Here's ten more movies which are impressive and recommendable for those who continue to search to get thrilled, grossed, scared or freaked out. Although not as great as the list I provided 3 years ago, these ones are still rewatchable and worth seeing!
1-Saw-(2004)
If you weren't there at the beginning, before this turned into a franchise, you missed out on the unfolding of a new horror icon alongside one of the best twists ever made. Saw shaped new exciting ideas into the genre, and a majority of people mistook this and summarized it with the coined term "torture porn", which is badly misleading and inconceivable.
2-Dog Soldiers-(2002)
Massively entertaining! The premise starts the same like Predator(1987), but this movie is more intense. The British soldiers are shocked to know that werewolves surround their routine exercise location and forcefully barricade and hide at a weak cabin, where the monsters continue to attack them.
The acting was fastpaced and effective, I cared for the smart characters who tried many things to overcome the wolves and the action scenes were great. There were also some funny as hell moments, such as the Sarge getting punched on the bed, or the shotgun being taken by a wolf, the hand getting hammered by a hammer, many good stuff.
Dog Soldiers was intensely shot, it was compelling to see how the soldiers used their area and objects with good care, they literally dwelled through the whole house to evade them. Of course, the story itself is average, and the werewolves can look ridiculous, but it’s the intensity of it all and the action happening that made the movie for me. Think Straw Dogs(1971), but then with more action and horror involved!
3-Jacob's Ladder-(1990)
Having been in cult status for many years, this movie only got more fame and recognized because it was the main source of inspiration towards the Silent Hill franchise. Jacob's Ladder is a creepy tale about a Vietnam veteran who isn't quite sure where he currently resides; in the past, in the future, in dreams, or nightmares?
The film has very specific kinds of scares never seen again anywhere else, such as certain affected soldiers flipping their heads around madly, or just the whole transition from certain scenes playing out. Delusions, demons and drugs are main themes to be found, and it's such an eye opener when you get to the end.
4-Anguish-(1987)
A very original take on the slasher genre, Anguish is a movie within a movie(And at the credits it's even another movie!) that intelligently and interestingly places an unusual eye killing spree movie with typical teenagers in a typical horror movie conversation.
This is the second time I see Zelda Rubinstein, the first was in Poltergeist(1982). With an atmospheric soundtrack using buildups not only in that, but also during the hypnotic scenes from the Mother, Anguish's immersion is well placed.
The movie really was intriguing once someone in "real life" became hypnotized by the Mother in the movie and started acting the same way as the movie's killer, as if she now had a second son. You have got to see this one as a slasher fan for it has original content, but also decent suspense and beyond average gore involving eyes mostly. In overall a recommendable uncommon flick.
5-The Shining-(1980)
I rated this above average for years, but only found out about it's incredible detail of hidden signs after Rob Ager deeply analyzed the film, giving me a whole new perspective and opinion about it.
The Shining is Stanley Kubrick's gift towards horror, and Stephen King's favorite topic to critique about. Nevertheless Kubrick's version and vision of it now remain interesting to see, especially with the theories floating in the back of my mind with for instance why this scene shows these colorful interieurs being more than meets the eye, or why the arrangement of the next shot in a certain room is actually way different.
6-The Fly-(1986)
The two highlights of The Fly are the tragic love story and the body horror, which is Cronenberg's greatest gore I have seen yet. The transformation horror is more intriguing and shocking than the gore itself in my opinion, but both go of course hand in hand.
The massive amounts of horror movies out there usually feature a very average or bland story. Only a select few have an interesting story to tell, such as The Fly. Sure it might be a simple concept when one summarizes it, but the most simple things have proven to be the most effective time after time.
And who is to say that simple concepts cannot be upgraded or remade? That's right, this movie is actually a remake. Now I haven't seen the original 1958 version yet, but seeing that pretty much everyone finds this movie to be better, I will have to trust them on this one, not that I had any doubts about it, considering the time leap and the, let's say, technology which got improved.
The teleportation theory never has been seen so horrified up until now. An eccentric but sociable perma talking scientist tells his success story about his invention to a woman which would definitely bring a revolution to mankind if it was real.
Seth the scientist gets to know the truth that the woman is actually a journalist, and from that moment on, the tension has slowly started. After Seth's controversial human teleporation experiment, the body horror growth has also started slowly, but accelerates very fast at the climax.
And then the inevitable and unthinkable happens. The very last fusion scene consists of a man, a fly and a machine, Videodrome(1983) style but even more bizarre. The Fly is truly a love and a horror story. In overall, one of the best 80's horror I have seen yet.
7-À l'intérieur-(2007)
The French in the late twenty zeroes had an uprising with the genre, being brave enough and taking risks with bloody titles such as Martyrs(2008), Frontière(s)(2007) and earlier on Haute Tension(2003). With Inside, the French have made the bloodiest movie in years, rivaling even the king of gore called Braindead(1993).
Yet gore and blood are merely assistants when you see how people are affected and die. The chilling survival game being played here is a shocking experience , as La Femme, the mysterious murderess, brutally kills anyone in her way of acquiring her baby back...which is inside another woman's belly.
8-Suspiria-(1977)
I found it hard to choose between either this or Deep Red, because both movies made Dario Argento's reputation much better. I gotta say that Suspiria is more unique though. Considered by many to be a beautiful horror movie to look at, I gotta agree with that.
It reminded me a bit of The Shining's camerawork, but the mystery found in Suspiria is definitely a familiar Dario trademark. Suzy, the pretty main character, enters a German situated ballet academy, and strange, extreme occurences start to happen, which come with impressive death scenes, Dario's best yet.
The mystery was fun to experience, and the witches were well acted. Sadly, Suspiria was not that scary, but I still enjoyed the movie pretty much, so I am glad to have seen yet another classic horror movie from the 70's. Also love the title of the movie, and the music is powerful and intense!
9-[REC]-(2007)
This is the best "found footage" subgenre of horror if you ask me, and check out the first sequel as well. [REC] is a Spanish little flick that got a lot of positive response for using a point of view throughout the whole movie, all the while quick paced zombies teared and infected everyone down.
As if making them feel much closer than ever wasn't enough, the dramatic panic discussions within the survivor group and the sudden and very effective jump scenes were exhilarating to follow as well. The attic scare is one of the recent scariest moments in horror cinema.
10-Insidious-(2010)
Serious contender for one of the best ghost stories, the flowing consistency of this entry is compelling. There are some scary images and sequences to be found here, and I was reminded of other great ghost stories such as The Entity(1981), The Legend of Hell House(1973) and even The Woman in Black(1989).
The abnormal stuff is used in a believable way in it's purest form, without bias. Insidious has the balls to go beyond the typically found ghost horror scenes, and creates new moments that were thrilling to follow. I really like it when horror movies do it the right way, and I am very pleased to recommend this to everyone that can't get enough of horror, so see this one as soon as possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment