Halloween is fast approaching, so the time to scare ourselves and others shitless is upon us. Horror films play a huge part in that, leaving the horror genre forever associated with Satan’s birthday (that’s slang for Halloween). The only proof you need are the costumes people wear. How many Jason, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, or Ghostface costumes have you seen? My point exactly.
For every generation, there are these spine-chilling, terrorizing movies you can’t get out of your head. No matter how old you get, they still make you cringe. Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, Poltergeist, The Grudge 2, they are precisely that for someone—just not for me.
Mine are why you clicked on this to begin with!
I can certainly say these have all presented, in some form, a striking fear that only lasts a second or two, but that’s just enough to make you never forget.
SCREAM
Wes Craven changed the game with this slasher, butchering the clichés of horror while keeping you guessing until the very end.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
Only being screened in just a few midnight showings at the beginning, it ended up taking the nation by storm, making the horror genre feel fresh and, more importantly, scary again.
IT (2017)
This undeniable dread flows from frame-to-frame in this terrifically terrifying film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. The place, childhood, and scares are captured with such certainty and brilliance, the horror is hiked up in a huge way.
SAW
Relentless through and through, this is the definition of gore. Nevertheless, with each trap and lesson learned, this excruciating experiment was unlike anything before. Jigsaw left us in awe.
YOU’RE NEXT
A dynamite home-invasion thriller that’s soaked in blood, but doesn’t forget to let the humor that’s hidden within its brutal violence shine through.
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
The OG of found footage, it proved showing a little can cause big scares. It felt so real to me that I thought the cast was actually missing or dead—until they showed up at the VMA’s that same year.
THE RING
A PG-13 nightmare that’s strange and disturbing. And when that nasty bitch Samara crawls through the television, it was unlike anything we had seen before.
THE STRANGERS
There’s nothing more horrifying than seeing something that could actually happen. It’s another home invasion movie that’s not as clever, but damn sure effective.
THE INVITATION
This superior psychological treat is cleverly mastered by walking a thin line between skepticism & paranoia. The sweltering eeriness & dread becomes almost unbearable in the most vital way possible.
THE CONJURING
This old-school spook-fest causes constant dread from its quiet atmosphere to the loud creaks of a door. The trailer alone is enough to give grown folks nightmares.
THE SIXTH SENSE
I’ve saved my all-time favorite for last. Seeing ghosts is creepy, but through a child’s eyes, it stirs up fright and fascination simultaneously. Never has an ending sent shock-waves through cinemas everywhere quite like this one—and maybe never again. Trust me, M. Night has certainly tried.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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