Getting into the horror genre...

Hey

Which movies would you recommend to someone who wants to get into the horror genre?

I love psychological thrillers like Shutter Island (2010), Identity (2003) and The Sixth Sense (1999) and i want to try and take it to the next level

I have one condition: NO JUMPSCARES

I cannot stand jump scares. They get me every time and i do not enjoy them

/magician

Wow, Nicolas Cage's head was bigger than expected

I dont like jump scares either. I think they're overdone and just lazy to be honest. When there are a succession of them in a movie I actually fall asleep.

OK lemme think for a bit and I'll get back to you. Do you prefer horror thriller like home invasion and psychological horror, or supernatural just to give me a bit of an idea of your taste? I'm not hugely into ghosts and zombies so much. More psychological and body horror/thriller. And have you watched much horror before? If so, which sub genres appeal?

More like psychological horror, I'm not so much into into supernatural stuff either (Sci-Fi as an exception) Like you, zombies and monsters don't appeal to me. But mysterious, unexplainable stuff going on I like (of course to a certain extent) I guess thats what the horror genre is based on? Otherwise it would "just" be a thriller? I don't know..

I haven't watched any horror movies except the ones mentioned above (which some argue are "mild" thrillers)

When someone asks me for recommendations on getting started with horror I first recommend horror comedy to ease in gently. Usually lots of gore but it's fun gore. Which country are you from? I;ve got a few on the top of my head to recommend but it depends on your taste in humour.

The movies that scare me are generally home invasion style and serial killers. It's probably the biggest genre so much easier to lead you in the right direction if you give me some hints on what you might like. Obviously I'm not going to recommend extreme horror for a new viewer to the genre, or anything with eye and ear bleeding jump scares.

nd are you open to horror tv shows?

This is actually fun to think about before throwing titles at you.

The Mothman Prophecies [it's a mix of thriller/sci-fi/horror]
Jacobs Ladder [thriller with horror elements]
The Witch [period piece with horror elements]
The Shining [Kubrik's version]
Angel Heart [Thriller/Noir with horror]
The Exorcist [horror]
The Exorcist III: Legion [thriller/Noir/Horror]

it's hard to find Horror movies that don't have the typical jump scares. Those that don't are usually a bit more than just horror movies and mix other genres [see above for reference]

Inside the Horror Genre you have many sub.types as well: Slashers [a killer that goes around doing some slashing - heavy on jump scares], Supernatural [possession, aliens, ghosts, random humanoid or amorphous creatures], Gore [self explanatory]; just to name a few

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If you have Netflix, The Shining and The Babadook are two very good psychological horror starts available for streaming. They have some jump scares but are in the vein of what you're looking for I think

I was extremely tired when I wrote my comment last night and I realize now it didn't make much sense

– I like psychological horrors (i guess) I have always enjoyed a good suspenseful thriller (like the three movies i mentioned above)

– I like the "mystery" genre a lot, where some unexplainable stuff (supernatural?) takes place.

– "I haven't watched any horror movies except the ones mentioned above (which some argue are "mild" horrors*)"

– I'm a little sceptical about the "comedy/horror" genre as my mind automatically sets on "Scary Movie" films... But i have a very wide taste in comedy... Everything from Will Ferrell comedies, to dark comedy movies (fx Swimming with Sharks (1994)) But I'll give it a try

– Horror series? Yes please!

Your comment was fine. I was just throwing some more questions at you rather than just drown you in recommendations.

Urghh yeh I'm not a fan of Scary movie. I'll leave horror comedy out for now because comedy is pretty individualised.

Swimming with sharks was great, wasnt it. I wouldnt call it horror comedy though. I know imdb labels it that but my take was a bit different.

The babadook was mentioned above. I liked that a lot. I dont recll any jump scares.

The Shallows if you like 'monster genre' like sharks. Terrible movie but looks pretty nd I actually got a bit nervy watching this. It was good fun nervy.

The Strangers was probably the last movie that gave me a look under the bed scare. No jump scares that I recall but a steady scary atmosphere throughout the movie. Crank up the volume and watch it alone at night for best impact.

Funny Games. Another psycho thriller, and the acting is great.

10 Cloverfield Lane I thought was a nice surprise. I didnt like the first one but this relly surprised me.

Same with Autopsy of Jane Doe.

They're the recent psychological thriller also called Horror I can think of

tv shows - well I'll always say Hannibal for a total mind trip. Check the pilot and see if you like it. The opening scene is enough to curl your hair. I dont recall lazy jump scares. It's just a mind bending nightmare nd once you hook into the showrunners demented brain it's quite a ride.

American Horror Story. Not scary but disturbing themes. The only jump scare I recall is one in season 6. It's an homage to horror genre so definitely not scary but brings up some unnerving social taboos that make you think, nd the sets and cinematography are beautiful.

Keep the ideas coming. I can toss you some more recommendations. That's just a quick list.

Thanks a lot I will definitely have a look later !

I think I will start wth 10 Cloverfield Lane and Funny Games

There's at least one Babadook jump scare that i remember.



There might be more but yeah there's not many if there is thankfully.

I get a bit cranky with jump scares so dont remember that to be one of those crash bang types like James Wan does. I just thought the cinematography was beautiful and got really dragged into the mind set..

I don't even know why i remembered it, i like the film alot and that's not a particularly memorable moment. Plus i find jump scares lazy, even when they "get me" which is rare they do nothing for me. That's the main reason i didn't like Sinister more than i did.

The exceptions to this are the famous Exorcist III one, and i remember when i first saw Scream 3 when i was 12 or something there was some jump scare that really worked for me.

10CL was recommended to me by a cyber friend on AHS board. It was very different to what I expected. John Goodman was amazing.

Funny Games was, IMO, held up by Michael Pitt. He's a great actor, and it's unnerving because unlike ghosty stuff, it could happen. Mother's Day is another, but from memory it's pretty gory. I dont know how much you like gore. Not splastic gore, but the kind of I cant believe you just did that psychological horror/thriller.

You not seen the original Funny Games? Very good film, didn't bother with the remake since all i've heard is that it's basically a shot for shot remake with worse performances.

Same for me. I think I've reacted to one jump scare in about 10 years. Usually I just roll my eyes. They're irritating. About as irritating as bad colour grading fads.

Will look it up. I think I've only seen the Pitt version.

It's by the same director, made a decade earlier and is Austrian. Other than that it is supposed to be the exact same so i wouldn't say there'd be much point in watching it unless you are a particularly big fan of the remake. It's why i won't bother with the remake most likely, unless i have watched the rest of Haneke's films and just want to finish up his filmography.

Oh just thought of another. Might be a bit much for a newby to the genre but parking this here in case you get curious. Eden Lake. English movie with Michael Fassbender and I dont recall jump scares. Steady suspense, great acting, and brilliant ending. Really unnerved me and I dont scare often. I thought it was very well done.

THE WAILING

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