Thread: Great horror movies you probably don't know about - what's yours?

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So my wife and I become horror movie addicts during the season. We started about a week ago... and while we all know about the basics... Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Ring, Rosemary's Baby, etc... I wanted to start a thread for people to reccommend those independant, off the wall, or little known horror movies that they love that the rest of us likely don't know about. So here's some of my favorites... what's yours? (I'm looking to expand my collection!)

Favorite unknown horror movie of all time:
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. This movie is AMAZING. It's a mock-u-mentary about a small town newswoman who follows around a guy who's a budding serial killer, living in a world where Jason Vorheese and Michael Meyers are real people, and he looks up to them and aspires to be like them. But he's not some delusional nutbag, he's for real. It's got a ton of great humor in it, and does an absolutely AMAZING AMAzING job (yes, I said amazing twice) of explaining WHY all the "stupid" things in horror movies are the way they are. Why does the car NEVER start? Well, duh, the killer disables the car, and he shows how he does it. Why do the lights always go out? Well, he sabotages the fuse box of course! Its by no means a comedy though, as the movie draws on, it does take a very serious slasher movie tone to it. Be sure to get the DVD and watch the deleted scenes, one of them is awesome. And there's an awesome guest star in it as well.

Other favorites:
All of is HERE likely know about Trick R Treat - but for those who are new and havent seen it - most amazing Halloween movie, ever. It's shot in the style of the 80's anthology movies, with multiple stories going on and interweaving. I dont know how this never made it to the theatres and was direct to DVD, but it is my all time FAVORITE halloween movie. Sure, it's a horror movie, but it's a Halloween movie first and foremost. I'll watch this movie every season til the day I die.

Other independant/unknown greats:
Sweatshop - An ExTREMELY brutal slasher movie. The acting needs work in some areas, but the special effects, the tension, the character development and the killer/ingenuity of the kills is great. The characters arent mindless bodies to kill - they are people with issues and problems and you actually care about some of them. The killer is great. All I'm going to say is that his weapon of choice is an anvil welded to a pipe. Oh, yes, an avil welded to a pipe. What kinda damage do you think that does? A warning though - the gore in this movie is REALLY over the top. Like, *I* thought it was a TAD excessive... so, be warned.

Husk - A creepy movie about scarecrows. Now, I'm on a scarecrow kick this year. Building a huge animated one for my yard, probably dressing as one, so maybe it's just a fad for me, but I watched this last night and it was creepy... and while it had plot holes, and some stupidness to it, I really enjoyed it.

Dog Soldiers - A great werewolf movie that feels like "Aliens" (the sequel to Alien). Scottish soldiers are holed up in a country house being beseiged by werewolves. No CGI, all costumes and great physical effects. Great characters, great action, great gore. A really good tension/horror flick.

[Rec] - A great spanish movie (yes, subtitled) about a film crew that goes along with a fire squad as a ride along to a building to check something out (its been a year since I've seen it, I'm fuzzy) and wind up getting locked in due to a quarantine... and mayhem ensues. Remade in the US as Quarantine. Rec was better.

The Collector - A pretty good Saw-esque film about a crazed serial killer that traps a family in their home, literally, with traps, and hunts them down and kills them. A pretty interesting movie.

Which reminds me:
Burning Bright - Not truly a HORROR movie per-se, but more of a suspense... but it was FANTASTIC. I cant give too much away, because honestly - it sounds HORRIBLY STUPID. If I tell you the plot, you'll say "I'm not watching that stupid crap". But I did. Based on good reviews I read. And I was thrilled I did. It was REALLY well done. Some small plot holes, but overall, VERY well done, very well explained, and I completely enjoyed it. Ok, ok, I'll reveal the main plot... Girl and her autistic little brother are trapped in their house. Being stalked.

By a bengal tiger.

Told you you'd think it's stupid. Believe me, it works. Watch it.

White Noise - This was a mainstream theatrical movie that kinda just faded away, so I feel it bears mentioning here. EXTREMELY creepy ghost story that made me jump and squeal and made my skin crawl more times than I can count. Absolutely worth watching.

Lake Mungo - Another mocu-u-mentary about a girl who dies, and her family investigating her death... all while being haunted by what seems to be her ghost, trying to tell them something. Well done. Creepy. Made me pull the covers up over my toes. The ending was a bit... I dunno how I felt about it. I guess thats the point...

