Can anyone recommend me some great recent horror movies?

[Koray Savas 2,260]

Flickering lights and bumps in the night aren't scary. They're marketing geniuses though, I'll give them that. Making millions off $11,000.

[JoeinAR 1,957]

Oh - and I should also have shouted out for Paranormal Activity....THAT's how to make a horror film....no budget, one set, no names....a pure masterclass from beginning to (original) ending.....

like Koray said a master of marketing but it ws terrible otherwise, what an uninteresting unscary movie.

Saw series - I liked the first 3, things went downhill very fast with 4 and 5, then a belated return to form for the 6th installment. Can't wait for number 7 - none of these films are oscar winners but they have more than their fare share of twists, turns, shocks and surprises...each one a fun new rollercoaster ride...

Yes, I agree.

Only a moron would call Saw crap (referring to Koray's post). It may not be someone's cup of tea--which would be quite understandable--but it's not crap. In fact, it is one of the most influential (and financially successful) horror films of all time. Not every horror film can be Jaws or The Exorcist or even Poltergeist.

According to wiki, Saw was made on a stringshoe budget of $1,1 million and earned more than 100 million worldwide. That alone doesn't make it great, of course, but it's certainly impressive and noteworthy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_(film)

sorry but to me Saw is crap, it may be influential but that doesn't give it a pass for starting a bad trend in torture horror. I watched it one time, I was given the DVD as a gift and I promptly regifted it. I have no problem with gore, I have no problem with a film being seriously bloody. But I do have a problem with the fils you listed. I would much prefer to watch Devil, or Drag Me to Hell, The Orphan, The Crazies, even the awful Legion to Saw. I suspect the Saw series is a total waste but I cannot comment because I do refuse to watch them. I prefer the Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn to Last house on the Left and Wolf Creek. But in most regards I'll go watch the old horror classics as the never disappoint.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 12,383]

Joe, how is Teeth?

[Jay 46,241]

I saw Teeth, it was alright. Not really a horror movie, more of a black comedy

[JoeinAR 1,957]

Stefan, never saw it.

Josh, add the original Final Destination, Jeepers Creepers was very good for about 70% of the movie. High Tension is good for a french horror movie, Frailty, the Mist, I even like the remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

[Andy 7,728]

These may be obvious choices, or you may dismiss them as "old" but I'm gonna recommend them any way. Some old stuff to consider:

Universal's Frankenstein series (particularly Bride of Frankenstein)

Hammer Horror - This is a HUGE one. Don't miss the Chris Lee Dracula movies, or the Karnstein trilogy. Nobody did Vampires like Hammer.

Vincent Price/Roger Corman pics - notoriously low budget, but delightfully creepy.

Once you get through that, you might want to check out some of the great Italian horror films by Mario Bava (Black Sunday and Black Sabbath - both of which inspired Burton's Sleepy Hollow). While we're on the subject of Italian horror, you simply must see Suspiria if you haven't yet. It is shocking, loud, colorful, and disturbing.

Perhaps the movie that scared me most as a child was Salem's Lot (1979), although your mileage may vary. (It looks a bit dated.) Jesus, I couldn't sleep properly for months after that one. The fact that it actually depicted young boys being killed by vampires, being buried, and coming back messed me up bad, and still chills me now.

Beyond that, make sure you enjoy some of the 80s horror like Creepshow (my personal favorite), Re-Animator, American Werewolf, and Fright Night.

You've done all the Romero zombie movies, right?

Oh yeah, and the Ring is pretty much one of the rare modern ones that had me literally squirming in my chair.

[Jill Sandwich 11,165]

I highly recommend The S From Hell, a horror mockumentary short on the Screen Gems logo.

[Josh500 1,620]

Oh - and I should also have shouted out for Paranormal Activity....THAT's how to make a horror film....no budget, one set, no names....a pure masterclass from beginning to (original) ending.....

like Koray said a master of marketing but it ws terrible otherwise, what an uninteresting unscary movie.

Saw series - I liked the first 3, things went downhill very fast with 4 and 5, then a belated return to form for the 6th installment. Can't wait for number 7 - none of these films are oscar winners but they have more than their fare share of twists, turns, shocks and surprises...each one a fun new rollercoaster ride...

Yes, I agree.

Only a moron would call Saw crap (referring to Koray's post). It may not be someone's cup of tea--which would be quite understandable--but it's not crap. In fact, it is one of the most influential (and financially successful) horror films of all time. Not every horror film can be Jaws or The Exorcist or even Poltergeist.

