Any suggestions for horror films?

[Kyriakos]

I haven't seen any lately, well, not since i took my own eyes out with a pair of scissors.

And generally that is the level of entertainment most horror films provide :/

But i would love to read any honest suggestions for 21st century horror films.

I am interested in ones which are plot based, not gore-driven. I also detest "horror-comedy". If it is supposed to be horror, it might as well actually try to horrify, no matter how much it will end up failing.

[Lokasenna]

Have you seen the Spanish film '[REC]'? That's one of my favourites of recent years...

I love horror films. From the 2000s, there's also 30 Days of Night, Shadow of the Vampire and The Mist - not to mention the schlocky joy of Cockneys vs. Zombies.

...and I take it you are familiar with the awesomeness that is Shaun of the Dead?

[Calidore]

So many kinds of horror.... Any subtypes you especially like or don't? I'm partial to ghosts and monsters personally, but have no use for torture porn. I enjoyed the Ju-On/Grudge movies a whole lot. Reincarnation by the same director was also excellent, as was the recent Woman in Black. Attack the Block is a terrific low-budget monster movie, as is the original, matchless Tremors (though that may be too much comedy for you). But horror-comedies can still horrify; I submit Re-Animator.

[The Highwayman]

"28 Days Later" has always been a personal favorite of mine. "Insidious" is another great paranormal horror choice.

[Snowqueen]

Thirty Days of Night and The Skeleton Key are good horror films. My sister has recently watched Unborn and liked it, I haven’t seen it though.

[mortalterror]

Jaws: Classic monster movie by Spielberg. Not campy or cliche at all.
Alien: Classic sci-fi monster movie by Ridley Scott. Claustrophobic and dark.
Dawn of the Dead: the best zombie film. 80s goodness, semi-realistic, guys fortified in a mall.
Dracula: The greatest horror villain of all time. Style beats special effects.
Frankenstein: Another great monster.
Freaks: filmed with real circus freaks and banned for about 30 years.
The Exorcist: scary supernatural horror, ahead of it's time.
Rosemary's Baby: Roman Polanski is the master of paranoid scared frantic women movies. Is it all in her head?
The Shining: Kubrick's venture into the horror genre with Stephen King's script and Jack Nicholson's acting.
A Nightmare on Elmstreet: surreal psychological horror
The Thing: Who is the enemy? This combines all of the best parts of Alien and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
The Omen: Is this little boy the anti-christ? What if we're wrong? Can we afford to take that chance?
28 Days Later: Zombies can run now!
Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Don't go to sleep. Don't trust your neighbors. A Cold War parable about communist infiltration.
The Fly: what is scarier than the transformation and disintegration of our own bodies?

*Runners up
The Haunting: Classic haunted house story.
Hour of the Wolf: Not a werewolf movie. A very stylized and artsy film from director Ingmar Bergman.
Carnival of Souls: Early ghost movie.
The Last Man on Earth: adaptation of My Name is Legend starring Vincent Price in a world of vampires.
Poltergeist: Spielberg dipping his toe into the supernatural pool.
Frailty: Is he a serial killer, or is God really commanding him to kill demons?
It: Tim Curry will eat your children... with curry!
Final Destination: you have to admire how elaborate the death scenes are. It's like watching Death operate a Rube Goldberg killing machine.
Scream: self-reflective meta-horror
Day of the Beast: funny 80s horror. A priest predicts the anti-christ and must corrupt himself to catch the devil.
Fright Night: the original one. Campy 80s goodness. Welcome to Fright Night...for real.
Night of the Comet: More campy 80s goodness.
Warlock: an ancient warlock lands in present day USA pursued by a hunter. If he figures out the true name of God we are f'd.

EDIT: Oh, 21st century films. I guess that just leaves 28 Days Later, Frailty, and Final Destination. I heard that Rec was the best horror film of the last decade, though I can't confirm that. The original Paranormal Activity evoked nothing but my contempt, and then six months of nightmares and sleeping with the lights on. I couldn't finish Let the Right One In though fans of horror seem to love that film. I've also heard a lot about a werewolf film called Ginger Snaps. Saw was pretty good as was the re-make of Dawn of the Dead. Also, Pontypool was interesting at the very least.

[Kyriakos]

Thank you all

Thanks MortalTerror for the long and informative post

Ginger Snaps is ok, it is not horror though, mostly teen/comedy with horror elements.

I liked Rec (the original one) a lot. I did not manage to see all of Rec 2, got bored after the first half. I heard that Rec 3 was a disaster.

There is another nice 21st century Spanish horror film titled "Shivers". I liked most of it

I like plot-driven horror. The Tenant was a good movie in my view (it could have been better i guess, but still had its moments and a nice plot).

[quidoftullamore]

Everyone has a guilty pleasure and I guess mine is horror movies.

I take it you've seen the classics? (The Exorcist, Psycho)

Have you seen The Tunnel? It is an Australian horror film stylized as a documentary with found-footage that centers around a group of journalists who investigate the disappearance of the homeless population that reside in the old waterways underneath Sydney. The first forty minutes or so are pretty slow and devoid of horror, but once the crew actually gets into the tunnel, things take a terrifying turn. I highly recommend it; it's one of those rare horror movies with the right amount of action and ambiguity.

[JuniperWoolf]

28 Days Later and 30 Days of Night are two of my favorite movies (don't even bother reading the comic book version of the latter though, trust me on this), and the Canadian in me throws her full support behind Ginger Snaps which is probably the second best Canadian film after Dead Ringers. It's much too dark to be a teen comedy.

The only one I can think of that hasn't been mentioned already is The Orphanage. It's good, and purely psychological - manages to be scary with no gore, at least none that I can remember.



Edit: oh yeah, Splice! It's really more of a sci-fi, but it has a movie monster feel to it as well and it's definitely worth watching.

[Darcy88]

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) is a great horror film and I really liked Cabin in the Woods. The latter has some comedic elements, which you said you are not a fan of, but I think you might still enjoy it.

[Helga]

I am no expert in this genre, but '28 days later' is great but my personal favorite at the moment is 'Cabin in the woods', it is very good if you know 80's horror movies. Whatever scares you the cabin has it and it is kinda funny too and has a different message (if you can call it that).

[Sattero03]

Uh! I am kind of person who watch shows by Andy Yeatman with the kids. I don’t think I can ever give advice on horror movies. My best friend does like to watch horror movies. I can ask her about this. She will surely have a list of movies.

[Sattero03]

Uh! I am kind of person who watch shows by Andy Yeatman with the kids. I don’t think I can ever give advice on horror movies. My best friend does like to watch horror movies. I can ask her about this. She will surely have a list of movies.

[jajdude]

I saw a silent one on youtube a while ago called The Phantom Carriage (Sweden, 1921) that was outstanding. A man dies on New Year's Eve and then has to take over for Death, a most unpleasant job. Madness ensues.

Eyes Without A Face (France, 1960) is also excellent. A deranged doctor tries to help his faceless daughter.

The Changeling (1980) is one of my all-time favorites. It's the one with the old wheelchair.

A couple of Japanese films from 1964-65: Onibaba and Kwaidan. Both excellent.

[jamespeet]

The last horror film I saw was Jordan Peele's Us. I found it to be sort of a brain-melter, and extremely creepy. There is some gore, but it's heavy with mood, meaning, and symbolism while effectively telling a human story. I won't spoil the ending of course, but I will say that I can see how it might be polarizing. Personally, I liked the ending.

It wasn't as tight of a story as Peele's previous film, Get Out, but I think he's a brilliant writer and director.