Top 3 Horror Films of all time

[KyCatFan]

I don't really have 3 favorites. I do enjoy most of the stuff from the 70's up to probably the 90's. Most current (2000's) horror sucks. I can't stand any of the Rob Zombie crap. I did like a movie from the early 2000's called White Noise with Michael Keaton. I get goosebumps when they play recordings that picked up the voices of the dead in it.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

For the fans of Hellraiser, Chronenberg and body horror.. definitely check out The Void. The practical effects are great and it's a total blood bath. It's definitely a top10 Horror movie of this century for me, and one most people have never heard of.

 

[SWFLwildcat06]

The Exorcist
Halloween
The Evil Dead


-The Terminator is not a horror film.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I don't really have 3 favorites. I do enjoy most of the stuff from the 70's up to probably the 90's. Most current (2000's) horror sucks. I can't stand any of the Rob Zombie crap. I did like a movie from the early 2000's called White Noise with Michael Keaton. I get goosebumps when they play recordings that picked up the voices of the dead in it.

I firmly believe that Horror is in one of it's best eras at the moment. The 90s werent great, the 2000s sucked, the 2010s werent great UNTIL the last few years. Movies like Hereditary, The Witch, The Lighthouse, will be regarded as some of the greats. You have some great satire type films like Cabin in the Woods, Tucker and dale, etc. A24 is putting out some unreal films. Jordan Peele is making poignant horror movies where its more than just "the black guy dies first". Practical effects are coming back to replace bad CGI. Id go as far to say that of all the main genres.. Horror is the one that's seen the biggest surge recently.

The 2010s will be right there with the 70s and the 80s in terms of Horror greatness.

 

[KyCatFan]

I firmly believe that Horror is in one of it's best eras at the moment. The 90s werent great, the 2000s sucked, the 2010s werent great UNTIL the last few years. Movies like Hereditary, The Witch, The Lighthouse, will be regarded as some of the greats. You have some great satire type films like Cabin in the Woods, Tucker and dale, etc. A24 is putting out some unreal films. Jordan Peele is making poignant horror movies where its more than just "the black guy dies first". Practical effects are coming back to replace bad CGI. Id go as far to say that of all the main genres.. Horror is the one that's seen the biggest surge recently.

The 2010s will be right there with the 70s and the 80s in terms of Horror greatness.

I just guessed the 90's was solid as well. Didn't really look it up to find specific examples. So it's downward decline could have been then. There might be some good horror movies out now that I just haven't given a chance. Seems like the big thing in recent years is possessions and hauntings. I am more of a zombie, monster, slasher type of a horror fan.

 

[Wall2Wall]

1. Halloween (1978)
2. Scream (1996)
3. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

 

[weused2luvhim2]

The Last House on the Left deserves a mention

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

I don't know how many love horror on here so giving it a shot.

1. The Exorcist traumatized me for weeks as I watched it way too young.

2. 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street, although my favourite horror film, made me afraid to go to sleep for years.

3. Original Terminator. That was a horror film just as much as anything.

I’ve watched some of the older horror movies recently. They are pretty tame compared to what comes out these days.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

Hereditary
Saw

I’d have to think about the third.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

I firmly believe that Horror is in one of it's best eras at the moment. The 90s werent great, the 2000s sucked, the 2010s werent great UNTIL the last few years. Movies like Hereditary, The Witch, The Lighthouse, will be regarded as some of the greats. You have some great satire type films like Cabin in the Woods, Tucker and dale, etc. A24 is putting out some unreal films. Jordan Peele is making poignant horror movies where its more than just "the black guy dies first". Practical effects are coming back to replace bad CGI. Id go as far to say that of all the main genres.. Horror is the one that's seen the biggest surge recently.

The 2010s will be right there with the 70s and the 80s in terms of Horror greatness.

Post of the thread.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I just guessed the 90's was solid as well. Didn't really look it up to find specific examples. So it's downward decline could have been then. There might be some good horror movies out now that I just haven't given a chance. Seems like the big thing in recent years is possessions and hauntings. I am more of a zombie, monster, slasher type of a horror fan.

I'm OK with the early 90s.. and of course, every year.. has some good films.

Bu it's that late 90's where ALL movies just took a bad turn... Not just Horror.. but action movies, adventure, popcorn flicks, sci-fi, etc. The late 90's and early 2000's were not a good run for Hollywood, IMO.

