Every horror film can't be a masterpiece, but beyond all those crappy sequels and the
straight-to-DVD dreck, there are a few films we'd describe as pretty much perfect.
From stories about Satanic cults to films about possessed parents, these horror movies
are practically flawless.
What's more tragic?
Choosing your own destruction, or being destined to fail?
That's the question at the heart of Hereditary.
Hailed as the scariest movie of 2018, Hereditary is certainly frightening, and it features
one of the most twisted endings in horror history.
But the film offers a lot more than scares and screams.
It's a disturbing examination of family life, the corrosive power of grief, and the crippling
power of mental illness.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
Yes, the film features seances, spirits, and what might be the creepiest cult ever committed
to celluloid.
Yes, the movie will keep you checking your ceiling for months to come.
And yes, that scene involving a sketchbook and a fireplace will cause your jaw to hit
the floor.
However, the real power of Hereditary comes from the sense of foreboding that lingers
over the entire film.
Just like Toni Collette's character builds miniature dolls and tiny rooms, it sometimes
feels like our lives are being manipulated by unseen forces.
Hereditary seems to suggest that no matter how hard you try to escape your past, the
traits you inherit will haunt you forever.
If you've ever watched a slasher film, you know that only virgins get out alive.
If the monster catches you getting intimate, he'll introduce your face to Mr. Knife.
But writer-director David Robert Mitchell decided to play with that old cliche in It
Follows, a horror film where having sex can kill you... but it can also keep you alive.
This 2014 film involves a young girl who contracts a supernatural STD.
Unless she passes it along, she'll be killed by a shapeshifting monster.
"Never go into a place that doesn't have more than one exit.
It's very slow but it's not dumb."
If she dies, the creature will hunt down the guy who gave it to her…and so on and so
forth.
It feels like an actual urban legend, but this film is scarier than any Creepypasta.
That's because the movie monster is one of the most terrifying in recent memory.
You can't reason with It.
You can't outrun It.
Like death, It just keeps coming.
You don't know when.
You don't know how.
But rest assured, It will stagger into view sooner or later.
It's as inevitable as growing old, and as relentless as time.
Directed by Jennifer Kent, The Babadook revolves around a single mom named Amelia who's dealing
with the death of her husband, plus her extremely troubled six-year-old son.
Amelia has been trapped in her grief and depression for a while, and things only get worse when
the Babadook enters the picture.
The demon is first introduced to us in the pages of a pop-up book, and he's the personification
of Amelia's depression.
As she plunges deeper into emotional darkness, the Babadook grows stronger and stronger.
Much like The Shining, The Babadook wants you to discuss its cryptic ending and try
to figure out what's real and what's not.
Is there a literal evil spirit trying to possess Amelia?
Is it symbolic of her pain?
The best thing about The Babadook is that the answer is yes and yes.
"You're not my mother."
"What did you say?"
"I said, you're not my mother!"
"I am your mother!"
Horror-comedy is tough.
So many would-be chillers wind up stumbling over their own goofiness.
But Sam Raimi, the man behind the Evil Dead franchise, is a master at blending fear and
fun.
Still, not enough horror fans appreciate Drag Me to Hell.
That's a shame, because this 2009 film is pitch perfect when it comes to melding dark
humor with genuinely disturbing horror.
"You shamed me."
The plot follows a young woman who's been cursed by a vengeful old witch.
In three days, Christine will be dragged to hell, and until then, she'll be haunted by
a powerful demon.
This simple plot lets Raimi indulge all his gross-out horror urges, from eyes popping
out of cakes to wormy corpses.
It's a grotesque, ghoulishly fun romp that even includes a foul-mouthed, incredibly fierce
old goat.
But Raimi pulls no punches when it comes to the scares, and Drag Me to Hell features one
of the most frightening endings you'll ever watch through your fingers.
Take Ridley Scott's cold directing style and Sigourney Weaver's badassery, and you've got
the freakiest sci-fi movie ever made.
Released in 1979, Alien is a truly terrifying experience.
Everything you see on-screen, you can just about feel on your skin.
No matter how you slice it, this is basically a perfect horror film.
Everything in Alien is just so viscous and violent, and the alien design is... well,
it's out of this world.
The Xenomorph feels like something that could exist in real life, and the film brilliantly
exploits our deep-seated fear of parasites.
The idea of a creature crawling around your innards is truly disgusting, so when the alien
pops out of Kane's chest, it's still one of the most visceral horror scenes ever filmed.
But aside from all this monster talk, let's not forget about Weaver as Ellen Ripley.
"Help me…”
While she became an icon in the sequel, Ripley establishes herself as a big-time monster
hunter in Alien.
Long story short: She's a horror hero for the ages.
Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street is a masterpiece of surrealist horror.
It's about a supernatural serial killer who gets you in your sleep, and as the film goes
on, Craven blends the dream world with reality, leaving you to wonder where waking life ends
and the nightmare begins.
"No running in the hallway."
With his ratty sweater and demonic glove, Freddy Krueger is one of the most frightening
monsters to ever haunt the silver screen... and that's because when you fall asleep, he
becomes your god.
Just like an actual dream, there are no rules in Freddy's world.
And when the dreams start bleeding into the real world, that's scary surrealism at its
finest.
Everyone's scared of getting sick.
Nobody wants to look in the mirror and see something they don't recognize staring back.
