My top 5:
- Alien
- The Shining
- The Thing
- Evil Dead 2
- Hereditary
Solid list. I would probably take off Hereditary, since I haven’t seen it… I’d sub in Hellraiser.
The Shining never really hit me as “horror”. Maybe “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”?
Invasion of the body snatcher is the movie i watched when i was like 8 at a friends house. After that i had to walk home by myself at night. I never ran that fast home and never felt that scared, in kind of a good way. I never felt like that again and i’m not super into horror movies anyway, but that must be what junkies talk about when they say they chase that first “high” except for horror movies. A few years ago i discovered the band wolfie’s just fine, and their song reminded me a lot of that experience. https://youtu.be/qG8iAtpavK4?si=7bIu109xXBdY68aG
I caught the original b&w version when I was about the same age, spent a month checking under the bed for pods. I feel you!
I think it’s a generational thing too… there have been so many versions of that story it can hit everyone:
The original was 1956. Then the remake in 1978. “Body Snatchers” in 1993 which is creepy as hell, and apparently “The Invasion” in 2007 which I somehow missed.
1956 trailer - https://youtu.be/pNJB363yql8
1978 - https://youtu.be/vc_0dlmSq7I
1993 - https://youtu.be/sR8pqAB788U
2007 - https://youtu.be/-TrCrxKimoY
The Shining is certainly a flavor of horror. I think part of the problem of trying to make a list where the only criteria is horror sweeps up such a broad array of movies. Like Hostel, From Beyond, Alien, and Silence of the Lambs are all equally in the same bucket, which doesn’t seem right.
There are a lot of way to sort the distinctions, but The Shining is deserving of a slot somewhere in the realm of supernatural horror. It relies on creepy atmosphere and a descent into isolation with audience along with the characters, more than blood splattering, or some kind existential question to shake the audience. It is, at its core, a haunted house movie.
Exactly, no other movie evokes that feeling of dread and doom quite like it. It does a lot with very little.
I’m also surprised you’re the first person to mention From Beyond, the ick factor of that movie is off the charts and I love the campy acting.
I have a hard time categorizing Stuart Gordon movies as horror (I suppose technically that’s where they end up). They have horror trappings, but everything is so theatrical that it doesn’t really scan as scary. It’s not a failing either but more like the intentional tone.
The closet modern analog would be maybe Slither? It’s incredibly gross and has concepts that would be horrific to experience, but I’m so removed as an audience member that it’s really just more fun being grossed out.
