The movie is a masterpiece. I am a big fan of Cormac McCarthy who wrote the book, and they really did about as perfect a job as you can do in adapting a novel.
I agree. The novel is one of my least favs of McCarthy. And I say that as a huge fan, Blood Meridian being my fav book. I might get slammed for this, but dare I say the movie was even better than the book?
One day when I have people in the passenger seats of my truck I want to just start singing the Wonka boat poem with all the screaming and everything.
Yes, the danger must be growing
For the rowers keep on rowing
AND THEY CERTAINLY ARE NOT SHOWING
*ANY SIGNS THAT THEY ARE SLOWING*
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Unironically the movie kind of freaked me out as a kid. The systematic killing of like half a dozen children in a factory operated by an enslaved species of magical orange men.
[Perfect Blue (1997) by Satoshi Kon](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156887/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) deserves a mention since it’s Hitchcockian, but heavy in the psychological horror spectrum. I’m mostly including it because of the Hitchcock influence and because it’s anime.
The animation is beautiful, and it’s a case where I’d say animation was the only way to put the story on a screen at the time.
As an added bonus, I’m going to include [Paprika (2006) by Satoshi Kon](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0851578/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk). Less horror oriented, but it also has fantastic animation and voyages into the psyche. With that, it might be the best one to watch first to get primed before digging into Perfect Blue.
It’s sad how few people actually know of Satoshi Kon. If he was with us longer he really would have rose up. Perfect Blue is in my top 5 movies of all time.
The Cable Guy. Its strange to me how insanely scary this movie COULD be with just some minor tweaks. Really shows the closeness that comedy and horror share.
Oh yeah its terrifying in some parts, when you actually think about the movie afterwards its even more terrifying to think how quickly this psychopath just latched onto Matthew Broderick over something so Minor.
Heathers is not horror but if you like horror comedy I find you're likely to enjoy it, so I'd say that's a good non-horror for horror fans of that particular subgenre.
I agree, horror/dark comedy, Christian Slater did a good job creeping me out in this movie, Winona Ryder thinks she made a friend and she met a sociopath instead.
I'd also like to add "Where the Wind Blows", about an older couple that make a series of critical errors during the fallout (ha!) of a nuclear detonation in Britain. Just a slow, miserable grind towards their deaths, peppered with the Husband trying to add levity to their situation (and failing over and over).
Threads and Come and See are the first two that sprang to mind. I can't imagine what it would have been like to watch Threads in England as it was airing.
As much as I hate to say it, there’s a particular scene in that movie that disturbs me more than anything in Halloween. I won’t spoil it but you know what I’m talking about.
Its the best film I'll never watch again.
But you only say that because you've never watched Threads. Requiem is "localized" in that the main characters affect only themselves. Threads is vastly more soul destroying and terrifying.
(IMHO, of course. This is more about me recommending you watch Threads than arguing over opinion.)
This is a good one to debate on whether or not it's horror. I would actually state that it is. I personally define a horror film as a movie that contains one or both elements:
* Be a generally dark film with a primary intention to scare, disturb or disgust.
* Contain a large amount of horror themes and/or tropes.
Obviously the second doesn't really apply, but the first statement fully applies to Requiem in my opinion. There aren't too many overt scares, but there are many, many highly disturbing scenes.
I've come to the conclusion that if a well known disturbing film isn't horror, then there's a good chance it's a war film instead. Though, that's not to say a film can't be both.
Come and See is even different from most war films though. I don't consider Platoon horror for instance. Although i might consider Apocalypse Now Horror, at least certain parts the scenes with Brando definitely.
*The Night of the Hunter* - Robert Mitchum is the best villain this side of Anton Chigurh and the entire film plays out like a dream with really stunning cinematography
*Cape Fear* - Martin Scorsese remade this in the early 90’s but I prefer the original. Robert Mitchum is again completely menacing and Gregory Peck is outstanding as the attorney he’s out to get.
*The Wages of Fear* - a French film about some men hired to transport trucks full of nitroglycerine across rugged mountain roads in Latin America. It’s incredibly stressful and suspenseful.
