This can include movies that aren't technically classified as Horror, but that personally scare you (yes, if that means Spice World, by all means, include it). My top 10 (in no particular order): 1. The Shining- not just for the horror, but the cinematography, the acting- one of the best of any genre. 2. Rosemary's Baby- not a lot of gore, but creepy nonetheless. Weird trivia- the opening scene is at the exact spot where John Lennon was assassinated in 1980 (Dakota building) 3. The Exorcist- this is a bit much, particularly those of us that are religious, but it's one of the classics, no doubt. 4. Psycho- it's much more than a horror flick- aside from 3 scenes, it's much more of a drama and what people do to relieve guilt. 5. Halloween- the first one- again, not a lot of gore, more suspenseful than anything. 6. Jaws- same- plus, there's a scene where Robert Shaw talks about the incident he was in where his ship was torpedoed in WWII, and the sharks ate hundreds of their men- it's one of the best soliloquies I've ever seen in any movie. 7. Carrie- and if there wasn't more of a reason to see this now, they just had a story on CNN where a girl was voted as Homecoming Queen only to find out it was a fake. 8. Deliverance- OK, technically not horror, but the reality of it is pretty scary. 9. Blair Witch Project- this received a lot of flak later on, and the camera movements can make you dizzy, but I think it's one of the best in that you never see the enemy, so to speak. 10. Night of the Hunter- here's another one that is not labeled horror, but it has enough scary moments that I'd say it's borderline. This movie goes beyond that, though- it's just not like any movie I've ever seen. If you're a fan of black-and-white, and Robert Mitchum, you just have to see this movie. The artistic way it is filmed alone puts it in a category by itself.
I vote none. They all suck. The only actual movies to ever really "scare" me where Poltergeist and Alien. I refuse to watch any scary movie cause they're all the gay.
I agree with (also not in any order) 1. The Shining 2. Rosemary's Baby 3. The Exorcist 4. Psycho 5. Halloween 6. Jaws and I would add: Alien John Carpenter's The Thing The Ring Let The Right One In (the Euro version, much better) and I have a special place for the horror/comedies of: Evil Dead 2 Cabin In The Woods American Werewolf in London
Night of the Hunter - Interesting pick. I would have never thought about it..but it would be really scary if your a kid since the protagonists are kids. Mitchum was absolutely sinister in that movie. For me, I'd pick the Shining. Saw it in 1st grade and it scarred me for life.
My top 10: 1) The Shining 2) Halloween 3) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original) 4) The Omen 5) The Ring 6) The Changeling 7) Pet Semetery 8) Alien 9) The Mist 10) The Exorcist, Part III (trust me, it should definitely be on there)
all you little babies whining about the exorcist...really? The shining is the one thing I will concede. Red Rum Rum Rummmm Rummmmmmm
Polturgeist was seriously scary and was only PG! They did it the right way, stuff that is actually terrifying and creepy. Not just movie cliches, good costumes, and pop out scenes. If you take out the flash of most horror movies there not scary.
I think the most important aspect in making something scary is atmosphere. But one needs to get immersed in the atmosphere to get scared. Two hours is not enough to do that, in my opinion. That is why to me no movie can be as scary (i.e., make me afraid of proceeding) as, say, Silent Hill 1-4. With that said, there are a couple of movies I liked, that are usually classified as "scary" and haven't been mentioned: One Missed Call - people receive a phone call from themselves in the near future and hear themselves die. I remember this movie actually being quite scary. Cube - people are trapped in a cube-like maze with no understanding of how or why they got there. Just now reminded me of Buried though the degree of similarity is moderate at best. Of the ones that have been mentioned thumbs up for The Mist, The Ring, Poltergeist, The Blair Witch Project, The Thing, The Omen and The Shining. Double thumbs up for The Exorcist. A movie that is quite terrifying in a different sort of way is Jesus Camp.
Despite it being my favorite genre, no horror movie has really ever had me looking over my shoulders. HOWEVER, there is one but it's not a movie. "The Hitchhiker" from Creepshow 2. It scared the hell out of me back in the day. It was just a creepy azz segment. That series (Creepshow 2) had already been out for some years when I first saw it on VHS in the 90's. I was just a kid then. "Thanks for the ride, lady." Hell no.
When did you see The Exorcist? It was scary as shiz when it came out. As I got older and saw all the horrible stuff out there, it doesn't quite hold up on the scary for me (still some scary scenes). But if you saw it when it first came out, I don't ever remembering being as scared as when I saw it.
