Best horror movie of all time, in your opinion ?

[steve2470]

I'm not a horror movie fan, so I don't have a good opinion on this. The last horror-ish movie I saw was Paranormal Activity, which spooked me sufficiently.

[jmowreader]

1. Any George W. Bush state of the union address...

No really, The Shining is pretty damn good.

[demmiblue]

2. All-time: The Shining. More recent: Let the Right One In (original version).

[m-lekktor]

80. good choices! nt

[CBGLuthier]

3. Psycho

It may not be the best of all time but it is certainly the one done by the best director and yes I am including Kubrick.

I was lucky that even though the movie was released a few years before I was born I still got to see it for the first time in a theater when i was 16 or so.

Not really a horror fan either. I do like An American Werewolf in London, The Shining, Sisters, the original Frankenstein, both the 70s and the 90s versions of Dracula, and The Wolf Man.

For SF horror it is hard to top Alien.

[TexasBushwhacker]

41. My favorite Dracula was produced by the BBC

in the 70s. It showed on PBS here in the states and starred Louis Jordan.

[yuiyoshida]

4. if Monster movies are Horror films than to me there is only one number one!

[Enthusiast]

68. When we were kids we were crazy about Godzilla.

We watched them at the local theater, the only one in town.

[yuiyoshida]

74. I have a box that I call Monster Island

I have all size Godzillas in there (except the latest one..I gave up looking long ago) But yeah. I have that box full of different size godzilla's ..and Rodan, Gamera..King kong, and a few others. One is so big, I had to remove the tail just to put it all in. I love them.. they are My favorite monsters and sci fi creatures!

[Enthusiast]

76. Godzilla and Godzilla vs King Kong and the rest remind me of the happy carefree times.

I was born in 1952 so I grew up during the Marvel Silver Age. We were nuts over the classic horror, sci-fi movies and what were then contemporary Japanese sci-fi flicks.

[sarge43]

5. Requiem for a Dream

Real horror is something that actually could and does happen, not ghosts and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night

[LynneSin]

10. I like how you considered that one

Because you would expect what happened to the heroin junkies which was pretty traumatizing to watch what happened to all 3 of them (amazingly played by Jared Leto, Marlon Wayons and Jennifer Connelly). But the real horror was watching Ellen Burstyn descent into hell as she became addicted to the speed diet pills she was taking. That nightmare scene where she was making out with Christopher McDonald was brilliantly creepy! Burstyn was robbed of an Oscar that year - no one can claim that Julia Roberts did a better job!

[sarge43]

12. Agree. Burstyn's performance is amazing - completely believable.

There aren't too many films I can't watch again; that was one of them - truly horrifying.

[LynneSin]

15. When it was on cable it was like a train wreck

I shouldn't look but I couldn't turn away.

[Stuart G]

22. This is a real horror movie, it really happened, it is about horrific death...Night and Fog

Night and Fog...32 minutes

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048434/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

It is only 32 minutes..Yet if you read the first 10 comments from readers, they all agree it is the most horrific movie the readers have ever seen. It will pierce your mind, and it is something you will never forget. it is horrific beyond belief.

Towards the bottom of the page, it says see all 84 user reviews...
Click on that, and you will see the first page of reader comments..that will be enough.

[sarge43]

23. Reality is always more horrifying than any fiction.

I've heard of it; I could never watch it. I went to the Dachau camp. It took months before the nightmares went away.

[Stuart G]

24. You are correct, reality more horrifying than fiction

Man's inhumanity to man is truly hard to believe. But in this case, there is a record of that, for most of the film, it is the Nazi's own record. (they were sure they were going to win, so that is why they kept it.) Then, as the camps were opened, the U.S. Army made a record of what was there as the camps opened. What else is there to say? You understand, but if you do not think that, please watch this 32 minute movie. Want to know about this issue, then watch this film.

[BlueJazz]

25. Damn Sarge!...I didn't know that you were one of the ones that saw that Horror live.

I'd be in a box somewhere. You're a better man than I am...

[sarge43]

30. Had to bear witness, BlueJazz

It was the finger nail scratches on the walls and the unmarked graves. The gas could take a long time to kill and everything was taken from the prisoners, even their names.

You are a better man than me; I'm a woman.

[BlueJazz]

35. I'm guilty of sexism. I apologize.

[sarge43]

36. No, you're not. No reason to apologize

[ailsagirl]

6. PSYCHO!!

It still packs a punch and directors have been trying to duplicate its horror for years and
have succeeded only in bad imitations.

