Horror movie night - need help!

[MaskOfPersona]

So, instead of using my very first post on here to go introduce myself as a new member I'd rather get straight into things. Stepping into the unknown and bracing myself for whatever may happen.

But that is besides the point. My friends want me to host a horror movie night. Not usually a problem, ordinarily I'd whip something which has been born from the mind of a very disturbed individual from Japan and just enjoy the senseless carnage of blood and organs. However the problem I have is that a couple of my friends can't handle that stuff. At all. Which is a darn shame in my mind.

So, what I want help with is horror movies with minimal blood. So, psychological horrors.

Which ones would you guys recommend? Keep in mind that it has to have minimal blood in it. No brutal death scenes.

[MichaelMyers]

Pi

Blair Witch

In the Mouth of Madness

Jacob's Ladder

Clockwork Orange

[MaskOfPersona]

I don't think I could ever sit through Blair Witch project again. 'Found footage' type things just drive me crazy - I can't see anything that's going on.

Clockwork Orange I just didn't find to be scary in any way. Good movie, though.

Jacob's Ladder I've heard plenty of good things about - so might give that one a try.

The other two I haven't heard of, but In the Mouth of Madness sounds kinda like something by Lovecraft. So I'll have a look at both of them.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Giganticface]

Definitely Jacob's Ladder. Great surreal, psychological horror. There is a little bit of carnage, but nothing over the top.

I recommend Session 9. It's one of my favorite atmospheric, psychological horror movies of all time. Carnage is sparse, but effective.

Black Swan, unfortunately, is not talked about much in horror circles, but it should be. Amazing film. Tense, moving, and psychologically twisted.

Sauna is a great psychological horror film set in medeival times with a ghost/supernatural theme. Highly recommended -- it's in my top 20 films of the decade.

Vinyan is a great survival horror film set in the jungle -- an atmospheric & psychological take on the cannibal theme. Not much blood is spilled, but you're expecting it to at any time. Thematically, a little depressing though, in case that's a concern.

Clean, Shaven is perhaps the best example of psychological horror/thriller I can think of. I can't remember if any blood is spilled at all. However, thematically it is very disturbing, so it still might be a difficult watch for the squeamish ones in your group.

I don't know how far you want to go down the weirdness path, but one of my favorite psychological arthouse horror films is Possession (1981). However, it's a bit on the existential side, and the acting is intentionally overboard, so a few in your group are guaranteed to hate it.

A pretty good indie psychological horror flick is Absentia, which might still be on Netflix streaming. No blood that I can remember, but pretty effective tension is built. Not very fast moving, so it requires some patience.

Bug is purely psychological. Claustrophobic and tense, the horror is purely in the minds of the main characters. A small amount of body horror, but no carnage.


Good luck, and welcome to the forum!

[CaraBloodyCara]

Originally Posted by Giganticface

Definitely Jacob's Ladder. Great surreal, psychological horror. There is a little bit of carnage, but nothing over the top.

I recommend Session 9. It's one of my favorite atmospheric, psychological horror movies of all time. Carnage is sparse, but effective.

Black Swan, unfortunately, is not talked about much in horror circles, but it should be. Amazing film. Tense, moving, and psychologically twisted.

I agree with all of these, but just be warned that Black Swan, while not "gory," has some blood that is little more along the lines of wince-inducing. Also, it's a total powerhouse, and I have to admit that it totally made me cry at the end the first time I saw it.

This might not be majority opinion, but Grave Encounters was pretty tense and had minimal gore.

Good luck, and hello. :)

[metternich1815]

Tale of Two Sisters and Shutter (2004). These are brilliant psychological thrillers that I consider very scary. I do not remember much, if any, gore. Cube (1997) would be a good choice too. I would not consider it scary though. By the way, you are correct, In the Mouth of Madness is clearly influenced by the works of Lovecraft. A very underrated Carpenter gem, in my opinion.

[Giganticface]

Originally Posted by metternich1815

Tale of Two Sisters and Shutter (2004). These are brilliant psychological thrillers that I consider very scary. I do not remember much, if any, gore. Cube (1997) would be a good choice too. I would not consider it scary though. By the way, you are correct, In the Mouth of Madness is clearly influenced by the works of Lovecraft. A very underrated Carpenter gem, in my opinion.

I considered including A Tale of Two Sisters and Cube, except AToTS has the chick beating her sister in the bloody gunnysack, and Cube has a guy getting minced into a million pieces (although it's really not that bad). Great selections though, but they might be above the gore threshold.

[metternich1815]

Originally Posted by Giganticface

I considered including A Tale of Two Sisters and Cube, except AToTS has the chick beating her sister in the bloody gunnysack, and Cube has a guy getting minced into a million pieces (although it's really not that bad). Great selections though, but they might be above the gore threshold.

Cube might be, but I doubt Tale of Two Sisters is. That is probably the only scene and it was not really that bad. It is excellent as a psychological thriller.

[Giganticface]

Sweet, new avatar!

Originally Posted by metternich1815

It is excellent as a psychological thriller.

No arguments there. One of the best.

Originally Posted by metternich1815

That is probably the only scene and it was not really that bad.

True, a lot of the violence is off-screen, but personally, I thought it was pretty rough. Beating a child in a sack with a stick... dragging the bloody sack around the house... And although, off-screen, the part where she bashes her head with a statue was kinda nuts. Maybe I'm not remembering it right, but that's my lasting impression. The OP is specifically asking for non-violent horror, so personally I wouldn't recommend it.

It's definitely not as violent as the movie poster would imply though. You're right, it's really only during the movie's climax -- just one part. I was expecting a more violent movie.

[metternich1815]

Originally Posted by Giganticface

Sweet, new avatar!



No arguments there. One of the best.



True, a lot of the violence is off-screen, but personally, I thought it was pretty rough. Beating a child in a sack with a stick... dragging the bloody sack around the house... And although, off-screen, the part where she bashes her head with a statue was kinda nuts. Maybe I'm not remembering it right, but that's my lasting impression. The OP is specifically asking for non-violent horror, so personally I wouldn't recommend it.

It's definitely not as violent as the movie poster would imply though. You're right, it's really only during the movie's climax -- just one part. I was expecting a more violent movie.

I really do not think it is that violent. In my opinion, it is a non-violent horror movie, except for this part. It is primarily psychological. I think he meant that he did not want carnage like in the Hostel movies. Also, from what I saw Bug had some pretty brutal scenes (or at least scene), if it is the one I am thinking of (where the guy pulls out his tooth(eth)). It seems worse than A Tale of Two Sisters.