The Sub-genres of Horror: A Top 100 HDC Compilation

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Hello folks of HDC and beyond,

It gives me great pleasure to post the Sub-genres Top 100 as recommended by the finest minds and critics alike here at Horror Dot Com. We have added 40 Honorable Mentions in each sub-genre, to give you a more diverse choice of pleasurable viewing according to your individual tastes in horror.

So sit back with your beer and chips, and read on. Please don't post any replies to this thread until I am finished...thank you.:)

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Ghosts and The Supernatural


Poltergeist (1982)

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"When I first saw this movie I was about three years old. It scared the hell out of me. The little girl was just that creepy kind of performance people just wish for when making a scary movie. She was a cute and young little girl but still could make you shiver and wince at the same time while looking at the T.V. screen through the cracks of my fingers.
With other performances such as the old lady played amazingly by Zelda Rubinstein, I still shudder when I hear those words, "They're here!" " - Gorephobia


The Devil's Backbone aka El Espinazo del diablo (2001)

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"Ghost stories have been around for ages, told around campfires and at sleepovers by adults and children alike.
Why is it then that we constantly find ourselves at a loss for great movies in the ghost story genre? I think it really boils down to atmosphere and that's Guillermo del Toro's "The Devil's Backbone" (El Espinazo del Diablo) strongest asset. Set during the Spanish Civil War, "The Devil's Backbone" tells the story of an orphanage and the secrets kept within.
The acting is superb, as I've mentioned the atmosphere is incredible, and there is a sense of dread that stays with you from the very start of the film. Politics, morality, and humanity are all blended together with excellent narrative and gorgeous cinematography to create a very chilling and truly magnificent movie." - Despare


The Fog (1980)

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"They don't get any more atmospheric than this. Vengeful ghost,spooky lighting, and the star of the movie...the fog.
Jamie Lee was going for a tri-fecta in 1980, between Prom Night, Terror Train and The Fog, which many regard to be her finest work since Halloween.
Much like "Jaws" skewered people's perspective of the ocean....after watching this one...you will never look at a fog the same way. "There's something in the fog..."." - Newb


The Others (2001)

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"The Others tells the tale of a mother and her two children living in a haunted, World War II era mansion. The children are photosensitive, allergic to sunlight so the curtains are closed throughout the movie. This creates a dreary atmosphere as well as many dark corners for people, or ghosts to lurk in.
The Others starts out like any other ghost story, with a few jumps and a ton of atmosphere, but the twist ending will leave you shocked!" - Miss Macabre


The Sixth Sense (1999)

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Honorable Mentions:

House of Usher (1960)

"House of Usher was Roger Corman's first Edgar Allen Poe adaptation and it's one of the best. With a masterful script by Richard Matheson and a spot-on characterization by star Vincent Price, Corman set the tone for many Poe adaptations to follow - some more successful than others. The tale of a tortured soul beset by the fear he has inherited a familial madness and that his sister will follow suit is pure American Gothic.
Usher's moral decay is mirrored by the decay of his family home. Determined that his family curse will not carry on, Usher buries his sister in a tomb beneath the house, then frets he may have buried her alive.
Price's understated portrayal of madness, guilt and implied incest here is one of his career's best. Corman shot the film in two weeks for $250,000 but it looks far better than that. This is what made Corman the King of the B-movies in the 60s. He knew how to make a buck count. The house is dark and moody, full of rich reds, which contrast with the stark paleness of Usher and his sister.
Right up the the final conflagration which became a trademark of Corman's Poe films, everything clicks - atmosphere, acting, suspense. A true classic." - Neverending


The Other (1972)

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English Gothic/ Haunted Houses


The Amityville Horror (1979)

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"We're all aware of the controversy behind the Amityville Horror story: is it true, or is it a hoax? Well, with the original film installment, it's of little difference. the horror seems very real as we watch a family tormented by a series of wicked hauntings.
When the Lutzes move into a beautiful but nevertheless looming new house (which plays like a character itself), their joy turns quickly to misery as the angry spirits left from a hideous murder years ago begin to torment them. The appropriately bare-bones delivery of the film jostles the viewer as we watch Mr. Lutz descend into madness at the hands of the ghosts, abandoning his family in a veritable hell!" - Fortunato


The Changeling (1980)

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"As a child the now iconic bouncing red ball, child's abandoned wheelchair and creepy music box singed my mind and caused a restlessness I had not experienced until that time (eventually these images were replaced by a very different horror movie featuring a dream-invading child murderer).
Yet I do not think I fully understood the scope of The Changeling until recently reviewing the film as an adult. (To get a similar effect as when I first saw this I decided to use my old Vestron VHS copy and popped my video in with all the lights out.)
I have to say WOW! Those images still packed the punch intended but now the whole story line, character interaction, hidden meanings and musical score became an essential aspect of the fright factor.
The story revolves around a professional musician and professor who during car trouble (on vacation with his family) makes his way to a phone booth to call for help while his wife and daughter frolic near the stalled car in the snow. Along come two vehicles barreling down the
icy roads in opposing directions and he is helpless to witness an accident that suddenly takes his family from him.
After several months of recovering from the traumatic loss (especially of his little girl) he moves to an area where he has some friends, a new job, and into a home that has a very eerie and somewhat familiar past to it. As time goes on he realizes that someone or something is trying to make contact with him from within the gothic dwelling and more importantly wants something from him.
Is it because he lost a child that he is able to be reached by this entity?
One of the things that strikes me as truly interesting and scary about this film is that not one but 3 children are directly impacted negatively throughout it, starting with his daughter at the beginning of the movie and continuing through the mystery of his new home, on towards another young girl who has nothing to do with any of the injustices that are eventually exposed, but happens to live in the wrong place.
Is there anything truly scarier than children in peril? Who or what is The Changeling?
Watch this classic and see why movies such as The Ring, Silent Hill and Premonition have all borrowed from it over the years." - Cinestro


The Haunting (1963)

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"There's no single drop of blood or a surprise scary appearance of visible ghostly figures but still Robert Wise made a milestone of horror out of it. This is a film that still today's new uprising filmmakers of haunted house movies should consider as a 'Holy Book' for them specially in terms of cinematography, lighting, sound effects and characterization. From the very beginning of Eleanor's entrance into the house made you feel that there was something lurking around every corner, or there was something that was going to happen, but you just didn't know quite when. A brilliant adaptation from the novel The Haunting of Hill House (1959) by Shirley Jackson where a whisper coming from the creepy walls of Hill house at midnight works in a more terrifying way than a scream." - Roshiq


The Innocents (1961)

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"The film starts with Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr), a nineteenth century British governess, is appointed to take care of two children, Flora and Miles. Upon arriving at the bleak mansion she meets the housekeeper and also Flora. Miles arrives a few days later from school. The children seem like little angels but, following a series of bizarre events and examples of the children's wicked impulses, Miss Giddens begins to suspect that all is not what it seems. An unresolved mystery that charges the events of this Gothic story with a dreadful sense of uncertainty far more thrilling than the simple supernatural chills of a typical haunted house movie.

The film made masterly in every way with a great performance from beautiful Deborah Kerr as the troubled Victorian governess, superb black-and-white wide screen photography by Freddie Francis and Georges Auric's truly distinguished soundtrack of laughs and whispers. Not forget to add the remarkable performances by the two children, and we're given a ghost story that stays with us not because of spring-loaded frights, but because of how it tingles our nervous system throughout the eerie, unsettling finale. Truman Capote's screenplay centered on the question: are the two children really possessed by the ghosts of the dead, or is their governess merely imagining everything? Producer-director Jack Clayton keeps the film firmly grounded in reality, so that the essence of this psychological study strikes far more strongly.

The Innocents is one of the most intelligent and evocative ghost story filmed in those golden years of cinema when the audience around the globe witnessed some brilliant celluloid works on English Gothic and Psychological horror ever made. This film adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw is like a lost Titanic that sunk into the middle of the phenomenal success of Psycho (1960), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and The Haunting (1963)." - Roshiq


The Shining (1980)

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Honorable Mentions:

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

The Legend of Hell House (1973)

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American Gothic/ Surreal Horror


Carnival of Souls (1962)

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"A young woman, Mary, is in a car crash at the beginning of this film. She appears to be the only survivor, and she is now haunted by an apparition of a mysterious evil looking man. After the crash she tries to go on with her life, but she has trouble relating to people. She lands a job as a church organist but loses the job after the minister witnesses her orgiastic bout of almost demonic music. Throughout the film she's drawn to a deserted amusement park where she sees ghoulish figures. She loses her grip on reality more and more, as she sees these figures with increasing regularity. Finally, visiting the deserted pavilion once more, she joins the world of the apparitions and we learn an astonishing secret...which is one of the biggest twists in this cult classic!" - Neverending


In The Mouth of Madness (1995)

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"In the Mouth of Madness is far more intelligent and creepy than it is often given credit for; its an intriguing film that actually stuck with me long after I shut off the television. Of all of Carpenter's films, this one may be his most underrated.
Inspired by the tales of H.P Lovecraft, the atmosphere is spot on, the imagery is disturbing, and the film does an excellent job of blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Its like watching a nightmare unfold; you just aren't quite sure when reality ends and the nightmare begins. The casting of Sam Neil as an insurance investigator investigating the disappearance of hugely successful horror novelist Sutter Cane is perfect. I have rarely seen him better. In many ways, the script is a rather twisted love letter to horror literature, which manages to stir and terrify us with words and imagination." - Jenna26


Jacob's Ladder (1990)

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"In this under-appreciated acid trip of a film, we follow Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer, a Vietnam war vet who begins to experience violent, demonic hallucinations.
Immersing us in a subjective reality, Jacob's Ladder forces us to witness the same horrible world as Jacob, leaving little room to catch your breath. It's only too soon that you realize that each terrifying image, each nightmarish hallucination, and each cruel reality (although it becomes increasingly hard to separate them) served to set you up and knock you down, reeling in a final revelation. If you haven't seen it yet, make it a priority, and prepare to peel back the many layers of Jacob's Ladder." - Fortunato


