making a documentary about a guy who plans on becoming the next great slasher killer. Fun stuff!

And when it comes to vampire movies, I'll always be recommending Bram Stoker's Dracula. It's a fantastic movie and one that defines vampires to me.

[Mathim]

The premise of Splinter was great, but it just didn't get done very effectively.