I came in to recommend the Dutch version of The Vanishing. It’s creepy through and through, and has one scene that wigged me out. I understand that this scene doesn’t exist in the American version.
I’ll second The Haunting. Good stuff.
John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of the most satisfying horror movies I’ve ever seen.
Daniel
My objection to the modern remake of Cape Fear is the skeevy seductiveness between the girl and Bob De Niro’s miserable character.
Was the protagonist in the original Cape Fear such a sadistic psycho?
Ringu, Japanese version, far more about creating fear through anxiety and suspense.
Ju-On: The Grudge, and the immediate sequel, the Japanese versions of course.
I’m a big fan of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s psychological horror. So far I’d say The Cure is definitely one of his best.
The Innocents, psychological horror and great cinematography.
The Others, which is highly influenced by The Innocents.
Rosemary’s Baby, The Tenant, and Repulsion, all by Polanski.
Seconds, staring Rock Hudson.
The Haunting (the original of course).
I don’t recall Invasion of the Body Snatchers or the two remakes being gory, though I remain a big fan of the original, and I admire the second remake for its when-you’re-a-teenager-all-adults-are-aliens metaphor.
Eye of the Devil.
The Wicker Man, which has many similarities to Eye of the Devil, but with a great soundtrack too.
I love and swear by all the Hammer Films. Many are bloody and gory but in an obviously red-paint-for-blood dated way. Dracula, Plague of the Zombies, Vampire Circus, The Devil Rides Out, and Paranoiac are some of my favorites.
Some De Palma movies are very unnerving, like Blow Out, Dressed To Kill and Sisters.
I was really disturbed by the Mothman Prophecies. Me and probably about only 10 other people.
Wendigo is a great straight-to-video horror. Many characters die. I can’t remember how gory it is though.
Simone Signoret is loads of creepy fun in Games. It’s got a little blood, but IIRC, it’s more of a 1967-style suggestive drip, drip, drip than an all out gore-fest.
Add another vote for The Haunting, too.
Takashi Miike’s Imprint
The last in the Master of Horrors series, Showtime refused to air it in the US. It was screened on TV here in the UK last week and will soon be available on DVD everywhere. I can understand why Showtime got cold feet, it’s one of the most disturbing films I’ve ever seen.
Open Water
I was terrified during most of the movie. I was just fried when it was over.
The camera technique makes it seem incredibly real. I still shudder when thinking about it.
The Conversation is very creepy without too much gore.
Audition (in Japanese) … neek neek neek … :eek:
And another vote for **Silence of the Lambs ** and Nightmare on Elm Street
How about “What Lies Beneath?”
No Gore that I can remember, lots of suspense, with a couple of real reachoutandgrabya scary moments (IMHO)
D’oh! How could I forget about Misery! :smack: One scene is kinda oogie, but for the most part it’s the tension that gets ya.
:: Deadpan :: Whatever reminded you about that Stephen King movie?
Open Water was filmed without shark cages or water tanks, so the actors really were in a fair amount of danger. Also, the fact that the actors were unknowns also added to the verisimilitude and, for myself, viewer empathy. (If it had starred, say, Meg Ryan and Val Kilmer, I would have rooted for the sharks.)
What about psychological torture?
Closet Land creeped me out a lot.
For another thinking movie:
A Tale of Two Sisters had me hiding under a blanket a couple times and at the end, trying to piece it altogether. Well written and woven tighter than 1200 thread-count sheets.
Not in the same way. Robert Mitchum was definitely vengeful and relentless in his escalating attacks on the family, but not seductive.
Hostel is probably one of the most gorey movies i’ve seen in a long long time. I actually rented it just last week. I wasn’t even that scared though. I was actually a little nauseous at times. The gore is OUT OF CONTROL.
The Ring scared the poop out of me though. Something about children…
I think I must be jaded. I’ve seen at least 1/2 of these movies, and most of them aren’t remotely scary. (the Fog?? Least scary horror movie ever! Rosemary’s Baby ranks near it, though) I won’t watch Poltergeist again, but since the OP isn’t four, they probably won’t have the months of nightmares I did after seeing it.
Some of the ones on this list undeniably nail atmospheric creepy, though: Session 9, The Ring, The Blair Witch Project, The Devil’s Backbone, The Haunting & The Shining (both versions of each), Frailty, The Night of the Hunter, Kingdom Hospital… add The Other, The Cell, Skeletons in the Closet, The Last Man on Earth, Dead End, Dead Birds, and Soul Survivors to the “creepy but not really gory” list. I personally consider movies creepy rather than scary if they don’t a. have me jumping at little noises b. give me nightmares or c. leave me afraid to look in the mirrors in case it’s not really me. No,I’m not sure why c happens when I’ve been scared by something I’ve seen or read
Here’s a very small list of movies that I actually found scary and aren’t bloodbaths:
In The Mouth Of Madness
Phantoms
Boogeyman
The House On Haunted Hill (remake, the orginial isn’t scary, but interesting)
Rose Red (right up until it completely falls apart the last half hour)
FYI Burnt Offerings is currently on Showtime. I watched the first half yesterday before shutting it off.
The Ring has very little blood and did a better job scaring me than any other movie that I can remember. And I’ve seen plenty of movies. There are some disturbing images, including severed body parts, but they’re not really the focus of the movie. The Ring is disturbing on a more psychological level.
I’d say Hostel relys exclusivley on blood, gore, and torture as a way of scaring its audience. It is exactly the kind of movie you’re trying to stay away from
not usually clasified as horror but Jacobs Ladder scary scary scary, you dont know what the hell is going on or why.
I saw The Attic one afternoon when I was laid up sick, and found it thoroughly creepy.
Dang it! The Attic
I’ll second In the Mouth of Madness. And Burnt Offerings scared the youknowwhat out of me years ago. I don’t know if it still would, but it’s possible.