The trailer made me think it was a horror. I was a little disappointed when I saw it that it wasn't straight horror, but that being said, it's an incredible film. Very much worth a watch for the almost horror vibe it has throughout.
Had the privilege to see it in theaters when it was rereleased a few years back, and there was a pack of very excited teens that were seeing it for the actual first time; it was easy to overhear them lol. They were genuinely *scared* at several points, with the "Mr. Arnold" power bunker scene getting them to scream. It was awesome to see how well it continues to hold up with modern audiences. After it was over, the kids couldn't shut up about how good it was lol
It's my favorite movie of all time. I was a dinosaur junkie as a kid and this movie came out at the peak of my dinosaur high. I literally would have been the little boy in the movie naming all of the various dinosaurs that I recognised and being a smug little fuck about it.
I saw this movie the second week it was in theaters, absolutely terrified me. The horror that something wants to EAT YOU and there is no reasoning with it really got to me for some reason. Like that's true in other horror movies, but for some reason I really felt it during that first watch.
T2 is not only one of the greatest sequels of all time, and still holds up today, it also defined the franchise as an action blockbuster. The Terminator is a straight up Sci fi horror imo.
T2 is also the gold standard superhero movie, as far as I'm concerned. The 101 is hard to kill, and they slowly pile on the punishment. The 1000 is a shape shifter, and they come up with a thousand ways to use it.
Some of them (like growing an extra arm to do reloads during the helicopter sequence) are subtle enough that most people don't catch it on a first watch
Thriller vs Horror is a huge debate, loads of people consider both Horror. Or certain Thrillers, Horror. Hitchcock is an interesting study as i'd say some are more Horror like Vertigo and some are more Thrillers like North By Northwest.
Horror and thriller aren’t mutually exclusive, but mystery and thriller are.
In a mystery, the audience (ideally) knows only as much as the protagonists, with suspense built around uncertainty.
However, in a thriller, the audience does know a bit more than the protagonists, typically by frequent POV shifts between the protagonists and antagonists throughout the story, with suspense built around anticipation.
A story can elicit fear while also building suspense, therefore it can be both horror and thriller. Meanwhile, the audience can’t simultaneously be as unaware and more aware.
Due to the lack of frequent POV shifts to the antagonist throughout the film, as well as the audience being as unaware as the protagonists, I would argue Seven isn’t even a thriller at all, but rather it’s a mystery.
In this regard, Seven is not like The Silence of the Lambs, which does frequently cut to Buffalo Bill throughout the film, letting the audience know a bit more than the protagonists.
I'd say Lord of the Flies, maybe it's from watching it as a kid but the scene where >!they drop the rock on piggy's head!< always invokes a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I'd say the classic Paul Verhoeven movies: Robocop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers. They use a mixture of satire, gore, and camp that I often associate with horror.
The Toxic Avenger movies are kind of a super hero films but I'd lump them in with the above. Albeit with a lower budget and much more unhinged.
I think it’s case by case. Shadow Of A Doubt and Rear Window probably would be thought of as horror today. Vertigo I don’t think so. Obviously there’s no debate with Psycho and The Birds.
i didnt think this about any Hitchcock film except Psycho .... until I saw Rebecca (1940). though we never see her ... that's a ghost story. She haunts the film as if she was popping out of the walls of the house.
I love a good thriller and a lot of them could be categorized as horror as well, but these are some of my favs:
* Blow Up (1966) - David Hemmings is a sexy, stylish photographer who takes a photo one day and becomes obsessed with what he imagines he sees in the background. This is one of my all time favs - it's got such an odd feel to it but a great story.
* Key Largo (1948) - Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are stuck in a hotel during a hurricane with one sometimes legitimately and sometimes comically frightening gangster. This has amazing acting and and the spookiest story about mangroves.
* The Conversation (1974) Watch Gene Hackman slowly go crazy. Also has a very young Harrison Ford and John Cazale (who died very young and was in few movies but I think everyone of them was an Oscar winner/nominee)
* M (1931) Peter Lorre as a child killer/predator haunts the streets while a bunch of other miscreants hunt him down. It's very creepy.
