This article is free from major spoilers.
In honour of Halloween and all things scary, here’s five horror movies that actually scared me. These are in no particular order, and by no means the only movies that have scared me.
The House on Haunted Hill 1959
Directed by William Castle and starring Vincent Price, The House on Haunted Hill is generally speaking a camp, slightly creepy, but fun horror movie set in a haunted house. However there’s a certain jumpscare that terrified the life out of me the first time I saw it and even on repeat viewings, still gets my heart racing.
It would sound very lame if I put into words what exactly it is, so in the interest of retaining some dignity while keeping this spoiler free, I won’t – but I swear it hits on some deep, primal level. That one jumpscare hits harder than almost anything in modern horror.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 1985
I know. I can explain. I agree that the original 1984 movie does a better job than the sequel at blending the real world with the dream world. Freddy’s Revenge is far less subtle and breaks a lot of the rules set by the first – I get it.
I think the nightmare sequences in this film are more intense than the original, perhaps more so than any of the sequels. Freddy isn’t yet the loveable, joke-cracking character he becomes later; he still has an intimidating presence.
The opening sequence is terrifying, as are the sounds of Jesse’s screams. The scenes where the house is inexplicably hot closely mirror some of my own nightmares, too.
The Strangers 2008
The thought of being stalked and terrorized in your own home is a truly horrifying concept. In The Strangers, the titular trio attack without a clear motive, seemingly just because they can.
As viewers we put ourselves in the position of the protagonists and the fact this type of crime exists in the real world makes this film all the more frightening. Bringing the horror out of some far away land and literally into your house is a stroke of genius; it forces us to consider that we might not be safe – even in our own homes.
The Haunting 1963
This is the first horror movie I ever saw in it’s entirety; I was six years old and I was allowed to stay up late to watch it on TV. I loved it. I even wrote about it the next day in school, and to this day I still have a great affection for this movie. I could go on for days about how much I love this movie, but I’ll save it for another post.
There’s an eerie atmosphere through most of the movie, but there’s one scene in particular that still gets to me, as it did all those years ago. Anyone who’s seen it will know exactly what I’m talking about. Without giving too much away, it’s less about what you see – and more about what you hear.
Terrifier 2016
Terrifier is essentially a budget slasher; a throwback to the classics from the late 70’s and early 80’s. It quickly became a cult classic, spawning with it a new horror icon – Art The Clown. Art gained cult status, standing alongside the likes of Freddy, Jason and Michael.
Terrifier doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to gore and violence. The kills are shown in extreme detail thanks to brilliant practical effects and made all the more believable by his victims reactions and of course, by Art himself.
Art treads the razor-thin line between horror and comedy; his silent clown persona equal parts terrifying and darkly hilarious. He is both sadistic and unpredictable; tearing up the rulebook of traditional slasher tropes. His appearance is just as striking as his persona – Art spends most of the movie drenched in the blood of his victims.