According to wiki, Saw was made on a stringshoe budget of $1,1 million and earned more than 100 million worldwide. That alone doesn't make it great, of course, but it's certainly impressive and noteworthy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_(film)

sorry but to me Saw is crap, it may be influential but that doesn't give it a pass for starting a bad trend in torture horror. I watched it one time, I was given the DVD as a gift and I promptly regifted it. I have no problem with gore, I have no problem with a film being seriously bloody. But I do have a problem with the fils you listed. I would much prefer to watch Devil, or Drag Me to Hell, The Orphan, The Crazies, even the awful Legion to Saw. I suspect the Saw series is a total waste but I cannot comment because I do refuse to watch them. I prefer the Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn to Last house on the Left and Wolf Creek. But in most regards I'll go watch the old horror classics as the never disappoint.

I duly note your personal opinion.

I like the Saw movies, you dislike them; many other people either love or hate them. But the series (or the first movie) is not crap. Of course, it depends on the definition of the word "crap," but we don't wanna get too deep into that. If you go to any big DVD store and to the horror section, what you'll find there is usually 90% crap. Bad stories, bad directing, bad acting, some of them straight to DVDs (they didn't even get theatrial releases), most of them literally unwatchable. And Saw is definitely NOT in that 90%.

Again, I understand that so-called "torture porn" (although I don't understand why Saw should be described as either "torture" or "porn"; the victims torture themselves and there's no naked scenes at all) is not everybody's cup of tea. That's fine; but that doesn't mean they're bad movies. They're just not everybody's kind of movie, just like sappy romantic comedies à la Eat Pray Love or Westerns.

Oh yeah, as to Paranormal Activities... I kind of liked that! I love horror movies that take themselves seriously. (Scream and Scary Movie are all right, but they're more comedies than horror, IMO.) The only thing I didn't like was the main actress, whom I found annoying as hell and butt ugly. That's a good example of a girl (or woman, I guess) I could never like, even slightly.

You've done all the Romero zombie movies, right?

Yes! One of the best series. I even like most of the remakes... Dawn of the Dead, the new version, was one of the best, IMO.

Oh yeah, and the Ring is pretty much one of the rare modern ones that had me literally squirming in my chair.

You know, I have to rewatch that. It's been a long time since I saw it, and I barely remember the movie. The only thing I remember with any clarity is the hairy girl climbing out of the well... and then out of the TV screen.

Stefan, never saw it.

Josh, add the original Final Destination, Jeepers Creepers was very good for about 70% of the movie. High Tension is good for a french horror movie, Frailty, the Mist, I even like the remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Final Destination: good fun movies, though in the same category as Scream and Scary Movie, IMO. I liked the second one the best, coz I liked A.J. Cook!

Jeeper Creepers: The movie was all right, but IMO nothing special. Considering the past history of the director Silva, I can't help but be more creeped out by the thought of that guy directing a movie than by what happens in this movie.

The Mist: Yeah, very good too, but again I prefer Stephen King's novella.

I have yet to see High Tension and Fraily. Thanks for the recommendations!

[Koray Savas 2,260]

Josh, just by using a basic value system for what constitutes a good movie, Saw is most definitely crap. There are no redeeming qualities. Acting, dialogue, direction, score... it's all trash. And by "torture porn," we're saying it's a movie people only go to in order to see blood and guts. That's the films only purpose, to disgust with as much gore as possible. Everything else goes out the window.

I know Joey will disagree with me, but The Shining is my favorite horror movie. That's the only one that ever managed to truly scare me. The Exorcist is a close second.

[Jill Sandwich 11,165]

Josh, just by using a basic value system for what constitutes a good movie, Saw is most definitely crap. There are no redeeming qualities. Acting, dialogue, direction, score... it's all trash. And by "torture porn," we're saying it's a movie people only go to in order to see blood and guts. That's the films only purpose, to disgust with as much gore as possible. Everything else goes out the window.

Speaking of torture porn, or this might be best described as

.

[Koray Savas 2,260]

Okay, that's just fucked up.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 12,383]

Serves then right for not going carbon-neutral!

[Josh500 1,620]

Josh, just by using a basic value system for what constitutes a good movie, Saw is most definitely crap. There are no redeeming qualities. Acting, dialogue, direction, score... it's all trash. And by "torture porn," we're saying it's a movie people only go to in order to see blood and guts. That's the films only purpose, to disgust with as much gore as possible. Everything else goes out the window.

I know Joey will disagree with me, but The Shining is my favorite horror movie. That's the only one that ever managed to truly scare me. The Exorcist is a close second.

Every professional in the business (who knows his stuff even slightly) would disagree.

But OK, to each his own.

