I’ll third Freaks. Also House of Wax, the original House on Haunted Hill, and the original The Haunting. Oh, and here’s a great ghost story - The Uninvited (1944). Not to mention Ghost Story, from 1981.
Great! Someone mentioned Rosemary’s Baby, which allows me to slightly hijack the thread and tell my favorite Roman Polanski story.
There’s a scene in Rosemary’s Baby where Ruth Gordon is sitting on the bed talking on the telephone (she’s in Rosemary and Guy’s apartment at the time). The scene is shot so that you (the viewer) are looking in the door of the bedroom, but all you see is the doorframe and Ruth Gordon’s legs on the edge of the bed.
When the shot was set up, the principal photographer kept moving the camera, and Polanski kept telling him to put it back the way it was. The cameraman said, “But you can’t see her. All you see are her legs.” Polanski insisted on keeping the shot as it was.
During the premieir of the film Polanski and the cameraman are sitting in the back of the theater and the scene comes on. Everyone in the theater physically leans to the right in their seat, trying to see around the door frame and get a complete shot of Ruth Gordon. Polanski turned to the cameraman and said, “I told you I knew what I was doing.”
Number Six, both Rosemary’s Baby and Bride of Frankenstein go tmentioned further up on the thread.
The Thing
Alien
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Dawn of the Dead
Frankenstien (1931)
Return of the Living dead.
Sorry I liked Hell Raiser but I have to admit it is not the greatest.
Well, to me, Hell Raiser was the best horror movie. Then again, I think the subjectivity of which is “best” is largely dependent on your age, because anyone’s “best horror movie” would have had to have been viewed during that person’s formative teen years.
I am 29 years old, and I would wager that most Hell Raiser votes come from my demographic. I would guess that those who vote for The Exorcist are older than I am.
Heheh… I’m also 29, so as much as I hate to admit it, you’ve got me pegged.
Rosemary’s Baby is a great one, too… one of the few movies that disturbed me enough that I really don’t want to see it again.
Number Six, I agree with your definition of horror. I was overstepping to say that “all” horror films should involve the supernatural. You’re quite right to say that it’s more about tone than content.
And, I also agree that most movies apply to more than one genre. That said, I still don’t think Aliens is a horror movie at all, but that’s me. shrug
Here’s a movie that I don’t think has been mentioned yet, and it’s a pretty good one. Stupid title, but a good horror movie: Jeepers Creepers. Surprisingly stylish and creepy, and a good “creature” film that doesn’t overdo the special effects or gore. Not one of my top ten favorites, but well worth seeing.
The Kingdom is available on video in the U.S., but it’s damn long - I think it’s over 4 hours. Still, I hear it’s quite the movie.
1973 was a good year. 
2 good horror movies:
The Legend of Hell House and a new one from the guy who did Re-Animator: Dagon. Both are damn good. Not the best, but very good.
One movie that’s so terrifying that I will never watch it: Freddy Got Fingered. Ok, someone was gonna say it…
[Kevin Smith]Yo, Affleck was da bomb in that movie![/Kevin Smith]
Here’s an interesting tidbit about that one that may or may not be relevant: Writer/director Victor Salva is a convicted child molester, having spent time in jail for having oral sex with, and videotaping, a 12-year-old boy. There was a huge controversy when his previous movie, Powder, was released, when his victim (who was by then in his 20s) went public to protest Disney’s hiring him to make the movie; and I think it provides an interesting subtext for the movie’s treatment of its male lead.
Not a bad flick, though, and definitely has a great final third.
It’s been mentioned, but not particularly expounded upon: my favorite horror movie is Silence of the Lambs. For some reason the character Anthony Hopkins was able to summon up absolutely filled me with dread. On the face of it, the story isn’t too terribly scary, but Hopkins made me believe in the omniscience of Hannibal Lector, so I spent the entire movie terrified of what he’d do next.
I also found the movie’s style extremely atmospheric. That whole scene where he’s caged in the middle of the floor and escapes, leaving the policemen strung up (or however they’re dangling) chilled me to the bone! Curiously, the book (and other Thomas Harris books, including the sequel Hannibal) didn’t scare me nearly as much. I enjoyed them but there was no terror involved (and believe me I scare easily and I enjoy it immensely :))
I saw a TV showing of The Exorcist on a late-night weekend comedy sort of show; I can’t remember the title but I think a comedian was the host. However, he and guests always had intelligent things to say about the movies, including what was edited out for television. Anyway, one thing in particular I remember from their commentary was the little things director William Friedkin did to up the horror factor. Listen closely to the audio track during particular scary moments. There are these scraping and clunking noises that simply inspire dread and suggest all manner of horrible things that are happening off camera. I think it’s because Friedkin decided to turn the knob on the horror-machine up to 11 (heh-heh) is part of the reason it’s such an effective movie. People remember the pea soup and the head spinning, but by the time we see these, we’re already horrified into numb sticks and primed for whatever gawdawful thing he throws at us next.
