I've been meaning to post this question for a while. It is an intriguing one, and our lovely friend Peppermint was musing about it the other day.
Alien
An American Haunting
The American Nightmare
The Amityville Horror (2005)
Angel Heart
Anatomie
April Fool's Day
Atom Age Vampire
Audition (Odishon)
Baba Yaga
The Bad Seed (1956)
Basket Case
Bigfoot (1970)
Black Christmas (2006)
Black Sheep (2006)
Blade
The Blob (1988)
Blood Car
Bloodlust!
Bloodtide
'The Box' (from Three Extremes)
The Brain That Wouldn't Die
The Brood
Bug
Burnt Offerings
Camp Hell
Carnival of Souls (1962)
Carrie
Cemetery Man (Dellamorte Dellamore)
The Changeling
Chopper Chicks in Zombietown
Cloverfield
The Company of Wolves
The Corpse Vanishes
The Crazies
Creature from the Haunted Sea
Creepshow
Cujo
Cursed
'Cut' (from Three Extremes)
Damien: Omen II
Dark Water (Japanese version & American version)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Day of the Dead (1985)
Dead and Breakfast
Dead Ringers The Dead Zone
Death Proof
Dementia 13
The Descent
Devil (2010)
The Devil's Rejects
Diary (2006)
Diary of the Dead
Disturbia
Donnie Darko
Double Vision
Dracula (1992)
Duel
'Dumplings' (from Three Extremes)
Eaten Alive
The Evil Dead
Evil Dead II
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The Exorcist
Exorcist: The Beginning
The Eye (2002)
The Eye (2008)
Eyes Without a Face
1408
Family Portraits: A Trilogy of America
The Feast
Fido
Final Destination
The Fly (1986) (Review 1 & Review 2)
The Fog (1980) (Review 1 & Review 2)
The Fog (2005)
Freaks
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th, Part 2
From Hell
Ganja & Hess
Ginger Snaps
Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed
Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning
Gin Gwai (2002)
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film
Gremlins
The Grudge
The Grudge 2
The Grudge (Japanese version)
Halloween (1978)
Halloween (2007)
Halloween II
Hard Candy
Haute Tension
Hellbent
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
High Tension
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)
The Hitcher (1986)
The Hitcher (2007)
Homicidal (1961)
Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara (Dark Water)
Hostel
The House of 1000 Corpses
House of Wax
The House on Haunted Hill (1959)
I Eat Your Skin
Infection (Kansen)
Inside (A L'interieur)
The Invasion
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) (Review 1 & Review 2)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Jangwha, Hongryeon (A Tale of Two Sisters)
Jaws
Jaws 2
Joshua
Ju-on (The Grudge)
Just Before Dawn
Kansen (Infection)
The Killer Shrews
Kingdom of the Spiders
Kiss Me Kill Me
El Laberinto del Fauno
Land of the Dead
The Last Exorcism
Lat den Ratte Komma In
Let's Scare Jessica to Death
Let the Right One In
A L'interieur (Inside)
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
Le Locataire
The Lost Boys
Magic (1978)
The Man with the Screaming Brain (Review 1 & Review 2)
May
Misery
The Mist
Motel Hell
The Mothman Prophecies
Near Dark
Nightmare Castle (Review 1 & Review 2)
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Night of the Cobra Woman (1972)
Night of the Comet
The Night of the Hunter
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Nosferatu (1922)
The Number 23
Odishon (Audition)
Oldboy (Oldeuboi)
The Omen (2006)
Omen II
El Orfanato (The Orphanage)
The Orphanage (El Orfanato)
Pan's Labyrinth
Paranoia 1.0
Paranormal Activity 2
The People Under the Stairs
Pet Sematary
Phantasm
The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues
Piranha (2010)
Pitch Black
Planet Terror
Poltergeist (Review 1 & Review 2)
Pulse (2006)
Pulse (2001)
Pumpkinhead
Rabid
Re-Animator
[Rec]2
Red Riding Hood
Reincarnation (Rinne)
Repulsion
Les Revenants
Ring Two
Ringu
Rinne (Reincarnation)
Rosemary's Baby
Saam Gaang Yi (Three Extremes)
Santa Claus (1959)
Santo Vs. Frankenstein's Daugher
Saw II
Scanners
Scary Movie
The Screaming Skull (1958)
The Serpent & the Rainbow
Session 9
Severance
Shaun of the Dead
Shivers
Shuang Tong
Shutter
The Signal (2007)
Silent Night, Bloody Night
The Skeleton Key
Sleepy Hollow
Slither
Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama
Spiral
Squirm
The Strangers (2008)
The Supernatural (TV Series)
Suspiria
Swamp Women (1955)
28 Weeks Later
A Tale of Two Sisters (Janghwa, Hongryeon)
Teeth
The Tenant
The Terror (Review 1 & Review 2)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: A Family Portrait
They (2002)
They Came Back
They Live
The Thing
30 Days of Night
Three Extremes (Saam Gaang Yi)
Toolbox Murders
Tormented
The Toxic Avenger
The Vampire Bat
Videodrome
The Village
We All Scream for Ice Cream
When a Stranger Calls (1979)
White Noise
Wicker Man (1973)
Wolf Creek
The Woods
Les Yeux sans Visage
Zombi Holocaust
21 Comments:
Monsters, the supernatural.