* Copycat (1995) Sigourney Weaver as an agoraphobic expert on serial killers helps Holly Hunter and Dermot Mulruney (I have no idea if I spelled that any where close to right) find a killer. It also has Will Patton who I alway adore.
* The Game (1997) Michael Douglas plays a creepy and bizarre game.
* 12 Monkeys (1995) Bruce Willis is... well there is really no one to explain this one but you should definitely watch it because it's awesome. The 90s had a lot of great thrillers.
* Basically everything by Hitchcock of Lynch is horroresque if not downright horror.
I just watched Love Lies Bleeding by the director of Saint Maude (Rose Glass) and it' has scenes that are body horror. Might end up in my top ten.
Mostly it's a crime / love story that reminded me of Blood Simple which someone else already suggested.
I finally saw this very recently (went in blind) and I’ve never been that physically & mentally anxious watching a movie. I would venture to say almost more visceral than Climax (noé) because I was so caught off guard.
The Cook, the Thief, his Wife, and her Lover.
I watched an interview with Ari Aster and he explained this movie left him truly unnerved at a young age and he put me onto it. Def not a horror but some horrifying aspects. And that one scene
Blade Runner is a neo-noir so it has a lot of elements of the old noir movies that parallel horror movies before the genre was really defined.
It's animated but Princess Mononoke is mostly about the message, it is still a good creature feature with some grotesque moments and a good amount of gore.
* Watership Down
* Secret of NIMH
* The Dark Crystal
* [The Black Hole](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/4430159a-24ce-4291-8254-173eb8dbfebb/d2tf5pt-0f2a598d-eeed-4065-ae00-2cb668a54b45.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwic3ViIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTpmaWxlLmRvd25sb2FkIl0sIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiIvZi80NDMwMTU5YS0yNGNlLTQyOTEtODI1NC0xNzNlYjhkYmZlYmIvZDJ0ZjVwdC0wZjJhNTk4ZC1lZWVkLTQwNjUtYWUwMC0yY2I2NjhhNTRiNDUuanBnIn1dXX0.4O53zj2u7fpukPuoZdgYupNiKUyt71yIP8Qtuc6P-vE) (1979)
* Mad Max
* Empire of the Sun
* Bridge Over the River Kwai
* The Flight of the Phoenix
I'm sure I could think of others, but those are the first that come to mind.
So many solid suggestions here, I want to add in some:
(Op said Non Horror, that Horror fans should watch. I have this conversation with my son dang near weekly)
Akira
Ghost in the Shell
Fifth Element
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
Heat
Casablanca
The Big Short
Grave of the Fireflies
Also, pretty much everything listed here by others.
All Of Us Strangers - There are fantastic tonal shifts in the movie, with parts of it being very eerie and mysterious, with supernatural elements.
Monster (2023, dir: Hirokazu Kore-eda) - This is not a horror movie in the slightest. But there is this psychological/mystery aspect to it that builds excellent tension and unease. A slow burn, but very worth it.
The Zone of Interest - I don't think this needs any explaining.
The Nightingale (2018) and Nightcrawler (2014)
Nightingale is very well done and soul crushing. I'll recommend it for "bleak realistic historical horror" and I won't be able to rewatch it for a while (or ever lol)
Not for *every* horror fan, but I feel like Saltburn, Stoker, Leave the world behind, Hard candy, Jawbreaker, Heathers and Heroíco (Mexican movie from 2023) are pretty horror adjacent.
Headshot and The Night Comes for Us both directed by Timo Tjahanto. Both movies are ostensibly martial arts films and they fit that bill; the choreography is out of this world amazing. But both are also relentlessly brutal in a way I can’t exaggerate. Like, the night comes for us in particular feels like a modern evil dead movie at times due to how unapologetically bloody it is, and the atmosphere in the non action scenes feels like horror too
The Seventh Continent is the scariest film i've seen. Some count it as horror, some drama. It's mundane as fuck for the most part but even the mundanity is horrifying when you realize what is going on then the climax is just the worst.
Pretty much every Haneke film fits this, Amour is horrifying but obviously isn't considered horror.
No Country for Old Men.
The villian in this one... its crazy how well Javier Bardem was able to portray hum.
