Some reckon the scariest way to watch a horror movie is in a packed theatre full of terrified people – and yes, that’s pretty scary. But have they ever paused a film to walk across a dark room and make sure the door’s locked? That’s exactly what some of these films did to us. True story.
1. The Shining
Psychological horror | 1980 | Directed by Stanley Kubrick | Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd
Seldom has a slide into madness been portrayed as terrifyingly as it is here. Jack Nicholson’s unhinged performance is astonishing and combines with Stanley Kubrick’s meticulous direction and knack for dreamlike imagery to horrify both your conscious and subconscious.
In departing from Stephen King’s novel, Kubrick got closer to the insane internal monologues that run throughout the author’s work than any other director, with The Shining being arguably the best King adaptation to hit the screen.
Things you think you’ll see out the corner of your eye: a bartender in your kitchen, creepy twins in your hall, a river of blood coming out of your bedroom door.
2. The Grudge (Ju-on)
Supernatural horror | 2002 | Directed by Takashi Shimizu | Starring Megumi Okina, Misaki Itô and Misa Uehara
After Buffy the Vampire Slayer Sarah Michelle-Gellar reckoned she could swan in to any remake and make it better but yeah, nah. The original film (actually the third in a Japanese series) is better, Ju-on using its haunted house setting to the utmost, ramping up the tension as far as it can go before exposing you to its vengeful ghosts.
It seals the deal by being a series of interconnected stories, adding to Ju-on’s nightmarish qualities and allowing short sharp shocks to resonate even as the film moves on to its next victims.
Things you think you’ll see out the corner of your eye: Someone joining you under the covers (in a bad way).
3. The Ring
Supernatural horror | 2002 | Directed by Gore Verbinski | Starring Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson and Brian Cox
Most folks seem to reckon that the original versions of films are always better than remakes, but that ain’t always the case – Hollywood’s built on recycled ideas, some of them amazing (John Carpenter’s The Thing, anyone?).
Before he made a bunch of movies based on a watery amusement park ride, Gore Verbinski remade the Japanese horror Ringu, casting Naomi Watts in the lead opposite Martin Henderson. Like the original, the idea that watching a tape can curse you is great home viewing, as is Samara’s emergence into the real world from inside a television.
Thing you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: Flies somehow walking inside the paused screen of your TV.
4. The Strangers
Home invasion thriller | 2008 | Directed by Bryan Bertino | Starring Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler
Home invasion films are a dime a dozen, but The Strangers uses something common to many films in this list – a strong sense of space – to make this tale of masked assailants tormenting Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman genuinely unsettling.
The idea of being stalked inside one’s own home with familiar corners and corridors becoming suddenly threatening is already scary, and The Strangers ups the ante with a couple of bone-chilling moments in which masked folk slowly become discernible in the back of shot – an unsettling addition to a film that also loves to make you jump.
Thing you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: Nothing, everything’s totally fine. Hang on, how long has he been standing there?!
5. The Innkeepers
Ghost-hunting chiller | 2011 | Directed by Ti West | Starring Sara Paxton, Pat Healy
When making The House of the Devil, director Ti West stayed at a creepy hotel and, hey presto, The Innkeepers was born. With just two staff, a couple of guests and a bunch of dreadful décor there’s more than a touch of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining to the Yankee Pedlar Inn, but instead of Jack Nicholson losing his marbles, the film features a couple of lowly-paid twenty-somethings passing the time with some amateur ghost hunting.
Half the time you’re just scaring yourself with West building anticipation for frights that don’t arrive, but when it turns, and it does, you won’t be planning a reservation there.
Thing you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: Lena Dunham (Girls) making your coffee and yapping away incessantly.
6. Friday the 13th
Slasher horror | 1980 | Directed by Sean S. Cunningham | Starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King
This campsite horror classic was always going to make the list for obvious reasons. Ti West, director of The Innkeepers, picked this to be included and explains why:
“There may be scarier movies out there (there are) but nothing is as festive as watching a horror movie themed after the day you are watching it. Feel free to watch Saturday the 14th the next day.”
Thing you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: Your mum.
7. Salem’s Lot
Vampire horror | 1979 | Directed by Tobe Hooper | Starring David Soul, James Mason
Horror director and aficionado Glenn McQuaid has Tobe Hooper’s adaptation of Stephen King vampire tale Salem’s Lot seared on his memory: “The image of Ralphie Glick’s undead corpse, grinning like a Cheshire cat, as it floats outside his brother Danny’s bedroom window, tapping at the glass and coaxing his brother to invite him in, left an indelible mark on my young mind when I first saw it. It’s an uncanny scene that sums up a lot of what I love about the horror genre: the once familiar, innocent and protective turned predatory, vile and corrupt.
