Scary movies are one of my least favourite genre. Whether it be a thriller, horror, psychological, supernatural, suspense, or slasher, there’s not a lot of them in my collection. And even fewer that still keep me up at night.
While not all these are my favourite scary movies, these are a mixture of the best and ones that still terrify me.
So keep the lights on, eyes open, and let’s dive into this….if you dare….
5. 30 Days of Night
This is not one of my favourite horror films. A group of vampires descend on the Alaskan town of Barrow, to feast on the residents, as the town descends into its month long polar night. Tense, isolated, bloody, and terrifying throughout.
I’ve since gotten comfortable with it, but in the beginning, not at all.
I was 12 when I was watching T.V. in our basement, and saw the trailer for it. Once it ended, I froze in terror. It was late at night, a big basement, empty dark rooms, my imagination let loose. I just screamed and cried. Like I was being attacked by vampires. My parents came rushing downstairs, I explained what I saw, and they brought me upstairs and I finished watching T.V. with them. Just the thought of it kept me up at night. Until I was 15 and for some reason, I decided to watch it. Maybe to overcome my fear. But I watched it in the middle of summer, in the middle of the day. It still got me. But like I said, I’ve since gotten over it.
Partially because of the execution with characters, or lack of characterization. Many of the human characters you don’t know their names, forget them, and aren’t impacted by their deaths. The pacing is not great, and does fall into some horror tropes and stereotypes.
But the vampires are terrifying. Move over Twilight, these vampires aren’t friendly. They will viscously attack, take their time, stalk you, and rip your throat out. The vampires speak in an unknown language that sounds just as terrifying as their screams. They move fast, swiftly, inhuman. They capture a human to use a bait, hoping to lure out survivors. When that doesn’t work, they take their time with her. When she pleads “please God” their leader looks at her repeating God, looks up at the dark sky, and disappointingly replied “No God.” In a small town, there’s only so many places to hide. This one scene in particular, vampires just slaughtering and gorging on anyone they see. The camera overhead, showing the chaos, pools of blood just spraying and spewing in spots a vampire got its prey. Hearing nothing but the scream, and wailing of people. Just terrifying, but amazing. Nothing was really held back.
This movie still makes me look over my shoulder once in a while, but I’ve since overcome my fear of this movie.
4. The Thing (1982)
Christmas 2017 I got John’s Carpenters The Thing. Saw very little from it, just understood the premise, and went in blind. Watching it with my dad, late at night, snowing outside, no lights, just from the fire in our fireplace, was amazing.
Again, being isolated, claustrophobic, in a small research base in the Antarctica, an alien organism that assimilates and mimics whoever it infects. Highly intelligent, extremely deadly, and very difficult to kill. Paranoia sets in among the 12-man team. Who’s really human? The true fear of unknown, mistrust rampant, they start turning on each other, it’s amazing. You pretty much never know who the Thing is until it reveals itself. And the sounds it makes is terrifying. How the team figures out at least one of them being the alien, made me jump from the couch. Heart pounding, palms sweating, all in a good way. I’m not as terrified of this because it’s sci-fi, but it’s still a great, riveting, scary ride to go on. It’s suspenseful from beginning to end.
Just the camera slowly moving around, and just focusing on a character, leaves you on the edge, wondering what’s going to happen. The fear of unknown.
The practical effects and prosthetics of the various creatures (as it takes different forms, since it’s not just one single entity/organism) are both amazing to see, and revolting, because they looked so real. The only way to truly get that reaction is with real practical effects, not CGI.
It also helps that for actual filming of the movie, shot on location in Alaska, and even though other parts of the film were done at Universal Lot, the sets were climate-controlled to be closer to Antarctic temperatures. The actors looked cold, and their performances are enhanced by it.
And how the actors were left in the dark themselves as to who the Thing was, so their emotions, reactions, and overall acting were genuine, which felt more real. Even the director left it up in the air as to who was the creature, ending with those alive still unsure. The main theme is reminiscent of John Williams two notes for Jaws.
It’s a very well done movies, from the directing, music, tension, everything about it elevates this movie. And it does help you remember each character, their name, their faces, even though there’s not much characterization, you know just enough to feel something when they die.
One of the best horror films of all time.
3. War of the Worlds (2005)
Stephen Spielberg delivered another great summer blockbuster.
A modern take on H.G Wells War of the Worlds, first watching it with my family, left me terrified for weeks, or going into slightly darker rooms, even during the day.
And right off the bat it’s because a lot of the scary scenes do take place in the day. The sound of the alien tripods still sends a chill through my body.
When the alien tripods rise from the beginning, they don’t waste time in showing their intentions. To exterminate us and colonize our world. Running through a forest and seeing clothes fly down, all that’s left of those helpless victims. The red roots/vines that take over, it’s terrifying to watch.
What makes the tripods/aliens so terrifying is that yes they are more powerful than us, but not overtly powerful like in Independence day they can just destroy in the blink of an eye. Rather these aliens destroy us more up close and personal, and not as fast. Making it more dreadful when you realise there’s nothing to do to stop them. Seeing news reels of groups of them moving around a destroyed city, like a big predator stalking and hunting it’s prey. They’re more grounded than other alien films, and this feel scarier. And soon they switch to capturing and harvesting us, which adds to the horror element. These aren’t giant ships floating far away in the sky. These are killing machines destroying everything in their path.
