That might be so. But I feel like the whole plot was just about being as weird, wrong and cryptic as possible. You never got any insight into what the hell was going on. There was to much left out and too little there in the first place to even make a moment of it interesting. I'm not saying that movies have to explain everything, but this one explained nothing, so it just became stupid. If some of the story is up to the viewer to imagine, he has to imagine a whole script. More insight, more back story, and more interesting events is what this movie needs, to even come close to being good. As for keeping you hooked. When you are 2/3 into the movie, you start wondering if it is going anywhere, as everything just becomes weirder and stupider. This movie is trying to pass as some artsy, insight into the minds of men. But with a plot that goes nowhere, and answers nothing. Sorry, I don't get it, but that's because there is nothing to get. The supposed underlying message isn't there. You don't sit and wonder what happened, because it's clear it was just put together to seem like it had some deeper meaning. This movie is trying to be a mix of Harsh times and Wickerman, if pulled of it could have been great.

I disagree that this leaves the viewer to imagine the whole script. That's ridiculous. There clearly is enough exposition to allow the viewer to understand what is happening but not enough for them to predict what is going to happen which I feel is the necessary balance for a good horror. Again, explaining everything in a horror film robs it of its atmosphere.

You might have been wondering if the movie was going anywhere. I didn't. I'll chalk that up to difference in attention span. There was enough plot to keep things moving. This isn't Scooby Doo; not every scene has to be a plot point that move us closer to the grand solution of the mystery. Like I said, what makes this movie special is the atmosphere. Also, I think this movie was quite well-paced overall, even if took a while in the beginning to get to the main storyline.

I also disagree with your idea that this movie has some sort of pretentious message behind it or that the filmmakers had some sort of agenda. That's probably the most shallow criticism you could make of a movie and to me that just seems like you poorly trying to justify your distaste. Horror's not exactly a genre tailored to providing social or philosophical commentary and I don't think that was the intention of KIll List. Usually if there is any sort of intended message to a movie, it's communicated far more directly and overtly. If anything, the atmosphere and that gradual descent from reality into some surreal realm of terror and the unknown is what's most important in this movie, and not some supposed deep message as you're imagining.

I was going to rec that, don't bother with the remake though.

A pre 80's movie that creeped me out as a kid was Salems Lot, has lots of atmosphere. Also Quatermass, starring John Mills version (though it was a tv series). Also any horror starring Ernest Borgnine, that guy is scary at the best of times.

Just ordered Session 9 looks good.

Wow, this thread really took off. Looks like I got a lot of recs to check out. The only movie I've found the time to watch was Carnival of Souls (being it's so readily available on YT), and that was pretty damn good.

Thanks for the recs, guys.

Misery, if you haven't seen it. Also, despite not totally being horror movies, The Orphanage and Pan's Labyrinth are amazing and still pretty creepy/disturbing at times.

I'm more entertained rather than scared of gore. I think this holds true to a lot of us. Does gore really scare anyone? I consider it secondary to atmosphere and timing.

People do seem to have a bad habit of confusing "grossed out" or "being jumpy" for "being scared." But yeah, gore is really only scary if you picture it happening to you (I do have a phobia of eye trauma); otherwise it's either gross, funny, or both.

The Fog a bit corny in places but quite a lot of atmosphere and tension.

Also just been reading about The Vanishing, original version not the remake. Has anyone seen it?

Cape Fear, again original version starring Robert Mitchum, though remake with De Niro is also very good.

Robert Mitchum is also chilling in Night of the Hunter.

The Cape Fear remake was pretty shitty.

If you overlook the absolutely terrible ending, Signs was quite frightening. At least to me it was.

It is rare that a movie truly frightens me, so this is a particularly tough question. Gore in and of itself may turn my stomach at times, but without the proper context it's just a weak form of shock. Many great horror movies have properly incorporated gore and a sense of more psychological, atmospheric terror. Like the original Dawn of the Dead. That is one of the all-time best horror films, and while the gore doesn't really stand up to today's anatomically-correct standards, it still has it where it counts.


Also check out:

Nosferatu (the ORIGINAL vampire movie, and still the scariest)
The Thing (John Carpenter's remake, but the original isn't too bad either)
Night of the Living Dead (original black/white, a classic)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (the first one, all others are mockery of a truly scary original)
Child's Play (very...childish now that I've grown up, but this movie scared the bejesus out of me as a kid)
Jacob's Ladder (psychological terror at it's most fucked up)
Requiem for a Dream (not an actual horror movie, but there are a couple of really terrifying scenes)
Halloween I, II (the originals. Any others, including Rob Zombie's reboots, are on par)
Stephen King's IT (the only book-to-film version of King's works that's actually scary IMO)
Hellraiser (The first two are awesome)


BONUS PHOBIA-RELATED MOVIES! YAY!

Arachnophobia - Arachnophobia
Claustrophobia - The Decent

i dont think ive seen aracnophobia in 20 years. i do remember feeling 'itchy' afterwards, like a spider was crawling up my back.

Pretty much this. Gore can be scary if other factors are put in to consideration (Victim, Executioner, Timing, etc), but it rarely brings fear if it is the main focus. It's like a tertiary concept. Don't get me wrong, I love gore, I just rarely find it scary, and I wanted something else for a change.

Obvious one here, "The Shining" is the best horror movie, period. No real gore besides the babe in the tub, but a truly scary piece of work. "Fire in the Sky" scared the shit out of me as well back in the day, truly horrific account of alien abduction based on true events.

The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0440803/ Shutter, Thaiwanese horror movie, not pre 80's tho. Oh and Avoid the American re-make...

