Horror-movies that doesn't involve "monsters"?

[maninahat]

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

In accordance with the film tradition, I won't tell you what happened to Baby Jane. But I will tell you to watch it. There's a huge amount of tension in it at times, considering it's a movie about angry old biddies who don't get along. Because its very grounded and bizarrely plausible, that makes it all the more frightening. I don't think I've ever felt so bad for someone in a movie, ever.

 

[TKretts3]

The Blair Witch Project is a penultimate example of the horror being inside your head. It was enormously successful because of this.

Then, when it got old after a couple of years, people started hating on it the way people do on anything that's really popular and over-promoted or so prevalent that you just get sick of hearing about it's existence.

I don't have it because it's popular, over-promoted, or prevalent. I hate it because it was just so boring.

ON TOPIC: I'd probably have to Black Swan as a first choice. I would be somewhat hesitant to put In the Mouth of Madness on here, as it does have monsters, though they're not used in the traditional sense. Then, of course, there's The Silence of the Lambs. One of the more obscure ones that you may not have seen is called Exam, made in 2009. There's also the Scream movies.

 

[WorriedSandwich]

Room 1408? It's a horror movie about an evil hotel room. The room does use some sort of monsters at one point though, but they don't have a significant role.

 

[HardkorSB]

Dark Corners:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485376/

Jacob's Ladder (was ripped off in the Silent Hill series a bit):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099871/

The Signal:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780607/

Pontypool:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226681/

Vanishing on 7th Street:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1452628/

In the Mouth of Madness (it technically has monsters but they're not the focus of the film):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113409/

Brain Dead (one of the most mind fucking movies I've seen):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099173/

These are the ones I can think of at the moment.

 

[II Scarecrow II]

What you're describing really cuts out horror movies and moves more into the realm of thrillers. If that's the case, I might suggest The Number 23 and Shutter Island.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

Misery

yes they did make an (aprently decent) movie BUT the book is better

its about an author trapped in a house with his 1# fan who is crazy,

Doesn't she also kill a load of newborn infants before the events of the book and a sheriff during? Sounds like a serial killer to me.

I would like to say Jacob's Ladder, Eraserhead, and Rosemary's Baby, but the former features monsters and the later hasn't really aged well in it's shock value. The Audition is out because it features a serial killer, Kairo has ghosts, and Let the Right One In has a vampire.

Spoiler

Though IMO the real horror comes from how the vampire masterfully manipulates the kid into becoming her next caretaker, which is treated as a tender scene. What's even scarier is that most of the people I've seen the movie with seemed to hold the same tender regard for the ending.

I suppose there's always Jan ?vankmajer's interpretation of Alice in Wonderland, which is perhaps one of the most unintentionally horrifying things I've ever seen.

While we're on the subject, does anyone remember this kid?s show? It was called Candle Cove and I must have been 6 or 7. Can't find a reference to it so it must've been on a local station. I don?t remember which station, but I do remember it was on at a weird time, like 4:00 PM.

captcha: the dude abides. Right on.

 

[Tropicaz]

Well I came to suggest cube. so now i feel silly.
On a slightly similar note, Fermat's room is good, though that's more a thriller kind of thing. It was enjoyable though.

 

[DoPo]

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Maniac

Man, I so read this as "Harry Potter and the Serial Killer Maniac". Um, can someone make this happen now? I want to see/read it.

 

[Vault101]

Doesn't she also kill a load of newborn infants before the events of the book and a sheriff during? Sounds like a serial killer to me.

that is ture...but neither work is a "serial killer/slasher" piece...its a psychological thriller (and a damn good one)

speaking of psychological thrillers theres also "hard candy"...lets just say if your a guy it may go into "horror"

 

[Thaluikhain]

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Maniac

Man, I so read this as "Harry Potter and the Serial Killer Maniac". Um, can someone make this happen now? I want to see/read it.

Heh, actually that's...