“Watching Salem’s Lot still feels dangerous to me today, there’s a dry (almost Dan Curtis) air to the proceedings. Salem’s Lot at night is full dark, no stars, and as it goes from a quaint and picturesque town to a surreal and dreadful nightmare, there’s still no place I’d rather be this Friday the 13th.”
Thing you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: That bloody Ralphie Glick outside the window again.
8. The Descent
Claustrophobic thriller | 2005 | Directed by Neil Marshall | Starring Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza
Smacking you in the chops just a few minutes in, The Descent pauses for breath for just a moment before ripping along for most of its running time as it efficiently exploits some pretty common fears.
Scared of the dark or claustrophobic? Then this is the film for you, director Neil Marshall chucking his all-gal cast down some caves and then making it all go horribly wrong, including one reveal that’ll see you lose it. The Descent boasts some of film’s most unsettling moments of squeezing through narrow tunnels, caving will not seem like a good idea after watching this.
Thing you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: If you’re quick you might see a copper pole.
9. Martyrs
Depraved horror | 2008 | Directed by Pascal Laugier | Starring Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï
Over the last decade a wave of French horror did its best to push the envelope, films like Haute Tension and Inside going all out in a manner that mainstream US horror seemed to have forgotten. Martyrs takes the cake though, for being both terrifying in its own right and totally batshit crazy.
Director Pascal Laugier isn’t content to let the viewer settle, with the film constantly heading on narrative tangents and taking in many different horror aspects. Imaginary ghouls, family massacres, Josef Fritzl-style bunkers, abduction, torture, emaciated victims and a creepy cult all rub shoulders in Martyrs, a film that’ll have you chilled from the get-go – and frequently grossed out since it is definitely not for the squeamish.
Thing you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: Oh look, it’s your imaginary scar-covered friend. And what’s this? You seem to have no skin.
10. [REC]
Zombie horror | 2008 | Directed by Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Starring Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza
Mainstream US horror felt like it was in the doldrums when this first instalment of the Spanish zombie series hit, and boy was it a breath of fresh air.
Even the now-tired found footage gimmick stands up in this film as it’s an essential component of both [REC]’s concept and ability to put you in the middle of its carnage. Some films lose their grandeur on the small screen, but the style and pacing of [REC] still pull you in to its apartment setting of escalating terror that doesn’t just include the undead but some occult creepiness for good measure.
Thing you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: Nothing – until you turn the night vision on. Then you’ll wish you hadn’t.
11. Don’t Look Now
Psychological thriller | 1973 | Directed by Nicolas Roeg | Starring Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland
Haunting as much in the emotional as the paranormal sense, Don’t Look Now may not boast a bunch of big boo scares but earns a place here through its unsettling and foreboding atmosphere, eerie goings-on, and preoccupation with death.
Fragmented and impressionistic, the film is a dreamlike and despairing tour through Venice, where Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie are staying after the death of their child. Rich in symbolism and dream logic, Don’t Look Now is a mood piece that’ll affect you long after it ends – and if you’re by yourself you’ll have no-one to ask “what the f*ck just happened?”
Things you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: Lots of water, lots of red, Sutherland and Christie having a good hoon on each other.
12. The Nameless (Los sin nombre)
Abduction thriller | 1999 | Directed by Jaume Balagueró | Starring Emma Vilarasau, Karra Elejalde
Ramsey Campbell’s an English horror author, yet this ended up being made in Spain by Jaume Balagueró (who went on to co-direct [REC]). Another tale about a grieving parent, the film opens with the unpleasant discovery of a child’s body before leaping ahead to show the mother, still grieving five years later, receive a phone call from someone claiming to be her daughter.
When she starts investigating the film proceeds to slowly crank up the tension, the story inching along at a pace that’s painful not because it is boring, but because the film is shrouded in dread and makes you steel yourself for what’s to come. Make sure you watch this chilling thriller in the subtitled version though.
Thing you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: Just a bunch of normal people. Who like killing and mutilating kids.
13. The Exorcist
Possession horror | 1973 | Directed by William Friedkin | Starring Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow and Linda Blair
We would have been remiss for not including this on the list. The Exorcist taps into all sorts of things that make people feel freaked out – religion, the development of the human body, creepy houses – and that’s before any heads spin backwards, emit projectile vomit or speak in tongues.
With the gross-outs equally matched by the film’s Satanic presence, nightmarish shocks and sense of pure evil, The Exorcist still packs a punch even for the most horror-hardened atheist. If this doesn’t deeply unsettle you on more than one level you might want to go talk to somebody, maybe a priest.
Thing you’ll think you see out of the corner of your eye: Someone pissing in the lounge, probably (hopefully) your flatmate.