Session 9 (2001)

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"Session 9 is a horror film that has subtlety down to an art form. while slow-paced, this recent addition to the genre features plenty of intense scares.
When a group of Hazmat workers are hired to clear asbestos out of an abandoned insane asylum, they find much more than that. as they're pulled into the asylum's terrifying and mysterious past, and you, the viewer, are sucked in along with them. And in a slow crescendo, the horror escalates into a dizzying conclusion that will stick in your head long after the film is over!" - Fortunato


Videodrome (1983)

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"When Cronenberg puts his mind to something, well, you know what happens. This time, it's the good old boob tube and it's related media.
In Videodrome, Max Renn, a sleazy TV producer, stumbles upon a rogue broadcast featuring murder, torture, and all sorts of unpleasant things. A journey of acquisition ensues - with Max wanting the rights to air Videodrome as the "next big thing," while his sadomasochistic girlfriend Nicki travels to audition for it.
This journey decays into a mess of psychosis, murder, and tummy-vaginas (among other things) as the people behind Videodrome try to turn Max into their biological weapon against the media masses. By the last line, your mind is left a steaming pile of mush, and you are marked, wondering exactly what it is you just witnessed." - Fortunato


Honorable Mentions:

Blue Velvet (1986)

"As many authors point out, the journey into adulthood is a scary one. Stephen King reveals it to be a place full of carnivorous clowns, dead bodies and vengeful rednecks. James Joyce shows it to be existential thin ice where dreams of hell coincide with beautiful epiphanies and night journeys into whorehouses.
Blue Velvet is a young man's journey into adulthood and into the underbelly of suburban America. Lynch examined urban madness sublimely in Eraserhead and dissects the suburbs in Blue Velvet. The great surrealist turns into a twisted chimera of Abel Ferrara and William Faulkner for this small town gothic. Jeffrey, the film's protagonist must face off with Dennis Hopper's Frank, an adult with adolescent bravado and infantile sexuality to claim his own adulthood. This world of dive bars, hiding in closets and fake policemen coincides with falling in love with the young innocent blonde that offers a chance at a normal life. Jeffrey braves the underworld, claims the girl and yet, there is something just as sinister at the other side of all of his travails.
A great mystery, a great noir, a great coming of age movie with moments of chilling horror, perverse eroticism and exquisite acting." - Doc Faustus


Repulsion (1965)

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Psychological Horror


American Psycho (2000)

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"The ongoing argument about this one is did he or didn't he? The "he" in question is Patrick Bateman and his violent crimes.
From my point of view, yes, he did.
If you've read Ellis (Author of the book on which the film is based) you know he's a satirist, and a completely absurd one, great no doubt, but absurd. The film mirrors this with dropping chainsaws, exploding police cars etc.
Were they killed in those particular gruesome manners? No.
From the beginning we're told that Bateman is losing his grip on what little sanity and control he has left. Those exaggerations of actual events, are manifestations of this.
Why is Paul Allen's place clean?
Why is the woman so stern in dismissing Patrick? She's aware, doesn't care, and knows the incident will be bad for business...then why?
Then there's the conversation with the lawyer towards the end. He claims he met with Allen in London. Really now? Well wasn't Allen meeting with Halberstram, while Halberstram was meeting with Bateman, while Bateman was actually meeting with Allen?
By the way, who the hell is Davis?
That's what's being satirized, the superficial, greedy, impersonal, yuppie American, lifestyle of the 80s. The script being a bit too ambiguous can blur that point. In my opinion, this is the only glaring weakness of the film. Other than that, you've got good direction. Although flawed, a very funny, smart, dark script. And solid acting, which includes Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman. One of the best performances in horror or film period. Really good movie all around, definitely one of the best modern horrors that all genre fans should see." - AUSTIN316426808

"Here is a movie that is just amazing. The sheer brilliance of Christian Bale is what sticks out. He has become such a great actor it is awesome to look back and know he had added his touch into the horror genre. In this film he plays a crazy New York investment banker who just begins to kill people for seemingly no reason. That is not all though because if you watch closely and read in-between the lines you can probably tell it might be all in his mind. That's what makes this film so awesome because it plays with your head and emotions. It is definitely a must-see." - Gorephobia


Psycho (1960)

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"Alfred Hitchcock's darkest and scariest movie works on so many levels because it so sucessfully blends so many genres so intricately. In fact, the film could technically be uniquely categorized as a romantic-noir-slasher-con-drama-twist-detective flick. Mostly, though, what makes it so damn effective is its characters; after all, in order for a horror film to work, it needs believable characters. Hitchcock lets us get to know his beings so well that by the end of the film it feels like we've been through a hurricane.
Psycho was the birth of the slasher film, and is certainly one of the most shocking, but it is something much finer than that. It is what links the horror genre to class, and what stepped the industry's bar up so high. It is truly a legend and a revolution in film-making." - Alkytrio666

"If you were alive in 1960 you could not help but notice the distinct aroma of halibut permeating the air. Psycho would be the culprit....keeping many women out of the showers. Hitchcock was an artist and this was his Van Gogh. Tony Perkins captured perfectly the ultimate "momma's boy." Many sequels followed but none captured the suspense of this one, from the opening scene to the shocking final one..."I wouldn't hurt a fly"." - Newb


Se7en (1995)

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"Probably Fincher's most gripping narrative to date, and certainly his most devastating look at that primitive, evil side of human nature. The whole ensemble gives tragically human performances. Pitt brings a boyish excitement to the case, eager to go snooping around for clues with no idea of the moral consequence of such involvement; Paltrow is sadly sweet and quiet, almost angelic in this neo-noir-ish world of rain and shadows; and long before the Coens' Oscar-winner's discouraging word, Freeman proved that the evolving world is no place for old men- this new kind of crime is something almost incomprehensible, even to us. The film is profoundly intense. It keeps things from us, but not cheaply; the clues are all there, everything is in place from the get-go. So what makes the film an important part of horror history? The detective film is not often dipped in the horror genre, and when it is it must be done with precision and care. Fincher is not a nihilist, but he certainly has no problem watching his characters suffer. Still, the story is told in crime-scene style, often sparing its audience from the visual violence of the crimes. This is mature story-telling, but it's also a much creepier way of playing with us; the proof is the way our skin crawls throughout the film, and the way our spine tingles during its finale." - Alkytrio666




The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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"Unprecedented [for a horror movie] five Academy awards including Best Picture, this is Anthony Hopkins at his best. Very tense game of cat & mouse with an edge of your seat finale. Actually if you take away the skinnings and beheadings, this is a very touching love story between a troubled young lady and an older man.So grab the one you love...open a nice bottle of chianti with some fava beans and enjoy.
"Well, Clarice - have the lambs stopped screaming?" " - Newb


Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

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"In what are perhaps the two most ferocious female performances in horror history, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford delved into a new kind of psychological terror which would be imitated infinitely (including a second turn by the original duo themselves!).
What is most unsettling about the film is its slow-burn - the way it lets us grow very intimate with every aspect of the two womens' lives, and never pre-maturely unleashes its climax. Only when we feel most uncomfortable and vulnerable does the film attack us, and the effect is terrifying." - Alkytrio666


Honorable Mentions:

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Maniac (1980)

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Human Atrocity


Audition aka Odishon (1999)

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"Seven years after losing his wife to cancer, middle-aged widower Aoyama finds the new bride with the help of a film producer friend at a casting call for a non-existent movie. Asami (Shiina) is modest, polite, sexy, a trained dancer - and, apparently, available. As Aoyama nervously begins dating her, the film slips into a nightmare. Is his paranoia and guilt causing him to imagine the worst, or is Asami really a woman physically and mentally damaged by men since her childhood and out for revenge?
This is one of the finest works of Takashi Mike, especially the scene when the phone in Asami’s apartment rings and she smiles in an evil manner and a large bag (with someone or something inside it!) sitting on the floor begins to move....or even the gut-wrenching torture scenes at the climax, punctuated by soft recitals of “kiri-kiri-kiri-kiri” definitely scores a top mark by any true horror fan of the genre." - Roshiq


Eyes Without A Face aka Les Yeux sans Visage (1960)

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"Released in 1960 to harsh critical review, Les Yeux sans Visage in time would raise the bar for horror to come. Hauntingly lyrical and atmospheric, this film tells the tale of a brilliant surgeon gone mad with grief over the disfigurement/destruction of his daughter's face, resorting to horrifying extremes to make her pretty again. It's a film that is beautiful and serene throughout, punctuated with harsh violence and dazzling imagery. After bouncing perfectly between these two extremes for 80+ minutes, it finishes with a poetically powerful climax, securing its spot among the most original, aesthetic, and shocking horror films of all time." - Fortunato


I Spit On Your Grave aka Day of the Woman (1978)

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The Devil's Rejects (2005)

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"In an almost unbelievable jump in cinematic artistry and sensibility, Rob Zombie's second feature forces us once again to follow the wretched, depraved Firefly family, this time managing to somehow make them alluring and almost winsome. Pitted against the vengeful brother of a previous victim, the Fireflys become the ultimate anti-heroes as they travel around raising hell, and leaving a bloody trail behind them. The point of their violence is never made explicit, and this makes it all the more horrifying as the audience never knows what will happen next.
A wonderful throw-back to 70's exploitation cinema, The Devil's Rejects is a horror film that shocks in all the right places. At the very least, you'll never hear "Free Bird" the same ever again." - Fortunato




The Last House on the Left (1972)

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Honorable Mentions:

Inside (aka) À l'intérieur (2007)

Peeping Tom (1960)

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Traditional/ Pagan/ Ritualistic Horror


Rosemary's Baby (1968)

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Suspiria (1977) (*Giallo*)

