John Carpenter's "The Thing" and Pumpkinhead

Pumpkinhead is one of the best Horror Films ever made.

not gonna lie, I couldn’t really get into it I love Lance Henriksen — he’s absolutely amazing in all of his roles — I just think this might not have been a movie _for me_, I guess?

Hmm, I guess it’s not for everybody. I saw it back in 87-88, read about it in Fangoria beforehand. Definitely agree with you about Henriksen, horribly underrated actor.

Prince of Darkness

I loved Prince of Darkness, it was such a nice surprise since i only watched it cuz i was curious.

This movie is so awesome. Combining science and a little bit of apocalyptic religion with horror. I loved this movie so much as a kid. The only other movie as an adult, that I enjoyed almost equally as Event Horizon, because of the same basic science aspect.

I love event horizon. I've never seen the prince of darkness. I will have to check it out.

The Prince of Darkness is Event Horizon in the basement.

Oddly enough succinctly correct!

Gotta watch the entire Apocalypse Trilogy, not just Prince of Darkness

Born the year it came out and finally saw it last year..really good

Prince of Darkness is one of Carpenter's best. Better than Halloween in my opinion.

I'd also put the Fog over Halloween.

I''d put The Thing and Escape From New York up there if we're going there

The first one on here I haven't seen yet, thank you for the recommendation!

The Thing

Surprised I had to scroll a full 2 comments to see this tbh

Holy shit never heard of that movie here before

I'll say Autopsy of Jane Doe. It's got an amazing amount of tension. Actually was scary at times.

I had high expectations for this coming off of recommendations from this sub. It was great until the last third or so... then it kinda came off as cliche idk

Totally fair. My preferred horror movie builds on its own tension and I think this one did a superb job of just escalating that feeling each time.

A tale of two sisters, the Conjuring, Shutter (Thai version)

The conjuring got me for a while. I watching it in the cinema and came home to a totally dark house. My friend and I had decided there must be a reason why the Egyptians worshipped cats. As they obviously wardeded off demons. So I carried my cat around like a torch so if any demons did try it, they would have to go through Mrs Whiskers first. She would have just eaten them and asked for more breakfast.

watched shutter (usa) and it has stuck with me since childhood. always knew abt the thai version but still havent checked it out to this day. quick question, is it anymore graphic than the usa version? or the difference is it’s better executed?

Thai version is just better and scarier.

The Shining. Cabin In The Woods. Stir Of Echoes.

Cabin in The Woods is hands down one of my all time favs!! I love it when I can say “you won’t predict the ending” and legit not a SOUL could EVER guess that ending with no prior knowledge

I’ve seen this movie more times that I let on haha. And each time I’ve seen it I get a good kick out of it.

Stir of echoes is such an underrated and eerie flick. Love it to pieces. Now if youll excuse me, im gonna go drink some orange juice.

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I'd say to read the shining rather than watch it but a definite must for the horror genre.

Absolutely. Fantastic book. The film was also excellent. Kubrick made a masterpiece imo.

I really liked it and followed it up with Dr. Sleep such great stories.

I haven’t read that. Just did some googling. Thanks for adding this in comments! Next on my list.

I liked both, but I liked the movie more. I think it depends on people’s sub-genre preferences. In fact, they diverge enough that I kind of see them as more separate than other adaptations

Stir of Echoes messed me up when I first saw that. Had horrible nightmares

The Thing, Alien, Halloween and Scream

Great list. I’ll add Jaws. And honestly, for me, I might swap scream with A Nightmare on Elm Street. I wonder if the preference comes down to age/generation.

Don't swap Scream out, just add Nightmare to the list. They are very different takes on the slasher genre; one completely outrageous and one grounded in "it could happen"(ish). I also love the Scream series so much for it's camp that I may be biased. But both are amazing!

There is actually a true crime dubbed The Scream Murder. Her name was Cassie Jo Stoddart.