[Koray Savas 2,260]

Oh, my bad then. I wasn't aware every filmmaker and critic absolutely adored Saw.

[Wojo 2,458]

Tremors used to scare the crap outta me. For many years, I was wary about lifting strange hats from the ground...

[Josh500 1,620]

Oh, my bad then. I wasn't aware every filmmaker and critic absolutely adored Saw.

Don't make a fool of yourself!

Is that what I said? No. So, for you, there's only two categories? "Absolute crap" and "totally adore it"? I think I mentioned the word "narrow-minded" somewhere...

Anyway, if you hate it so much, fine. Like I also said already, to each his own.

Tremors used to scare the crap outta me. For many years, I was wary about lifting strange hats from the ground...

Yeah, Tremors was great!

Although when I first saw it (back in my childhood) I couldn't quite get my head around the fact that Alex Keaton's dad was out there in the desert fighting the monster...

[Koray Savas 2,260]

Oh, my bad then. I wasn't aware every filmmaker and critic absolutely adored Saw.

Don't make a fool of yourself!

Is that what I said? No. So, for you, there's only two categories? "Absolute crap" and "totally adore it"? I think I mentioned the word "narrow-minded" somewhere...

You said every professional in the business would disagree, meaning they don't think it's crap. If it's not crap, then it can either be decent, good, excellent, what have you. A rough estimate of 30% of the business disagrees with me. That's not every professional.

[Quintus 6,494]

I was probably a little bit too old to be scared by Tremors, but I still thought it was brilliant. Great little B-movie, a classic even.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 12,383]

It is huge fun!

The rest of the franchise however....

[Koray Savas 2,260]

Tremors 2: Aftershocks is as good as the first IMO. Best direct-to-video movie ever made. I adore both though, grew up watching them over and over. 3, 4, and the TV series are all terrible. There's actually a remake/sequel listed on IMDb as in development. I hope that never comes to fruition, unless it's done right. But I'm sure it won't be. There will be CGI plastered in each and every shot.

[Jacob 1]

"Rock tears through paper!"

[Josh500 1,620]

When I said "every professional in the business (who knows his stuff even slightly) would disagree," I was referring to this post of yours:

Josh, just by using a basic value system for what constitutes a good movie, Saw is most definitely crap. There are no redeeming qualities. Acting, dialogue, direction, score... it's all trash. And by "torture porn," we're saying it's a movie people only go to in order to see blood and guts. That's the films only purpose, to disgust with as much gore as possible. Everything else goes out the window.

Sure, I know many people in the business think Saw isn't the best horror film by any means, but they wouldn't go so far as this.

[Koray Savas 2,260]

"Rock tears through paper!"

"Is that a coyote?"

"Yup."

"He better shut up."

*Huge growl and coyote whimpers*

"Yup."

[Greg1138 3]

Josh, just by using a basic value system for what constitutes a good movie, Saw is most definitely crap. There are no redeeming qualities. Acting, dialogue, direction, score... it's all trash. And by "torture porn," we're saying it's a movie people only go to in order to see blood and guts. That's the films only purpose, to disgust with as much gore as possible. Everything else goes out the window.

I know Joey will disagree with me, but The Shining is my favorite horror movie. That's the only one that ever managed to truly scare me. The Exorcist is a close second.

How can someone who holds "The Ring" in such high regard be trusted to judge what is and isn't crap? Credibility problem!

I still love The Shining - one of the most brilliantly atmospheric movies of all time....catch the TV cut if you haven't seen it before - it adds a little....my only problem with the movie is that Jack Torrance is supposed to be a NORMAL man at the beginning and THEN slowly go off the wall....Jack Nicholson does "off the wall" better than almost anyone on the planet, but getting him to play a normal guy at the beginning? Fail....he's off the chart from Scene 1.

I would never class The Shining as a favourite horror movie - I don't even own the DVD - but there is no doubting the genius therein...

[Quintus 6,494]

I like The Shining AND The Ring!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 12,383]

Don't you mean the Shinnin'?

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Don't be readin' my mind between four and five, that's Willy's time!

[Quintus 6,494]

Filthy swines!

[David Coscina 4]

Oh - and I should also have shouted out for Paranormal Activity....THAT's how to make a horror film....no budget, one set, no names....a pure masterclass from beginning to (original) ending.....

I agree. It was spooky and I prefer the psychological ones as opposed to the overtly gory ones. In fact, no gore horror film has ever scared me. Paranormal Activity was scary to me. Exorcist also very effective, especially the creepy stuff in the first half which struck me as almost documentary-like in its tone. The Shining is creepy but never scared me. John Carpenter's The Thing scared the shit out of me as a kid. The idea that a single cell of an alien could take me over was really chilling. I had nightmares after seeing Prince of Darkness (john Carpenter) when it first came out.

