I do like scary movies. Even gory movies. There’s something about the increased heart rate and anticipation of what may be coming thay I enjoy. I personally think that most jump scares are overrated and too easy a trick for filmmakers to use.
So what are your favorite non-gore horror movies?
Mine is The Ring (2002) US version with Naomi Watts. The scene where Samara crawls out of the TV was one of the best horror scenes that got me.
The Black Coat’s Daughter. There is some blood in a couple of scenes, but it pretty much all atmosphere.
I liked The Village, by M Night Shayamalan. Very creepy even upon the reveal near the end. And very little gore - it’s all psychological.
I have a soft spot for Poltergeist. Okay, a couple of ooky scenes, but I think it counts!
Yes, the scene where Robbie is trying to go to sleep and looks under the bed for the clown…
1963’s The Haunting remains one of the most frightening films ever made, imo.
I do not like gore in movies.
I can’t just about manage Birds
I like the more mysterious type movie.
Yeah, I’m a chicken. (Oh wait…a bird, again)
First one that came to mind: The Shout
The Babadook. No blood, not guts, no reliance on jump scares, and terrifying throughout.
Rosemarys Baby 1969 - young mother discovers she will deliver the devils child
Stepford Wives 1975 something in Stepford’s environment is changing the wives from free-thinking, intelligent women into compliant wives dedicated solely to homemaking.
Vertigo 1958. Best Hitchcock fear of heights is a big part of the film
The Man Who Knew too Much 1956 another great Hitchcock flim
Strangers on a Train 1950 Hitchcock The story concerns two strangers who meet on a train, one of whom is a psychopath who suggests that they “exchange” murders so that neither will be caught.
Not really ‘horror’, but I love A Bucket Of Blood. More like a soupçon of blood, but it has a lot of great dialogue.
The Wicker Man (1973). The 2006 version is also horrific, but in a different sense.
I was thinking about Village of the Damned (1960). IMDb reminded me about the scenes where a guy shoots himself in the head with a shotgun, not seen but heard, and a couple of fiery crashes. And don’t they all get blown to bits at the end? Anyway not sure it counts in this category but it was those little kids that creeped me out when I first saw it when I was just a kid myself.
Definitely the German-language version of “Funny Games.” All the violence is off-camera, but the fear is there.
This week we watched Hocus Pocus (yuck) and Nightmare Before Christmas (yay), which are certainly non-gorey. But tonight we watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which, when viewed a certain way, is a horror story. My wife wouldn’t watch any gore so our viewing options are limited.
I think of Seconds(especially the ending) as a horror movie.
If you’re not boycotting Roman Polanski, The Tenant is pretty good.
I think Hocus Pocus is cute. (OK, I think Sarah Jessica Parker was cute.)
I had a girlfriend who once thought that people who watched horror movies were twisted, as if they actually secretly wished they could do such things. And then she watched A Bucket Of Blood and saw the light.
The question is actually hard to answer. I mean, the first thing I thought of was “Sixth Sense”, in terms of horror + not gore, although there are a few jump scares. But it’s not my FAVORITE.
My favorite horror movies tend to be about how -little- effort it takes to make otherwise good, or at least, normal people do horrible or evil things. Because to me that’s a lot more terrifying than most supernatural or psycho-murderer type horror movies.
In that sense, probably “Needful Things” (movie adaptation of Stephen King novel) - there is a short bloody knife fight, and a skinned dog, but it’s not really about the gore and jump scares.
If I was stretching the OP’s Point though, where it’s about the increased heart rate, anticipation, and growing dread (with admitted some gore) I’d almost certainly vote for “Get Out” by Jordan Peele.
The original novel by Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House, is also excellent. One of the movie’s strengths is its faithfulness to the novel, even to the extent of directly quoting its beginning and ending passages. I love this movie. There was also a remake in 1999, to be avoided at all costs!