Personal Horror Favourites & Recommendations
These are my personal favourites in the horror genre, everywhere from old to new. There are a few choices here no doubt people will disagree with, some that aren't considered great, but they're all just my cups of tea.
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- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsMasato HagiwaraKoji YakushoTsuyoshi UjikiA frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.Well-acted, great writing. The story is phenomenal.
- DirectorJack SholderStarsJack PalanceDonald PleasenceMartin LandauA few dangerous and delusional mental patients break out of a mental asylum during a power blackout, and lay siege to their new doctor's house, who, they believe, killed their previous doctor.Passed off as just another slasher with a top notch cast (Jack Palance and Martin Landau playing ridiculously creepy escaped mental patients, Donald Pleasence as their former doctor), this is an excellently mad horror film about deranged men on a misguided mission to kill their new doctor at the hospital where they're confined. Sure, it has a lot of the typical slasher-type moments, but the script is fun, the characters are wild, and the gore, when it comes, is solid. Of course Tom Savini was involved, even if it wasn't in full capacity; his work is always impressive.
- DirectorJohn D. HancockStarsZohra LampertBarton HeymanKevin O'ConnorA recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again.Absolutely mental film. I love it.
There's no telling what is really happening in the end, and I think that's just fine. The line is blurred between nightmare and reality here. One of the scariest movies I've ever seen, personally. - DirectorHerk HarveyStarsCandace HilligossFrances FeistSidney BergerAfter a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.People use the word 'hypnotic' a little too often when it comes to film reviewing, but this one truly is hypnotizing. I've only watched it once because honestly I don't know if I can handle a repeat viewing too close after the last one; this film did me in. I find it creepy, unsettling, and it stands out against a lot of typical horror over the years. Very psychologically disturbing, this one.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJames WoodsDebbie HarrySonja SmitsA programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.Up to the present day there have been a lot of good films about how we worship media, and a lot of good films also about the blurring of reality, the breakdown of those who can no longer distinguish between what is real and what isn't. However, Cronenberg's Videodrome is the best of all them. I love this film so much I wrote a lengthy paper on it for a philosophy course; not that I got the best of all grades, I think it was definitely worth writing.
- DirectorBen WheatleyStarsNeil MaskellMyAnna BuringHarry SimpsonNearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.Ben Wheatley is a heavyweight monster in the midst of filmmakers, as far as I'm concerned. He's starting to really get the attention he deserves lately, with Scorsese noticing one of his latest, A Field In England. Kill List, though, is my favourite of Wheatley's efforts so far (just a little ahead of Sightseers). This film is far beyond creepy, and its slow burn technique works very well, slowly peeling back the layers for us to watch. Those who don't like the ending, for whatever reason, you are mad! I was absolutely horrified by what happened in the finale; it left me reeling for hours. I had to watch this over again the next day because it almost felt like a bad dream. It wasn't, it was just a *beep* terrifying horror movie.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsOliver ReedSamantha EggarArt HindleA man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst a series of brutal murders.Cronenberg shows up a couple times on this list.
I think The Brood is my favourite of his films, although it's a very tough decision to make. Perhaps it's Oliver Reed, maybe it could be Samantha Eggar, or just the fact Art Hindle is banging around. Or maybe it's the demented, insanely well-written story Cronenberg crafted. Could also be the horrific imagery, specifically the image of Nola Carveth revealing her body change. Whatever is the icing on the cake one thing is for sure- this movie is fascinating, scary, and I highly recommend everybody watches it if they haven't already. - DirectorJohn Erick DowdleStarsStacy ChboskyBen MessmerSamantha RobsonIn an abandoned house in Poughkeepsie, New York murder investigators uncover hundreds of tapes showing decades of a serial killer's work.One of the best examples of found footage horror. I can't, and won't, say much because this is best watched without knowing anything. Just be prepared for some unnerving footage.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsDavid CarusoStephen GevedonPaul GuilfoyleTensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.This movie is one of those I can watch over and over again and yet it is just as scary each time, never fails. There is one shot specifically which frightens me to death: a young man, terrified of the dark to the point of being a serious phobia, tries to outrun the power shutting down in an old, abandoned mental hospital basement. As the lights shut off and the young man is screaming out, terrified of the darkness about to consume him completely, every time I find my breath leaving my chest; every single time.
Oh, and Peter Mullan is the best thing since sliced bread. Also, an early performance from Josh Lucas, and a really stellar one at that; before he was the handsome leading man-type. - DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsAdrienne BarbeauJamie Lee CurtisJanet LeighAn unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters.I believe John Carpenter shows up on this list more than any other director. It's because Carpenter knows horror. Sure, maybe he hasn't put out great quality film in the last few years compared to what he used to do, but he has still made some of the classics in the genre, and they will go down as the best of the best.
This is one of them. Not much to say other than I love the story, I love the look of the undead, and I love both Adrienne Barbeau and Jamie Lee Curtis (meeeow on both when they were younger). Hal Holbrook is also in fine form here. - DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJessica HarperStefania CasiniFlavio BucciAn American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.Dario Argento's Suspiria has influenced a lot of other filmmakers over the years. It's because his style is very beautiful, very controlled and (I think) unique, and the story itself is just great because who doesn't love a good tale of witchcraft? Highly recommend this to anyone who has not seen it yet. I know there are a lot of people who don't like subtitles and NOT because they can't be bothered, some are slow readers and it's tough for them to keep up with text and images simultaneously, but I REALLY think this is one of the films worth seeing even if you find it tough to follow subtitles; it is worth the effort.