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"Argento's bizarre witch story is a kaleidoscopic, grand spectacle; horror as goofy, gorgeous, gory high art.
Sure the plot is thin, unevenly paced, and has a fairly anti-climactic ending, but those (for me, at least) are lost in the film as a whole. It more than makes up for its shortcomings with style, composition, color; really everything else.
It has some of the strangest, wildest, most entertaining (often murder) scenes in the genre. And of course one of the strangest, wildest, most entertaining scores in the genre as well." - Fortunato


The Black Cat (1934)

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"Modern horror with its current ethical standards does not usually give the censors much to be scared of. But in 1934, Universal was doing it in spades.
When most think of Universal monsters, they think of Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman and the Mummy, but miss some of the greatest aberrations ever to grace the silver screen.
A little makeup used in the Expressionist idiom could create a special sort of monster: the deviant. This creature left the censors shaking and got horror films banned in England. Boris Karloff in The Black Cat, is everything polite society is not about. He worships Satan, he keeps a dead woman in suspended animation, he exalts in the chaos of the war that created him and he poses threats of all sorts to his hapless guests. Universal was showing the devil in the flesh. He threatens to destroy not only lives, but to undermine common decency and to bring misrule into the world. Director Edgar Ulmer, former expressionist set designer, projected the horrors of World War I and deftly and capably posed the same questions as Yeats and Eliot. Oozing charm and evil, he confronts his rival Bela Lugosi and challenges him to a chess game with Bergman-esque results. The two titans on screen together cannot help but remind us why they were the faces that spread horror throughout America and proved it a commercially viable genre.
One can see how this film's brilliant setup and sexually aberrant undertones inspired Kiss of the Vampire and thereby The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Though great as the Frankenstein monster, in The Black Cat Karloff shows us just what sort of moral entity Yeats felt was "slouching towards Bethlehem". " - Doc Faustus


The Omen (1976)

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The Wicker Man (1973)

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"Some could call The Wicker Man a confusing hippie artifact. Some could say it is more drama than horror, but there is horror at its core; the fear of ancient, primordial, hard to comprehend things. The Wicker Man is Lovecraft without tentacles. A contemporary Christian authority figure is forced to confront beliefs older than himself, which in certain ways are inspiring and beautiful, yet in others terrifying and harsh.
Christopher Lee is brilliant in his portrayal of a crafty pagan priest and Edward Woodward is stirring as the policeman who discovers "the true meaning of sacrifice". In an time where buildings are blown up in the name of faith and we wage a crusade in the Middle East, a film about the power of faith to do good and evil is more relevant than ever and more frightening than ever. An intelligent theological meditation and a cool, cerebral work of horror." - Doc Faustus


Honorable Mentions:

Beetle Juice (1988)

Candyman (1992)

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Occult Horror/ Demonic Possession


Black Sunday aka La Maschera del Demonio (1960)

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"Black Sunday is a masterpiece amongst masterpieces from one of the greatest directors of all time: Mario Bava.
I really don't know what it is about Bava that I love so much. Is it his use of color? Is it his willingness to push the boundaries of all sorts of taboos? Is it his imaginative set designs, or his use of atmosphere in general? It's all these things... and so much more. There is no better example of all the subtle brilliance that made Bava a legend in Black Sunday, supposedly Tim Burton's favorite horror film of all time. and I whole-heartedly agree with Burton.
The movie starts out with a good, old fashioned, witch burning. But this is no ordinary, every day, witch burning! They put the Mask of Satan on this particular witch (played by the gorgeous scream queen, Barbara Steele, in a dual role no less!), who seems to be part vampire-part witch, to hold all of her powers in. And if the Mask should come off? Look out, good guys!!
In Steele's other role, she plays a girl who is, naturally, a descendant of the witch, who wishes to possess her body with the help of her sidekick after being brought back to life.
The plot is great, but the film is more than just the plot. It's been rated in many lists as one of the top 5 horror films ever made and it's due almost solely to the haunting atmosphere and amazingly rich set design.
Why do we watch foreign movies, and foreign horror in particular? Because directors like Bava have no interest in pandering to Hollywood spoon-fed audiences, and this results in some of the most adventurous and creative film-making in cinema history." - Knife Fight


Demons aka Demoni (1985)

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"There are two main things I like about Demons:
One is the sheer aggressiveness of it. Up until recently, I was frustrated with horror movies that didn't really "go for the throat" the way Demons does. While I enjoy a fine movie that is "creepy," I was really getting tired of the amount of movies that I considered "thrillers" passing themselves off as horror movies.
But not Demons! Demons is a horror movie, through and through. A horror fanatic's horror movie, if ever there was one, with no apologies.
I just really like how, once things start turning sour for the heroes and heroines, they don't just start sliding downhill, they take a nosedive into a complete Charlie Foxtrot of utter shit... and they never really get out of it.
The second thing I like about Demons is the plot... or lack thereof. There are no explanations offered, which leaves the audience semi-disoriented and, in my opinion, adds to the horror. The premise is just kinda like, "Ok, here are these few people, suddenly thrust into this situation.... What are they (you) gonna do?"
And that's it. It's just a group of people finding themselves in a ludicrous, albeit terrifying, situation, with no explanation as to why or how.
And, for some reason, the audience (us, in the safety of our homes) buys it. What doesn't work for most movies, not having any exposition, somehow succeeds here in spades.
It's not for the faint of heart, but for those of us, like me, who enjoy a good cartoon now and again, Demons is about the most fun you'll have with your home entertainment system." - Knife Fight


Night of the Demon (1957)

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The Evil Dead (1981)

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"Originally titled "Book of the Dead", The Evil Dead is a horror classic that was followed by two sequels and established director Sam Raimi as a master of the genre. Also written by Raimi, it tells the tale of a group of college students who journey to a deserted cabin in the woods, where they encounter body-possessing demons. Eventually they are picked off one by one by the spirits until only Ash (Bruce Campbell, in his cult classic role) remains to battle off the forces of the evil dead.
The Evil Dead is one of a kind, truly wonderful film. This low-budget, 16mm debut by aspiring director Raimi didn’t take very long to reach cult status after its theatrical premiere in 1981. Its simple story, abundant gore and flashy directing makes it hold up very well today and still makes even the ardent horror lovers cringe in their seats." - Roshiq

"A personal favorite of mine and possibly the main reason you will never hear of me going anywhere near a secluded cabin in the woods, The Evil Dead may be the best example of what a filmmaker can do with a low budget and lots of creativity. Its very rare that a film can not only be over the top, gory, and a tad silly but also very creepy and disturbing. Here is a film that manages to balance all of this quite well. The camera work is very well done, some of the shots are just outstanding. Its fun, its energetic, and hey, its definitely gross and a bit shocking.
It is also our introduction to one of the great icons of horror, Ashley J. "Ash" Williams." - Jenna26


The Exorcist (1973)

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"I'll never eat pea soup again. Projectile vomiting, spinning heads, levitating demon girl...what more could you ask for in a movie.
Another one that had people fainting in the aisles, The Exorcist tells the story of little Regan MacNeil. Who had a nasty case of demon possession and wasn't quite sure where to "put" that crucifix. Father Merrin [who had dealings with this demon in the past] comes to call with "Doubting" Father Karras in tow.
Great movie that still holds up very well. I suggest you rush to see this one...just watch your step on those stairs...
Also get the DVD version with the "spider-walk" scene....that's some freaky shit!" - Newb




Honorable Mentions:

Haxan: Witchcraft through the Ages (1922)

"I'm sure we're all familiar with the Criterion Collection. Well, here's yet another reason from them to give whomever is closest to you a high five!
The 1922 pseudo-documentary Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages has been released in a badass edition which will be the envy of all your friends... especially the ones who hate witches!
This Criterion edition contains both versions of the film. The one that is silent (you know, where ya gotta read it) and the more popular one that is shorter and narrated by none other than William Burroughs (one wonders how he gets his dirty mitts into pretty much everything).
Up until recently, though experiencing a flash-in-the-pan cult following among the Beat Generation, "Haxan" was more often heard about, rather than seen. It was best known as one of those movies that you see clips from in documentaries on the History channel about Satanism, or Hell, or something nefarious like that, and scratch your head and think, "I wonder what movie that is, because I want to see that!!!!"
Look no further, viewer of History Channel Devil Documentaries, a lot of those mysterious clips come from here!
Using a wide variety of styles, including shadow puppets and some really great makeup and special effects, the film gives us an interesting perception of the history of that most misunderstood of all religions: Witchcraft.
Most of this "documentary" is pure hokum and humbuggery of course, but it does lend itself to some very interesting scenes (most notably the ones where the devil himself makes an appearance, played menacingly by the director, Benjamin Christensen, himself). It also makes some very controversial statements about the Church... such as a scene where a priest (I think he's supposed to be a priest. perhaps a friar or something. nevertheless, he is clearly representative of a "Man of the Cloth") condemns sinners, only to turn around and reveal his own hypocrisy by attempting to seduce women.
It's actually often speculated whether this is a condemnation of witches, or of the condemners themselves. But whether you view this film in one way or another, it is a visual buffet of rich imagery, the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time.
Very highly recommended buy, especially for silent horror fans and double that for fans of stuff like "Nosferatu" or "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." - Knife Fight


The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

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Telekinesis/ Mind Control Horror


Carrie (1976)

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"“They’re all going to laugh at you!”
Sure high school was tough, but none of us had it as bad as young Carrie White. Made to feel insignificant by her bible-thumping mother (played deliciously by Piper Laurie) and relentlessly picked on by the cool kids in school, Carrie is the walking definition of pitiful... until she realizes she has the power to control objects with her mind. When a dream date to the prom turns into a nightmare of humiliation, Carrie snaps and uses her powers to exact revenge in vibrant DePalma color.
This is one of those rare films that truly transcends the genre and is a great piece of cinema enjoyed by old and young alike." - Roderick Usher


