Widely considered an absurd way to pass the time, the act of viewing horror for entertainment has a very misplaced sense of approval in our society. The naysayers will chalk it off as sick and perverse, and a general waste of time to subject ourselves to the gore-fest that is the horror film industry. However, for many of us, it brings us back to a time when our brains were still in development…how the scares we found along the way have added to the rush and excitement of the unexpected. With Halloween right around the corner, and the nights growing colder, now is a perfect time to indulge these primal feelings in a dark room while curled up under a blanket.
As an art form, like many, the genre of horror has gone through its ups and downs within our culture. It has found its niche sporadically over the years in the form of Gothic themes in silent film, exploitation film of the 1970’s, slasher franchises of the 1980’s, and so on and so forth. With so many subsets of variety in its existence, one begs the question of how to go about getting the best experience possible while choosing the film to watch this evening. Fortunately, in these past 15 years, the horror genre has gone through a renaissance of sorts. Gaining bigger budgets, a higher interest of the most talented writers and directors of our time, and the advancement of special effects, the best elements of decades past have culminated into some of the best delivered experiences film studios have to offer. This is a list of the films we believe have been best executed in the style and tone they were attempting. Perhaps not fueled by the intensity or gore that people regularly expect in films like them, these are the films that have worked the best as a piece of art, dutifully crafted by their creators, and masterfully giving us the experiences we crave in any art form.
This article is meant to explore these films as an art form, and in no particular order. Great care has been taken to keep this material as free of spoilers as possible, in the hopes that our readers consider our suggestions and enjoy these pieces as much as their creators intended.
Surprisingly, this little known flick delivers, not in it’s innovation or creativity, but in the lack thereof. To watch House of the Devil is an experience that takes the viewer on a journey back in time to the early 1980’s. Every element in this telling of a young college student’s night of terror is caught in remarkable detail from the era it is based in. Not only did the film makers keep every single tiny element true to the period, but the actual filming is done in a manner that is astounding to anyone well versed in the films of that time in history. Every note of the musical score, every camera angle, every conceivable touch of style, this is an example of getting tone and pace dead on. It’s a slow burner that builds up to an exceptionally disturbing and surprising climax, and great for the nostalgic types who had the crap scared out of them as kids 30 years ago. [Official Movie Trailer]
The creatures that we know all too well from classic literature are terrifying in their Gothic beginnings, but what happens when they survive to live in a contemporary setting? Let Me In follows the struggle of a bullied and misunderstood boy who finds friendship in a strange young girl who turns out to be afflicted with supernatural powers. Forever trapped in the body of a 12 year old girl, her survival depends on the companionship she keeps with humans, and the empathy they have for her situation. Classified as a Horror Film, but ultimately a love story, this film’s greatest strength is its balance of the disturbing gore and moments of tenderness during the process of building deep, and unsuspected relationships. A closely adapted re-make of the Swedish Film Let The Right One In, it’s not worth splitting hairs over which is better, and recommended to bypass all of the subtitles and view this Americanized version instead. [Official Movie Trailer]
In his directorial depute, established musician Rob Zombie took his extensive knowledge of trashy exploitation horror of the 1970s and mashed it up with modern cinematography and special effects to bring us House of 1000 Corpses. This telling of a mass-murdering family is disturbing to say the least in its portrayal of human mutilation, but its the delivery that takes it to a whole different kind of level. Through psychedelically filtered edits, fast cuts that are extremely rough around the edges, and a cast of characters that exhibit their own psychosis in cleverly warped ways, this tops the charts for “unsettling”. Zombie has an incredible ability to use all of his creative tools to establish a gritty tone that is difficult to see as pre-conceived. While the majority of the film appears to be centered around the mindless torture of the victims, the final twists and turns are as brutally terrifying as they are unbelievable. [Official Movie Trailer]
In this interwoven telling of four tails all occurring on the same Halloween night, viewers gain a sense of the holiday’s importance and why traditions live on. The stories themselves all begin with the most basic depictions of All Hallow’s Eve, following the typical mischievous pranks, young girls shopping for slutty costumes, and the all too common tradition of handing out candy to the neighborhood kids. As Trick ‘r Treat tells out though, a deeper meaning of Halloween and it’s traditions reveals itself in the form of a child-like creature in costume. The film’s tone is crafted in a way that will remind the viewer what is fun about scary, and why we find enjoyment in what could easily be dismissed as a silly and ridiculous holiday. A compelling combination of freight and honesty, this is an incredibly unique vision of the holiday we celebrate every October the 31st. [Official Movie Trailer]