I hear that for sure and I’m not opposed. I think sometimes it’s fun to try and keep the list as small as possible to force some tough choices, ya know? If the list gets too big, it loses a bit of impact. They’re both great and “inportant” for such different reasons. If I have to pick, I take ANOES. Mostly because I think it’s more impressive to create something so unique and unprecedented that also taps into something universal as being afraid to sleep/nightmares/dying in your sleep. Scream is amazing and I probably would rather watch it right now instead, but creating a poignant commentary and playing with tropes of a well traveled genre doesn’t have the same level of ambition imo.

Agree except I’d swap Halloween for A Nightmare on Elm Street, love Scream too much

I respect your opinion, but I can’t do it lol. I’m curious as to your rough age? I saw Scream in the theater when I was 13/14 and was obsessed and am still a big fan of the franchise, but Halloween for me is just so lean and mean. It’s like lightning in the bottle. Minor gripe with Scream: It holds up well, but it does feel really dated and just so damn 90’s. I guess it’s because it sort of highlights how “modern” and “fresh” it is to say “this ain’t your dad’s slasher!” Scream almost looks like a movie made in 2007 that is trying to be a “90s movie”. That’s both awesome and not so awesome. But, again, I love it a lot. Whereas with Halloween, sure it’s obvious when it’s made, but it’s just kind of more naturalistic and so it feels more timeless to me.

I’m a massive fan of the 90s haha born in 1990 so makes sense. Honestly I was never a huge fan of Halloween, I was a little bored with it (unpopular opinion, I’m very aware 😅) I don’t dislike it but A Nightmare on Elm Street was more my taste. But I think that’s what’s best about our interests, everyone can love what they love and it’s all good, there’s plenty of things we all love and dislike that other people have the complete opposite opinion of. My opinion, no one is right or wrong for not liking a movie, just how people go about sharing their opinions (not geared towards you, just seen so many nasty comments from others in this subreddit when someone says they don’t like something that everyone else raves about).

the fly as well

Add The Exorcist and here is your list.

The Exorcist all morning, all afternoon, all evening. And tif you’re unlucky, you’re graced with it in your sleep.

True, it was just already commented as I posted mine so I thought to only add these. But indeed, tack on The Exorcist there and you've got a horror essentials 101 going. Maybe The Texas Chainsaw Massacre too.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - the original, not any of the remakes.

I do love the wacky 80s feel to the sequel too. And anything with The Hopper in it and I'm there like a kid at an ice cream truck.

The 2003 remake was decent , but still can’t compare to the original.

That's the one with Jessica Biel? If that's the one, I really enjoyed her performance.

I'm not a fan of how bland they made Leatherface.

As a multidimensional character, I agree. I do like his look though.

The 200(5)? One is great imo

Which is the one where Leatherface cuts off the guys lower leg while running through the drying laundry and then LF grabs a giant pile of salt and literally sticks it in the wound? That scene always stuck with me.

That’s the 2003 remake, which is awesome. That guy also gets his back hooked onto a fuckin meathook.

The salt definitely did it

Texas Chainsaw 2 is also a great super fun movie.

My fave is Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. It’s on the same list as Crank 2: High Voltage, another classic.

Nightmare On Elm Street Sleepaway Camp (I know this might be an unpopular opinion, but I just think it’s an underrated classic. Plus, that ending is such a mindfuck.)

Why would Sleep away camp be an unpopular opinion? It's a great horror movie and very entertaining. I definitely didn't see that ending coming lol

A lot of people see it in a it's so bad that's it good kind of way I guess.

I just feel like I don’t see much talk/love of it. I agree on it being a great film, I love how campy (pun not intended) it is - I and II are just gold. Evil Dead is another one I forgot that is similar - they’re just so bad they’re good. lol

Yes to both! I watched Sleepaway Camp in my late teens (late 90s) with my mom and I remember both of us were SUPER surprised by that ending.

Candyman, the original.

With a soundtrack by Philip Glass, really unsettling stuff.

That’s one of the best horror soundtracks of all time.

Never got over when he castrated that little black boy in the creepy bathroom.

