Top 5 horror movies?

[Matthew]

So, I've been having lots of debates with friends lately of what are the best horror movie(s) of all time. I want to know what you all think.

Being as unbiased towards personal preference as possible (even though these are my favourite films) here's what I think the top 5 horror movies are:


1) Hellraiser. Conceptually and visually amazing, the characters are iconic and the plotline is great
2) Silence of the lambs, a close second. Hannibal Lecter is in my opinion a flawless character, the atmosphere in the film is also excellent
3) Beetlejuice. Ok, ok, maybe not the best of films but the characters and puppets in it are awesome. Love it, it's a must watch film
4) Nightmare on Elm Street. A film I legitimately felt tense at, the concept of it is terrifying, and Krueger is a pretty terrifying character
5) The Shining. Stephen King is one of the greatest horror writers, and Stanley Kubrick is one of the best directors. Such a creepy and uneasy atmosphere, visually brilliant and great acting.


So, what do y'all think? 

[Jill F]

Only 5?  Crap...

The Shining-  Kubrick + Nicholson = Awesome
Evil Dead (all of them except the last one)
Night of the Living Dead (all of Romero's zombie movies rule)
The Thing (1982) Criminally underrated
Shaun of the Dead- I know I could have put a zillion classics here, but this one had such a great sense of humor

Honorable mention:  An American Werewolf in London.  John Landis used to be so great.  What happened? 

[Abby Claire]

My personal top 5?:
1. Night of the Living Dead
2. Dawn of the Dead
3. Audition
4. Bride of Frankenstein
5. The Omen

Being unbiased and looking at how influential the movies were?:
1. Night of the Living Dead
2. Halloween
3. The Exorcist
4. Bride of Frankenstein
5. Psycho

And for ->-bleeped-<-s and giggles, here are a couple more top 5s:

Top 5 so-bad-they're-good:
1. Sleepaway Camp
2. Basket Case
3. Nail Gun Massacre
4. Frankenhooker
5. Ghoulies 2

5 most underrated horror movies:
1. Eyes Without a Face
2. Tourist Trap
3. Xtro
4. Shivers
5. Phenomena

I love horror movies.

[Abby Claire]

John Landis used to be so great.  What happened?

He got Vic Morrow and two kids killed. That kind of stuff can kill a career.

[CarrotInsanity]

Man...

The Shining, Silence of the Lambs, The Babadook, Rosemary's Baby, Original Evil Dead, Blair Witch Project, The Exorcist, Psycho...what else...can't think right now, sorry.  Oh, right, Nosferatu, from 1929. 

But you can't beat a classic formulaic jump-scare every now and then..

[big kim]

In no particular order
Night of  the Demon
Nosferatu(the silent one)
The Legacy,AKA the legacy of Maggie Walsh( worth it for a nude Sam Elliott alone) it's a genuine spooky atmosphere to the film and I still think Sam Elliott & Katharine Ross are hot
Nightbreed a forgotten Clive Barker masterpiece
The Wicker Man(the original not the Nicholas Cage abomination)

[Newgirl Dani]

Psycho........Saw this in the theater when it first came out, I was 9 years old (yes my sister is to blame for my present condition

Reanimatior......Hmmmmm love the look in his eyes---bonded (can still blame sister/damage already done)

Freaks.....Not because of what you may think, it's the 1930's style black & white....and well its good

The Shining......Obvious

The Grudge........Original.....look under your bed covers lately?

Evil Dead......I have the same book

The Stand........Just wish it was as dark as the book

Insidious..........................................................................

Oh and if any of you watch a movie like these with me, and need to hold my hand, it's ok...........I'm trustworthy

[Lili-Fera]

• Vampire - C T Dryer is as far as I'm concerned the best director ever
• The Shining - I prefer the shorter cut Kubrick made for the European release, much tighter
• VideoDrome - eXistenZ is on a lot of levels a better film but the rawness of videodrome is so powerfull
• Ringu - had to watch it in 2 sittings because it freaked me out so much
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre - I saw the remastered version recently at a horror festival, still works

And because I'm Dutch some NetherHorror (this is a much harder list because we don't make a lot of horror films, some of these titles aren't even considered horror by their makers)

