Classic Horror Films

[GoldenEyedScout]

I'm currently watching the original Hellraiser right now, and it got me thinking, what happened to good scary movies?

Everything nowaday's seems to be mindless torture porn (I'm looking at you Saw.), or is a rehash of a once good series (Friday the 13th anyone?), or simply churns out another cinematic excretion (Saw. Repeat offender.)

To me, a horror movie should scare you not with morbid displays of violence, but with suspense, tension built up slowly over the course of the film.

In The Thing, you saw violence, true. But the story, the fright of never knowing who the doppelganger was is what gets you. The ending scene scares, because you still don't know.

So, what is the Escapist's thoughts on what makes a classic example of horror?

I put forth my nominations of The Thing, Hellraiser, Jaws, and Psycho.

 

[Mr Somewhere]

What makes a classic horror film? Smart subject matter, a sense of dread outlined in all elements of the film, the ability to play with sublime creations and yet still pull it off. An actual likeable and relatable cast of characters. A sense of normalcy, if even occasionally to contrast the horror elements.
Tight pacing, I cannot emphasis that more.
And finally I think the film should knowingly play with the audience, tease the audience, this does not mean throwing the occasional cat based jump scare.

Anyways, here are some suggestions, I won't go past the 90's.

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
Alien
The Shining (though mind, the book is far superior)
Carnival of Souls
The Haunting (same case as The Shining however)
Hellraiser (yes, it's a great film)
The Thing
Psycho
Nosferatu
The Vampyr
Frankenstein (original Karloff)
Phantom of the Opera (Lon Chaney version)
Dracula (1992)
The Creature From The Black Lagoon
Wicker Man (No... not the 2006 version)
Jacob's Ladder

I think I'll leave it there... I don't want to go overboard.

 

[Griffolion]

The last scary movie to truly disturb me by not doing the whole *ZOMG SOMETHING JUST JUMPED OUT AT ME!!!!* or *ZOMG IS THAT THING THAT GUY'S URETHRA??!?!?!!* was Paranormal Activity, i think the whole thing was really clever. Number 2 was a disgrace.

 

[Artina89]

I grew up with classic horror, courtesy of my dad and his friends. For me, horror movies were pretty much ruined when "Scream" came out, because after that, I found an overabundance of horror to be trying to be a serious version of "Scream" at least to me, or inferior reskins of "The exorcist" (i.e the "Last excorcism". That film was boring and had a ridiculous ending) and don't get me started on those remakes, like the "Wickerman" or "The Omen". They make me spit blood. For me, these are the favourites:

The Omen (original)
The Wickerman (original)
Texas chainsaw massacre
Dawn of the Dead (original)
Nightmare on Elm street (original)
Night of the living dead
Quatermass and the pit
Day of the Dead
The witchfinder general
Halloween (original)
Friday 13th
The devils
Let the right one in
The shining
Psycho
The birds
The house of wax (the Vincent Price one)
Frankenstein (Boris Karloff)
Nosferatu
Dracula (both Chrisopher Lee and Bela Lugosi)
Black Christmas

I could go on all day about horror films, I love them so much. Its a shame I find that a lot of them are sub standard nowadays. Even though I have heard good things about "Paranormal activity"

 

[ReservoirAngel]

[sub][sub]The Thing[/sub][/sub]
[sub]The Thing[/sub]
The Thing
The Thing
The Thing
The Thing

[HEADING=1]THE THING!!![/HEADING]​