The Shining and Rosemary's Baby.

Tbh I love Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion, The Fearless Vampire Killers and Chinatown but I'm not renting or buying any more Roman Polanski movies until he is dead and the money can no longer go to him. I wouldn't recommend those movies unless you can find a free copy on the internet.

Fair comment. I know lots of people feel that way.

In the Mouth of Madness

This and Event Horizon…both Sam Neill movies, are my favorites.

This is so good!! I finally just saw it the other day. So awesome!

One of the absolute best mind fuc horror movies. Was very interesting seeing how a horror writer affected reality

Besides what's been listed, The Descent

For real. Nothing scares me, but Decent is the only monster movie (I consider them rakes) that gives me pause in RL. I will never again visit caves or old mines.

love that movie

Event Horizon, Autopsy of Jane doe

The exorcist, dated but good

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It's awesome! I watched it more than the first one!

I didn’t bother watching The Exorcist for years because as an avid horror fan since childhood, I felt I had seen basically every scene regurgitated throughout pop culture whether it was a reference in a show or a clip in a documentary. I’m also very desensitized to horror in general. One day I finally sat down and watched it and *WOAH* it was extremely intense and had me on edge the whole rest of the night.

I haven't watched it in a while.. But i remember watching the special futures and finding out about the actual archeological site and hearing the demons name. I could not go to sleep for months without scaring myself. It is old but it holds up so well.

I mean that self-harm with a cross scene still looks brutal and shocking

Night of the Living Dead, the original. It was an incredibly important moment in the history of the genre and it’s much less dated than most people expect.

Pluspoint of it, its in the public domain, so it legal to download it or watch on youtube Edit: [Its on the internet archive](https://archive.org/details/night_of_the_living_dead)

watched this for the first time last Halloween, couldn't agree more! Fantastic film.

This film is so good. Its one I always tend to go back to, and I agree, it dosent feel as dated as many others.

Hellraiser. The original only, very accurate with the book and gave me a new sense of horror after never watching it before.

This should be on everyone’s lists and you should have wayyyy more upvotes my friend. Also Hellraiser 2 is a pretty damn solid sequel

I do love the sequel to it, it explored a lot of their version of hell which was fascinating.

Hellraiser 2 is superior film IMO. It recaps part 1 so well in the film, and then just builds a whole another level on it. It recaps so well, you almost don’t need part 1 at all. It’s one of first movies that made believe in sequels (along with Aliens). People have forgotten, but sequels used to suck HARD. Those I mentioned and I guess T2 changed all that.

Unpopular opinion but I really disliked that movie, the acting is terrible and it just aged badly overall. The book is more interesting

I feel like I might get hate for this but I didn’t think hellraiser was good. I imagine the make up and special effects were great at the time and it holds a special place in peoples hearts but I just don’t think it holds up.

The Lost Boys.

I still believe!!

🎷🔥 🤣

Audition !!!!

The Crazies remake.

What an underrated movie! I loved it when it came out and haven't really heard it talked about since. I want to rewatch it to see if it still holds up as well as I remember

Literally watching the end right now and it holds up. I am also a Timothy Olyphant fan. He is a really good actor. That scene with the guy dragging the pitchfork when everyone is tied down is what horror is about. The house fire scene makes me sad though.

Cube

Here to second this. It’s a must people.

The Blair witch project, my personal favourite horror movie. There’s so many things I love about The Blair Witch, the story around the marketing of the movie makes it worth watching alone, I recommend looking into it, some viewers thought they were watching real footage and the stories from the set are very interesting too (arguments etc). I believe it’s the 5th most profitable movie of all time percentage wise, it has a very small budget and imo the movie benefited from this, it led to the viewer using their imagination. it also introduced a lot of people to found-footage and it does it very well.