Also Repulsion was pretty weird but Psycho has my vote!!!

[ailsagirl]

7. You asked about horror movies...

but what I really prefer are suspense movies, and Hitchcock is truly "The Master of Suspense."

Suspense is much more difficult to depict because it doesn't rely on clumsy and gratuitous
scenes of carnage. Regarding Psycho, it has been said that all the violence is implied-- even
the notorious shower scene (because we never see the knife actually entering her body). He's
deft and subtle and, IMO, (if done right-- and so few can) it can be scarier than a thousand
Wes Craven movies!! I want to be sitting on the edge of my seat-- not be grossed out!

[SwissTony]

8. Exactly. When you see the monster,

often your reaction is "Is that it?"

i liked the first Alien movie, a sci-fi horror. The follow ups were good, but you pretty much knew what was coming.

I thought The Blob was a comedy.

[ailsagirl]

13. The Blob was hilarious!!

I used to watch "horror movies" (The Blob, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, etc.) because they were
(unintentionally) funny-- often funnier than so-called comedies. But then I made the mistake of
seeing (through splayed fingers) Last House on the Left, thinking it would be funny-- it was not.
It was atrocious-- rapes, evisceration, sadism-- it really upset me and I never again looked for a
horror movie to laugh at because, sadly, they just weren't amusing anymore. Apparently audiences
were hardened and demanded more gore, more explicit violence, and more sadism.

I accidentally happened upon Night of the Living Dead, thinking it was one of those amusing
movies-- it was not-- but I thought it was well done. Though it was gruesome in parts, it was
filmed in black & white (so was Psycho, for that matter) which offset some of the gore. But it
kept me interested and I didn't have to cover my eyes once!

I think that films, as well as television, have been going downhill for many years.

[SwissTony]

14. I know what you mean.

In the old days (and I'm old enough to have been around then), horror was done by suggestion. Psycho is probably the best example. there was nothing explicit, but you knew exactly what was going on.

I don't really mind the gore but it can be excessive. And it's often included because the story line is weak.

Having said that, I love The Walking Dead. There's plenty of gore in it, but it's usually incidental. Chop off a zombie's head and that's it. It's quick and it's gone.

Apart from TWD and a few sport programmes (cricket and soccer) I don't watch TV much. I think Springsteen had a song called "67 channels and there's nothing on". Nowadays it's more like 367 channels and there's even less on.

[ailsagirl]

17. I know what YOU mean

Last edited Wed Sep 9, 2015, 08:27 PM - Edit history (1)

The gore is put in there for shock value, though I don't know if anyone really gets shocked anymore.
The Greeks used to have all their violence acted off-stage because they knew that the unseen can be
more frightening than what's actually shown. (I wasn't born yet back in Grecian times-- this is just
what I've read, LOL)

Yep, with zillions of channels we're lucky if we can net a dozen half-way decent ones. I remember
The Twilight Zone and how eerie it could be-- and its creativity still knocks me out. Serling certainly
was ahead of his time! I sure miss that creativity nowadays.

That leaves books, which is OK since they're better for one's brain because they involve active
mental participation, as opposed to just staring at a screen.

I'm just brimming with philosophy today, aren't I? Maybe it's the heat

[raccoon]

93. Right, and it isn't as difficult to write--just throw in more gore.

I don't really mind the gore but it can be excessive. And it's often included because the story line is weak.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. The Exorcist was a good one.

And there's Prince of Darkness, a cheesy movie that wouldn't be in any "best" lists, but it scared the bejeebers out of me.

[Capn Sunshine]

64. The Exorcist scared the bejeezus out of me

We had a baby girl, born in that October. After seeing that movie I was so entirely creeped out I went to the nursery and moved her crib into our bedroom. Then my wife's sister thought it would be hilarious to teach her to growl. But that's another story.

[NobodyHere]

87. The Exorcist was terrible

I've seen better movies on Mystery Science Theatre 3000

[GOLGO 13]

11. As a kid I saw JAWS so y'know fuck the ocean. As a teen I saw THE THING

by legendary director John Carpenter that proves re-makes can be better than the original. Some of the torture-porn stuff like SAW can be hit/miss for me.

I'm a big horror fan.

[SwissTony]

16. I saw Jaws and it didn't worry me. I grew up in Adelaide

plenty of sharks there. I wasn't much worried.

I love The thing. It's the best Carpenter movie. And, yeah, much better than the James Arness version - which was pretty good in it's own right.

