I thought this might be useful to everybody on here. Besides writing scripts, I have a film blog I've been building up over the past year. In getting ready for Halloween I recently published an article on what I think are 10 of the scariest movies ever made. If you'd like to look at it, here it is.

http://thefilmbox.org/top-10/ten-scariest-horror-movies-of-all-time/

As I am currently writing a horror script myself, it was interesting to look at these horror films in a somewhat critical way to better understand what makes each work. These are some of the best in the genre and there was bound to be some lessons to learn.

The biggest takeaway is that so many of the films imply rather than outright show when it comes to scares. This is a common rule to follow hen writing horror I know, but when you look at films like Jaws and The Blair Witch, so much of what makes them scary really is never shown.

The 2nd thing I saw was what a huge impact music has. As screenwriters this is largely out of our control, but nevertheless a killer (and simple) theme will go a long way helping people remember your film and scare the beejebus out of them.

3rd. Setting. It's easy to put your film in a haunted house but that doesn't always have to be the case. A few of the films I wrote about take place in space and Jaws takes place on the water. Changing your setting away from the norm can help you stand out and open up opportunities that wouldn't exist in a standard haunted house.

4th. Gore is over rated. I think we are all so sensationalized to gore and violence that it's hard to shock audiences with an abundance of it. For some of the best horror films ever, the gore in each is rather light which surprised. me.

5th. I maybe didn't mention this as much, and it can be overdone, but putting kids in your film as opposed to teenagers seems to go a long way. Sinister and the Exorcist both put them front and center, as their innocence is a good foil to the darker themes that make up the film. Teenagers are more corrupted and we don't have as much sympathy for them.

Any other thoughts you all may haven when it comes to good horror? A favorite movie I missed and why? I'd love the extra input to help me on my script in progress. I'm kinda stuck at the moment.

Agree with the music - Tubular Bells can still make my hair rise and the theme from Jaws is perfect.

For me, the best ones have great contrast between the normal and abnormal rather than just being a slash fest. Exorcist is a great example of that  - little girl, normal life as compared to demonic possession.

Yeah, that duality is important. Young girl, old priests. Heaven and hell. One priest with rock solid faith, another on shaky grounds.

Good point.

Juon: The Grudge would probably be my number one.

Nightmare on Elm Street when I saw it as a kid.

Requiem for a Dream....if you class horror as an emotion, rather than a genre.

REC had a few moments if watched alone.


First half of Insidious had a few chills, first half of Banshee Chapter.


I think that's about it, for me.


Only thing that scares me is when I don't know what the bad guy is...literally the second it is revealed any fear is over. The magic is gone.

One good thing is if what causes the horror is ever present. Like the water in Jaws...it could come at any time, you don't know.

In 28 days later, just the blood was enough to kill...just looking up could get you in trouble. Keeps the tension high.

Yeah, the constant threat is an important part. Jaws really works on so many levels when you think about it. We had some good OWCs with that theme last year I remember.

Not a big Horror fan in general -- seems like the majority of Horror in recent years relies too heavily on gore or quick and largely throwaway scares which rarely leave a lasting impression.  

As to the list, 28 Days Later stands out (the first half more than the second).  What still surprises me is how little the ‘infected’ actually feature in the film.  It’s the stillness of the city and the ever present sense of dread that makes it work -- it rarely lets up, even when the characters reach assumed safety.

It’s not ‘Horror’ but a sequence from 'The Road' that I still find disturbing (much as the film overall)


SPOILER AHEAD...


...is the cannibal house in ‘The Road’. The rising tension as they explore the empty house and the clues planted here and there as to what this place ‘is’.  The basement scene, though brief, is enough -- it’s knowing the characters’ fate if they’re caught; not to mention those people left behind to be butchered.

Again, not Horror in the genre sense, but still effective in raising that emotion -- simply from what’s implied, not outright shown.

That’s what works for me, the thought of ‘what could happen’ to a character rather than necessarily ‘what does happen’.  

The trouble with horror is that it generally doesn't hold up.  Much of it appears silly a decade or two later.  When I show my kids movies that made me poop my pants back in the day, they just shrug.  Meh.  Or even laugh at it.

That's the trouble with lists like this.  Not that it isn't fun to make your personal best, but it is likely to be just that -- personal.

Hey, Bert, where's Phantasm on that list?! haha

Can't say I agree with any of these, other than Alien.

I don't see Jaws as a horror flick.

The others?  No...I don't agree...at all.

First off, Sinister is on there.... and Blair Witch before Halloween? lol.

Quoted from dead by dawn Hey, Bert, where's Phantasm on that list?! haha

Right near the top!

In your article, you say: The films that still remember a good scare comes from the physiological instead of gratuitous gore.
You gotta mean psychological surely?

And here, at the top of this thread:
I think we are all so sensationalized to gore and violence that it's hard to shock audiences with an abundance of it.
I think we're desensitized.

Re your list.

I don't find Psycho scary, more creepy. But yes, it's a classic, and innovative and daring for its time, but I always thought it was over-rated. Scary...Nah.

Living in Australia - Jaws, though it is real horror, didn't have an effect on me going back in the water. Mind you, most of the time I swim in the pool.  ;D

The Exorcist scared the crap out of me, as did Nightmare On Elm Street and Halloween.

It's great you put Freaks on your list. I'm sure there are older, more gritty, truly horrifying films to pick from of that same era.

I watched the original 13 Ghosts when I was a little kid and it scared the crap out of me.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053559/

And these two:

It Follows &
The Babadook

Recently, scared the crap out of me. Oculus made an impression too.

There's an art to making your audience jump and want to pull the sheets up over their heads - that's where the skill is imh. Hands down beats gore and splatter/torture porn.

Agree that music, sound, can make a hell of an impression too.