Some good slasher recommendations, if I may:

-Black Christmas.. arguably the OG slasher.
-The Hatchet series.. super gory, super over the top, lots of horror cameos. Just good slasher fun.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

I'm OK with the early 90s.. and of course, every year.. has some good films.

Bu it's that late 90's where ALL movies just took a bad turn... Not just Horror.. but action movies, adventure, popcorn flicks, sci-fi, etc. The late 90's and early 2000's were not a good run for Hollywood, IMO.

Some good slasher recommendations, if I may:

-Black Christmas.. arguably the OG slasher.
-The Hatchet series.. super gory, super over the top, lots of horror cameos. Just good slasher fun.

There was some damn good coming of age movies in the 90s.

90s was big on slasher horrors, which for the most part are pretty lame since most of them rely on jump scares because the writers and directors are incapable of creating a real sense of horror.

 

[Rock_Cat78]

There was some damn good coming of age movies in the 90s.

90s was big on slasher horrors, which for the most part are pretty lame since most of them rely on jump scares because the writers and directors are incapable of creating a real sense of horror.

Actually, slashers died at the end of the 80's into the 90's, at least until Scream in '96. Scream lead to IKWYDLS and Urban Legend, etc in the late 90's. Overall, the 90's were nothing like the 80's, which was the slasher decade coming off of the success of Halloween 1978.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

Actually, slashers died at the end of the 80's into the 90's, at least until Scream in '96. Scream lead to IKWYDLS and Urban Legend, etc in the late 90's. Overall, the 90's were nothing like the 80's, which was the slasher decade coming off of the success of Halloween 1978.

All I know is it seems like every horror movie o can remember watching from the 90s was a slasher

 

[gobigblue812]

Friday the 13th kept me up at night as a kid, Shining also scared the crap out of me. Nightmare on Elm Street rounds out my top 3.

 

[bigdaddy741]

If we can't count Alien as a horror movie (according to some), then The Shining can't be any genre other than Horror IMO.

Alien can easily fall into horror as well as science fiction.

 

[Rock_Cat78]

Friday the 13th kept me up at night as a kid, Shining also scared the crap out of me. Nightmare on Elm Street rounds out my top 3.

If I had to choose which movie(s) I've liked and loved the longest, it would definitely be the first four Friday movies. Lots of nostalgia there going back to watching them as a kid in the 80's before I probably had any business doing so.

 

[Pickle_Rick]

1) the Exorcist. Hands down, especially for an ex-alter boy lapsed Catholic like myself. I have not ever watched all of it. Watch some, tut hen turn bbn it off, comeback a few months later, rinse and repeat.

2) the Blair Witch Project. Growing up, I would spend weekends out in the woods. Got lost, explored old abandon houses, seen weird structures probably built by other kids... it was just too relatable. I didn't sleep for 3 days, and it was a year before I could sleep with the lights out.

3) Hellraiser. The Cenobites, and the anti-heroes quest for further sensual experience leading him to be tortured by the Cenobites, then his subsequent torture of his own family... just too based with what we see in todays world.

Ones I was surprised not mentioned was Children of the Corn, and Jeepers Creepers. Good campy horror fun.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

Not a movie but an anthology series, however, The Haunting of Hill House is a masterpiece of modern horror on Netflix.

 

[GnarlsBarkley]

The 3 most pivotal of all time

Frankenstein
Halloween
The Blair Witch Project

 

[LineSkiCat14]

All I know is it seems like every horror movie o can remember watching from the 90s was a slasher

Because honestly, there wasn't much else lol. Scream was such a breath of fresh air. But yes the slasher films took off in the late 70s and then into the 80s. The 90s did have some, for sure. The 90's was kind of putting all the characters on the movie poster, that's what I remember most. The box art having like 7 faces.. always the same.

But man, what a weak era. Every horror "monster franchise" went to crap... Jason, Freddy, Michael, Leatherface, Chucky, Pinhead... all the worst movies of those franchises were in the 90's and 2000's. A lot of remakes and rehashed films. The Haunting (which I'm glad you referenced the HoHH above, amazing)? Woof. There was the large move towards CGI.. Horror icons were dwindling.. Just kinda.. meh.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Not a movie but an anthology series, however, The Haunting of Hill House is a masterpiece of modern horror on Netflix.

