# Scary movie recommendations



## Eske (Jul 29, 2010)

So, FAF.  I love horror movies -- but I grew up in an extremely sheltered household where rated-R films were not allowed.  So obviously, now that I'm living on my own, I've got a lot of catching up to do... but I'm having a hard time finding any honestly _scary_ movies.  It seems that most film makers seem to mistake "gory" for "scary", these days.  Frankly, blood and gore do nothing for me -- I'm more interested in psychologically horrifying concepts.  

I want to be too scared to turn off the lights when I go to bed.  

The original Exorcist is a great example of what I'm looking for.  So it's not exactly a terrifying movie anymore, but that sort of mind-twisting scare is a great example of what I like (only, I'm hoping for something a little more modern).

Any recommendations for me?


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## Fenrari (Jul 29, 2010)

Go old school, turn out the lights on a stormy night and watch IT


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## Willow (Jul 29, 2010)

Pet Semetary

The Omen [original]


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## Eske (Jul 29, 2010)

Fenrari said:


> Go old school, turn out the lights on a stormy night and watch IT


 
Haha, as soon as I saw the thread about IT, I _knew_ someone would come here and suggest it.  
Sadly, I've already seen it.  Lights out and everything.




Willow said:


> Pet Semetary
> 
> The Omen [original]


 
Oh, good suggestions.  These are definitely on my list.  Thanks!


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## Ames (Jul 29, 2010)

Willow said:


> Pet Semetary


 
I saw that movie when I was like 8.  I had nightmares for a week. D:


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## Elessara (Jul 29, 2010)

The Saw series was pretty mind-twisting...
(You HAVE to start at the beggining and go in order though) >_>

Other good ones along that line...
Seven
The Bone Collector
Fallen
Frailty <--- Love, LOVE, LOOVE! this movie!

Give me a min I'll think of more...
I'm a huge Horror buff as I grew up on R-rated movies and I have a bit of a soft spot for "smart" horror flicks.

*EDIT:*
OOOooo!
The Strangers! That movie had me creeped out for days! ... but I'm paranoid anyway soo...

*EDIT2:*
The Haunting in Connecticut was a pretty good recent horror flick as well.

(I think I just kept you busy for like a week... lol)


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## 8-bit (Jul 29, 2010)

The 1990 remake of Night Of The Living Dead. Creeped me the fuck out.


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## Willow (Jul 29, 2010)

JamesB said:


> I saw that movie when I was like 8.  I had nightmares for a week. D:


 I've only seen part of it. Though it did have some of the scariest scenes ever. (I cringe at the words tendon slicing even)



Elessara said:


> The Saw series was pretty mind-twisting...


Once you understand what the movie's even about, then it doesn't seem like "just another pointless torture movie"



Elessara said:


> The Strangers! That movie had me creeped out for days! ... but I'm paranoid anyway soo...


It took forever to get into it is seems and I only saw the first 30 minutes of it, but this is a good suggestion. 

This isn't a movie, but a series of videos on Youtube. 
Check out MarbleHornets. The series they put up is kinda scary up to a certain point.


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## Elessara (Jul 29, 2010)

Willow said:


> (I cringe at the words tendon slicing even)


 
OMG!!! I HATED!!11!!!1!! that scene!!! D8


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## Smelge (Jul 29, 2010)

Dr Quatermass and the Pit.

Dear lord, that film traumatised me as a child. I'm still scared of going on the Underground.

If it's proper scary films you want, you need to look at older stuff. As you say, people these days interpret scary as "lots of gore" or big CGI monsters. They rely on the special effects to carry the story. Look back at old horros, they had to make a tight story to raise the tension as they couldn't get budgets for big effects.


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## foxmusk (Jul 29, 2010)

the strangers. you won't be afraid when you watch it, but you will at night when you are trying to sleep. :V
High Tension.
session 9. not gorey scary, but it was a good thriller.
begotten. not so much intensely scary, but i think there was an intense uncomfortable feeling to it.

and scruffy says:
carnival of souls
house on haunted hill (original)
eraserhead


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## Endless Humiliation (Jul 29, 2010)

HarleyRoadkill said:


> session 9
> carnival of souls
> eraserhead


 
i really have to see begotten

in that same david lynch vein Blue Velvet & Lost Highway are both really ominous 

The Last House On The Left (1972) switches tones on you really quick and i no idea what to think when it was over 
it's "gritty" like most seventies horror but there's not a lot of gore, implied maybe, but not shown

if you haven't seen The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), that's also highly recommended 
it is unrelenting

Videodrome (1983) has some cheesy/gross effects but cronenberg is all about body horror so thats in most of his films

Eyes Without a Face (1960) is incredibly creepy for its time


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## RainLyre (Jul 29, 2010)

Films completely fail to scare me, so I can't be of much help. I prefer the surrealist mindfucks, so Eraserhead gets my recommendation. Try to find Lynch's short film collection as well, it's full of great stuff.