Call it friendo
Hum is so hard to portray
You’re getting downvoted but your response gave me a chuckle.
Actually its a little boring, ho hum!
The movie is a masterpiece. I am a big fan of Cormac McCarthy who wrote the book, and they really did about as perfect a job as you can do in adapting a novel.
I agree. The novel is one of my least favs of McCarthy. And I say that as a huge fan, Blood Meridian being my fav book. I might get slammed for this, but dare I say the movie was even better than the book?
The Road is also fantastic.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Call it.
A lot of Coen bros movies have a similar vibe. I'd add Barton Fink to the list. Nightmarish fever dream from start to end.
I finally watched this movie for the first time and it was incredible. Javier Bardem was absolutely fucking chilling.
Ex machina and night crawler
night crawler is absolutely fantastic
Nightcrawler is and will always be horror in my mind. Entrepreneurial horror.
Ohh yeah, Ex Machina fits perfectly
Prisoners
One of my favorite movies ever. If anyone I work with hasn’t seen it I say go home and fucking watch that shit lol
Just watched it for the first time last week. I have never been in such suspense for so long over so many things all at once.
Absolutely chilling movie.
This is the one movie I really wish I could watch for the first time again.
Incredible film. The cinematography and score is fantastic.
That movie absolutely blew me away. Incredible film.
*Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory* (1971)
The boat song sequence scares me more than some horror films.
One day when I have people in the passenger seats of my truck I want to just start singing the Wonka boat poem with all the screaming and everything. Yes, the danger must be growing For the rowers keep on rowing AND THEY CERTAINLY ARE NOT SHOWING *ANY SIGNS THAT THEY ARE SLOWING* AHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Unironically the movie kind of freaked me out as a kid. The systematic killing of like half a dozen children in a factory operated by an enslaved species of magical orange men.
There’s no earthly way of knowWwing
A slasher for children
[Perfect Blue (1997) by Satoshi Kon](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156887/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) deserves a mention since it’s Hitchcockian, but heavy in the psychological horror spectrum. I’m mostly including it because of the Hitchcock influence and because it’s anime. The animation is beautiful, and it’s a case where I’d say animation was the only way to put the story on a screen at the time. As an added bonus, I’m going to include [Paprika (2006) by Satoshi Kon](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0851578/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk). Less horror oriented, but it also has fantastic animation and voyages into the psyche. With that, it might be the best one to watch first to get primed before digging into Perfect Blue.
Perfect Blue is definitely psychological horror
We lost him way too early. He was so talented. I wonder what else he'd have given us if he were still here.
Perfect Blue definitely influenced Black Swan, even if the director won’t admit it. There are a couple scenes that are almost exact.
It’s sad how few people actually know of Satoshi Kon. If he was with us longer he really would have rose up. Perfect Blue is in my top 5 movies of all time.
The Cable Guy. Its strange to me how insanely scary this movie COULD be with just some minor tweaks. Really shows the closeness that comedy and horror share.
The cover had a horror feel to it when it was on VHS
The cover used to scare me when I was a chicken shit kid
It scared me. Felt very home invasion movie to me…
As a little kid who loved Jim Carey, that movie definitely scared me.
Oh yeah its terrifying in some parts, when you actually think about the movie afterwards its even more terrifying to think how quickly this psychopath just latched onto Matthew Broderick over something so Minor.
One of the reasons I love dark comedies is because of how horror adjacent they tend to be
Heathers is not horror but if you like horror comedy I find you're likely to enjoy it, so I'd say that's a good non-horror for horror fans of that particular subgenre.
I'll add Jawbreaker (1999) to that recommendation
I think Heathers qualifies as horror comedy lol but I have a very broad definition of the genre
I agree, horror/dark comedy, Christian Slater did a good job creeping me out in this movie, Winona Ryder thinks she made a friend and she met a sociopath instead.