[uriel1972]

19. Woot for Adelaide :)

[SwissTony]

20. Yeah, we used to have shark patrols (I'm sure they still do).

We'd have a light plane flying just off the coast and if they saw a shark, they'd notify the local radio stations who would put out a shark warning for that particular beach. In the old days (60s, 70s) people used to take their transistor radios to the beach and if a shark was sighted, you'd have the lifesavers (equivalent of the Baywatch team) and members of the public telling people to get out of the water.

[uriel1972]

18. Alien...

Gothic horror in space.

[BlueJazz]

29. I agree...one of the best.

[gvstn]

43. That was a good one.

[NightWatcher]

21. The original Night of the Living Dead and Blair Witch

Romero is king of horror and Blair Witch was very original and I almost forgot halfway through that it was a horror movie, having been camping when things didn't turn out as planned.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. It's not really part of the horror genre...

But I spent the whole time watching "Wait Until Dark" clutching my poor husband's pulverized arm!

The suspense builds and builds.........amazing.

[sarge43]

31. With that film Hepburn proved she was more than a pretty face. n/t

[Solomon]

27. original Frankenstein

The atatmosphere is terrific!

[Laffy Kat]

34. I feel the same way about the 1940s "Dracula."

It was all the great acting, lighting, direction. No blood or gore. It STILL scares me.

[Enthusiast]

69. My favorite back in the day was Son of Frankenstein.

[Kingofalldems]

28. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

Also--The Exorcist

[WinkyDink]

32. Was JUST about to post IotBS! The original with Kevin McCarthy!

[Kingofalldems]

33. Yep. Great film with a great cast.

[surrealAmerican]

37. Wait Until Dark ...

... although it seems to be characterized as a "thriller" rather than "horror" movie. I always thought those were the same thing.

[First Speaker]

38. Curse of the Cat People...

...from the 1940s Val Lewton unit at RKO...a little girl, the ghost of her Daddy's first wife, and not a drop of blood or gore. Just intelligent writing and acting, with a number of well-drawn women characters. Color--and gore--ruined horror movies. If this is regarded as too cultish a choice, then I guess I'd go for Psycho...

[PufPuf23]

81. The 1982 Cat People still is one of my favorite movies but

the best horror movie is The Shining.

[charlie and algernon]

39. Gotta be the original slasher flick: Halloween.

[Generic Brad]

45. That has my vote too

That came out when I was a teenager and it struck a chord with me. I suppose how we react to a film has a lot to do with where we are in life at that time.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

40. I'll go with House of 1000 Corpses

The 1979 version of Dracula is another all time fave too.

[TexasBushwhacker]

42. I liked the 1963 version of The Haunting n/t

[gvstn]

44. I remember the first Child's Play (Chuckie) movie giving me a few startles.

[mackerel]

46. Let the Right One In

If it's not consider horror than best vampire film

[kairos12]

56. That is an excellent choice.

[Hollingsworth]

47. Jacob's Ladder and The Exorcist kept me up at night.

[mopinko]

89. jacob's ladder is a great one.

white knuckle.

[CrawlingChaos]

48. My faves are Suspiria and Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The original Texas Chainsaw, of course. I won't see that remake.

I'm also a fan of Paranormal Activity, which you mentioned. I thought it was so much fun and the sequels are pretty good too, IMO. A lot of people are sick to death of the found footage gimmick, but I still enjoy it, when it's done well. My favorite found footage horror movie is Spanish film called REC (there should be brackets around that title but it disappears when I do that). I love, love, looooooooove it. It would be on my Top 10 list for sure.

I love horror.

[restorefreedom]

49. the shining

don't remember how many nights sleep i lost after that one

and the book was even scarier.

[smirkymonkey]

50. The Changeling w/ George C. Scott.

I don't really like the slasher kinds of horror movies, this one is a ghost story but has a really strong cast and excellent script. It's not corny, but genuinely chilling in a more subtle way than most horror movies.

[Frank Cannon]

72. An overlooked gem.

Proof that an effective horror film doesn't need to have gore and jump scares to work.

[smirkymonkey]

75. Yes! They just don't make them like that anymore,

But they are my favorite types of horror films. There are a few English films like that, subtle, but horrifying. Those are my favorite types of scary movies.

[lovemydog]

51. The Omen.

Freaked me out.

