Best horror films

[shaz619]

Good list. I don't love all these movies but I can definitely appreciate them for trying to do something different and unique. Talk to Me is another movie with a very unique premise. We need more stuff like this rather than endless number of these Conjuring movies and other cheap crap like these screen-recording movies.

The Wailing is a fantastic shout. South Korean cinema doesn't get enough credit IMO. Since the 2000s they have produced some incredible films, and some really good horror films too.

One thing that makes me optimistic about the future of horror cinema amid all this franchise and found-footage stuff is that for the first time since maybe the 1980s we have a decent crop of horror filmmakers: Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar), Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons), Robert Eggers (Nosferatu, The Witch) and the Philippou brothers (Talk to Me, Bring Her Back). I really hope that these guys get to make more films because the future of horror cinema is basically in their hands. Nobody needs to see Conjuring 9 or Insidious 6. We want to see original films made by filmmakers who actually understand what horror is.

Talk To Me set the bar for what a modern mainstream horror movie should, they proved you can still sell tickets without bringing out the dead horse to flog with the common tropes. Those movie makers deserve a lot of praise because they got traditional publishers interested in horror again, nobody wanted to look at Adam Neville’s work properly until the 2010’s. When asian horror gets it right, no one does it better & for me, The Wailing is the best. I use to love The Grudge as well.

If I am honest, some of those silly franchises are a guilty pleasure of mine lol But because I want to write horror maybe I am biased because I will watch the great stuff & rubbish to, for me what I loved most about the Conjuring universe was the chemistry between Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga and the familial ties/trauma, Red Door got panned I think but the psychological damage done to the lead character over time resonated with me. But absolutely, I can separate these from the real good stuff, but those franchises are my version of going to the theme park; if you’ve heard of that famous quote from Martin Scorsese you know what I mean

Did you manage to watch Bring Her Back

 

[shaz619]

Creep was a weird movie but I'll give it some props because it wasn't like your typical found-footage movie. There was some coherent camerwork at play. Cloverfield didn't do it for me. I think the success of that movie was it's marketing campaign which did the good job of obscuring what the movie was about. These days it feels like you see the entire movie in jus the trailer.

Have you seen 10 Cloverfield Lane btw? Not exactly horror I guess but a really good film that was a spin-off of the original Cloverfield I guess, or connected to that same world.

I need to persist with Creep in that case, that’s a great point, Cloverfield really had that mystery about it and blurred the likes between reality & fiction, I was still at school and had some good stuff before going to the theatre, it was such a terrifying experience LOL

I enjoyed 10 Cloverfield Lane to, at first I was expecting it to be similar to the first and it was but more of a Hitchcock like psychological thriller, it’s the one with the weird fat bloke holding his daughter among others hostage right was it Amy Adams can’t remember. They did a good job flipping the switch with the expectations of the audience in this movie as well, wish we got more of this now to keep me guessing, people fear what they don’t understand or can’t see more than anything….

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Deep Red
The Vanishing
Tenebre
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
The Thing
The Shining
Event Horizon
Rosemary's Baby
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
Alien
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Weapons
The Exorcist
The Exorcist III
The Burning
Hereditary
The Eyes of Laura Mars
Urban Legend
The Toolbox Murders (remake)
Dawn of the Dead (remake, though I love the original too)
Bay of Blood
Longlegs
Saw 1 & 2
Sinister (only good studio found-footage movie I've ever seen)

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Talk To Me set the bar for what a modern mainstream horror movie should, they proved you can still sell tickets without bringing out the dead horse to flog with the common tropes. Those movie makers deserve a lot of praise because they got traditional publishers interested in horror again, nobody wanted to look at Adam Neville’s work properly until the 2010’s. When asian horror gets it right, no one does it better & for me, The Wailing is the best. I use to love The Grudge as well.

If I am honest, some of those silly franchises are a guilty pleasure of mine lol But because I want to write horror maybe I am biased because I will watch the great stuff & rubbish to, for me what I loved most about the Conjuring universe was the chemistry between Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga and the familial ties/trauma, Red Door got panned I think but the psychological damage done to the lead character over time resonated with me. But absolutely, I can separate these from the real good stuff, but those franchises are my version of going to the theme park; if you’ve heard of that famous quote from Martin Scorsese you know what I mean

Did you manage to watch Bring Her Back

Absolutely. Just goes to show you that audiences will watch if you actually give them something new and interesting. The recent success of Weapons demonstrates this too.