Scariness does not = horror movie.
Ex. 'Seven' is not a horror movie, even if it's horrific. It's a "thriller"
The line is thin and usually defined by some guy in a rubber mask ;)
But then what about, say, the Texas Chain Saw Massacre? I don't think anyone would argue that it's NOT a horror movie. And yet, there are no monsters and no supernatural beings--the evil beings are all human...
True enough, but (despite his lack of "powers"), you could easily say that Leatherface is a monster. His dementedness goes above and beyond that of your typical killer.
PLus...guy in mask ;)
Heh heh. So, then couldn't you argue that the guy from SEVEN is also a monster whose dementedness goes above and beyond that of your "typical killer," thus making SEVEN a horror movie as well? (Please note that I don't actually consider it a horror movie either, I am just trying to root out what the hell it is that makes a horror movie a horror movie.)
No, because the guy from Seven is just a psychopath, not a monster.
If you were to place Leatherface and the guy from Seven in a lineup and ask someone, "which, if either, of these two people, is a monster" they would easily point to Leatherface. Plus, Seven attempts to take place in the real world (with cops and investigations). The world is TCM is soooo different from that, or our own. In that, a family can commit grisly mass murders (under the eye of their partially dead grandfather) with no retribution whatsoever. So it can not truly be called real. I would say that, if TCM ended with the family getting arrested (or even murdered, themselves) it would turn from a horror movie into a thriller. Because, in TCM, we are given the impression that the family is a continuing presence of evil, who will not ever stop..instead of just a real family whose actions take place in a world of cause and effect. So maybe the difference is in how much the movie ties into any source of reality?
But then what about, say, THE SHINING? Do you consider that a horror movie? That ties in pretty directly to reality--it becomes moreso a question of insanity than the supernatural too in a lot of ways...
But then what about, say, THE SHINING? Do you consider that a horror movie? That ties in pretty directly to reality--it becomes moreso a question of insanity than the supernatural too in a lot of ways...
The Shining is *definitely* a horror movie. Right off, it involves the supernatural. (If it were just a question of insanity, you wouldn't have the numerous scenes with little Danny and his "friends"). It also involves psychic powers being used. Though some people do use the "maybe he was just insane" thing, I do think the Shining is a supernatural film.
Yeah, I guess you're right. I couldn't think of a better example of a horror movie that didn't involve the supernatural--what about that CABIN FEVER movie? No supernatural or monsters involved there.
I haven't seen it, so i can't judge/comment.
I believe the movie is called Se7en.
Patrick, how does you distinction between horror and thriller take into account Michael Jackson's obviously supernatural "Thriller"?
That is why I left you the link, Pattie-el-Dorko. It explains what the movie is about. Flesh-eating virus is neither supernatural nor a monster. But clearly there is no doubt that that movie would be considered a horror movie.
The link doesn't say much, other than the most basic. I haven't seen it, so I can not judge if it's the atmosphere, treatment of story, etc. that would make it a horror movie.
Oooh, Michael Jackson has torn my theory into pieces! Damn you JACKO!
But you are not getting it. Based on your theory--which is that it has to involve the supernatural or monsters--you can clearly see from the movie-description that neither is involved. And yet it's marketed and listed and OBVIOUSLY a horror movie.
My theory is not all encompassing, nor is it well thought out. When it comes down to it, as long as there is either a random dance or shower scene, I'll fork over my ticket. There's some movies worthy of picking apart to define the various aspects of each, I don't watch horror (or thriller, or sci-fi or whatever) movies for that, I watch them for simple entertainment.
I wasn't asking WHY you watch them or what you like about movies, o strayer from the topic. I was just asking what MAKES a horror movie a horror movie.
so *BELLLLLLLLLLLLCH*
And I answered. Apparently you didn't get it and need it spelled out.
My answer:
I don't care.
I agree that horror movies usually have some kind of supernatural or monster in them. That kind of classification makes sense to me. I think what makes a horror movie a horror movie is the component of helplessness in the face of something evil and supernatural (whether that be a ghost, monster, or flesh eating virus). This would make it different than Se7en insofar as there is no supernatural occurance. What occurs is easily explained as being the actions of a madman. The Shining cannot be easily explained as only madness since there are ghosts in the place and supernatural things happen. I think that is the catch. I think that if something is able to be explained in the realm of human and natural ability, then it is not a horror theme. If something cannot be explained as human or natural, then it is horror themed.
Interesting. I think that actually pinpoints things a bit more clearly, and I bet Patrick might actually agree with you on that (AT TO DEATH, Patrick).
I agree with NO ONE.
Okay, I actually DO agree with that theory.
But I don't have to like it ;)
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