My Top Horror Movies

[Patman27]

Looking over some top horror movie lists recently got me thinking. What are my favorite horror movies? So I pared down my faves to a list of 12. Some of them are great campy fun and some gave me nightmares as a kid. Some are both (I'm looking at you Tremors). All are 'classics' in my book. Which one is the best?

These are all movies that are in one of the horror categories on netflix. It omits some of the Hitchcock movies like Vertigo, but I wanted to stay as close to "horror" as possible. One quick note, I only included films I've seen in their entirety, not on TV or edited for time.

* Honorable Mention (painful, I know): Alien, American Werewolf in London, Night of the Living Dead, Poltergeist

 

[gaseousclay]

I chose Carpenter's The Thing is my all-time fave. horror films I would've added to your list are:

The Howling
An American Werewolf In London
The Exorcist
The Omen
Alien
Aliens
Dawn of the Dead
The Fly
The Mist

 

[syngent]

The original Halloween for me.... or how about the flick that started all slasher flicks with Texas chainsaw massacre

 

[attime6]

The shining has to be my favorite with the Thing being a close second. I hated the prequel though, it was so terrible it was horrifying.

 

[Blackbeard's Delight]

On your list, I think the Shining is probably the best movie in the cinematic sense. That said, Evil Dead 2 is such a classic at the other end of the spectrum that's high on entertainment value, it was a tough call. I love them both, but I pretty much put the remote down if I stumble on to the Shining, not as much for Evil Dead 2.

The original Halloween for me....

+1 for the original Halloween. So many creepy scenes that gave me shivers, I love watching that one. Also the original version of The Fog is underrated too.

Would Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula count? I re-watched that one recently... incredible production values, pre-cgi movie. Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins knock it out of the park. Though they could have used a roll of Scott tissue to play the Keanu roll and the movie would have come out the same. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.

 

[Toothpick]

Signs. but only the part where the alien is caught on tape at the birthday party. FREAKS ME OUT EVERY TIME!.

Horror movies arnt my thing and dont do anything for me so i couldn't vote as i havent seen all those movies......but that scene in Signs.......hebejebes!

 

[joshua1970]

Not a huge horror fan.. but I chose one of my favorite movies of all time:

The Shining. King, Kubrik and Nicholson. epic, simply epic.

 

[rushchairman]

texas chainsaw massacre
halloween
the shining
blair witch project
psycho
rosemary's baby
night of the hunter
night of the living dead
the exorcist

love em all. love the genre.

 

[SmoovD]

Nice list. I chose The Devil's Backbone only because EDII doesn't fit nicely into just the horror genre.

A few others:
The Orphanage
Rosemary's Baby
The Exorcist
Repulsion
The House of the Devil
[REC]
Night of the Living Dead
Halloween
Trick r Treat

Almost forgot to add Pan's Labyrinth.

 

[gaseousclay]

The shining has to be my favorite with the Thing being a close second. I hated the prequel though, it was so terrible it was horrifying.

yep, the prequel was dreadful. can't believe any true fan of Carpenter's film would even defend that drivel. i'll still buy the dvd when it goes on the cheap. i'm a completist

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Of those on the list, The Shining. The only horror film that, for me, competes with it would be The Exorcist. The original Halloween and The Thing are pretty good, too.

Let the Right One In is a great movie, but it sort of falls outside of "horror film" and/or transcends it. The cinematography in that film is beautiful.

List some good contemporary horror films. There was one that came out earlier this year called "The Cabin in the Woods." It got pretty good reviews. I haven't seen it, but I might check it out.

 

[rajagra]

There are few movies that I would call true horror. For me a film needs to be credible and scary to qualify.
I haven't seen the whole movie, but seeing scenes from Audition really made me cringe - horrific in a literal sense. I will watch it this evening online.

 

[Big_Tex]

The Thing
The Fly (1986 version)
Aliens
The Changeling
Amityville Horror (original)
Jacob's Ladder

 

[p.m.a.]

I voted for Evil Dead 2. Saw it in the theater as a kid and it was awesome!
Nice lists everyone! Here are some additional that I have enjoyed:

Phantasm
Hellraiser
Burnt Offerings
Trilogy of Terror
Videodrome
Cabin Fever
Idle Hands
Shaun of the Dead

 

[tfinch]

I've been a horror movie fan since I was a kid and the enjoyment has never really diminished! From your top list, my vote goes to The Shining. One of the few movies I've ever felt was better than the novel.

My all time favorites are all out of Japan -
Ju-on (all of them, but especially the first two video releases)
Noroi
Tomie
Chakushin ari (the first, sequels were pretty bad)

 

[Phog Allen]

These are always fun. Too many to list but here's a few.

The Wolfman(1941)

The Shining.

The Omen

The Exorcist(this scared the *&*&%%^ out of me as a kid even with the censored telly version)

Burnt Offerings


Cheers, Todd

 

[Matt555]

I've been a horror movie fan since I was a kid and the enjoyment has never really diminished! From your top list, my vote goes to The Shining. One of the few movies I've ever felt was better than the novel.

My all time favorites are all out of Japan -
Ju-on (all of them, but especially the first two video releases)
Noroi
Tomie
Chakushin ari (the first, sequels were pretty bad)

Same here! I can't grow out of them no matter how hard I try. I am a big fan of Asian horror films as well. Thailand makes some good ones too. They may seem a bit cheesier since they are generally lower budget compared to their Japanese and Korean counterparts, but some of them are still very good. The Asian originals are generally better then the American re-makes too.

 

[blary54]

If you guys want to see a funny horror movie check out Tucker and Dale vs Evil. Its a fun movie! My two favorite horror movies are Halloween and The Shining. Haven't seen anyone mention Silence of the Lambs yet. That movie is creepy. Especially the ending.

 

[PMT]

For humor AND horror, check out "Shawn of the dead"

 

[SiBurning]

Where's Nosferatu?

BTW, a horror list should be 13 titles.