I know that not many will agree with me on this. I think that horror films are some of the best types of movies made.
But, I’m picky. It has to be done right.
It’s bold of me to say this when I have zero experience working in cinema. Pulling off a well-done horror movie takes careful effort and a giant budget.
I think several factors, like music score and the actual cinematography, have the ability to make or break a movie. For example, the scariest movies most often have the best musical scores. Shoutout to “The Conjuring” movies!
The scariest movies tap into your psyche. Bring me less gore and jump scares and instead bring me more psychological thrillers! I like the entertaining aspect all horror movies bring, but sometimes I want to be left feeling genuinely terrified! I digress.
Scary movies are fun to watch all 12 months of the year, but I especially yearn for them during the “-Ber” months. That being said, Halloween is next week, so why not take a moment to talk about some of the scariest movies I’ve watched. I am not claiming that all of these are my favorite. Some are, but there are also some on this list that I refuse to watch again because it scared me that badly.
Anyways, here are three movies that scared me the most and that I will not go out of my way to watch again.
“The Strangers” (2008)
This movie is about a couple that expects a relaxing weekend away at their family vacation home. The tensions at the start are hostile as James proposes to Kristen and she says no. He ends up leaving her at the house to go off and clear his head when strangers in masks show up to their home.
If you are familiar with the series and have seen any of the other movies, you would know the famous line:
“Is Tamara home?”
A woman (questionable if it is one of the masked “strangers” or if it’s someone they recruited for the Tamara gig) comes to the targeted home each time to ask this. She does this to see if someone is home. If there’s people home, then it’s game on.
Naturally, Kristen answers the door and says, “Tamara doesn’t live here,” and it’s shrugged off.
Now that the strangers know the house is occupied, they will induce several rounds of pure torture as they find ways to enter the home discreetly.
This movie scared me so badly because the strangers in this movie taunt and kill for no reason. Their reasoning is “because you were home.”
It seemed too realistic to think that someone crazy enough could hurt me just because they wanted to. Home invasions happen more often than I like to think.
For weeks, it was difficult to look outside of my windows when it was dark.
“The Silence of the Lambs” (1991)
I watched this movie for an upper level American history course as a sophomore. We were instructed to pull a movie from the Top 100 American movies list that contains movies with the most famous influences and reviews. So I analyzed this one a ton.
The movie centers on a female FBI agent, Jodi Foster, who is top of her class. This movie outlines her journey with her assignment to work with a famous psychologist who happens to be a diagnosed psychopath, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Foster is used as bait to Dr. Lecter to try and draw out valuable information he hides on a specific court case.
I tend to associate 90s scary movies with cheap jump scares, gore and an overall corny storyline that isn’t super exhilarating.
This movie scared me because Hannibal Lecter was genuinely terrifying to me. He was disgusting physically and the comments he made, especially about Foster, the female protagonist, gave me the shivers. He is an incredibly f’ed up character. This movie was released in the early 90s, which I would argue is a decade that pumped out cinema hit-after-hit, so look no further if you want an “older” horror movie to watch this Halloween.
“Sinister” (2012)
Oh, brother. My favorite on this list. This movie stars Ethan Hawke who plays Ellison Oswald; he is a husband, dad of two, and a true crime author. Without telling his wife, he moves his family into a new home that was once occupied by a family that was brutally murdered in the backyard of the home a few decades prior. He wanted to write the novel while being immersed in the actual place the unsolved murders happened.
The cinematography and score of this movie correlate incredibly, but I found it so terrifying. The music is high-pitched and downright odd. If you search for the “BBQ” scene on YouTube, this is a great example of what I mean. It’s just bone-chilling.
That being said, Oswald finds snuff films in the attic that depict the family murders and other ominously titled tapes like “Pool Day” and “Family Picnic”. Spoiler alert: it becomes dark quickly.
I had a hard time falling asleep after this one; it spooked me pretty badly. If you are especially into paranormal/satanic horror, consider adding this to your list!
Honorable Mentions
“Hereditary” (2018)
…. or any horror film produced by A24. “Hereditary” is my all-time favorite, though.
“The Conjuring” (2012)
“Smile” (2022)