On the surface, Sinister can easily have been regarded as a typical horror flick, having made its way through theaters mostly unnoticed by audiences. However, this is a film that manages to incorporate just about every known tool throughout the horror genre to tell its story. It takes modern convention in cinematography, and manages to mash in disturbing 16 mm snuff film imagery to guide the story forward following a Boogyman character who’s origin fuels a psychological thrill-ride. The progression towards the disturbingly graphic climax is driven by a slow and brooding tension, instead of overly intense special effects. The delivery of so many typical horror film elements was a huge risk that could have easily become a muddy mess of movie making, but instead shined through as an almost perfect blend of everything horror movies should aspire to be. [Official Movie Trailer]
Five unsuspecting teenagers take a weekend outing to a rustic cabin in the middle of nowhere. It’s a story that’s been told more times through the history of horror than we’d like to count, but the film makers behind The Cabin in the Woods managed to take all those old and used up horror cliches and flip them into an innovative and enthralling thrill ride. As the story unfolds, the stakes turn out to be higher than you would ever have expected. Not only is the scope of this story monumental, but it is delivered with an amazing blend of intelligent style with satirical wit. It is an unrelenting experience that keeps pace right up to one of the most creative and chaotic climaxes of all time. With a top notch cast to top it off, The Cabin in the Woods is a film experience that will satisfy anyone who has a strong enough stomach. [Official Movie Trailer]
There once was a time when horror didn’t require big studio budgets, any remnant of decent acting, or any sort of elaborate pitch to throw at the marketed audience. Arguably, that was the year 1981, when Sam Raimi brought us The Evil Dead. The original concept of this film was nothing more than (get this) five teenagers go on a weekend excursion in the middle of nowhere and the most blood soaked of supernatural experience takes place. The film worked, but not as expected, and one of the biggest cult hit trilogies of history was born.
Fast forward 32 years, and of course there was a remake. This time however, Evil Dead did not succeed as an accidental cult hit due to hoaky acting and unsophisticated special effects. Instead, the movie was made in the way that Sam Raimi had originally intended. A full blown gore-fest that could unsettle the most desensitized of horror film junkies. Of course, to keep up with modern times artistic liberties were made, but in a good way. The basic and sometimes muddled plot-line of the original films took shape in new ways. A few new and unexplored twists and turns made for a fresh new version that we can enjoy in a way that was technically impossible more than three decades previous. [Official Movie Trailer]
This adaptation of an early Stephen King novel was fortunate enough to have caught the eye of writer and Director Frank Darabont. Simple, and somewhat unexceptional in its foundation, The Mist follows the trials of a random town that suddenly had the unfortunate task of enduring a mysterious fog with violent creatures lurking in within its void. Here, however, the creatures are not worth getting worked up over. Although the special effects are obviously computer generated and nothing to be excited about, it is the human expiriment within this unexpected environment that really brings the terror alive. Subject to the duress of the situation, this is an astounding portrayal of just what is possible when our strenghths and our flaws are pushed to their limits. You find yourself on the edge of your seat and pondering what is more terrifying, the thing that lurks in the mist, or what we are capable of as people? This grand question has become Frank Darabont’s trademark, and one that would pay off later down the road when he took a chance by producing the hugely popular AMC series The Walking Dead. [Official Movie Trailer]
The synopsis on IMDB puts it plainly: “A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after getting involved in a sexual encounter.”
Yes, this is a horror film about a malevolent specter that is passed on like an STD. Although it seems completely ridiculous on a conceptual level, It Follows is delivered with technique that will draw new eyes to the genre of horror, and open eyes a little wider for those who are fluent in its language. The ominous score is reminiscent of the synthesized tracks of slasher flicks from the early 1980’s, but with an impending element that lends to the eerie tone that keeps your attention. The commonly lower-middle class setting, and obviously less-than-ambitious cast of characters make for great touches to tone down what can be considered an entirely unbelievable piece of story telling, and any bad decisions while fleeing from the evil entity are made more acceptable. This is a film that doesn’t necessarily feel the need to fill in the blanks as the plot goes on, because survival is all that matters when something so terrifying and unrelenting is out to get you. [Official Movie Trailer]
To plainly be described as the story of a family haunting is to do Insidious a real injustice. This is a film that seems in no way different than a typical horror flick in its opening, but doesn’t take very long to dish out a compelling story with extremely dark themes. The shock value of the typical movie scare is multiplied through some juxtaposition of the conventional timing combined with an exceptionally dark atmosphere. By doing this, the film gets right into the viewer’s head early on, and the suspense is made all the more real. As a whole, the story is well conceived and paced out as well as any big budget drama. To add to the appeal, Insidious has become a series that includes two sequels that are equally well done and provide a pace and tone as solid as the original. [Official Movie Trailer]
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