Horror Starter Kit (Not Chronological)
Hey. As the leaves start coming down, I get to thinking of all of those Halloween sleepovers that introduced me to the classics, those movies that taught me to love the horror genre. Most of the films on this list will be repeats of other lists because, hey "The Exorcist" is usually in the top ten for a reason! It's great. But hopefully you'll find a few in here you haven't seen before. I take my horror very seriously and would love to hear feedback or recommendations. Enjoy and stay scared!
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- DirectorBob ClarkStarsOlivia HusseyKeir DulleaMargot KidderDuring their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.In my top ten for scariest films I've ever seen. Just horrifying. I just watched "When a Stranger Calls" for the first time a few nights ago and this does the iconic horror story of the first 20 minutes of that movie ten times better. The Christmas atmosphere of lights and snow and carolers also adds a real creepiness to this as well.
- 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?Another great atmospheric horror. It won't keep you up the way that The Shining or the Exorcist will but it will get you thinking. A perfect synthesis of thriller and horror.
- 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.As soon as October rolls around, I'm in the mood for this movie. It creates a believable atmosphere in a horror movie, that in my opinion, hasn't been topped to this day. Truly Great.
- DirectorRick RosenthalStarsJamie Lee CurtisDonald PleasenceCharles CyphersWhile Dr. Loomis hunts for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, and The Shape is not far behind her.And just behind the original, we have what I think to be one of (if not the best) horror sequels. I love how it seamlessly continues in real time during the night of the first film. It was years before I even noticed this wasn't John Carpenter, that's how good it is!
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.This film opened me up to a new level of violence in horror. Carpenter's "Halloween" is violent but it doesn't have that gritty home video quality that this does. Sorry Wes Craven fans but, award for most effed up family doesn't go to "The Hills Have Eyes." It's this one for me and always will be.
- 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.One of the most literary horror movies on this list. Slow paced for some. For me, it brings the fear on in gradual sheets thin as paper. Before you know it, you are incredibly unsettled but not completely sure why...and then the ending! A true shocker. Loved it.
- DirectorBernard RoseStarsVirginia MadsenXander BerkeleyTony ToddThe Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.My best friend first showed me this one and lauded it as the scariest movie he'd ever seen. The scene with the retarded kid in the public restroom was what got him. And I ain't gonna lie; this movie probably creates the scariest urban legend I've ever heard. Philip Glass' score equally adds to the unsettling atmosphere of this one.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsBruce WillisHaley Joel OsmentToni ColletteMalcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.I think this is the only film on this list that I actually saw during its original release. I remember how spellbound the audience was. I've never seen a crowd so scared, popcorn chewing ceasing for all of five minutes. Also on the note of popcorn...I LITERALLY saw popcorn flying because people were so jolted by some of the scenes that they freaked out, tossing their food in the air. Probably my favorite theater experience and a TERRYFING movie. If you haven't heard the ending (if that's even possible), then it's all the better.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsNancy KellyPatty McCormackGage ClarkeRhoda Penmark seems like your average, sweet eight-year-old girl. After her rival at school dies in mysterious circumstances at the school picnic, her mother starts to suspect that Rhoda was responsible.Some people might call this a thriller but for me it's through and through horror. The quintessential "evil kid." She's charming, she's sweet, she's pretty, and she has the mind of Charlie Manson. Awesome.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsJoBeth WilliamsHeather O'RourkeCraig T. NelsonA family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.A horror film for the child at heart. Spielberg's writing definitely shines through here. The warm Californian suburbia of the eighties. There's an innocence to this film that's lacking for me in most other horror films. I guess it's hard to put into words. Suffice it to say that it's another great film, not just for horror buffs.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsVincent PriceFrank LovejoyPhyllis KirkAn associate burns down a wax museum with the owner inside, but he survives only to become vengeful and murderous.This is a horror film that never scared me. But I just loved the story and Price's character. Let's face it; wax museums are creepy and this movie did that notion justice unlike some OTHER films! 2005 remake, I'm looking in your direction!
- 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.The master at his best. Just see it.
- 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.This is another unusual one that strays a great deal from the common horror storylines. Maybe that's why I love it. One big thing I noticed is that this film takes place mostly in the daytime which is strange for horror. The ending is one of the most shocking things you'll ever see. The music's great too.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.I will be eighty and will still remember walking in on my parents watching the dinner scene in this...no context. I thought they were watching a kind of Star-Trek related thing. Oh no. Oh hell no. This film really showed me that horror and sci-fi do indeed merge successfully during those rare hybrids.
- DirectorHerk HarveyStarsCandace HilligossFrances FeistSidney BergerAfter a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.I had to throw one good B-horror film on here. This is one of the best B-horror films I've ever seen. The abandoned arcade and dance floor has something so creepy to it. And the twist ending is great. The Sixth Sense definitely got some of its influence from this one.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.One of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history. Beautifully shot by Mr. DePalma. This is what you get when you combine a good writer with a great director.
- DirectorFrank LaLoggiaStarsLukas HaasLen CariouAlex RoccoAn author tells the story of how, as a young boy growing up in a 1960s small town, he was haunted after witnessing the murder of a little girl.A criminally overlooked horror movie. An excellent, incredibly creepy ghost story that's perfect to watch around Halloween time.
- 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.Not just a great horror film but in my top 20 for best films of all time. Cinematography, music, acting, terror. There's nothing missing here. I will always love this and it will always make me afraid of the water.
- DirectorMichael DoughertyStarsAnna PaquinBrian CoxDylan BakerFive interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: an everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with a demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater.This and the original Tales from the Crypt movie are the only two episodic horror movies on this list and there are a lot of decent ones: Creepshow, Trilogy of Terror, Body Bags, and Tales from the Hood are just a few examples. But this one seamlessly pulled off a collection of freaky tales all with unexpected endings. It's nice to know that some directors still have a grasp on what a horror film is supposed to be.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.The least comedic out of the trilogy and my favorite. I emjoy the other two but there's a place in my heart for this one. This movie scared the pants off of me when I first saw it. That scene where the girl starts guessing the cards with her back turned. Ugh. Freaks me out just thinking about it.
- DirectorKôji ShiraishiStarsJin MurakiRio KannoTomono KugaA documentary filmmaker explores seemingly unrelated paranormal incidents connected by the legend of an ancient demon called the "kagutaba."Maybe the scariest Japanese horror film I've ever seen.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsTisa FarrowIan McCullochRichard JohnsonStrangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.Zombie fights shark. Enough said. But in all seriousness, an awesome zombie movie where zombies are actually repulsive, not just pale heroin-addict looking things from later films.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.A beautiful movie on so many levels. The big thing that does it for me in this one is the setting, the cold, snowy, block-like apartment complex. Isolation personified. Sufficient gore and a love story stranger but as touching as Harold and Maude or Bonnie and Clyde.
- DirectorFreddie FrancisStarsJoan CollinsPeter CushingRalph RichardsonFive strangers get lost in a crypt and, after meeting the mysterious Crypt Keeper, receive visions of how they will die.In most collection horror films (for myself anyway), there is always one story that I'm not crazy about. Not here. They're all winners, even though the house for the blind still remains my favorite. It conjures up the Joker's quote: "Then we'll see how loyal a hungry dog really is!"
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRod TaylorTippi HedrenJessica TandyA wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.Jungle gyms were never the same after this.
- 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.A masterfully crafted ghost story with a fairy-tale vibe about it. And, at the end of the day, that little kid with the sack on his head just gives me the creeps!
- DirectorMary LambertStarsDale MidkiffDenise CrosbyFred GwynneAfter tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.Absolutely terrifying! Oddly the part that freaked me out the most was the back story involving the wife's ailing sister, Zelda. Those flashbacks are what comprised basically ALL of my nightmares from the age of 13 to 18.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsHarvey KeitelGeorge ClooneyJuliette LewisTwo criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in a truck stop populated by vampires, with chaotic results.So "Alien" combines horror and sci-fi. "The Omen," thriller and horror. This one does gangster/crime and horror. It does a total 180 so that you don't know whether you're watching "Reservoir Dogs" or "30 Days of Night." Also a good showcase of Tarantino's real acting ability.
- 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.One of the most underrated horror films in history. My pick for best cannibal horror movie (no, Silence of the Lambs doesn't count!) with a great soundtrack, witty acting, and a perfect setting of isolation, snow, and wilderness.
- 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.THE SCARIEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN...PERIOD. I'm twenty eight and I've seen this movie about twenty times. It still terrifies me. I still need the lights on afterwards. It's maybe the only film that still makes me feel like I'm 13 years old again, seeing it for the first time.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDavid EmgeKen ForeeScott H. ReinigerDuring an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.My favorite of the trilogy (big surprise!). This, for me, is kind of Romero's answer to someone asking him the question: "In the event of a zombie outbreak, where would be the best place to get trapped?" Shopping mall. Good answer! And the best disemboweling I've ever seen in a movie!
- 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.My other Asian horror pick on this list. If you've never seen any Takashi Miike, this is a good introduction. One of the most original horror films I've seen. This is so beyond the norms of horror films that I don't even know how to begin to describe it. Just see it. It's disturbing and will make you do background checks on all potential girlfriends.
- DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonRose ByrneTy SimpkinsA family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.The creepy old lady who appears in the photographs of the father when he was young... yup. She's the reason I had trouble sleeping for a week after seeing this one. I bad mouthed this one, then saw it. I take back all my trash-talk. This is a great movie.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsJames BrolinMargot KidderRod SteigerNewlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on everyone living in or visiting the house.I've shown this one to a lot of my friends who really didn't take to it. They were expecting it to be...well...scarier. For myself, it's the perfect film for Halloween, more atmospherically creepy than unrelentingly terrifying. This one's a slow burn. A great seventies horror film.
