I've seen that there are quite a few horror enthusiasts on this forum, so I thought this place would be a perfect place to ask. Does anyone know some good horror films that don't rely on gore or a cheap "boo" to scare? I don't if they feature this, but I don't want the film to be based around it. It would be preferable if this movie be pre-80's, and if possible, using technicolour or older colour schemes.

All suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Black Christmas

You better be talking about the original from 1974, because that is one extremely good movie!

Yeah, Black Christmas is great. I thought the Descent was pretty good, definitely more suspense than gore. Although I'm not sure if it would qualify as a horror movie, I'm gonna recommend The Wickerman (the original, not the shitty Nicolas Cage remake). Its a really scary/creepy movie and its not about gore at all.

Alot of you may laugh at me for this, but I thought The Blair Witch Project was freaky as hell.

Carnival of Souls would seem to me to be exactly type of movie your talking about. Its public domain so you can watch it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC2Jh86r0Ps
Also I dont think The Changeling had any gore but I havent watched it in a while. I do remember being very creeped out by it though.
Dont have any more suggestions for you cuz most of the horror movies i like tend to have at least some gore.

I'm a fan of the Paranormal Activity series, as well as the 1963 horror film The Haunting, which was probably the chief influence for the former.

I also enjoyed Insidious, but people are very love-it-or-hate-it about that one. :V

People who hate Insidious obviously don't know how to have fun.

The Others
Session 9
Pontypool

Three awesome ones. They make great use of atmosphere, tension, build up and clever set-ups to create truly horrifying films.

without a doubt, one of the greats. a must see.

technically, i would consider it a thriller, but horror elements are there without using gore. what sets the mood for me was the (sadly, now non-existent) stunning kirkbride building in which it was filmed. the building truly made the movie imo.

yeah, Insidious i thought was really creepy. and the first time i watched it it was like 2 AM and it was storming outside and my whole house was dark.

House of the Devil might be worth looking into. HotD is a 2009 film, but it certainly feels like it could be a late 70s-early 80s film. I watched The Exorcist 3 last night, and I don't think it had much gore. If you're familiar with certain metal albums, you'll know some of the lines before the characters finish them (some of the lines have been sampled on some well known albums).

Maybe check out these, as well:
The Strangers
Ils (The Strangers and this get compared a lot, but I liked The Strangers more; this really didn't do a whole lot for me)
Orphan (I know Empyreal has said in the past he likes this one...I don't remember much gore in it)

I know there are others I'm leaving out, but I'd have to think specifically of films without much gore in my mind, and that would require mentally separating a lot of films right off the top of my head. I'll be back in here if I think of more.

Also, The Changeling has already been mentioned, and it would go into this, as well. The original Amityville doesn't have much gore either, if I remember correctly, and The Entity probably doesn't, either.

You might want to look more into 70s horror especially...

This. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, actually enjoyed it a great deal, and it was refreshing to see a modern horror flick that wasn't filled with gore. Don't get me wrong, gore is cool. But when you only rely on it to try to scare people, it really isn't frightening at all.

I have to third Session 9 and The Wickerman. Compare Session 9 to Wong Turn 4 and you'll see a big difference what great writing, acting, and atmosphere make for classics. Also Descent was brilliant. I went from hating the son in the beginning to praising his loyalty at the end.

The Orphanage
Haute Tension (does have some gore, but I would say it's also suspenseful)
[Rec]
the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre
seconding The Descent and Session 9

haha, Yeah, Leatherface likes to fuck with your head. Literally

There is a psychological horror film called Psych 9 which I found truly disturbing, I bought it on a random whim just to make up my order to an even number because anything involving a closed hospital sounds interesting to me, but it actually ended up being genuinely unsettling. I couldn't recommend this highly enough.

It also features an appearance by Hicks from Aliens, I hadn't seen him pop up in anything for years!

This poster is pretty nice too

4.3 on imdb for Psych 9? Ouch...

I assumed you meant Session 9 at first, also involving a hospital.

4.3 on imdb?
What does that mean?

Oh I see, but reviews are subjective anyhow.

I remember that the reviews for Session 9 were outstanding, so a group of us rented it and I thought it was ok, whereas most of my friends thought it was pointless and didn't go anywhere. These things are very subjective, could turn out that I may be the only person to ever rate Psych 9 as 9/10 whereas 90% of people would call it 2/10... Also with just a rating you have no idea of the context, as opposed to a full review. They could all be long time horror fans who rated it or just random people who have no interest in the genre but just happened to catch a late night screening of the film when they had trouble sleeping.
Despite that I would still say it is worth 90 minutes of a horror fans time though.

Rosemary's Baby - Classic, if you haven't seen it you should! And if you like it you should check out The Tenant.

