Spooky time! What are your favorite horror movies?

[Zurdo95D]

Nice idea!

My top 10 is probably;

1. The Thing (1982)
2. The Babadook (2014)
3. Psycho (1960)
4. Alien (1979)
5. Halloween (1978)
6. The Conjuring (2013)
7. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
8. Scream (1996)
9. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
10. A Quiet Place (2018)

An honorable mention to a film that is not a horror film, but will now feature as an annual viewing during October and the spooky season;

The Batman (2022)

"Thursday, October 31st. The city streets are crowded for the holiday. Even with the rain. Hidden in the chaos is the element, waiting to strike like snakes.

And I'm there too. Watching.

2 years of nights have turned me into a nocturnal animal. I must choose my targets carefully. It's a big city. I can't be everywhere. But they don't know where I am.

We have a signal now, for when I'm needed. When that light hits the sky, it's not just a call - it's a warning.

To them.

Fear is a tool.

They think I'm hiding in the shadows.

But I AM the shadows."

I think it TB absolutely counts, it even starts out on Halloween night! Not only that I think Batman tends to fall into some horror aspects too (preying on those who impose fear, hiding in the shadows, etc.).

I note that everybody so far, except one, has mentioned The Thing (1982).

It's so good.

Yeah, most definitely! It's so spooky!

 

[JMT1979]

Mine in no particular order:

• The Lost Boys
• The Conjuring
• The Omen (the real one)
• It (2017)
• Doctor Sleep
• Ravenous
• Event Horizon
• Alien
• Jaws

 

[xipotec]

I pretty much agree with all the typical ones being mentioned here, basically the same list over and over….

I will kick these in, to up the notoriety…..as they are great films to watch during spooky season and are often overlooked.

The Fog
Hellraiser
Sleepy Hollow
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
The Crazies
Dr Sleep
Thirteen Ghosts
Millennium (TV series)
Ginger Snaps
Dark Night of the Scarecrow
Disney Mr. Toad and Sleepy Hollow
Monster House
Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein

 

[Dark_Knight_89]

My top 10 horror and what I like to watch this time of year are a bit different

Top 10
1. JAWS
2. An American Werewolf in London
3. John Carpenters The Thing
4. ALIEN
5. Halloween (1978)
6. Dawn of the Dead
7. The Shining
8. Poltergeist
9. The Silence of the Lambs
10. Carrie

Top 10 Halloween time films no real order

1. Halloween (1978) + assortment or sequels
2. The Blair Witch Project
3. The Witch
4. Disney’s The Legend of Sleepy Hallow
5. Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man
6. Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein
7. Bran Stoker’s Dracula
8. The Exorcist
9. Hereditary
10. Trick r Treat

I find the debate around whether JAWS is or isn't a horror film interesting.

JAWS is in my Top 10 films of all time (#3 after "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Rear Window"), but I didn't include it in my Top 10 horror films list because I don't consider it a horror film. But I know many people do.

To me, it's a thriller. It's a also a movie I associate more with the Summer than Halloween/Autumn/Fall. I watch it every year on 4th July.

But I do know many people do include it is a horror film, and I've seen many Halloween/horror themed JAWS merchandise etc.

 

[choombaz]

I find the debate around whether JAWS is or isn't a horror film interesting.

JAWS is in my Top 10 films of all time (#3 after "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Rear Window"), but I didn't include it in my Top 10 horror films list because I don't consider it a horror film. But I know many people do.

To me, it's a thriller. It's a also a movie I associate more with the Summer than Halloween/Autumn/Fall. I watch it every year on 4th July.

But I do know many people do include it is a horror film, and I've seen many Halloween/horror themed JAWS merchandise etc.

I consider Jaws an adventure film more than anything else but I still had it in my list because the first time I saw it, it absolutely terrified me.

I have Psycho in my list and I consider that film a comedy.

 

[Dark_Knight_89]

I consider Jaws an adventure film more than anything else but I still had it in my list because the first time I saw it, it absolutely terrified me.

I have Psycho in my list and I consider that film a comedy.

Psycho is a romantic comedy.

 

[JAWS]

I find the debate around whether JAWS is or isn't a horror film interesting.

JAWS is in my Top 10 films of all time (#3 after "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Rear Window"), but I didn't include it in my Top 10 horror films list because I don't consider it a horror film. But I know many people do.