- DirectorDaniel MyrickEduardo SánchezStarsHeather DonahueMichael C. WilliamsJoshua LeonardThree film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.People can say what they want. This wasn't all hype because of its low budget and genius promotional campaign. This is a FREAKY movie. Never has the hand-held camera been more convincing for me in a horror film. Maybe it's also that one of my greatest fears is getting lost in the woods. What's interesting is that the witch isn't really the source horror in this movie; it's the loss of hope and mental deterioration of the characters.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsDavid NaughtonJenny AgutterJoe BelcherTwo American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.This movie made me want to see more John Landis horror. A great sense of humor, awesome soundtrack, and a storyline that just allows you to kick back and enjoy rather than think too much. It's a fun horror movie that I'm always in the mood to watch.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.Best special effects in any movie...EVER. PERIOD. Say what you want Star Wars fanboys, but I'm sticking to that statement. This movie has such a home-made quality. It shows how great horror was before people started using CGI as a crutch.
- 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.Freddy Krueger always had his funny side. But I personally think that he got a little too goofy in the later movies. He's a freaky concept in this one, a burned up child murderer with a razor glove. By far my favorite Wes Craven movie and a staple in any horror collection.
- 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.A horror list just wouldn't be complete without this one. VERY stylized, gross, and gory. I actually just saw this one last year so I don't have a lot of history with it, but that theme song is one of the creepiest things I've ever heard. A must-see.
- DirectorClive BarkerStarsAndrew RobinsonClare HigginsAshley LaurenceA woman discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law and lover. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body and escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their underworld.Just another example of how great Clive Barker is (see Candyman).
- DirectorOren PeliStarsKatie FeatherstonMicah SloatMark FredrichsAfter moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.I was a skeptic about the "Paranormal Activity" movies before going to see the third one in theaters. Immediately I went home and watched the second one then the first one. It just kept getting better and better. This movie still makes my skin crawl thinking about it, especially the final scene!
- DirectorTibor TakácsStarsStephen DorffChrista DentonLouis TrippKids left home alone accidentally unleash a horde of malevolent demons from a mysterious hole in their suburban backyard.I've got to throw a few fun ones in here. They can't all be serious and horrifying. This is my pick for a great Friday night movie, especially if you're an eighties kid. And if I remember correctly, there's some pretty awesome stop-motion animation in this one.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsGary OldmanWinona RyderAnthony HopkinsThe centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land.Another very artistic horror film. Visually stunning with great costumes, special effects, and screenwriting. This is what you get when you have a big budget, a rockstar director, and a classic piece of literature for the story. One or all of these three components are often missing from a horror film. So I guess you could call this one a Hollywood success story. Big-budget horror that doesn't stink.
- 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.This is a DISTURBING movie. I think it bothers me so much because it deals with something that could actually happen initially: a woman becoming sick during her pregnancy. Her sickness was what really freaked me out. Polanski sure knows how to write a screenplay!
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyNaomie HarrisChristopher EcclestonFour weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.This movie broke so many different molds. Take the zombie genre; how many zombie films had you seen with FAST zombies before? They take zombies in this one and turn them into fierce, aggressive predators. This film also showed me how great digital could be if it was done right.
- DirectorTom HollandStarsCatherine HicksChris SarandonAlex VincentA struggling single mother unknowingly gifts her son a doll imbued with a serial killer's consciousness.Was and will always be the definitive "crazy toy" movie.
- 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.Having grown up only 2 miles from the hospital where this movie was filmed, I was genuinely freaked out. And I'll admit; I wasn't expecting much from this one. I was genuinely scared though, watching this. It was also fun seeing the creepy terrain that myself and several other high-schoolers had tromped over during clandestine visits to the abandoned hospital.
- DirectorBanjong PisanthanakunParkpoom WongpoomStarsAnanda EveringhamNatthaweeranuch ThongmeeAchita SikamanaA young photographer and his girlfriend discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident. They soon learn that you can not escape your past.A SEVERELY creepy movie! With this one Thailand showed the world that it's a country to be reckoned with in the horror genre. The final five minutes still leave me with chills down my spine. You'll never guess why the main character has back problems!
- DirectorTi WestStarsJocelin DonahueTom NoonanMary WoronovIn 1983, financially struggling college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret, putting her life in mortal danger.An awesome throwback to seventies horror with a story in the vein of "Rosemary's Baby." It might start off a little slow, but just give it time. It's great.
- 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.I KNOW you were waiting for this one to appear! As I said in my introduction, it's cliche, but it's a cliche for a reason. Because it's FREAKIN AWESOME! One of the scariest and most beautifully filmed movies of all time. If you have the choice, see "The Version You've Never Seen." The staircase scene makes it worth it!
- DirectorBrian YuznaStarsBilly WarlockConcetta D'AgneseBen SlackAn ordinary teenage boy discovers his family is part of a gruesome orgy cult for the social elite.