Not yet. Been working up the stomach to see Bring Her Back. But haven't managed to so far. In time hopefully.

Haha I can understand that. I watch slasher movies for the same reason sometimes. Like you know what the movie is going to be and you may not even recommend it to anyone else, but you still get some enjoyment out of it.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I need to persist with Creep in that case, that’s a great point, Cloverfield really had that mystery about it and blurred the likes between reality & fiction, I was still at school and had some good stuff before going to the theatre, it was such a terrifying experience LOL

I enjoyed 10 Cloverfield Lane to, at first I was expecting it to be similar to the first and it was but more of a Hitchcock like psychological thriller, it’s the one with the weird fat bloke holding his daughter among others hostage right was it Amy Adams can’t remember. They did a good job flipping the switch with the expectations of the audience in this movie as well, wish we got more of this now to keep me guessing, people fear what they don’t understand or can’t see more than anything….

Yup, that's the one. Very good film. It's hard to do single-location films because you always feel like there won't be enough substance to make it interesting. But that film proves that you can do that with good, suspenseful storytelling. And I agree, really good example of playing with the audience's perceptions. I'm sure they came in expecting something closer to the first film.

 

[SherWaqar]

Talk To Me set the bar for what a modern mainstream horror movie should, they proved you can still sell tickets without bringing out the dead horse to flog with the common tropes. Those movie makers deserve a lot of praise because they got traditional publishers interested in horror again, nobody wanted to look at Adam Neville’s work properly until the 2010’s. When asian horror gets it right, no one does it better & for me, The Wailing is the best. I use to love The Grudge as well.

If I am honest, some of those silly franchises are a guilty pleasure of mine lol But because I want to write horror maybe I am biased because I will watch the great stuff & rubbish to, for me what I loved most about the Conjuring universe was the chemistry between Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga and the familial ties/trauma, Red Door got panned I think but the psychological damage done to the lead character over time resonated with me. But absolutely, I can separate these from the real good stuff, but those franchises are my version of going to the theme park; if you’ve heard of that famous quote from Martin Scorsese you know what I mean

Did you manage to watch Bring Her Back

Talk To Me is great! However I found Bring Her Back to be a more profound and emotional horror film..and also disturbing. It succeeds in portraying grief and attachment.

 

[psyoptica]

It’s been a good year for horror movies. Bring Her Back and Weapons are both great.

I would also recommend The Dark And The Wicked, Caveat, Oddity, Speak No Evil (not the Hollywood remake), Hell House LLC series, Gonjiam, V/H/S series, Creep 1 & 2, Lake Mungo, Noroi, Smile 2, Cure, The Wailing, Under The Shadow, Hereditary, Midsommar, The Witch, Pulse, Daddy’s Head, Relic, It Follows, Soft & Quite, A Tale Of Two Sisters, Sleep, Martyrs (not the Hollywood remake), Inside, The Black Phone, Host,REC 1 & 2, The Ritual, Borderlands…

Thanks for those recommendations. I have been searching for some good horror flicks and some movies in the list look good. I will line them up for the Halloween binge watching

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

We’ve been in a mini golden era for Horror since the mid 2010’s tbh, it’s just that some of the truly diabolical releases swarm the good stuff.

Just last year we got Long Legs (a modern Se7en) & Nosferatu (best adaptation of Dracula ever & visually one of the most stunning horror movies you will ever see, maybe since The Shining).

And you’re probably familiar with Mike Flanagan’s work who has great TV & movie releases.

I can’t believe The Wailing came out just under 10 years ago, one of the most atmospheric horror movies ever made.

Others to check out:

The Witch
Midsommar
The Lighthouse
Under The Shadow
The Babadook
Talk To Me
28 years later
His House (British / Immigrants)
Relic (British haunted house, messed up take but so good)
The Menu

I've seen half of those, Midsommar was really a good story, The Babadook so so, but enjoyed Talk to Me, 28 Days later and The Witch. Will check the rest out as well since you do seem to have picked the better quality ones.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

To say The Blair Witch Project is “the worst thing that ever happened to horror” is an exaggeration. If anything, it showed how flexible and inventive the genre can be. Horror has always thrived on low budgets…examples are classics like Night of the Living Dead or Halloween. Those weren’t big studio projects either, but they reshaped the landscape.