Scanners (1981)

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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari aka Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari (1920)

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"Dr. Caligari and his somnambulist subject Cesare are an attraction at a carnival. The Doctor claims his subject can answer any question. When Alan, a visitor at the carnival asks Cesare when he will die, Cesare predicts he will die the next morning at dawn. And he does. It turns out that Caligari is the head of a local asylum and is obsessed with the story of an earlier Caligari who used a somnambulist subject to kill people.
What's astounding about this picture, in addition to Conrad Veidt's portrayal of Cesare, is the art direction. Painters Walter Reimann and Walter Röhrig provided expressionist sets full of twisted angles and creepy shadows that greatly contributed to the unsettling impact this film still has today. It seems to be set in a nightmare - or the mind of a madman." - Neverending


The Fury (1978)

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White Zombie (1932)

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"Lays claim to being the first zombie film EVER, and also one which mines the zombie beliefs of Haiti the most accurately. If you're one who needs steady doses of action to keep you interested, this film isn't for you, but if you thrive on atmosphere, this is Heaven.
Lugosi turns in a menacing performance as Murder Legendre, the owner of a sugar plantation who happens to posses an army of zombies to work the plantation. Some of the shots of these zombie minions are truly scary - particularly the scene with zombies working the mill. Trouble comes when Lugosi fancies the fiance of a visiting couple and decides to make her a zombie as well.
Slow and ponderous, but also sureal and chilling." - Neverending


Honorable Mentions:

Firestarter (1984)

The Devil Doll (1936)

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Human Monsters


Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

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"This is a rare example of a sequel that equals or even outshines its parent movie. Colin Clive, Dwight Frye & Karloff return from Frankenstein, but its Elsa Lanchester as Mary Shelly/The Bride and Ernest Thesiger as the effete, decadent Dr. Pretorius that steal the show. Pretorius is the real monster of the story, blackmailing Dr. Frankenstein into helping him create a female mate for the creature.
This film is also more subversive than the original. Anti-religious references abound. Karloff did an amazing job reprising his role as The Creature, giving the monster a creditable voice. A near perfect horror film." - Neverending


Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

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"One of my favorite Hammer films and certainly one of the best adaptations of Mary Shelley's novel (a loose adaptation for sure, but a good one), The Curse of Frankenstein relies mostly on one very powerful performance. Christopher Lee is just fine, and certainly memorable, as The Creature but the film focuses on the creator, rather than on the creation, so it is Peter Cushing that stands out. His Baron Frankenstein is not over the top, though the character is certainly obsessive and quite mad. He's also cold blooded, and not likable in the least, but he's fascinating to watch. That performance coupled with an ominous atmosphere makes this film a real treat for fans of Gothic horror." - Jenna26


Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931)

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"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of the oldest and best portraits of dualism in the human psyche. What other stories try to do with elaborate Freudian chicanery, this story puts in your face. Thus, the actor portraying Henry Jekyll has an elaborate and special problem: directly portraying the dualism with no frills or artificial complexity attached. The diabolical smile of Fredric March's Hyde does this in ways that few other movie villains can do. He confronts you with the grin and the twisted face, you cannot help but see a force of raw evil. Great makeup, great acting, and a worthy heir to John Barrymore. March is to this day one of the true faces of horror." - Doc Faustus


Frankenstein (1931)

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The Invisible Man (1933)

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Honorable Mentions:

The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971)

"The centerpiece of this highly entertaining film is the florid performance of Vincent Price. He imparts such emotional depth to the role, despite a makeup that rendered his face immobile.
The plot involves Phibes, who is thought to be dead, seeking revenge on the people he considers responsible for his wife's death. He is murdering them one by one in deliciously gruesome manners based on the nine plagues of the bible. Can Phibes be stopped before he kills all his intended victims? Well, let's just say there IS a sequel.
The film is bouyed considerably by a script full of black humor and stylish direction by Robert Fuest, who had worked on television's The Avengers. The art direction also lent great atmosphere, creating a Rococco environment for Phibes that included an ornate pipe-organ and a bandstand of clockwork dummies that play tin pan alley songs (with vocals by masterful voice man Paul Frees impersonating stars of the 20s-30s). Add to that an atmospheric score by Basil Kirchin and you have perfection.
If it all sounds a bit delirious, it is - and that's what makes it such an outstanding film." - Neverending


The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

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Creature Monsters


Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

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Gojira aka Godzilla (1954)

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"Great horror hits on our deepest feelings and reminds us of the depths of suffering that can occur. Inoshiro Honda's Gojira does this in ways that few other horror films manage to.
Honda, the son of Buddhist priest and a soldier in World War 2, was a sensitive, caring and deeply concerned person given the task of creating a monster. With radiation scarred victims in Nagasaki and Hiroshima and a history of war related traumas, Japan had already encountered one. The best monsters are the ones that barely need fabrication, the ones that are as real as we are, as real as history. Honda's monster couldn't help but be this way, and his chronicle of its devastation proves this.
Other giant monster films have played up the monster rather than the collateral damage, but Gojira doesn't remotely do this. There is a harrowing hospital scene and a long shot of a blasted and devastated landscape that reveal the deep humanitarian intent of the filmmaker, which creates moments of chilling intimacy.
The American version inserts Raymond Burr who gives a capable but extraneous performance for American directors hoping to make the movie accessible. This, I feel is unnecessary. Gojira is meant to be enjoyed as a visceral and thoroughly Japanese experience with an ending that is simultaneously foreboding. Gojira translates into gorilla-whale, hearkening back to both King Kong and Moby Dick, which this movie does, with its giant monster destroying a city and a man facing a force of nature that represents the opposite of what he believes in.
Great monster stories show us the great heroism that is needed to conquer our fears and the things that plague us, and Gojira more than accomplishes this, reminding us both that war is a force of horrible, gigantic chaos, but it is our duty to be fearless and vigilant in the pursuit of peace.
Good message, good camerawork and a memorable monster. What more can we ask for from the genre? This movie cast a rubber suited shadow over half a century and will no doubt continue to do so." - Doc Faustus



Jaws (1975)

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King Kong (1933)

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"Years before Coppola turned Heart of Darkness into Apocalypse Now, there was a quest for a jungle god even larger than Marlon Brando.
But, the tale of explorers descending into the primeval jungle was cleverly inverted. It was not the lawlessness of the jungle that made the god mad, it was instead the amorality of civilization. Enlightenment philosophers would beam at the idea.
So did America.
This ambitious story written by an English mystery writer couldn't help but captivate audiences; it took a familiar story to a new level, it featured action, adventure and romance, and it featured something really special. Fay Wray is a creature of pure innocence and precocious sexuality throughout the film, grasping the character's purpose instinctually in ways that Jessica Lange and Naomi Watts lost touch with in the later remakes. In diaphanous dresses and at one point, in total undress, she is archetypal and skillful at the same time with her acting. She shows human sexuality as something pure and beautiful, not obscene in the least. So, she works as a love object for a giant primal creature and helps show the tenderness of Willis O' Brien's excellent monster.
O' Brien's Kong is wonderful in that it is a stop motion monster capable of moving and emoting in ways that many actors don't quite manage. The special effects feed the story and the acting and not vice versa, making King Kong a perfect example of what horror filmmaking can be. It can be intellectual without being dull, it can be overtly sexual without being obscene and it can be laden with effects without being mere eyecandy. King Kong is not just a classic and a masterwork, it's a blueprint for success." - Doc Faustus


The Birds (1963)

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Honorable Mentions:

Cloverfield (2008)

The Descent (2005)

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Vampires


Dracula (1931)

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Dracula aka Horror of Dracula (1958)

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"The first entry in Hammer Films' Dracula series is a real classic, carefully balancing gruesome horror, sensuality, and action - all displayed in sumptuous Technicolor photography. It bears very little resemblance to Stoker's novel, and clearly from the first moments is setting out to do its own thing (for starters, it was the first vampire film to feature elongated fangs!).
Horror of Dracula moves at a solid pace, still delivering plenty of thrills and chills even today, some fifty years after it was made." - Crabapple


Nosferatu aka Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)

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"The vampires of Underworld and the novels of Anne Rice are a far cry from the vampire of traditional folklore. These were creatures who ripped apart livestock, who tortured their families and who spread famine and decay wherever they went, and they were the embodiments of disease, pestilence and social anxieties.
When Stoker created Dracula, he created a vampire who embodied sexual confusion, ethical dilemmas, fear of foreign invasion and political paranoia concerning an aristocracy that gives without taking. Murnau's vampire bridges the gap between Stoker's vampire and the sheep-slaughtering, crop-withering slavic fiends of Eastern Europe. There is nothing seductive about the face of evil when presented by Murnau, whether it be Emil Jannings' filthy Mephistopheles or the rat-like Max Shreck.
Does Nosferatu embrace the xenophobia of the time? Yes.
Can it be taken as an isolationist diatribe? Yes.
These two points of contention in addition to its dreamlike logic can be interpreted as weaknesses in the film, or they can be looked upon as embodiments of Murnau's times. In the strange nightworld of Nosferatu, Murnau captures those fears and shows them without fear and with very little equivocation. Nosferatu is a harrowing portrait of disease seeping into cultures, entering our very bedrooms and the depths of our imaginations. The ugliness and the evil in society will come and we must challenge them, perhaps even by sacrificing our innocence in the process. Fears old and new intersect in a raw, beautiful way, which makes Nosferatu as eternal a story as the novel that spawned it and the strange folktales that spread through the medieval imagination." - Doc Faustus


Salem's Lot (1979)