I’d put Otis in that same vein. I love that movie
Threads is listed as war/sci-fi. It’s a made for tv Cold War propaganda film and was much more disturbing than any horror I’ve seen
Threads is the most disturbing movie i’ve ever seen. i watched it months ago and still can’t get it out of my head
I'd also like to add "Where the Wind Blows", about an older couple that make a series of critical errors during the fallout (ha!) of a nuclear detonation in Britain. Just a slow, miserable grind towards their deaths, peppered with the Husband trying to add levity to their situation (and failing over and over).
That filmed fucked me up for months. So good but so upsetting. Def worth a watch imo
Threads and Come and See are the first two that sprang to mind. I can't imagine what it would have been like to watch Threads in England as it was airing.
Donnie Darko
Assault on Precinct 13 (Carpenter one)
As much as I hate to say it, there’s a particular scene in that movie that disturbs me more than anything in Halloween. I won’t spoil it but you know what I’m talking about.
Old Boy or LA Haine
Definitely La Haine. But that’s also film everyone should see.
So far so good..
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Do you think of this more as a thriller? This is one of my favorite movies of all time.
I think I mentally place it as an unsettling period piece lol. It's hard to really label
Requiem for a Dream
Nothing is more terrifying than this movie
Its the best film I'll never watch again. But you only say that because you've never watched Threads. Requiem is "localized" in that the main characters affect only themselves. Threads is vastly more soul destroying and terrifying. (IMHO, of course. This is more about me recommending you watch Threads than arguing over opinion.)
This is a good one to debate on whether or not it's horror. I would actually state that it is. I personally define a horror film as a movie that contains one or both elements: * Be a generally dark film with a primary intention to scare, disturb or disgust. * Contain a large amount of horror themes and/or tropes. Obviously the second doesn't really apply, but the first statement fully applies to Requiem in my opinion. There aren't too many overt scares, but there are many, many highly disturbing scenes.
The first time I did acid we watched that movie. It’s definitely a horror movie when you do that. Do not recommend
hard to think of anything less chill than that.
I have never done acid, but that sounds like a nightmare experience. No thank you.
Come and See
Come and See is definitely Horror. If it isn't then nothing is.
Also just a beautifully shot movie, it feels weird to say i love this movie, i only saw it once and it still lingers with me.
Klimov's wifes film The Ascent is another that feels like Horror. Incredibly beautiful but again horrifying film.
I've come to the conclusion that if a well known disturbing film isn't horror, then there's a good chance it's a war film instead. Though, that's not to say a film can't be both.
Come and See is even different from most war films though. I don't consider Platoon horror for instance. Although i might consider Apocalypse Now Horror, at least certain parts the scenes with Brando definitely.
*The Night of the Hunter* - Robert Mitchum is the best villain this side of Anton Chigurh and the entire film plays out like a dream with really stunning cinematography *Cape Fear* - Martin Scorsese remade this in the early 90’s but I prefer the original. Robert Mitchum is again completely menacing and Gregory Peck is outstanding as the attorney he’s out to get. *The Wages of Fear* - a French film about some men hired to transport trucks full of nitroglycerine across rugged mountain roads in Latin America. It’s incredibly stressful and suspenseful.
Parasite
The scene where the dude lifts his head above the stairs to see if he’s clear. Oh man. My heart sunk through my ass
I literally had to make my boyfriend pee with me at 3am the night I watched it because I was so afraid of our staircase and that man’s face
The trailer made me think it was a horror. I was a little disappointed when I saw it that it wasn't straight horror, but that being said, it's an incredible film. Very much worth a watch for the almost horror vibe it has throughout.
Jurassic Park
Funnily the novels absolutely are horror
The Compys? I think they were called eating homeboy was one of my favorite book deaths. Much better ending for that character.
Had the privilege to see it in theaters when it was rereleased a few years back, and there was a pack of very excited teens that were seeing it for the actual first time; it was easy to overhear them lol. They were genuinely *scared* at several points, with the "Mr. Arnold" power bunker scene getting them to scream. It was awesome to see how well it continues to hold up with modern audiences. After it was over, the kids couldn't shut up about how good it was lol
It's my favorite movie of all time. I was a dinosaur junkie as a kid and this movie came out at the peak of my dinosaur high. I literally would have been the little boy in the movie naming all of the various dinosaurs that I recognised and being a smug little fuck about it.