• De Poel - The Pool
• Het Zwijgen - Song from the other side (although the international title makes sense something like the silence would be better in my opinion
• De Tussentijd - Unknown Times
• Frankenstein's Army - technically not a Dutch film but a Dutch director and it is in a sense the reincarnation of the never made Dutch film Worst Case Scenario
• Horizonica - an amateur film project and one of the most cozy zombie films ever but at some times surprisingly effective

[King Malachite]

I don't watch horror movies anymore, but here are my top 5 form when I did:

1. Hostel 2

2. Resident Evil: Apocalypse

3.  End of the Line

4. Resident Evil 1

5.  Land of the Dead

[Nickywhat]

Oh goodness, only picking 5 for a Horror Fanatical like myself is just such torture! I pretty much love the vast wealth of movies within the genre, the good and bad!  I kinda like to classify Horror into the B-Movie aspect (ones that are entertaining but not really terrifying) and the genuine horror (which of course is VERY subjective amongst people).  I find such delight in the ridiculous actions that have been HEAVILY stereotyped and happily injected into the genre, as well as those that break ground or really up the terror!

For that reason I'm gonna cheat and list two separate sets of top 5s, if you'd allow me to indulge xD!


in no particular order
1. Friday the 13th: The final Chapter ( I love the entire franchise, so it's VERY tough to pick one xP)
2. Nightmare on Elm Street
3. Dead Alive
4. Evil Dead 2
5. Hellraiser


Genuine terror
1. The Shining( Stanley Kubrick)
2. The Thing
3. The Woman in Black
4. It Follows
5.  The Grudge

I have tons more that I love and i could easily switch out and don't get me started on my love for Zombie movies :3 George Romero's entire collection is easily worthy of spots on here!  >

[Jayne]

I'm not a huge horror fan but there are a few that I adore so they must be good. They're not in order.

1: Alien, whilst the scare factor has diminished for me over the years I still jump watching this film

2: Paranormal Activity, this film left me feeling unnerved for days, at my age I should be beyond that sort of thing

3: Arachaphobis, I know it's only a PG rating but this film terrifies me to the core of my soul

4: The Saw series, i've never made it to the end of a Saw film, just too gruesome for me.

5: American Werewolf in London, this film had me scared of being in open areas in the dark for years, once this film made me scared to go into my kitchen at night as there was no light in the garden & I kept imagining a werewolf on the other side of the glass. . . . lutking in the darkness.
I couldn't listen to "blue moon" for years without this creeping dread crawling up my spine.
This is what makes a true horror classic in my mind, the ability to not just scare you whilst watching the film but to have that uneasy feeling stay with you for hours, days or even years afterwards

[Nickywhat]

3: Arachaphobis, I know it's only a PG rating but this film terrifies me to the core of my soul

nononononononononono! >w<  *curls into fetal position* I had pushed that movie out of mind for a good bit... ehhhhhhhhh! 

[Fids]

I'm probably pretty biased, as I generally base how "good" a horror movie is by how much it scared me or how much I enjoy the story, but here are my top 5 (in no particular order):

1. Grave Encounters
2. 13 Ghosts (Remake)
3. The Grudge (English or Japanese version)
4. Cabin Fever (I'm a sucker for "biohazard" movies)
5. IT (Okay, I admit, this was a pretty bad movie, but it's based on my favorite book of all time so I give it some leeway)

[Jayne]

nononononononononono! >w<  *curls into fetal position* I had pushed that movie out of mind for a good bit... ehhhhhhhhh!

Sorry for pushing that film back into your memory, last week week I avoided my kitchen sink for several days as there was a large eight legged creature in it so a film full of the things is fear overload for me

[Nickywhat]

Sorry for pushing that film back into your memory, last week week I avoided my kitchen sink for several days as there was a large eight legged creature in it so a film full of the things is fear overload for me

Oh it's not a problem xD i just ack!  I HATE those things!  I kid you not, the first time I watched that movie I went upstairs in my room and i feel something crawling up my leg... I KID YOU NOT, It was a spider that looked very much like the drone spiders in the film... Ohhhhh the heart attack I had >.<!

Hell, the other day at work I had an acrobatic spider jump at me and THEN freaking Backflip over the item I tried to squish it with... mmm nope >w<!  I usually interact with spider by 1. avoiding them 2. destroying them if I have space and weapons to do so 3. run away and crawl into the fetal position.

So needless to say, my Arachaphobia is def directly enhanced by that film >w<!