Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

Since my favorite genre, horror, seems widely under appreciated by the population as a whole and is somewhat under represented here at Movie Forums, I've decided to make a thread of my favorite horror films.

These will not be presented in any order, nor will there be a definitive count, as I love all that I will post here and on any given day each could be my 'favorite'.

This thread will be slow burning as the rest of my experience here (less than 5k posts in almost 13 years) but hopefully I can spark interest in some under rated (IMO) B Grade, drive in movie classics as well as in some critically acclaimed yet oft ignored gems.

** Also, these aren't really meant to be in depth reviews, but rather suggestions with a bit of explanation.

Contents:
A:
Amityville II The Possession
B:
Below (2002)
Black Sabbath (1963)
D:
Dark Water
Dementia 13
G:
Ghost Story
H:
Horror Hotel/City of the Dead
L:
Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
O:
Other, The (1972)

Re: Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

Looking forward to it. Ime not really a horror movie fan but I do love the classics.

First up, The Other (1972). This is one of the first films I remember seeing with an absolutely chilling OMFG plot twist. Likely it will be somewhat tame compared to some of the more modern films (and a few classics, like Psycho for example), but it absolutely proves that terror can be dealt out with a PG rating.

The story plays out in a bucolic setting and centers around twin brothers Niles and Holland Perry and their 'game'. To say more is to give the plot away but trust me when I tell you, if you give it a shot some dark and quiet night you won't be disappointed.

You can watch the trailer here:

The IMDB Synopsis: "A recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again".

Let's Scare Jessica to Death is another early '70's film that absolutely haunted my childhood. I remember watching this on late night TV at about 8 years of age and it caused me to have nightmares for several years thereafter.

I've re-watched it several times since and, though it did lose its initial power over me, it still stands up as a great horror film.

LSJTD is a play on paranoia, mental illness and reality. Throughout the film, the watcher is never really sure which of these attributes is in play but it doesn't matter as it makes the film no less effective.

I've developed an uneasiness about water in my life and came to realize that watching this film was the direct cause of this (you'll see why if you watch it).

The Trailer:


The Full Film (again, better in higher resolution):

Re: Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

Let's Scare Jessica to Death is great!

Beware, you claustrophobics, for this film will test your mettle. This one starts out as a military thriller and eventually goes off the deep end (pun intended) into a pretty righteous ghost story.

Below is backed by some serious writing cred (Aronofsky) and has a cast of actors that you will know when you see them (see IMDB link above for details).

This film works for me on many levels. The 'horror' is definitely mostly psychological versus gory (as most on this list will be). I have a natural aversion to water and coupled with the tight spaces and the realization that escape (from a submarine) would be impossible just intensifies the effects.

Below Trailer:

I love horror but haven't seen any of the first 3 yet. Looking forward to the rest!

I've seen all of them, and although I don't love them, I've seen them (except for Below which I saw for the first time last year) multiple times. In fact, I saw The Other at the drive-in in 1973 and it went over my head but was very creepy. Jessica was shown on late night TV in the '70s and was equally weird and atmospheric. Since I know Toose really likes atmospheric psychological horror thrillers like The Haunting and The Innocents, this thread should be full of goodies.

You know both of those are going to show up on this list Mark. :D

Re: Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

LSJTD is a wonderfully atmospheric film. It's the only one of those that I've seen, but I'd recommend it, too. :up: The Other is something I may check out some time. Thanks for the rec.

I hope this thread isn't quite as slow burning as your other, Toose. I look forward to this one. :)

Re: Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

I love horror, tis my favourite genre. Yet I haven't seen the ones listed.

3 entries plus creation of the thread all in one day! It's some kind of record for me! :)

"A story that goes beyond the boundaries of the Supernatural to the half-world of the living dead... Where a woman's soul inhabits a fly's body... where vampires suck only the blood of those they love dearest."