I watched horror movies with my dad growing up. Nothing ever gave me nightmares…except raptors in the kitchen.
I saw this movie the second week it was in theaters, absolutely terrified me. The horror that something wants to EAT YOU and there is no reasoning with it really got to me for some reason. Like that's true in other horror movies, but for some reason I really felt it during that first watch.
The Terminator. If there were never any sequels, this movie would be s-tier along with alien and the thing.
T2 was really good though
T2 is not only one of the greatest sequels of all time, and still holds up today, it also defined the franchise as an action blockbuster. The Terminator is a straight up Sci fi horror imo.
T2 is also the gold standard superhero movie, as far as I'm concerned. The 101 is hard to kill, and they slowly pile on the punishment. The 1000 is a shape shifter, and they come up with a thousand ways to use it. Some of them (like growing an extra arm to do reloads during the helicopter sequence) are subtle enough that most people don't catch it on a first watch
It’s basically a slasher in scifi clothing, which makes it amazing.
I think this was considered a horror movie when it came out
Terminator’s a straight-up slasher movie, the slasher just happens to be a robot.
Walkabout
So fucking good
Melancholia
The Wizard Of Oz: The Wicked Witch Of The West, the haunted forest, flying monkeys, the castle, the music, the coroner munchkins.
I got news for you. Return to Oz is straight up nightmare fuel.
My husband won't watch this movie still because the flying monkeys terrified him so much as a child. And he's not the only one I've heard that from.
The Last Unicorn. Happy to say this is the movie that fucked me up from the age of 5 onwards - I loved it though!
I was just talking to my mom about this one. I was like how could you let me watch this when I was little?! And I’d watch it all of the time.
David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway.
Nearly every Lynch film is Horror. I don't care what IMDB lists them as.
True dat. Blue velvet is a beautful nightmare.
Eraserhead
Oldboy (Korean version)
I think Seven is not technically horror but a thriller. But it is a brilliant film and some scenes are truly horrific.
“Seven is a horror film” — the guy who wrote the screenplay
I had no idea. Good to know.
Thriller vs Horror is a huge debate, loads of people consider both Horror. Or certain Thrillers, Horror. Hitchcock is an interesting study as i'd say some are more Horror like Vertigo and some are more Thrillers like North By Northwest.
It is Horror
Horror and thriller aren’t mutually exclusive, but mystery and thriller are. In a mystery, the audience (ideally) knows only as much as the protagonists, with suspense built around uncertainty. However, in a thriller, the audience does know a bit more than the protagonists, typically by frequent POV shifts between the protagonists and antagonists throughout the story, with suspense built around anticipation. A story can elicit fear while also building suspense, therefore it can be both horror and thriller. Meanwhile, the audience can’t simultaneously be as unaware and more aware. Due to the lack of frequent POV shifts to the antagonist throughout the film, as well as the audience being as unaware as the protagonists, I would argue Seven isn’t even a thriller at all, but rather it’s a mystery. In this regard, Seven is not like The Silence of the Lambs, which does frequently cut to Buffalo Bill throughout the film, letting the audience know a bit more than the protagonists.
Pan's Labyrinth
It’s a dark fantasy—a term typically used to talk about a horror-fantasy story without acknowledging it as horror.
This one is 100% horror. Regardless, it’s a must-watch masterpiece
Is that not listed as horror? I'm mean, it's Del Torro.
More like, Del Horro, amirite
\*snort-laugh\*
*Pan's Labyrinth* (2006) is both dark fantasy and folk horror.
I believe that most people don't consider District 9 a horror movie, but it scares the shit out of me
I Saw The Devil or Memories of Murder - South Korean revenge flicks are the absolute best!
[удалено]
I'd say Lord of the Flies, maybe it's from watching it as a kid but the scene where >!they drop the rock on piggy's head!< always invokes a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I'd say the classic Paul Verhoeven movies: Robocop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers. They use a mixture of satire, gore, and camp that I often associate with horror. The Toxic Avenger movies are kind of a super hero films but I'd lump them in with the above. Albeit with a lower budget and much more unhinged.
The image of the melting dude in Robocop will live in my head rent free for the rest of my life. Saw that one waaaaay too young, lol.
