I don’t believe in ghosts, yet I am terrified of the possibility that I might be wrong. I guess that’s why those are the types of horror films I tend to enjoy, when I actually find one I like. I’m just not generally a horror fan. But that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the occasional scary movie.
So you know my taste and whether this list is for you, here’s what I don’t typically enjoy:
- Jump scares. I hate the physical sensation of my heart racing (often leading to a migraine), though I’ll tolerate one every now and then. I prefer a good, slow creep that builds more gradually than suddenly.
- Gore and violence. I pretty much never want to watch a bunch of people stuck in a room/building while some psycho hacks away at them for fun. This is the opposite of entertainment for me.
- I loved The Walking Dead because the writing was so good, but I’m just not interested in zombies in general.
- Anything relying on the obviously fake (and therefore pointless) “this is a documentary” gimmick. I think it’s supposed to make the movie scarier by looking more real? But it actually makes the movie less scary by looking even faker.
But I’m not here to rain on anyone’s parade! Everyone likes what they like. And these are things that will likely entice me to watch a scary movie:
- Usually, just a good, old-fashioned haunting in a creepy old house or historical setting.
- Something so weird or just slightly off that it keeps me guessing the entire way through as it builds suspense.
So, just in time for Halloween, here’s what will be my ongoing list of scary movies I actually enjoyed. And several of these are currently on Netflix!
Crimson Peak
A good, old-fashioned haunting in a historical setting.
Mama
Another haunting, this time in a modern setting. Very entertaining, although the ending was less than believable, which bothers me when I think too long and hard about it. It was satisfying, though.
The Endless
This was so unexpectedly brilliant. I had no idea what was going on the entire time and was completely terrified! I enjoyed the ambiguous ending and have thought a lot about it since watching it. Also, there’s one scene with these two guys who are hilarious and lovable, and I said while we were watching it that I could watch a whole movie about just those two guys. And as I discovered while reading fan theories after the fact, there is a movie about just those two guys! And it was also brilliant! We watched it ASAP after seeing The Endless. Resolution actually came first (and is less scary than it is funny–still weird, though), but you can watch them in either order; it doesn’t really matter. The Endless explains what happened in the strange note Resolution left off on.
In the Tall Grass
OMG, this Stephen King story was terrifying! The twists and turns it took (quite literally, through very tall grass) were so unexpected. I hadn’t seen anything like it before.
Annihilation
You have no idea what’s going on for a while. When you figure it out, it’s absolutely horrific. This concept has haunted me for a long time since watching. I need to read the book.
The Woman in Black
This one definitely has its jump scares, but it’s so thoroughly entrenched in my genre that I’m willing to forgive it. Also, there’s an older version of this movie which coincidentally stars the guy who plays Harry Potter’s father in the same role Dan Radcliffe plays in the newer one. It’s different, lower-budget, but still well told, and I enjoyed them both equally! Though I feel neither focuses enough on the character of the dog, whom I so loved in the book.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
I was incredibly uneasy all the way through this one. Yikes.
Session 9
This is another one of those where it’s almost so strange you don’t know what exactly is going on. For when you feel like wandering the halls of a giant abandoned mental institution.
What Lies Beneath
Obviously I had to include Harrison Ford’s only horror film! Also a haunting.
Dark Skies
This was so good. And I had no clue what to expect from one moment to the next. Absolutely jarring. About aliens.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
For nostalgia’s sake, the teen slashers of my middle school years were pretty good, if a bit cheesy and firmly entrenched in the ’90s (which I have to admit I love about them).
Scream 1 & 2
Same deal as the above. Scream and IKWYDLS were two sides of the same coin. And actually, the other sequels weren’t bad, either, when I finally got around to watching them last year, but the first two were still the best.
Pan’s Labyrinth
That. Infernal. Eyeball. Monster. Enough said.
Hellraiser
This series definitely veers into territory I don’t typically enjoy in my horror (lots of violence and gore), but I accept it because these are all just so bizarre. I especially enjoyed the one with the Hell labyrinth. We watched them all out of order, and the first one we saw featured Dean Winters as Trevor. Several films into my viewing, I remarked that you could tell how low-budget these were simply from the fact that you never saw any of the actors in anything ever again. Almost the second the words out of my mouth, I recognized Adam Scott, and from then on we started recognizing people in all of them and seeing Dean Winters in absolutely everything, particularly in a car beside Tina Fey in every single commercial that was on at the time. We still fondly refer to him as “Trevor”, though. (“Hey, look, Tina Fey’s mother-in-law is Trevor!”)
Evil Dead
Oh, my goodness. It took me way too long to watch these. All my friends in high school loved them, but I didn’t get around to them until last year, and only after falling in love with the show on Netflix. These are also pretty gory, but they’re hilarious and inventive, so I just plain don’t care.
House of Usher
I don’t know if I’d still be scared of it today, but as a kid this scared the absolute crap out of me every time I watched it, so of course I had to include it.
The Others
Another haunting. It’s perhaps not the most creative plot, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It
The new one (or two, rather), because I’ve yet to see the original. It’s been several years since I read it so my memories are hazy, but from what I can recall, it lived up to the book pretty well. The acting was great, and I loved the actors they chose to portray the adult versions of the kids.
The Ritual
Another one where I had no idea what to expect or what was happening, so it kept me in suspense. One scene was particularly terrifying. Won’t soon forget that!
Silent Hill
I’m not a gamer, so I didn’t know anything about the plot before going in. Definitely more gore than I like, but I enjoyed the plot so much that I didn’t mind it.
The VVitch
I knew nothing about this going in. My friend invited me to see it out of the blue one day. I really liked the highly unusual style. And I was so happy and pleased by that last scene that’s often referred to in memes.
Zodiac
Based on Robert Graysmith’s book and work on trying to solve the case of the serial killer known as Zodiac. This one really stuck with me, too. One scene in particular, which I’m sure you’ll know if you’ve seen it. But this may count as more of a suspense/thriller than horror.
The Shining
Another classic for a reason. For when you want good hotel horror.
Monday at 11:01 A.M.
For when you want a fresh take on hotel horror. This was incredibly creepy, and I did not at all guess the ending. Perhaps I should have–there’s a famous old short story I won’t name that The Twilight Zone did an episode on that this shares a similar concept with. But I never once realized that was what was going on. Another good one for if you just want something really bizarre.
So there you have my list of horror films for people who don’t really like horror. I’ll continuously add to it as I remember others and watch some for the first time. Can you recommend any that fit my style?
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