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"Salem's Lot was originally a 1979 TV miniseries, later merged into a movie experience. It starred David Soul, James Mason, Lamce Kerwin, Bonnie Bedalia and Reggie Nalder. It was based on the novel written by Stephen King.
The plot basically concerned the arrival of a vampire (a Mr. Barlow) to a New England town called Salem's Lot. The vampire's front man, a mysterious Mr. Straker, led the way by opening an antique shop and buying the old Marston house. At the same time, writer Ben Mears returns to Salem's Lot due to a fascination with the old Marston place. After the vampire arrives, the town folks begin turning into vampires. It is now up to writer Marston and his assistant Mark Petrie to rid the town of this evil.
This film shows vampires as monstrous and repulsive, and focuses on visual scares, atmosphere and tension. The makeup of the lead vampire (Mr. Barlow) was based on the motion picture Nosferatu. This was a downright scary and tension building film." - Marya Zaleska


The Lost Boys (1987)

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Honorable Mentions:

Let The Right One In (aka) Låt den rätte komma in (2008)

"This is not a horror movie. It is not a vampire movie. At least, neither of those are the defining words I'd use to describe the essence of the film. It's about the mess of adolescence. It's an against-the-odds love story. It's about surviving in this world, doing what must be done. All classic, timeless templates, only in this instance supporting a extraordinary scenario. See, then maybe it's a vampire film, or a horror film.
It is slow, sad, dark, and cold, punctuated by both harshness and happiness. It is blurry and distant, until Eli and Oskar, the two main characters, come together. Their interactions are close and intimate; from Eli and Oskar's prospective, together they create one universe, trying to trim the excess, not caring to question each other beyond traditional childish things as they work to figure each other out.
For a film that is so violent and cold, it can be quite warm." - Fortunato

Vampyr aka Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey (1932)

"Master filmmaker Carl Th. Dreyer turns his great, roving eye and incredible cinematic sensibilities to the horror genre in this, his only genre piece. And how lucky we are for it!
Based (very loosely) on Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu's novella Carmilla, on paper Vampyr reads like an ordinary vampire story. But Dreyer has beaten and reworked the source material like iron; not merely changing its form, but making it stronger. The finished product is beyond narrative; it is a fluid fever-dream of sickness and death and rebirth, tacit, told through gorgeous, soft, clever composition. All its parts combine to suggest perhaps something spiritual, something that will linger in your head like ghostly shadows dancing and flickering on the wall." - Fortunato

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Werewolves/ Shape Shifters


An American Werewolf in London (1981)

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"Two young New Yorkers are traveling around Europe and have ended up in Yorkshire. They receive a frosty welcome at the local pub and leave, wandering across the moor, despite warnings to avoid it, where Jack (Griffin Dunne) is attacked and killed by a supernatural beast. David (David Naughton) runs away, but turns back to help. He wounded but survives. After treatment at a London hospital, where he falls for the nurse (Jenny Agutter), with whom he swiftly moves in, he comes to realize that he is changing into a werewolf.
This all time great classic by John Landis delivered undoubtedly the best werewolf transformation scene ever in the horror genre. Rick Baker won the first ever Oscar for the special effects and makeup for that particular scene, and deservedly so." - Roshiq


Cat People (1942)

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"For the great Val Lewton, onscreen shocks were gimicky and cheap, and while Universal was pumping out monster flick after monster flick, he began a reign of terror which was always ignited by what was not seen, but mostly alluded to.
In Cat People, Lewton found a launch pad for a story which was much more three-dimensional than the stereotypical genre picture, and through strong sexual undertones, a stark, shadowy world and only a shoestring budget, he achieved what may very well be the scariest motion picture of the 1940s." - Alkytrio666


Dog Soldiers (2002)

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"Clever, dark, oddly funny, and truly frightening, Dog Soldiers is easily one of the best horror films of the decade, and one of the best werewolf films ever made. Whether it be the seamless makeup on the wolves, the startling twists and turns, or the all around atmosphere of isolation, there's something to be said of this film. It's got it all. A must for any horror fan's shelf, and a must see for everyone else." - Posher778


The Howling (1981)

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"The Howling is a modern day werewolf film and ranks along with The Wolfman as one of the all time greats. It was made in 1981 and directed by Joe Dante. It was based on a novel by Gary Brandner. The film starred Dee Wallace Stone, Patric MacNee, Denis Dugan, Belinda Balaski, Christopher Stone and Elisabeth Brooks.
The plot involved around TV news anchor Karen White, who is being stalked by a serial murderer named Eddie Quist. After Quist is supposedly killed and the trama of the event effects Karen and her husband Bill's marriage, her therapist Dr. Wagner sends them to a place called "The Colony" for treatment. Little do the couple know that "The Colony" is a nest of werewolves being treated by Dr. Wagner, who is also a werewolf. The supposedly dead Eddie Quist is there as well. Karen is helped by her friends Terri & Chris to escape. In order to make believers of the outside world, Karen (who was bitten by one of the werewolves herself) turns live into one on the evening news and is killed by a silver bullet.
This film is very atmospheric (especially the scenes at night), tense, thrilling and at time gory which should satisfy all horror fans. The action is non stop, and to me, this is one of the very best werewolf films ever made.
With it's excellent makeup and fantastic transformation scenes, this is definitely a modern day masterpiece." - Marya Zaleska


The Wolf Man (1941)

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Honorable Mentions:

Ginger Snaps (2000)

Dagon (2001)

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Golems/ Mummies


Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

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"One of the more imaginative movies on our list, Bubba Ho Tep, based on the cult book favorite by Joe R. Lansdale, pits two American pop culture icons who represent all that is considered good, against another, who represents everything that is evil.
But this is no ordinary "Good vs. Evil" tale. This is Elvis and JFK versus the Mummy, in a royal rampage match for the souls of a nursing home fulls of invalids!!
And though that may sound like brainless entertainment, we get a good bit of deep soul-searching from the King, played immaculately by fan favorite Bruce "don't call me Ash" Campbell.
The plot? The Mummy, decked out in cowboy gear (hence the name), regularly rampages through the nursing home, searching for easy victims... and along the way finds time to hieroglyph some graffiti in the bathroom stalls. Elvis ruminates on the tragedy of getting old and losing oneself and his buddy, JFK (the dearly departed Ossie Davis), lets Elvis in on some top secrets.
While this may easily be considered a horror movie, to me the film is more about some cheesy stuff about how we're never too old to be awesome (the movie is not that cheesy, trust me) and the Mummy, the film's namesake, is just a catalyst for Elvis's own redemption.
One of the best things about the movie (I haven't read the book) is that the director chooses not to reveal whether Elvis is really Elvis or if JFK really is JFK. It's up to the viewer's interpretation but, in the end, does it really matter if they really are who they say they are, or not?" - Knife Fight


Child's Play (1988)

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Der Golem aka Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920)

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The Mummy (1932)

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The Mummy (1959)

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"The Mummy (59) was produced by Hammer Studios in England.
This film, like other Hammer greats, paired the two awesome English horror stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee for another time. The film starred Yvonne Furneaux in an important role too.
The plot was not based on the 1932 Universal Studios "The Mummy" but a combination of two of later Universal Studio films "The Mummy's Curse" and "The Mummy's Hand".
Basically three British archeologists discover the grave of an important Egyptian female priest (Princess Ananka) who had died four millenia ago. But when they open it a bad curse falls upon the three for having woken up the mighty guard of the grave (Kharis) who was buried with the priest. The mummy is controlled by Mehemet Bey, a devoted worshipper.
According to Christopher Lee, this was the best looking film that Hammer Studios ever made. It was an excellent film with good acting all around as well as good production values. It most definitely typifies the Mummy sub genre with great atmosphere, with Egyptian beginnings, ancient rituals and a great mummy played by the excellent Christopher Lee." - Marya Zaleska



Honorable Mentions:

The Mummy's Hand (1940)

Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971)

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Zombies/ Re-Animation Horror


28 Days Later (2002)

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"Fans of zombie movies are sure to either love or hate 28 Days Later. The plot is dependent on character building scenes, where you take a breather and really start to care about the people living through the the disease and destruction. Just when you think you can relax, the fast zombies of 28 Days Later create a frantic pace, leaving you on the edge of your seat.
Not your typical zombie movie, but definitely an original addition to the sub-genre." - Miss Macabre


Dawn of the Dead (1978)

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"What more is there to say about George Romero’s magnum opus that hasn’t been pondered over and dissected by horror fans since this masterpiece came out thirty years ago?
The layering of metaphor upon metaphor (death is stalking us, we’re all just going through the motions, consumerism is eating our brains and souls) never once detracts from the simple joy and terror of this epic gorefest. Tom Savini makes a name for himself, Dario Argento produces, Ken Foree becomes a genre icon and Romero solidifies his position as the inventor and master of the living dead subgenre of horror.
If you haven’t seen it, you aren’t a horror fan...it’s just that simple." - Roderick Usher


I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

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"This is Lewton's most subtle and lingering horror film, and one with a distinct flavor that was never quite stirred into his films before or after. Loosely based on the novel Jane Eyre, the film explores a young nurses travels to the West Indies, where she finds that her modern medicine is in competition to that of the island's voodoo- and losing.
What follows is a rythmic and gradual descent into insanity, one that is not easy to shake off...even after multiple viewings." - Alkytrio666


Night of the Living Dead (1968)

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Zombi 2 aka Zombie aka Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979)

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"While Lucio Fulci's zombie classic may lack the stylization of Argento or Bava, it certainly makes up for it in pure charm. The film carries no political or social commentary, doesn't overtly try to be funny, it is just plainly and simply a gory zombie flick. It is perhaps this ethos (and the fact that it's carried out so well) that have made this film such a classic.
What is probably most amazing, however, about Zombi 2 is the number of classic scenes it contains, not only in the zombie sub-genre, but in all of horror itself. Who doesn't wince every time they see that eyeball gouged out by a bit of wood? Who doesn't stare wide-eyed at the "gut feast" or Auretta Gay's throat being torn out? Or perhaps the most important question of all is, who did you root for: zombie or shark?" - Fortunato


Honorable Mentions:

[*REC] (2007)

Day of the Dead (1985)

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Splatterpunk Horror


Blood Feast (1963)