I can safely say that that not many shows/series/movies have scared me more with so little.. In the way that The Shining scared the crap out of me with such subtlety.. My favorite of the HoHH was finding all the hidden ghosts on the 2nd watch through, And that episode 6(?) tracking shot of the funeral home? Absurdly good.

 

[michaeluk26]

I'll throw another hot take in there:

Exorcist 3 holds it's own just fine next to Exorcist 1. And in some ways, it's actually a better movie. Brad Douriff and George C Scott are superb.

Part 3 is one of the most underrated horror movies ever. It's a brilliant extension of the first. Brad Douriff sp? was absolutely great as the Gemini killer.

 

[michaeluk26]

Why do people pay hard earned money for someone to show them scary stuff?
Isn't real life scary enough?

They let your primitive behavior, and man's proclivity for violence be released in a cathartic and safe way.

That was Wes Craven said.

 

[michaeluk26]

I firmly believe that Horror is in one of it's best eras at the moment. The 90s werent great, the 2000s sucked, the 2010s werent great UNTIL the last few years. Movies like Hereditary, The Witch, The Lighthouse, will be regarded as some of the greats. You have some great satire type films like Cabin in the Woods, Tucker and dale, etc. A24 is putting out some unreal films. Jordan Peele is making poignant horror movies where its more than just "the black guy dies first". Practical effects are coming back to replace bad CGI. Id go as far to say that of all the main genres.. Horror is the one that's seen the biggest surge recently.

The 2010s will be right there with the 70s and the 80s in terms of Horror greatness.

Shit I forgot about Hereditary. Talk about an unsettling movie. Man that movie builds perfectly for the last twenty minutes.

Cabin in the Woods was brilliant.

 

[michaeluk26]

1) the Exorcist. Hands down, especially for an ex-alter boy lapsed Catholic like myself. I have not ever watched all of it. Watch some, tut hen turn bbn it off, comeback a few months later, rinse and repeat.

2) the Blair Witch Project. Growing up, I would spend weekends out in the woods. Got lost, explored old abandon houses, seen weird structures probably built by other kids... it was just too relatable. I didn't sleep for 3 days, and it was a year before I could sleep with the lights out.

3) Hellraiser. The Cenobites, and the anti-heroes quest for further sensual experience leading him to be tortured by the Cenobites, then his subsequent torture of his own family... just too based with what we see in todays world.

Ones I was surprised not mentioned was Children of the Corn, and Jeepers Creepers. Good campy horror fun.

I ain't even gonna lie, The Blair Witch Project scared the shit outta me because we thought it was real. The trailers and shit, they had a brilliant marketing strategy. It came out in the fall of 99 when I was a sophomore. We didn't get the internet till 2000. My whole damn school, or at least most of them, thought it was real. Then our teacher told us how it was fake.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

@michaeluk26 this was my post about the BWP, but I didn't want to overload the thread lol..

Glad to see Blair Witch being mentioned. As some mentioned, what it did for the Horror genre was huge. One of the most important horror films in history. Much like Paranormal Activity after it, Blair Witch's marketing and buzz was something only a movie in the late 90's with the advent of the internet could pull off. When a horror movie can make it's audiences ask "Wait, was this real?", you nailed it.

Movies like BWP and PA have a tendency to lose their "punch" once it's revealed that it's fake. And I get that. You watch those movies now, and they for sure don't pack as much of a punch. But at the end of the day other horror movies are no more "real" than the found footage ones.

 

[KyCatFan]

@michaeluk26 this was my post about the BWP, but I didn't want to overload the thread lol..

Glad to see Blair Witch being mentioned. As some mentioned, what it did for the Horror genre was huge. One of the most important horror films in history. Much like Paranormal Activity after it, Blair Witch's marketing and buzz was something only a movie in the late 90's with the advent of the internet could pull off. When a horror movie can make it's audiences ask "Wait, was this real?", you nailed it.

Movies like BWP and PA have a tendency to lose their "punch" once it's revealed that it's fake. And I get that. You watch those movies now, and they for sure don't pack as much of a punch. But at the end of the day other horror movies are no more "real" than the found footage ones.