[OneGrassRoot]

84. Me, too. The music, everything.

[Skittles]

52. The Haunting, 1963

no special effects, no gore

[kairos12]

57. I always remembered the spooky spiral staircase.

[Byronic]

53. Halloween

I'm a great fan of the Hammer Horror movies - especially the earlier ones - any film which contains both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing gets a thumbs-up from me, no matter how dodgy the script might be.

The original Halloween movie is probably my favorite though. As ever with horror films, the first is often the best, with the quality becoming diluted as sequel after sequel gets made.

[CTyankee]

54. The Sixth Sense..."I see dead people."

What if you're dead and you don't know it?

[kairos12]

55. The Japanese film Audition.

[alphafemale]

92. That one stayed with me awhile. nt

[angel823]

58. Toss up

The Mist or Absentia

Angel in Texasperated

[Iggo]

59. Alien.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

60. McCain / Palin 2008 campaign

Now THAT was scary.


As has been proved out by their subsequent actions and words.

[olddots]

61. Phyco

[SfromCanada]

62. Best Horror Film of all Time

For me, my classic horror is Night of the Living Dead (original version in black & white only.) Creepy and very smart film.

Second Choice is The Ring, with Naomi Watts.

I really like movies that make my hair stand on end.

[mackerel]

63. Yes Night of the Living Dead still tops after all these years.

[Capn Sunshine]

65. What about "Silence of the Lambs"?

does that count. It was major creepy.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

78. Oh yes, loved that!

I love a good scary movie, almost any kind.


Devil's Rejects. Gross, horrifying, really well done.

[Ino]

66. At the time, The Exorcist...

Just hearing the theme music creeped me out for a long long time.

Since then, I find The Others with Nicole Kidman a chilling classic!

Saw for sheer horrible horror

[yawnmaster]

67. I did enjoy "The Thing" 1982 version ( I also liked the 1951 version) eom

[Frank Cannon]

73. John Carpenter's The Thing is my all-time fave.

I watch it every year around Halloween.

[bigwillq]

70. The original Halloween (nt)

[LWolf]

71. Pan's Labyrinth

I can't do "of all time." Not being a big horror fan, I can only go with what I've seen.

Most recently, Pan's Labyrinth, with it's haunting musical score.

I admit to having a sneaking affection for cheesy old Japanese monster movies, too.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

77. A 3 way tie

Alien
The Exorcist
The Shining

The almost total lack of background music in The Exorcist IMHO was a great touch.

[redwitch]

79. Thriller/horror movies.

The Haunting (1st one, not gawdawful remake)

The Shining ( Although I hate what they did to Mr. Halloran, book was way better)

The Exorcist

And I loved the Sixth Sense too.

Saw a good thriller last night on Netflix, had me hugging a pillow across my stomach for protection. It's called "The Gift." Stars Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves.

[trueblue2007]

82. THE THING. kurt russell one. scared me 2 death!!!

i could never watch it again.

[yawnmaster]

94. watch it again, at night! It is a great one. eom

[Ahpook]

83. The Exorcist got me for sure

Plus the story and acting are really well done.

Here are a couple that haven't been mentioned.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082334/?ref_=nv_sr_1

A little cheese and the ending left you wondering if the writer lost interest. There are some genuinely scary scenes in this movie, though.

Also a Japanese movie named Rinne. It reminds of The Shining quite a bit

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456630/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

[dilby]

85. Night of The Living Dead n/t

[mrmpa]

86. Though not a horror film The Night of the Hunter..........

still scares the shit out of me. I have seen it 4 times, each time I thought it would be less scary and I was wrong.

[CBGLuthier]

91. Chil--dren, Chil-------dren. Great movie.

[mopinko]

88. prince of darkness and

kenneth branaugh's frankenstein.

[CBGLuthier]

90. After watching it again last night I want to add Seconds to the mix.

Rock Hudson

Will Geer, Jeff Corey and John Randolph, three actors who were blacklisted.

If you don't know it, it will change your view of how good an actor Rock Hudson was.

Chilling, perfect, and a wonderful thematic statement upon the meaningless of life itself.

Murray Hamilton was excellent also.

[Jade Fox]

95. Don't Look Now, The Grudge, Insidious

[trof]

96. Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein...

and the Wolfman and Dracula!
This scared the bejesus out of me when I was a kid.

Full movie, free, here:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=abbott+and+costello+meet+frankenstein&FORM=VIRE2#view=detail&mid=263DCE6326FD82E751B6263DCE6326FD82E751B6

[hunter]

97. The Big Chill.

I'm absolutely serious.