Favorite Horror DVD's

[Danbry39]

While working on the computer yesterday, I had the TV on in the background and the show was on the all-time scariest movies.

So, I was thinking, I like to be frightened. But, what to get. Ah, the good folk at HTG might have some interesting ideas.

What are your favorite horror movies.

Me (in no particular order):

1. From my childhood, I loved the wolfman movies. The fog, the violins, the black-and-white cinematography.

2. Jaws - remember going out to the Santa Monica pier right after seeing it and staring at the black water after midnight and being scared out of my mind.

3. The Exorcist: My wife still refuses to see this one.

4. Psycho - Motherly love gone to an extreme.

5. Alien - The isolation on the craft, the darkness...

6. The Haunting - No blood. No monsters seen...just the pounding on the door. By the way, I'm talking about the original, not the remake.

7. The American Idol fueled beach movie that came out after American Idol I and starred Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini. Still too frightening for me to watch. :B

I know this has probably been done before, but there have been a lot of recent horror films, such as The Ring that might add to a list.

So, any input will be appreciated.

[Kevin D]

From my wife, the horror lover:

1: When a stranger calls (original only, TV movie sequel for just the ending)
2: Puppet Master
3: Wishmaster (first one)
4: Friday the 13th
5: Hide and Seek (almost horror)
6: Ginger snaps
7: Saw
8: April Fools
9: Dolls
10: Creepshow II
11: Halloween
12: Body Bags

Along the same note, does anyone know the name of a (maybe TV only) movie that I think came on ABC in the mid-early 80's. I can't remember much, but I had nightmares for months. What I do remember is water running down a tub drain (possibly after a drowning) and at the end the house burnt down and all that was left was the main staircase with a wheelchair rocking in the wind at the top. Might have been a creepy old guy in the wheelchair throughout the movie.. I'd love to see it again to put closure on it.

Kevin D.

[Chris D]

Not a big fan of horror, but M. Night Shamalan's stuff really impresses me. And in the horror genre, Stephen King is of course the king. I've really gained an appreciation for his writing skill, although not many of his stories translated into that great of movies.

[Azeke]

Interesting let me see:

1) The Exorcist
2) Aliens
3) The Grudge (Japanese version)
4) Nightmare of Elm Street
5) Halloween
6) Thinner

This is what immediately comes to my mind.

Azeke

[Burke Strickland]

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=14270

That thread ("The greatest horror films") pretty well nailed it. Not that there is anything wrong with bringing it up again... there's always room for more suggestions. And not all the movies listed there were necessarily on DVD, so that gives it a slightly different spin as well.

Burke

[Danbry39]

Azeke, never heard of Thinner, so there's one I can check out.

Kevin, I'm waiting to see if anyone can come up with that movie you referred to. Sounds familiar, but bathtubs are pretty common, so it might just be by association.

Chris, I agree about Stephen King. Oh, and, by the way, I just saw a video on the internet that I think you'll like.

Click Here (nothing to do with horror films)

[Danbry39]

Burke,

Gee and I posted in that thread too. Oh well, memory ain't quite the same. Forgot Rosemary's Baby too.

My synapsis are shot!!! :B

[Danbry39]

By the way, I did order one DVD which I'd never heard of, but made, if I recall, the top 5 or 10 scariest list on that show last night.

It's a Japanese film called The Audition. Anyone seen that one?

[aud19]

I generally find most horror's kinda hokey...and as such dissapointing However there are a few thathave stuck with me...

The original Shining, Nicholson is just so damn creepy/nutty there's not a lot of "whiz bang" things jumbing out at you or modern gore but that movie still to this day slowly just creeps me out as it progresses.

One that really creeped me out as a kid was Poltergeist, probably wouldn't stand up to todays standards and not being an innocent doe-eyed child anymore probably wouldn't help either.

Alien and Fire in the Sky are another couple I enjoyed though they skirt "SciFi". Same with M Knight's movies that skirt Horror/SciFi/Mystery.

For horror/comedy it doesn't get much better than Army of Darkness :lol: that movie is brilliant!

The Birds is an oldy that still creeps me out....Psycho's a great movie but I don't really consider it very scary anymore...

[Danbry39]

It took me quite a while to look at flocks of birds on telephone wires without being a little disturbed after that one. Hitchcock had a way, with Psycho and The Birds, of getting into the deepest regions of our subconscious.

[Chris D]

Keith, great video! I'll repost it in "Home Brew"

[ChiefKeefe]

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few but...