Hellraiser? I can go with the intent as gobear outlined it, but strong stomach though I may have, the excessive gore and violence of the thing made me turn away in disgust.
Are we talking about the movie where the brother and sister see this pipe leading into the ground? The mysterious 30’s truck? That one? Francis Ford Copolla produced it?
If so, then I strongly disagree with your analysis. That movie was utter dreck! With all due respect, of course. 
Nobody has mentioned ** Hallowe’en **. I think that’s a great film.
Also: ** Carrie ** and ** The Fog **
Cant understand why people said The Birds. I think it’s quite poor for a horror film.
…and The Omen, and…
Oh yeah, and as for Jeepers Creepers, I thought it started very promisingly (as long as it looked like a slasher film), but then the wheels came off when supernatural elements were introduced.
…and Session 9 and…
Pretty accurate Max.
Slasher flicks don’t usually appeal to me unless there is an excellent gimmick or innovative concept (I thought the first Nightmare on Elm Street was great.)
Creature flicks (also known as “Boo! Movies” because when they are done poorly, the film degenerates to the creatures just popping out suddenly – boo!), well they appeal to me if they are well done (like the first Alien movie) or have some kind of really compelling element. The recent “smart sharks” movie whose title I can’t remember, is an example of one that just doesn’t work.
Creeper flicks I really like. I get frightened by creepy concepts rather than blatant gore.
I nominate The Changelling and The Shining. And even though I’ve never seen it, I’d also like to nominate What Lies Beneath because I thought my housemate was going to die of fright. He came home after seeing the movie and he was blanched. He looked positively ill! With wide, frightened eyes, he said in a very, very small, choked voice [sub]"It was scarier than Sixth Sense.[/sub] Then went up to his room like a zombie and shut the door quietly behind him. Such evidence of trauma deserves to be recognized.
Hellraiser was great because it was so stylized and conceptually interesting. But I don’t think it ranks in the top 5.
Crap! Everybody already mentioned all my favorites (The Thing, the Living Dead trilogy, the Shining)!
Except one: Day of the Dead.
I found that much scarier than Dawn of the Dead (though not as much as Night of the Living Dead).
Oh, wait. We’re talking best. In that case, Dawn is better than Day, but not as good as Night.
Hellraiser was ok, but nowhere near the top.
I gotta go with The Thing (1982) as it succeeds in every element that it touched (gore, paranoia, fear, realistic reactions, location, atmosphere, etc.). Thing fans check out Outpost #31 and its message forums. Anybody heard about the possiblity of a sequel being bandied about by Universal? And now rumors of a remake of The Fog (guess who my favorite horror director is ;))?
Close (very close) runner up is The Exorcist for the same reasons mentioned above. Another movie that has stuck with me for several years is Parents; very creepy film about a young boy and his cannabilistic parents.
Honorable mentions for Phantasm, Dawn of the Dead, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Alien and a whole lot more that I don’t have time to mention. For a list of great horror flicks, check out this thread on Outpost #31.
Hellraiser’s horror angle was a bit too high-brow for me to consider scary.
none of the movies mentioned are downright scary.
i love movies, but i’ve never found one that could really scare the shit out of me.
like the shining is cool and all, but it’s not scary.
it’s more cool when jack turns bad.
i find some episodes of x-files quite creepy though.
I felt Jeepers Creepers completely fell apart after a promising start, as well. Parts of it definitely became more creepy in retrospect, though, after I learned the director’s history that pldennison pointed out:
The biggest upsurge in creepiness? The monster sniffing great handfuls of his used undies.
I didn’t see Cube mentioned, and I’d class that as a horror film.
I seem to be the only person I know who vastly prefers Exorcist III over the first; parts of it creeped me right the hell out when I first saw it. Silent ceiling-crawling old lady, f’r’instance. Plus, George C. Scott has an absolutely wonderful rant about how he now believes, as he’s pinned up against a wall with Legion’s hairy eyeball, that’ll always have a fond place in my heart.