Everyone's nightmares are different...

When we grow up there aren't many things that can scare us. I'm an old skool atheist (I believe we evolved in a static/non expanding universe), I don't believe in ghosts and I'm not a general target of serial killers.

Horror for me often doesn't come from the horror genre, but thrillers, or even straight drama. I think that is because it (whatever it is at the time) has its basis in reality. A home invasion is far more horrifying than a ghost killing people. Ghosts don't exist... at least, not in that sense.

Horror is for kids. Let's be honest. I loved horror as a kid. I was reading King aged 9. I didn't grow out of him until my early 20s. That's when horror died for me. Early 20s. I used to blame Wes Craven... but perhaps it was just me getting older.

Now, I appreciate a good story. I don't really watch films the way ordinary people do (as I'm sure most here will relate to). I tend to watch them in script format. This is why I never wanted to get into music. I knew that it would ruin music for me, that I wouldn't be able to listen to it the same way as everyone else, would stop enjoying it. When you see a DJ bobbing his head to the beats, he's not actually enjoying the sound, he's getting off on the enjoyment of the crowd. So I sometimes find myself admiring films well written. Those where exposition and OTN dialogue do not exist.

However, I also see a lot of bad writing... and people seem to enjoy it. Like the first episode of Daredevil (the US TV series), I could only watch so much of because it was so laden with exposition. It wasn't cleverly weaved throughout the narrative or even, better, shown. Yet, lots of people liked it. Lots. It was quite successful as I remember. People enjoy badly written scripts... so maybe, I should write a little more like that? Indeed, I have dropped some of the subtlety from my writing, essentially dumbed it down a little... because I realised that most people want things easy. They don't want to have to think too hard to figure things out. I'm often amazed just how many people can sit and watch something, totally enjoy it, yet not actually realise exactly what was going on in the narrative.

Boggles my mind.

I find that Horror is one of the only genres that interests me at all, tbh. I only really enjoy speculative fiction...horror, sci-fi, extreme fantasy. Horror, when it's done right, contains all the elements of other fiction, but with the added hit of fear. It's the only "complete" form, for me. But it's rarely done well.

Dramas I find mind-numbingly boring. I have absolutely no interest in any issue which I have to deal with day to day. No interest in family situations, none in relationships, disease, politics, social problems...all of that stuff is utterly boring to me. It's what I want to escape from when I watch a movie.

Historical/biographical stuff is equally dull.

War is boring. Seen one, you've seen them all. Don't know how many versions of Full Metal Jacket they'll make, but it will eventually be in the hundreds.

Comedy would be a great genre, but it seems to require outright genius to do. They try so hard to make you laugh, but it just falls flat.

Etc, etc.

That's a pretty solid list, IMO. Scariest, Jeff, not horror.  :P The Exorcist should take tops hands down on any list. Even though some think that today's horror has more grit, there's nothing more disturbing than what was shot on film there, nor will there ever be in an R rated movie.

The movies that always scared me the most had to do with heaven and hell. God and the devil. Angels and demons. Prince of Darkness was a fave of mine I would put in my own top ten list. Even though it is quite hilarious to watch today with all the mouth spitting. But, the premonitions of the devil coming and the static video flash forwards had me on edge.

James.

The Exorcist never was scary to me, nor do I find it to be a great movie...never have, never will, I'm afraid.

The original Omen is a classic and easily one of my favorite films of all time and one of the scariest.  I even think The Omen II was a great flick and a very scary one as well.

Put me down for Hostel and Hostel 2, also.  Both kickass exciting, gruesome, scary as fuck flicks.

The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre worked on so many levels and I still find it very scary to this day, although the acting was terrible from most.  But, the TCM reboots are all well done and scary, as well, IMO.

Interesting Top 10 and article.

Horror is my fave and preferred genre and I've seen the sub genres rise and fall, seen most horror films available, old and new, and my feeling is that we are scared by different things, and that those things change as we age and develop,

I also think that if you are open to the experience of watching Horror, then you can 'enjoy' different types for their own unique qualities.

The universal constant seems to be that people like to be scared, at least a large proportion of people do... so Horror as a genre will always e around in some shape or form.

Now it's back to tinkering with my horror script, it'll be in peoples Top 10s some day ;-)

Anthony

I found it interesting how they sold Shutter Island. To me, it's so full of suspense, dead children suddenly appearing, shock scenes in each sequence. It's not what I'd exactly call a psychological thriller anymore. The whole music is also constantly working through suspense.

I'd love to know what the audience felt when leaving the cinema, expecting thriller and getting hard shit - the farthest possible edge of the Thriller genre. I mean: How many times is that let's say Sixth Sense?

Lol   like damn this is not in the trailer you know.

Then Psycho is listed Horror as main genre on the other side.

Some find gore horrible, some laughable. Some can handle suspense, some freak out when not knowing what happens next...

I totally feel you on Shutter Island. I avoided it when it first came out as it seemed like a glorified Discovery ID show to me, but I caught it on TV later and was blown away at it's depth and creepiness.

Really good movie. Scorsese and DiCaprio really can do no wrong together.

Quoted from CameronD I avoided it when it first came out as it seemed like a glorified Discovery ID show to me, but I caught it on TV later and was blown away at it's depth and creepiness.

Haha, yeah was the same with me. The atmosphere in cinema, I missed, must have been beautiful intense because they really played with those expectations.

Before the characters decide to join cell block C, hell, there was already enough heavy stuff happening which made me just think like a kid: "No no, guys. Can't you see that cell block C isn't the place to be? Please just stay away from cell block C. Nooo"

I guess nobody would have imagined what Scorsese does when his actors enter some dark rooms. Such of an old tale that we associate darkness with feeling uncomfortable but he can push that button again and present a new version. Just a master who can play on all fields.