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Dead Alive aka Braindead (1993)

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Flesh for Frankenstein aka Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (1974)

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"With decapitations and assorted limb removal, this surely has to be the godfather of splatter. Rated X on its initial release [tame by today's comparison], its loaded with nudity and enough gore to delight any horror fan.
Despite all the carnage there is a deep message to convey..."To know death Otto, you have to fuck life... in the gall bladder!" " - Newb


Hellraiser (1987)

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"Hellraiser is a sick flick, there are no two ways around this one. With more bloodshed than Hostel and more flesh ripping than Saw, it may be one of the most overlooked movies when people talk about mountain of gore. Hellraiser presents to the genre a group of the most disturbing creatures in ages with the introduction of the Cenobites - Pinhead, Chatterer, and the rest of these demons (or angels, depending on who you are) can tear through the living like no other group before them.
Sick, twisted, disturbing, vile... you could use any of those words to describe Hellraiser and nobody would argue with you. When people ask me what I think of Hellraiser though, I simply tell them, "It's great!" " - Despare


The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

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"Smack dab in the middle of the 80's came this very entertaining homage to Romero's Dead movies. Clu Gulager, James Karen and Don Calfa have a ball with this movie and so does the audience.
Also of note would be Linnea Quigley little strip tease....yowza. She could eat my brains anytime.
Memorable quote: "Send... more... paramedics!" " - Newb


Honorable Mentions:

Bad Taste (1987)

"This 1987 over-the-top gorefest is one of the greatest examples of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
A small town has fallen victim to aliens seeking a new galactic culinary delight and, to combat this, the government sends in 'The Boys'. Thats about it as far as plot goes...but it really doesnt need much else. The acting is poor and the script is shoddy but that, somehow, only adds to the charm of this great film. The gore is constant and not too bad considering the shoestring budget, including memorable scenes such as a man emerging from an aliens arse with a chainsaw! What more do you want?
Its an extremely enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes for a movie. Go see where Peter Jackson learned the tricks of the trade. Go and watch Bad Taste!" - Scouse Mac

Street Trash (1987)

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Slashers/ Gialli Horror


A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

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"I guess I was about 12 or 13 when I first set down and watched Freddy on the small screen with my ma and da (both were avid and dedicated Horror fans of the 80s and the VHS revolution). Now you would think that at that age and being in the presence of your family you would be able to stand the frights and chills but there was something so damn scary about a being that not only looked like pure evil but could get to you in your most private situations - your dreams!
Every night for about 6 months Freddy Krueger invaded my wishes, daydreams, hell even my wet dreams and had me standing (at almost 6 foot at the time) at the end of my parent's bed in the middle of the night shouting "Ma, Da wake up, I can't sleep. I can't get to sleep!" Of course this scared them half to death to glance up from their slumber and see an almost grown man standing in front of their bed...boy did I get yelled at!
Robert Englund once told me he treated Freddy as the quintessential boogeyman in every child's story, the big bad wolf, the monster under the bed. Well he sure as hell pulled it off for this monster fan!" - Cinestro


Black Christmas (1974)

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Friday the 13th (1980)

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"This was the film which made the legend of one of the most fearsome characters on-screen: Jason Voorhees.
If you are a fan of slashers, then this is a must-watch. From some pretty innovative kills (including a very young Kevin Bacon) to the startling twist at the end, Friday the 13th brought cold, merciless killing to our screens.
It still makes for fascinating viewing, and everyone still loves Mama Voorhees!" - Kane Hodder


Halloween (1978)

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"Arguably the best slasher film, and certainly the most influential, Halloween is John Carpenter's masterpiece. Its simple, its subtle, and it is also genuinely scary.
The premise? A masked killer is stalking babysitters on Halloween night. And unlike many of the slasher films after that would attempt to imitate its style and borrow its ideas, Halloween didn't need a lot of blood, or a ridiculously high body count to be effective. The film works because of the level of suspense that Carpenter was able to build, and because of the fine performances by the cast. Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis? Genius.
It also works because it has one of the creepiest, and most memorable, soundtracks in horror history. And let's not forget our killer; Michael Myers is slow, he's methodical.....and he's unstoppable. The last scenes are absolutely chilling. Believe it when I say this, Halloween is one of the greatest horror films ever made." - Jenna26


Tenebre aka Tenebrae (1982) (*Giallo*)

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"Tenebre marks the triumphant return of Argento to the sub genre that started his career. It's a powerful film that's perhaps the greatest giallo ever made.
There's a scene in Tenebre where the main character, Peter Neal, says, "All detection is boring. But, if you cut out the boring bits and keep the rest, you've got a best-seller." That's what director Dario Argento has done with this film - removed the boring detective work and given us a ripping good mystery with plenty of gore...axe in the head, slit throat, stabbings but the best one is at the end when a victim's arm is chopped off with an axe and the blood splatters the white wall behind her...definitely made it one of the greatest slasher-giallos of all time." - Roshiq


Honorable Mentions:

Deep Red aka Profondo Rosso (1975) (*Giallo*)

"The thing that sets Deep Red so far apart from his other films is its brave maturity and daring compulsiveness. It totters on a fine line between detective noir and straight slasher horror, and many later films such as Se7en and Saw would follow this technique with blatant admiration. Argento's camera weaves in and out of the crime scenes almost as if it were the muderer itself, and we as an audience never quite feel at ease - especially when the startling ending is revealed.
Dirty, gritty, and never tame, Argento captures italian horror in its most potent spirit here in what is often rightfully hailed as the god of all giallos." - Alkytrio666


Phenomena (aka) Creepers (1985) (*Giallo*)

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Comic/ Dark Humor/ Cheesy Horror


Army of Darkness (1992)

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"'Alright you Primitive Screwheads, listen up! '
Sam Raimi's third Evil Dead film is certainly more comedy than horror and we again welcome the return of our beloved, reluctant hero Ash.
After travelling back in time at the end of Evil Dead II with his '73 Oldsmobile, the department store clerk finds himself battling legions of the undead, commanded by his evil twin, whilst trying to save his girlfriend and travel back to his own time.
Bruce Campbell delivers the witty one liners with delicious timing, the action is constant and the enjoyment people had making the film clearly shows on screen.
You will be swept up by the fast-paced absurdity and hilarity. Be advised though - see the Director's Cut version which has the original (and better) ending, and not the theatrical release. You will fall in love with it!" - Scouse Mac


Evil Dead II aka Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)

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Grindhouse (2007)

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"How can you explain this film to someone who has never heard of it and convince them that it is amazing? It's very difficult.
Try elaborating the fact that the film is a double feature purposely made to look bad and is about: "This one's about a girl with a machine gun for a leg" and "This one's about girls trying to kill a dude in their car" and see what the public has to say.
However, it's still one of the most entertaining and original films ever made. It seems like it shouldn't work, and maybe that's true. Making a film look bad so it will, inversely... be good. It is gritty, overly bloody, and has an action factor that could probably send some people into a coma. It is a must watch for anyone dumb enough to pass it up. Try beating the cheesiness of this one, Hollywood!" - Posher778


Re-Animator (1985)

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"The introduction gives an apt impression of the over the top temper of the whole film. The events lead outlaw scientist Herbert West (expertly played by Jeffrey Combs) to travel to Miskatonic University, where right away, he and Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale) butt heads. Meanwhile, Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) is searching for a roommate, and dating Dean Halsey's (Robert Sampson) daughter, Megan (Barbara Crampton). Megan's instantly suspicious when West shows up, interested in the place. Rightfully so, since not long after the cat's dead, undead, then dead again. Dan, too tempted to stay away, starts assisting Hertbert in his morally void research. Experiments that yield the reanimations of the already mentioned cat, to a decapitated, unchaste, talking head.
Dark comedy and gore galore mark Stuart Gordon's first, and best, Lovecraft-inspired film." - AUSTIN316426808


Shaun of the Dead (2004)

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"Breathing new life into the zombie genre, Shaun of the Dead is an absolute gem of a film.
Shaun is a man with a shit job, no ambition and has just been dumped by his girlfriend. After a heavy night out with his useless best friend Ed, he resolves to straighten his life out starting in the morning. Unfortunately the morning brings an infestation of zombies and so Shaun, for the first time in his life, gets pro-active.
One of the great things about this film is it shows how people would cope with a zombie invasion in a country with strict gun control laws. Reduced to wielding cricket bats and golf clubs is one hell of difference to the usual gun play. It also has some genuinely moving scenes for a horror comedy, primarily between Shaun and his mum & stepdad. Its well acted, funny and well scripted.
If you havent seen this film already, what the hell are you doing on a horror forum??" - Scouse Mac



Honorable Mentions:

Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

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Sci - Fi Horror


Alien (1979)

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Aliens (1986)

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"This is it. The perfect combination of Sci Fi, Horror, and Action.
Difficult to pull off, but James Cameron really outdid himself with this one. Aliens is the striking sequel to the 1979 classic, and takes the concept to a totally different level. We go from one Alien... to hundreds. Terrifying and gruesome, it grabs hold of you with it's toothy, lethal tongue and doesn't let go for the entire time, all 2 and a half hours of it.
It was released in 1986 and hasn't aged a day, and is found on many, many shelves. Aliens is constantly compared to Alien and is commonly thought to be the better of the two, and, any way you look at it, Aliens is difficult not to love, and should be owned by everyone." - Posher778



Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

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The Fly (1986)

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The Thing (1982)

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"Undoubtedly one of the best horror films of all time, The Thing uses the concept and idea of fear itself as a powerful tool, and in a far more direct way than most horror films. It plays mainly off of three fears: the fear of the body (in a very Cronenberg way), the fear of effing horrifying aliens, and most importantly, the fear of isolation.
Almost immediately, we are plunged into Antarctica with the rest of the United States National Science Institute Station 4. All is well until the camp is infiltrated by one of the most terrifying creatures of all time, and Carpenter does such a wonderful job of creating a tangible, suffocating atmosphere that the viewer feels as if he/she is really there, wondering what to do next to avoid being infected, and who to trust (as the group hysteria within the camp is almost more dangerous than the thing itself). The intensity is only heightened with gut-wrenching special effects, an eerie electronic score, and awesome performances (among other things).
I know it's hard to call a movie "perfect," but this is as close as it gets." - Fortunato