What Blair Witch Project did was prove that atmosphere and ambiguity are more effective than elaborate effects. I agree that a wave of found-footage copycats followed, and many are cash grabs- but the same happens after almost any breakout success. Slashers after Halloween, torture-porn after Saw, possession movies after The Exorcist—that cycle is part of the genre’s history. The weak ones fade, but the strong ones stay. The likes of REC 1 & 2 and Hell House LLC are very good found footage horror movies..the list of great horror movies in this genre is long.

As for the screen recorded movies like Unfriended and Searching- they’re not lazy at all. I recently watched Host on Amazon..a very effective and creepy 60min film shot in this format. The already mentioned Searching is a tout thriller.

Dismissing whole subgenres as “irreparable damage” seems like overlooking the creative risks and cultural relevance they bring.

Horror is one of the few genres that constantly reinvents itself…and even the experiments people don’t like help push the boundaries for what comes next. Not every horror movie needs to be big budget or shot in a traditional way. Some of the recent so called horror movies like The Nun movies are not found footage..are absolutely rubbish, blatant cash grabs.

I agree. While I can see where @RedwoodOriginal is coming from, the original Blair Witch Project sparked off a bunch of cheap copycat films which are cheap to produce, I do feel the original was a clever idea, and well executed. I can remember hesitating to watch it because I didn't want to watch a home movie, but when I did take the plunge, I thought it was very gripping and scarier than a lot of big budget films.

It worked as a one off, but I don't want to watch other versions of this type of film making, once it's been done it just starts looking like a budget movie trying to cash in.

 

[globetrotter]

Bhoot in that list ? Are you serious !

Yes.... Bhoot is indeed a scary movie, Bollywood lovers over the years watched horror movies from Ramsey, but horror movie from RGV was a surprise. You have to watch on big screen for impact.

Don't underestimate bollywood movies as it has larger viewership than Hollywood movies across the globe.... if Hollywood have godfather and scarface, then Bollywood have Satya and Vaastav

 

[SherWaqar]

Thanks for those recommendations. I have been searching for some good horror flicks and some movies in the list look good. I will line them up for the Halloween binge watching

No worries Trick ’r Treat is a great Halloween movie.

 

[globetrotter]

Few more horror flicks......

The substance
The omen 1975
The sixth sense
Shutter 2005
Tumbled
Barbarian
Bring her back
Insidious
Interview with the vampire
Nosferatu

 

[shaz619]

Talk To Me is great! However I found Bring Her Back to be a more profound and emotional horror film..and also disturbing. It succeeds in portraying grief and attachment.

Talk To Me was kind of more like say a Weapons, I categorise it under the excellent original stories which can still work for a main-stream audience. Bring Her Back wasn’t as well received commercially, but it was a truly gripping & disturbing experience, I am still in shock after a month of having watched it, no words lol

 

[Hikaru]

Hereditary was the last movie that gave me a weird uneasy sensation. Haven't experienced that feeling since.

 

[SherWaqar]

Looking forward to Del Toro’s take on Frankenstein!

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

@shaz619 The latest film from Osgood Perkins. Looks super creepy and interesting. 2025 has already been a banner year for horror cinema and I think this will only add to it.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Best horror film of the year is without a doubt Weapons (might be my favorite film of the year too). Not sure if I talked about it on another thread but it's rare to see such a well-layered/structured, original and genuinely creepy horror film. Zach Cregger is such an impressive new voice in horror cinema. I hope he keeps making more original and interesting films.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

@shaz619 Have you seen Black Phone 2?

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

This one:

 

[SherWaqar]

Best horror film of the year is without a doubt Weapons (might be my favorite film of the year too). Not sure if I talked about it on another thread but it's rare to see such a well-layered/structured, original and genuinely creepy horror film. Zach Cregger is such an impressive new voice in horror cinema. I hope he keeps making more original and interesting films.

Bring Her Back is on par…maybe better. Weapons is more of a mystery / thriller.

Looking forward to more of these film makers movies.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Bring Her Back is on par…maybe better. Weapons is more of a mystery / thriller.

Looking forward to more of these film makers movies.