Nah, that's almost what the books are like, only the serial killer maniac are werewolves or wizards or both.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

Doesn't she also kill a load of newborn infants before the events of the book and a sheriff during? Sounds like a serial killer to me.

that is ture...but neither work is a "serial killer/slasher" piece...its a psychological thriller (and a damn good one)

speaking of psychological thrillers theres also "hard candy"...lets just say if your a guy it may go into "horror"

She has killed 2 or more people with quite a bit of time passing between each killing and psychological gratification being her main motivation. That is literally the definition of a serial killer. Combine that with all the infants she killed in the same time frame and she's also a spree killer (though never convicted). Paul Shelden is an author who happens to find himself the prisoner of a rabid fan AND serial killer, not just a rabid fan. If it was just a rabid fan who went crazy, the film/novel would've focused on a more subtle antagonist slowly manipulating him into fulfilling her desires, probably also suffering from a touch of Münchausen syndrome.

 

[Doclector]

Would event horizon count? It's never truly revealed what exactly the evil force in the ship is, although some easy assumptions will come to mind. Pretty good movie, anyway. Inspired quite a few of Dead Space's more horror-effective points.

Beyond that, it's hard to think of many good movies without any kind of serial killers/monsters/ghosts that haven't already been mentioned. Probably because that kind of horror is very hard to do.

 

[DoPo]

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Maniac

Man, I so read this as "Harry Potter and the Serial Killer Maniac". Um, can someone make this happen now? I want to see/read it.

Heh, actually that's...

Nah, that's almost what the books are like, only the serial killer maniac are werewolves or wizards or both.

They never focus on themenough, though. And I'd like to see an actual serial killer, not the shadow of Voldy just looming over there when everybody denies it (although, that does sound remarkably like a horror movie).

 

[Relish in Chaos]

Could the Final Destination films count? I mean, they?re not actually scary and you could make a case that there is a monster in "Death", but there?s no deathly figure ever seen in its physical form, and it?s mostly about fate and the characters dying from Rude Goldberg-esque events.

 

[Thaluikhain]

They never focus on themenough, though. And I'd like to see an actual serial killer, not the shadow of Voldy just looming over there when everybody denies it (although, that does sound remarkably like a horror movie).

What about the werewolf that liked mauling kids? Or the snatchers? Not mentioned that much, though, and not really that scary when eveyrone else is anyway.

 

[DoPo]

They never focus on themenough, though. And I'd like to see an actual serial killer, not the shadow of Voldy just looming over there when everybody denies it (although, that does sound remarkably like a horror movie).

What about the werewolf that liked mauling kids? Or the snatchers?

The story is about Harry and co doing stuff. They aren't actively gravitating around them, the way a title of "Harry Potter and the Serial Killer Maniac" would suggest things would go.

Not mentioned that much, though, and not really that scary when eveyrone else is anyway.

Precisely, imagine what the serial killer would need to do, to have a whole story focused on him (or her). The title speaks volumes you somehow ignored.

 

[Vault101]

She has killed 2 or more people with quite a bit of time passing between each killing and psychological gratification being her main motivation. That is literally the definition of a serial killer. Combine that with all the infants she killed in the same time frame and she's also a spree killer (though never convicted). Paul Shelden is an author who happens to find himself the prisoner of a rabid fan AND serial killer, not just a rabid fan. If it was just a rabid fan who went crazy, the film/novel would've focused on a more subtle antagonist slowly manipulating him into fulfilling her desires, probably also suffering from a touch of Münchausen syndrome.

yeah...I'm not denying she is

I'm just saying Misery both the movie and the book are not slasher/murder mystery type works which I kind of assumsed the OP meant when refering to those things

like Alien 1 is a horror film (that resembles a slasher movie) where'as Aliens is an action/thriller.......both deal with the exact kind of monster in similar settings yet their aproach is different

 

[kurupt87]

The Killing Room springs to mind, though you've probably seen it already.

 

[Major Chip]

That boat sequence in the original 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' is like a horror film within a kids film.

Serious answer: The Shining.

 

[Rumpsteak]

The Orphanage is what comes to mind as a somewhat recent fit. It's pretty good though I'm not sure if it has been dubbed yet. Spanish with subtitles iirc.