- DirectorFabrice du WelzStarsLaurent LucasBrigitte LahaieGigi CoursignyMarc, a traveling entertainer, is on his way home for Christmas when his van breaks down in the middle of a jerkwater town with some strange inhabitants.I won't even describe this one.
One of the most unnerving and upsetting film experiences I've ever had, personally, and I don't see how anybody could find it enjoyable. However, because of this Calvaire succeeds in being one of the best horror films I've seen, and definitely one of the best since 2000. - 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.Some might call this a mystery more than a horror, but to me it is balls out horror. Nicolas Roeg is a beautiful and disturbing filmmaker. Don't Look Now is a great story, the acting makes it incredibly involving (Donald Sutherland is one of the greatest, most underrated actors of all-time; I say underrated because he isn't one of the ones hauling down Oscar nominations every year or two, he isn't in all the big budget movies Hollywood shells out, though he has been in a few, but he nails his characters every time, and I'm always fascinated by his acting), and the finale really threw me for a loop. A shocking, in its own way, and creepy film.
- DirectorLucky McKeeStarsAngela BettisJeremy SistoAnna FarisA socially awkward veterinary assistant with a lazy eye and obsession with perfection descends into depravity after developing a crush on a boy with perfect hands.This is just a genuinely freaky horror, and Lucky McKee is a talent. Great acting from some recognizable names. Delicious and twisted, and a great soundtrack.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceLisa BlountJameson ParkerA group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity.Carpenter is certainly a master of horror. Prince of Darkness is one of my favourite Carpenter films, though once again like Cronenberg they are hard to put in a real order of favourites because I love them all. I find the story to be interesting. Most of all it's the pace of the film that does it for me. Carpenter has this great way of building dread in a lot of his features, which is why I think they really affect me at times. And of course another excellent look at the acting talents of Donald Pleasence.
- DirectorAntonia BirdStarsGuy PearceRobert CarlyleDavid ArquetteIn a remote military outpost in the 19th century, Captain John Boyd and his regiment embark on a rescue mission which takes a dark turn when they are ambushed by a sadistic cannibal.Violent and terrifying. A great film about cannibalism, juxtaposed against the idea of manifest destiny. Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle are both incredible here. The story is great, and often times very funny, in a deliciously dark sense. Highly recommend this to those who haven't yet had the pleasure of seeing it.
- DirectorAntti-Jussi AnnilaStarsVille VirtanenTommi EronenViktor KlimenkoAs a 25-year war between Russia and Sweden concludes, two brothers who are part of an effort to outline new border accords become undone by their actions, and their mistreatment of a young woman during their journey.Not sure still if I understand what the movie means, but I know I really enjoyed it; I've watched the film over three or four times since the first viewing. This is an extremely dark and disturbing tale about sin, and redemption (if there is any). I won't say much more because it's worth going in without knowing too much.
Once again it is worth the watch even for those who aren't a fan of subtitles. - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.Alfred Hitchcock frightened me horribly with this film. The story itself is so awful and scary, I love it. Anybody who has not yet seen this, please, do yourself a favour, and finally see it! The rest of us have. It's still unsettling after all these years.
- 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 used to love the ocean as a child, and then I saw Jaws. Now the water terrifies me, even in a river or a lake. Spielberg really did good on this one.
- 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.Polanski slowly builds the tension here until it absolutely explodes. The ending of the film is quiet and slow, but effective. Mia Farrow is amazing here, as well as John Cassavetes and the rest of the principal cast.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.Great effects, splendid gore.
A killer who gets you when you sleep, in your dreams? Jesus christ. How can you not find that terrifying? - DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.No matter where it started, Carpenter MADE the slasher what it is. Not seeing Michael Myers truly until late in the film really gets me, even now. There is a brutality about Halloween I find hard to match, for whatever reason; the gore isn't really there, though the violence is, but there's something raw in it all. Of course Jamie Lee Curtis rocks the house, as usual.
- DirectorPascal LaugierStarsMorjana AlaouiMylène JampanoïCatherine BéginA young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.Bloody, vicious mayhem, which pays off in the end with a very interesting, albeit unsettling, story. This is one of the rare instances where a gory film actually comes with a well-thought out idea behind it, as far as I'm concerned anyways. Highly recommend checking this out if you haven't.
- DirectorRob ZombieStarsSheri Moon ZombieMeg FosterBruce DavisonRadio DJ Heidi is sent a box containing a record--a "gift from the Lords". The sounds within the grooves trigger flashbacks of her town's violent past. Is Heidi going mad, or are the Lords back to take revenge on Salem, Massachusetts?I love the imagery Zombie conjures up here. I don't care what other people think of him, I find he is a great horror filmmaker, and I hope he makes more of them because they get better with every venture. This one really got to me; creepy and weird and fun/funny.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsGregory PeckLee RemickHarvey StephensMysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?The best of the evil children.