A horror film doesn’t have to outright scare you to be a horror film. Fear is subjective anyway...some people scare easily, while others have a higher threshold. What truly defines a horror film are the themes of dread and unease it explores, not just the scares.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Bring Her Back is on par…maybe better. Weapons is more of a mystery / thriller.

Looking forward to more of these film makers movies.

Bring Her Back was quite disturbing. Not sure how I feel about it. I suppose you could say that it succeeded in its job, but I didn't like the feeling it left me with. I thought Weapons was a far superior film.

 

[shaz619]

@shaz619 The latest film from Osgood Perkins. Looks super creepy and interesting. 2025 has already been a banner year for horror cinema and I think this will only add to it.

This is so creepy, in the last 2 mins I literally added this movie to my list before I logged in lol

I got a membership for a few months which works out a bit cheaper and I added these to see in the next few weeks:

Black Phone 2 - I really liked the first, it was quiet atmospheric for this type of commercial movie and I later learned it was based on a short story by Joe Hill, I bought the collection few days ago and will read it first before seeing part 2

Keeper - Huge fan of the director as you are and had to see if he had something in the Halloween slot, thankfully he has, very interested in this.

Shelby Oakes - I know you’re not a fan of found footage but this seems interesting.

What I did watch recently was Good Boy, a horror movie from the perspective of a dog, this is the type of innovative indie movies which you & I love, low budget but they get so much out of their constraints very creatively, the movie genuinely is quiet disturbing and it takes you on quiet the emotional ride with the man & his best friend narrative in a way which has never been done before, it’s arguably the most visually striking movie I’ve seen since Nosferatu and this bloke did it with <$1 million, it’s just mind blowing; the director used his own dog in the starring role. 9.5/10 I hope you get to see it in the theatre somehow, even here the screenings are very limited and it will end up on Shudder soon.

 

[shaz619]

Best horror film of the year is without a doubt Weapons (might be my favorite film of the year too). Not sure if I talked about it on another thread but it's rare to see such a well-layered/structured, original and genuinely creepy horror film. Zach Cregger is such an impressive new voice in horror cinema. I hope he keeps making more original and interesting films.

I actually think you might change your mind once you see Good Boy, can’t wait to get your thoughts on it, Shudder finance these real gems every now and then

 

[shaz619]

Bring Her Back was quite disturbing. Not sure how I feel about it. I suppose you could say that it succeeded in its job, but I didn't like the feeling it left me with. I thought Weapons was a far superior film.

I think that’s about right, BHB achieved its aim and it comes down to ones definition of what Horror should & if you’re old school, and scribe to the MR. James school of thought that it should be the sort of Ghost Story which is a pleasing sort of terror, then Weapons fits that bill much better compared to BHB.

 

[globetrotter]

I saw weapons yesterday, its not a spine chilling horror.... but I like this kind of story telling...

In India, we called this practice as "chetuk" where evil person perform rituals to take control of targeted person for his/her own interest. Chetuk exist in India for centuries...

 

[BouncerGuy]

I saw weapons yesterday, its not a spine chilling horror.... but I like this kind of story telling...

In India, we called this practice as "chetuk" where evil person perform rituals to take control of targeted person for his/her own interest. Chetuk exist in India for centuries...

TBH, Weapon was a disappointment for me... I am into this type of horror films, but never liked it till the end...

 

[IMMY69]

I get scared a little just entering this thread let alone seeing an actual horror film

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

A horror film doesn’t have to outright scare you to be a horror film. Fear is subjective anyway...some people scare easily, while others have a higher threshold. What truly defines a horror film are the themes of dread and unease it explores, not just the scares.

This is me as well. Gore for it's own sake just makes me switch off. The best horror films for me over the last couple of years were Black Phone and Hereditary. The story telling kept you gripped throughout. Still haven't seen many of the other ones recommended like Weapons, I'm waiting for them to be released on Netflix or Prime so I can watch them properly. I have the other dodgy streams as well but that's purely for sports events.

 

[SherWaqar]

TBH, Weapon was a disappointment for me... I am into this type of horror films, but never liked it till the end...

It is labelled as dark comedy. Ending was funny and brutal.

 

[globetrotter]

TBH, Weapon was a disappointment for me... I am into this type of horror films, but never liked it till the end...