These are in no particular order, but the top ones scared the Hell out of me as kid, but they're not as scary now:

1) Exorcist ("Can you spare a dime for an old alter boy, Father?")
2) Halloween
3) Exorcist 3 (that spider garnny crawling on the ceiling and the ghoul walking in the hallway of the hospital with the shears and covered by a sheet still give me the creeps)
3) Jacob's Ladder (some pretty scary scenes until the end)
4) The Shining ("Wendy, I'm home!)
5) Blair Witch Project (try going camping by yourself after seeing that one)
6) The Ring (that is one scary little biatch crawling out of that TV)
7) The Exorcism of Emily Rose (the position she's in and the look on her face when her boyfriend wakes up and sees her on the floor, ohhhhhhhhh nooooooo)
8) Jaws ("You go in the cage? The cage goes in the water? The sharks in the water. Farewell and adieu to ye fair Spanish ladies.")
9) Night of the Living Dead
10) Invasion of the Body Snatchers :E
9)

[ChiefKeefe]

Poltergeist 1 and 2

How can I forget these two movies. That old dude that comes to the door in the second one is CREEPY! :E

[George Bellefontaine]

Those old Wolfman, Frankenstein and other horror classics from Universal in the 30s/40s still scare the heck out of me. And even though it is called Sci-Fi, ALIEN has got to be one of the scariest horror flicks ever. A lot of the titles already mentioned here are favorites of mine as well.

[Nick M]

Oh! Another one of these threads! I'll have to repost my usual, and add a few as well...

I think the scariest movies are the ones involving the evil within people, or an unseen terror such as the sharks/jellyfish you don't immediately see in "Open Water".

Here are a few...

The Exorcist Special Edition
Misery, The Shining, Pet Sematary, It, Apt Pupil
Silence of the Lambs
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original, new one sucks)
Jaws
Seven
Open Water (Amateurish, but seems more realistic that way too!)

I recently saw the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes", and that was ok, but a bit to pop-culture MTV-ish. It certainly wouldn't make my list above. I can't stand the teeny thrillers like "Saw" or "The Ring" or "Scream".

I'm freaked out by Open Water, because being stranded in the ocean all alone has to be my #1 fear. Not knowing whats lurking below me and having nothing but salt-water and sky to work with gives me chills. 8O

[zorg]

yes Open Water was great I thought.

A good Aussie contender with some great scenery is Wolf Creek shot on a budget of about AUD1.5 million.....

[Danbry39]

Isn't Open Water based on a true story? Or, at least, there was a true story that was somewhat similar.

That movie I've avoided because the very idea gives me chills up my spine. But, I'll probably rent it at some point this summer.

Anyone remember Peter Weirs' The Last Wave? I think that movie would even be more frightening today given recent meteorogical and geophysical events, like the tragic tsunami. It, too, took place in Australia.

[George Bellefontaine]

Open Water was one of the few movies I bothered to see at the local cinema. It is indeed based on a true story but hard to comprehend how two people could be left behind while out on a deepsea diving thingy. I mean, these dive folk are pretty careful and take head counts before and after the excursion. In a tv special devoted to the true story, there were cases of witnesses saying they saw the guy and gal long after the incident was supposed to take place. As for the movie, well I got a little bored watching two heads bobbing around in the water for 80 or so minutes. Lots of dialogue between the guy and gal. Sorta like a stageplay in the water. Only excitement was when the sharks came around.

Keith, I never did see The Last Wave, but now I must look around to see if it's available for rental.

[aud19]

As for the movie, well I got a little bored watching two heads bobbing around in the water for 80 or so minutes. Lots of dialogue between the guy and gal. Sorta like a stageplay in the water. Only excitement was when the sharks came around.

Yeah I didn't think much of the movie either which was dissapointing because I thought the concept could be very good/scary... but I was mostly bored and thought the acting was a bit wooden and mediocre for the most part

[ShadowZA]

Probably the 2 horror movies that scared my pants outta the room & way far down the road were "Jaws" from 1975 & John Carpenter's "The Thing" 8O from 1982.

[ChiefKeefe]

Replies...

"Open Water" held my attention, but I agree that it wasn't that great. I only rented it and watched the whole movie because I love sharks. I hate to admit that the best part of the movie was when the female lead was naked in the bedroom scene.

Now, as far as "The Ring" being a "teen" slasher movie, I must protest. That movie had way too much story to it to be a simple "teen" slasher movie. I consider movies in that category to be all of the "Friday the 13th" movies, "Nightmare on Elmstreet" movies, "Scary Movie" the rest of the "Halloween" movies (after the first one) and the "Saw" movies. How can you call "The Ring" a "teeny" movie with the performances given by Brian Cox and Naomi Watts? They are both fantastic actors and the plot was very well thoughtout (though a little long in reaching a conclusion). I won't see the secong one. I bet it is a "teeny" movie, just like that crap "The Grudge".

[Azeke]

ChiefKeefe,

You classified The Grudge as crap, which compelled me to edit my previous post, because I meant the Japanese version of the movie. Thanks for bringing my attention to that error .

Best regards,

Azeke

[june]

Darkness Falls!!!!

Hello All,

This DVD must be watched after it's dark outside. It's my favorite DVD for entertaining friends. This story was just okay, but the sound is awesome! Hopefully I can find a DTS version.