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It Follows is a horror masterpiece, in my opinion. Now, I cannot guarantee that everyone will feel the same because it is heartbreakingly low-rated. It Follows is unlike many other horror movies because it’s not explicitly scary most of the time, instead it opts for an eerie, tense atmosphere that leaves you fearful of what could happen next. It isn’t heavy on gore or killing, but it is thought-provoking and the suspense of being chased by an untouchable creature that will never stop until you’re dead and living your life in fear of this inevitable outcome is unmatched in the genre. Additionally, for the film nerds, the soundtrack and custom setting are brilliantly crafted.
- Hostel (TW: torture, suicide)
If gore is your thing, Hostel might be the movie for you. This movie’s main theme explores exploitation, actually, you watch exploiters get exploited. Hostel follows a small group of American tourists who you quickly learn are unbearable, entitled, and perverted. They get tricked into a foreigner trafficking scheme, due to their own negligence and attitude, and are brought to a torture factory where the rich pay to do whatever they want to foreigners. The gore effects in this movie are so explicit, it can be hard to watch at times, but I mean that as a compliment! Take caution though because I am not exaggerating.
REC is a Spanish found footage zombie/virus film. Found footage is notoriously pretty hit or miss, but this movie really makes the first-person perspective work well. The setting and how the characters react in it add to a certain claustrophobic feeling to the movie. This is not a movie for those who want metaphors or something to theorize because this movie is purely about the rabid outbreak of zombies. My favorite aspects were the characters and dialogue because the dialogue was partly improvised so it felt genuine and panicky. My favorite example to mention is the cameraman saying “Shhh” to the news reporter or near the end when he says “Keep quiet for God’s sake”.
Train to Busan is a South Korean zombie film and its main selling point is its phenomenal variety of characters. It’s like a mix of a horror movie and a melodrama. A lot of the movie takes place, shocker, on a train. The protagonist, a dad trying to take his daughter to see her mom, is stuck with the same cast of characters that varies from a pregnant married couple to a selfish businessman, to a high school sports team. The reason I would recommend this movie is not only because it has thrilling zombie scenes but also because of the connections between the characters. The ending left me devastated so be prepared to cry.
28 Days Later is a classic and revolutionary zombie movie starring Cillian Murphy. This isn’t the scariest movie on the list but it still serves as a really good watch. The movie goes through three acts in which you watch the different facets of life in an apocalyptic setting. For example, the movie starts with mystery as our protagonist awakes from a coma inside an abandoned hospital. We discover what happened as he does; it’s a devastating and disheartening realization. But towards the middle of the movie, we’re given many scenes about his “found family” of friends who have helped him survive, which brings an optimistic feeling back to the audience. It’s a beautiful movie about survival, human connection, and how they are codependent.