Honorable Mentions:

The Blob (1958)

Predator (1987)

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Weird Pulp Horror


Eraserhead (1977)

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"David Lynch's masterpiece isn't really a film so much as a nightmare. The symbolic madness and frantic twists make this brief experience and unforgettable one, and it is not easy to shake off. Beautifully shot in good ol' fashioned black and white, the shadowy realm of the unknown continues to carry audiences away nearly thirty years after its release. And still no one knows what the hell any of it really means..." - Alkytrio666


Freaks (1932)

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"I have a special connection with Freaks. When my wife and I were dating, this was one of the first movies we watched together. That year for Christmas I bought her a copy on VHS and she loved it! I knew I had a keeper...
Sitting firmly in the "Ironic Punishment" sub-sub-genre of horror (think "Tales from the Crypt"), Freaks is best known for three things: the casting of "real" "freaks" (double quotation marks intentional), its director, Tod Browning, and the fact that it was banned for an awfully long time in multiple countries (30 years in the UK!).
For those that have seen this infamous morality tale, you know that, in typical classical movie fashion, there are "the good guys" and "the bad guys." Only the bad guys are the ones wearing white in this one (cue Minor Threat song). The "freaks" are routinely shown to be the only ones in their circus troupe with any sense of decency or moral fortitude, while the swells, the pretty lady seductress and her dastardly strongman lover, are two of the most low-down and outright evil cinematic villains to hit the big screen.
Tod Browning, post-Dracula, was given a big budget for this one but it, supposedly, nearly ruined his career when the film was banned and audiences and critics alike scorned his use of "real freaks" as being exploitative.
For us today, watching Freaks is, indeed, fairly disturbing to watch. The vast majority of abnormalities shown in the film have been completely banished by the magic of modern medicine, so for us, this is a rare glimpse indeed of the carnival sideshows that once permeated American culture, but which so few of us today have ever actually seen in person.
Freaks is more than worth your time to watch, and to seek out, if need be. It's a film that truly stands the test of time, much like Browning's better known hit Dracula, and points out, like many films after it, that we humans are oftentimes the absolute worst sort of monsters to each other." - Knife Fight


Spider Baby aka Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1968)

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"Where do you start describing this movie? Perhaps with the theme song - sung by Lon Chaney Jr. himself!
The plot involves an inbred family with a degenerative disease that turns them into killers. One female member likes to "sting" people with her sharp knives. One is a drooling grotesquerie played with ghoulish intensity by a young Sid Haig. Watching over the entire clan is Lon Chaney Jr. in one of his last roles, and it is, IMO, one of his best. You've got to feel for poor Lon when he tells the murderous girl, with all the sincerity he can muster, "You've just GOT to stop killing people!"
This is a low-budget black comedy but there are moments that are chilling as well. The dinner scene, where visiting big city relatives are served what look like tumbleweeds as well as other more unsavory items is completely mad.
If you have not seen this movie, you must! It's just unbelievable. Make sure you find a good copy though, as some transfers are quite dark and make some of the action hard to see." - Neverending


Tetsuo aka Tetsuo, The Iron Man (1989)

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The Brood (1979)

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"This psychological gem is the most underrated horror film of all time, and Cronenberg's most bizarre. Instead of a typical monster-gone-wild, Cronenberg gives us a metaphoric shock-fest on the horrors of family affairs and the mental, and in this case very physical damage that can come of it. It's a climax of startling bends and shady accusations, but the ending is like nothing before put on screen." - Alkytrio666


Honorable Mentions:

Cemetery Man aka Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)


The Holy Mountain (1973)

"The Holy Mountain finds itself in an interesting no-man's land genre-wise. There are those who will tell you that films that disturb with theological or sociological content are not horror, but these people miss out on the fact that horror has its roots in morality plays, the journey of Dante through Hell, Faust's contract with the devil and Victor Frankenstein' s transgression against nature. The Holy Mountain is no less horror than Frankenstein, Faust or Dante's Inferno, and also no less horror than The Wicker Man. Surreal imagery, ethically disturbing notions and existential frights are more than apt substitutions for cannibal rednecks or slobbering werewolves.
In the end, which one has kept more people up at night? This journey beneath the veil might just look like Aquarian mysticism, but Jodorowsky is no Kenneth Anger. Holy Mountain is coherent, capable, full of nervous laughter, terrifying ideas and images the viewer does not soon forget.
True literary horror, if not popcorn horror, at it's terrifying finest." - Doc Faustus

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Cannibalism/ Redneck Horror


Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

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Ravenous (1999)

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The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

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"One word comes to my mind when I think of this film. Brutal. I remember watching this years ago and feeling slightly sick. Why? Because the filmmaker makes it clear that NO ONE is safe.
A family that in many ways may resemble your own unwittingly pitted against a family of very human monsters, its a simple idea that plays on a few of our worst fears. Its raw and often unapologetically violent. But its more than that, its an emotional punch to the stomach. It certainly is an influential film, and let's face it, far less effective films have about beat the idea to death. And no, its not a perfect film by any means. The low budget is all too obvious but in my opinion it has never lost its ability to shock.
And so The Hills Have Eyes remains one of Wes Craven's most effective, disturbing films." - Jenna26


The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

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"Don’t go into the creepy farmhouse...seriously, don’t do it.
This is one of those movies that fucked me up. I desperately wish I could go back and re-experience it for the first time. Everything about this picture oozes terror. The creepy production design to the sweaty environment to the unsettling sound design/score all enhance the very natural fear everyone should feel when faced with a human flesh-wearing psychopath with a chainsaw and his lunatic cannibal clan. Power tools have never been the same, ever since TCM hit the big screens." - Roderick Usher


Two Thousand Maniacs! aka 2,000 Maniacs (1964)

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"When it comes to buckets of fake blood combined with bad acting and an over-the-top storyline does anybody really beat Herschell Gordon Lewis?
Six Northerners are brought to the small town of Pleasant Valley to take part in their "centennial celebration" in which the residents of Pleasant Valley remember the day their little town was raided by Union troops. Who wouldn't want to take part in the festivities as these rednecks slaughter the yankees with fun and exciting events that lead to over the top blood and gore?
Two Thousand Maniacs isn't for people who love deep plots, clean special effects, or Oscar caliber acting. No, this one's for folks who like to see a bunch of crazy rednecks slaughter folks in a jubilee of blood and guts.
Any fan of the "redneck" sub-genre has to see this film, it's simply not an option to skip it." - Despare


Honorable Mentions:

Deliverance (1972)

Wrong Turn (2003)

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We will now have a peek at those who didnt make it into the Top 140 (100 + 40 Honorable Mentions). I have omitted out all those who DID make it into the Top 140 and were nominated in more than 1 category. Ergo, these are unique entries as per subgenre.

A shoutout to each of the nomination below, for being nominated and for their contribution to the various sub-genres of horror.


Ghosts and the Supernatural

1408
Below
Blair Witch Project
Crazy Eights
Ghost Story
House
Ju On The Grudge
Kairo
Kill Baby Kill
Lady in White
Tales of Terror
The Eye
The Frighteners
The Grudge (remake)
The Haunting of Hill House
The Locals
The Uninvited
Thirteen Ghosts (1960)


English Gothic/ Haunted Houses

Black Sabbath
Brides of Dracula
Castle of Blood
Cry of the Banshee
Dungeon of Harrow
Ju On
Nightmare
Rebecca
Rinne (Reincarnation)
The Abandoned
The Cat And The Canary
The Entity
The Fall of The House of Usher (1928)
The Ghost and Mr Chicken
The Ghoul
The Haunted
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Oblong Box
The Old Dark House
The Orphanage
The Vampire Lovers
The Whip And The Body
Tomb of Ligeia


American Gothic/ Surreal

A Clockwork Orange
A Tale of Two Sisters
Blue Velvet
Crowhaven Farm
Fire Walk With Me
He Who Gets Slapped
High Tension
House of the Long Shadows
Kwaidan
Memento
Night of the Hunter
Pi
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Rear Window
Requiem For A Dream
Rope
Sublime
The Bad Seed
The Body Snatcher
The Crow
The Dunwich Horror
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Reflecting Skin
The Sentinel


Psychological

A Clockwork Orange
A Snake of June
A Tale of Two Sisters
At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul
Battle Royale
Behind the Mask: Rise of Leslie Vernon
Bug
Don't Look Now
Hangover Square
Identity
Let's Scare Jessica to Death
M
Memento
Naked Lunch
Oldboy
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Raising Cain
Santa Sangre
Sisters
Spoorloos
The Cell
The Machinist
The Nanny
The Sadist
The Tingler
This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse
Vertigo


Human Atrocity

Curse of the Black Widow
Driller Killer
Funny Games
High Tension
Holocaust
Hostel
Ichi the Killer
Mark of the Devil
Natural Born Killers
Pink Flamingos
Salo
Saw
Schindler's List
Soldier Blue
Spoorloos
Straw Dogs
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Sadist
The Wizard of Gore


Traditional/ Pagan/ Ritualistic

Art of the Devil 2
Borderland
Children of the Corn
Dark Waters
Don’t Deliver Us From Evil
Faust (1926)
Mark of the Devil
Masque of the Red Death
Prince of Darkness
Satanico Pandemonium
Sleepy Hollow
The Beyond
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
The Devil Rides Out
The Devil's Partner
The Devil's Rain
The Haunted Palace
The Satanic Rites of Dracula
The Seventh Victim
Witchfinder General