Weapon is a suspense/thriller than Horror flick

 

[globetrotter]

Weapons got 7.5 ratings on IMDB, but looks like overrated movie of 2025

 

[CricVet]

Deliver Us from Evil - older but an entertaining one.

 

[hassan918]

Few more horror flicks......

The substance
The omen 1975
The sixth sense
Shutter 2005
Tumbled
Barbarian
Bring her back
Insidious
Interview with the vampire
Nosferatu

Barbarian and Insidious are must watch for every horror movies fan.

 

[shaz619]

@shaz619 The latest film from Osgood Perkins. Looks super creepy and interesting. 2025 has already been a banner year for horror cinema and I think this will only add to it.

I watched this mate, what did you think?

Regardless, what a run from Osgood Perkins in the last 18 months.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

This is so creepy, in the last 2 mins I literally added this movie to my list before I logged in lol

I got a membership for a few months which works out a bit cheaper and I added these to see in the next few weeks:

Black Phone 2 - I really liked the first, it was quiet atmospheric for this type of commercial movie and I later learned it was based on a short story by Joe Hill, I bought the collection few days ago and will read it first before seeing part 2

Keeper - Huge fan of the director as you are and had to see if he had something in the Halloween slot, thankfully he has, very interested in this.

Shelby Oakes - I know you’re not a fan of found footage but this seems interesting.

What I did watch recently was Good Boy, a horror movie from the perspective of a dog, this is the type of innovative indie movies which you & I love, low budget but they get so much out of their constraints very creatively, the movie genuinely is quiet disturbing and it takes you on quiet the emotional ride with the man & his best friend narrative in a way which has never been done before, it’s arguably the most visually striking movie I’ve seen since Nosferatu and this bloke did it with <$1 million, it’s just mind blowing; the director used his own dog in the starring role. 9.5/10 I hope you get to see it in the theatre somehow, even here the screenings are very limited and it will end up on Shudder soon.

I'll check out Good Boy bro. Been hearing alot of buzz around it. Seems like one of the indie movies of the year. Especially now that you have given it a ringing endorsement.

I heard about Shelby Oaks but tbh all the discourse seemed to be dominated by 'oh this YouTuber who reviews movies made a movie, so let's support him', rather than whether or not it's even a good movie. So I dunno about that one.

 

[JaDed]

Weapons got 7.5 ratings on IMDB, but looks like overrated movie of 2025

Lol I thought it was unhinged, not as good as Barbarian but lot of fun and thrill 7/10

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I watched this mate, what did you think?

Regardless, what a run from Osgood Perkins in the last 18 months.

Haven't been able to see it yet bro. The torrent hasn't hit the web yet.

What did you make of it?

 

[sweep_shot]

I haven't watched a horror movie in over a decade.

I watch other genres like comedy, action, thriller, war movies etc.

Any recommendation? I am looking for a recent horror movie.

 

[shaz619]

Haven't been able to see it yet bro. The torrent hasn't hit the web yet.

What did you make of it?

I will way go in open minded, not have too low or high expectations; for me personally, I liked it, bit of a slow burn which played with my familiarity with the usual tropes in this setting, at its core I feel it was solid folk tale with an excellent finishing stretch. Very different to Long Legs & The Monkey & not as ‘commercial’.

 

[shaz619]

I'll check out Good Boy bro. Been hearing alot of buzz around it. Seems like one of the indie movies of the year. Especially now that you have given it a ringing endorsement.

I heard about Shelby Oaks but tbh all the discourse seemed to be dominated by 'oh this YouTuber who reviews movies made a movie, so let's support him', rather than whether or not it's even a good movie. So I dunno about that one.

I had it on my list but unfortunately couldn’t see it, I was going around watching the classic FF stuff in prep but I heard it wasn’t well received. I didn’t even know YT’s made movies but was very impressed with the guys who put out Talk To Me, but they may be a exception to the rule.

On the topic of FF believe it or not I watched The Blair Witch Project about a month back & thoroughly enjoyed it, the dread & suspense is just built up so well and the final scene is terrifying, I can’t imagine the effect it would have had when it first came out, similar to The Exorcist. In the movie you don’t quiet get the big reveal and the feeling of ‘once you see the monster, it’s not the same’ doesn’t really reach you and they close out with the authenticity of the fear of the unknown embedded in the mind.

Using wrestling terminology, but what can horror media do now to simulate real fear/terror when Kayfabe is dead.