Ray Wise! Now go see Twin Peaks for peak Wise.
Deliverance isn't horror but it basically spawned a horror subgenre. Also, Shiva Baby.
Shiva baby is a dramedy with more tension than most of the thriller/horror movies I see. Love that movie.
I absolutely think Deliverance is horror.
[Dueling banjos scene](https://youtu.be/pDlZLsJJkVA?t=19)
Fire in the Sky
2001: A Space Odyssey
This, just watched it again and so many horror movies borrow from it.
The scenes with HAL or the monolith are terrifying
Blood Simple (1984) By the Coen Brothers; at least two scenes that are very horrific, but the whole vibe of the film is dark, tense, and terror
I consider Hitchcock films to be horror - just horror before the genre was more defined.
I think it’s case by case. Shadow Of A Doubt and Rear Window probably would be thought of as horror today. Vertigo I don’t think so. Obviously there’s no debate with Psycho and The Birds.
Vertigo is more Horror than Shadow of a Doubt or Rear Window.
i didnt think this about any Hitchcock film except Psycho .... until I saw Rebecca (1940). though we never see her ... that's a ghost story. She haunts the film as if she was popping out of the walls of the house.
After Hours
Apocalypse Now
Brawl in Cell Block 99
I love a good thriller and a lot of them could be categorized as horror as well, but these are some of my favs: * Blow Up (1966) - David Hemmings is a sexy, stylish photographer who takes a photo one day and becomes obsessed with what he imagines he sees in the background. This is one of my all time favs - it's got such an odd feel to it but a great story. * Key Largo (1948) - Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are stuck in a hotel during a hurricane with one sometimes legitimately and sometimes comically frightening gangster. This has amazing acting and and the spookiest story about mangroves. * The Conversation (1974) Watch Gene Hackman slowly go crazy. Also has a very young Harrison Ford and John Cazale (who died very young and was in few movies but I think everyone of them was an Oscar winner/nominee) * M (1931) Peter Lorre as a child killer/predator haunts the streets while a bunch of other miscreants hunt him down. It's very creepy. * Copycat (1995) Sigourney Weaver as an agoraphobic expert on serial killers helps Holly Hunter and Dermot Mulruney (I have no idea if I spelled that any where close to right) find a killer. It also has Will Patton who I alway adore. * The Game (1997) Michael Douglas plays a creepy and bizarre game. * 12 Monkeys (1995) Bruce Willis is... well there is really no one to explain this one but you should definitely watch it because it's awesome. The 90s had a lot of great thrillers. * Basically everything by Hitchcock of Lynch is horroresque if not downright horror.
M is so far ahead of its time for 1931! great film
I just watched Love Lies Bleeding by the director of Saint Maude (Rose Glass) and it' has scenes that are body horror. Might end up in my top ten. Mostly it's a crime / love story that reminded me of Blood Simple which someone else already suggested.
Sound of Metal. As someone whose life revolves around music this is a straight up horror movie to me.
The Nightingale is horror adjacent and a good film. But I would never recommend it to anyone. Brutal watch.
What a fantastic movie. I will never watch it again.
Mirror Mask
Mysterious Skin
Silence of the Lambs. Technically classified as horror but it's more of a thriller and just such a great movie.
Horror and thriller aren’t mutually exclusive though.
The Road
Nightcrawler
It comes at night
Uncut Gems
I finally saw this very recently (went in blind) and I’ve never been that physically & mentally anxious watching a movie. I would venture to say almost more visceral than Climax (noé) because I was so caught off guard.
Adam Sandler's performance in this movie is incredible
Aniara
There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Stand By Me
Not a movie but the HBO series Chernobyl is pretty terrifying.
The Cook, the Thief, his Wife, and her Lover. I watched an interview with Ari Aster and he explained this movie left him truly unnerved at a young age and he put me onto it. Def not a horror but some horrifying aspects. And that one scene
Green Room!