Edit: Can't believe I forgot about Jan Svankmajer! Check out Alice and Faust, both creepy surreal stop-motion wonders.


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## Endless Humiliation (Jul 30, 2010)

The Wicker Man (1973)


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## Fissioninferno (Jul 30, 2010)

The Poughkeepsie Tapes.  It's a mockumentary on a fictional serial killer, definitely worth a watch if you like being freaked out a bit.

Or just site and watch all of Marble Hornets on YouTube in one sitting.  Ohgod.


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## Willow (Jul 30, 2010)

Fissioninferno said:


> Or just site and watch all of Marble Hornets on YouTube in one sitting.  Ohgod.


 Already suggested that, but yea, I started watching it and never finished.


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## Winter (Jul 30, 2010)

The Japanese movie Ju-on: The Grudge is a pretty good horror movie. It has got a couple of scenes that are really spooky.


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## BakuryuuTyranno (Jul 30, 2010)

_Night of the Creeps_

More recent movies that are actually atmospheric/unnerving/disturbing/whatever:

_Dead End_
_Kairo_ (Pulse; unlike its US adapatation the Japanese version of known for being pretty terrifying)
Movies Larry Fessenden directs (_The Last Winter, Wendigo_) or produced (_The House of the Devil_) tend to be pretty scary, if slow-moving. The guy is one of my favorite horror fimmakers for a reason

Also of note:

_Night Skies_
_Progeny_
_Paranormal Activity_
_The Fourth Kind_
And for disturbing imagery, _Someone's Knocking at the Door_. It deserves the cover quote of "The most depraved film of the 21st Century"

Character/story-driven but not actually scary:

_The Locals_
_The Mist_
_The Haunting at Connecticut_
_Silent Night, Zombie Night_ (it's not that heavily focused on comedy)
Steven Monroe's movies tend to feature characters with a lot more depth or at least charisma than in most modern horror movies


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## Eske (Aug 4, 2010)

Wow, thanks for all of the suggestions, everyone!  I've compiled them all into a massive list, and I'll be working my way through.  c:  I think I'll be busy for a while.

I kicked it off with the Saw series, since I've been wanting to see it for some time.  It was actually pretty good -- a bit less than I had expected, but it certainly wasn't just another cheap slasher scare (it wasn't really scary at all, but it was certainly very interesting, and kept me wanting more even after number 6).  Saw 3 and 4 were a bit weak, but I _really_ liked the games in 2 and 5. 

Anyway, feel free to keep adding suggestions if you have them, I'll keep adding them to my list!


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## CtrlAltCorrupt (Aug 4, 2010)

NOSFERATU!


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## A10pex (Aug 4, 2010)

definitely *NOT* Paranormal activity, the lest scary, scary movie i've ever seen

Was it even suppose to be scary?


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## sonicfan77 (Aug 5, 2010)

The Amityville Horror is scary but what makes it more scary is that its a true story


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## Commiecomrade (Aug 6, 2010)

I liked the Ring. The video wasn't outward scary like I was expecting, but it was nonetheless really creepy. And also there's that girl that dies first, with the face that could kill a frail man.

This and Shutter Island.

Scary movies are great when there just isn't something that jumps out. It needs to be really messed up and creepy, as in you'd still be scared if it was just a still image, or the classic trick where something in the shot moves, and only then do you notice it's there. (I was waiting forever for this in Paranormal Activity, out of the door in their bedroom, but nothing happened...)


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## Winter (Aug 6, 2010)

If you can find a Swedish movie called The Visitors (original title BesÃ¶karna) with a dub or subtitles, it's well worth a watch. It's not overly scary, but it's quite entertaining. It wins in acting what it loses in special effects.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094730/


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## Scruffaluffagus (Aug 7, 2010)

Harley posted a few of my suggestions, but here are some more.

House of 1000 Corpses (Super dark and lots of campiness and sleaze. Really awesome if you're into 70's horror, because it is definitely a return to that style)
High Tension (FFFF YES)
Donnie Darko (Not exactly a "scary movie" per se,  but a great mindbender)
Dead Silence (I KNOW! It's SOOO corny, but it had a few good scares in it, and the story is p. cool)
IT (We all float down here.)
The Shining (the original one with Jack Nicholson. Wewt.)


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