I love the original The Haunting BTW. The score is also really good. 'Salem's Lot (Tobe Hooper) was also the scariest made for tv film I have ever seen. Now it's a little less scary although that first scene where Barlow appears in the jail cell is one of the best shockers I've seen. The kid floating at the window also scared the piss out of me as a kid. I didn't go near my window at night for like a year.

[Sandor 918]

Most recently, I thought Eden Lake was quite scary. I also enjoyed The Ruins and The Descent. And I loved 28 Days Later from a few years ago.

I understand that some people are turned off by Paranormal Activity, but I thought it was pretty well made.

Saw should not have had so many sequels. The original was better before it became tarnished by some of the worst follow-ups ever made.

And lastly; I have zero interest in A Serbian Film.

[Josh500 1,620]

Most recently, I thought Eden Lake was quite scary. I also enjoyed The Ruins and The Descent. And I loved 28 Days Later from a few years ago.

Yes, I've heard good things about Eden Lake too. Gotta rent it some time. The Ruins was great too--loved Jena Malone, especially. She's the little girl in the JW-scored Stepmom all grown up!

Saw should not have had so many sequels. The original was better before it became tarnished by some of the worst follow-ups ever made.

Saw was the best. Sequels II-IV are okay. V is terrible. VI is better again.

And no, these sequels are not the worst ever made... not by far. Have you ever seen Children of the Corn, Halloween, Friday the 13th etc.? Now these have atrociously bad sequels. Come to think of it, Jaws 3D AND Jaws IV are worse than the Saw sequels.

And lastly; I have zero interest in A Serbian Film.

Fair enough.

[Sandor 918]

Another 'recent' horrorfilm I found quite effective was The Hills Have Eyes (remake). In the recent wave of horror remakes and re-imaginigs, this one stood out.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

And no, these sequels are not the worst ever made... not by far. Have you ever seen Children of the Corn, Halloween, Friday the 13th etc.? Now these have atrociously bad sequels.

COTC I can't vouch for, but Halloween and F13th both have their fair share of good sequels that generally are unfairly lumped in with the bad (a bit like Jaws 2). Halloween II is a direct continuation of the first one and is a pretty decent one, but Halloween III is an interesting branching off from the series, not even featuring Michael Myers. Fridays 2 - 4 are solid and effective flicks, although 3 suffers from its reliance on 3-D. But the best is VI, which did self-referential horror a decade before Scream.

I haven't seen a lot of really good horror flicks recently. Ginger Snaps and its sequel and prequel had some good fresh ideas and was a lot of fun. I thought The Descent was okay,

but the creatures being Gollum-esque killed it for me, also the characterisation was awful

. But the best by far was Let The Right One In, which is not only the best horror I've seen in years but also one of the best films period I've seen in a while.

[David Coscina 4]

I also liked Ginger Snaps if for anything because it was a pretty well done Canadian made film.

[Sandor 918]

And I forget The Burrowers. One of the most interesting and imaginitive horror films in recent years and among the best 'dual genre' films ever conceived (in this case 'western' and 'horror'). Not everything works in this film, but it's mostly effective stuff.

[Greg1138 3]

The Ruins was great too--loved Jena Malone, especially. She's the little girl in the JW-scored Stepmom all grown up!

No way! I had never made the connection.....

[Marian Schedenig 11,694]

I love the original The Haunting BTW.

I like it a lot. It's a great example of how to do many things right when making a horror movie. The remake is a great example of how to do everything wrong.

[JoeinAR 1,957]

Josh have you checked out Splice? I thought it was really underrated, and the french actress who plays the creation is stunning in her physicality and displays of silent emotion.

[Koray Savas 2,260]

Josh have you checked out Splice? I thought it was really underrated, and the french actress who plays the creation is stunning in her physicality and displays of silent emotion.

I wanted to see that, but missed it in theaters.

[Josh500 1,620]

Josh have you checked out Splice? I thought it was really underrated, and the french actress who plays the creation is stunning in her physicality and displays of silent emotion.

No, but looks amazing. So another movie on my list...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splice_(film)

[Greg1138 3]

Me too - never heard of it - looks like one to hunt down....

[Demondm810 473]

I would second Splice. Rather fantastic. Very Cronenberg-ish

[Smeagol 0]

Has anyone mentioned "The Strangers" ?

I thought it was good. I watched it alone at home one night, and was not very happy afterwards, hehe.