I actually hate all the movies that try to make it look like someone did it themselves with their own cameras. The only one I can semi tolerate is Cloverfield. I especially can't stand when people are running around shaking their camera all over the place.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I actually hate all the movies that try to make it look like someone did it themselves with their own cameras. The only one I can semi tolerate is Cloverfield. I especially can't stand when people are running around shaking their camera all over the place.

I don't think anything is special, film wise, about BWP, PA and even Cloverfield. It was all the marketing and hype. But for me, it worked. I went with a buddy to see Paranormal Activity in it's opening week. I didn't even really want to see it, but he insisted. This was still when the rumor was going around that it was real and the marketing machine was in full swing.

I couldn't sleep for like 3 weeks after that. And I wasn't some 14 year old.. I was like 27. The build up in that movie was insane. Daytime would come, all is normal, but with each and every passing "Day x: evening" or whatever, you knew some shit was going down. I think it got to the last few of those and I was covering my eyes.

 

[drcats2013]

1. Psycho

2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

3. Halloween

4. The Shining

5. The Exorcist

 

[GnarlsBarkley]

My top 3 vampire movies

The lost boys
Fright Night
From Dusk 'till Dawn

Honorable mentions
Near Dark
Dracula (1979)

 

[catsfanbgky]

very coincidental that my youngest son and I was watching Sinister (which sucked by the way) at the time this thread was started and we had the very conversation.

No certain order (IMO) they are :

Nightmare On Elm Street
Halloween (the original)
Friday The 13th

Honorable mention :

Silence Of the Lambs (first couple of times watching, I was glued to the tv. Probably the best plot / believable)

Candyman (it had some very scary scenes)

Children Of The Corn (not on anyones list, but damn good, and scary)

Saw (crazy idea to come up with, twisted mind for sure.)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Wrong Turn (very underrated)

Vacancy- same as Wrong Turn, had reservations (no pun intended) about staying in hotels after watching.

Will throw a couple of oldies, one because I had to walk home as a 9 year old through a patch of woods that really resembled woods in the movie. The total distance was about 1/4th mile from the theater to my house, but seemed like miles on railroad tracks and dark. So that just added extra fear to the movie after it was over adding in the walk home.

The Legend Of Bigfoot (remember, I was 9/10 years old)

The Legend Of Boggy Creek. Was young watching that on tv. Also a movie one of my friends and I watched, can't find it anymore. Mad Man Mars or something like that. Scary as hell. Now a few of those movies today would probably be corny as hell and not scary, but as a youngin', they put fear in my ass.

 

[Stevo1951]

1 The Exorcist
2 The Shining
3 Halloween


Alien was scary but that is science fiction

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

Shit I forgot about Hereditary. Talk about an unsettling movie. Man that movie builds perfectly for the last twenty minutes.

Cabin in the Woods was brilliant.

Hereditary is one of the craziest movies I’ve ever seen. And that was Ari Aster’s first movie if I remember correctly. He’s done some disturbing shorts prior to that as well. Guy has one twisted sense of creativity.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch Project are GOAT tier as well. I’ll make my list a top four and put them in there to go with Hereditary and Saw.

 

[Mojocat]

I’m remembering now how The Exorcist had me so messed up that I watched The Omen a couple of years later and it scared me. The Omen itself wasn’t scary - I just started having flashbacks to The Exorcist. Heh

 

[thabigbluenation]

As a kid, Nightmare on Elm St hit you at a very vulnerable spot. something was murdering kids while they were asleep. and your parents couldn't save you. that scared the crap out of me then.

Exorcist terrified me as well

No love for Poltergeist on here?

the Friday the 13th series was different...we loved those cause there was always boobies.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

I've recently watched some of the classics from the 80s and earlier. Many of these films wouldn't get anywhere in today's era.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I've recently watched some of the classics from the 80s and earlier. Many of these films wouldn't get anywhere in today's era.

Really? Which ones?

the 80s was such an insane era.. Horror went off the rails in so many directions.

Horror is a tough genre.. things that used to be shocking and frightening don't even phase later generations. I mean, The Tingler had people fainting in the movie theater.

 

[J_Dee]

No love for Poltergeist on here?

It's a top five horror movie for me. Seeing as how Spielberg directed much of it uncredited, I consider it a Spielberg film, and one of his coolest ones, too.