That's why The Fly packs such a punch.
Directed by David Cronenberg, this 1986 remake finds Jeff Goldblum playing eccentric scientist
Seth Brundle, a man who's morphing into a hideous insect.
Throughout the course of the film, body parts fall off Brundle's body.
He twitches, shakes, and vomits all over his food.
His humanity is rotting away, and the insect is taking over.
"No, no,"
Cronenberg has said the movie is an allegory for AIDS, but the metaphor also works with
everything from drug addiction to aging.
The human body can't last forever.
That's why The Fly is sure to linger in your mind for many years to come.
As a wise woman once said:
"Be afraid.
Be very afraid."
There aren't any vampires or werewolves in The Silence of the Lambs.
Instead, this Oscar-winning thriller is about real-life monsters.
Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill are terrifying because they could actually exist.
When Lecter stares straight into the camera, you're looking into the eyes of a genuine
demon... a monster you might actually meet on the street.
"What is your worst memory of childhood?"
"The death of my father."
Jonathan Demme's movie is steeped in Gothic horror.
Hannibal's dank cell and Buffalo Bill's dungeon look like lairs you'd find in an Edgar Allan
Poe story.
The acting matches the lurid style, with Anthony Hopkins giving an electrifying performance
as the world's most charming psychopath.
Jodie Foster provides the perfect counterbalance as Clarice Starling: The character is gritty
and ambitious — inexperienced, but strong.
Of course, murderous cannibals will always be pretty scary… but the real horror is
the film's depiction of a woman living in a male-dominated world.
Demme uses his unique camerawork and incredible composition to show Starling surrounded by
intimidating dudes, from squaring off with a roomful of cops to her nightmare showdown
with Buffalo Bill.
But she never backs down... and her deathly dance with Hannibal makes for one of the most
twisted relationships ever seen on the big screen.
Plenty of horror movies provide blood and guts… but few horror movies actually move
you.
When it comes to tragedy, there's no horror film quite as upsetting as Brian De Palma's
Carrie.
Underneath all the pig blood and - powers, Carrie is ultimately a story about a lonely
soul — an outsider who's bullied so badly she finally breaks.
"We're all sorry, Carrie."
"They're all going to laugh at you,"
"Trust me, Carrie, you can trust me…"
Sissy Spacek gives one of the best performances in horror history as Carrie White, starting
off as a terrified teen, morphing into a happy girl with a great big smile, then turning
into a wide-eyed telekinetic killer.
De Palma is at the top of his game here.
He creates a high school world that feels like something out of a dream…before it
explodes into a full-blown nightmare.
The prom bloodbath is ingenious in its editing and camerawork, with the director using every
trick in the book — from slow motion and split screens to lighting techniques straight
out of Italian giallo films.
The result is a movie that's horrific to watch — because of the fright factor and the loneliness
at the heart of its titular character.
Horror fans love to debate which movie was the first real slasher film.
Was it Bay of Blood or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?
Perhaps it was Black Christmas?
Whatever gory flick got things started, Halloween introduced slasher films into the mainstream.
Released in 1978, this brutal little thriller laid the groundwork for every masked killer
movie that's come since, but few films have managed to capture the evil essence of the
original.
The moment you hear the Halloween theme, you want to look over your shoulder to make sure
someone isn't stalking you.
Then there's the chilling visuals, like the iconic point-of-view tracking shot of Michael
Myers' first kill.
Who can forget those brief glimpses of Michael as he sets his sights on Laurie Strode?
It's all so simple, yet it touches upon something primal.
At the end of the day, Halloween is all about the man in the mask.
He's the personification of evil, and cinema's biggest bogeyman.
No matter how many times you kill him, he keeps coming back for more.
And so do we.
Rosemary's Baby is a masterclass in building suspense and unease.
"You're lying!
You witches!"
But instead of using mystery to create tension, director Roman Polanski lets us know something
devilish is happening pretty much right off the bat.
Mia Farrow plays Rosemary Woodhouse, a woman who gets pregnant after a darkly trippy night
that she can't quite remember.
Soon after, it becomes clear that something wicked is growing inside her womb.
Meanwhile, her intensely creepy neighbors refuse to leave her alone.
"What does your hubby do?"
"He's an actor."
"I knew it, I said to Roman yesterday… he's so good-lookin'."
At first, Rosemary doesn't understand what's happening, but the audience sure does… yet
the lack of mystery never detracts from the suspense.
In fact, it makes it even more unbearable.
As Roger Ebert wrote in his review:
"When the conclusion comes, it works not because it is a surprise but because it is horrifyingly
inevitable."
And what a conclusion it is.
"What have you done to it?
What have you done to its eyes?"
"He has his Father's eyes."
The haunted house is a classic horror archetype.
Cinema is full of spooky homes, from The Amityville Horror to Poltergeist.
But few have captured the creeping dread and terrible sadness of living in a ghostly home
like The Orphanage.
The story follows a woman named Laura who buys an old orphanage with the hopes of using
it to help disabled children.
But when her own son disappears in its darkened corridors, Laura suspects there might be evil
spirits at play.
The movie takes its time, jarring you with disturbing images of a creepy kid wearing
an unsettling mask.
And as Laura searchers for her son and digs deeper into her past, she learns that history
is full of ghosts, always haunting the present, and sometimes asking for help.
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