Black Sabbath is a classic horror film by the incomparable Mario Bava. The film is comprised of three vignettes which I find to be completely unsettling. I won't bother with plot details as it's best to be surprised by them. This film is illustrative of Bava's multitude of talents, both in storytelling and in cinematography.

Something that especially stands out in Bava's work is his use of lighting. If you watch this one, look for his use of complimentary colors (red & green being the most prominent in this film) in the lighting of his sets. To me, it almost works as an additional character in the film as it completes the mood/atmosphere. Check it out, you'll like it!

The Trailer:


A little trivia: Black Sabbath (the band) liked the title of this film and used it for their band name. Rob Zombie (a Black Sabbath fan) followed suit and used another classic horror film name (White Zombie) for his band name.

Dementia 13 (1963)

Dementia 13 is one of Francis Ford Coppola's earliest films, occurring almost simultaneously with his work on Roger Corman's The Terror (Jack Nicholson & Boris Karloff). The film is a low budget, low quality thriller/murder mystery but don't let that stop you from watching it as it really packs a punch.

The film starts out as a mystery and quickly evolves into a damn good horror flick complete with an axe murdering psycho. Despite the low quality, this film has a lot going for it. There is a scheming daughter in law trying to get her hands on the family fortune, plenty of redirects and suspects, an interwoven ghost story and, of course, the axe murdering psycho. As an unexpected bonus, someone dies to an Elvis song. That's great film making! ;)

Seriously, if you haven't seen it give it a try. The first few minutes will seem hokey but stick with it, it gets much, much better.

The Trailer:


The Entire Film:

From the late 1950's through the early 1970's in America there was a pop culture resurrection and refocused interest in the ancient art of witchcraft. If art imitates life (it often does) then one need only look to film to get a pulse on the ideas of the day.

Horror Hotel was one of the earlier films that attempted to twist the Salem Witch Trials into something altogether different than reported history... ie the witches really were witches and they did, indeed, enjoy feasting on human beings.

This film is a cut above Saturday morning Creature Feature fare as it does manage to build some real tension and features some quality acting. of course the cheese is still there, but what horror movie doesn't benefit from a bit of cheese?

Watch it, you'll like it!

By the by, this one is available on archive.org as no one owns it anymore.. it's public domain.

Also available on youtube right here:


Bonus trivia: Rob Zombie likes to sample audio from this film. If you're familiar with his music you'll recognize some lines. :)

I'll be watching out for these; they all sound good.

Re: Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

I actually have Dementia 13 but haven't watched it yet. I also need to check out City of the Dead.

Re: Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

Excellent picks!

Re: Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

pretty damn good list!!

Re: Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

I've only seen City of the Dead out of these. It's sadly underappreciated. It's nice to see someone else here likes it.

Amityville II The Possession (1982)

In 1977 I was ten years old and my friend, Lisa Whiteman, sat next to me at lunch and told me the scariest ghost story I'd ever heard. I found out later that the story was comprised of bits and pieces of 'The Amityville Horror', the film, the book, the phenomena. The heightened awareness of this case during that time led me to a lifelong interest (and many a research project) in the events of 'the haunting' and in the events of the actual murders that took place in the house the year before.

Amityville II, The Possession, is a prequel to The Amityville Horror and it is a disturbing and, at times, scary film. While the film is indeed a work of fiction, it does borrow heavily from the actual DeFeo murder case.

On its surface, Amityville II appears to be another schlocky sequel with an eye toward capitalizing on the success of the first film. Undeniably, there are aspects to this that are true but to anyone familiar with case testimony the film will seem somewhat familiar territory.

Without divulging plot points I'll just state the facts of the case. A family moves into a house on Long Island, and as the family ages, the oldest son goes wayward and this culminates into a situation where everyone but the oldest son is dead.