To me, it's a thriller. It's a also a movie I associate more with the Summer than Halloween/Autumn/Fall. I watch it every year on 4th July.

But I do know many people do include it is a horror film, and I've seen many Halloween/horror themed JAWS merchandise etc.

I consider Jaws an adventure film more than anything else but I still had it in my list because the first time I saw it, it absolutely terrified me.

I have Psycho in my list and I consider that film a comedy.

JAWS hits all the genres, horror, thriller, action, adventure, drama and comedy.

I’ll always consider it horror as it terrified people. The Film actually scared people out of the ocean as well as their pools, bath tubs, and even off their toilets.

Too many horror elements not to be horror. It was made to scare and thrill. Yes it has huge elements of adventure but in the end people remembered being scared more than they remembered being excited by the action.

It’s a perfect film that crosses genres for sure but to me it seems more at home next to films like An American Werewolf in London, Alien, and Dawn of the Dead than it does next to Raiders of the lost Ark and Mission Impossible.

The term Thriller is a weird one. I’ve seen Halloween called a thriller. Silence of the Lambs is called a thriller yet owes so much to so many horror classics. Seven is another “thriller” I feel they are all horror movies. My local video store had a Horror/Thriller section to cut down on the confusion

 

[choombaz]

JAWS hits all the genres, horror, thriller, action, adventure, drama and comedy.

I’ll always consider it horror as it terrified people. The Film actually scared people out of the ocean as well as their pools, bath tubs, and even off their toilets.

Too many horror elements not to be horror. It was made to scare and thrill. Yes it has huge elements of adventure but in the end people remembered being scared more than they remembered being excited by the action.

It’s a perfect film that crosses genres for sure but to me it seems more at home next to films like An American Werewolf in London, Alien, and Dawn of the Dead than it does next to Raiders of the lost Ark and Mission Impossible.

The term Thriller is a weird one. I’ve seen Halloween called a thriller. Silence of the Lambs is called a thriller yet owes so much to so many horror classics. Seven is another “thriller” I feel they are all horror movies. My local video store had a Horror/Thriller section to cut down on the confusion

Just proves we shouldn’t pigeonhole films. The best ones defy categorisation.

 

[abake]

Warms my heart to see so many mentions of Ravenous.

 

[Darthrazz]

I might be in rare company, but I always liked Halloween 3. If it was called anything but Halloween 3, I think it might be remembered in a much better light as a great horror flick.

 

[xipotec]

JAWS hits all the genres, horror, thriller, action, adventure, drama and comedy.

I’ll always consider it horror as it terrified people. The Film actually scared people out of the ocean as well as their pools, bath tubs, and even off their toilets.

Too many horror elements not to be horror. It was made to scare and thrill. Yes it has huge elements of adventure but in the end people remembered being scared more than they remembered being excited by the action.

It’s a perfect film that crosses genres for sure but to me it seems more at home next to films like An American Werewolf in London, Alien, and Dawn of the Dead than it does next to Raiders of the lost Ark and Mission Impossible.

The term Thriller is a weird one. I’ve seen Halloween called a thriller. Silence of the Lambs is called a thriller yet owes so much to so many horror classics. Seven is another “thriller” I feel they are all horror movies. My local video store had a Horror/Thriller section to cut down on the confusion

I really cannot call it horror myself, I always list it as Thriller/Adventure….

You are totally correct about the reaction audiences had to it however. But I doubt Spielberg would called it horror.

Horror to me, its the when the main element of the film is to keep you uneasy and scared. Jaws has too many dramatic elements to be considered horror. Some scenes are scary and horror like, but even those I feel were a small fraction of them film.

Horror films IMO are like 90% those scenes, ( The Exorcist/ Dawn of the Dead/Hellraiser/ The Shining)

Where a thriller maybe 50% those scenes (Silence of the Lambs/Seven/Alien)

 

[Zurdo95D]

Some more! Though, some are not strictly horror but Halloween-themed:

16 - Coco (2018)
17 - Coraline
18 - Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders
19 - Scooby-Doo Zombie Island
20 - Daybreakers (2009)

 

[choombaz]

My Halloween films this year, all highly recommended:
X
The People Under The Stairs
Werewolves Within
Drag Me To Hell
The Dark Half
Tucker and Dale Vs Evil
Body Parts

 

[Knightstalker]

This list isn’t in any particular order, these are just my favourites.