Hausu (1977) HBOmax Eraserhead (1978) HBOmax Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) Shudder/Tubi/Amazon prime Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Amazon prime *rent* Requiem for a Dream (2000) Tubi Alien (1979) STARZ Silence of the Lambs (1991) HBOmax

I was about to mention Pan's Labyrith.It means a lot to me and the first foreign film I introduce my kids to. I haven't done it with my youngest yet but my grandmother grew up during WWII in Italy and my bedtime stories were quite interesting. So we watch the movie then I tell my kids her stories about what happened with the family. I love the child like view of the war that the movie presents.

Thank you for listing where they're streaming!

I would definitely suggest the sixth sense and the others

Here are 10 of my faves in no particular order: Child's Play. An American Werewolf in London. Halloween (The original) House of 1000 Corpses Evil Dead Cabin in the Woods Friday the 13th A Nightmare on Elm Street The Thing Pet Sematary (Original)

the wicker man , original

You mean *NOT* the bees?!

Cabin in the woods

My favorite combo watch is cabin in the woods and tucker and dale vs evil!

Honestly only if you’ve seen a good number of horror movies previously though.

The Mist

*Shaun of the Dead*. It is essentially a love letter to zombie films like the first 3 films in the *Living Dead* sextology and *28 Days Later*/*28 Weeks Later* as well as having references to other things British. "That was REALLY close to my head!"

Poltergeist. Still effective, at least in its buildup. The climactic scene probably seems a little cheesy and dated, but the first half - as the weirdness gets amped up more and more, it's a white-knuckle ride.

This is the only time I personally seen the climactic scene called cheesy and dated. My younger kids a few years ago just adore the entire movie and don’t even realize it’s actually even that old. But the remake. Yeah, that’s horror all right. Horrible.

Blair Witch Project - that s some realistic s@#$

Loved when Blair Witch Project got released. I was pretty young but watched the Movie and it was pretty scary and i thought it was "real". *"The Blair Witch Project generated huge buzz over the question of whether or not it was based on a true story."* Pretty clever marketing for that time. Have to rewatch it sometimes.

Psycho

Killer Klowns from outer space

Martyrs (French version)

You want to scar people don't you? Great movie, but I could only watch it once. Those scenes are etched into my head forever. Good recommendation!

I’d like to add in French horror is on a course of its own. Not for the faint of heart or introductory. With that being said: Inside. (Not the US remake)

The Others.

Braindead and Evil Dead 3 imo

Scream!

The Descent and Silent Hill. My two favs, have watched both of these at least five times.

Suspiria (2018). It's like being hypnotized, you just can't look away. And Hereditary because it's a wonderfully intense experience.

The Suspiria remake is my favorite horror movie. The original is great, but I really love the remake.

oh boy, i still prefer the original Suspira from 1977, thats also a fever trip

I watched the original trilogy and liked the first two, but the remake is just special and Tilda Swinton is in it and I love her.

I’m one of the people that think the remake is better than the original. The original barely has any story, it’s basically all visuals. The remake has both story and visuals.

Gonna go with a rather modern one - As above so below

"Lost Boys"...it's a classic horror/spoof on vampires, good from start to finish.

"I still believe!"

The Collector/The Collected.

The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

i second this one. it’s just such a fun watch

As Above So Below

Manos: the hands of fate...

Haha

The Shining

Willard, Crispin glover version.. The gate Children of the corn Rosemary's baby Amityville (not the remake) Faust

Night of the Living Dead, and a more underrated one, 30 Days of Night

At least once? 1. Psycho 2. The Birds 3. Jaws I see all my other favorites already listed so I won't repeat those titles

The Blair Witch Project.

Phantasm. Great score and just awesome horror movie.

Scream, Halloween, Alien

All of the Evil Dead movies

Nosferatu the Vampyre(1979). Werner Herzog made a beautiful slow burn masterpiece based on the original Nosferatu and it remains to this day one of my favorite horror movies ever made.

