As Halloween gets closer and closer, you’ll inevitably see tons of lists over-analyzing the scariest, goriest and even the funniest horror films. The mood and thoughts surrounding the spooky holiday provokes a heart racing excitement to find and share the movies that mess with our deepest and darkest fears. If you’re new to the horror genre and have absolutely no clue what is terrifying and what is terrible, we here at The Cord don’t want you to feel left out.
We’ve created a list of six (not the devilish number) essential films that will educate and entertain you all month long. Whether you’re looking for a creepy tale to watch on Halloween night, or you’re interested in expanding your horror knowledge, check out these six must-see scary movies below.
6. Hostel (2006): Crazy horror movie director, Eli Roth, goes straight for the jugular in this remorseless scare-fest about a pair of carefree American backpackers seeking a good time in the Europe. Things go from bad to worse very fast as they get trapped in a less than friendly hostel. Be prepared for tons of gore and torture. However, it still manages to be creepy, gripping and horrifying.
5. The Last Exorcism (2010): I know what you are thinking. Another exorcism remake that will never be as good as the original. False. This movie follows a renowned reverend as he comes face-to-face with pure evil after recruiting a documentary film crew to capture the final exorcism of his career. Little does he know that this will be the most terrifying one yet. It is an anxious psychological horror that’s vaguely familiar yet refreshingly original.
4. The Strangers (2008): This is a story about a suburban couple returning to their semi-secluded house after attending a wedding. However they find themselves thrown into chaos with the arrival of three malevolent, masked strangers who are there to do nothing but torment them psychologically and physically. It is an extremely effective claustrophobic horror picture that starts slow but ultimately provides us with plenty of suspense all the way through to its very dark ending.
3. The Conjuring (2013): This one tells the true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren, who were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most horrifying case of their lives.
2. Grave Encounters (2011): This one documents the crew of a ghost-hunting reality television show, who are shooting an episode inside an abandoned psychiatric hospital where unexplained phenomena has been reported for years. They eventually get trapped inside and quickly realize that the building is more than just haunted. Despite the low budget, there is some solid acting, good hand-held camera antics and enough shock-horror to keep your pulse throbbing throughout.
1. Sinister (2012): This is potentially the scariest one of them all. In this scare-fest, Ethan Hawke plays a crime novelist who discovers a box of mysterious, disturbing home movies that propel his family into a nightmarish experience of supernatural horror. It is one of the more authentically scary horror thrillers to haunt the screen in a while.