Tom Cruise is definitely not the badass in this movie. By showing us the perspective of a regular family man, it humanizes them and the conflict, making it more terrifying.
There’s nothing they can do expect run. Run from the tripods who surprise attack a ferry evacuation. From a battle against army forces who are unable to penetrate their shields. Then the best of all, when they’re hiding in a basement right under the aliens’ noses. They send a probe around the basement, and the tension of them avoiding it, followed by actual aliens investigating, boy that first night watching was difficult. I eventually just closed by eyes and covered my ears.
This film still gets me at times because of the sounds and design of the tripods, keeping it grounded from a helpless civilian perspective, and tapping into that fear. Life on another world is possible. But how advanced and intelligent are they? And if an encounter happens, is it peaceful, or hostile? Or worse?
2. Signs
Now this is a movie that still scares me. And it’s actually my favourite scary movie.
It was my sister and I’s summer vacation movie. I don’t know why. This is a very unsettling movie, and no surprise coming from M. Night Shyamalan.
This is a very different type of alien invasion movie. It’s not instantaneous. Though the movie takes place across 3 days, it feels longer, because of the tension. Again, the isolation on a farm works very well here. And taking place from just one perspective, of the simple Hess family, makes it even more terrifying and relatable. You also don’t see the aliens right away. Shyamalan wisely chose to let our imaginations take charge until near the end.
The slow and subtle build up is one of the best I’ve ever seen in films. It starts with a simple investigation and questioning of local crop circles, then worldwide (great, I live with crop fields in my backyard.) The first night they chase something around the house they can’t see, moves very fast, and can make feats impossible by humans. The second night, Mel Gibson’s character ventures back into the crop circles, believing it’s pranksters. As he makes his way back, he hears clicking, and strange noises. He then sees an alien leg. Throughout the movie, various points of “jump scares” don’t have music. Just natural sound, and it feels even more disturbing. When the camera just shows the farm at night, nothing happening, and just hearing crickets chirp until they quickly stop, warning you that something is coming, something watching you.
As the movie progresses and we see just simple lights appear in the sky, nothing big and fancy like in Independence Day, it makes it more eerie. The pantry scene shows an alien hand, with the intent to harm. Slowly revealing the aliens, even though a hazy hand held camera, means you don’t know exactly what they are and what they look like. Seriously, I was unable to watch that birthday party scene until I was an older teenager.
Even the main menu is creepy.
During the invasion, you see shadows move outside the house, banging on boarded up doors and windows. You know these aliens aren’t friendly, you just don’t know their full intent. Though some are disappointed by the ending and the aliens, I wasn’t.
Everything about this movie in how it’s done; sound effects, camera shots, visual cues. Relying primarily on simple piano keys. It’s simplistic, and pays off huge for us viewers.
I still sleep with one eye open, always turning my head over my shoulders. Signs leaves and unsettling feeling in me. I plan on watching this one late summer outside with my friends, on a projector, with the corn in my backyard crop fields fully grown. How will that go?!
1. The Blair Witch Project
Here it is. Not my favourite scary movie, but the one that still scares me the most.
I believe the best scary films are the ones done well, a bit more serious and professional. And most importantly, tap into something that’s naturally scary. Jaws; fear of sharks. Predator; an unseen enemy you don’t know where it is. In the Blair Witch Project, getting lost in the woods.
This popularised the found footage genre, and its use of the internet, adding lore to the witch, making people genuinely believe the three student filmmakers were missing and what we were watching was actual recovered footage; terrifyingly brilliant.
And how it was filmed. The actors were given very little to go off of, a lot of improvisation, and when the crew actually tried to scare them, their reactions, emotions, were real. They were going in blind not knowing what to expect.
It starts off simple, visiting the town, interviewing people, including one old lady who claimed to encounter the witch, describing her as a very hairy, almost animal like body, with feet not quite touching the ground.
When they venture into the woods, soon enough, strange, creepy occurrences happen. At first nothing, then it’s past off as
animals, then maybe townsfolk pranking them. Soon at night, loud noises occur from all around. But you can’t see anything, you can’t hear any leaves being ruffled, and it’s a forest ground covered with them! Paranoia quickly sets in, the group lose the map, accusations fly, and the terror continues.
They encounter a section of the woods with strange stick figures. I felt transported there, and wanted to desperately run away. Something is watching them, toying with them, hunting them.
They’re helpless, and with each passing night, the noises get stranger, creepier, louder, and closer. They soon give up, just stay put, hopelessness is left, but one of them disappears. They only hear his painful cries of help coming just outside their tent at night.
When the two remaining students stumble on an abandoned house, with child handprints all over, and it ends abruptly, but the last shot is a reminder of one of the townspeople relating to a gruesome murder of children decades ago.
There’s no music, simplistic all the way through, and best of all, you never see the monster. Every other film eventually reveals the creature, but not this movie. And you’re truly left to your imagination. Boy, just writing this leaves me unsettled. Maybe it’s because there’s a forest right behind my place.
The Blair Witch project never lets up the entire time. I’m uncomfortable every single time I watch it still.
And that’s my list. What about you? What are some scary movies that still keep you up at night? Comment below!
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