Horror Movies to Watch: Part 2 of 4

Horror Movies to Watch

Part II: The Chilling

The Gothic writer Anne Radcliffe famously distinguished horror from terror, claiming that while terror "awakens the faculties to a high degree of life," horror "freezes and nearly annihilates them." In other words, terror is something we experience in many a slasher movie - our heart beats faster and faster, and we get a nice rush of adrenaline. Horror, on the other hand, freezes us to our chair and gives us a major case of the chills. A little rush of adrenaline is good once in a while, but in horror there is something beautiful - and this beauty is largely why I believe that terror limits creativity in movies (we get much of the same), while horror is limitless. What gives us the chills? Imagery? Suspense? When a scene taps into our inner fears? There's no single answer, which is exactly what makes the horror genre so great. Make sure to see these five great movies that can bring our heartbeats to nearly a halt.

*****

Night of the Living Dead

Dir. George Romero (1968)

This is the movie that created a whole sub-genre of horror known as the "zombie movie." It is also the most effective of all zombie movies in terms of horror value. Instead of just having characters being attacked by zombie horde after zombie horde, George Romero paces the movie to make our spine tingle like never before. Since then, zombie movies have ventured more into the realm of excess than true horror.

*****

Jaws

Dir. Steven Spielberg (1975)

The tragedy of great movies that also make a lot of money is that studios demand a sequel. Or two, or three. Please, don't let those sequels make you misunderstand what movies like Jaws are all about. The scariest moments in the original film come before we see any more than the fin of the shark. At this point our fears our very real. So is it the super-sized shark we're supposed to be scared of, or is it the water?

*****

Alien

Dir. Ridley Scott (1979)

Another great movie that resulted in a franchise of sequels that are nothing like it. Sure, a lot of people like Aliens, but you have to admit that it's an action - not a horror - movie. Some may be bothered by the slow pacing of the first film, but this is exactly what makes the movie so eerie. Just as in Jaws, we do eventually see the monster, but it is more the unknown that makes the movie scary. The movie's tagline sums up the fears it evokes: "In space no one can hear you scream."

*****

The Silence of the Lambs

Dir. Jonathan Demme (1991)

The horror in this movie is carried largely by Anthony Hopkins's brilliant depiction of the complex psychopath Hannibal Lecter, but that is not to say that only the scenes with him in it are scary. The "villain" of the film, Buffalo Bill - how creepy is that guy? Still, Hopkins as Lector is alone reason enough to make this movie great - from the way he talks candidly about cannibalism to the way he never blinks.

*****

The Blair Witch Project

Dir. Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez (1999)

I have rarely, if ever, heard someone call this movie "pretty good" or "just OK." People seem to either absolutely love this movie or absolutely loathe it, which is fine, as art is subjective. My opinion is that this is the best horror movie of the last 15 years. It's dizzying, perhaps, but it's real. Well, it's not actually made from "real" footage, but it may as well have been, because it certainly feels real. And once again, our fear of the unknown is exploited - for 86 minutes straight.

*****

Next, Part III: The Psychological