A List Of Films To Shock, Awe, Disturb, Incense, Terrify, Horrify, Disgust, Scare, Sicken and Chill You
I am a great fan of terror films. I consider this to be a broad genre of film which happens to be largely under explored. I hope that this list is helpful to anyone as curious about this style as I am. Please add any comments including suggestions for films I may not have included!
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- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsMonica BellucciVincent CasselAlbert DupontelEvents over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.Filmed in reverse chronological order, a revenge film not to be missed!
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsRoman PolanskiIsabelle AdjaniMelvyn DouglasA bureaucrat rents a Paris apartment where he finds himself drawn into a rabbit hole of dangerous paranoia.Polanski at his best. This one won't leave your mind.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsWillem DafoeCharlotte GainsbourgStorm Acheche SahlstrømA grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.Von Trier takes his incredible talents to yet another level. As beautiful as it is shocking.
- 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.Perhaps the most haunting musical score ever to grace the big screen (or any screen for that matter), this may be the scariest movie ever.
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsLim Soo-jungYum Jung-ahKim Kap-suAfter being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.The Korean's have an incredible knack for creepiness in filmmaking. "A Tale..." may reign supreme.
- 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.Certainly my favourite in the broken down vehicle, small town help label of fright-films. This one is uber-creepy.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsSheryl LeeRay WiseMädchen AmickLaura Palmer's harrowing final days are chronicled one year after the murder of Teresa Banks, a resident of Twin Peaks' neighboring town.The name Laura Palmer will forever live in the dark recesses of my mind.
- 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."They're coming for you Barbara...". Romero never came close to replicating the fear that he evoked with this all-time classic,
- 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.Admittedly, it's been awhile since I saw this one. It's a testament to the film that I remember being so affected to include it on the list. Really creepy stuff!
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTadanobu AsanoNao ÔmoriShin'ya TsukamotoAs sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.Ugh. You won't forget this one...
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.The Japanese have this genre on lockdown. Miike heads the class.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsIsabella RosselliniKyle MacLachlanDennis HopperThe discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.Utterly creepy. Dennis Hopper will forever be remembered for this one.
- DirectorRuggero DeodatoStarsRobert KermanFrancesca CiardiPerry PirkanenDuring a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest, a professor stumbles across lost film shot by a missing documentary crew.Maybe the most contentious film ever made. A very interesting side story to this one regarding the trouble the production got into after the film's release.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsDaniel AuteuilJuliette BinocheMaurice BénichouA married couple is terrorized by a series of surveillance videotapes left on their front porch.Michael Haneke provides a clinic in suspense with this thriller.
- 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.After 50 years Hitchcock's classic still stands up as an outright chiller. If you haven't seen it - do. If you have - see it again.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsDonald SutherlandBrooke AdamsJeff GoldblumWhen strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.An under appreciated classic. The 70's feel adds to the terror.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsMarilyn ChambersFrank MooreTerry SchonblumA young woman develops a taste for human blood after experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into blood-thirsty zombies, leading into a city-wide epidemic.One of Cronenberg's least famous is also one of his best. Made for about $50, he doesn't cheap on the thrills. The Canadian master of terror and oddness.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsTom CruiseNicole KidmanTodd FieldA Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.Kubrick's last film (he co-directed "A.I.") left us wanting more. The genius was at it again here, just try to get that theme song out of your head...I can't.
- 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.A little known ghost tale featuring Donald Sutherland that does not disappoint.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsCatherine DeneuveIan HendryJohn FraserA sex-repulsed woman who disapproves of her sister's boyfriend sinks into depression and has horrific visions of rape and violence.A Polanski classic shot in black and white. Just plain scary.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsPaolo BonacelliGiorgio CataldiUberto Paolo QuintavalleIn World War II Italy, four fascist libertines round up nine adolescent boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of physical, mental, and sexual torture.This one's not so much scary as it is shocking. But oh, is it ever shocking.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.After experiencing Eraserhead, you'll want to have a shower to wash away the heebie-jeebies. You won't be able to.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsKaren BlackOliver ReedBurgess MeredithA family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.A gem of a haunted house tale. Pick it up if you haven't already. You won't be disappointed.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGeorge C. ScottTrish Van DevereMelvyn DouglasAfter the death of his wife and daughter in a car crash, a music professor staying at a long-vacant Seattle mansion is dragged into a decades-old mystery by an inexplicable presence in the mansion's attic.Since we're on the subject of haunted house tale's...You won't see wheelchair's the same after 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 uses some incredible camera technique's to set up his suspense in this classic. When you consider the content and what he had gone through, personally, 6 months prior - you gain a whole new appreciation for Rosemary's Baby.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsPhilippe NahonBlandine LenoirFrankie PainA horse butcher's life and mind begin to break down as he lashes out against various factions of society while attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter.Gaspar Noe again hits my list with "I Stand Alone". A very grim telling of a taboo subject. Noe proves there's nothing sacred when creeping people out.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsJane AdamsJon LovitzPhilip Seymour HoffmanThe lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.Todd Solondz films are brutal in their satire. Happiness takes the cake.
- 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.When this film was released, theatre's had to have ambulances waiting in the parking lots because people were fainting with such regularity.
- 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.Weird as all get out. In this case, weird = awesome.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsBill PullmanPatricia ArquetteJohn RoseliusAnonymous videotapes presage a musician's murder conviction, and a gangster's girlfriend leads a mechanic astray.Lynch...What more do you want?
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsSusanne LotharUlrich MüheArno FrischTwo violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.Michael Haneke breaks down all the walls. You won't forget this movie!
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsKarolina GruszkaKrzysztof MajchrzakGrace ZabriskieAs an actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.Huh?
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.Oldboy plays like a poem. Albeit an unforgettably odd and slightly disturbing poem.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsNaomi WattsLaura HarringJustin TherouxAfter a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.Apparently Lynch has set this one up as a puzzle. If so, I haven't solved it, but I've loved failing to do so.
- 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.Brilliant stuff. The special effects are absolutely incredible for anytime, never mind 1986. I've never looked at a housefly the same way since.
- 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.Very chilling ghost story/mystery. Guillermo Del Toro produces.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsNicolas CageLaura DernWillem DafoeYoung lovers Sailor and Lula run from the variety of weirdos that Lula's mom has hired to kill Sailor.Nicholas Cage is actually good in this one! A feat which only serves to further prove Lynch as the master of all things strange.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.Terrific Vampire movie out of Sweden. Gothic and somewhat heartwarming with a tremendous payoff.
- DirectorRobin HardyStarsEdward WoodwardChristopher LeeDiane CilentoA puritan police sergeant arrives in a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl, who the pagan locals claim never existed.Excellent picture who's remake failed it terribly. This original is a true creeper.
- DirectorRémy BelvauxAndré BonzelBenoît PoelvoordeStarsBenoît PoelvoordeJacqueline Poelvoorde-PappaertNelly PappaertA film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routine. But complications set in when the film crew lose their objectivity and begin lending a hand.Sometimes horrific, sometimes hilarious, at all times gripping and entertaining. Terrific performance from the lead.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsDustin HoffmanSusan GeorgePeter VaughanA young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.Director Sam Peckinpah was a man slightly ahead of his generation. This is a terrific and brutal defend the home-front film that won't soon be forgotten.
- DirectorElem KlimovStarsAleksey KravchenkoOlga MironovaLiubomiras LauceviciusAfter finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.An absolutely brilliant WWII film from Russian director Elem Klimov. Set in Belarus, "Come And See" offers a unique vantage point to most WWII films in that we are forced to empathize with the Russians; iconically portrayed as the villains during the 1980's.