I wouldn't laugh at all, scared the shit out of me when I first saw that. Then again, I was 15 or so at the time I watched it... maybe I'd feel differently if I re-watched it again?

IT
The Exorcist (I and specially III)
Jacob's Ladder (it's more like a thriller, but very well done)
From Masters of Horror:
-Jeniffer
-The Black Cat
-The Damned Thing

As bonus (more like being mindfucked, but still scary):
Naked Lunch - I've never been mindfucked as much as this movie did (well, the book is obviously better, but the movie is great too).
Videodrome
Mullholland Drive (and some other Lynch movies)

Movies like The Blair Witch Project, where the terror is something unseen, usually end up being really creepy. Because, you know, you never see the monster.

another recomendation for the blair witch project. unfortunately i had no idea about it when i seen it and had no net access back then to find out more about it. it freaked me out a fair bit, probably because i bought the story thinking it was genuine. wasn't until after that i found out it wasn't real. (pretty gullible eh? ) but none-the-less, it was a great film. but not sure how it would hold up watching it for a second time (haven't seen it since the pictures) the trivia section on imdb.com about the film is pretty interesting as well, about the characters went through, were instructed to do etc... quite innovative film at the time.

Certainly the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre & The Exorcist are good examples of scaring the crap out of people without too much bloodshed. Personally the moment in Exorcist that had my toes curling was the scene when Regan is in the hospital getting injected in the neck with that huge needle. Makes me go Gaahhk every time.

here are some of my favs (most of them are post 80's)

The Other, The Gate, Children of the Corn, The Strangers, Funny Games, Insidious, Human Centipede,
The Last Circus.

A good recent one is Megan is missing. It's another found footage-style horror film, about 2 girls that get kidnapped by an online stalker. It isn't a typical horror film and all the horror parts are in the second half, but recommended if you want to see something disturbing and scary.

Yeah, House of the Devil is excellent, just a kickass movie. The Strangers is great, but that movie Ils was fucking awful. One of the most pointless, dull movies ever.

And yeah I do like Orphan - didn't mention it here though because although it doesn't have a lot of OTT gore, I figured its straightforward approach wasn't what the OP wanted. Still a great movie though.

I was actually scared shitless by The Ring...
I don't get scared that easily, but that movie gave me fucking chills after I watched it...

That girl is so creepy... (before she died)

I would say Jacob's Ladder. There is some gore in it but anyone who argues that the movie relies on gore to achieve its impact is a fool. It is a very dark mindfuck movie. I remember the first time I watched it, I felt a little bit odd and weirded out for the rest of the day.

That is a great movie. Oddly I never really thought of it as a horror movie, but yeah I guess it is, now that you mention it. Elements of it, anyhow.

David lynchs' stuff. Altered States and Dogtooth.

I would advise ANY horror fan to watch Dead End. You never find out what happens to half the characters, it fucks you.

The original versions of Ring & Pulse are certainly good examples, both creeped the hell out of me when I first saw them...

Give Kill List a watch. There's plenty of gore but it's the creeping sense of dread that really gets to you. This review describes it better than I possibly can. All you need to know is that it's probably the best horror film of 2011.

Best!? Are you insane!? that movie was so bad that it's almost ridiculous, what piece of garbage. And it wasn't scary at all, and it was just gore and violence, the exact opposite of what he is asking for!

Rob Zombie's House Of A Thousand Corpses there is gore in the movie, but the twisted plot is what scared me about that movie. Still one of my favorite horror movies and probably one of my favorites of the 2000s.

Give some of the films of Mario Bava a try. I think particularly that Lisa and the Devil might appeal to you. it actually reminds me more than a little of Carnival of Souls in atmosphere, but with Bava's strange diosyncratic touch. Other films of his that might interest you include Black Sabbath, an anthology of three horror tales, and maybe Shock as well. Bay of Blood is classic, but it's actually sort of a proto-slasher and more amusing than horrific in my view (and I am pretty sure that's how he intended it, too).

I've got messiah of Evil to watch at home; that looks pretty interesting and may be up your alley, too. I might come back here and report on it.

Argento's inferno has some blood, but mostly, it has an amazingly thick, suffocating atmosphere of dread and madness.

There was definitely plenty of gore and violence but it was tastefully done. You make it sound like Kill List was the second coming of Saw. My main reasons for why I enjoyed this movie is basically what Cliff Evans described in his review - that inshakable sense of dread and wrongness, the brief but horrifying burst of violence, the jarring transitions from scene to scene and the balancing of the "awful and the everyday". I loved the soundtrack and the dialogue as well and how the big picture is never quite revealed. It kept me hooked. Too many horror films make that error of providing too much exposition and end up ruining that sense of mystery and terror.