In the murder case there are accusations of heavy paternal abuse, alcohol and drug abuse and incest. These are all covered quite well in the film and Burt Young, of Rocky fame, does an excellent job of playing the brooding and dangerous patriarch. Perhaps most disturbing to me remains the son's (Ronald Defeo, 'Sonny' in the film) testimony around the events of the night he killed his family and the few months prior. DeFeo spoke about mysterious happenings and about feeling like 'something was inside, moving me'. There was a lot of talk about his change in appearance (some say because of drugs) and the film really capitalizes on the creepier aspects of that testimony.

It was a huge story and remains (despite what many have heard) largely a mystery. If you do decide to watch the film, try ignoring some of the 'over the top' commercial aspects (explosions and such) and realize that many of the plot points are rooted in case fact.

An even better suggestion, for those so inclined, would be to locate and read a copy of Gerard Sullivan's High Hopes prior to viewing.

The Trailer:

Re: Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

Great thread Sir Toose, keep them coming. Seeveral have been added to my watchlist.

Ghost Story (1981)

Somewhere along the line, in America, we've collectively decided that the time to tell ghost stories is in October. Personally, I've always been a fan of the winter ghost tale (a la Dickens) and particularly a fan of ghost tales around the yule log. There's something about the chilled quiet darkness of winter that enhances the whole experience.

Ghost Story is a winter's tale that's based (sometimes loosely) on Peter Straub's novel of the same name. In brief, it's a tale of vengeance and of being haunted (quite literally) by one's past.

In the tradition of Henry James, a group of successful life long friends meet on a regular basis to tell one another midnight tales. As the plot progresses, it becomes clear that they actually share a life event that out-horrors any story they could possibly tell.

As par for the course for this thread, I'll leave the plot points for you to discover. Suffice it to say, if you like my picks so far you'll like this one too. It's creepy, atmospheric, dark and spins a pretty decent yarn. Of course, the cast is outstanding, as is the score so it's easy to overlook the cons which include some early 80's special effects and a plot that some will find simple to decipher.

The Trailer:

Re: Sir Toose's Unholy House of Horrors
 

Another ive yet to see. Added to watchlist.

Dark Water (2005)

Dark Water is a remake of a 2002 Japanese film based on a story by Koji Suzuki (of The Ring fame). I really dig the Japanese way of telling horror stories because they don't try to explain the unexplained. They just kind of let it be as something unknown. In this particular story though, an explanation is offered in both the Japanese version and in the American version. There have been a number of these converted films particularly in the horror genre. Two that come to mind are The Grudge and The Ring. in both of those cases I thought the Japanese renditions were the better of the films, but in the case of Dark Water I would have to go with Walter Salles' American release.

I don't do plot points, but the gist of the story involves a young, newly single mother who is struggling, mentally and financially, with her new life. She suddenly has to take on much responsibility for herself that has always been done by others in her past. A case could be made for major portions of story serving as a metaphor for this woman feeling as if she's drowning.

Anyway, she ends up on Roosevelt Island in NYC which features some stark, utilitarian architecture that's frankly not in the best shape. I also think this entire backdrop serves as a metaphor for pretty much everything not working. I'll leave you to discover the events of the story but I will say that mother and daughter move in to their new place and some frightening things occur and they escalate in intensity. It's all very well done and Jennifer Connelly's performance is first rate.

The quality of story and the way events play out in the film are all above average, especially for a horror film. One of things I found very attractive about it though was the atmospheric and almost claustrophobic tension in some of the scenes. Add (literally) water to those goings on and I'm creeped out. I'm somewhat of a natural thalassophobic and also have a fear of large scale man made submerged objects (shipwrecks etc). Seeing houses with water in them is another thing that sets me off. There are many scenes where water seeps, drips, rushes into places where it shouldn't be and water (in a threatening capacity) is a major plot point in the film.

So, if you like mystery, dank & dark creepiness and films that make you wonder/think a little give this one a shot.

The Trailer:


Also, the parallels of this film (2005) to the recent and mysterious death of Elisa Lam (in 2013) are uncanny.

The Elisa Lam video (right before her death):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TjVBpyTeZM