An American Werewolf in London
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
Jaws
The Exorcist
The Howling
The Descent
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ‘74
Alien
The Lost Boys
Bram Stokers Dracula
Salem’s Lot 1978
The Shining
Nosferatu
Fright Night ‘85

 

[choombaz]

This list isn’t in any particular order, these are just my favourites.

An American Werewolf in London
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
Jaws
The Exorcist
The Howling
The Descent
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ‘74
Alien
The Lost Boys
Bram Stokers Dracula
Salem’s Lot 1978
The Shining
Nosferatu
Fright Night ‘85

Great great list, I remember not hating the remake of Fright Night (might be the only one lol) but yeah not in the same stratosphere as the original.

 

[RavenAsh]

Never been a big fan of straight horror myself. I lean towards more thriller concepts which have horrific elements and give that uneasiness as you watch, or horror comedies that are tongue in cheek. With that being said, here are some of my favourites that fall into these categories:
- The VVitch
- Ready or Not
- Happy Death Day
- Halloween (78)
- It (2017)
- Zombieland
- Shaun of the Dead
- Hereditary

Happy Halloween all!

 

[MeatHookGekko]

I note that everybody so far, except one, has mentioned The Thing (1982).

It's so good.

I rewatched it recently and something I had never considered before is that, at the end, was Childs drinking alcohol or gasoline/fuel. ( Would anyone put it past MacReady to test "Childs" like that, given the severity and desperate nature of the situation.

An "infected" alien/copy of Childs, would that kind of species/whatever know the difference? I thought about it because in the remake, the writers and director really want to make it very explicit ( i.e. Mary Elizabeth Winstead uses the flamethrower and you can hear the alien "scream" from the cab of the snow crawler, etc. )

It's unclear if MacReady is infected, or Childs is infected, or both are infected. Or neither. Obviously that's what makes the movie interesting and great. But it's asks the question on whether scenes were intentional, earlier in the film, to lend hints on one way or another, or if these were unintentional discontinuities within the general filmmaking process.

From the beginning, after the chopper blows up, the Norwegian with the rifle gets shot in the face, his rifle was never used again in the film. Which is interesting. If it had any ammo left, it would have been useful for MacReady later on.

 

[HODLr]

Return of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead(both)
Night of the Living Dead
Shaun of the Dead
The Crazies(both)
The Thing
30 Days of Night
Planet Terror
From Dusk Till Dawn
Alien(all but 4)
Evil Dead
The Blair Witch Project
American Werewolf 1&2
Halloween 1-3
The Shining
Legion
Lifeforce
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1&2
Suck
Zombieland
The Fog
Fright Night
28 Days Later

 

[Dark_Knight_89]

I rewatched it recently and something I had never considered before is that, at the end, was Childs drinking alcohol or gasoline/fuel. ( Would anyone put it past MacReady to test "Childs" like that, given the severity and desperate nature of the situation.

An "infected" alien/copy of Childs, would that kind of species/whatever know the difference? I thought about it because in the remake, the writers and director really want to make it very explicit ( i.e. Mary Elizabeth Winstead uses the flamethrower and you can hear the alien "scream" from the cab of the snow crawler, etc. )

It's unclear if MacReady is infected, or Childs is infected, or both are infected. Or neither. Obviously that's what makes the movie interesting and great. But it's asks the question on whether scenes were intentional, earlier in the film, to lend hints on one way or another, or if these were unintentional discontinuities within the general filmmaking process.

From the beginning, after the chopper blows up, the Norwegian with the rifle gets shot in the face, his rifle was never used again in the film. Which is interesting. If it had any ammo left, it would have been useful for MacReady later on.

An interesting theory!

If we take the lore and biology of "the thing" established in the 2011 prequel, the creature can only replicate organic material. They check if people have fillings in their teeth, and the final creature is exposed due to the fact that the human that it replicated had an earring but the creature did not (and it also motioned to the incorrect ear when feeling for it).

Based on the above, technically Childs is human, as he is wearing his earring in the final scene.

Now, I appreciate that this scene was filmed nearly 30 years before the prequel established this, and we have no idea if they had this in mind when they created the original movie (and the fact that Childs had an earring was either an oversight or perhaps the creature put the earring back in). But it is interesting!

 

[ironwez20]

I love the ending theory for the thing. It makes the movie great. Sad we only have like two movies for it so far