Seconding The Others and The Descent, both were awesome movies. Stay away from the sequel of The Descent, though. It was just bad. The Skeleton Key was an average haunted house film but it had it's moments. Speaking of which, do check out 1408, it's about guy getting trapped in a haunted hotel room in which all its previous inhabitants had eventually committed suicide by defenestration. The film had a great claustrophobic atmosphere alike to The Descent.

The remake of The Last House on the Left. They don't overload it with buckets of blood, and really the only two shots in this movie that are really "gruesome" are a guy's hand being put into a garbage disposal and a dude's head exploding. And now to make you all hate me...

*puts up flame shield*

I liked it better than the original movie. The original I found more often boring than not. The remake I was never bored with once, and the acting is much improved.

The Descent is an obvious one. Claustrophobic as hell!

Session 9, The Tunnel, and House of the Devil are pretty good too.

Martyrs is one of the single most disturbing and scariest movies I have ever seen. True, there is a lotof gore in it, but the gore isnt what defines it's creep factor. THe overall story, and tone this movie has is just extremely evil. If you havent seen it, I strongly advise you check itout.

Begotten (if its considered part of horror) which is an experimental film released around 1990. There is no dialogue or music ,except for some sound effects, and the film is entirely shot in noire. There is plenty of gore, but the main thing that creates the horror is the depressing atmosphere coupled with the mysterious shapes ,especially considering the low res of the film. This is funeral doom/depressive black metal in movie form.

I probably won't bother with the remake, but yes, the original isn't really that great. I would suggest Aldo Lado's The Night Train Murders over last House on the Left, in fact..granted it's part of the Infamous Italian Exploitation Machine (TM), but Aldo Lado has a soul and it really shows through in all his movies. I love this one....the train makes a terrific scenery for the demise of the original victims and the revenge doesn't make you feel good as you often think it should in such movies.

Also, Lisa and the Devil...captivating, disquieting..beautiful...I highly recommend it, particularly if you were struck by Carnival of Souls, to which it bares some similarity.

That movie has a shocking opening. At some points it was just painful to watch. Not that it was boring or anything, but you know...

The evil that men do

I don't know why or what possessed my Health teacher to show us Sybil when we were kids but Sybil had me pretty disturbed for a while. I remember having nightmares about this. I guess it's not really a horror film but what's not horrific about psychological abuse? After all these years I'm glad I can just laugh it off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_mRlz2d2Os

It is incredibly grotesque and gruesome and all but I pretty much hated it. There was no flow to the story, nothing was really explained or presented in a way that made me give a shit, etc. It just lurched shapelessly between sequences without any real transition, and as such just came off as boorish and immature rather than actually focused on disturbing and scaring its audience. It was like, "How much offensive crap can we possibly put in this movie?"

Pardon my submissions that aren't precisely 'horror.' Damn good if one is looking for uncomfortable times.

In My Skin (psychological nails on a chalkboard, more like)
Audition (Miike)

So glad to see The Thing up there. Don't forget Alien ..

The 'found footage' flicks are pretty much done to death this day and age but I recently watched Grave Encounters. While it had it's fair share of flaws it can get pretty damn terrifying at times as well!

also, Begotten

The original Wicker Man (1973) is a terrific, creepy film with no gore. Very psychological and atmospheric. It is vastly superior to the terrible Nicholas Cage remake in every way. Plus, it was a big influence on the neofolk scene, if you're a fan of those bands. Highly, highly recommended.

Wicker Man is a great movie! I remember I watched it a long time ago, and it is still fresh in my mind.
The atmosphere....!

I second Empyreal's mention of Pontypool. That movie is absolutely incredible. Not only is it very effective at building suspense but it's also very interesting to consider the philosophical implications with regard to consciousness and language. Definitely one of the greatest films of the decade. (Seriously, it's that good.)

I actually watched the Tenant after reading your post and I enjoyed it a lot. A lot less "horror" than I thought, but a lot more psychological, just like Rosemary's Baby. I didn't even know Rosemary's was part of a "trilogie" until now...

I kind of agree with this,but I still found it disturbing. They presented the violence in such a stark way.

I'd like to add my thanks to Empyreal for mentioning Pontypool. I watched it last night on your recommendation, and it was interesting and excellent - and tense. I really couldn't look away. Thanks!

Also, I'll second The Fog (original). That movie has always creeped me out in a big way.

Glad I could help! I noticed a lot of people are not aware of that, who say they love "rosemary's baby". Have you seen The Ninth Gate!? Even further away from horror, but has this nice dark feel to it. Also a Roman Polanski movie, but it is from more recent times. Don't let Johnny Depp's lead scare you off.

Same. Maybe it's because I was 13 but still. The only horror movie to leave somewhat of an impact on me. And it's hardly the only Horror I've seen.

I watched parts of that remake of The Thing.

Are you kidding me? I laughed out loud when the monster made itself visible. Also, these are supposed to be Norwegians? Lawl.

Well, they are actual Norwegians!

Downloading a bunch of these videos now. Last week I went to the theater to see The Woman in Black and expected it to be shitty but was actually surprised because I quite enjoyed it. The sets were beautiful!

It's a Hammer film. Being shitty is impossible!

I haven't seen it yet, myself, but I've heard a lot of good things about it.

I hope you like subtitles.

There's a Chinese Horror film starring Bai Ling called "Dumplings." There's not much gore but the subject matter is a little disturbing.

Not only those. Most people overlook the sequels (and I mean from the 5th all the way to the 8th). Not gory, the plots are well constructed, a bit predictable but they make emphasis in suspense rather than blood, guts and the Cenobites' obssession with hooks and chains. I'd recommend you all Hellraiser V: Inferno and Hellraiser VI: Hellseeker. Worth checking them out.

Seen the 80's film?