I agree, the big monster genre does stray a bit far from horror…but in contradistinction to Godzilla, I nominate another early ‘60’s mega-reptilian as a more compelling, deep (;)) character, worthy of both revulsion and empathy. The movie and comic book series were suspenseful and brilliantly crafted. Refraining from hyperbole, I can only say that the movie experience was a crashing crescendo of sights never before beheld by human eyes and adventures never before experienced by any man or woman. Incredibly realistic. Shockingly convincing. Like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Gorgo.
Gorgo was also my childhood hero and imaginary champion. When I needed extrication from a particularly precarious situation…he would come. I wish he were still around.
The musical can’t really count as a Horror movie, but the Roger Corman original (with Jack Nicholson as the patient of the sadistic dentist) probably does.
In fact, check out all of Corman’s films. They are all schlocky good fun. Not all horror, or even scarey, but all are very fun. Plus most of the big guns from the 60s and 70s got their start working for Corman. So you can see things where Francis Ford Coppola worked as a camera operator and stuff like that.
I am particularly fond of his reworkings of Edgar Allen Poe with Vincent Price. But look him up on Netflix and watch almost any of it. It’s all fun.
Speaking of Vincent Price. Watch anything that he was in too. House on Haunted Hill, House of Wax, The Fly, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The House of Usher are all classics.
A horror movie with zero violence*. Be warned, it can be a little tedious.
*OK, there’s a twenty-second-or-so scene where someone fires a shotgun, but not at anybody in particular and nobody gets hurt.
The Ring
Quite possibly my favorite horror movie of all time. First ten minutes: terrifying. Next sixty minutes: more like a murder mystery than a horror movie. Final ten minutes: terrifying.
I have now seen (in order of when I watched them):
-Shawn Of The Dead [hilarious, and I had no issue with the level of gore, so that’s good]
-Eight Legged Freaks [entertaining, the scene where the teenage girl who’s name I forget tazers her boyfriend was great]
-Lost Boys [again, loved it. I think the blond kid - Sam, I think he’s called? - is gay. And the Frog Brothers were a highlight of the movie.]
-Poltergeist [just watched it, and in this threadPoltergeist - man, could that dog act. - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board my father Attack from the 3rd Dimension talks about our experience with the movie. Quite good. The dog was most definitely the best actor.]
Next up is the movie Tremors, followed by Sixth Sense (maybe) and The Blaire Witch Project.
Thanks for coming back with your reviews. Posters seldom do that, and it’s nice to get some feedback.
I didn’t see a recommendation for Fright Night (the original, not the remake). Since you liked Lost Boys, you’ll probably like Fright Night too. It’s funny and sexy and not too gory.
I hope this is n’t against any rules but a friend of mine is in a soon to be released horror movie called “The Wicked”. If you like scary movies please go see this one. I will go but will most likely have my hand covering my eyes.
I’ve got a couple of favourites that should be good. Roger Corman’s The Terror is one that I really enjoyed. It’s especially good if you’re looking for atmosphere and suspense. Of course, featuring Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson doesn’t hurt either.
The Vampire Bat is another good one. It can get a little slow at times, but it’s got some great performances and a really good story.
If you don’t mind subtitles, R Point, an incredibly creepy movie made in Korea.
When it starts you think that its a Vietnam war movie …it isn’t.
And can I just say that when I finally saw Lost Boys after all of the hype it was a HUGE disappointment, though probably a winner for fairly young kids.
Upon seeing “Romantic Zombie Drama Comedy” I immediately thought of “My Boyfriend’s Back.” A terrible movie to be perfectly honest with you but fits that description to a T.
As for a good horror movie, my personal favorite is Prince of Darkness.
For the no-gore route that’s not yet been mentioned I’d recommend El Orfanato (The Orphanage). It’s en espanol but a very good movie.