As Halloween gets closer and closer, the time for watching horror movies has never been better. If you are looking for some great scares and thrills for the spookiest time of the year, then look no further as we will be listing off some of the best horror movies over the past few decades.
Some of the best horror films of all time were made before the year 2000. They are often regarded as “classics” so it only seems fair to start with them. Steven Spielberg’s classic Jaws (1975 rated PG) is a terrifying film about a killer shark who feeds off of a small town. When the town has had enough, they gather a group of people to hunt down the shark. This movie is highly recommended for people who love action horror with great heart, characters, and plot.
Ron Underwood’s underappreciated film Tremors (1990 PG 13) will probably catch your interest if you enjoyed Jaws. This film manages to be both hilarious and terrifying at the same time. The movie is about a small desert town being terrorized by giant sand worm creatures.
For those who prefer more subtle and suspenseful movies such as, Alfred Hitchcock’s, Psycho (1960 rated R) and M. Night Shyamalan’s, The Sixth Sense (1999 rated PG 13). Psycho is about a quaint little motel run by an overprotective, overbearing mother and a somewhat demented man. The Sixth Sense is so ingrained into pop culture by now that we probably don’t even have to say anything. But, for those who are curious, it’s about a child psychiatrist who is trying to help a boy who can “see dead people.”
Now that we have looked at some classic horror films, it’s time to look at some more recent ones. Self-referential horror films have become a staple in modern horror with films including, Edgar Wright’s hilarious zombie film, Shaun of The Dead (2004 Rated R) and Sam Raimi’s, Drag Me to Hell (2009 Rated PG 13). Shaun of The Dead serves as both a spoof of the zombie genre, and an excellent zombie film at the same time. Drag Me to Hell is both a campy gross out film that is hilarious, as well as a tragic, well-crafted, horror film.
2017 has also been a great year for horror films. The remake of Stephen King’s It, directed by Andres Muschietti (2017 Rated R) is a fantastic reminder that sometimes remakes can be better than the original.
Jordan Peele’s debut film, Get Out (2017 Rated R) is a smart horror film that manages to comment on racism in a clever way, while telling its story.
The Cougar Claw asked a couple of students what they thought about horror films and whether or not they liked the older movies better or the newer ones. Brennon Hammond says, “I don’t really like action horror very much but I really like suspense films. I like newer movies better but there are some older horror movies that I enjoy like Rear Window and Night of The Living Dead. My favorite horror film is Dead Silence.”