Occult/ Demonic Possession

Amityville II: The Possession
Audrey Rose
Beyond The Door
Burn Witch Burn
Fallen
Faust
Night of the Demons
Pet Sematary
Race With The Devil
Silent Hill
The Bad Seed
The Brotherhood of Satan
The Church
The Fallen
The Prince of Darkness
The Prophecy
The Watcher in the Woods
The Witches of Eastwick
Village of the Damned


Telekinesis/ Mind Control

Donovan's Brain
Dreamscape
Ghosts of Mars
Metropolis
Open Your Eyes
Patrick
Rasputin the Mad Monk
Svengali
The Beast With A Million Eyes
The Creature With The Atom Brain
The Electronic Monster
The Hypnotic Eye
The Manchurian Candidate
The Medusa Touch
The Ugly
Village of the Damned
Willard


Human Monsters

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Barrymore)
Hannibal
M
Mad Love
Man Bites Dog
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Monster on Campus
Night of the Bloody Apes
Night of the Hunter
Phantom of the Paradise
Son of Frankenstein
The Black Sheep
The Brute Man
The Evil of Frankenstein
The Flesh and the Fiends
The Hitcher
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Raven
The Tingler
The Unearthly
The Vampire (57)



Creature Monsters

20 Million Miles to Earth
20000 Leagues Under The Sea
Creature from Black Lake
Cujo
Feast
It Came From Beneath The Sea
Jeepers Creepers
Jurassic Park
Nightbreed
Pan's Labyrinth
Pitch Black
Pumpkinhead
Rats: Nights of Terror
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
The Host
Them!
Tremors


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Vampires

Blade
Blood and Donuts
Blood The Last Vampire
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Brides of Dracula
Countess Dracula
Curse of the Undead
Dracula Has Risen From Grave
Dracula, Prince of Darkness
Dracula's Daughter (1935)
Fearless Vampire Killers
Fright Night
Interview With A Vampire
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
Kiss of the Vampire
Martin
Near Dark
Nosferatu the Vampyre
Return of the Vampire
The Hamiltons
Vampire Hunter D
Vampyres



Werewolves/ Shape Shifters

Bad Moon
Big Bad Wolf
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Curse of the Werewolf
Cursed
I Was A Teenage Werewolf
Monster on Campus
Silver Bullet
The Company of Wolves
The Undying Monster
The Werewolf (56)
Werewolf of London
Wolf
Wolfen



Golems/ Mummies

Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
Colossus of New York
Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
Der Golem (1915)
Golem: The Petrified Garden
It!
Pumpkinhead
Puppet Master
Terror of the Mummy
The Black Pit of Dr M
The Mummy (1999)
The Mummy's Curse



Zombies/ Re-Animations

28 Weeks Later
Dawn of the Dead (remake)
Dead Men Walking
I Married a Zombie
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie
Mulberry Street
Resident Evil
Resident Evil: Extinction
Silent Hill
Slither
The Serpent and the Rainbow
The Zombies of Mara Tau
They Came Back
Tombs of the Blind Dead
Versus



Splatterpunk

August Underground: Mordum
Blood Sucking Freaks
City of the Living Dead
I Drink Your Blood
I Spit On Your Grave
Motel Hell
Natural Born Killers
Saw
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (remake)
The Crow
The Funhouse
The Gore Gore Girls
The Hitcher
Toxic Avenger



Slashers

A Bucket of Blood
Bay of Blood
Blood And Black Lace
Eaten Alive
Final Destination
Friday the 13th Part 2
Hatchet For a Honeymoon
Motel Hell
Opera
Penny Dreadful
Prowler
Scream
Scream 2
Scream 3
Terror Train
The Mad Butcher



Comic/ Dark Humor/ Cheesy

A Bucket of Blood
Addams Family
Behind The Mask: Rise of Leslie Vernon
Black Sheep
Bride of Chucky
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
Comedy of Terrors
Dead & Breakfast
Eating Raoul
Evil Aliens
Fido
Ghostbusters
King of the Zombies
The Body Snatcher
The Day IT Came to Earth
The Frighteners
The Gore Gore Girls
The Monster Squad
The Raven
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Theater of Blood
Toxic Avenger



Sci Fi Horror

Altered
Colossus: The Forbin Project
Critters
Demon Seed
Event Horizon
Feast
Fiend Without A Face
Forbidden Planet
From Beyond
Incredible Shrinking Man
Invaders From Mars
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Island of Lost Souls
It Conquered The World
Metropolis (1927)
The Black Scorpion
The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Flesh Eaters
The Last Man on Earth
The Monolith Monsters
The Prestige
The Stepford Wives
They Live
War of the Worlds



Weird Pulp

Angst
Basket Case
Begotten
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Blind Beast
Daughters of Darkness
Dracula vs Frankenstein
Dracula's Dog
El Topo
Faster Pussycat…Kill! Kill!
From Beyond The Grave
It's Alive
Mansion of the Doomed
Meet the Feebles
Nekromantik
Rabid
Shivers
Snake of June
Society
The Andalusian Dog
The Beast Within
The Mad Magician
The People Under The Stairs
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Werewolf vs Vampire Woman



Redneck/ Cannibalism

Anthropophagus
Eaten Alive
Hatchet
Hillbillies in a Haunted House
House of 1000 Corpses
How Tasty was my little Frenchman
Mountain of the Cannibal God
Redneck Zombies
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
The Descent
The Hills Have Eyes (remake)
The Man From Deep River
Wrong Turn 2



So there you have it...HDC's recommendations of the very best in horror under each sub-genre. Enjoy the list and happy viewing, folks!

[Bub the Zombie]

Another damn fine near-perfect 100. Very well done, all the people involved in this. Cheers mates.

[Kane_Hodder]

Excellent list.
This is a great top 100.:)

[neverending]

Impressive work from _____________V____________ for helming this project, and impressive work from everyone who wrote blurbs. Your passion for the movies you covered really shines through. Except for the ones I did. I'm a bit disappointed in my stilted prose.

[roshiq]

WoW! Fantastic!
Another original great work of the HDC members that enrich this community again. Special thanks to V for his superb ideas & supports.:)

[fortunato]

sweet!

amazing job, ___v___, and everyone who had input on the list!

[The_Raven]

amazing job, ___v___, and everyone who had input on the list!

I totally agree. This is a pretty amazing list. A lot of credit goes to everyone involved in the making of it.


Edgar

[newb]

Another excellent job V. Kudos to all involved.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/rockinmule/verynice.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/rockinmule/hands_clapping_lg_clr.gif

[Roderick Usher]

you rule, Avi!

Way to go, everybody.

[jenna26]

Yep, a damn fine list. Great job everyone. :) You do good work V....;)

[GorePhobia]

You guys are all amazing. It's just that simple.
V is just the man on HDC so no one mess with him!

Awesomeness.

[Doc Faustus]

Good work as always, __V__. Another great contribution.

[crabapple]

I like it too! I think it's a very good list, fun reading, and most everybody will read about a few things here and there that they haven't seen. Most educational. Great job everyone!

[Marya Zaleska]

Two thumbs up!

Great job everybody! Great list as well!

:)

[Klaatu Barada Nikto]

Great list! And neatly arranged into subcategories too!!

[serdarot]

Solid list. I have some remarks about films not making in the first 140 but almost all of these are included in the list that follows so overall, it's a quite comprehensive list of what the horror genre is about.

[HGLfan]

Dear God, did you spend a month putting that together? Kick A$$. I can't think of a single addition I'd make.

[MyraHindley]

The only addition I'd make is Lucky McKee's May. I guess I'd add it to Human Atrocities.

[sopater]

There's some good picks on that list. Nice!:)

[Laura6]

I think this is a great list! Very nice compilation!

[Roronoa]

i also like it.....nice pick.....I must grab a copy of other Horror Movies you Post.....Thanks a lot...

[horrormoviescentral]

Alot of the films on the list I havent even seen.
:(

At least that gives me something to do in my spare time though. LOL

Oh and great list.

[Fearonsarms]

My word I've wrote down the films I haven't seen there is plenty there to explore and enjoy well done this must have took an awesome amount of work to put together and fantastic result :)

[BookZombie]

It seams I am a bit late to the ball here. Great list it is beautiful. However there is one thing I have to respectfully disagree with, mummies and golems, why are they in the same category? Golems do not they belong together with things like Frankenstein's monster better than mummies.

Even if the list is already made I have to mention one category. Children's Horror. Now most monster movies for children is not made to be scary, they are either goofy or to friendly, like for example Batman vs Dracula. However there are a few movies meant to be horror movies as in they are meant to be scary, though they often have some humor and they are tuned down to fit children. There at not allot of these films but some examples would be The Ten Lives of Titanic the Cat, Ernest Scared Stupid, The Are You Afraid of the Dark series among others.

[pearlcabrezos]

This is a great compilation! Very nice..

[fannygroodle]

the others scared the living s*** out of me :p

[metternich1815]

Why is Child's Play under Golems/Mummies?

[neverending]

Why is Child's Play under Golems/Mummies?

GOLEM
noun
1. Jewish Folklore. a figure artificially constructed in the form of a human being and endowed with life.
2. a stupid and clumsy person; blockhead.
3. an automaton.

The definition fits pretty well. While the doll wasn't created specifically to be a golem, when Charles Lee Ray's soul goes into the doll, it becomes one.

[metternich1815]

GOLEM
noun
1. Jewish Folklore. a figure artificially constructed in the form of a human being and endowed with life.
2. a stupid and clumsy person; blockhead.
3. an automaton.

The definition fits pretty well. While the doll wasn't created specifically to be a golem, when Charles Lee Ray's soul goes into the doll, it becomes one.

I never really thought of it that way, but it makes sense. I was just curious.

[LuvablePsycho]

The Others was a great movie and ironically not only did it have no violence but nobody really died in the movie. This is proof that you don't need mindless gore and grizzly death just to make a good horror movie (though it does help sometimes lol).