Good Horror Recommendations: Not the Obvious??? (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Wishton]

I have recently gotten on a horror kick. Don't know why really as I have been disinterested for a few years (due to seeing too many klunkers for me personally), but I am looking for suggestions.

I am sure a thread has probably been done like this, but I am more looking for choices that really wouldn't pop to mind. All the obvious (mainsteam franchises aka Halloween) I have seen already.

Any good horror recommendations? I prefer films with a story, but I don't mind the occassional story lacking film either if it's either dark and/or entertaining.

Nothing completely vile like Faces of Death, etc. I am just not into that.

Here are some of the movies (Horror and not really but sorta horror) I did enjoy which may help.

Hellraiser, Hellbound (uncut version & Dolby track added to this film for me), Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th 2, Friday the 13th 4, Halloween, The Stepfather, The Burning, Fatal Attraction, Kalifornia, When a Stranger Calls (The Jill storyline at beg. & end only), The Hitcher, among others.

I even liked the incredibly cheesy Sleepaway Camp 2. It really just depends. I usually dislike cornball movies like that. But, I usually prefer darker movies with the occassional exception.

Thanks.

 

[Andy Sheets]

I just watched Session 9 last week. That's a good flick. Kind of predictable but it has a great atmosphere

 

[Henry Gale]

May (2002)

 

[Jordan_E]

I second SESSION 9. Tons of atmosphere.
Also, The Legend of Hell House.

 

[David Forbes]

As soon as I saw the thread title I thought of Session 9.

Dog Soldiers is good fun in the Evil Dead vein.

 

[SteveGon]

Just watched Larry Fessenden's horror trilogy comprising No Telling, Habit, and Wendigo. The three films loosely update the Universal classic monsters (Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man) in a naturalistic setting and explore various social ills. Think John Cassavetes doing horror...

 

[Kevin M]

I'll second May, very good offbeat horror film that one.

Like Hammer horror? Then try renting a Hammer type film from 1973 called The Asphyx, very unusual look at the "angel of death/grim reaper" legend.

There's the German 2000 film Anatomy, not as unique as others, since it took it's cues from Scream and the like, but it is a very good thriller with some surprisingly good makeup FX.

Ginger Snaps (2000) is an unusually good and offbeat Canadian werewolf thriller, highly recommended.

....then there's the Japanese 1999 horror film Audition....oh boy....see it blind for a true shock, it starts very (purposefully) slow but don't let that fool you....just rent it and see for yourself.

 

[Brook K]

I love Fessenden's Habit, and highly recommend it. Didn't think Wendigo was nearly as good. How did you see No Telling, Steve? I'd love to check it out.

Audition, yeah that's a definite. If you like that check out Cure.

 

[Jefferson Morris]

Polanski's Repulsion. Don't let the slow first half throw you. The second half is very unsettling.

--Jefferson Morris

 

[Andy Sheets]

I agree with the May and Repulsion recommendations

One note regarding Session 9 is that a few days after seeing the movie I read a news article that said there are plans to convert the Danvers Hospital into condominiums. That'll be charming

 

[Tyler Gagnon]

The Changeling, With George C. Scott is a very good movie, Kind of creepy in some spots. And a pretty good story too.

 

[Adam_D]

hmm i was/have been on a kick lately with the same. i'll definatly recommend may, ginger snaps, dog soldiers and session 9 as well. here are a few others i rented recently that i thought were pretty good:

Spider Baby (1964)

Dead & Buried (1981)

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Evil Dead Trap (1988)

Versus (2000)

Zombie (1979)

Re-Animator (Millenium Special Edition) (1985)

Dead Alive (1992)

Audition (1999)

In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

 

[Mark Dill]

If you liked When a Stranger Calls, go see When a Stranger Calls Back. It is a little uneven, but there are some phenomenal moments. Quite a few good scares and unsettling suspenseful parts.

Check out A Tale of Two Sisters. It is a Korean flick, sort of similar in style to Ringu and Ju-on. Not pure horror, really, but guaranteed the last 20 minutes or so will blow you away.

 

[RickER]

I will second Dog Soldiers. One of the BEST horror movies i had never heard of.

 

[Alex Spindler]

I'm a perpetual torch bearer for both May and Below, which is fantastic in my opinion. The aforementioned Ginger Snaps and Dog Soldiers are both more than worthy of viewing. I've seen Wendigo, which was certainly unique, but it wasn't quite to my taste. Audition is a must see for any horror fan, especially if you don't spoil yourself by looking into the movie's details. I'd recommend checking out The Devil's Backbone by Guillermo Del Toro (who did Mimic and Hellboy).

If you haven't seen it already, I'm also quite the fan of Haute Tension, which is well worth importing the nice R1 unrated/subtitled release.


I'm currently wishing that they would release Mr. Frost on DVD. I've got a poor quality VCD that sincerely needs to be updated. One of my favorites that you might find in the aging VHS rack at your local non-Blockbuster.

 

[Kevin M]

This has been discussed quite extensively in this thread HORROR MOVIE DISCUSSION THREAD, much of what has been mentioned here & more besides.

 

[Malcolm R]

Just to temper some of the optimism here, so your expectations don't get wildly high, based on positive HTF recommendations, I viewed:

May
Session 9
Cabin Fever
The Changeling
Haute Tension
The Haunting (original)

and found myself greatly disappointed by five of them, and developed an outright hatred of Cabin Fever.

Not that you shouldn't watch them, but they're apparently not for everyone.

A couple I'd recommend, in addition to adding my kudos for Dog Soldiers:

Dagon
Mimic (original only, not the sequels)
The Prophecy (w/Christopher Walken)

 

[Ryan Wishton]

When a Stranger Calls Back.

Once again, a nice beginning. Just like the first film, the first 20 or so minutes are set up nicely (Though it seems to basically be a remake of sorts). Unfortunately, the film goes downhill to mediocre after this. If only both films could have remained as interesting and kept the tones that the beginnings had.

Both films are very uneven for me. It's almost as if the entire tone changes after the openings.

The first one had a middle that could have been from an entirely different movie altogether. The first one changed from the darkish tone into a cop like drama for an hour and bored me.

That said, I did enjoy this storyline (middle hour) more than the first one as it did focus on characters I knew.

But, I can't help but feel these movies both would have been better (at least for me) as a whole if different storylines were used for their middle chunks.

Both have their moments worth seeing.

 

[Rob P S]

Tourist Trap

 

[SteveGon]

I'll second the recommendations for The Asphyx and Repulsion.

Another one: The Collector