5 Horror Movies You Should Watch Right Now
Halloween is almost here and I thought I’d give you guys my top five list for scariest movies. These are movies that scare the shit out of me and leave me feeling apprehensive and nervous for days after I watch them. Some are classics, some are not as well known, but all are perfect for your scare fest for the season. I’ll first say that almost all of them are supernatural horrors. I don’t get scared at slasher movies because I FEAR NO MAN and torture porn just makes me sick to my stomach and makes me worry for the world as they seem to be so very popular. No, all of the movies on my list are about shit being completely out of the average Joe’s understanding, let alone control.
5. The Exorcist
I know what you’re thinking. “The Exorcist? Wtf?!? This should be like number one on the list!” Yeah, I agree that as far as supernatural horrors go, this is kind of the creme of the crop. The problem is that I saw this one when I was 5 and then many,-MANY times thereafter, so some of the shock and creep is taken out of it for me at this point in my life. As with most of the horror movies from this era, the scariest thing about them (for me at least) is the sound. Not the sound track, but the actual SOUNDS. The voice of the demon is terrifying to me. The crab walk, not so much.
4. Session 9
Session 9 is a movie I found all on my own one day when I was around 17 years old. This was again one of those films where the voices or sounds of the movie scared me more then what was actually happening. The voice on the tape terrifies me and we still aren’t sure what it is. The relatively mundane tone of the film at its beginning coupled with the idea that this could have easily been me (I used to do a lot of contract/painting and the like in my youth), made for an atmosphere that was all too frighteningly familiar. Session 9 also leaves the watcher feeling not just scared, but really sort of depressed and worried about their state of mind. Plus, it was before David Caruso wore cool sunglasses, so there wasn’t even any comic relief.
3. Phantasm
Ah, this one is easily my favorite. I saw Phantasm before I could form words, I think. This movie has solidly the most memorable main title theme in a horror movie ever. Just hearing the theme can make my hairs stand on end. I’m listening to it now and…eep, there they go. The Tall Man, the Dwarves, the portal to fucking Mars it seems, the silver death balls, THE FUCKING BEE MONSTER AT THE END!! All of these things come together to craft a solid B horror title that never ceases to terrify me. Fun fact: I met Angus Scrimm when I was 8 at a convention with my dad and sister. He was VERY nice and took a pic with us all. He even called me BOY! Another fun fact: My Dad kind of looks/looked like Angus Scrimm and was also fond of calling me BOY! I had an exciting childhood.
2. The Shining
I don’t think any list of good horror films could be complete without at least mentioning The Shining. Jack Nicholson has arguably never been scarier in anything else. Jack’s slow decent into total madness and Danny’s creepiness (yes, Danny was a creepy little kid, I said it) made the atmosphere oppressive to say the least. The thing that always got to me, though, you know, aside from the evil twins, bear costume weirdness and psycho with an axe, was how sweet Shelly Duvall was in this movie. More than many a damsel in distress, I really felt for her in this movie. She was just always so sweet, which made the idea of harm coming to her more terrifying. These days, you can’t wait for someone to die in a horror movie, because everyone is always so mean or asinine. More than anything though, room 237 lives in my memory and my nightmares.
1. The Haunting
The Haunting is hands down the most terrifying movie I’ve ever watched. Once again one I saw, or rather, was forced to watch it when I was very young. With relatively few true special effects, The Haunting scares the viewer with strange cinematography, a dark and oppressive setting and one damned creepy actress. This movie scared me more with a close-up of a small section of wallpaper and some weird sounds in the background than most movies can with all the bloody make-up they can muster. Anytime I’m thinking of scary movies, I think of the Haunting. There are so many solid scenes that could be considered the scariest in the movie, I can’t really choose one. If you are a horror movie fan and haven’t seen this one, you OWE it to yourself to watch it alone in the dark.
What horror movies should I watch Right Now?
What horror movies do you watch? What do you love about them? Is there one I should drop everything to watch right now? Let me know in the comments and have a nice, spooky day.