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane - A hip teen movie meets slasher serial killer flick. Really well done. Personally, I dont think any group of teenage girls are THAT whorish as they are portrayed in the movie, but, it all works well, and the ending is fantastic. Really really loved this never-heard-of-before slasher/stalker movie. Keeps you guessing.

Session 9 - A movie about an asbestos removal crew working in an old asylum... and the creepiness starts... and odd happenings... and people going crazy... and it's a REALLY good story.

A little more mainstream but not really big movies in the theatre:
The remakes of Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm street were really good if you ask me. Was a big fan of both. Just wanted to add those two in.

So whats YOUR favorites that I've missed? I need more for my collection! If you watch any of these based on my recommendation, post here, I'd love to see what you thought of it!

Oh, and I absolutely LOVE ghost stories with a great backstory... it's why The Ring is my favorite horror movie of all time. Creepy. Suspenseful. An incredible backstory. So recomendations for great ghost stories, asylum based movies, flicks that have great foundation for the creepiness are things I'm always looking for... bring em on! What have I missed?

Behind the Mask is indeed a great flick. Here are some movies I love that are somewhat obscure:

MARTIN. This is one of George Romero's lesser known films. It is a Vampire movie with a different twist. It places a young vampire in 1970s rusting Pittsburgh. Very, very good. Right up there with his more famous zombie films IMO.

BURIAL GROUND. This is an obscure, low budget Italian zombie film. The zombies have a unique look to them, and there is plenty of gore and some very uncomfortable situations. A MUST for zombie fans.

CEMETERY MAN. A lesser known, but wonderfully shot zombie film with some humor. Stars a young Rupert Everett.

OLDIES....Who Slew Auntie Roo, about a woman who's little girl died. And she wants a new one.... Starring Shelley Winters.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown, based on a true story about a serial killer in Texarkana, Texas

Antichrist with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem DeFoe left my jaw on the floor!!!

P.S. I though Trick R Treat was TERRIBLE and I can't believe a wonderful actress such as Anna Paquin would agree to star in such garbage!

Great thread, and while I differ with you on some of your choices (I didn't particularly enjoy Trick R Treat, I thought it was kinda cheesy,a dn I HATED White Noise) others I'm really pleased to see mentioned here, such as Rec (LOVE that movie) and Behind the Mask.

I'm not sure how well the movie Creep is known outside of Britain, it's a British horror set on the London underground. There's a very disturbing torture scene in it, be warned - but I still think it's a great movie.

Dread is a very disturbing psychological horror, the ending is very disturbing, but I thought the film was well done and the topic was really interesting.

I'll try and think of some more.

I'm going to look for that scarecrow movie you mentioned. Scarecrows frighten me half to death LOL

Originally Posted by kallie

Antichrist with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem DeFoe left my jaw on the floor!!!

Except thats nowhere near a horror movie... more... a bizzare twisted pseudo-porn that made no sense whatsoever

Watched Dread the other night. Was very drawn out... they could have made that a 20 minute short and had the same effect. There was so much more they could have done with it, but they focused on just one part, and the rest of the movie was time wasting filler.

Never heard of Creep - gonna look it up.

And how can you think Trick R Treat was TERRIBLE? I can see how it's not to some's taste (horror movies are an odd bunch... there's so many ways to approach it... almost all of them are rates 3 stars, EVERYWHERE, because half the people HATE them, and half love them. Its rare to see a horror movie rated higher than 3 stars... too many people hate it to balance out the ones that love it) but to say it was TERRIBLE... well... I'd like an explanation!

*Puppet Master (any Puppet Master besides #1)
*Leprechaun (1-4)

Originally Posted by Halloweenfan

*Puppet Master (any Puppet Master besides #1)
*Leprechaun (1-4)

Seriously?

Originally Posted by kallie

Antichrist with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem DeFoe left my jaw on the floor!!!

I'm sorry, but that movie was just one effed up journey from beginning to end & I want those hours of my life back.

For another effed up journey, try Audition. Those crazy Japanese folks know how to do some really weird crap. It starts slowly & you think it's never gonna pick up or get scary....thenallofasuddenitdoes!! It's pretty freaky.