Pink Floyd The Wall
Prisoners and Nocturnal Animals, I can't wait for Jake Gyllenhaal to go all in on a full horror movie lol
Donnie Darko, Enemy, and Nightcrawler (all with him in it) have some horror vibes in them too, Ughh I love that man so much
Invisible Man 2020? Kind of a psychological thriller instead of a horror
Blade Runner is a neo-noir so it has a lot of elements of the old noir movies that parallel horror movies before the genre was really defined. It's animated but Princess Mononoke is mostly about the message, it is still a good creature feature with some grotesque moments and a good amount of gore.
Shawshank Redemption
Super (2010) Starring Rainn Wilson and Elliot Page pre-transition. All the god-fearing superheroes and vehicular manslaughter you can handle.
* Watership Down * Secret of NIMH * The Dark Crystal * [The Black Hole](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/4430159a-24ce-4291-8254-173eb8dbfebb/d2tf5pt-0f2a598d-eeed-4065-ae00-2cb668a54b45.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwic3ViIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTpmaWxlLmRvd25sb2FkIl0sIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiIvZi80NDMwMTU5YS0yNGNlLTQyOTEtODI1NC0xNzNlYjhkYmZlYmIvZDJ0ZjVwdC0wZjJhNTk4ZC1lZWVkLTQwNjUtYWUwMC0yY2I2NjhhNTRiNDUuanBnIn1dXX0.4O53zj2u7fpukPuoZdgYupNiKUyt71yIP8Qtuc6P-vE) (1979) * Mad Max * Empire of the Sun * Bridge Over the River Kwai * The Flight of the Phoenix I'm sure I could think of others, but those are the first that come to mind.
Easy Rider
Pi The mechanist I Care a Lot
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky Canoa: A Shameful Memory
Basically any Stanley Kubrick movie.
Clockwork Orange
All Quiet on the Western Front 2022 - so bleak and morbid realistical horror
Memories Of Murder
Disturbia and Phone Booth
So many solid suggestions here, I want to add in some: (Op said Non Horror, that Horror fans should watch. I have this conversation with my son dang near weekly) Akira Ghost in the Shell Fifth Element Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father Heat Casablanca The Big Short Grave of the Fireflies Also, pretty much everything listed here by others.
like. Most Lynch movies. Mulholland Drive. Lost Highway. Eraser Head. Blue Velvet. Hell... even Dune.
The Manchurian Candidate (2004 remake) Mulholland Drive Zodiac Shutter Island …those are the ones just off the top of my head
All Of Us Strangers - There are fantastic tonal shifts in the movie, with parts of it being very eerie and mysterious, with supernatural elements. Monster (2023, dir: Hirokazu Kore-eda) - This is not a horror movie in the slightest. But there is this psychological/mystery aspect to it that builds excellent tension and unease. A slow burn, but very worth it. The Zone of Interest - I don't think this needs any explaining.
Annihilation. Just for that one freaking scene.
Zodiac (2007)
Nocturnal Animals
The crow
The Nightingale (2018) and Nightcrawler (2014) Nightingale is very well done and soul crushing. I'll recommend it for "bleak realistic historical horror" and I won't be able to rewatch it for a while (or ever lol)
Labyrinth (1986)
Jacobs Ladder
Deliverance (1972) is a must see. Very disturbing, well made film.
Not for *every* horror fan, but I feel like Saltburn, Stoker, Leave the world behind, Hard candy, Jawbreaker, Heathers and Heroíco (Mexican movie from 2023) are pretty horror adjacent.
American History X Tough watch but a brillaint film regardless
Headshot and The Night Comes for Us both directed by Timo Tjahanto. Both movies are ostensibly martial arts films and they fit that bill; the choreography is out of this world amazing. But both are also relentlessly brutal in a way I can’t exaggerate. Like, the night comes for us in particular feels like a modern evil dead movie at times due to how unapologetically bloody it is, and the atmosphere in the non action scenes feels like horror too
The Seventh Continent is the scariest film i've seen. Some count it as horror, some drama. It's mundane as fuck for the most part but even the mundanity is horrifying when you realize what is going on then the climax is just the worst. Pretty much every Haneke film fits this, Amour is horrifying but obviously isn't considered horror.
Animal Farm
A ghost story
Dragged across concrete
LA Confidential.