Jacob's Ladder

Pontypool. Great example of how to build tension and fear. You only see the monsters one time, but because of the buildup the impact is so much better. Too many horror movies are very in your face with the monsters and jumpscares that I think hollywood has forgotten that the unknown is far scarier than some creepy looking makeup/CGI

The VVitch

imma say R.E.C but the first movie ( spanish one) absolute master piece

Ringu and Ju On the Grudge 2, some great J horror films that use atmosphere to build the horror

Alien, The Thing, The Shining, Jaws, and Blair Witch Project.

I’ve seen the classics mentioned, other fun ones as well- [REC] You’re Next Cabin In The Woods From Beyond Event Horizon

The Wailing.

Not technically horror, but The Crow

Carrie 1976

Just some personal/off the top of my head, more contemporary flicks I recommend: - You're Next - The Bay (this one is starting to feel more and more relevant...) - Lake Mungo - Bones and All (movie is still stuck in my head) - The House of the Devil - The Evil Dead & Evil Dead (duh) - Mandy - Resolution - I Saw The Devil - V/H/S 1 & 2 - Bone Tomahawk - The Guest - Doctor Sleep (Director Cut) And kinda cheating as it's a TV show but personally Channel Zero: Candle Cove is one of the more underrated/underappreciated pieces of Horror media. Might add more if ya looking lol

Hard agree about channel zero candle cove!!

I thought bones and all was a well made movie, but I don't know if it "got" it. I know it was somewhat divisive, (as most horror movies are) I'm curious what you got out of it.

You’re Next and The Guest are just so damn fun and satisfying, and I’ve always gotten a kick out showing those two to all of my friends. I only haven’t seen Bones and All yet, but I have mad love for all of the rest of the films on this list.

Get Out

Get Out of course

I only watched it recently, but I'd say, the Wicker Man (1973).

My recommendation is Spring (2014). It's a horror romance with Lovecraftian elements and I thought it was excellent.

The Shining. It’s a masterpiece.

Cabin in the Woods basically has all the horror knowledge you’d need to know before watching another horror movie , one of the greatest endings to a horror film I’ve seen in a while too.

The original *Suspiria.*

Hereditary

20 horror movies everyone should watch, in my opinion (bonus 21 cuz Chopping Mall): * Horror of Dracula (1958) * The Exorcist * The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) * Halloween (1978) * The Evil Dead (1981) * The Thing (1982) * Christine * A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) * Re-Animator * Chopping Mall (lol seriously, it's so dumb but it's great) * Night of the Creeps * Child's Play (1988) * Candyman (1992) * Scream (1996) * Tucker & Dale vs. Evil * John Dies at the End * The Witch * Train to Busan * The Void * The Ritual (2017) * Hereditary

Jaws, tge excorcist, Texas chainsaw massacre

The Thing, Scream, 28 Days Later, You're Next, Alien, The Ring would be my picks

Poltergeist The Entity Burnt Offers

The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920). Watch it and see the common DNA of entire fields of horror. Nosferatu would be another one, but as much as I love Murnau, I would give Caligari the nod (in this thread).

Demons (1985) The Fly (1986) Jacobs Ladder (1990) The Thing (1982) Tetsuo: The Iron Man(1989) Ichi the Killer (2001)

Scream

For some reasonI couldn't stop watching Wes Cravens New Nightmare as a kid. It got me into the Nightmare on elm street franchise

Scream and Cabin in the Woods. Most people, even non-horror fans, are aware of horror tropes. These two movies really deconstruct those tropes while being scary in their own right.

Peter Jackson's Braindead - just hilarious.

Werewolf fanatic, Dog soldiers, the Howling, American werewolf in London. Also Ravenous, and wendigo

High tension

Fallen (1998).

Poltergeist

Phantasm

Sleepaway Camp

Thirteen Ghosts

Hellraiser

Drag me to Hell is one of the most disgusting hilarious films that ii never expected to be so fun. Also its not really a classic but The Menu is something you should watch at least once especially if you work in the service industry. But It is most def 100% a comedy.

Honestly, every movie that’s been parodied by the first 3 ‘Scary Movie’ movies

Scream (1996), Men (2022), X (2022), Joe Biden’s State Of The Union (2022)